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Hi, I'm Rob West. Scripture offers a profound, transformative perspective on everything we own. Sharon Epps joins us today to talk about these powerful biblical principles.
Some you know, but some may surprise you. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance: biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.
Well, Sharon Epps is in the co-pilot seat today, and that always makes for a smooth and informative flight. She's the president of Kingdom Advisors, our parent organization. And Sharon, we're delighted to have you back. You have had a long tenure in this space, and some of our listeners may not know that that goes all the way back to Larry Burquette. It does.
I had the privilege of being on the program from time to time, even back then.
So it's such a joy to be here today.
Well, we're always thrilled. All right, I know it's on your heart today to talk about how God's Word contains powerful financial teaching that can have a dramatic impact in our lives. And we're going to talk about some of these powerful attributes we find in scripture and give you some practical handles on how you can manage God's money well. And we'll begin today with the power of trust. What would you have us know here?
Well, you might be surprised that trust is the first financial tip. You might be expecting me to talk about. About money, first of all. But let's just go straight to the word. Proverbs 3:5 through 6 tells us to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways, submit to him, and he will make your path straight. And I think actually, this is the most powerful tip of all, and that is to understand our role and that we can trust him to be our leader. And so, as we talk about very often here on Faith and Finance, our role is that of steward, and he's the owner. And the implications of that are enormous. It means that we've got freedom.
We can look to him related to his plans for our money, and we don't have to worry about our own plans because he's the one to be the guide. It's not dependent on me, it's not dependent on the government or even my employer because God is my provider. Absolutely. Yeah.
Well, Sharon, what are the practical implications? Implications to that as we make daily spending decisions in this role of manager?
Well, I think the practical implications are we're freed up to focus on what he would have for us. And in fact, that's actually the next powerful tip. Let's go there. Is that we want to be able to focus on one major goal at a time. I think a couple of proverbs that help us there.
Proverbs 4:25 says, Let your eyes look directly forward and your gaze be straight before you. Proverbs 16:3 says, Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established. And so, this power of focus, I know we talk a lot about multitasking, but research has proven that none of us can really multitask. We have to focus on one thing at a time. And anytime that I've talked with families who feel a little bit stuck in their finances, it's often because they're trying to accomplish so many goals at one time.
And so, the power of focus is to. Ask God, what's the next thing you would have me to do? And focus on that until you've made progress on it to the point that you feel like you're released to go to your next thing. We just can't spread ourselves too thin. I love that.
The power of focus is certainly underutilized in our lives. And even breaking those singular goals down into bite-sized pieces can often be helpful as well. It absolutely can because sometimes it just feels like we're eating an elephant. And so if we take it one step at a time, it's not so overwhelming. And I can begin to do that today.
I don't have to wait until next month when I have 12 hours to dedicate to it. We've got about 45 seconds until our break. Let's get one more of those powerful financial principles in.
Well, it's the power of priorities. And you won't be surprised. I'm going to mention live, give, oh, grow, and the pie there because as we set our priorities, we need to remember that the pie is limited. and one decision I make to spend in one area is going to impact the other area. And I think the order matters as well.
We always want to make sure that we start with give first, then we want to grow, and then we look at owe and live. I love that. The power of trust, the power of focus, the power of priorities. We're looking at God's word today with Sharon Epps and pulling out the powerful financial teaching that can be applied in your life as a steward of the King of Kings resources. When we come back, Sharon will have more of those powerful principles just around the corner.
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NMLS number 39179. For licensing information, visit nmlsconsumeraccess.org. God is the owner. We're the steward, the manager of all that He's entrusted to us. And God's Word is our source, our wisdom for managing that money.
This is Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. With me today, Sharon Epps, president of Kingdom Advisors. And we're talking about some of the powerful financial teaching that we find in God's Word. And Sharon, just before the break, you were talking about the power of priorities.
And we can look at those priorities in light of a simple pie chart around living, giving, owing, and growing God's money. But we can break some of those priorities down even further, right? We can.
So I'm often asked, well, if we have the live, give, oh, grow pie, how do I know where my pieces should be? And the answer is, ask God because He has a different pie for each of us. At the same time, it's helpful to have a few templates or a few examples to know how people's Pies often work well. And so, what we're about to talk about in these priorities are by no means boundary lines or fences that are set up for you. They are more stories or examples of what has worked well for others.
So, the first thing I would say in the big overall pie, I would encourage you to at least start with what we call the 10-1080 principle. And basically, that is give first, 10%, set aside 10% for grow, and then use the remaining 80 for the O and live.
So, give first, then to grow, and then O and live.
So, 10, 10, 80 is just a quick reminder: if I don't even know where to begin with my pie, that's a good place to start to split it up that way. I think also that the live category often is where people. People get tripped up because it's the 80 after the debt. And so, what we see is that there are basically three big categories within that overall live slice of the pie that make the biggest difference to your budget: housing, transportation, and food. And the bottom line is that if we have more than half of our take-home pay in those three parts of the live pie, it's very difficult to have a spending plan that's balanced.
And so, the thing that is a little bit troublesome in that is our housing and transportation decisions are usually longer-term decisions. When I buy a home, I'm typically not going to change that in a year. That's right. Yeah.
And those big three we often talk about can often derail you. And if those get out of line, it's just so much more difficult to make everything else balanced. It absolutely is. And so, Proverbs 27:23 there, know well the condition of your flux, give attention to your. Your herds tell us: let's look at where we are in each of these areas and make sure that those big three aren't tripping us up.
Because when those are out of sync, you could try to save money on going out to coffee or those kinds of things, but it's going to be hard to make a difference if you don't look at the big three. Yeah, lifestyle is the biggest determinant of whether you will be able to accomplish those other goals in the long term. All right, Sharon, what's the next powerful principle?
Well, it's the power of planning. We want to encourage you, and you hear this from us on Faith and Finance all the time. We want you to spend your money on purpose by making a plan on paper or digitally before each month begins. And I just have to say, Rob, for our family personally and others that I talk to and counsel with, the Faith Fight app comes in so handy here because you can put your money in digital envelopes each month to make your plan before the expenses occur. We mentioned Larry Burquette in the first segment.
You had the opportunity to work alongside Larry, and he was the one who really popularized this envelope approach to managing money. He did. And I think it still applies today. In fact, I was talking with a young couple just this last week, and they are very digitally savvy and really love, in fact, the FaithFi app. And they said, you know, there are several of our categories that we've decided we're just going to go to cash because we just aren't keeping up with them very well.
And we've decided we're going to put them in a cash envelope and do our spending that way for a few months to get back in control. It's so helpful. Julie and I use it literally every day, and we can see exactly what's left in each envelope when we open the FaithFi app. If you want to check it out and download it today, just head to faithfy.com and click app. All right, Sharon, there's actually power in cash.
Tell us about that. There is. And I think that's one of the best keys for making sure you know what you're spending, especially if you don't like to do a lot of record keeping. If I have cash. In my hand, then I know what I have left over after I get changed when I check out.
And I'll also say that research actually proves that the more we're aware, it's called saliency, the more we're aware of what we're spending, we actually spend less, which is why the credit card companies want us to put everything on the credit cards because we'll spend more. Yeah, I mean, the data I've seen says we'll actually spend in some cases up to 30% more when we're not parting with that physical cash.
So certainly be on your guard there. All right, Sharon, what is that last powerful principle?
Well, it's the power of decision-making. God's word teaches us we can always go to Him when we're not sure what to do. I'm looping right back to the beginning, looking to God. I love this verse, James 1:5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
So I thought as we close out, I might. Give you a flow chart kind of idea for this decision making, and these are just some key questions you can ask before you make decisions about your expenses.
So, first, is the expense essential for the family's survival? Will the purchase help my financial situation? Or will the purchase hurt my financial situation? Will this purchase move me toward meeting my financial goals or perhaps set me back? Can we wait to incur this expense?
And is there a less expensive alternative? And if you picture that sort of like a flowchart, as you go down that list of questions, if you answer no to any of those, you might just want to stop and reconsider and think about what I might do differently than make this intended upcoming purchase. Yeah, and it means in some cases we have to slow down. I mean, in an age where, you know, this weekend we were in the kitchen, Julie and I, we knew we needed an item for the house, and by the afternoon it was on the front porch. I mean, in that age, we can just operate so quickly, and that robs us of the opportunity to ask these questions.
Well, it does, and I'm sure y'all have never done what we've done, but sometimes we've gotten it off the front porch and then gone to a closet and realized we had something that would have met the need already. That's so true. Hey, let's finish with financial decision-making as a couple.
So, how do we make sure we're on the same page as we're thinking about these?
Well, you know, the most powerful tip. I could give there is to make sure you have intentional conversations. I even recommend a monthly money date night, and that's a night that you literally go out as a couple and your focus is on how did you do with your finances the past month, and then what do you have coming up the next month that you might need to be thinking about? And that intentional conversation away from the kids, away from distractions, gives you the opportunity to make sure that you're on the same page with your goals. And unity is way more important than the actual decision itself.
That's so good. And you said a moment ago, we want to spend money on purpose, but as a part of that, we want to have purpose at the core. What are our values that ultimately drive those decisions, right? Absolutely. And I think when we ask the Lord to direct us on those, the decision-making becomes more clear.
Oh, that's so good.
Well, Sharon, this was so helpful today. I appreciate you taking us back to God's Word to look deeply into scripture, to pull out maybe some of the principles we haven't seen along the way. But I know these will be really helpful for our listeners.
So thanks for stopping by. Glad to be here. That's Sharon Epps, President of Kingdom Advisors. If you'd like to work with a financial professional who integrates biblical wisdom into their advice, find a certified Kingdom Advisor near you at findacka.com. Your calls are next at 800-525-7000.
I'm Rob West, and this is Faith and Finance: biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Stick around. As the leading advocate for the Christian financial industry, Kingdom Advisors serves the public by promoting the integration of a biblical worldview across every aspect of the financial services industry. And we serve a growing network of thousands of Christian financial professionals, equipping and empowering them to carry biblical financial wisdom to their clients, peers, and community. For more information, visit kingdomadvisors.com.
That's kingdomadvisors.com. Faith in Finance is thankful for support from The Good Investor, a book by Robin John. In his book, Robin shares his journey from an immigrant child struggling in school to co-founder and CEO of Eventide Asset Management, a faith-based investment firm. This Faith and Work memoir seeks to inspire readers to view their work and investments as opportunities to honor God and bring blessing to the world. More information is available at goodinvestor.com.
That's goodinvestor.com. Uh Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. Taking your calls and questions today, 800-525-7000. Let's go to Oklahoma. Hi, Sheila.
How can I help? I have a financial advisor, and through him I got a CD, and I got the interest on it. But rather than taking the interest, I just reinvest it.
So I don't get you know, I'm not getting any money, it's just reinvested. Do I pay tithe on the interest that I got? Yeah.
Yeah, let me just let me answer the question and then back up and give you some thoughts on the tithe, which I love the principle of the tithe. But I would just say your tithe, if you're giving a tithe, it's on the increase. And so, yes, you know, what you're getting in the way of interest is your increase.
Now, you're reinvesting it, and so you haven't realized that increase yet. At some point, when you redeem that CD, you will get the money you put in back plus the interest. And that's the time when you actually have the cash in your hands or in your account, not reinvested in the CD that you can't get to. That's the time to say, okay, every bit of interest I received while I own this CD is my increase. I'm going to apply the principle of the tithe.
I'm going to take a tenth and give it as unto the Lord.
So it's really not today. It's once you redeem that CD that you'd want to do that.
Now, as to the principle of the tithe, I love it. I think it's a great guideline. We see it clearly under the law of Moses. We're no longer under the law of Moses, but I think. Clearly, New Testament giving is still proportionate and systematic, starting with the local church.
So, I think giving a tithe, a tenth of your increase, is absolutely appropriate. But we should be looking to go beyond that. For those of us who have seen the cross, giving freely and sacrificially and giving certainly cheerfully as well.
So, Sheila, hopefully, that helps you. I'd wait until you redeem that CD and then give as unto the Lord. Thanks for calling. All right, down to Fort Lauderdale, my hometown. Mary, go ahead.
Hi there, Rob, and thank you for taking my call. My question is. as a land owner I want to sell some property, some land. But I also want to know if I have to pay taxes on that. And if so, how do I go about are figuring out what portion Yeah, it's a a great question.
So you generally pay taxes on the profit or the gain from the sale, not the full amount you receive.
So here's how it works. The IRS looks at your selling price. Minus your cost. which is what you paid for it. Plus any improvements.
So with land, if you improved it, you maybe added some infrastructure or something that improved the value, you'd be able to add that to your cost. And so selling price minus your cost. Equals your taxable gain.
So let's say you sell it for $100,000 and you originally paid $40,000. you would have a gain of sixty thousand, and that's the amount potentially subject to capital gains tax, not the full one hundred thousand in my example.
Now what kind of tax?
Well, A capital gain is not an income tax. It's either a long-term gain if you've owned the property for more than a year, or it's a short-term gain if you've owned it less than a year. Did you own it more than a year?
Well, it was inherited.
So yes, been in the family for fifty years, a hundred years almost.
Okay, and when did you inherit it? Um probably like five years ago.
Okay.
So that's helpful because generally, what happens is when you inherit a piece of an asset, in this case, a piece of land. You get what's called a step-up in basis.
So, regardless of what the person paid for it that passed it on to you, paid for it, your new cost basis is the market value of that property as of the date of their death.
So they pass away. The property goes to you. The new cost basis is whatever it was worth, and you could back into this by using some professionals. Whatever the property was worth as of the date of death, around five years ago, that's your new cost basis.
So your capital gain is only going to be the increase in value of the property between the date of death and the date you sell it. roughly five years later. And so the difference between those two numbers is your gain. And then that will be a long term capital gain because it's more than a year that it's been yours. And currently, the long term capital gains rates are either zero, fifteen percent or twenty percent.
Do you file as a single filer or married filing jointly?
Well, I think this is over my head, so I probably would need to get an accountant. That's never a bad thing. But would I get like a real estate or attorney? No, you'd want a CPA, a certified public accountant, who could help you prepare your taxes.
So, what they're going to do is they're going to ask for the closing statement. They're going to determine what you sell it for. And then they're going to help you find the way to establish the market value as of the date of death of the person that then passed it to you. By way of inheritance, and the difference between those two is the gain, and then they're going to be able to tell you based on that gain plus your other combined income whether or not you owe any capital gains. And it's likely going to be either 0% capital gains rate, which would be nothing, or 15%.
But they would have to tell you that.
Okay.
So I definitely would need to have assistance with trying to file it. Yeah.
So you just want to tell your CPA you have a sale of a property coming up, and you're going to need help calculating the capital gain that's owed.
Alrighty. Thank you so very much. Have a great time. And you too. God bless you.
Thanks for calling. Let's see. We'll finish today in Illinois. Shirley, I have just about a minute left. Go ahead.
Real quickly, I left a job. I had a 401k, which I transferred to my new job. I also didn't realize I had like a small pension from there. And this is going back a couple of years, actually.
So I'm wondering if, one, it's too late for me to get that money and do something with it. And would you recommend rolling it into my current 401 or maybe doing a Roth IRA? Got it. Yes.
So you have the paperwork on it. How did you discover it? They sent me something in the mail.
Okay.
Yeah, it's almost never too late.
So if you worked for an employer and earned a pension. Then that money is still yours as long as you're what's called vested. You went beyond the period of time you had to work for them to reach a point where you're vested, which means you now have access to the money. It doesn't just disappear because time has passed.
So the first step is to track it down. Contact your former employer's HR department or the plant administrator. You can check old statements if you've got one to find out who that is and call them to find out where it is. And if it's a small pension, you usually have choices such as: do you want a lump sum payout, or do you want a monthly lifetime income, or do you want to roll it into an IRA? But they'll be able to tell you what options you have.
If you have the option, I would love for you to roll it into an IRA. And then you could invest it so that it could grow and you could access it in retirement as another source of income. But the first step is to get in touch with the plant administrator, get the details on what you've got. And then you could connect with an advisor to get some counsel. I would encourage you to go to findacka.com.
Thanks for your call, Shirley. Big thanks to Taylor, Tahira, Josh, and Dan. Hey, if you want to support our listener-supported ministry, go to faithfi.com/slash give. Come back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then.
Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you. I'm not sure if I can do it.
