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Greek philosopher Epictetus once said: Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. Hi, I'm Rob West. We're continually tempted to want more, upgrade more, and pursue more. But what if that's actually costing us our freedom? Today, Bob Loddick joins us to share why wanting less may be one of the most powerful financial decisions you can make and how it can reshape your life.
Then we'll take your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.
Well, it's always great to have my friend Bob Lodick with us. Bob is a financial coach and the author of the great book, Simple Money: Rich Life. He's also the founder of Seed Time, where he helps people align their finances with their faith and live with greater purpose and freedom. Bob, great to have you back. Yeah, it is an honor to be here, Rob.
Bob, in the latest issue of Faithful Steward, our magazine, you've written an insightful article. It's titled The Surprising Power of Wanting Less. And we're going to dive into that topic today. It's such an important one for all of us. But you open with a thought-provoking question: What if the most important financial question isn't, can I afford this?
But can I afford to want this?
So unpack that for us. Help us understand what you mean. Yeah. Well, I think one of the most interesting things is that so often We focus just on whether or not we can afford something. And that is how we make our financial decisions.
But when we begin to understand that some of our things can actually have us, then the question really does become: can I afford to want this thing? Is this something that I actually want in my life if it's going to be chaining me and holding me down? Yeah, boy, that's so well said. And I think this is, again, a really important discussion for us. You bring that idea to life with a remarkable story from ancient Rome about a general named Manius Chairias.
And I want you to walk us through that story. Yeah, so he was one of Rome's most respected generals around, I believe, it was 290 BC. And I'm getting this from Ryan Holliday's book. I don't recall which one it was, but I remember reading the story and just being fascinated by it. But he had the situation where his enemies tried to bribe him, and they brought all this gold, all these expensive gifts, and they walked in.
And they saw him roasting turnips, which is the equivalent of eating, you know, porridge or peasant food. And they quickly realized that a man who is content with so little cannot be bribed by gold. And so what's so amazing about there, so powerful and insight that we can take from that, is that when we're in that situation that no one can have any leverage over us because we're content with what we have, it's like we have a unique power that money cannot buy. Yeah, the grip of money is immediately broken. And you point out that every want can become a kind of chain.
So let's unpack that a bit more. Yeah. Well, I think every desire that we have really creates a chain because the desire is an open loop and this thing that we want, and that we begin, you know, searching for, trying to find a way to get it. And that same thing becomes something that someone can use against us. And so if our lifestyle, you know, requires a certain paycheck, it's much harder to walk away.
We've all heard about the golden handcuffs, you know? Yes. And if lenders know that we'll protect our credit and payments at almost any cost, then it's like then they have that as leverage over us.
So very often, it's the more that we need, the easier it is for others to influence our decisions. There's another story, one that's a bit more modern with the same principle from a different angle. And it's the boxer Reuben Hurricane Carter during his time in prison. Share that one with us. Yeah, this was crazy.
So, this guy was wrongly convicted of, I think, like a triple murder or something like that. And he spent 19 years behind bars. He actually had three life sentences. But early in once he got into prison, he made a decision that was super surprising to everyone and still to me. But he basically gave up every comfort that the prison offered.
So, no TV, no radio, not even a pillow. And the reason he did that was so that the guards had nothing over him, they had nothing that they could take away because he wasn't dependent on anything.
Now, this is an extreme example, but I do think it proves this point that there is a freedom that comes when we're not attached to anything. Oh, so good.
Well, when we come back from this break, we're going to continue to unpack that and really dig into this idea around the spiritual consequences of all of this and what it actually means to want less and what that can do in our financial lives. Bob Loddick is here today. Bob is the author of the book, Simple Money. Rich Life. He's also the founder of the ministry Seed Time.
You can learn more at seedtime.com. We're going to take a quick break and back with much more with Bob Loddick just around the corner. This is Faith in Finance. We'll be right back. What we do is very special and it's very unique.
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Text the word faith to 98656 or visit faithfy.com slash Lebanon. The surprising power of wanting less. Hi, I'm Rob West. Bob Lodick is here today. He's the author of the book, Simple Money: Rich Life.
If you haven't read it, pick up a copy. He wrote an article in the latest edition of our Faithful Stewart magazine on this topic that we're talking about today: the surprising power of wanting less. And we want to dig deeper into this because I know a lot of the folks listening are feeling the tension trying to keep up with rising costs, debt, and expectations. And as we bring it a little closer to home, Bob, how do our everyday financial choices, things like lifestyle, and debt and expectations-begin to chip away at this idea of a loss of freedom? Yeah, I think so many of us find ourselves on a treadmill and we've created a lifestyle where there's so many things that are dependent one upon another, upon another.
And I remember this exercise that I remember reading, author Tim Ferriss talked about, where basically he would challenge himself to more or less a poverty challenge and just take two or three days, live off of rice and beans, like not buy anything. And he said it brought so much freedom because it broke him out of his day-to-day. And the thing that he secretly was afraid of is that if I lose all my money and I lose all this stuff, what will life be like? And so he put himself in that situation to experience it. And then that brought him so much comfort in knowing it's like, this wasn't that bad.
Yeah, exactly. And we can all relate to that.
Now, that loss of freedom, Bob, can even carry spiritual consequences. And in your article, you share another story about someone who felt clearly called by God into ministry but couldn't respond. They couldn't step into it. Share that with our listeners. Yeah.
Yeah. I remember hearing the story. It was really sad.
So it was a pastor friend of mine who wanted to hire someone who the person felt genuinely called to the ministry. The pastor felt really good about hiring them. But once they got in the process and offered the position, the person realized I cannot accept this position because my debt payments alone won't work with the salary that's being offered. And that was so painful for me to realize because I know there are so many Christians in that situation. They feel like the Lord's calling them to do something, but because they have so many debt payments stacked up, they feel like I can't do it.
And that is just a tragic place to be. That it's my prayer that we, as believers, begin moving forward in a way where that becomes less of a thing. Yeah, absolutely. And that brings us, Bob, to what Jesus said. We talk about this often on this program.
He said, we can't serve two masters.
So how does that play out in this particular conversation? Yeah. Well, I think what the truth is that every financial obligation we have, it demands our time, it demands our energy. And so when we accumulate too many of those things, they begin to control our choices.
So I don't think Jesus was just warning us just about loving money. I think he was showing us how easily our possessions can end up possessing us. Yeah. And I want to dig into God's word here and look at two specific places that this happens. You highlight different responses in the Gospels to this, one from the rich young ruler, one from Zacchaeus.
So take us into those stories and what we can take away. Yeah, so we all know both of these stories, and hopefully, we don't have time to read them today, but dive into your Bible if you don't. But the rich young ruler ends up walking away from a once-in-a-whatever lifetime opportunity to follow Jesus because he couldn't release his possessions.
Okay. But then Zacchaeus just had a different response where he comes running out after spending just a little bit of time with Jesus. We don't know what Jesus said to him, but basically said, I'm willing to give away half of my stuff. I'm going to make restitution for all the stuff everybody I ripped off. And so the difference wasn't the amount involved, it was the grip that those possessions had on each of their hearts.
Yes. And it was an immediate response, but it was also in the case of Zacchaeus, it was a financial response as well, which was evidence of the heart change, right? Absolutely. And I think that's what's so powerful and what's available to each one of us is that regardless of the dollar amount, we have the opportunity to release it into our heart and make that choice. I'm going to follow Jesus, not going to serve mammon.
Yeah, so good. Let's talk about the Apostle Paul. He, of course, writes in Philippians that he's learned to be content in both a season of abundance as well as need.
So why is contentment such a powerful principle when it comes to handling God's money? Yeah, I believe that it's just the ultimate freedom, you know, and I think that that's what Paul was talking about when he's talking about that secret of being able to abase and abound and live in the high times and the low times. It's like that is a level of freedom where it's like, you know, because so many people can have such an abundance of wealth but be in chains. But to be content, regardless of whether it's a little bit or a lot, and to have that trust and that knowing that God is going to provide for you is just such a powerful thing that puts us in a position. That we are just more available when God calls us to do something.
Yeah. Bob, whenever we talk about this idea of wanting less and contentment, that immediately leads to the comparison trap, which is so problematic because of social media and so many other things. Talk about the comparison trap and how that plays into all of this as well. Yeah, just delete social media. That solves the problem.
But seriously, like that, that has been something that I've gotten in a rhythm now because I use it for work, but where I actually delete my Instagram app for basically 99% of the week. And then I open it up just for one time a week to do the work I need to do on there. And my wife does something similar. And we found so much freedom just from that one little practical thing. But the reality is like we live in a world where everything is all about comparison.
We're seeing everything that everyone has. We're seeing their highlight reels.
So whatever we need to do to be able to be in that posture to minimize some of that coming in through our eyes, I think is a good thing. Yeah. All right, let's get even more practical than we already have. For someone listening today that says, yes, I want that kind of freedom, apart from deleting social media, and I totally agree, that's one piece of this. Where can they start?
Yeah. Well, I think start by evaluating your desires and like what are the things that you are really, really desiring. It doesn't mean that a desire is wrong by any means, but I think it's important for us to evaluate them to keep them into check and to pay attention to how they are affecting our expenses and how they are affecting our lifestyle and what we're doing there, you know, because every new commitment that we create is either going to increase our freedom or it's going to reduce it.
So we just have to be super cautious about the lifestyle upgrades that we make. Um, because that's been another one of those things for us that has just it's so easy to just with those lifestyle upgrades, it's like, well, now I need this and I need this, and then suddenly, you know, your monthly expenses go up by a thousand, two thousand dollars a month. Ron Blue, the author, talked about the paradox of prosperity. And he talks about how the more you have, the more choices you have, and the less real freedom you have. That's not often understood as a part of the equation, is it?
Yeah, no, not at all. I yeah, there's something there, you know, and I think back to, you know, I remember having a motorcycle, and which is great and a fun little toy that I had. But then I had to buy, you know, all kinds of gear for the motorcycle. And then I had to, well, we need a bigger garage to fit the motorcycle. Like it's just one thing after another, and it's all connected to that one thing.
And I realized. I don't actually need it. What if I just rent the motorcycle, you know, a couple times a year when I want to ride? Yeah. So I think there are a lot of creative ways when we pray that God can reveal to us about how to kind of keep some of these things in check.
When Julie and I were living in our first one-bedroom apartment, we didn't have to decide where to go out to dinner because we weren't going out to dinner. Life is a lot simpler when you have less and you're really hitting on that well. And I think the fruit here, and maybe we'll put a period on it here, is that it can lead to a more intimate relationship with the Father, right? Amen. Yeah.
And that's what we're all after, right? Yeah. Folks, true financial freedom isn't measured by what we have, but what no longer has a hold on us, freeing us to live, give, and follow God without hesitation. Bob, thanks for this important reminder today. Oh, thanks for having me.
That's financial coach and author Bob Loddick. Folks, you can explore this topic further in the latest issue of our Faithful Stewart magazine. When you become a partner, just go to faith5.com/slash partner to learn more. Your calls are next at 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West, and this is Faith and Finance: biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
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This institution is not federally insured. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance, taking your calls and questions, 800-525-7000. You can call right now with any financial question. Let's go to Lakeland, Florida. Hi, Susan.
How can I help? Hi. I'm wanting to assign a power of attorney, but unfortunately, I don't have a family member that I can ask. What do you recommend? Yeah.
So, if you don't have a trusted family member or friend, Susan, to appoint as your power of attorney, you can hire a professional to serve in that role. Typical options for that would be an elder law attorney or an estate planning attorney that can be appointed as power of attorney for finances and legal matters. There will be a cost to that, but you might start with the person that drafted your will or other estate-related documents. It could be a financial advisor that's willing to serve in that capacity. There are also care managers with either, you know, nursing homes or a social work background that can serve as a power of attorney for health care directives.
And so, you know, this would be a geriatric care manager. But it's not unusual for an elder law attorney to act as both the financial and the healthcare power of attorney. And so I would perhaps, if you're looking for someone and you don't have that friend or family member that the Lord has called to your mind to serve in that role, then I would reach out to a certified kingdom advisor in your area on our website at faithfi.com and then ask for a referral to an estate planning attorney who shares your values as a believer. And then, you know, perhaps you put somebody in that position in more of a corporate role. Does that make sense though?
Yes, it sure does. Yeah, thank you. Thank you, appreciate you. All right. Thank you.
You're welcome, Susan. May the Lord bless you. Let's go to Ohio. Kathy, go ahead. Hi.
Hi, so glad you called today. How can I help you? Yes, I am recently widowed and I am trying to figure out How can I help? grow what would be left after the after I paid the bills. What would be left of the insurance money?
Hmm. Yeah. Well, I am so sorry to hear about your loss, Kathy, and I'm so glad you called today. I'm delighted to speak to you. I have a few thoughts, and then we could talk about kind of where you go from here.
You know, I think the first thing after any kind of major life event, especially with a recent loss, is not to rush into anything. And just to go slow and take your time, perhaps with the funds that are coming in, park those temporarily in a high-yield savings or a money market account, something that's going to give you safety and liquidity. Safety coming from, let's say, FDIC insurance and a bank product where the government is backing it, and you're going to get a decent rate of return. Today, you could find something at around 4%. And we don't want to make a lot of big decisions at this point.
And then the second step is really to clarify the purpose of the money. Do you need monthly income? Or is Social Security or some other retirement account already covering expenses? Are there large upcoming needs that you need to be planning for? And typically, in this season of life, the goal is usually reliable income.
Preservation of the principal, so trying to hang on to what comes in in terms of the principal payout from that insurance benefit, and then being aware of inflation, the idea that things rise in cost over time. And so, we need to offset that with whatever investments, even very conservative investments, but whatever investments you take advantage of, we want to make sure we're offsetting the effects of inflation.
So, this money needs to be growing slightly, even though you perhaps are tapping into it to withdraw. And then at that point, we would put a simple investment structure in place. I like to think about it as maybe three buckets. Bucket one is Your safety bucket. It's one to three years of expenses.
That would stay in maybe CDs or treasuries or a high-yield savings account. Bucket two would be your income bucket. And this is what's generating income that could help to supplement, let's say, a survivor's benefit on Social Security. And then bucket three, which would be a portion of that investment, would be the growth bucket. And yes, even at age 65, you would want some growth, to my point earlier, to combat what's called longevity risk, the idea that you could outlive your money.
and inflation. And we don't want to go 100% all conservative because you're going to slowly lose purchasing power. And then I would say the last thing would be You know, to find a group of people or maybe a couple of folks, friends or family members that could be maybe a board of advisors, people that could journey alongside you, that could be, you know, trusted, wise counsel. And I think, as a part of that, an advisor. I would recommend a certified kingdom advisor, somebody who's a trusted, what's called fiduciary, which means they have to put your interests above their own, who could walk alongside you.
To help you make these decisions, help you implement the plan that you believe God is leading you to in terms of what this next season holds, and actually help you deploy the investments. And address the tax side of it as well as a part of implementing the things I just described. But let me stop there and get any questions or follow-up thoughts you have.
Okay. I, you know, I think it's good advice, and I am very new to any investing. I have a $3,500 C D Okay.
So that's all I have in investing. I don't understand it very well. Yes, ma'am.
So I kind of haven't done anything because I don't understand it. And so, but I'm trying to learn about how I can grow this money. Um, you know, also to just be able to, you know, further give into the kingdom of God, you know.
So I just, um, yeah. How much do you have coming your way from the insurance proceeds, if you don't mind me asking? Um, I think uh twenty one thousand, that's all there is. And um, I did not get my husband's pension because when he retired, it was so little that in order to get the full you know, amounts that could help us monthly. I had to surrender the death benefit.
Got it. I understand.
So there's no death benefit there.
Okay, so you'll have the twenty one thousand that's coming plus the thirty five hundred and then will you have a survivor's benefit on Social Security? I will, yes. And what do you know what that amount is? I think that's going to be $21.17 a month.
Okay, was that the amount he was getting? That's the amount he was getting.
Okay, because you may need to wait. In order to get that full amount, you may need to wait until your full retirement age, which is going to be 67. Let's do this. I want to connect you with a certified Christian financial counselor. We're going to pay for it.
But this will be somebody who can come alongside you, help you get your budget set up, help to evaluate the upcoming expenses you have, and think about the path forward.
So hang on the line. I'm going to talk a bit more with you. That's going to do it for us today, folks. Hey, check out our website. Support our work there when you click give at faithfy.com, and we'll see you next time.
Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you. Uh
