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Okay. Before you borrow, it's worth asking what the debt may cost beyond the interest rate. Hi, I'm Rob West. Debt can affect your budget, your marriage, your margin, and your ability to respond freely when God leads. That doesn't mean borrowing is always wrong, but it does mean we should approach it carefully.
Ron Blue joins us today to help us think wisely about borrowing. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7,000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.
Well, it's always a joy to welcome Ron Blue back to the program. Ron is a pioneer in biblically wise financial planning and the co-founder of Kingdom Advisors. Ron, great to have you back with us. Always good, Rob. Thanks for having me.
Ron, in this latest issue of our magazine Faithful Steward, you wrote an article called Five Rules for Borrowing, and your first rule is that borrowing always mortgages the future. Why is it so important that the economic return be greater than the economic cost?
Well, most people don't take that into account, but if you borrow money, what you borrow the money for should reasonably produce more value than what it costs you to borrow the money. Yeah. In some cases, like a home mortgage or perhaps starting a business. There's potential for long-term value to outweigh the borrowing cost, but that's not true when it comes to credit cards and other loans. Because the things you use credit card and auto loans for, they immediately decline in value.
Yes. It's okay to use credit cards for convenience sake, pay them off every month. But to use it to try to build wealth is a sure road to bondage.
So it just doesn't make sense, Rob, to borrow money on something that's going to decline in value. That's exactly right. And that leads us to the second rule, which is to never presume upon the future. And that sounds especially important in today's economy.
Well, for sure, because uh when you when you borrow You've got to have thought through how am I going to repay this. Because a job today or circumstances today, they can change, and markets change, health changes.
So life doesn't always unfold the way we expect.
So you've got to ask the question, am I presuming upon the future in a way that will put me in bondage?
So, you need a sure repayment plan when you borrow the money. How are you going to pay it back? That just makes good common sense also. It sure does. Round debt, of course, doesn't just affect the balance sheet.
It affects the whole household.
So the third rule is around spouses. Why is it so important for spouses to be in full agreement before any borrowing takes place?
Well, you know what I've observed over time is that God seems to put two people in a marriage that don't think alike.
So you need the benefit of the other person's thinking, if you will. It's not right or wrong, it's just different. And what I found is that husbands and wives have difficulty, in many cases, of talking about. Borrowing Because they think differently and they feel differently, and they were right raised differently. I always try to help people look at Where there is agreement and where there's disagreement, and where there's disagreement, work it through.
If you don't talk about it, it'll just create a soar. in the marriage uh that uh gets worse over time.
So I put it this way, Rob. God did not give you a spouse to frustrate you, but to complete you. And that's a quote from Howie Hendricks. Oh, that is so good and so true.
Now, your fourth principle may surprise some people, and that is you say we should never deny God an opportunity to provide. What do you mean by that?
Well, it means I need something, whatever it may be. Have I prayed about it and have I asked God how I should acquire whatever this is or is this a good financial decision?
So many times God wants to show you his faithfulness by providing in a way. that you would never have thought of. And so He wants to bless us and he wants to provide for us and he wants us to do it. where it makes good sense.
So don't keep him out of the decision. and give them an opportunity to provide in a way perhaps that you didn't think was possible. That's just good thinking, if you will. All five rules available when you become a partner at faithfy.com/slash give, and you can read Faithful Steward every quarter. Ron, thanks for your time.
It's always a pleasure, Rob. Thanks for having me. All right, your calls are next at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West, and this is Faith in Finance.
We'll be right back. We're grateful for support from Guidestone, whose diversified suite of investment solutions align with Christian values to create positive change in the world. More information is available at guidestonefunds.com/slash faith. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of Guidestone Funds before investing.
They're distributed by Forside Funds Distributors LLC, which is not an advisory affiliate, a registered investment advisor, nor do they provide investment advice. Faith in Finance is grateful for support from Soundmind Investing. If you have money in an investment account, you know sometimes the stock market can seem like a roller coaster. But it's possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind as a do-it-yourself investor, no matter what's happening in the market. A short video webinar about that is available at soundmindinvesting.org.
Financial Wisdom for Living Well.
Soundmindinvesting.org. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance.
Well, looking forward to taking your calls and questions today on anything financial. We're going to give you the rest of the broadcast today for whatever is on your mind. Here's our goal: to help you live as a wise and faithful steward. Because, really, once we give our lives to Jesus, it's about stewardship, it's about faithfulness of all that's been entrusted to us: God's word, the relationships, our time and talents, also our treasure, the resources that God owns, that we're managing on his behalf. And so, we have to start by recognizing God owns it all.
And that we've been given a responsibility, and that there are characteristics of good stewardship, namely faithfulness, diligence, that we spend time in prayer seeking God's heart and will for our lives and our management of His resources. We let the Spirit lead, we look to God's Word for counsel, and we seek wise counsel of other faithful believers along the way. That's the role of a steward.
Now, we also realize that as you're on that journey of faithful stewardship, you're going to have very specific questions that come up in your financial life around things like investments and retirement. And what does that season look like? How do I pay for it? You're going to think about how do I prepare the next steward? How do I balance a budget?
You may find yourself in a really tight spot financially. I realize costs are up across the board. Maybe you've had a recent change, even a job loss in your life, and you're struggling to deal with that right now. We're here for you. We can talk about those at any point in the financial space.
Spectrum, whether that's struggling, stable, or surplus. And wherever you find yourself, the goal is faithfulness, and we want to be a resource to you.
So, if you have a financial question today, something you're thinking about in your financial life, we'd love to talk about it with you and help give you some wise counsel rooted in biblical truth. The number to call to be a part of the broadcast today is 800-525-7,000. We've got lines open. We're ready for you. 800-525-7,000.
We'd love to hear from you. Before we head to the phones, in the news, health savings accounts can be a powerful way to prepare for medical costs in retirement because contributions, growth, and qualified withdrawals are tax-free. But leaving a large HSA behind can create tax issues for non-spouse heirs. A surviving spouse can inherit an HSA without tax consequences and continue using it for qualified medical expenses. But when children, grandchildren, friends, Friends or other non-spouse beneficiaries inherit an HSA, the account loses its tax-advantaged status.
The full balance generally becomes taxable income to them in the year of the owner's death, potentially pushing them into a higher tax bracket. To reduce the burden, account holders may want to spend down large HSA balances, name a charity as beneficiary, or divide the account among multiple heirs or alert beneficiaries in advance. Non-spouse heirs may also reduce taxable income by using HSA funds to pay the deceased owner's unpaid medical bills within 12 months of death.
So, while an HSA is a powerful tool for future medical expenses and should be used alongside other tools for retirement savings, it shouldn't be treated as a set it and forget it account. The more it grows, the more important it is to have a plan for how it will be used. And what happens to it after death for savers? The goal is simple: ensure the money helps cover healthcare costs rather than leaving heirs with an unexpected tax bill, something a lot of people don't think about. All right, let's dive into your phone calls today.
We're going to begin in Texas today. Danny, go ahead, sir. Yes, uh I've got a retirement account with a broker and uh I was talking to him about, you know, figuring out how to do it on biblical values. And he was asking me for like five. filters that I would think Would be, you know, appropriate.
And I really didn't know. I thought, well, you know, of course, one of them would be. anti-abortion, but what what's your thoughts on that? Yeah, yeah, good question. First of all, how did he respond to that?
Did it appear as if it was something he had thought through and was able to provide to you? I'm just curious. Yes, definitely. He said he's done that for other clients also.
So uh yeah, it would just make my statement each month look a lot longer, you know, 'cause you're not he's not putting them in, you know, mutual funds as much. And and actually my cost would be a little bit higher, but you know, You know, that's, you know, that's that's fine with me. Yeah, yeah, very good. Yeah, I love the fact that you're going down this road. And, you know, I think there's a few markers here you're going to want to think about.
You know, first is just what I said a moment ago: it's the starting place for all of us just to acknowledge God's ownership and recognizing we're managing his resources, not our own.
So we're stewards. And I love the fact that you're thinking about it through that lens. I think we also need to understand that investing is ownership. You and I, when we invest, we are part owners of actual companies that should be providing goods and services that are good for mankind and serve people. But to the extent we're in companies that are profiting from industries that are misaligned with our values, well, that's when it can be problematic.
So I think the first approach is to apply what you're describing and what we'll often call a negative screen, and that's to filter out companies that are in industries. And typically, we think about the big five abortion-related businesses.
So, companies that are involved in abortion services or abortion drugs or abortion-related activity. Second would be pornography or sexually explicit content. Third would be tobacco, where again, their primary business is tobacco products. Gambling would be a fourth, and then alcohol would be businesses heavily. Centered on abuse-oriented marketing, and where we know the lion's share of their users are in an unhealthy relationship with their products.
And so, those would often be the big five.
Now, it can go beyond that because, really, this is a conviction matter.
So, some might look at predatory lending or companies hostile to religious liberty. I mean, there could be any number of other categories, but where an advisor can do this him or herself, then they can screen for companies like this automatically using a screening tool. Often, they will just use what are called faith-based asset managers or faith-based mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. And because the asset manager has an explicitly faith-based approach, then they are already providing these kinds of screens. And, you know, you could dig into, or your advisor can, into each asset manager.
Manager to find out, you know, what are some of the key ideas around which they screen on a negative basis. And so, many of the asset managers on our program that are sponsors of this show are the core and the largest faith-based asset managers in the country.
So, you could go to faithfy.com or send your advisor there, click on the show, and what you would find there is a list of those asset managers that he may want to use as a starting point. Companies like Guidestone, or you could look at Eventide, you could look at Praxis, you could look at Timothy Plan, One Ascent. These are really some of the core asset managers that are going to do this for you. The other thing they're going to do is often use what are called positive screens.
So, whereas you want to screen out those companies that are profiting from industries that are misaligned with your values, they often, in addition to that, will actively invest in companies that promote human. And flourishing or ethical labor or community building. And then they will also, as a third kind of pillar, they will ensure active management.
So their voting proxies. To advocate for righteous corporate government and religious freedom.
So let's do this. I want to make sure you've got all your questions answered. I'm up against a break.
So, Danny, you and I will talk a bit more off the air. We'll be right back with more questions. Stay with us. I was in ministry full-time and I was always looking for a way to integrate my faith with this new industry around money and finances. This is Mark.
He is a Certified Kingdom Advisor. As a CKA, one of the best things I offer my clients is trust in knowing that they're working with a professional that understands their values. And I think in all of the different challenges that clients go through, if we can go back to trusting in God, then He'll make the path straight. You can find an advisor like Mark at findaceka.com. Every day, thousands of women face an unexpected pregnancy, scared, alone, and unsure where to turn.
FaithFi is partnering with Pre-Born and you to bring the hope of Jesus to these mothers through free ultrasounds at pregnancy centers across America. When a mother sees her baby's heartbeat, everything changes. Your gift of just $28 saves a life and shares the love of Christ. Give today at faithfi.com/slash preborn. That's faithfi.com/slash preborn.
Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance.
By the way, you know, our last caller was asking about faith-based investing, and a growing number of Christians are wanting to ensure that their values are reflected in their investments. And today, it's more possible than it's ever been with world-class investments where you don't have to give up one penny of returns. In fact, there's more and more growing empirical data that says when you put a faith lens in your investment decision-making, it's an added source of what's called alpha. It can be a factor in driving outperformance. And think about it: it should be this way when companies are loving their neighbors and their stakeholders and their suppliers and treating them well.
You know, that's good for business because that's the way God designed it. And so, by choosing those faith-based asset managers, either in the mutual fund space or ETH. Space, like the companies I mentioned, Guidestone and One Ascent and Timothy Plan and Eventide and Praxis and others, you know, that you are with a company who is not only looking for where is the value in the companies we're buying, but are we participating in industries we don't want to be as Christians? If not, let's make sure we get with a fun family that's going to be thinking about that. And if you want to find an advisor who has the ability to bring a faith orientation to their portfolio construction as an investment advisor, you're able to filter for certified kingdom advisors on our website that specifically do faith-based investing.
So just go to findacka.com. And as you answer those quick three or four questions there before you get the list of CKAs in your area, make sure when you choose the investing category, you select the faith-based investing category. And that will limit the search results for a certified kingdom advisor by only those CKAs that do faith-based. Based investing. Again, that website findacka.com.
All right, let's go back to the phones. David is in Georgia. Go ahead, sir. Hi, Rob. I really appreciate your ministry and the last question about investments.
So after investments, I have a two part question about charitable giving.
Okay. What are the tax advantaged charitable giving options available to us such as donor advise funds, And then the second part. At what ages are these various options available? Yeah, good. Great question.
Let's just kind of move through the most common, starting with the one that I think is the most powerful, but there is an age restriction on it, and it's a qualified charitable distribution. I talk about these often. It starts at age 70 and a half.
So, you need to be halfway through past your 70th birthday through the year. But at that point, you're able to give money directly from your IRA to a qualified charity, any 501c3, including your church. You can satisfy your required minimum.
Now, those don't typically begin until age 73, but it's the only way to get money out of an IRA. That would normally be taxable, but you don't ever add it to your taxable income, which is really helpful because it keeps you in a lower tax bracket. It doesn't affect your Medicare premiums at all. Whereas any other withdrawals from a pre-tax IRA, like a traditional, would otherwise be taxable to you and cause your overall taxable income to rise.
So, qualify charitable distribution straight from your custodian and your IRA to a charity, but you have to be 70 and a half. Donating appreciated stock, David, would be another one. Available at any age and avoids capital gains while allowing a charitable deduction for the fair market value. But you've got to transfer the appreciated stock before you sell it.
So, really effective for highly appreciated investments. You mentioned a donor-advised fund. I love it. It's available at any age, it allows someone to contribute assets. receive an immediate tax deduction.
and then distribute gifts to charities over time. And it's really effective at not only taking cash, although you can do it, and a lot of people will use it to give maybe more than one year's charitable contributions for the purpose of getting up above the standard deduction so they can itemize, and then kind of giving it away or granting it out over multiple years. It's a strategy called bunching. But beyond cash, the donor advise fund is really powerful where you contribute assets. Because it allows you to give and then sell, and you can do it with just about anything.
You could do it with a piece of property, you can do it with, I mentioned stock, you could do it with livestock. As long as you've got a donor advised fund sponsor who's willing to take it, you can put just about anything into a donor advised fund and then sell it, and there's real benefits to that. Charitable gift annuities, usually attractive for those 65 and older, where you'd give an asset to a charity, you'd get a fixed income, lifetime income payment, and a partial charitable gift. And then, you know, there are other strategies along the way as well, including taxpayers of any age can now claim a new universal deduction of up to $1,000 for single-filers, $2,000 for married couples for cash gifts to public charities. That would be another one that's just kind of generally available to everyone.
But let me stop there, David. Is that helpful? That is super comprehensive. I really appreciate what you just told us. Absolutely.
And I appreciate you asking because, listen, as Christ followers, we want to give as just kind of an overflow of the grace that's been extended us. What a privilege it is to take a portion of what God has entrusted to us and return it to kingdom-advancing endeavors, whether it's loving a person right in your neighborhood who's in need or giving to a ministry on the other side of the world or your local church, which of course should be our starting place. And we want to do that wisely. I think the Bible affirms that, and there are some great tools in order to do that. Hey, by the way, if you want to set up a donor-advised fund, I would use the National Christian Foundation, NCF.
You'll find them at ncfgiving.com. And just a quick explanation as to why I would use NCF. When you use a donor-advised fund, you technically have given the money away to the donor-advised fund sponsor.
Now, the idea that it's donor-advised means they don't initiate their own grants out of the account, they let you. You tell them where you want it to go and then they send it. But the donor-advised fund sponsor has to allow it. And they may choose with certain Christian ministries to say, no, they're not on our approved list, and you don't want that.
So that's why I would use a company that's specifically designed to serve God's people.
Well, that's the National Christian Foundation. Billions and billions given away, founded by Larry Briquette and Ron Blue. Go to ncfgiving.com. Thanks for your call, David.
Well, folks, that's why we do what we do here on the program each day. This is important stuff, not because I have a lot of brilliant ideas, but because God's word does. And you and I have been tasked with a really important job, responsibility, and that is to manage or steward the King of Kings resources. Let's do that together and we gather together each day on this program to do that because we know it doesn't belong to us. It belongs to him.
And our goal is faithfulness in every area of life, but also certainly that includes this area of money management. Hey, if you'd like to support our work here, it'd be a real blessing if you became a FaithFi partner. Those are those that come alongside us every month, $35 or more. If you found benefit in this ministry and this program, becoming a partner would be a real blessing to us. Faith5.com, click give.
We'll send you. Pre-release copies of Studies and Devotionals and our quarterly publication, Faithful Steward. Thanks to Devin, Sandy, and Jim, and everybody here at Faith Five. We'll see you tomorrow. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
