This faith and finance podcast is underwritten in part by OneAscent. God has created every single person and every square inch with immeasurable dignity, and every day businesses impact these people and places in powerful ways, either causing them harm or helping them flourish. Our trusted sponsor, One Ascent, exists to help investors consider who a business impacts and how they're impacted. More than likely, your values inspire why you invest, whether it's to provide for your family, put your kids through college, or prepare for the next stage of life. One Ascent believes your values can also inspire how you invest by directing your investment capital into companies that positively impact the world.
Whether you invest on your own or work with an advisor, One Ascent's comprehensive values-aligned solutions seek to help you do well by doing good. To explore a new way of investing that aligns with your values, visit oneascent dot com slash faithfy and tailor your portfolio to what truly matters to you. What does it mean to honor God with your investments? Hi, I'm Rob West. Christians often think about stewardship in terms of giving, saving, and spending, but what about the companies we own through our portfolios?
Today, Harry Pearson joins us to talk about his own stewardship journey, the legacy of values we pass on to the next generation, and how biblical convictions can shape the way we invest. And then it's on. To your calls at eight hundred five two five seven thousand. This is Faith in Finance: Biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. What a privilege to welcome back my friend Harry Pearson, founder and CEO of One Ascent, a family of companies equipping advisors and investors with faith-aligned solutions for planning, investing, and giving, helping them align their financial lives with their biblical values.
One Ascent is also a valued underwriter of this program. And Harry, what a treat to have you here today! Thanks, Rob. It's good to be with you, buddy. Harry, I want to start with your own story.
I've had the privilege of having a front row seat to watch what God has done in your life over the last number of years, and I know many Christians grow up learning about generosity, but don't always connect their faith to the rest of their financial lives, and that was true for you as well, right? Yes, it was. Yes, my parents did a great job of modeling generosity and teaching me to tithe early. You know, for every dollar I earned, a dime went in the offering plate. But they never really taught me how to connect the dots between faith and the rest of my financial life.
And that didn't actually happen until my very first Kingdom Advisors conference 18 years ago. You know, I went in a little resistant, honestly, but that's where I felt God give me a permission to align my work. With the faith he'd already planted in my heart, and Colossians three twenty three says, "Work as unto the Lord, not unto men." And once that landed, it became a lens for time, talent, and treasure. Am I doing this for him, or am I doing this for the applause of men? And since he owns it all, how do I align what I do and what I have with what he's actually calling me to do?
Yeah, that's so true. And once we understand that as Christ followers, then we quickly start to think about preparing the next steward. You make an important distinction, Harry, between passing along our valuables and passing along our values. Talk about that. Yeah, you know we spend a lot of time planning what valuables we'll leave our kids financially, but not nearly enough on the values that we'll leave them.
I love the saying: "Don't focus on leaving a legacy; focus on living out a legacy." You know, and more is caught than taught. We know that. That's right. When it comes to the values that we leave, there's nothing more important than time, and how we use it to model loving God and loving our neighbor. Kids learn.
Generosity by watching it, not by hearing it. And so, let them see you give. Let them see you serve, and bring them into the decision of where and why. That's a gift that keeps on giving. Sure does.
Let's take this stewardship principle into investing. Many Christians may not realize that their faith can shape not only how they give and spend, but also how they invest. What does that look like? I love that. If God owns it all, then shouldn't we consider asking the owner how he wants to invest his capital?
You know, would he want us to invest in things that cause harm or in things that bring blessing? You know, a lot of times we just put money in a mutual fund and. And really have no idea what we own. Yes.
So one of the first questions is, do you know what you own? Yes.
A lot of investors don't, and some end up owning things that conflict with their convictions. And sometimes we're actually profiting from things that we're completely against.
Well, the great news is there is a better way. And at One Asset, we work through three steps: we eliminate companies that cause harm, we evaluate the rest very carefully for the very best investments, and then we. Elevate businesses that are truly having a positive impact, and we can help you with a free audit of your portfolio to see if the investments that you steward are in alignment with what you and he value most.
Well, Harry, I know One Ascend has been doing this for nearly a decade now, and as you look back, what have you learned about faith-based investing that you didn't fully appreciate when you started?
Well, early on, the worry was that values-aligned investing meant sacrificing returns. Of course, that's aged out. The space has matured. The track records are longer. And what I didn't fully appreciate is how much of this is about investor behavior.
You know, having your principles settled ahead of time keeps you disciplined when markets get hard. It's not just about avoiding harm. The real opportunity is finding excellent businesses that bless customers, bless employees, and communities, and helping. Move from knowing and believing to actually doing. That is well said.
Well, Harry, I so appreciate your time today, and we're grateful for our partnership with One Ascent. Yeah, great to be with you, Rob. Folks, One Ascent helps advisors and investors align their financial lives with their biblical values. Check it out today: oneascent dot com slash faithvine. We'll be right back.
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All right, we're ready to take your phone calls today. The number to call eight hundred five two five seven thousand. That's eight hundred five two five seven thousand. Let's begin today in Florida. Kelly, how can I help?
Hi, I work for the school. I am a teacher support. I work with kids from pre-K all the way to fifth. It's being harder and harder. I'm gonna be 65 in January, so I'm not gonna have Medicare until then.
And I wanna try to apply for disability. And I don't know if I should choose short-term disability to the county, or should I go with the Social Security for long-term disability. Yeah, I was told to do right away, or wait a little bit, since you know, Medicare will not going to start until January first.
Okay, yeah. Just a couple of follow up questions: Is the condition that is causing you not to be able to work is that expected to improve, or is it likely to keep you from working for at least twelve months? Most likely, it will get worse.
Okay. Yes, and then the second question is: Does the school district provide both short-term and long-term disability? I believe so, but I pay just for the short-term disability. I didn't pay for the long-term disability, so it's not something I don't know if they would offer without me paying. Got it.
Okay, yeah. So I would suggest, just generally speaking, you use your employer's short-term disability first, since you have that coverage and you've been paying for it. At the same time, you'd want to review whether you're eligible for your employer's long-term disability plan, even though you didn't contribute to it. Many employers will provide long-term disability at no cost. Others require employee enrollment, and obviously, you didn't.
Do that, but the extent to which they have it, I would take a look at that because the condition is expected to worsen, and therefore it would prevent you from working for at least twelve months. Don't wait to explore SSDI, and the application process can take months. SSDI has a five month waiting period after the established onset of the disability, and so you are going to want to take a look at that as well.
So take a look at the school about the long term disability, but not with the C.I. Yes, start with the short term because you're paying for it, and then look into the long term. And then with the Social Security disability, you know, if if you you've worked, you paid Social Security taxes, you become unable to work because of a serious disability, you know, that's not based on financial need; it's based on work history and disability. And so, if you you know have a medical condition that prevents you from performing substantial work that's expected to last twelve months or more, then that's where the SSDI comes in. And so, I would say go ahead and you know apply through the Social Security Administration.
That's different from your employer's disability insurance. That just usually replaces income for a few weeks or months. The long term. Is what you know will allow you to continue further, but the SSDI can provide long-term monthly benefits until Medicare kicks in. But there is that waiting period on that.
Kelly, I appreciate your call today. We're glad to have you on the program and call any time. Let's go to Illinois. Hi, Carolyn. How can I help you?
Hi. The reason for my call—it's I guess a sort of a two-part question—but I also wanted to express when I went to the bank, I was offered a opportunity to have a HELOC. I don't need it, but they have a promotion going, and there are no fees and this and that. But one of the things that I want to point out is that when I was going through the paperwork, it was because of this program that I was able to understand. Much better what I was reading, and go back today and ask questions.
I was able to ask questions about, you know, the index. In terms of you know what you're going to pay in interest, the index, and then the margin that they add on, and then the APR, and all those things were very clear to me in terms of being able to ask intelligent questions and understand what they were saying.
So I just wanted to let you know that it was because I listened to this program that I was able to comprehend that. I'm so glad to hear that. That's great.
Well, I'm delighted we could have been a resource for you. You know, it's always helpful. When you go in somewhere and you have a little bit of a knowledge base to build on and ask the right questions, so that that thrills me to no end, Carolyn.
Well, specifically related to that heloc, what are you thinking about?
Okay. Well, I again, I don't need the thing, and they were they were offering it. And if you have anything that you want to say about them, that's fine. The nature of my question was that I noticed with this heloc, and I've noticed in the past, like for instance, if you're buying a car, when they do a hard check on your credit, what they come back with seems to be significantly different than what the consumer products offer.
So, for example, I never fall below eight hundred when I'm checking online. But for example, today Equifax showed seven eighty when the information that I got in the mail from the bank.
Now, when I go online and with the consumer resources and I check Equifax, it says eight oh four. And even if you do a hard check. Generally, you know, it's not going to be a twenty-plus. Spread difference and it wouldn't bounce back that quickly.
So my initial question is: is why is there such a significant difference between what the consumer has access to versus the you know corporate or whatever? Yeah, it's a great question, and you're exactly right. They can vary pretty significantly, and it comes down to the difference between consumers and lenders using different formulas that. Weight information differently.
So, for example, lenders may use different versions of a FICO score that's industry specific for certain types of loans, and so that means it's a different algorithm and it places weight on different factors versus the consumer version of that that might use a completely different formula that results in a higher score.
So, they should be, of course, in the ballpark. But it's not unusual for them to be different by any means, and that's why a lender is always going to want to pull their own credit report. Even if you were to say, "Hey, I just pulled this the other day. Here it is," they're not going to accept it because they want to run it through their own formulas. Because they know that they're using certain, you know, formulas with certain weightings for a specific type of loan that you're seeking.
So that's usually the difference there. With regard to that HELOC. You know, some folks will say, "Well, I ought to go ahead and get it, even if I'm not going to use it, because what if I need it into the future and I couldn't qualify for it? And as long as I don't borrow against it, I'm not having to pay anything." And I would just challenge that a little bit, even if there's not upfront fees, which usually there are some costs, closing costs, and so forth. But even if they're saying, "Listen, we won't charge any of that," then often there are other expenses.
There might be an inactivity charge. There may be You know other kind of monthly charges that they impose upon you that you know will cost you something over time. You also have the impact to your credit because that's another loan that's outstanding. Even if you're not using it, that's credit that's available to you, which will be factored in.
So I think I would just make sure you have a purpose for it, and if you don't, I'd probably be inclined not to. There might be some that would say as long as there's no fees and. You'd want to double check that that it's worth getting just to have access to it if you needed it down the road. I would probably opt not to. The last reason is often there's a temptation to use it because it's there, even when you don't really need it.
So anyway, I hope those things are helpful. Thanks for your kind remarks about the program, Carolyn. We appreciate you being on today. A quick break and back with much more after this. Stay with us.
FaithFi is grateful for support from One Ascent. One Ascent believes that your values inspire why you invest and how they can inspire how you invest. One Ascent's goal is to provide solutions designed for every need and invest in businesses that bless the people and places God has made. They want to help investors do well by doing good. To explore a new way of investing that aligns.
Aligns with your values. More information is available at oneascent.com/slashfaithfi. Faith in Finance is grateful for support from Sound Mind Investing. For more than thirty years, they've offered financial wisdom for living well. SMI provides step-by-step guidance for do-it-yourself investors, from those just getting started to those getting ready for retirement.
More information, including the short video webinar on profit and peace of mind, no matter what's happening in the market, is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. We're taking your calls and questions today. That number eight hundred five two five seven thousand. We've got some room for you.
Still plenty of time remaining in the program today. And so, you'd like to get in on the conversation? Go ahead and call right now. Again, that number eight hundred five two five seven thousand. Let's go down to Florida, Natalie.
How can I help? My husband just passed on July 11th, and I received our insurance money last week. And I had asked my husband, "What would you like me to do? We still have a mortgage. Should I take that money and dump it to help pay off the mortgage?" And he said, "No, because we had a lot of home repairs.
Now our church, our local church, is helping us with all those expenses. I want to be wise in this money." And I want to keep at least half for emergency funds, and the rest of the half, which is twenty-five thousand dollars, invested. I don't know the money market savings account will, as you know, will give me zero, next to nothing.
So I want to be wise about that. Yeah. Wow.
Well, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's passing, Natalie. Thank you. Yeah. Well, I appreciate your approach here and just kind of how you're thinking through this. And you want to be sure not to make any major decisions, you know, for at least six months.
But I think really considering what to do with these funds. And I love that you even talk to your husband about that before he passed. And what a blessing that your church is willing to step in and help with some of these repairs. Yeah, I love the idea of you building the emergency fund first, and if if your desire is to invest the remainder for your long term needs, I like that a lot. I agree.
I wouldn't put that in money market. I would probably, you know, get that invested in a properly diversified stock and bond portfolio. Given the amount of money, it's probably going to be you know something like a mutual fund or exchange traded fund. Under a robo advisor, are you thinking at least a ten year time horizon on this? Oh yeah, he was eleven years older.
So I'm not even retiring, thinking about retirement right now. I work full time, and I just came off completed my Christian credit counseling. Praise God, we have no debt. That's amazing. My used car payment now.
And I try to pay that very consistently. Pretty diligent about how I pay bills, the mortgage, and that I can afford. I can afford right now. Yeah. So, what are your income sources?
It's just my payroll that comes in, you know, every two weeks. And we had a very low mortgage at a three point eight seven percent interest rate. And right now I'm I'm staying still. I don't know what the Lord wants me to do with the house. And like you said, I'm thinking you know six months to a year.
I don't know where He plans to plant me, or am I going to stay where I'm at?
So I want to be wise. And He says, "Well, to move, well then I'll have moving expenses together and all of that." Yeah, very good. You know, one option, Natalie, would be to pay off that car loan. You know, if if that's an interest rate of seven percent or higher, you'd get a guaranteed return on that, and then you could take the difference of what you were sending to the car payment, and then have your employer put that into your retirement plan on a monthly basis, equal to that payment that you no longer have, and then you'd have that go in tax deferred, so you'd get a deduction on. That, and then you could manage it all through your four hundred three b rather than trying to invest that on a taxable basis, and then you'd be down to just your home, and you'd get money going back into that four hundred three b, which I know you were you stopped about a year ago.
But give me your thoughts on that.
Well, I never i that never occurred to me. Yeah, I know it would just lose all ends. I would just have to mortgage. Would wouldn't be a problem. That was my biggest concern, but.
I'm in a tax bracket that you know that it wouldn't be a financial hardship. Yeah, not at all. Yeah, I I think that would be good. I'd love for you to get money going into that four three b because as it goes in, you're getting the tax deduction, and then it grows tax deferred. Whereas if we were to take this twenty five thousand that's left over after you shore up your emergency fund and invest it in a taxable account, now all of a sudden every time you have a gain in the account, you're having to pay capital gains tax.
So I think I'd kind of like you to have the peace of mind of knowing I only have one debt. The goal is to pay that. That off before you eventually retire, so you're completely debt free, and now you take you know at the very least, maybe a little bit more, but at the very least, the same amount you were sending to the car, and have your HR department you know take that out of each check and put it into your 403b. In terms of Social Security, at 59, you're not eligible yet for the the survivor's benefit unless you're disabled, which you're not. In most cases, the survivor's benefit.
You know, can begin at age sixty, but it would be reduced.
So, you want just given that you're planning to work as long as you can, you want to wait until your full retirement age, which would be sixty-seven, for your survivors' benefits, and you could get a hundred percent of what your husband was entitled to, assuming that's higher than your own benefit. Yours may be higher, and if it is, great. But if it's his, you would have the option to do that.
Now, one planning opportunity. Is that survivors' benefits and retirement benefits have separate claiming rules, so you may be able to take, you know, depending on which is higher, you could take your own retirement benefit first, assuming his is higher, and then switch to his later at full retirement age, and then you know you'd get the benefit of yours now, and you wouldn't have any reduction on his, or if his if yours. Is higher. You could take the reduced survivor benefit at age sixty, and then switch to your own benefit later.
So you do have that option that you may want to look at.
Okay. Can I ask you one question? I forgot to mention he's a veteran. Would that play into now? I'm going through the paperwork for that.
It's enormous, but no, very overwhelming. But I am entitled to something monthly. It's not going to be much because it's income based on my salary and almost poverty line, kind of what they mentioned. Got it.
Yes.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean that the being a veteran could make a big difference here in terms of the compensation. You know, there could be a tax-free monthly benefit for a surviving spouse. Did he pass from a service-connected condition?
Oh no, he had a cancer. No.
Okay, all right. Yeah, I mean, it really—you may want to look into that.
So he wasn't receiving any VA compensation of any kind. He was not. He was not eligible.
Okay. So then the only other thing would be, and maybe this is what you're referring to—the survivor's pension, which is a needs-based monthly benefit available to a surviving spouse of of veterans who meet an income and net worth limit. Right, right. No, I won't meet that. Oh, okay.
Yeah, yeah.
So then, there's probably not anything there. I mean, it's worth looking into, but probably not a whole lot there.
So, right.
Well, Natalie, you're doing a great job managing all this. I know it's a lot. I want to send you a book called "Wise Women Managing Money" that was written for widows in a situation just like yours. I think it'll be an encouragement to you. And if I can help further along the way, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Thanks for your call today, folks.
So great. To have you along with us today on the broadcast, we'll be back tomorrow, Lord willing, to do it all over again. Our goal: help you see God as your ultimate treasure and live as a wise and faithful steward. Big thanks to our team today, Pat, Dev, and Jim, and everybody here at Faith by. Have a great day.
We'll see you tomorrow. Bye bye. Faith in finances provided by Faith by and listeners like you.
