This faith in finance podcast is underwritten in part by Guidestone. Guidestone envisions a world transformed by Christian investing. Through screening, corporate engagement, and impact investing, our investment strategies allow investors to be more proactive with their investment dollars to make a meaningful difference in the world while preparing for their financial future. Learn more at guidestonefunds.com slash faith. If there were a way to impact God's kingdom while investing, would you use it?
Hi, I'm Rob West. We typically think about growing the kingdom with our tithes and offerings, but there is a way to have kingdom impact with our portfolios too. Brandon Pizarro is here today to tell us about it. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.
That's 800-525-7000. This is faith in finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, it's a pleasure to welcome Brandon Pizarro to the program today.
He's president and chief investment officer of Guidestone Capital Management, an underwriter of this program. And Brandon, it's great to have you with us. Absolutely.
Thanks for having me on today. Brandon, we're talking today about seeing the world transformed through Christian investing. Why don't we start there? What does that mean to you and the team at Guidestone? Certainly it's a concept we've thought a lot about and thinking about stewardship, right? That's a word that we talk a lot about inside this building. And as a Christian community, it's a word that comes up quite often.
Everyone at church probably hear that come up when it comes to tithes and offerings. And so when we think about stewardship within the context of investing, we also think about stewarding our investment resources overall. So it's really kind of predicated on the notion that if Christians approach investing with that same intentionality, that faith-driven mindset overall, that should approach, you know, basically and touch every aspect of their life. I think we could really seek to think about world change from the way that God's kingdom can be exhibited through our finances.
It's certainly an exciting vision, Brandon. But let's talk about that kingdom change you're describing. How can investing bring about change? Yeah, let's think about that a little bit more granularly. So when we think about that, we have to think about the concept of maybe just impact investing. And that word's been tossed around in the secular world and the Christian world and how we think about investing with impact. I would say first and foremost, every type of investing is impact investing. It's just what are you impacting really?
Yeah. So when we think about it through our lens, we see Christians putting their investing dollars to work at companies and organizations and really trying to say, what do we stand for rather than what we stand against? What we stand against is important. But what we stand for is something that we're trying to proliferate a bit more. Specifically, we think about kind of three key areas here, the sanctity of life and spreading the gospel, human dignity and advancement and the stewardship of God's creation. It's really through those three primary lenses that we think about that positive impact.
That's great. And how does Guidestone also then give back through its impact investments? Well, we're really excited about the uniqueness of our two impact funds and what we're doing there. So we're actually donating 20% of our revenue from our impact funds back to kingdom causes. And that's important because we state that in our official SEC filings, you know, we hold our own feet to the fire of making those philanthropic donations.
And we've done so in a variety of ways. I'd be happy to unpack a few for you if you're interested. Sure. Tell us about it. Sure.
A couple here that come to mind. First and foremost, we've donated to the Psalm 139 project, which is a really neat organization. They furnish ultrasound equipment for pregnancy centers. And why is that important?
You know, statistics show, and I think our audience here can agree that women that see their babies in the womb and can actually see that life flourishing with inside them really can help them make that positive choice and seeking life rather than an abortion there. So Psalm 139 projects, a great organization there. One other that comes to mind is minnow. That's a streaming platform that offers gospel centered content for kids. There's a lot of garbage out there for kids to consume. And, and we like minnow because they're putting forth, you know, really kind of God centered programming, think veggie tales, for instance, but there's a lot of great stuff there.
That's incredible. I mean, think investing but impact at the same time. And it's a powerful combination now beyond impact investing, Brandon, what other things are being done through guide stone funds to transform the world?
Sure. So for the individual securities and bonds that we do, and we have to think about corporate engagement, that's another tool in our proxy voting power. So anytime you own a security for our listeners, you get the ability to vote and say on whatever management or shareholder proposals are coming forward. By us having that process in house, we can very clearly delineate where we want to have our votes and how we want our voice to be heard through the ownership of those securities. So engaging with corporations, having them see the world through our lens, and then also voting our proxies in a God honoring way to other ways for us to engage.
I love it. We've got just 30 seconds left to sum this up for us on why believers need to be intentional about how they invest. Sure intentionality is everything in our world, you're intentional about everything you do when you go about your day. So as Christians, we believe that we're called to align our investing with our values overall.
So what guide stone wants to do is we want to walk alongside them in that journey by providing these faith based investments by providing impact to helpfully help them seek God honoring ways to commit their finances. That's very well said, Brandon. Well, thanks for visiting with us today. We're going to have to leave it there. But I hope you'll come back real soon. Certainly.
Thanks for having me. That's Brandon Pizarro with guide stone capital management and underwriter of this program. You can find out more at guide stone funds.com slash faith. That's guide stone funds.com slash faith back with your questions after this stick around. We're grateful for support from guide stone whose diversified suite of investment solutions align with Christian values to create positive change in the world. More information is available at guide stone funds.com investing involves risk including potential loss of principle. Carefully consider the investment objectives risks charges and expenses of guide stone funds before investing.
They're distributed by four site funds distributors LLC which is not an advisory affiliate a registered investment advisor nor do they provide investment advice. Are you searching for a way to become a better, faithful steward of the resources that God has given you? Well, download the FaithFi app and join the 37,000 others who are already using our app. The FaithFi app will provide you with wisdom, community and simply help you stay on track with your finances. We have three money management options to choose from.
So find an option that fits your unique needs. It's available on desktop or mobile. Simply go to faithfi.com and click the app to get started. Welcome back. This is Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls today, 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. By the way, you don't have to call. Just send an email, askrob.faithfi.com.
That's askrob at faith, the letters f i dot com. All right, let's dive in today. We can begin in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Rita, go ahead. Just wondering what is the best way to verify whether a financial advisor corporation is legit? Is there like a website to book on?
There is, yes. So a great place to start would be investor.gov. That's the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
And you could search by name right there on the top portion of that web page, investor.gov. And any financial advisor who's a registered investment advisor is going to be registered typically with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There's another organization that's called FINRA and that's F-I-N-R-A.
That's the Financial Insurance Regulatory Authority. That would be the other one and they have something called broker check. And you could look at either of those investor.org or broker check. If you just do a search in your search engine for broker check by FINRA, F-I-N-R-A, you'll see right there on their front page, it's brokercheck.finra.org. There's a place where you can search by the name of the individual or by the name of the firm as well. And both of those would tell you whether they're in good standing and they would also give you their regulatory history.
So if there was any disclosures because they had any kind of censure or any kind of client issue, anything like that will be reported on their broker check report. The other place I would direct you beyond that, because C-K-A is not a regulatory authority like FINRA and the S-E-C, but we recommend the Certified Kingdom Advisor designation here at Faithfie. These would be men and women who have met significant experience requirements. They've had a pastor and client reference. They've been trained to bring biblically wise financial advice.
They've met experience requirements, but also they have, they're in good standing with all the regulatory bodies as well. And to find a C-K-A, you go to our website, faithfie.com, and then right there at the top of the page, you'll see the search box. So hopefully those are helpful to you. Very much. Well, thank you very much. God bless you. All right. All right.
Very good. Thanks for calling, Rita, and may the Lord bless you as well. A few lines open, 800-525-7000. You can call right now. Let's go to Chicago, W-M-B-I.
Hi, Alex. Go ahead. My wife and I are getting ready to purchase a new vehicle. We have the financing to pay it off in full if we so choose, but doing so would be about 15 to 20% of our liquid net wealth amongst the two of us.
So I'm curious what your professional opinion would be to pay it off in full if we have the funds versus financing it and obviously paying more for the vehicle in the long run. Yeah. Yeah.
It's a great question. Would you be buying new or are you looking to buy a used car? We'd be buying new. Okay.
Yeah. You know, I think as long as it doesn't put you in a financial strain, I mean, you're giving it the level you want, you're actively contributing to your retirement long term, and as long as when you draw down your savings, you'd still have at least three months of expenses. I like the idea of you paying cash for this. Right now, the interest rates, even the best rates right now for a new car, unless there's some incentive going on with the dealer, you're still probably going to be around five or six percent and a guaranteed five or six percent return. I mean, you can do that essentially in a CD, but that's going to be taxable.
So after you pay the taxes on it, you're better off not paying that interest rate, which is guaranteed to be a return to you equal to the rate you would be paying. So I kind of like the idea of you keeping that, you know, yourself debt free and taking what you would have been sending to that car payment and just continuing to build back up your savings. But let me ask you, if you were to buy the car with cash, you said it would take 15 to 20 percent of your liquid savings. Would that leave you, Alex, with at least three months worth of expenses? Yeah, we'd still like, God forbid something happened, would be able to have at least three to six months of savings still left to finance our current lifestyle.
OK. Yeah, good. So I like you paying cash for it. I mean, I think you could go in and and look for somebody who would be willing.
You know, perhaps you're at the end of the month. If you're willing to be patient, you know, if if they haven't met their quota, they might be willing to move some cars. And obviously it's not as attractive as somebody who's financing because they make money off of the financing as well. But if they're just looking to move some inventory, you're walking in as a cash buyer, you should be able to negotiate yourself a pretty good deal on that car.
So hopefully the savings plus the guaranteed savings equal to the interest rate you would have been paying with you still having plenty of liquidity left over makes me say, let's just buy this car outright. OK, great. Well, I appreciate the the advice. It helps a lot. Absolutely, Alex.
May the Lord bless you, bud. We appreciate you calling today to Youngstown, Ohio. Hi, Linda. How can I help you?
Hi. My friend's daughter is second year of high school, public school, and he wants they were doing some home X things, nutrition, and he was thinking of finances. And I thought I'd ask if you have a suggestion or resource where they could learn some basics of money and finance.
Yeah, very good. A couple of books come to mind. One is called and all these you could get wherever you buy books. One of them is called Your Money Counts by Howard Dayton. It's a fairly easy read, but it would really introduce them to the basic principles, both the financial literacy side of budgets and the dangers of debt and the power of compounding, but also from a biblical worldview, which would obviously be key.
Again, it's called Your Money Counts. And I'd be delighted to send you a copy of it, Linda, if that would be helpful. You can pass it along to your friend and tell them it's a gift from us.
And so you can just stay on the line. We'll get your information and get that right out to you. Okay. Wonderful. Thank you. You're welcome.
Thanks for your call today. Hey, by the way, I was introduced to a brand new book series that I'd love for you to check out. My friend Brad Formzma runs a ministry called I Like Giving.
That's right. It's called I Like Giving. They've been doing it for a number of years, and they basically tell just really compelling stories about everyday generosity. Well, they've just started kind of a spinoff of their ministry called Generous Family.
You can learn more at generousfamily.com. And they've just introduced a brand new book club called the Generous Kids Book Club. And these are early readers. So these are four to eight years old, hardback picture books that would be great to read with your kids. They come with coloring sheets and a whole host of things. But over this series that goes throughout an entire year, you'll get a different book every month that's a part of the Generous Kids Book Club.
And you can sit down and really teach some valuable lessons and biblical values to your kids around what it means to live a generous life. So I'd love for you to check it out today. Brad sent me the very first book. It's beautifully illustrated and it was just a fun and wonderful message that teaches biblical values.
And so I can't wait to see the rest of them. But if you'd like to check it out, maybe even give it as a gift, maybe you're a grandparent listening today, and you'd like to give it as a gift to a child in your life, maybe your grandchild, check it out generousfamily.com. Just click on Generous Kids Book Club. I'd love for you to check it out.
We'll be right back. Are you struggling to fit your faith into your practice as a Christian financial advisor? The certified Kingdom advisor designation teaches you a step by step process to confidently deliver advice that aligns with Christian values. Discover the skills you need to help your clients make a kingdom impact. Get started today by enrolling in the CKA educational program at kingdomadvisors.com slash get certified.
That's kingdomadvisors.com slash get certified. We are grateful for support from sound mind investing in the faith and finance program. For more than 30 years, they've been helping Christians reach their financial goals with step by step guidance for investors at every stage from those just getting started to those getting ready for retirement. Through scriptural principles and practical suggestions, SMI delivers financial wisdom for living well. 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.
We're back. I'm Rob West and this is faith and finance. Thanks for listening today. Thanks for taking the time as we head into our calls and questions. I want to take a moment to ask you if you've downloaded the faith fi app.
You can use it on your desktop or your mobile device. All right, let's head to the phones. By the way, if you have a question, just call 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. We're going to go to Idaho. Hi, Cheryl Lynn.
How can I help? Hi, um, I know the IRS about $12,000 and um, when it's also, I just sold a house and bought another or paid for another one. I'm trying to pay down the mortgage. Um, so I'm not going to have a lot of money left over, but I have enough to pay them cash. But when I called them to talk about it and to make sure of my payoff, they suggested an offer and compromise.
And in reading that, I don't know for sure if I qualify and I keep getting information from friends that we, my little prayer group, we pray about it. And they said one of my friends was trying to get me to call one of those tax people, you know, that reduces your taxes supposedly a real reputable one. I, I, and I don't know why, but I've always steered away from them. Um, this whole thing was actually, I'm sorry, this whole thing shouldn't have been so big in the first place. I kind of got ripped off, um, to covered California. It's a long story. I won't go into, but so the statute of limitations I won, but I lost because of the time limit. That's the short story.
Yeah, very good. Well, they do have a tool on their website that might be helpful for you, Sherilyn. Uh, it's basically an offer and compromise pre qualifier. Um, and so if you just do a search, uh, in whatever search engine you use and just search for, um, uh, offer in compromise pre qualifier, it'll take you to an IRS website and basically you'll just start answering the questions, uh, that it provides to you and it'll tell you whether you, you qualify. Uh, you know, typically it would be somebody who's fallen behind on their tax returns.
You've received a bill from them. Uh, you know, it, it, uh, you don't have to be in bankruptcy. Um, you know, there's a number of things there that will determine, um, you know, whether or not you are, uh, you qualify for this.
But, um, you know, I would use that tool and I think that'll give you a pretty clear answer as to whether or not this is something you should look into. Yeah. Cause it kind of sounds like I'm not qualifying for a lot of that. It sounds like you have, like you said that they, it's more of a hardship thing. And mine is just that I kind of have a bone to pick with them because, you know, they, I paid, it's a long story. Like I said, I won't go into it, but it's not so much their fault.
It was the insurance company's fault. But anyway, but, um, yeah, now I'm down. Well, actually, yeah, I mean, you have to be, it, it probably may, may, you may qualify quicker than you think because, uh, you know, you can't be in bankruptcy. You have to be current on your tax returns. I mean, there's a number of things there, um, that, you know, would prevent you. But if, if none of those things are true, you may in fact, uh, still be able to qualify. So I think it's worth your time to at least go through this, uh, pre qualifier, answer the questions.
It won't take you long. They'll ask you about your assets and your income and expenses. And then at the end of it, uh, they'll tell you, you know, whether or not it would be, uh, you know, helpful to ask for a proposal from them.
Otherwise you just make the payment and be done with it. But, uh, they're certainly willing to work with you and I would probably take the time to check it out. Uh, Cheryl, thanks for your call today. We appreciate it.
Uh, let's go to Kansas city. Hi, Jonathan. How can I help? Uh, just had a quick question for you related to your thoughts on the growing, uh, cost of private Christian tuition for a family that's decided that, uh, they feel led to put their kids in Christian education and know that the, uh, the cost of tuition is risen astronomically. And according to recent articles, I've read that will soon be something that, uh, the upper middle class will no longer be able to afford as they're calling a luxury for a private tuition of any kind, but especially in Christian education.
Um, are there any, do you have any thoughts on ways that families can, can subsidize that, uh, that increased cost? And then what are your thoughts on, oh, there's a growing trend of, uh, circles that I'm, I'm around where they are rediverting their giving from, uh, to the local church to that tuition. So do you have any thoughts on any of that?
Yeah, I do, Jonathan. I mean, I'm a big fan of, uh, of Christian education. I serve on the board of a Christian school and, uh, I'll tell you, it's just, uh, incredible, uh, to be able to have the benefit of giving, getting a good education and doing it from a biblical worldview. I also recognize it's expensive and, uh, not everybody has that ability to do that. And I certainly understand that. Uh, you know, when we talk about giving, it's, it's always between you and the Lord.
So I wouldn't want to weigh in on that one way or the other. I would just say New Testament giving is really giving cheerfully, not under compulsion. And so it's really about a heart posture. So I wouldn't be, for me, looking for kind of quote unquote loopholes for me to kind of redirect my giving other places. I want to give freely as unto the Lord, starting with the local church, um, and living modestly, living simply so that we can free up more to give, uh, beyond that. Um, now whether or not somebody had a conviction that they really felt like, you know, it was really important for their child to have a Christian education and there was just no other way to do that. They wanted to direct their giving. Again, that's something that they would have to approach in prayer.
I think before the Lord, it's not something I would be encouraging folks to do. Um, what do we do about it? Well, uh, you know, there are other options. There may not be in your city, but, uh, for instance, the school that I'm on the board of, um, it's a hybrid education.
Kids are home three days in school too. Um, and it's, uh, you know, they still offer all of the sports, but it's at a reduced cost and, uh, it becomes, you know, more budget friendly than a lot of the five day Christian schools that, you know, are having to charge because of the, the plant and the upkeeps and upkeep in the buildings. They're charging 17 or $20,000 a year.
And I realized, I mean, that's like paying for college, uh, you know, five times over by the time you, you graduate and, and that can be really challenging. Um, the other thing is hopefully we'll see more States follow suit, um, with the state of Florida, you know, uh, you may not be aware governor Ron DeSantis signed, I believe it was in, uh, last year. It might've been the year before the universal school choice bill into law where basically it provides vouchers. So if you're eligible for, um, public school in the state of Florida, you can take a scholarship worth around $7,700 and attend a private school better suited, uh, to your academic needs, including, um, a Christian school. Uh, and obviously that's an enormous blessing to the, uh, students in the state of Florida that want to be able to choose where their kids, uh, go to school. And so it's created all kinds of opportunity. Well, if we were to see more States kind of follow suit on what Florida has done, that would obviously be an enormous blessing.
So, um, I don't have kind of a one size fits all answer. I think, you know, ultimately you need to pray through that with the Lord. I would not be kind of using your giving as the starting point by any means to fund that I would look for other ways, get creative, look at other schooling options and, uh, and let's pray.
We see more school choice, uh, spreading across the country. Does that all make sense though? Yeah, no, thanks for that advice. I appreciate it and appreciate your show. All right. Thanks, Jonathan. We appreciate it. I hope you'll make plans to join us again next time for another edition of Faith and Finance. Faith and Finance is provided by Faith By and listeners like you.
