The Best Investment I’ve Ever Made With Rachel McDonough

What's most important to you when it comes to choosing your financial advisor? Someone who's aligned with your biblical values. How about someone who will take the time to explain your options? Certified Kingdom Advisors are professionals who meet high standards in competence and integrity and have been trained to offer biblical financial advice.

To find a Certified Kingdom Advisor in your area, visit faithfi.com and click Find a CKA. I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings. Luke 16, 9.

Hi, I'm Rob West. In that verse in the parable of the shrewd manager, Jesus instructs his disciples on a critical part of evangelism, using worldly wealth with eternity in mind. Rachel McDonough joins us today with a compelling story about putting that to practice. Then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well my friend Rachel McDonough is our guest today, she's a Certified Financial Planner and a Certified Kingdom Advisor and a regular FaithFi contributor. Rachel, great to have you back with us. Thanks Rob, glad to be here. Rachel, when you're with us, we often talk about investing and we're going to do that today, but from a different vantage point, in fact, I know to kick us off, you have an incredible story that you call the best investment you ever made.

I'm excited to hear it. Yeah, this one is not an investment in stocks or bonds, here's the story. So I've never met anyone more hostile than this so-called witch I met in St. Paul, Minnesota several years ago.

I've also never seen a hardened heart melt faster than hers did, all because of a small $35 investment. Okay, I'm ready to hear this. Now, by the way, you're not calling this lady a witch, I guess that's how she referred to herself, right?

That's right. So here's the story, I was at an evangelism conference that included a time for ministering out in the streets. Not my normal comfort zone, but I decided to try it. We went out in pairs to share the gospel, and my friends and I spotted her and really felt drawn to her. She saw us coming right away and started shouting some words that I will not even be able to repeat.

Stay away from me, I don't believe what you believe, I am a witch, she yelled. Wow, I can imagine that was a little unsettling. Yes, my heart was certainly racing, but we just couldn't turn away.

We felt certain that there was a child inside that Jesus had died to save, and somehow God gave us courage to keep going. So as we crossed the street over there to visit with her, we just told her, I don't want to argue with you or try to get you to believe what we believe, but is there anything at all that we can do to bless or help you today? She paused for a minute and then kind of grunted, you can pay my phone bill. We just said, to her surprise, we just said, well, we'd love to pay your phone bill. How much is it?

It's $35. So as we handed her the cash, we just saw this dramatic transformation where she really started to melt. And she told us, I would never set foot into a church. We said, yes, that's why the Lord sent the church to come and find you today.

He loves you and wants you to be part of his family. Well, she wept openly and shared her painful story about how she was abused in the church long ago, and just was so happy for us to pray with her and hug her and share the love of God with her, all for a mere $35. Wow. That's a powerful story. And I think just a great reminder, Rachel, of how we can be the hands and feet of Jesus. And it doesn't have to involve thousands of dollars when we're meeting a physical need. A simple act of generosity can really be an open door to a gospel conversation, right? That's exactly right.

I love it. Well, I know we're going to continue to unpack this today. You've got some other stories for us. But Rachel, as a certified financial planner and a certified kingdom advisor, you meet with lots and lots of clients. And I know generosity is kind of built into your planning process. So to set the stage for what we're going to hear down the road, I think the big idea here is that we need to be open to the leading of the Lord. But we also need to be intentional.

We need to have a plan. And I know you see that play out in your planning process with your clients all the time, right? Yeah, I think there's really an opportunity for some plans spontaneity.

And we'll get into what that might look like in a couple of other examples. Okay, planned spontaneity. And for those who like to always have everything locked down and that plan all buttoned up, perhaps this is a chance for you to get a little more flexible, maybe a little more open to what God may have.

If you just look at the people on your path and see how God might use you as you're a steward of his resources. We're talking today with Rachel McDonough. She's a certified financial planner and a certified kingdom advisor and talking investments today, but not stocks and bonds. We're talking about investing in eternity and how you can be involved in everyday generosity. Back with much more with Rachel McDonough just around the corner. I'm Rob West and this is Faith in Finance.

We'll be right back. What's most important to you when it comes to choosing your financial advisor? Someone who's aligned with your biblical values? How about someone who will take the time to explain your options? Certified kingdom advisors are professionals who meet high standards in competence and integrity, and have been trained to offer biblical financial advice.

To find a certified kingdom advisor in your area, visit faithfi.com and click Find a CKA. 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. 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 Foresight Funds Distributors, LLC, which is not an advisory affiliate, a registered investment advisor, nor do they provide investment advice. It's great to have you with us today on Faith in Finance. We're talking today about investing in eternity, how a simple act of generosity can open the door to gospel conversations. Joining me today, my good friend Rachel McDonough. She's a certified financial planner and a certified kingdom advisor.

She's a regular contributor on this program. Rachel, just before the break, you were sharing with us a story of how you went out outside of your comfort zone as a part of an evangelism conference to have some gospel conversations and a simple act of generosity to pay somebody's phone bill, who was very hostile to the gospel, caused her heart to melt and led to a wonderful conversation. Apparently Heaven will tell us what the ultimate result of that conversation was, but that's an opportunity that perhaps some of us miss, and I think stories that illustrate that are a powerful reminder to all of us. Do you have a few other examples of this type of investing in evangelism?

Yeah, I do, Rob. And I also just want to say, wow, this is challenging for me. I mean, I gave an example from my own life, but I pray that this becomes a more common occurrence for me. So if you heard that story and you felt a little intimidated, you're not alone, but we need to take steps outside of our comfort zone and just be on adventure with God and tune into His heart for the people around us.

That's good. So these next two examples come from clients. The first one is one of the clients I work with shared a story of visiting a small park by her home, and she noticed when she pulled into the parking lot, there was a rundown minivan with lots of Jesus bumper stickers and different things on it. And when she walked into the park, she saw a group of eight kids of different races and ages playing a game of baseball with two adults. And when she saw it, she just was pretty sure this was a foster family or an adopting family, and she was really feeling the nudge of the Holy Spirit to give them $500. And after meeting the mother and just kind of awkwardly handing her a check, you know, she wasn't quite sure what to say, but she just went ahead and did it anyway. Well, she got to hear their story of how they were fostering kids so that they might share the love of God with them. And they were actually in a significant financial crisis, so that $500 was a huge answer to their kind of desperate and frantic prayers, and how powerful to just see those tangible examples when we're partnering with God and co-laboring with Him. Yeah, that's right. Another example that I have to share, this one is less spontaneous in nature, so if any of you are kind of gritting your teeth with the idea of having to go talk to strangers, this one might feel better for you.

This couple is a couple that we work with out of New York, and they're currently considering putting a $100,000 investment into their backyard to give an update to their landscaping and install a pool. And their motivation for this is that they want to be the ideal hangout spot for all of their kids' friends, and they're actively looking for ways to reach out and build relationships with the next generation, demonstrating the love of God to them and sharing the hope of the gospel. Wow. Yeah, that's powerful. You know, and I think it really illustrates the opportunity we have to think about what God has entrusted to us and how we can use it for His glory, and that could be paying a $35 cell phone bill, it could be putting in a $100,000 pool to create an environment to minister to kids, or everything in between, but it really requires us to be intentional and thoughtful about how we're going to allow the Lord to use us, right?

It does. But even just a couple of simple ideas, just to get us brainstorming a bit, what if we just paid for someone's groceries or left a generous tip and combined that with a brief but meaningful conversation? This is the part that gets uncomfortable for people, but it could be as simple as just saying, Jesus loves you, as you give your gift, or God loves you, God is good, and He knows that you're here, He sees you, and He cares about you.

It doesn't have to be long and complicated. Yeah, that's exactly right. You know, Rachel, I know one of the other things that you've been compelled to do is to think about intentionality with regard to our spending plans, and a lot of folks as we start a new year are thinking about perhaps getting back on that budget, or maybe for the first time creating that spending plan, and how can we be intentional to build this in to our regular financial rhythm? Yeah, this is, really it is investing in eternity. We are storing up treasures in heaven when we behave in this way, as our worldly wealth can be invested to win souls, which are the true riches referred to in Luke 16.11. But it starts with a budgeting line item, right? Just having a little bit of money set aside intentionally for the expansion of God's family.

And the Great Commission is really the one calling that we've all received from God already. So it doesn't have to be spontaneous, but I would encourage some semi-planned spontaneity so that you've got the courage to step outside of your comfort zone and know that there's some money set aside to allow you to do this type of ministry. Having the budget set aside ahead of time does three things for us. First, it will remove the hesitation that you might feel as you consider what you maybe can or cannot afford to give.

That way, when a spontaneous opportunity is spotted, you'll be ready to go. Secondly, it'll prevent miscommunication with your spouse if you've both agreed together beforehand that this is a priority for your family and you've agreed upon an amount. And then third, it will make investing in souls an intentional part of your ongoing lifestyle if it's a part of your ongoing budget. Now friends, I know of no better way to stay in close life union with God than to take steps to actively grow his family. God cares about people, and He shows up when we step out in faith to fulfill the Great Commission. His definition of true riches is souls, and as his stewards, managing resources on his behalf. When we use that money to pursue souls, we find ourselves perfectly positioned for an adventure with God that can fulfill our deepest longings and fill up our neighborhood in heaven with friends for eternity.

That is well said, Rachel. Now I know you and your husband have some little ones at home. This is also a great opportunity to model generosity and stewardship to our kids when we build this into the plan and they see us acting out of generosity and love toward others with financial means. Isn't that right? Yeah, and it's also a great way to help them begin to step outside of their comfort zone and expand their willingness to have meaningful conversations with strangers.

Yeah, that's right. Have you gotten your kids involved in this along the way? We've just started doing that a little bit, partly by just walking into a coffee shop or something together and asking them, is there anyone here that you see that you think the Lord might be having us encounter today? Anyone that you think maybe God's giving you something special to do or to share with them?

Yeah, that's exactly right. And Rachel, I know one of the things that can get in the way of this is really just our own spiritual journey. So we need to be renewing our minds. We need to be focusing on the gospel, searching the scriptures. But one of the great things that I love about God's word is that this generosity story just leaps off the page. And so if we're regularly in scripture, we're going to see generosity modeled at every turn, right?

We are. And what could be more powerful than what Jesus invited his disciples into? He said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

So that generosity can fuel the expansion of his family through our acts of surrender and obedience. Wow. I love it. And that's a great place for us to finish today. Rachel, I always appreciate your insights and thanks for stopping by today.

Thanks for having me, Rob. God bless. That's Rachel McDonough. We've been talking about investing in eternity. Rachel is a certified financial planner and a certified kingdom advisor. If you want to read more from Rachel, you can read her articles at faithfi.com.

Well we're coming up on a break, but much more to come just around the corner. Call right now, 800-525-7000. We'll be right back on Faith and Finance. As the leading advocate for the Christian financial industry, Kingdom Advisors serves the public by promoting the integration of a biblical world view across every aspect of the financial services industry. And we serve a growing network of thousands of Christian financial professionals, equipping and empowering them to carry biblical financial wisdom to their clients, peers, and community. For more information, visit kingdomadvisors.com.

That's kingdomadvisors.com. 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 offers 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. You're listening to Faith and Finance, where we talk about how we handle God's resources.

How are you using God's resources? We're talking about it, and the lines are open to take your calls and questions. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. Let's begin in Charleston, West Virginia. Judy, go right ahead. Hi.

I have a family member who didn't file any taxes in 2017, but recently got a letter from the IRS that they owe $12,000. Yeah. They're going about getting this behind them, and at the end of that, could you also answer, can I negotiate the payment, like saying I'll pay it off if they lower it, and can they make sure that I can verify that it was paid, not that I don't trust the government or anything? Yeah. Very good.

All right, Judy. You were cutting out a little bit, but I think I got the gist of the question, and this is around some back taxes from 2017. Was the return filed and there was just not a payment made, or has your family member not filed either? They didn't file that year. Okay.

Yeah. Well, that's done, and the good news is you can get that current and the IRS will work with you. Typically, what you would want to do is, first of all, get that tax return filed, and you'd probably want to work with a tax preparer on this, not only to get the return prepared and then filed, but also work with you because the IRS will allow you to get on a payment plan if needed, and you will have to show a financial statement showing your income and monthly expenditures if you're looking to get on a payment plan. If you can't pay what you owe, you also may be able to arrange what's called an offer in compromise, and that's the process by which you could get the amount lowered, but you'll have to get a detailed accounting of your finances. Typically, what happens is folks will just make that payment and bring it current. There's obviously fees and interest that's being applied to this on an ongoing basis, but this is not a problem in the sense that you just need to get that return filed.

You need to get what is owed paid, whether that's paying in full through an offer in compromise or through a payment plan. All of those are available to you, and I'd recommend you use a tax professional to get that squared away. Even if it's just a very simple tax return.

You could do it yourself. Let me ask you, did you say it's a family member or is this your own taxes? It's a family member. Family member, okay. Does the individual have the ability to pay in full the amount that's owed? Yes.

Okay. Yeah, I mean, you could do it on your own. The challenge is you're going to need to calculate the penalties and the interest associated with it. Now, the IRS is saying what they believe you owe based on that letter, but if there's not been a return filed, then the official amount won't be available until that return is filed and then they tell you whether or not they agree with your accounting of that. So yeah, it's not required that you use a professional.

I think the key is get that return prepared. If it is simple, great, go ahead and do it, send in the check with it based on what you think is owed and you can be sure once they get it, they will verify the amount you sent and if they disagree, they'll come back to you saying there's a deficient balance. Okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. So just sending a check will prove that you believe for it? Oh, I see.

Yeah. So the other part of that was you want verification. You can actually make that payment online. So you can do an online payment and that would allow you to go ahead and print out the confirmation showing that the payment was made and you can do that through a credit card or a bank account.

You'll want to just go to IRS.gov slash payments and once that return has been filed, then the person, your family member would be able to go in, make the payment for the amount they believe they owe and when you make the payment, you can specify what year tax return or tax liability it's to be applied to and then that would give you the ability to print off the confirmation showing that you did in fact make the payment. Okay. So if it's $12,000, that must be a lot of interest because I think you would only owe two or three thousand dollars per year, so I think that's a whole lot of interest. Yeah.

And there's penalties as well. I mean, that's been a long time. The current rate is about 8% per year and it compounds daily that obviously that is higher now.

It was lower years ago, but yeah, it adds up quick when you got six plus years of non-payment plus the penalties on top of it, I could see where that in fact could be the amount. Okay. That's why I'm trying to get this done. Yeah. Yeah. You don't want to wait any longer.

Let's get this one put to rest here. Again, making that payment online is through IRS.gov slash payments. That's the website. Hey Judy, thanks for your call today. I appreciate you being on the program. If we can help further, let us know. Quickly to Indianapolis.

Hi Glenda. How can I help? I got myself in a financial mess. I lost a job that I've had for 21 years and of course all of my budgeting and everything else was on that money and now I'm down to my social security. I have a house valued at around 300,000 and I owe about, I want to say 117, 116, 3.5 interest. Well the bank won't even look at you because they don't have a job.

I'm trying to figure out how to get equity to live on right now because my husband is not well. I don't want to go back to work just yet. Okay. All right.

First of all, I'm so sorry Glenda to hear about your situation. When you look at your total expenses, you've got the mortgage at 117 plus just keeping food on the table, gas in the car, your utilities paid. How much of a gap is there between what you might get your budget down to by cutting everything extra and the social security income you're receiving?

Almost 2,000. 2,000 a month, all right. And are there any other options here? I mean, do you have the ability to do some part-time work or are you needing to be a full-time caregiver for your husband? What is the situation there?

I've been looking for part-time and have not been successful at it right now because I have some limitations also. I see. Okay. Well, the good news is we're in a very strong job market right now. It doesn't mean it's going to be easy. I'm not saying that. But I think the good news is that if you really put the work in to try to find some income, find another job, there should be jobs available.

Obviously you have limitations, so that's going to narrow the pool, and I get that. But I wouldn't lose heart in that. Let's obviously pray, ask the Lord to intervene here. He is your provider, not anyone else. And he said he'll meet our needs.

And then thirdly, as our gift to you, Glenda, I'd like to connect you with a certified Christian financial counselor. We'll pay for it. They'll help you get a plan to navigate through this. So stay on the line. We'll get your information. Thanks for listening. 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 Buy and listeners like you.