Why and How We Save

Many people are using the FaithFi app to help provide the wisdom, community, and money management to stay on track, financially speaking. To date, over 37,000 members are using its digital envelope system, participating in our community forums, and engaging in virtual workshops. And one of the most convenient features is the ability to keep all your accounts in one place for an easy-at-a-glance view. You can choose from one of three options, depending on your management style, and it's available on desktop or mobile.

Go to faithfi.com and click App to get started. The Human Genome Project discovered amazing things about man's makeup. What it didn't find was a saving gene. Hi, I'm Rob West. In my book, that means saving doesn't come naturally. It's a habit we have to learn, and God's Word tells us why it's so important. I'll talk about the why and the how today, and then it's on to your calls and questions at 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. This is faith and finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, you might be surprised to learn that surveys show less than half of Americans can handle an unexpected expense of $1,000.

They have little or nothing in their emergency fund, and when the inevitable financial setback happens, they have to borrow, often using credit cards to cover emergencies. It's also no wonder the Bible tells us that saving is wise. Proverbs 10, 4, and 5 reads, And while it's wise to save, we also have to be careful not to put too much trust in our bank accounts, because our trust should always be in God, our ultimate provider. He's promised to meet our needs, and He is always faithful. And there's good reason to trust God. Luke 12, 24 reads, God has His part in our provision, and we have ours.

We're to save because His Word tells us to. And if you think you can't save because the temptation to spend is too great, take comfort in 1 Corinthians 10, 13. It reads, Why then is it so hard for some people to save money? Well, for some, it can't be avoided. There are people whose income is just too low, basically those below the poverty level. And while that's a real concern and not one to be taken lightly, most people we hear from, who are having trouble saving, actually make enough to put something away.

In their case, self-discipline is the main issue. It comes down to living below your means. God wants our lives to be in balance. He wants us to enjoy His bounty. But Christians are also supposed to take care of their families and come to the aid of others in the church from time to time who may have needs.

That's difficult to do if you have no savings. Remember, everything you have belongs to God, not just what you put in the offering plate. All that we have comes from Him and belongs to Him.

We're supposed to be faithful stewards of the resources He entrusts to us. So here are some steps you can take to start that process. First, you need to have a spending plan. Without one, you're just flying blind. Your budget must cover all of your planned expenses and leave something left over.

If you haven't downloaded the Faithfi app, do it now. It'll make the process much easier. Initially, you'll have to cut spending in some areas. You won't be able to save if you maintain your current lifestyle, so look for things you can trim from the budget.

And at the same time, don't try to do it all at once. Establishing savings doesn't mean you have to live on rice and beans for every meal. If it hurts too much, you won't stick to it. So be realistic as you cut your spending. Next, make a resolution that you'll save something from every paycheck.

Establishing that habit is much more important than reaching the ultimate goal. You want to develop the discipline of saving. As time goes on and you're successfully putting something away each payday, you can begin to increase your savings. You should also set a goal for the amount you'll save.

It should be attainable. Instead of thinking, I'll save $5,000 this year, shoot for $100 or $200 a month to get you started. Now, all savings should begin with your emergency fund, and here you can set another goal.

Start with trying to get $1,500 in the bank, then one month's living expenses. Keep going until you have three to six months saved up. After that, your savings goals can change to things like buying your first home, taking a trip to build family memories, or giving to your favorite ministry. If you're married, this all has to be a team effort, so set your long range goals together and celebrate your progress along the way, but keep it in the budget, of course. The last step involves prayer. Ask God to give you self-control and a contented heart. Developing the habit of saving will dramatically improve your life, your relationships, and your ability to be used by God. You'll sleep a lot better too. All right, your calls are next, 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West, and this is Faith and Finance. We'll be right back.

... But it is possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind in investing no matter what's happening in the market. You can see a short video webinar on that topic at soundmindinvesting.org. Since 1990, Soundmind Investing has sought to offer financial wisdom for living well. Soundmindinvesting.org.

... That's 800-525-7000. We'd love to help you think about those decisions in light of Biblical wisdom. Now, here's the reality. The Bible has a lot to say on this topic. My friend and former host of this program, Howard Dayton, counted them. That's right. Early in his journey, his faith journey, as a part of a men's Bible study, they decided they were going to count the passages on money and possessions in God's Word.

Now, a little funny anecdote to this. Howard was a brand new Christian, and so he and the other gentleman that decided they were going to take this on, that gentleman said to Howard, Hey, why don't we split it in half? You take the Old Testament, I'll take the New.

Howard ended up doing a lot more work. Nevertheless, they cut out every passage, stacked them in piles according to topic, and 2350 verses later, they had their numbers. So we know that God's Word has a lot to say about this, and I believe that the reason there's so much there is because money and the things that money can buy and all the issues surrounding our management of God's resources is probably the primary competitor to lordship. If something's going to derail us from placing God in his rightful place in our lives and first position, it's most often going to be money and the things that money can buy. And so we want to look at it through the lens of Scripture. We want to approach this from God's perspective and not the world's perspective. Well, we want to help you do that each day, making practical decisions, but in light of the reality that God created money as a good gift to give and to provide and to even enjoy, but that we're to be careful and not let it grip our hearts.

And we can see how it will do that and choke out the word. We see that clearly in the parable of the sower. Remember, Jesus said that what was choking out the word from bearing 30, 60, 100 fold returns was the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.

And so as we look at this through the lens of Scripture and guard our hearts holding God's money loosely, well, we can find a way to manage those resources as a tool to accomplish God's purposes. Well, we want to help you do that each day, encouraging you along the way. And so let's talk about what's on your financial mind today when you call 800-525-7000. Let's dive in today. We're going to begin in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ray, you'll be our first caller, sir.

Go ahead. Rob, I've listened to you for a couple of years. And one thing I want to say, I'm convinced that God has shown his favor to us as children by him blessing us with Rob Weston faith and finance. And I really mean that. Thank you. Wow. Well, that means a lot, sir.

I appreciate you saying that. Well, let me tell you my quick story. God blessed me with a Schwab account about seven years ago, and I have done nothing with it as you sit there. And I think one big reason is I am a lost ball in high weeds when it comes to investing. So I really could use your help. OK, let's dive in.

How can I help? Well, I like the idea of responsible investments, and I've heard you speak to companies. One was Kingdom Advisors and the other was Sanmon Investing. And I think the Lord is telling me that I need to do something with and get it out of that secular account and put it in biblically responsible investments. And so that's that's my question.

What what should I do? That's a great question, Ray. And I'm so delighted to hear that you're thinking about it in this way. You know, the exciting thing is we live in a day where you have the ability to align your investments in the secondary market and stocks and bonds, whether it's through mutual funds or individual stocks. You have the ability to align your investments with your values, and that can take on one of three different forms.

It can include and it may be all three. It can include avoiding certain companies that are misaligned with your values. Often, many Christians will want to avoid companies directly involved in tobacco or alcohol or pornography or gambling. That would be one approach is to avoid companies misaligned with your values. The second is to embrace companies that specifically have an end aimed at human flourishing and even advancing the gospel. So they're adding values to value to shareholders through their company's growth, but they're doing it in a way that's responsible, that promotes the human good. And then thirdly, and you could do this alongside those other two is corporate engagement, where as an owner of these companies, you're able to vote proxies and express your values to company leadership where they may have gotten off track.

And maybe they're promoting a political agenda that doesn't even align with their objective to grow their company, but they've gotten kind of lost along the way and you can call them to account in that regard. And so there are some world class investments now, Ray, that allow you to do this type of investing in a way that, based on the research, doesn't at all sacrifice returns, which is wonderful. And what I would recommend, because as you said, and this is where most people are at, you need wise counsel.

You've been working as God has called and gifted you throughout your life for the last 79 years. And you're saying, I've been entrusted with a significant amount of money and I want somebody who can invest it on my behalf with my goals and objectives in mind, but do it in a way that's aligned with my deeply held values and priorities as a believer. So here's where I would go next. I would connect with a Certified Kingdom Advisor. And one of the things we've done recently is we've actually allowed you to search all the Certified Kingdom Advisors in your area, but specify that you only want a CKA that offers faith-based investments. Many CKAs, although they've committed to the statement of faith and they've been trained to bring biblically wise advice, they may offer largely or exclusively traditional investments.

But there are many of them that offer faith-based investments. And so we can provide you a list there in Tulsa and then you could interview perhaps two or three and find the one that is the best fit for you. Ray, are you comfortable using the internet to do a search like that? Sure, yes, I can do that.

All right, very good. So I'm going to give you a website and then I'm going to tell you where to go from here. The website is faithfi.com. That's faithfi.com. And then right there at the top of the page, Ray, it'll say find a professional. And when you click find a professional, you'll say I want a CK in the investment area and then it will say do you want faith-based investments or traditional?

You'll choose faith-based and then it'll provide you a list of all the CKAs offering faith-based investments in Tulsa and then you can contact them and set up appointments. How does that sound? Well, that sounds good. Now, I don't suppose you have a clone working for them, do you? Because I like the way you're thinking.

No, but I'll tell you, these are men and women that have met high standards and character and competence and they will share your values as a believer and they will be quite skilled at helping you deploy these assets for the glory of God and as a wise and faithful steward. So I'm confident you'll find somebody that you feel real good about, all right? Rob, I appreciate you.

You enjoy the rest of the day. And you as well, sir. God bless you and thanks for your kind remarks about the program. Before we head to the break, let me remind you, if you listen to this program regularly, you're a part of the faith and finance family. We'd like to invite you to become a FaithFi partner.

These folks are committed to living out biblical stewardship principles in their lives and share a desire to see others be good and faithful stewards as well. A gift of $35 a month or more allows you to become a FaithFi partner where you'll receive exclusive quarterly ministry updates and early release copy of each of our studies and much more. Just go to faithfi.com and click Give. That's faithfi.com and click Give.

Back with more calls just around the corner. Stick around. You'll receive our free weekly wisdom email, and you can too. Create your free FaithFi account by going to faithfi.com and click Sign Up to begin receiving weekly wisdom in your inbox. Are you a financial advisor or CPA seeking to build your practice on biblical wisdom? Not only does the Certified Kingdom Advisor Education provide you with deep biblical insights, the CKA designation sets you apart. Each year, almost 50,000 people search for a Christian financial advisor. Join our community and share your expertise with clients looking for someone who shares their faith and values.

Find more information at kingdomadvisors.com slash get certified. Well, thanks for joining us today. It's a summer day.

I'm sure it's hot where you're at. I know it is here for me, but we're taking your calls and questions today, helping you decipher God's wisdom as it relates to your financial decisions and choices. We've got, it looks like two lines open, 800-525-7000. You can call right now.

Let's go to Cleveland. Hi, Christian. How can I help you? Hey, so I decided for the past four months to just take off work, mental health break, just asking God, where do you want me to go next, pretty much? Should I worry about my bills?

Should I worry about things I can't control? And God's like, you know, take a break. I'll take care of this. I'll get you a job. I'll get you in the right path. And he's answered all my prayers.

It's been wild. So he's done everything he said he has done for me. And I put myself in debt, but he says, don't worry about it. We're going to get you out of debt. We're going to be patient about everything.

We're going to make sure we're going to go on the right path. So I got two credit card loans lenders that I have right now. For five years previous than that, I was on time with my payments. Credit score up to 800-ish and strapped down.

But I wanted to make sure if I took a loan and paid off or two, go through a lender that will have a settlement with them or just do it the old fashioned way, pay it off and try to catch up with the interest rate. Yeah. Do you have income coming in now, Christian? Yes. OK, so you're back to work? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Back to work about a month now. Yeah. Great.

Glad to hear it. My preferred approach on this is something called debt management. It's not loan consolidation where you take out a new loan. It's not debt settlement where you stop paying. And it gets into arrears and then they try to negotiate a reduced payoff. It's debt management, which means the credit cards are going to stay right where they're at. They're not going anywhere. They're going to be closed. The interest rate is going to be dropped in most cases a half or more lower than what the current interest rate is.

If it's a 22, it might be 10 or 9, something like that. And then you're going to pay one level monthly payment, probably about 3 percent of the balance. I'm guessing about $300 a month on your $10,000 in credit card debt. The key, though, is that with the combination of that level monthly payment, meaning it's not declining with the balance like minimum payments do, and with those much lower interest rates, you'll pay that back on average 80 percent faster. And it really is my preferred way to do it because they'll help you get on a budget. Often it will reinforce the right disciplines by closing the cards of you living on a budget and not living beyond your means.

So hopefully when you get out of debt, that's the last time you ever have credit card debt ever again that's not paid in full at the end of the cycle. The place to go is christiancreditcounselors.org. That's christiancreditcounselors.org. These are godly men and women who've worked with hundreds and hundreds of our listeners, and I know they'll serve you really well. So if you will just head to their website, christiancreditcounselors.org. They'll be able to take care of this, get you on a plan, and hopefully get that paid off once and for all. And when you do, call me back and let me know that it's paid off. I appreciate your call today. Let's go to Alabama. Hi, Daisy. Go ahead.

Hey, I have a question. My husband was offered a job with a new company doing what he's doing, but this new company is part of a union. And avoiding all political things aside, we aren't very familiar with what that includes. He's never worked for a union before.

He's in the trades. So what we're trying to do is balance out if the job switch would be worth it once you pay the dues and then you're hooked in with the union and they offer you a pension, but how to balance all of that with what he's already making without paying dues. Well, I think you need to think through it both from a financial side and a non-financial side.

I mean, we can focus on the financial side. In terms of the non-financial, I'll just say quickly, those who like unions, who are pro-union, would hope that the collective bargaining will lead to better outcomes, wages, and working conditions. Those who might be less prone to be a part of a union might be wary of creating workplace tension or giving up control of their own decisions to the union. And then there's also the union dues.

So you just need to kind of understand those pieces. But with regard to the financial implications, Daisy, joining a union doesn't affect your Social Security retirement or disability benefits. So you can retire with Social Security and a union pension at the same time, so long as you're paying FICA taxes. And if you're paying those FICA taxes at least 40 quarters, 10 years, and then based on your highest 35 years is going to be what drives that benefit, you'll still be eligible again as long as you're paying those FICA taxes.

Now, some union pension programs like those with a state or a local government do not include FICA taxes and then could make you subject to what's called the windfall elimination provision when you retire, which would reduce your Social Security benefits by around 50% with the idea that you're not paying those FICA taxes and you're going to rely on the pension in lieu of that. So you're just going to want to understand whether or not that's the case here because that will affect ultimately how much you collect from Social Security. Does that make sense?

Okay, that makes sense from that. So I don't want to dive into it too much, but what would having a union, like working for the union, what benefit might that have for us and for our family if we're paying into it? You know, it's going to be several hundred dollars every month.

Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, the benefit is ultimately, I mean, they're seeking to get pay and increase pay and increase benefits for workers. And so they use the collective bargaining to be able to secure higher wages and better benefits like, you know, pensions and so forth. Whereas employers hiring for non-union jobs have to increase their wages too, but maybe not necessarily in the same amount.

You know, typically they'll set up a formal process for disputes or complaints. You know, they might do other things that, you know, allow you, you know, some benefits by being a part of that community and collaboration that's involved there. So, I mean, those are typically the biggest benefits that you're going to see at the end of the day is just making sure that there's good working conditions and worker protections in addition to continuing to drive wages. So I think probably talking to some folks who have been a part of that particular union would be a good thing. Maybe have him, you know, just reach out to some people that if he knows of somebody who works for the same company or is a part of the same union just to find out what's been the history of that.

And has there been benefits, you know, has it created any kind of, you know, workplace tension, you know, has it been problematic or has it been a blessing and, you know, really yielded better benefits therefore worth the cost of being a part of it because there is one. And I think that's where doing your homework and due diligence is not a bad idea at all. Okay. All right. All right.

Thank you for your help. You're welcome. Thank you for calling all the best to you and your husband as you explore this new opportunity. We appreciate you being on the program.

Well, that's going to do it for us today. I hope you found something helpful and encouraging today, but above all else, I hope you were encouraged to go back to God's word. You know, in our role in managing God's money, we always need to be reminded that God owns it all. We're stewards and money is a tool to accomplish God's purposes. So as stewards, we have to understand the heart of the master. We find that in scripture, a big thanks to my team today, Taylor, Devin and Pat, and we'll see you next time right here on faith and finance. Faith and finance is provided by faith by and listeners like you.