As I addressed in a past post, I wanted to dive into how my values affect my philosophy on money and my financial plan. Starting with faith, I want to clarify that my objective is not to proselytize but to demonstrate how this value drives my financial plan.
Faith is a tricky value to express because it touches so many areas. Reflecting on it, I tried to delineate the specific areas of my financial plan that are affected rather than the tangential pieces. Here are the three main points I came up with:
- Tithing/Charitable Giving
- Stewardship
- Trusting the process
Tithing/Charitable Giving
My wife and I tithe, meaning we give 10% of our income to the church monthly. The Bible has a plethora of instructions regarding the tithe. Instead of directly quoting these, I wanted to discuss an explanation of tithing, not from a dollars-and-cents perspective, but how it changes the heart. I believe giving makes me a less selfish person. I think it helps to reframe the thinking that just because the money is in my checking account, it's not mine. I'm just here to manage it and be a good steward of the blessings that I have received (more on that in the next section).
In Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin, he describes the Havdalah service that Jewish families celebrate during the Sabbath. By tithing, I feel that I am trusting in God to provide sufficiently to run my household after giving 10% and trusting that doing this will make me a better man in the long run.
"This observance divides the Sabbath from the upcoming work week and asks God to increase both the families’ offspring and their wealth. It also highlights their hands, as if to beseech blessing on the work of those very hands. The Havdalah service is recited over a cup of wine that runs over into the saucer beneath. This overflowing cup symbolizes the intention to produce during the week ahead not only sufficient to fill one’s own cup but also an excess that will allow overflow for the benefit of others."
Stewardship
"In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has." Proverbs 21:20
As previously mentioned, I believe my job on this Earth is to be a good steward of the blessings I have received. Taken even further, the money I have is not mine or my wife's, it is God's and we are just temporary managers of that particular plot. One of my favorite Bible passages is the Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:21: "His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master."
Here are a few ways this manifests. Some of this will also touch on the intentionality value coming in a future post.
- Saving for retirement and other future goals
- Budgeting monthly
- Tithing
- Avoiding non-mortgage debt (and paying down our mortgage quickly)
- Saving for emergencies
- Having insurance in place for when things go wrong.
Trusting the process
As a financial planner, we get questions about things ranging from the price of gas to our thoughts on geopolitics and how AI is going to change the world. Because we deal with our clients' money and money is SO personal, people, understandably, tend to worry. As part of my job, I try to stay informed so I can inform clients about the issues and how it impacts their financial plans.
Since I reconnected with my church a few years ago, there have been more blessings than I can count, but one underrated byproduct has been the calm. I'm not a worrier about things out of my control. There's a fabulous section from the 1st book of Kings 19:11-13:
That voice helps me to trust the process and know that amidst all of the noise in the world, trust in God and he will provide. In today's 24/7/365 news environment, trying to hear that "small still voice" can be difficult.
This is why I believe values-based planning is essential to helping our clients succeed. Even if your values aren't the same as mine, understanding what is important and what makes you tick helps me help you make the best decisions for your financial plan. After all, that's what I'm here for.
1 Kings 19:11-1311 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
That gentle whisper has also been translated as a still, small voice. It helps me to trust the process and know that amidst all of the noise in the world, trust in God and he will provide. In today's 24/7/365 news environment, trying to hear that still small voice can be difficult.
This is why I believe values-based planning is essential to helping our clients succeed. Even if your values aren't the same as mine, understanding what is important and what makes you tick helps me help you make the best decisions for your financial plan. After all, that's what I'm here for.