The Reformed Advisor

These 8 Questions are at the Heart of a Solid Financial Plan

Posted on December 4, 2019 in Family, Money by

Have you ever heard the saying, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”? What about, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.”? These pithy saying remind us that there’s plenty we don’t know. But, unlike the saying, what we don’t know could actually hurt us.

It’s been said on more than one occasion that asking the right questions is the key to almost anything. If you can just ask the right questions you can avoid harm, or loss, get the promotion, turn a profit, or protect your assets. The question is, “What are the right questions?”

For those nearing, just entering, or firmly in retirement, there’s a set of questions that should be intentionally asked to gain valuable knowledge and resources necessary for a successful retirement. These questions go beyond the typical questions asked by friends and neighbors and get to the heart of being properly prepared for all the twists and turns that come during retirement. 

Some of the questions you should be asking include: 

How much can I spend annually each year of retirement? Your annual withdrawal rate can have a significant impact on your ability to stay retired and enjoy the kind of retirement you’ve always dreamed about. You should be reviewing your withdrawal rate annually. 

Will downsizing have a positive impact on my retirement picture? It can often make a lot of sense to downsize your house in retirement. Then again, sometimes it doesn’t make any sense at all. If you have a comprehensive financial planner, addressing the issue of downsizing should be on the table. 

Are my assets properly protected from the numerous risks they face (interest rate, inflation, market, legal)? Your assets are not at risk solely due to market fluctuations. Everything from interest rates and inflation as well as changes in state and federal laws create a level of risk for your assets. When was the last time you discussed your unique and specific risks with a qualified professional?

Are my loved ones protected should my health fade? Everyone thinks they will live forever, it’s human nature. An increasing number of people, however, are experiencing health related issues that require ongoing care. If you have not put the right measures in place, your family could face an emergency if you can no longer care for yourself and require professional care. 

Will my assets go where I want when I am no longer here? Most people have very specific family, friends, charities, and organizations they want to leave their assets to. The proper planning can help ensure your assets go exactly where you intend (and avoid places you don’t want them). 

Do I have the right type of accounts set up in light of taxes, legal, and family concerns? Many types of financial accounts and products exist. Some are right for a narrow group of people, while others are helpful for almost everyone. Your circumstances and specific goals play a part in determining the type(s) of accounts you should have established. 

Am I properly insured for now, and the future? Insurance often gets put on the back burner and overlooked year after year. But proper insurance protects assets, leaves a legacy, funds goals, and should be an integral part of a solid financial plan. 

Has all my critical documents and policies been reviewed recently to ensure they are up to date with my wishes and state and federal laws? Documents are put in place and then forgotten. The next thing you know, it’s been 10, 20, or 30 years since they were reviewed. Ex-spouses, siblings no longer living, and kids that didn’t quite grow up are still listed as executors, beneficiaries, and trustees. Critical documents should be reviewed every couple of years (maximum) to ensure they are not outdated or in opposition to newly enacted state or federal laws. 

As you can see, there’s a lot of questions that need answered to help create a solid financial plan for you and your family. It may appear overwhelming, but the right team of professionals will be undaunted and easily able to help address each question. 

Don’t wait until a crisis hits, or the situation becomes an emergency to begin addressing these questions. Work wit your team of professionals now while things are easier to address. You don’t know what you don’t know. But what you don’t know can most certainly hurt you. 

The Currency of Priorities: How Knowing What We Value Can Lead to Wealth

Posted on November 20, 2019 in Money by

Priorities“The most important thing about me is…?”

It seems like an easy enough question to answer. As you start to think about it, however, the realization that there’s more to this question becomes apparent.

Maybe you immediately start thinking about your identity with a particular company, university, or sports team. Maybe it’s where you were raised, or where you came from. Or maybe it’s who your family is.

But, are these really your life’s top priorities?

Priorities are the things upon which we place the greatest value, the greatest emphasis. We often equate priorities with convictions and values; things we would not be willing to comprise if pressed.

I have found that priorities often play a great role in creating wealth; or prohibiting wealth creation. Just as our study habits influence our grades and our work ethic can impact our career trajectory, our priorities play a part in our financial health. Continue reading…

The Currency of Patience: A Commodity in a “Amazon Prime” Culture

Posted on November 13, 2019 in Money by

Patience BuffetWe truly live in a culture that caters to our lack of patience. We get movies and television shows “on demand.” Our packages can arrive mere hours after we place our order. We don’t even need to swipe and sign anymore; simply insert and out the door we go.

Patience is a quickly eroding virtue that almost seems unnecessary in a culture where Amazon Prime and On Demand rule supreme. But wealth can only be built through a combination of patience and a steady diet of good habits intended to produce a clear outcome.

One of the most prolific creators of personal wealth is Warren Buffet. He has more money than most of us can wrap our minds around. I think he can buy literally anything on the planet that he wants. But how did he get there? The simple answer: patience. Buffet once said:

“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”

And without a doubt, Buffet has benefited from his own patience, and the impatience of others. But patience has more benefits than growing a portfolio. Patience has the potential to create good habits, avoid bad habits, and help us make wise choices. Whether those choices are intended to create monetary wealth, or a wealth you can’t touch and deposit into an account; patience is critical to being wealthy. Continue reading…

The Currency of Self-Control: How Saying No Can Lead to Financial Growth

Posted on November 6, 2019 in Money by

Self ControlSelf-control is the ability to restrain ourselves from making poor decisions simply for a temporary happiness high.

It’s reported that Thomas Jefferson once said, Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.”

I remember the first time I heard this quote. I was a young 20-something teaching in a small private school. I had a student that knew how to push people’s buttons, including mine. After one particular incident the student’s mother, who also worked at the school, gave me this quote in response to her child. I’ve been working on self-control ever since.

Every day we face decisions which test our self-control: stay in bed and skip the workout, eat another brownie, buy that pair of shoes, or even whether or not to cut corners at work. And our ability to make good decisions, to consistently exercise self-control, plays an integral part in our overall well-being. And it certainly plays a crucial role in our financial health and well-being.

Many Americans believe the amount of money you earn determines whether or not you will be wealthy. I don’t believe that. I’ve sat with far too many clients drowning in debt despite their high six-figure incomes. And I’ve sat with clients that earned modest salaries and are now retired millionaires. What’s the difference?

Part of the difference can be illustrated in a decades old experiment by Dr. Walter Mischel. In the 1960’s, Dr. Mischel conducted an experiment on 5-year-olds, in which they were sat in front of a marshmallow and told not to touch it for 15 minutes. Their reward, if they exhibited self-control, would be two marshmallows. The results of this experiment led Dr. Mischel on a 50-year journey of studying self-control. A New York Times article commented on his long-term findings: Continue reading…

The Currency of Contentment: How Avoiding Happiness Can Impact Your Financial Position

Posted on October 30, 2019 in Money by

ContentmentIf you learn to manage this special “currency” well, it will help you to avoid financial ruin.

In the public marketplace we often hear about purchasing power, buying power, and how strong the dollar is. These references are to our ability to buy things. But there is a far more important currency that, if properly understood, is a powerful tool in our financial tool box.

Contentment is that peculiar quality of being satisfied. I say peculiar because it’s rare to see anyone that is satisfied in our current consumer crazy culture. We are more likely to be content for the first 5 minutes after we get our new phone than 2 years after we’ve had it.

Real contentment is the ability to appreciate what we have, and resist the urge to want more. We learn to recognize the value in what we already have and how our possessions meet our needs.

Contentment is a key ingredient in our ability to accumulate wealth and be in a financially solid position.

People often talk about happiness. Happiness is the tabloid talk of the day and every pseudo-author and television host wants to share the secret, the recipe for happiness. But happiness is most often circumstantial. In this, happiness is also temporary and fleeting.

Happiness says “I’m so happy I got a new car,” or “My new phone is the best.” But as soon as the car needs repair work or the next model of our phone is released, the happiness fades. As happiness fades the desire to buy (consume) more stuff grows. This has led to our current consumer culture where making sure we have the latest, greatest everything reigns supreme. Continue reading…

These Unusual “Currencies” Can Create Tremendous Wealth

Posted on October 22, 2019 in Money by

WealthI work in an industry where currency is central. Whether we are speaking of domestic fiat currency, foreign fiat currency, or the currency of real property and commodities; currency is a critical component to financial services.

Our goal is typically to increase the amount of currency a person holds while reducing the amount of currency a person needs to spend. This ratio (debt to asset) will ultimately determine a person’s net worth and wealth. And while people may not have a particular number in mind for how wealthy they want to be, every person, in general, would like to be wealthy.

Wealth has been defined various ways throughout history. The ancient Aztecs used cocoa beans as currency and considered anyone with an abundance of them as wealthy. The ability to create an endless amount of chocolate certainly fits my definition of wealth. At one time anyone in possession of large quantities of gold was considered wealthy. Land and cattle have also been used to determine the statusof one’s wealth. At certain periods in history tobacco was a form of currency. Anyone who enjoys a good cigar or pipe would likely agree that tobacco is valuable.

But what is currency? What is wealth? J.R.R. Tolkien once said, “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” It seemed past generations did value non-monetary “currencies” as valuable and sought to build wealth in ways now lost.

In this introductory article I want to consider some uncommon currencies that are often neglected in our pursuit of wealth. In our scramble to attain and accumulate physical wealth we have often neglected the personal wealth of our character. Our own soul has been corrupted in favorof material possessions which leave us wanting more. Continue reading…

What’s So Good About “Good Friday”?

Posted on April 19, 2019 in Theology by

 I can almost picture the mood, the atmosphere, on that Friday many years ago. We call it “Good Friday” in hindsight, but at the time, it would have been anything but good. The followers of the radical teacher that had changed everything was dead. They were so confused and scared. For three years they followed Him everywhere, watching as He conquered every obstacle. Every sickness, every illness was subject to Him. Every man-made traditional gave way to His God-breathed teaching. Governments feared Him. People worshipped Him. And now He was dead.

But how could Jesus be dead? At one time, Jesus told a man that had been dead for 4 days to get up and walk out of his grave. He called the man by name, Lazarus, because if Jesus would have simply walked into the graveyard and said “come forth,” the entire graveyard would have obeyed his command and come out of their graves. So He gave a very specific command to a very specific person. He did what only God could do by raising the dead. And now, God was dead? Continue reading…

Thinking Biblically About When to Baptize Children

Posted on December 12, 2018 in Theology by

Kids BaptismThere’s more to think about concerning baptism for parents that want to avoid a false sense of security in their child.

In the moments after a child joyfully shares that he or she has accepted Jesus as their Savior, a parent will feel many things. Emotions ranging from relief to elation will quickly overcome any Christian parent that has been praying for the salvation of their child.

Parents will quickly want to affirm the salvation of the child by encouraging baptism. After all, it’s the “first step of obedience” after salvation. While no one would disagree with the need for baptism, the timing is another story altogether.

Much discussion abounds around the timing of baptizing children. Some believe that it would be best to wait and see if the child shows fruit in keeping with repentance and salvation. This might take several years, perhaps even into adulthood, proponents say. A child that claims to have been saved at age 9 might even need to wait until he or she is out of their parents’ house before being baptized.

The simplest way I can summarize the philosophy of this view is like this: a child might be unduly influenced by parents, family, or church peers to profess salvation. To ensure this is not the case and that true repentance has occurred, it would be better to wait until the child has left home and is able to stand on his own two feet. Then, after facing the temptations of the world amidst varying worldviews, if the child keeps the faith, baptism is appropriate.

In a country like the United States, where easy believe-ism has produced false converts and cultural Christianity that seems to identify more with the American flag and White House than with the Scriptures and church house, this view is understandable. It’s almost a necessary evil. Continue reading…

Why I Won’t Be Writing Over the Next Month

Posted on September 17, 2018 in Family by

ThinkstockPhotos-489763838-e1490767826261I started writing 10 years ago. I can remember like it was yesterday. The president of a non-profit political action group was speaking at our pastor’s round table. He was sharing about ways our group of pastors could get involved in the political process in West Virginia. One suggestion was for us to write short articles that the group could post to their website and blog.

At that point I had a minor interest in politics. I attended a rally with my family when George W. Bush came to our small neck of the woods. I knew my position on certain high level topics, and I enjoyed communicating. So I thought writing would be a great opportunity for me to help, make a difference, and get better at communicating.

Since then I’ve written more than 1,500 articles using more than 1,000,000 words to communicate a variety of topics.

My original focus, writing about the issues of life, marriage, and religious freedom, has broadened. In addition to these topics that continue to be both controversial and essential to our culture, I frequently write about a broad range of theological topics, cultural events, and money.

I’ve had the privilege of having articles appear in local newspapers, national websites, and many different blog sites across the country.

Now it’s time to take a break, step away from writing for a short period of time. Continue reading…

When People Want to Believe the Worst About Reformed Theology

Posted on September 13, 2018 in Uncategorized by

Saying Nonew report ponders if some people are determined to believe the worst about Reformed Theology. Maybe they should be asking if people are “predestined” to believe the worst. Get it? Predestined to believe the worst about Reformed Theology. Because they are predestined….Ok, never mind.

Listen, when I was in the Arminian camp I had friends that were Reformed and I thought they were crazy. I thought their theology was absolutely wrong and that they had a fundamental misunderstanding of Scripture. But never broke fellowship with them.

No matter how wrong I thought they were, our theology agreed where it matters most. We agreed on the Gospel, Jesus, the role of the church, the Trinity, baptism, and the inerrancy of Scripture. Just to name a few. I had more in common with them then with liberal theologians and Christians that want me to believe the Bible is not inerrant, that the Trinity may not exist, that Jesus is not God, and salvation is by anything other than grace through faith. Continue reading…

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