Margin is one of those important things in life that we often take for granted, and that can lead to trouble. Margin basically means “something extra.” A little extra time, or even distance from the car in front of you. It’s critical, especially with your finances. We’ll talk about that on Faith and Finance.  You may not always connect the word “margin” with personal finances, but you’re probably familiar with its use in the business world where the term is usually “profit margin.” When we buy an item at the store, we don’t consider how it got there. But someone had to make it — usually ..read more

April is just 72 hours away and it’s one of our favorite months of the year. That’s because April is Financial Literacy Month. This event began some two decades ago to raise awareness about the critical need for financial literacy. It’s just as important as learning to read and write. We’ll talk about that on Faith and Finance.  It’s not quite April yet, but we want to give you a head start on gaining financial literacy. It’s important, because if you don’t know how to set up a budget, handle credit cards responsibly, or figure out how much car or house you can afford— you’ll run into al ..read more

Often when parents make out a will, they simply divide their assets equally among their children, including property. But maybe that’s asking for trouble. We’ll talk about that  on Faith and Finance. One of the most common sentences included in a will is this: “My estate will be divided equally among my children.” That’s fairly easy to do when the estate consists entirely of financial accounts that can quickly be converted to cash for distribution to heirs. It’s quite another thing when the estate contains property, as most do. It immediately forces your heirs— usually your children— to ..read more

Asked if he’d like dinner, a budget airline passenger asked, “What are my choices?” The attendant responded, “Yes or no.” When you’re on a budget, you may forget that you still have choices and flexibility. Today John Putnam joins Rob West to talk about the “3-D Budget” and how it can help you get your priorities straight. This is Faith and Finance - biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. John Putnam is a Certified Financial Planner, a Certified Kingdom Advisor, and founder of Smarter Stewardship, a marketplace ministry. I recently came across the 3-D budget you offer as a free resourc ..read more

Are annuities the best product since sliced bread … or a house of mirrors? Or could they be both? We’ll talk about it today with Mike Miller on Faith and Finance.  Mike Miller is a Partner and Senior Private Wealth Advisor at the South Carolina office of Ronald Blue Trust. He’s also a certified financial planner and a Certified Kingdom Advisor.  Mark Miller is a Certified Kingdom Advisor. If you want to learn even more about annuities, you can listen to his two-part podcast on the topic at TalkingMoneyRadio.com. At Faith and Finance, we’re generally not fans of annuities. But l ..read more

If you’re a contract worker— and more people are these days— you probably have irregular hours and pay. So how do you budget? We’ll give you some tips to help you budget, even if you’re living on an irregular income.  New data shows that employers are using about 25% more contract workers now than a year ago, largely due to fears of recession. That means a lot more people are struggling to budget with income that varies from week to week. But the need to budget doesn’t change just because your paycheck does. Spending less than you earn is the key to every financial success. It’s the foun ..read more

Proverbs 22:7 carries a grim warning about debt: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” Nowhere is that more true than with student loan debt, now just over $1.75 trillion. But you don’t have to be part of that statistic. We’ll talk today with Howard Dayton about how you can avoid it.  Howard Dayton is the former host of this program and the founder of Compass—Finances God’s Way. Howard has written about student loan debt in the past and has come across some numbers that should make anyone think twice about falling into that trap.  You can read m ..read more

Ecclesiastes 7:8 encourages us to be patient in trials of all kinds, including our investments. If patience is a virtue, how do we apply that to our portfolios? We’ll talk about it with investing expert Mark Biller.  Mark Biller is executive editor at Sound Mind Investing. If you’re feeling despondent about the losses suffered over the past year, be encouraged!  PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE Biller reminds us that time is on the side of the long-term investor. This has always been the case — it was true after the dreadful losses of 2008’s Financial Crisis, it was true after the Covid sh ..read more

The problem with most retirement plans is that eventually, you have to pay taxes on your distributions … or do you? Would you believe there’s a way you can avoid paying those taxes and greatly increase your giving to God’s kingdom at the same time?   The Bible is clear that Christians should pay their taxes. Romans 13:1-2 reads, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” At the same time, we don’t want to pay more in taxes than we have to, because that wouldn’t be good stewardshi ..read more

The Bible clearly says that Christians are to give, but is it always as clear about where we should give? We all have to make decisions about where we will give from our limited resources. So a good question to ask is, does God care where we give? We’ll talk about that  with David Wills. David Wills is President Emeritus of the National Christian Foundation. He’s spent a lot of time helping individuals and families decide not just how, but where to give. Wills recently wrote an article for NFC titled “Does God Care Where We Give?” In that article, he points out that we sometimes have thi ..read more