Click below to listen to Episode 128 – 7 Steps Before Big Financial Decisions






7 Steps Before Big Financial Decisions

Are you taking these important 7 steps before making a large financial purchase?

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It has happened to the best of us. We have a big financial decision, and we jump the gun to make a large purchase before we ask for advice or really think things through, leaving us financially vulnerable afterward. Since making big financial decisions is something that we all face eventually, Bob and Shawn have put together seven recommended steps you should take before making a large purchase.

These steps can be used for anything, such as buying a new car, your first house, or even new appliances. Gaining advice and insight through using these seven steps can help take away the stress and fear of the unknown when it comes to your finances. Knowing you have the monetary means to confidently make a large purchase can offer an indescribable feeling of financial freedom.

HOSTED BY: Bob Barber, CWS^®, CKA^®
CO-HOST: Shawn Peters

Mentioned In This Episode













Christian Financial Advisors



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Bob Barber, CWS^®, CKA^®



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Shawn Peters



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Bible Verses In This Episode






JAMES 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Luke 16:10-13

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Luke 14:28

For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?

Job 12:12

Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

[INTRODUCTION]

Welcome to “Christian Financial Perspectives”, where you’re invited to gain insight, wisdom and knowledge about how Christians integrate their faith, life and finances with a Biblical Worldview. Here’s your host Christian Investment Advisor, Financial Planner, and Coach, Bob Barber.

[EPISODE]

Shawn:

Welcome to another episode of Christian Financial Perspectives. Once again, thank you so much for either watching or listening to our episode today. We’re so glad you chose to join us. Bob, what do we got for today?

Bob:

Well, Shawn, I built this program because I know you and Jenna are thinking about buying a new car.

Shawn:

Have been for about a year and a half or so. It has not been a quick, knee jerk decision by any means.

Bob:

So today is a very important subject for that or if you’re about to buy a new home or any big financial decision, and I’m calling it “7 Steps Before Making Big Financial Decisions”. I consider a large financial decision, take your income, your annual income, multiply that by 2% to 5% and I consider that to be a large financial decision.

Shawn:

Yeah. I think that’s fair.

Bob:

So a hundred, if you have $100,000 income, $5,000 decision, anything larger than that is considered a family big decision. So these are seven steps I think are especially important for a Christian to think about before making. Because as you know, I believe God owns it all. And I believe that all financial decisions are spiritual decisions as well.

Shawn:

Hence why our name is Christian Financial Advisors. We have Christian first because it should be part of all financial decisions.

Bob:

That’s right. So there’s seven steps.

Shawn:

Let’s go step number one.

Bob:

And you can see where I am on this.

Shawn:

Pray about it. This one is very important. We’re gonna go to James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you.”

Bob:

And again, like I said, for a Christian, all major financial decisions are spiritual ones, especially if it’s a large one that’s gonna affect your giving.

Shawn:

That’s true. And also remember that God is the owner, and we are the managers.

Bob:

That’s right.

Shawn:

Or the stewards.

Bob:

That’s correct.

Shawn:

Bob, do you wanna go to number two?

Bob:

Step number two is turning to God’s word. I believe it’s over 2000 scriptures that have to do with stewardship and how we handle what God has given us. I especially like the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. And in all these different scriptures, God has given us resources to look at this. I like the parable of a good steward and a bad steward. I think that Luke 16:10, I mean Luke 16:10-13. So 16th chapter ,10 through the 13th verse really sum up the parable of a good and a bad steward. So Shawn, if you’ll read that for us.

Shawn:

Sure thing. So again, that’s Luke 16:10-13, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you’ve not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Bob:

This parable, to me, if you bring it to real life, which it is real life, is that it’s really saying how are you doing with the small things before I give you more? And I always think of this with a child. If I give a child $10 and they do very well with that, maybe I’m more apt to give them $12 or $15. And they do well with that, maybe I can give them $20 now. So I think that God is looking at what he’s given us and seeing how do we handle that before he gives us more to handle. Are we being a good steward with it and, you know, being just good mathematically as well with that.

Shawn:

But also it kind of goes back to that serving two masters, you can’t do it. You have to serve one or the other. So, when you’re looking at a big financial decision and what to do with this money that’s been entrusted to you, are you either serving God and seeking his wisdom from his word on what you should do. Or, are you serving money, i.e. yourself and what you want to do, not what God wants you to do with it.

Bob:

We have the throne. And are ourselves on the throne or is Christ on the throne. I got that from the four spiritual laws from a long time ago, and I remember that from Campus Crusade and we would give out the little tracks and it had that in there. I still remember that. And it’s very powerful. So, step three.

Shawn:

Step number three, be patient.

Bob:

Be patient, be patient.

Shawn:

I’ve been feeling this one because with Jenna and I having two kids now, there’s been many a times where we really wanted someone to ride with us or give someone a ride from church or whatever it is. And it’s kind of hard when you’ve got two parents, two kids with car seats, and both of your vehicles have five seats. There’s really not room for anybody, and we’ve been waiting and waiting and the car market has been crazy.

Bob:

It has been.

Shawn:

And as much as we wanted to get something, it hasn’t felt like the right time. And now it feels like things have aligned somewhat. They’re like, okay, well maybe before the end of the year. But I can definitely tell you it is much easier said than done to be patient.

Bob:

And it’s such a large decision today.

Shawn:

Yes. But it’s important.

Bob:

Oh, very.

Shawn:

So, be patient. Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law.”

Bob:

No law against that. Be patient. And I say that because 98% of the time, whatever you’re purchasing, there’s more of it coming from somewhere. And it’s really interesting because I bought a new car, and I was patient, but they were trying to get me – to push you to buy it because there’s not gonna be any more coming. Well, what’s interesting, when I went to pick it up the very next day, they were delivering some cars just like it. Okay. All right. So Yeah. Don’t buy into, it’s only on sale this one time. There’s always gonna be other options, but boy, people can get caught up into that.

Shawn:

And while being patient, while exercising that patience, use the time for research. Is there a viable alternative that is less money?

Bob:

Yeah. That’s right.

Shawn:

If you’re going to make a large purchase, research the cost of the item extensively, like when you’re looking at a home or you’re looking at that car, it’s not just the purchase price, but it’s the ongoing maintenance and the cost of actually owning and operating it. Sometimes people say, Oh, I can get this nicer item for for a good price, but then they don’t realize the actual cost of ownership is quite a bit higher than they expect. And then they get into a bind later.

Bob:

And that takes us into our fourth step, which is duh, use math. Use math. Do a complete financial analysis of the possible purchase. Especially if this has to do with real estate and say a second property, look at what that’s going to cost you. Luke 14:28, “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it.”

Shawn:

That’s a good one. It’s almost like there’s a lot of scriptures on making wise decisions and finance and stewardship.

Bob:

Yep. Now you’re gonna love this first one right here.

Shawn:

So what will the major purchase be worth in three to 10 years? What would investing those same funds in a growth or balanced portfolio be worth in three to 10 years?

Bob:

You could be going opposite directions, right? Because we do know you take money out for a car, in 10 years, that car’s gonna be worth about 20% of what it was worth. And if you had kept that money in a balance fund, it’s gonna be worth possibly -there’s no guarantees – Okay. We always have to say that…

Shawn:

But it should be worth more.

Bob:

Future performance is no guarantee there, but based on history, it could be worth double. So you take $50,000 out for a car that’s gonna be worth $15,000 in 10 years and you take that $50,000 could be worth a$100,000. So what, I don’t know. I mean, but I’m just telling you, you really need to think about that and put the math behind it where it’s logic.

Shawn:

Always makes me think of when, I know you had a client one time, they wanted to take everybody on, the extended family, on a cruise and well the cost of it is X amount today. Okay. Well, how many years do you have left in retirement? So what is the future value of that same amount 10 years from now, 15 years from now? And just because the value of leaving it invested typically is gonna be more doesn’t mean that it’s a bad decision, but it’s just something to take into account.

Bob:

That’s right. We had those decisions all the time, and we put them into our calculations and it’s okay to take that big vacation with your family, of course. That’s okay. And many times I look at it and say, Yeah, you’re fine. You’re good there. Or, if you wanna do a major remodel or you wanna buy that second home, we’re not saying you can’t do these big financial decisions. I’m just saying there’s a lot of things that go into it, like these steps that we’re talking about.

Shawn:

Exactly.

Bob:

And you need to understand, too, if you’re gonna have to borrow the funds to buy that car or to buy that home or to buy that boat, you are really presuming upon a future that you have no idea about. There’s no certainty. None of us know if we’re gonna be here tomorrow. Okay.

Shawn:

So then that ongoing cost like you mentioned a little bit ago. What is the major purchase’s monthly and ongoing annual cost. Because again, any kind of asset that, especially a major financial purchase, there’s going to be ongoing cost.

Bob:

That’s right.

Shawn:

You need to make sure that that is not prohibitive enough where it’s not worth it.

Bob:

So this next one is one I’m always saying around here a lot, right?

Shawn:

Yep. Step five, keep emotions out of it.

Bob:

Emotions should never be involved in a financial decision. I know that’s hard. You really have to be disciplined with that. And to get those emotions out of the way because I always say this, emotions and finances mix together like oil in water. They don’t. They don’t, and they never should.

Shawn:

Kind of makes me think of the previous ones about being patient and using the math. That patience and waiting a little bit. Don’t make that quick decision. And then looking at the math kind of helps you with step five to keep the emotions out.

Bob:

It does.

Shawn:

Because otherwise, we are emotional creatures. It’s hard to keep out if we don’t have something to provide those guardrails.

Bob:

And how about this next one under emotions? Who would’ve thunk it, right?

Shawn:

Right. Is it a need or a want?

Bob:

Exactly.

Shawn:

A want is okay if you can easily afford it, but not if you can’t.

Bob:

And we can run those calculations, we do it every day here. And it is nothing, like I’m saying, there’s nothing wrong with that new car. If you can afford that second home that you want to buy or that boat, as long as it doesn’t affect your giving. Think about that. Step number six.

Shawn:

Seek experienced financial advice. Job 12:12, “Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not life bring understanding?

Bob:

Long life.

Shawn:

Yes. Long life.

Bob:

“Does not long life bringing understanding?”

Shawn:

“Does not long life bring understanding?”

Bob:

Okay. So this gray, it’s not bad. Okay. It’s not bad to go to somebody that has a little bit of gray in their hair and ask them. At first, I feel like you should always discuss the purchase with your spouse. Okay guys, I’m telling you. Make sure mom’s happy. Are you both in agreement about this? And the next thing is ask an experienced financial advisor as well as an older parent, grandparent, or older friend who is…

Shawn:

Financially successful.

Bob:

That’s right. You want to get your advice from the eagles, not the turkeys. Okay. So if they’ve been financially successful, that’s a good person to go ask advice from. If they haven’t, they may be a great person, but I don’t think you should get financial advice from somebody that is not financially successful.

Shawn:

Well, plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed. So you may have someone who’s a great spiritual advisor but may not be as good of a financial advisor.

Bob:

That’s right, but hopefully they are.

Shawn:

Hopefully they’re both.

Bob:

Because they need to be reading Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, too. Okay. And the last step of all this is apply what we call the live, give, owe, grow method. Okay. Money can only be spent four ways. It’s that simple – live, give, owe, and grow. And one of those categories is going to be affected when you make a large purchasing decision.

Shawn:

So kind of think of it as like you’ve got the pie chart, you’ve got the live category. You’ve got the give – charity donations. You’ve got owe, whether that’s taxes or debt. And then you have grow. So in that pie chart, if one of them gets a little bigger…

Bob:

The other’s gotta come down.

Shawn:

One or more of the others will have to go smaller.

Bob:

And Live is just your budget, That’s your overall budget. And then giving, of course, is the charities and your tithe. And owe, we’re always gonna owe even when we’re debt free, we’re still gonna owe the government. I mean, and even like property tax, I feel like I’m renting from the government in my own house. All right. And then grow has to do with growing your assets in the future. So if you’re spending too much, you’re not gonna be able to grow assets for the future. And you’re not gonna be able to give as much. They’re all interconnected and money, it has to come from somewhere. What’s the old saying?

Shawn:

It doesn’t grow on trees, it doesn’t grow on trees. But if you find one, please send us some of the seeds or something. That’d be great.

Bob:

That’d would be great, wouldn’t it? And you know, I have a caution in here at the very end of today’s program, too, that many small purchases on a monthly basis can actually equal a large purchase. You think about that. If you did have to finance a large purchase, the small purchase is going to add up to the same monthly payments. So this is an easy trap to fall into. It shows the importance that we have to have a good monthly budget and stick to it.

Shawn:

Because it may not be a $5,000 budget, for example, like we were talking about earlier, but what if you just have multiple things over a couple months that are a thousand dollars or $1500. You’re like, Oh sure, let’s buy the new appliances. We don’t actually need them because everything’s working fine, but let’s just go ahead and buy the new appliances.

Bob:

Or just watch those Amazon trucks nowadays, because it sure is easy to just say, I want that dress. I want that shirt. I want those pants. I want this, I want that.

Shawn:

And oh, there’s 600 bucks.

Bob:

Just like that. Okay. So making big financial decisions is okay. Okay. It’s not bad. As long as it’s done with wisdom.

Shawn:

Insight.

Bob:

It doesn’t affect your present or future giving.

Shawn:

It doesn’t affect your present or future savings.

Bob:

You have a really good understanding of all the cost involved.

Shawn:

You can afford it and…

Bob:

Hopefully it will appreciate in value so you’re not just throwing money away or will at least retain some of its value over the years. We hope this episode has helped you in your future large decisions. And if you need a good financial advisor, we’d like to be that one and help you through all of life’s major financial decisions. Give us a call or text…

Shawn:

At (830) 609-6986 anytime during our regular business hours. You can also visit us on the web www.christianfinancialadvisors.com. Once again, thank you so much for joining us today. God bless. And until next time.

[CONCLUSION]

We invite you to listen to all of our past episodes covering many financial topics from a Christian Perspective. To make sure you don’t miss any of Bob’s upcoming episodes you can subscribe to Christian Financial Perspectives on iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, or Stitcher. To learn more about integrating your faith with your finances, visit ciswealth.com or call 830-609-6986.

[DISCLOSURES]

Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc dba Christian Financial Advisors, also known as Christian Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the host, Bob Barber and his guests. Bob does not provide tax advice and encourages you to seek guidance from a tax professional. While Christian Investment Advisors believes the information to be accurate and reliable, we do not claim or have responsibility for its completeness, accuracy, or reliability.