Back to Basics

Many books and articles have been written about Christians and money, and some about retirement. This blog is about Christians and retirement, and I often write about money and stewardship. There’s much to say about these topics, but the Bible tells us what is most essential for us to know—not every practical detail about personal … Read more

Why a TIPS Ladder?

This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS) series. It was initially published on February 8, 2023, and updated in February 2026. As I update this in early 2026, I’m nine years into retirement and increasingly focused on ensuring my portfolio can maintain purchasing power over a 25-30-year retirement horizon. The … Read more

Why Invest in TIPS?

This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS) series. It was initially published on February 1, 2023, and updated in February 2026. The previous articles in this series discussed why retirees might want to own bonds and whether individual bonds might be preferable to bond funds. This article examines a unique … Read more

To Ladder or Not to Ladder?

This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS) series.. It was initially published on January 25, 2023, and updated in January 2026. In the last two articles, I discussed how retirees (and others) use bonds as part of a diversified portfolio because of their stabilizing effect during stock market volatility. Bonds … Read more

Individual Bonds or Bond Funds?

This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS) series.It was initially published on January 18, 2023, and updated in January 2026. Suppose you’ve decided to keep a portion of your portfolio in bonds, perhaps with a higher allocation percentage than stocks. In that case, you have another decision: whether to invest … Read more

The Secure Act 2.0 May Have Passed While You Weren’t Looking

The Secure Act 2.0 was finally passed as just one part of a massive funding package by the outgoing congress just before Christmas on December 23, 2022, and signed into law by the president as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, an omnibus spending bill authorizing roughly $1.7 trillion in new Federal spending (yikes!). You’re … Read more

Do Bonds Still Belong in a Retiree’s Portfolio?

This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS) series. It was initially published on January 4, 2023, and updated in February 2026. An important preliminary note: Given the significant losses sustained by both the stock and bond markets in 2022, I started 2023 with a series of articles about “safe” retirement … Read more

I Want to Grow Old Like Simeon

A character in the story of the birth and early days of Jesus we often overlook is a man named Simeon. Simeon was a devout Jew who regularly worshiped in the Temple at Jerusalem and was there when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus in. Luke tells the story in Chapter 2, verses 22 thru 35: … Read more