Financial Advisors—Part 3: How to Choose One

This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on November 3, 2017, and updated in January 2026. This article is the third and final one in my series about financial advisors. If you read the first two, you hopefully have a better understanding of what advisors do, … Read more

Financial Advisors—Part 2: How They’re Paid

This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on October 18, 2017, and updated in January 2026. The question “Are advisory fees worth it?” doesn’t have a simple answer. It depends on what you’re getting, when you’re getting it, and what mistakes the advisor helps you avoid. … Read more

Financial Advisors—Part 1: What They Do

This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RELE) series. It was initially published on October 4, 2017, and updated in January 2026. I know what you’re thinking: Oh, fun…another blogger is going to bash my friendly broker or insurance agent. Well, I’m not out to malign anyone, but I do want you … Read more

Can Retirement Stewardship Make you a Rich Fool?

This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS). It was initially published in August 2017 and updated in January 2026. The short answer is no, not if you practice retirement stewardship based on tried and true principles of biblical stewardship. In fact, “stewardship” and “fool” together in the same sentence is … Read more

If You’re Close to (or in) Retirement You Need to Understand “Sequence of Returns Risk”

This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on July 9, 2017, and updated in March 2026. As I wrote years ago, wise saving is an essential part of biblical stewardship (Proverbs 13:11; 21:20). We save for needs we’re aware of in the near term—car repairs, insurance … Read more

Biblical Traits of a Successful Investor

The subtitle of this blog is, “save diligently, invest wisely, give generously, live abundantly.” I included investing in the mix because it is a very important part of retirement stewardship. It is wise to invest, especially for the long term, for things like college and retirement. Investing is actually condoned in Scripture (Ecc.11:1-2; Prov.21:20; Matt.25:14-20), … Read more