Should Whole Life Insurance Be Part Of Your Retirement Plan (Part 1)?

A reader recently asked me to take a look at a retirement planning (funding) method using permanent life insurance espoused by Nelson Nash in his book Becoming Your Own Banker. In addition to the life insurance benefit, the author discusses a “be your own bank” approach to funding major life purchases. He also recommends using permanent … Read more

My New Book, “Reimagine Retirement: Planning and Living for the Glory of God,” Has Been Released!

Well, folks, I have great news: as of today, my new book, Reimagine Retirement: Planning and Living for the Glory of God, has been released by B&H Publishing (LifeWay)! It is a project I have been working on for about 18 months, and I am thrilled to announce that it is available to order from LifeWay.com, Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, … Read more

Stock Market Volatility and “The Prudent Man Rule”

In case you haven’t noticed, after a relatively “quiet” first half of 2019, volatility has returned to the financial markets in a big way. The stock market was down about 3 percent just the other day. As I understand it, uneasiness about a trade war with China, a global economic slowdown, and increasing tensions with … Read more

Should I Include Annuities in my Retirement Plan (Part 2)?

In my last article, I looked at immediate fixed-income annuities and discussed whether I might want to include them as a part of my overall retirement income plan. Guaranteed payments for life are their strong suit (helps mitigate “longevity risk”). But, as I noted, one of my major concerns about immediate fixed-income annuities is that … Read more

All You Need to Know About Personal Finance on a 3 x 5 Inch Index Card – Really?

A few years ago, a University of Chicago college professor named Harold Pollack remarked that everything you really needed to know about personal finance could be fit on a single 3×5 inch index card. Someone asked him to prove it, the result went viral, and Pollack actually ended up co-writing a book about it called … Read more

My Stewardship Practices – Part Two:  Saving, Investing, and Protecting

In this second of two articles on my stewardship practices, I discuss my saving, investing, and protecting (insurance) approaches. The stewardship principles that are most applicable to these areas are as follows: There are a few other more granular ones that apply here and there, which I will highlight in the appropriate sections. My practices … Read more

So You Want to be an “Everyday Millionaire”?

Author and speaker Chris Hogan, who is part of Dave Ramsey’s team, just came out with a new book titled, Everyday Millionaires. In some ways, it is a follow-up to his earlier book on retirement, Retire Inspired. The book summary says it will show you: …how ordinary people built extraordinary wealth—and how you can too. … Read more