One of my pastors and I recently taught a class on stewardship at our church. In one session, a young couple in the class asked about vacations. The question wasn’t very specific, and I took it as “is it good stewardship to spend money on vacations?” It was a reasonable and sincere question as money … Read more
Happy New Year! Planning is a wise part of retirement stewardship. But no matter how well we plan, we must always remember that “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Prov. 16:9). And now that we are closing out 2018 and looking out ahead to 2019, I thought I would share some thoughts … Read more
As I shared in a previous article, I decided to retire from my full-time paid position a few weeks ago. I will do an article about how my “transition” to retirement is going and what I am up to in a future article. In this post, I want to share the main lessons I have … Read more
Owning a house is a great thing. Mostly because we all need a place to live, and if you are fortunate enough to own your own home, you are truly blessed. Actually, among the developed countries in the world, a relatively large percentage of people do own their homes. The most recent statistics for the … Read more
In a recent chat with a younger friend at church, he expressed a desire to find the right balance in his retirement stewardship. He didn’t use that phrase specifically, but that’s how I understood him. He was talking about his financial resources in general, but planning and saving for retirement is part of that equation. … Read more
Sooner or later, most of us will ask ourselves this question: “Can I retire?” Perhaps because of an unexpected layoff, a health issue, age, or some other factor, we will need to come up with an answer. No matter what the reason or when you decide to retire, you will need to have some idea of … Read more
This article is the second in a four-part series on the most important thing to do in different stages of life to be able to retire with dignity. This time, I’m focusing on those in their mid-30s and 40s. Some may call them the “Gen Xers” – those caught in the middle between the millennials … Read more
In this second of three articles about the most important financial decisions that affect retirement stewardship, I discuss the car purchase decision and also some general lifestyle areas. The first article in the series dealt with the all-important house purchase decision. As with housing, when you spend more than you can afford for major items, … Read more
I think it was Ben Stein who, when asked about the key to financial success in life, replied, “one dog, one house, one wife.” You may see the wisdom (and wit) in that, but it may not be quite that simple. We make financial decisions almost every day – most are minor, and some are … Read more
