The COVID-19 pandemic has created some significant economic repercussions, not the least of which is a further reduction of already low prevailing interest rates. They were already low—now they’re EXTREMELY low. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve recently announced that it would keep interest rates near zero for the foreseeable future, perhaps through 2022 or longer. It … Read more
On a recent Sunday morning, one of our lay-elders-in-training (we call them pastoral interns) gave his personal testimony and shared from Joshua 1:1-9, a text that had greatly influenced him. He said that God spoke to him through these verses at an early age, calling him from a promising engineering career to one more focused … Read more
I am very excited to announce that my new book, The Minister’s Retirement, has been released and is now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. The following is from the introductory material in the book: “This is a book about planning for retirement targeted specifically at ministers. Granted, most ministers I know would … Read more
I was recently asked by a friend what I thought about buying a vacation home, specifically a beach house. They said they have a relative who owns one and rents it out with annual positive cash flow. We didn’t have a very in-depth discussion, but I have been thinking about it since. Something that occurred … Read more
We’re in the middle of what is, without a doubt, going to be one of strangest years in my almost-68-year lifetime. Six months ago, I didn’t think anyone would’ve believed everything that has transpired if you told them. A coronavirus pandemic, quarantines, shutdowns, record unemployment, stock market crashes, and extreme social unrest—all happening during a … Read more
With the COVID-19 pandemic came unprecedented levels of federal spending. As a result, the national debt has reached $26 trillion, and the Congressional Budget Office predicts that the federal deficit for 2020 will hit $3.7 trillion. The government has been borrowing money from the taxpayers for various purposes related to the economic crisis precipitated by the national … Read more
For older workers starting to think about retiring, or already in retirement, the economic turmoil the coronavirus pandemic triggered caused reactions similar to what many felt just over a decade ago at the start of the “Great Recession.” In 2008, the stock markets lost nearly 40 percent, accompanied by steep declines in real estate. The … Read more
Financial crises have a way of revealing the weaknesses, and sometimes failures, of our stewardship practices. As renowned investor Warren Buffet humorously once said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who has been swimming naked.” The 2008-2009 recession showed American’s overdependence on debt, especially real estate mortgages. Many were house rich and … Read more
This article is the fourth and final one in a series about long-term care (LTC). In the last article, I alluded to long-term care insurance (LTCI) as one of the ways to fund long-term care. In this article, we’ll look at LTCI in more detail—what it covers, what it costs, and whether you should buy … Read more
