Making New Years Resolutions? How About “Spend Less, Save and Give More”

Lots of people make resolutions this time of year. Not surprisingly, things like paying down debt and saving more tend to show up the most. According to Fidelity’s Fidelity’s 11th annual New Year Financial Resolutions Study, “more than half of Americans, 53%, say they aim to save more in 2020, 51% plan to pay down … Read more

My Thoughts on the New Retirement Savings (aka, “SECURE”) Act

Earlier in 2019, I wrote about some retirement legislation that was pending in Congress. Well, surprise, surprise—it passed recently. (Interestingly, the bill was languishing in congress until it was added to a 2020 spending bill and seemed to slip in under the radar.) It’s the most significant legislation since the Pension Protection Act of 2006 … Read more

Some Thoughts on “Saving Retirement”

Some months ago, one of my favorite bloggers, Tim Challies, featured a link on his a la carte page to a Christianity Today (CT) article titled, “Saving Retirement.” I didn’t have immediate access to the article (it was behind a “paywall”), but I later acquired a copy. That magazine featured it on its cover with … Read more

Should Whole Life Insurance Be Part Of Your Retirement Plan (Part 2)?

In this article, we are going to consider what role, if any, whole life insurance might play in your retirement income plan. Although the death benefit is still in view, the focus here is on leveraging the cash-value (investment) component to help fund your retirement income stream. More and more retirement planning professionals are emphasizing … Read more

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

Imagining Your Retirement

You may remember these lyrics from the now famous 1971 song “Imagine” that was written and performed by former Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono: Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people living for today… It’s a simple, melodic song … Read more

Help—I Think Too Much About My Retirement Savings!

I was recently part of a book study with a group of men who happened to all be younger than me. During a discussion, one of them candidly commented in passing that he thinks too much about his retirement savings. It may have been a confession of sorts, but there wasn’t time to discuss it … Read more