Faith Based Investing

In six days, Americans will elect a new President, select a new Congress, decide one-third of the Senate, and decide numerous Governor, state, and local races.

No matter what happens, God is in control.  We should still operate our businesses with biblical principles.  We shouldn’t abandon America, but fight for her! Some are arguing if Senator Obama is elected, we should sell everything, go to cash, and head to another country. Others believe Senator McCain would continue Bush doctrine and ruin our country.

Whoever you support, does your candidate reflect your values?  My whole platform is built on standing for faith, standing for values, and placing principles before everything including profit potential.  This includes businesses we own, mutual funds and stocks we purchase, and yes how we vote!   I will go on record that I support McCain/Palin for a wide number of reasons.  I have been praying and seeking God in these uncertain times.

Here are Four Take-aways as I Prayed for America…
1) On November 4th, the election will be decided.  It is not over as the media and polls indicate. We can move the hand of God through prayer. My prayer is you would seek God, through prayer. That you would pray for God to have His hand in the elections – Presidential, Senate, Congress, and local…that this country can get back on course.  Back to its roots of faith, hope, and love!

2. Christians can change the outcome of this election.  There are over 60 million Evangelical Christians in America.  Many are ill informed.   Here is a MUST WATCH video:

www.valuevotersusa.com

You can also find where each candidate stands on issues important to our faith.

3. No matter who wins, our God is big enough. He can still reshape America into His image.

4. Lastly, we must get out the word…pass along information to everyone we know.  It is our right to vote and our responsibility as Christ Followers.  Sitting out this election is not wise or prudent given what’s at stake. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Are you saddened by any of the following?

* The rising number of abortion clinics and facilities?

* The increased activity from “pro-abortion” activist groups?

* The shady, deceptive practices being used by the pornography industry?

* The number of deaths caused by the tobacco industry?

* The number of families being torn apart by addictions from alcohol and gambling?

* The promotion of homosexuality?

If any of these issues deeply sadden you, think of how God must look at His creation being destroyed by these issues. It breaks His heart. If Jesus was an investor today, would He place money in any company involved in these areas?

I would love to hear your comments!

Share Your Story

As I put the finishes touches on my 2nd book, The Faith-Based Investor I would love to share your story. If you have a story of how God has touched your life in any of these three areas, please let me know:

Growing Your Wealth

Protecting Your Wealth

Sharing Your Wealth

In exchange for your story, I will give you a free signed copy of the book. I can be emailed at info@jayperoni.com.

I just wanted to write a quick note to let you know that The Faith-Based Millionaire is now available for sale at Amazon.com and JayPeroni.com.  I will also be making a guest appearance on the Mornings TV Show with Lorri and Larry on Thursday Nov 6 from 7:08-7:35 am eastern.  This airs on FamilyNet TV and has an estimated 30 million viewers.  Please call in with your questions.  For more information on the show you can go to www.familynet.com.

Here’s what others are saying about The Faith-Based Millionaire:

“Too often I see people segment their lives into those areas that are ’spiritual’
or ’secular.’ Jay addresses this artificial separation and shows the way to
a more fully integrated life. Our financial management certainly does reflect
our values. The Faith-Based Millionaire is a fresh approach to having an authentic
and purposeful life.”
–Dan Miller, best selling author of 48 Days to the Work You Love and No More Mondays.

“Jay Peroni is a man with a passion and a message and has the ability to
deliver it in a readable and compelling manner. This book will challenge your
thinking and be an inspiration to your faith. I am pleased to recommend it.”
–Ron Blue, President of Kingdom Advisors and best-selling author of Master Your Money.

“Mr. Peroni has discovered and revealed the powerful truths of God’s Word in his book, The Faith Based Millionaire. It has the potential to assist changing mindsets in the Body of Christ concerning the wealth that God wants His children to have to build His Kingdom and be personally blessed. Psalm 122:9 (NIV) For the sake of the House of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity!”
– Dr. C. Thomas Anderson, Founder and Senior Pastor of Living Word Bible Church in Mesa, Arizona, Best-selling author of Becoming a Millionaire God’s Way

“Reconciling God and money is one of the most challenging dilemma’s faced by people who want to honor God with their finances and their lives. Jay Peroni does an excellent job helping people figure out this dilemma in his book, The Faith-Based Millionaire.”
–Larry Julian, Business Leadership Coach and best-selling author of God is My CEO.

“Jay points out that it’s not about the goal of being a millionaire but a matter of your financial behavior being governed by integrating your faith and common sense principles to produce God-honoring results.” –Dick Towner, Executive Director, Willow Creek Association, Good $ense Stewardship Movement.

Jeff had the vision of running a coaching practice to help people improve their spiritual and financial lives yet he realized it could take years to build up enough income to support his wife and children.  He always vowed to make enough income so his wife could stay home.  Knowing that his business would not meet the immediate needs of his family, he could have easily put his dreams on hold.  He prayed that God would provide a way for him to pursue his passion yet provide for his family.

While attending a museum, he saw a five foot gumball machine that had hundreds of green gum balls and just one pink one.  The pink gum ball stood out like a sore thumb among all the green ones.  Then what he saw next was astonishing.  He saw grown men and women digging into their pockets putting quarter after quarter into this machine to try to get the “pink” one. Jeff reflected, “That was pivotal moment that God had me in that place at that exact time to witness this rare phenomenon.  It couldn’t have been a better time.  My wife didn’t see this as an opportunity, but I did.”

Jeff wrote down the 800 number listed on the gumball machine and went to meet the owner.  Three hours later he wheeled home five gumball machines.  His wife thought he had lost his mind.  “We’re living in a two bedroom apartment and you bought thousands of dollars worth of gum?”  After calming Kathy down, Jeff explained how he was going to create additional income until his coaching business took off.

Jeff went restaurant to restaurant wheeling his machines around town getting thirty rejections for every “maybe”.  Rejection could have got the best of him, but Jeff kept brushing it off and pressing on.  Finally, he sat down and said, “this can work.  There has to be a better way.”  This is when he crafted an effective sales pitch.  It was simple yet made perfect sense.  Restaurants have dead space in the waiting areas.  His pitch, “why not place a machine there and he would give them 25% of the profits for “rent”.  His success rate went up dramatically and he quickly had his first five machines in business.   This began working so well that Jeff eventually bought 25 more machines.

He literally drove around town stocking gum and collecting quarters, but he paid rent and provided for his family even while making minimal income from his coaching practice.  Jeff knew his future in the gumball business wasn’t forever. In his coaching practice, he kept making connections and working his circles of influence, gaining customers at a rapid pace.  This continued for about three years until his coaching practice made over a million dollars a year.  He has since hired ten staff members and has annual sales in excess of $3.5 million.  All from the vision God gave him and his ability to step out of his comfort zone and look for solutions “out of the box”.  Jeff says, “I owe it all to God’s faith in me and showing me the pink gumball.   Quite honestly, if it weren’t for the gumball machine business I wouldn’t be where I am today.  God is such a faithful rewarding God.”

Do you remember the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? If you haven’t seen it, Ferris, a high school senior plays sick in order to pursue a day filled with fun on the town. As part of the plot, he convinces his nervous hypochondriac friend Cameron to “borrow” his father’s prize possession – a newly restored 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California for their day off. Knowing Cameron’s Dad keeps track of mileage on the car, Ferris promises to erase any miles they put on the car by driving the car home in reverse.

The movie takes the viewer through a series of mishaps, humorous encounters, and a day in the life of two teenagers who pulled off the ultimate day of hooky. Along the way, two parking attendants borrow the Ferrari and rack up mileage. As their day of fun winds down, reality sets in for Ferris and Cameron. How will they possibly be able to reverse all of these miles? The solution? They jack up the classic Ferrari and place the car in reverse as they attempt to undo the damage. While doing so, Cameron rests his foot on the front bumper, the car slides off the jack crashes through the back door garage and lands at the bottom of a ravine. So much for Dad’s Ferrari…

Sometimes this is how we manage the money God entrusts to us. We live for today and forget about the consequences. We buy now and hope to pay later. We borrow more than we can afford, we spend too much, we give too little, and we do not invest enough. In other words, many of us use money foolishly, and then we attempt to fix things on our own, and end up making our situation more of a mess. In many cases we do this all without asking for God’s wisdom and guidance along the way. If this is you, do not worry! Though we cannot turn back the clock, we can move forward and make better decisions starting today.

In order to help people make better financial decisions, I dedicated much of The Faith-Based Millionaire helping the reader develop habits displayed by faith-based millionaires. As a financial advisor for the last 14 years, here are the twelve essential habits I highlight in the book:

Essential Habit # 1: Always place principles before profits. Take responsibility; seek profit, but do not compromise your values.
Essential Habit #2: Find your purpose and passion to create financial changes. If you do not get emotional, you will not change.
Essential Habit #3: Seek wise counsel. Find help for areas outside your expertise and have a sounding board.
Essential Habit #4: Establish a financial plan. Know what the end result should be and create an action plan to make it happen.
Essential Habit #5: Give generously to help those less fortunate. Accumulating wealth will enable you to help more of God’s people.
Essential Habit #6: Spend money frugally. Learn to live on less than you earn.
Essential Habit #7: Minimize your debt. Pay off debts as quickly as possible and incur only new debts that will bring long-term value.
Essential Habit #8: Save regularly; put it on autopilot. Build an emergency fund; save for your future. Set up automatic savings plans!
Essential Habit #9: Find sound investments that complement your faith. Find out where you are investing. Make sure the in¬vestment makes sense financially and does not contradict your faith.
Essential Habit #10: Manage risk. Take calculated chances to get where you need to go.
Essential Habit #11: Monitor the results. Track and monitor your progress and update your plan regularly.
Essential Habit #12: Trust God with the outcome. Put it all in His hands! With Him by your side, anything is possible.

The Faith-Based Millionaire is set to be released on October 26th. It is now available for pre-sale order on Amazon.com and jayperoni.com.

It features a foreword written by Dan Miller, best-selling author of 48 Days to the Work You Love and No More Mondays.

**From Dan Miller’s foreword: “I urge you to do something special for others and yourself–read The Faith-Based Millionaire.”

photo credit: Damian Morys Fotos

Poor Joe! You ask a reasonable question and you have a bullseye on your back.

Yesterday I wrote about Joe the Plumber who was mentioned over 20 times in the Presidential Debate on Wednesday evening. Since then the media has been attacking this guy because he dare I say – still believes in the American Dream! Oh no…we better stone him! He doesn’t want to spread the wealth around. He’s not Robin Hood! He criticized Barack “The Chosen One” Obama! We’ll get him!

Joe is a guy living in a small community in Holland, OH, and Sen. Obama drops into town. He didn’t go to an Obama rally looking to cause trouble. Obama was in his neighborhood. So Joe goes to see if he can get a question answered. He wants Obama to explain his tax proposals and how it may someday affect Joe and his family. He dreams of owning the business where he works. So he asked Senator Obama why he wants to confiscate money from people who work harder to earn more, and give it to other people. Seems pretty reasonable to me so far.

Now here’s the part we all need to pay attention to: Senator Obama provided a response that revealed his worldview. He told Joe that wealth should be spread around to help the little guy. Obama responded with a far left, socialist view and Joe is attacked? Obama was the one who said in so many words “you succeed, you pay”. Because Obama answered the question and let people know his true intentions, Joe the Plumber is being dragged through the mud?

First, Politico.com wrongly reported that Joe isn’t a registered voter. Oops they got that wrong…he is registered. Oooh let’s look at his taxes records. Ah ha – he owes taxes! So the Associated Press reports that Joe owes over a $1,000 in back taxes and has had a lien on his property from the state of Ohio. What does this have to do with the price of Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s TV?

Let’s go look at his plumbing license… Oh wait he doesn’t have one. Now the mainstream media is going on and on about how he doesn’t even have a plumbing license. Joe Biden even took a crack at Joe the Plumber saying “real plumbers don’t make $250,000 a year”. Oh Joe’s not a real plumber? Come on… Here’s the truth Joe works for a two-man company that has a license and, because he doesn’t do commercial plumbing, Joe was advised that he wasn’t required to get his license. But wait a second, what does this have to do with Obama’s socialist views?

You see…let’s distract the business owners, the coaches, authors, freelancers, those dreaming about getting their piece of the American Dream. Let’s distract those who have achieved the American Dream. This isn’t about Joe; it is about Obama and his far left liberal views that will impact every business in America. If this is the treatment of a typical, hard working person before Obama gets elected, what will it look like if he gets elected?

Who Will Save Our Economy?   Americans Want to Know…

Are you a business owner?  If so, as business owners, we need to vote our values, select a president that will help aid our ailing economy, and protect us business owners. Did you watch the debate last night? Joe the Plumber was the star of presidential debate. He was mentioned over twenty times throughout the debate. Here is a guy who last weekend showed up to meet Barrack Obama in his small town of Holland, Ohio and became an overnight celebrity. Joe, a tall, bald man who happened to be a plumber has become a household name. “Joe the Plumber” asked Obama if he believed in the American Dream. Joe, like many, has the dream of someday making more than $250,000 a year. Joes’ primary concern is what happens when he achieves the American Dream? Is Obama going to penalize him? The answer? A resounding YES!

ABC News spoke to Joe and confirmed Joe is currently making less than $250,000 (Obama’s magic number). Joe is concerned about his future. What happens when my business takes off? What happens when I am successful?

Today he was asked at what level it would be fair to pay higher taxes? What if he was making a million or five million a year? I love his response: “Quite honestly why should we be penalized for being successful. I mean that’s what you’re telling me? That’s wrong. Because you’re successful you have to pay more than everyone else? We all live in this country and have basic rights. Obama wants to take that right and penalize me for it? That’s what it comes down to. It’s a very socialist view. It is completely wrong. It’s $250,000 now, what happens if Obama changes it and says $150,000 now that is rich. It is a slippery slope.”

Obama has justified his tax plan by saying it’s better for Americans who make less money to pay less in taxes so they can afford to support businesses like Joe’s. John McCain has criticized Obama’s plan as spreading the wealth around. Last night John said, “We’re going to take Joe’s money, give it to Senator Obama, and let him spread the wealth around. I want Joe the plumber to spread the wealth around,” McCain said. He added, “Why would you want to increase anybody’s taxes right now? Why would you want to do that to anyone, anyone in America, when we have such a tough time?”

As a business owner, who do you think will be better for us business owners? I’d love to hear your thoughts?

Remember the scene in the movie The Great Outdoors where John Candy’s character, Chet, is being chased by a large bear in the woods? Chet finally gets inside the house and his look, mannerisms, and tone say it all: “Bear . . . bear . . . Big Bear . . . big bear chase meeeeeeee . . . !”

Many are often like Chet in that they panic when the markets go down. Unlike the threat of immediate physical danger (a bear), threats to your wealth (a bear market) are only temporary. How you proceed in the bad times determines your overall success or failure.

Increasing market volatility often raises many questions and uncer­tainties:

* Are we heading into a recession?

* Is the market going to continue to decline? Should I take my money out?

* How will my dreams and goals be affected?

Having a solid approach to financial planning can help protect you in times of market volatility. This approach should leverage strategies that can help you stay focused on your long-term plan. These strategies can help you weather the expected ups and downs of the market.

No matter what the current market brings, there are always opportu­nities in the financial markets. The key is to understand how to react and what your mind-set should be when there is significant market uncertainty. It is important to have effective strategies in mind during market volatility. Here are five things to think about when the markets take a turn:

1. Review Your Financial Plan

An ideal financial plan takes into consideration a lot more than your asset allocation. Your savings, debt, insurance, taxes, and retirement planning are also key pieces of a comprehensive plan. If you overlook any one of these elements, your dreams and goals may be in jeop­ardy. Market downturns are the time to discuss how market volatility could affect your plan and to determine if you need to make adjust­ments. You should cut back on expenses and try to save more.

2. Take Time to Pray and Control Your Emotions

Up-and-down market movement is a fact of life. God is in con­trol. Lean on Him when things aren’t going well. He will provide strength. Don’t let your emotions drive your decisions. Stay focused on your long-term goals to help ensure your plans stay on track.

3. Diversify, Diversify, Diversify

Diversified investing across stock, bond, and cash investments can help smooth out the inherent ups and downs in the market. Hav­ing the appropriate investment mix based on your goals, risk toler­ance, and time horizon is critical.

4. Be Disciplined

Disciplined investment strategies such as dollar cost averaging can help smooth out market fluctuations. Dollar cost averaging is the practice of investing fixed amounts in equities at set periods of time. Over time, your average price per share will usually be reduced and may help put you in a better position to weather a volatile market.

5. Avoid Market Timing

It can be tempting to react to market volatility by trying to time the market. But effectively timing the market requires you to make two correct decisions that are very difficult to make: exactly when to buy and exactly when to sell. This is a risky game to play. Being out of the market at the wrong time–even if it’s for a short period–can signifi­cantly cost you.

A collaborative financial planning process is built with a long-term view focused on your unique dreams and plans. Keep in mind, diversi­fication helps spread any risk throughout your portfolio, so investments that do poorly may be balanced by others that do relatively better. Diversification and asset allocation do not guarantee overall portfolio profit and do not protect against loss.

People have often said boycotts do not work! Well I am happy to report the McDonalds boycott did! Over the past several months I have kept you informed about McDonalds crossing the line in the culture war – choosing to promote homosexuality. I have encouraged people to avoid buying their company stock and eating at their restaurants. I know my family of six has chosen to eat and invest elsewhere!

As you may recall earlier this year, McDonalds joined the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and company Vice President Richard Ellis sat on the GLCC Board. Well with the help of family values organizations across the country, strength in numbers sent a loud and clear message to McDonalds. Their “super-size” attack on family values had to stop!

Ronald McDonald heard the message and changed its ways. This week, McDonald’s agreed to stop financing the homosexual agenda, Richard Ellis resigned from the GLCC, and they issued an email to franchises saying, “It is our policy not to be involved in political and social issues. McDonald’s remains neutral on same-sex marriage [and the] ‘homosexual agenda…’”

I applaud McDonald’s for their courageous act to stay neutral in the cultural war. It is not the role of a major corporation to promote anti-family values. McDonalds made the wise decision. I also thank all of you who used your buying power to encourage values on the menu and in company policy.

This example is a perfect illustration of why I wrote The Faith-Based Millionaire. If millions of Christian investors chose to boycott the stocks and products of other corporations that promote values that oppose our faith, what a difference we could make. It takes a concentrated effort of like-minded individuals to come together, stand for what they believe, and take action! As this boycott has shown, we can change corporate America. We can take America back to its traditional values based on faith, hope, and love. Let us all continue to be involved and not watch from the sidelines!

Let’s Play the Blame Game!

Whether you are Democrat or Republican, you cannot blame Bush for EVERYTHING!  The economic mess that the world is in does not rest solely on Bush’s shoulders.  Here are some facts relating to the US economy:

The 7 1/2 years of George W. Bush’s Presidency:

The first six years of the BUSH years, the economy was fine.
A little over one year ago…
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon
3) the unemployment rate was 4.5%.
4) The DOW JONES hit a record high: it reached over 14,000
5) American’s were buying new cars, taking cruises, vacations overseas, living large!

But American’s wanted “CHANGE!”

So, in 2006 they voted in a Democratic Congress and yes–we got ‘CHANGE’ all right. In the PAST YEAR:
1) Consumer confidence has plummeted;
2) Gasoline hit $4 a gallon!
3) Unemployment increased to 5.5% (a 10% increase);
4) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $12 TRILLION DOLLARS
and home prices are still dropping
5) 1% of American homes are now in foreclosure.
6) THE DOW has hit a five year low
7) Over $3 trillion dollars has evaporated from their stocks, bonds &
mutual fund retirement portfolios!

Yes, in 2006 America voted for change…..and we sure got it! …..
Remember the President has no control over any of these issues, Congress has control.
And what has the Democrat majority Congress done in the last two years?   Absolutely nothing.

Now the Democratic candidate for President claims he is going to really give us
change along with a Democratic House and Senate!!!! Just how much more ‘change’
do you think we can stand?

So What Do I Do Now?

I have been in the NH local media recently (various TV and radio shows) with the following message:   It may be a hard pill to swallow…but we all need to hear the truth:

First of all stop blaming others… It’s not all Bush’s fault.  It’s not the government; it’s not your spouse, neighbor, friend, or anyone else’s fault.   It starts with YOU!

You have to start taking some responsibility.  We cannot rely on the government, our companies (unless you’re a business owner), or others to bail us out.  It starts with your faith in God.  Give it all to Him.  Our money belongs to Him.  He is in control. While the world falls apart around us, He has a plan in here.  We are merely His money managers.  All of our possessions ultimately belong to Him.  When we die, our possessions go elsewhere.

Our country was built on faith, hope, and love!  Right now Americans seem to be abandoning all three!  Choose the Big P over the little p:    Prayer over panic!

Next take responsibility for your actions…control what you can control.  There are only 4 variables:

INCOME:  Seek to increase your income:  get a second job, start a business, change careers.  Income is a major way to build wealth.

EXPENSES:  This is the most critical area.  You could make a million dollars a year but if you spend $2 Million you’re in trouble!   Control your spending!  Essential Habit #6 (Chapter 6 of The Faith-Based Millionaire) tackles how to spend money frugally.

ASSETS: Manage and protect the assets God entrusts to you!  Yes, the markets are sharply decreasing; do you have a solid plan?     Essential Habit #4:  Establish a financial plan.  The FPA just recently did a study that those who use a financial planner are twice as likely to feel confident about their financial future.  This is discussed in Chapter three Essential Habit # 3:  Seek Wise Counsel

LIABILITIES: Seek to minimize bad and ugly debt!  In chapter 7 of The Faith-Based Millionaire, I talk about Good, Bad, and Ugly Debt.

pg 121:  “Here are the working definitions of what I am talking about:

Good debt: Good debt involves purchasing something that will gain, retain, or create value. A home mortgage is a prime example of good debt.

Bad debt: To put it simply, bad debt is any debt you incur when buying something that will lose value.

Ugly debt: Ugly debt is debt incurred when purchasing something consumable (meaning it will have no further value). This seems logical, right?”

In Conclusion

Hope in the world is hopeless, but in Christ there is hope!  Give it all to Him and He will get you through the wilderness to a place of peace and rest.   Turn off the TV and the news and turn to His Word!  You will find comfort in these troubled times.