Faith Based Investing

Change the Rules

Yesterday I wrote about changing the rules. If you do not like the results, I suggest you change the rules. Following the same rules that got you in trouble in the first place will only produce the same end result. Without a change, you are doomed to repeat past mistakes. Look at things in a new way. Follow the rules below, and you will find financial freedom. (Please note that the following allocations would apply to those who have already paid down substantial debt; otherwise, the percentage allocated to recreation could be dramatically reduced and the remainder used to pay down debt.)

The rules are:
1. Pay God first: 10 percent toward giving (minimum)
2. Pay yourself second: 10 percent into long-term savings
3. Pay for necessities: 60 percent into a checking type account
4. Pay for recreation: 10 percent into your fun account
5. Pay for freedom 10 percent into a financial freedom account

Though learning to live on 60 percent of your salary is a tough feat for anyone, it should be your ultimate goal. If you control what you spend, you will find a way to live within your means. Reduced spending may also allow you to give more than 10% and save more for the future. If you have a burning passion to change, you will. Otherwise, you will be afraid. Don’t let fear get the best of you. Fear may be present, but work to overcome your fears. If you are willing to do only what is easy, life will be hard. But if you’re willing to do what’s hard, life will be easy. Training your own mind is the most important skill you could ever own in terms of both happiness and success. You should recondition your mind with the knowledge that spending keeps you trapped in a world of limited financial progress. It impacts your ability to give and save more.

How do you possibly get to this point?
One of the reasons I wrote The Faith-Based Millionaire was to help Christians get a better handle on their financial habits. I see the body of Christ struggling just as much as non-believers – deep in debt, little to no savings, trapped in fear! It shouldn’t be this way. As Christ-followers, we are called to a higher standard.

I carefully study the lives of my clients over the last decade. I looked specifically at those who had both faith and wealth and found 12 essential habits that lead to faith-based wealth. Ever notice most of the great men of the Bible were fantastically wealthy? It is no coincidence that when you follow God’s principles, you become abundantly blessed. It is not a guarantee, but rather your surest path toward financial freedom. For more ways to incorporate your faith into your finanial plan, get the latest updates at www.jayperoni.com.   This site is dedicated to the latest news, blogs, and podcasts on faith-based investing, seeking financial freedom, and above all: helping you grow closer to Christ through your finances.

Our Worst Enemy
When it comes to spending, people often become their own worst enemies by following poor advice, making bad decisions, and backing themselves into a corner. After all, isn’t that today’s American way of life–live, spend, and die broke? The American Dream has turned into the American Nightmare for many families. You can either learn to master your money or become a slave to it. Which would you rather be: slave or master?

Many people don’t choose to become slaves to money, but it occurs because of their spending habits. Think about your spending habits. Are you using your resources wisely or do you spend money like there is no tomorrow? For many, money burns a hole in their pockets. How often do you go out and spend money on an impulse, leading to buyer’s remorse? Have you ever been to the grocery store on an empty stomach? I went shopping one time on an empty stomach and came home with bags full of junk food. Did I really need Yoo-Hoos, Ding Dongs, and Wasabi peanuts? It was completely ridiculous.

How many things are in your garage or basement that you at one time just had to have and now sit around collecting dust? Instead of buying dust collectors, what if money was used wisely? I know there will be times when spending gets off track, but with a plan and some focus, you can minimize the damage. Today, many people live beyond their means. Often people buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t even like. Most people would agree that they have overspent on occasion but do not fall victim to impulsive or compulsive shopping. There are others who cannot say the same thing.

Get Off the Hamster Wheel
Have you ever seen a hamster running on a wheel inside a cage? Hamster wheels allow rodents to run even when their space is confined. They keep running and running and make no progress. Yes, they get exercise, but they do not travel any distance. For many, their finances are like the hamster on the wheel. They keep chugging along, spinning their wheels, and making little to no progress. Why is this?

Many are programmed to live life by the rules of the world. Often I see people base their spending rules on how much income they make. The more they make, the more they spend. The true reality of wealth creation is that how much you earn has very little to do with your ability to build wealth. How much you spend is far more critical.

Many falsely believe that the key to getting out of their financial holes is to add more income. Why, then, do people who add more income still live paycheck to paycheck? Why do most lottery winners end up dead broke even after winning millions? If income was the solution, why couldn’t everyone just find better jobs to make more money? The reality is that unless there is a change in spending habits, these people will remain trapped on the same financial wheel–spinning but going nowhere. You must change your rules.

The Hot-Button List
J.C. Watts once said, “Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.” There are many companies that produce products and services that blatantly oppose what you believe in. You may be knowingly or unknowingly investing in companies that are fighting against moral and social issues and causes dear to you. You may not even realize that you have a choice as to where you invest and that you can avoid investing in companies that contradict your belief system.

Following is a list of causes and concerns that may affect your moral decisions. These hot buttons are the most common examples of issues that generate strong emotional responses. If any of these issues are of concern to you, I strongly advise that you begin to consider the implications of investing in companies that violate your internal
moral compass. There are tools and research available to help you eliminate or minimize your involvement in these hot buttons. J.C. Watts once said, “Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.”

Moral vs. Social Issues

Here are a few moral issues that you may be concerned with:
Abortion: This includes companies engaged in the manufacturing,marketing, and licensing of substances used to voluntarily terminate pregnancy. This also includes companies who provide voluntary abortion services.

Homosexual Activities: This includes companies that actively recognize and promote homosexuality. This can include companies offering same-sex benefits when not required by law, diversity training, and other homosexual-friendly policies and programs.

Pornography:This would include companies involved in the distribution or production of adult-oriented publications, motion pictures, or television programs. It also includes companies involved in sexually explicit Internet
operations, videos games, and live performances.

Poor Human Rights: This includes companies who have exposure in countries where there are poor working conditions, abusive practices, child labor, and violations of human rights.

Embryonic Stem Cell Research: This includes companies involved in using embryonic or fetal tissue cells in their research. It also includes companies conducting adult, umbilical, or placenta stem cell research.

Here are some social issues you may be concerned with:

Alcohol: This would include companies involved in alcohol manufacturing, branding, and wholesale distribution.

Antifamily Entertainment: This includes exposure to companies producingor marketing video, print, or live entertainment that is violent, vulgar, or mocking Judeo-Christian traditions or beliefs.

Gambling: This includes companies involved in the ownership and operation of casinos, gaming parlors, racetracks, online betting, or other wagering services. It also includes companies involved in manufacturing equipment used in gambling.

Poor Environmental Record: This includes companies ranked high for environmental damage through pollution, toxic emissions, oil or chemical spills, and high levels of waste.

Tobacco: This includes companies involved in tobacco manufacturing, wholesale distribution, and products used for tobacco consumption.

What issues resonate with you?

Here is a question to ponder: Would you purposely invest money in companies involved in any of the areas listed on this list? After taking some time to examine this list of hot buttons, what issues, if any, most resonated with you? Are there any areas in which you wish to avoid investing in your financial life? If any of these issues ignite strong emotional responses, is your passion strong enough that you want to do something about it? As you explore additional concepts, you will be enlightened with tools, tips, and a process to incorporate your faith into your financial life.

I wrote The Faith-Based Millionaire to help others make sure their investment dollars are not violating their specific “hot buttons.” For more information read the book today! Biblically responsible investing, faith-based investing, moral investing – call it what you will.  Most importantly is making sure you incorporate your faith, morals, values, and beliefs into your financial plan.  This enables you to be a better steward with the resources God has entrusted to you!

Back to the basics
Wealth comes to those who spend carefully, use debt wisely, and develop a regular savings program. There are some common threads that run throughout many areas of your financial life. When I look at where the typical family in America is financially, I am saddened. I believe that if each family lived with these rules, the world would be a much better place:
1. Live below your means.
2. Allocate time, energy, and money efficiently to build wealth.
3. Turn to God in times of need.
4. Question needs versus wants.
5. Financial freedom is more important than high social status.

Is It Adding to or Subtracting from Your Wealth?
Assets are things that bring wealth. They have value and grow over time. They have the ability to provide you income today, tomorrow, or at some point in the future. Examples of assets include certificates of deposit (CDs), savings accounts, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and investment real estate. Liabilities, on the other hand, are things that take away from your wealth. They require that you make payments at some point to reduce what you owe. Examples of liabilities include mortgages, loans, credit cards, and IOUs.

As you begin to work through this area of your life, evaluate:
* What is my monthly income? How can I increase it?
* What are my monthly expenses? How can I reduce these?
* What assets do I own? How can I get better returns?
* What liabilities do I owe? How can I pay these off as quickly as possible?
* What else do I own? Do I really need it or can I sell it to help with my goals?

Questions like these will help you get into the mind-set you need to succeed financially. Financial freedom should be the goal of every individual. If you are not planning ways to add to your wealth, chances are you will never end up accumulating any. There needs to be a process, a plan, and a strategy to overcome your weaknesses and add to your strengths. With God on your side, all is possible. The only thing holding you back is you!

With falling home prices, should your home be your greatest asset?
The wealthy often look to buy assets that produce income. These are what I call “good assets.” Not all assets produce income, but you should look for assets that have the ability to create income for you either now or in the future. Many of the middle class and poor often buy liabilities disguised as assets. Take, for example, a home. Owning a home is the dream of many Americans who consider this their greatest asset. Is a house a good asset?

Think about it. You live there, it produces no income for you, and you are required to make a payment to the bank every month. You have other expenses that go along with it: heat, electricity, water, taxes, etc. A house is often more like a liability (you have to make payments) for a long period of time before it becomes a good asset (has the ability to produce income).

Is a home a good investment?
Buying a home is often better than renting. However, one of the biggest myths is that the home you live in is your greatest asset. Even when you own it outright, it still does not produce income for you. It can become a good asset when you eventually sell. The cash you receive can then be used to purchase assets that will produce income. Be careful not to buy a home that is too large/expensive for your budget.

The better question now becomes, is a house a good investment? This is debatable. A recent study by Fidelity Investments showed that the average annual rate of return from residential real estate has been 5.9 percent per year since 1963.2 Purchasers of residential real estate typically employ leverage by financing a large portion of their purchase–and this provides a major boost to the available rate of return. As with any investment, leverage can cut both ways, increasing the potential for loss.

Is 5.9 percent a good return? Compared to the historical averages of the stock market, it is below average and more in line with the bond markets. My advice is to buy a house that you can afford and invest your excess cash into more financially lucrative investments. It is not about how much you make, it’s about how much you keep. With that in mind, remember to buy assets and not liabilities. Assets put money in your pocket. Liabilities take money out of your pocket.

Spend Less or Earn More? Choose Both!
Lottery winnings, investments, and inheritances aside, there are only two basic ways to increase your personal wealth: spend less or earn more. Ironically, spending less may be your most immediate route to having “more”–more affluence and more confidence.

Will earning more make things easier? Earning more money might alleviate your current financial pressures, but it also might bring new ones. More money gives you more psychological license to “live it up.” Instead of the reduced debt and increased savings you might logically assume would result from a jump in income, what usually happens is that you end up spending a little more on living and not so much on your goals. In the earn-more school of thought, your career is your most important asset, more crucial than any investment. You strive for a good salary to advance economically, and your home equity and your portfolio are just “icing on the cake” compared to the “big bucks” you pull down.

When you figure out the magic or spending less (on what you need versus want) and ways to earn more income (mainly residual income from work you love) you will find yourself living what I call “The Magic Formula: Purpose + Passion = Performance)

The Secret Life
The day Janet came to see me she appeared to have it made: years into retirement, she had a few hundred thousand in various savings accounts, a house that was paid off, and financial freedom. However, what appeared to be built on solid ground in reality had a foundation made of sand, and possessed the ability to become quicksand if immediate
financial remedies were not administered.

Janet lived a secret life as a closet shopaholic. Her late husband had kept her on a very short leash. She had no freedom to spend any money on herself, and her husband controlled her. After her husband passed away, she became addicted to spending. It started out harmless enough with a few trips to the department stores, then she upped the ante by watching a little of the home shopping networks. Before she knew it, she was hooked. She spent hours by the TV, scouring for good deals and spending thousands of dollars a day on purchases she was not even opening when the items were delivered. She often bought things she already owned from previous episodes.

She became a collector, collecting the day’s latest sales. She wanted to stop, but she couldn’t. She was like a heroin addict who kept saying, “Just one more fix, one more. This is it, I promise.” This went on for years. Her daughters were even deceived by their mom’s habits. It wasn’t until Janet and I met that we began to look at the symptoms of her problems and how close she actually was to financial disaster. After “financial” therapy, Janet is back on track. She has learned how to get her spending under control, give money to causes she cares deeply about, and still have financial freedom.

Discipline? I Don’t Need Discipline!
Put your spending under God’s control. Once you recognize that you are a manager of God’s resources, you will begin to look at spending from the vantage point of whether He will be pleased with the purchase. Also, discover the factors that drive you to spend money. This could be anything from self-esteem to feeling like you just need a pick-me-up. When you go to shop, justify the reason why you are going, set a spending limit, and have a written list of what you need. This will help you avoid the many spending pitfalls.

A great way to control spending is to find a partner to hold you accountable for everything you spend for a specified period of time. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 states, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up” (nasb). When accountability is in place, your partner is aware of your weak spot and you can both focus on ways to become more cautious with your spending habits. If looking keeps you tempted, don’t look. Window-shopping often leads to purchasing. One great way to maintain accountability is to develop a spending record.

Keep a list of spending and purchases and share these with your accountability partner. This list will include everyday items as well as monthly items. Review this at least twice a month with your partner. Pray for and encourage each other.

Choose to make more income?
How do you do this? It’s easier said than done. I have something I am contemplating right now. It may shed some more light on this subject in the days to come. I can’t give you the details just yet, but let me tell you it’s powerful, life-changing, liberating, scary, bold, God-centered, all that and more. I’m currently reading One Month to Live by Kerry and Chris Shook. I’d love to say this book inspired me to take this leap of faith that I’m contemplating, but the plan was already in motion and this book is helping me crystalize and formulate my plan of action…If you haven’t read this book, do yourself a favor and go get the book. Sorry to leave you hanging on what’s in store for Jay Peroni…but trust me there may be big news in the future if I can line up the details and God moves me where I need to be. In the meantime, I will keep praying, reading His Word, seeking His will, and using One Month to Live as a life-changing tool to help me process some of what lies ahead…if you only knew!

About One Month to Live:
What if you only had one month to live? What would you do? Who would you spend time with? What actions would you take immediately? What would you stop doing because it was meaningless? Why do we wait to be faced with mortality before we get serious? What if we all spent everyday like it could be one of our last days on earth? Would we seek to provide more value, make a lasting mark, live life with much more energy, passion, and purpose? Change our behaviors? Most of us would change because we fear regret! We talk about some day. Maybe some day we’ll get around to it. Well what if that day never came? Read One Month to Live and start living a no-regret life today! It will help you change your perspective!

BOOK REVIEW

How I Managed $20,000,000 by Age 32
Wade Slome, author of How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32 will be on The Jay Peroni Show this week. With his upcoming appearance, I wanted to give a formal review of his latest book.

Besides being the president of www.Sidoxia.com, Wade wanted to share his unusual story with the world.   

How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32 was designed to provide a unique peek into the mind of an experienced fund manager who has managed large pools of money – through the best of times and the worst of times. Wade presents his perspective on his successful investment career and describes his diverse set of personal and professional experiences that shaped his belief systems. Among the great traits of the book is its ability to equip readers with a new set of investment strategies and tools that will assist investors in achieving a higher level of financial success.

I would not describe this book as a how-to book per se, but it does offer practical and timely advice that can enable you to make better investment decisions.   Part autobiography and part strategy design, this book is both entertaining and educational.

Who is Wade Slome?
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP is President and Founder of Sidoxia Capital Management

He is a CFA charterholder (Chartered Financial Analyst), a CFP certificant (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER), and a member of the CFA Institute and the FPA (Financial Planning Association). Wade Slome has worked in the investment industry since 1993, and Bloomberg identified him as the second youngest manager among the largest 25 actively-managed U.S. mutual funds in 2005. Wade Slome has also been a media go-to resource, quoted in USA Today, The New York Times, Dow Jones, Investor’s Business Daily, Bloomberg, and Smart Money, among other publications.

What is the book about?
This book is about the personal journey of a young, eager determined man seeking to make a name for himself in the financial services industry.  From trading penny stocks in high school stock market competitions after the ’1987 Crash’ to trading billions of dollars whilst elbowing with the likes of Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google), Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon), and John Chambers (CEO of Cisco Systems)…Wade has seen it all.  How did he end up managing billions of dollars and being one of the world’s youngest money managers?   Wade explains all the details and his personal insight in  How I Managed $20,000,000,000 By Age 32.

Though there is no playbook for managing billions of dollars, starting your own investment firm, and running a hedge fund, Wade sets the tone and course of the book with revealing exactly how he went from point A to point B and why.

If you ever wanted to learn more about the inside details of what it takes to be a successful money manager and handle the responsibility of handling others money, this is a must-read book.   Though the book does not look specifically at the spirtual side of investing (my specialty), it does offer much wisdom and guidance on how to choose quality, long-term investments.   Wade says, “Buying a share in a stock – actually owning a portion of a company while holding voting rights – has tremendous allure.”  He is a firm believer in the wealth-building ability of the stock market, but you have to know what you’re doing!

Wade takes an honest approach throughout the book highlighting his failures as well as successes.  being brutally honest allows the reader to feel like their part of a journey rather than an orchestrated story.   After learning from some of the greatest invetsors of all-time, Wade has solidifed an investment approach that is logical, fairly easy to implement, and has produced positive results over time.

Is this book a good fit for beginners?

I would say it could be a good read for someone interested in exploring a career in finance, but most who will find value are others that have some experience with investing.  Those who have bought indivudal securies (ie stocks, bonds, etc) and those who have traded in the past will find most value.  This is not to say that you won’t get anything out of the book if you don’t have experience.  It is not a stock market 101 book but rather a little more advanced read.

The book tackles Wades experiences, his philosophies on investing, the ins and outs of hedge funds, how he worked his way up to manage billions of dollars, how technology has changed the investment game, how to develop winning investment strategies, how to choose a money manager, and what to do with your portfolio given recent market conditions.  All be told, this book is a great fit for those who seek more knowledge in the area of investing and would like to better understand how to select investments that make sense for your situation.

Final Thoughts…
This is a great read for those seeking investment wisdom! Wade deleivers his message in a clear, precise, and easy to follow manner.  It is both educational in nature yet very entertaining as Wade diverts into many of his hobbies and life experiences.  I highly recommend this book. It gives a fresh perspective on how to make wiser decisions with your money while gaining insight from someone who managed billions of dollars at such a young age. Be on the lookout for my interview with Wade on The Jay Peroni Show this week. I’m looking forward to speaking with Wade and having him share his message with you!

Wade Slome’s website: Sidoxia Capital Management

The full tour schedule and details of Wade Slome’s blog book tour are posted at Virtual Blog Tours.

Autographed copies pf Wade’s book are available at Amazon.com or from Sidoxia Capital Management for $23.95

His book is also on Amazon.com for the retail price.