MoneyWalk 365: Invest In Order To Prosper

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Most endeavors that could be good for you do not come with a solid guarantee from someone you can automatically trust. So, you must read, study, and question others to identify the advantages and challenges inherent in each endeavor. Even when something appears viable on the surface, follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because it will always line up with biblical principles in a way that will truly prosper you and other people you are supposed to bless individually and corporately through church ministry.

In the investment world, you'll likely find that no load, low expense index mutual funds are good vehicles to meet stock and bond allocations of your investment plan because they offer automatic diversification due to the large number of businesses they invest in and do not require you to be a stock and bond expert and require little physical and mental effort to employ. No load means you pay no front end or back end commission to a broker to purchase them. Our definition of low expense is that you choose funds on which you annually pay and expense and marketing fee of no more than one-half a percent on the principal amount of the investment.

By using no load, low expense index mutual funds you will be leveraging the positive history of the stock and bond market and the expertise of reliable professional fund managers who pick the company shares in each fund per the particular index the fund mimics (large cap, mid-cap, small cap, total U.S. market, intermediate bonds, etc.). You will be able to find the best no load, low expense index mutual funds in many 401k type employer retirement plans and in brokerage houses like Vanguard, Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, Charles Schwab, and a few others. They will let you invest directly in the funds using electronic funds transfers from your bank / credit union account. One great thing about them is they have a history of producing higher returns year over year and over 10 to 20-year investment periods than approximately 80% of actively managed funds on which commissions are charged up-front or at the time you withdraw your money (back-end load).

Of course, if you could find actively managed mutual funds that maintain year over year higher growth than no load, low expense index mutual funds, then it would be in your best interest to invest in the active mutual funds. However, most people have no expertise in picking such funds because year over year very few active funds consistently beat the growth of the index, nor do they consistently do better over the long term. Also, they are scared to invest because of the sheer magnitude of the number of active mutual funds they would need to scour and sort thru to find what is believed to be the best funds in which to invest. Also, they are not sure how the associated commissions and investment management and marketing fees will affect their investment in the short or long term period over which investments should be held. Most simply freeze and usually do not invest in anything. The few who did pick an investment withdrew the money a short time later when the first market downturn occurred, thus solidifying their losses.

If such fears keep you from investing even in no load, low expense index mutual funds you should get the help of an adviser who charges less than 0.5% investment management fees and who can point you to funds with good past performance and expense ratios less than 0.5%. The historical track record of most every mutual fund (index and actively managed) is available. This type of information can help you decide which funds to invest in. Services like Morningstar, Yahoo Finance, etc. offer stock research apps that can help you sort thru the historical returns (going back five to ten years or more) and expenses on index and actively managed funds and find those that had higher short and long-term growth records and great overall performance ratings in their market category for many past years up to the current time. Investing in this manner with guidance from wise godly counselors will prosper you immensely as you walk forward on the path the LORD prepared for you.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!

Proverbs 19:20-21, Ecclesiastes 11:2, Matthew 27:57, Acts 17:10-12, 2Timothy 2:15-17

Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!

You can find books authored by Randy Parlor and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com

You can find many other MoneyWalk articles on Facebook by looking at the NOTES created by Randy Parlor at https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000444069041&sk=notes.

You can connect with Randy Parlor on Twitter and LinkedIn

You can also view and/or listen to MoneyWalk articles at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnztOIesOKIrSd_H6c-8mQ

MoneyWalk 364: Long Term Vision Is Necessary

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Over the vast majority of 20 year periods, the stock market experienced greater growth than most other investment vehicle markets (bonds, fixed income, real estate, precious metals, etc.). The up and down swing of stock prices is much more volatile over shorter time periods (a few months or a few years) thus making them riskier during short time periods. By living off less than you make, honoring God with the tithe, establishing an emergency fund, and achieving total debt elimination and afterward putting at least ten percent of each paycheck in diversified investment vehicles, you will soon get to a point where you’re able to let and see much higher long-term stock market growth work for you without having to worry about the short-term risk of the market.

For sure, you will need a wise person or two from whom you seek guidance who will help you get control of your emotions by teaching you not to fear short term downward swings in the stock market. They know that when you move investment money to historically far lower growth vehicles each time you see a downward swing and have experienced what would be a short term loss you solidify that loss throughout your future. In addition, the money will continue to earn much lower growth over the long term as you worry about trying to find something you can be comfortable investing in in a high growth market at a later time. Most people never make the move back into the stock market because they continue to be afraid of risk that has historically been shown to take you higher and higher and provide far greater growth over long term periods. So they languish in low growth investments throughout their lives and cannot be as blessed and rewarded in the financial arena of their lives as the LORD would have them be. An abundant portion of what you lose out on by not taking the reasonable, historically reliable stock market risk could otherwise have been given into the Kingdom to lead people to Christ and disciple them, to take better care of yourself and family, and to pursue other worthwhile endeavors.

Certainly, you should avoid the risk of an undiversified stock market investment. If you invest in single stocks you should own a variety of at least eight solid ones and likely far more. Otherwise, you are going down the road of a get rich quick mentality and will likely suffer great loss over both short and long term periods and then put your tail between your legs and run away from the market never to return again. It is far better to invest in diversified no load, low expense stock index mutual funds like S&P 500, Large Cap, Mid Cap, Small Cap, and Total Stock Market offered by reputable brokerages such as Vanguard, Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, American Funds, etc. Investing a smaller portion into a diversified portfolio of other types of investment vehicle like real estate, bonds, entrepreneurial endeavors, etc. can augment your short term and long term growth plan and you might then find that one or more of them become a really big hit for your life.

When you employ this type of long term vision you’ll be able to give abundantly and live abundantly while keeping money invested over the long haul by virtue of the fact that your foresight in planning has helped you live debt-free so you continually have the funds to make such investments and reap the harvests they produce. A great portion of money will remain invested in the stock market until you expire and pass on to your heirs and the Church simply because your increasing prosperity will dictate that you don’t need to live off it. It takes long-term vision, knowledge of historical market returns, and confidence in the fact that Jesus chose you to be a steward over part of His resources in order for you to succeed at properly managing the income and assets He entrusts to you. You'll always be a good steward who prospers immensely when you follow this spiritual and financial roadmap.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!

Proverbs 11:14, 29:18, Ecclesiastes 11:2, Lamentations 2:9, Matthew 25:14-15, Luke 19:13

Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!

You can find books authored by Randy Parlor and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com

You can find many other MoneyWalk articles on Facebook by looking at the NOTES created by Randy Parlor at https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000444069041&sk=notes.

You can connect with Randy Parlor on Twitter and Linkedin

You can also view and/or listen to MoneyWalk articles at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnztOIesOKIrSd_H6c-8mQ

MoneyWalk 363: Saving Is Important To The LORD

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

The LORD’s return is imminent. It’s certainly closer today than it has ever been and He instructs us that upon His return, we should be found busy completing our part of the Great Commission in our family, workplaces, neighborly relationships, and all arenas of life. We are citizens of Heaven and need to understand that we are seated with Jesus Christ in heavenly places, yet we should not be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. Thus, we must understand that biblical principles require a natural action that we are able to take by the power God gave us when He created us and even greater power of His Holy Spirit living in us upon becoming believers in Christ and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The creation of God and its inner-working then causes that natural action to result in supernatural results that glorify Him and bring about the good He intended for you and people around you and many times to those in the uttermost parts of the earth.

Prayer brings great results that we desperately need in our lives and world, yet it must be displayed by the work of opening your heart, mind, ears, and mouth to listen for the LORD and talk with Him. Reading the scripture on a regular basis like we should, or with any regularity, requires that we actually open the book, use the internet, or some other physical tool to distinguish the LORD’s instruction in order to progressively know what is important to Him and for you and other people. Thus, you should recognize that He instructs everyone to take action in the financial and other arenas of our lives that are physical in nature and are good works that bring supernatural results when employed. Saving is one of these principles that require action that you do not want to overlook or think He does not care about lest you fail to receive the great benefits that He stored therein for your life, care of your family, and future involvement with the ministry of the Church to change the lives and trajectories of many other people for His glory.

Proverbs lets us know that a fool quickly spends all he / she receives whereas the wise save for the future. Luke tells us that a wise man would not build a house without counting the cost to know that he has enough to complete it. A reasonable amount of savings and an ongoing pattern of saving a portion of the money the LORD entrusts to you helps you solidly build the house of your life and maintain an ever firmer financial footing as you move deeper into the life and work He called you to. A great method for employing the saving principle that has brought great results in many peoples’ lives is to budget your income and expenses in the way that allows you to build a first tier emergency fund of $1,000 and then after you have paid off all your non-mortgage debt you should save at least $10,000 and up to six months of expenses. You also will want to thereafter employ saving for extra things such as birthday, Christmas, wedding anniversary gifts, private school and/or college education costs, and for placement in equity investments that can allow you to amass great wealth for the care of your family, your future, your Church, and your ministry calling.

People that employ a give first, save next, and spend third habit in their financial lives more often have a greater positive impact in life than those whose habit is to spend, spend, spend. Usually, believers who master this principle give abundantly to ministry work and their tithes and offerings grow larger throughout the future. It’s almost impossible to consistently give as the LORD instructs and have something to invest for future growth unless you first live beneath your income and save because the desire for things of this world and massive debt to get them otherwise encompass a greater part of your income and stops you. This brings unnecessary sorrow into your life by stopping the natural and supernatural flow of blessing and increase that God intends for you and your family. Our LORD is all about helping you eliminate unnecessary sorrow and having maximum impact throughout the course of your life and He determined that this could not be done without consistently employing saving as a financial component of your life.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!

Deuteronomy 8:18, Proverbs 6:6-11, 21:20, Matthew 25:19-21, Luke 14:28-30, 19:15-17

Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!

You can find books authored by Randy Parlor and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com

You can find many other MoneyWalk articles on Facebook by looking at the NOTES created by Randy Parlor at https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000444069041&sk=notes.

You can connect with Randy Parlor on Twitter and Linkedin

You can also view and/or listen to MoneyWalk articles at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnztOIesOKIrSd_H6c-8mQ

MoneyWalk 362: Be A Good Steward

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Scriptural instruction leads you to plan to give abundantly and avoid future debt in order to spend within your means for things necessary and desired in this life. This becomes your giving, saving, and spending plan that is a monthly written tabulation used to keep your expenses far less than income and your liabilities far less than assets. Through this discipline you will become debt free not many years into the future and thereafter build substantial wealth for purposes of kingdom advancement and caring for future needs, given that emergencies and catastrophes will be experienced, even while you currently give in a tremendous fashion to the LORD’s work and worthwhile charity.

It gives you greater ability to affect people with the gospel as they see and hear your testimony and example of the LORD’s blessing and reward in your life. Other people’s talents and services are needed to help you reach your full potential because there are things that you may not be good at that they are good at to help you safely navigate the waters you have dominion over, such as budgeting know how, accounting, bookkeeping, taxes, investment knowledge, etc. No man is an island unto himself, thus you cannot accomplish God’s purpose for your life without relationship and inner-working with others. No doubt, some people will come and go and be more or less involved during different periods of your life, but together those with wisdom and a good example serve as the multitude of counselors who identify the LORD’s safe boundary mechanism that propels you into His prosperous purpose.

While consistently tithing and offering and after becoming debt free put into equity investment vehicles at least a seven percent portion of the money entrusted to you by the LORD (via income through employment and other natural and supernatural means). Trade it in the market using at least seven different no load, low expense stock index mutual funds or similar historically reliable high growth investments. Trading is identified in scripture as good stewardship practice that brings great return throughout your life.

Also, put at least three percent of your income in a bank or other financial institution in stable value accounts that pay interest. Though such savings usually grow at a much lower rate of return than stock mutual funds, they provide a hedge against down markets and funds that will help take care of emergencies and catastrophes that arise at various times throughout your life.

In addition, plan for the day when you can soon put at least two to five percent of your income toward entrepreneurial endeavors such as business startups, inventions, angel investing, real estate, etc. Such endeavors have historically shown, for one to two percent of the population, that they provide some of the highest returns that can be obtained. The discipline you learn and additional growth you receive on your money from these good stewardship methods will help you take care of all your God-given responsibilities, give more to the Church than will otherwise be possible, and faithfully complete the plan for which He made you.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!

Job 1:1-3, Proverbs 11:14, Ecclesiastes 11:4-6, Matthew 6:19-21, Luke 12:32-34

Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!

You can find books authored by Randy Parlor and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com

You can find many other MoneyWalk articles on Facebook by looking at the NOTES created by Randy Parlor at https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000444069041&sk=notes.

You can connect with Randy Parlor on Twitter and Linkedin

You can also view and/or listen to MoneyWalk articles at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnztOIesOKIrSd_H6c-8mQ