Why Having A Financial Plan Matters Now More Than Ever
(Photo by Ken Teegardin) (CC BY-SA) (Resized/Cropped)
In our culture of 24 hour financial news channels and websites, we are blitzed with news stories and articles which claim to be for our benefit but in substance are truly crafted to provoke clicks and views. Flip or click on any financial news outlet and you are likely to meet numerous flashing red banners declaring “breaking news” and article after article of financial strategies written by content creators who know nothing about your personal financial circumstance- yet bid you to make drastic changes to your investments and finances.
The reason financial planning matters now more than ever is because we find ourselves barraged by impersonal and unsound financial advice, advocating for short-term fixes that don’t really work, now more than any other point in history.
Contradictory to today’s conventional wisdom, the foundation of a strong and successful financial life is not the blind quest for a higher net worth through short-term strategies. The foundation for strong and successful finances is the process of making personalized life decisions with wisdom and purpose, also known as financial planning.
Proverbs 21:5- The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
Almost all financial plans should address long-term investing, retirement planning, budgeting, debt management, and estate planning. But a simplified and biblical way to think about managing finances wisely is through Ron Blue’s Four Principles for Managing Money:
- Spend Less than you earn
- Avoid the use of Debt
- Build Flexibility and Margin into your finances
- Set Long-Term Goals to achieve.
If there is anything certain the Corona Virus has taught us throughout this crisis it’s that the world is uncertain. We’ll never know exactly what lies around the corner economically in the next week, month, year, or decade; but we can control how we manage the resources God has given us to steward and use. Financial Planning and taking a long-term approach with our finances is the cornerstone of wise financial stewardship, despite our culture telling us opposite.
Eric Schrum is an advisor and partner at Schrum Private Wealth Management. Eric contributes for The Faith First Advisor, The Faith Driven Investor, and has a particular interest in helping Christians align their finances with their beliefs through wise financial planning and investing. Investment Advisor Representative of Spire Wealth Management, LLC. Advisory Services offered through Spire Wealth Management, LLC, a Federally Registered Investment Advisor. Securities offered through an affiliate, Spire Securities, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC.
Trending Now on Affluent Christian Investor
Sorry. No data so far.
Follow Us
The Affluent Mix
Biden Oblivious To Illegal Immigration Issues... August 2, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Rob Arnott On Bubbles, Inflation, And Once-In-A-Generation Investment Opportunit... August 2, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
The Federal Reserve’s Massive Theft Of Stability... August 2, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
What To Do About This Difficult Market? August 2, 2021 | David Bahnsen
Letter On The Politicization Of Corporations... July 26, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Peak Of The Fake Bull Market July 26, 2021 | Michael Pento
Woodrow Wilson’s Administrative State vs. Gold... July 26, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
Dividends, Energy, And Crypto July 26, 2021 | David Bahnsen
Whose Side Are You On? July 26, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Media, Left Ignore These Dangers July 19, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Mark Skousen On FreedomFest And How To Measure The Whole Economy... July 19, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Quantifying The Quantitative, Or Making Easy The Easing... July 19, 2021 | David Bahnsen
The Gold Standard Means A Rising Standard Of Living... July 19, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
Book Review: Brian Domitrovic Reveals The Monetary Genius Of Arthur Laffer... July 19, 2021 | John Tamny
Steve Forbes: Time To Worry About Inflation, Not Hyperinflation... July 12, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
UFOs Rescue Biden July 12, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Read This Classical Economist’s 200 Year Old Warning About Paper Money... July 12, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
How Central Banks Murdered The Markets July 12, 2021 | Michael Pento
Everything There Is To Know About The Stock Market... July 12, 2021 | David Bahnsen
AT&T CEO: We’re Ill Equipped For Politics, And We’re Spending A Lot Of ... July 6, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Internet Bias Distorts National Conversation... July 6, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
The Halfway Point Of 2021 July 6, 2021 | David Bahnsen
Join the conversation!
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.