Category Archives: Speculative Investment

Diversification, Greed, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice, Speculative Investment

Are You Gambling or Investing?

Are you a gambler or an investor? Consider your entire portfolio that you invest. Do you understand how you will succeed if one particular asset or asset class (e.g. the stock market) goes up, goes down, or stays flat? If the success of your financial investing strategy requires any one asset to move in a particular direction, then what happens if it does not do that? You are essentially gambling your money on an asset increasing in value.

Let’s consider someone investing in the US stock market.

  • A gambler may make a disproportionately large bet on the stock market or an individual stock going in a specific direction. For example, he hopes or believes it will increase in value. He may make a big gain if things go his way, but if the market crashes he loses much money.
  • An investor avoids the greed of chasing the maximum gain, that brings with it high risk. Instead, he plans a strategy that is diversified across multiple assets or asset classes (e.g. diversified group of stocks, bonds, cash, perhaps some silver or gold). If the market crashes he is positioned to use some of his cash position or bonds to buy stocks after he is confident the crash has bottomed out and stabilized. When stocks recover, he comes out with a profit. Later, he rebalances his portfolio back to target by selling some of the stocks he picked up when values had fallen. If he suspects a certain investment has potential for high gain, he considers investing a smaller portion of his portfolio to capture the gain with less overall risk… this is called speculative investment.

If you have not done so in a while, it is a good time to consider your investing strategy. The global economy is trying to recover from struggles through many years and yet stocks are already priced at or near all-time highs due in part to heavy interference by national governments (e.g. “the Federal Reserve” keeping interest rates low artificially, thus driving people into the stock market at higher risk).

Do you know if your portfolio is prepared for either outcome (e.g. stock markets decline or rally higher)? or are you betting that it will work out in one particular outcome and unprepared for the other?

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Greed, Speculative Investment

Big Gains Typically Come with Big Risk

Do not be greedy for high gains by placing large “bets” on stocks or other investments or pursuing “get rich quick” schemes. Keep in mind a short-term “bet” is very different than a longer-term investment. If quick bets worked without a lot of risk, the person offering the “can’t miss” opportunity would not be trying to get you involved. Instead, they would use their own scheme to get rich and then go about their early retirement or pursuit of more money.

Speculative investment is fine as a diversification but be prepared for any investment to go up or down, no matter who recommends it.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Control Debt, Control Spending, Diversification, Ethics, False Teaching, Generate Income, Greed, Optimizing Life, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice, Saving, Speculative Investment, Stewardship, Treasures In Heaven

Biblical Guiding Framework For Financial Freedom

God lays out important principles for managing finances in the Bible. He wants His people to be wise stewards of the resources He provides.

In this article we lay out a high level framework that  provides valuable insight for those who take time to genuinely understand and apply it. I have paired the elements of the framework with some of the scriptures that support them, but there are many other scriptures that could be added.

You can also check out our Resources section of the website for other organizations with a great depth of material on this subject.

1 – Earn Money: Develop a skill and work hard to generate income.

  • Colossians 3:23 – Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
  • Proverbs 6:9-11 – But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? 10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— 11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

2 – Control Spending:  Set a budget that matches your income and stick to it in order to control spending. This budget should include short term “monthly expenses” but also saving ahead for long term expenses like a house, university education, future medical expenses, retirement, and contingency funds for the unknown.

  • Proverbs 6:6-8 – 6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! 7 Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, 8 they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

3 – Control Debt: Carefully consider any debt before committing.

  • Proverbs 22:7 – Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.
  • Romans 13:8 – Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another.

4 – Invest: Choose to invest your financial resources for growth. Don’t stuff your mattress with cash in hopes of avoiding risk.

  • Matthew 25:14-30 – Jesus teaches us through the parable of the talents. Click the link to read the scripture.
  • Ecclesiastes 11:1 – Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.

5 – Diversify Investments: Diversify investments to manage risks.

  • Ecclesiastes 11:2 – But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.

6 –Consider Carefully and Seek Wise Counsel: Whether choosing how you will earn income, how to control spending or debt, or how to invest to grow your finances you should carefully consider your strategy and seek wise counsel.

  • Proverbs 22:3 – A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
  • Proverbs 15:22 – Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success
  • Proverbs 14:15 – Only simpletons believe everything they’re told! The prudent carefully consider their steps.

7 – Steward Your Financial Strategy: Once you establish your financial strategy you must periodically review and analyze all elements to ensure you are following it and it is effective. This applies to earning income, spending, debt, and investment.

  • Matthew 25:14-30 – Jesus teaches us through the parable of the talents not only that we should invest, but that a good steward periodically checks on the effectiveness of his investments and makes adjustments according to their performance.

8 – Ethics: Following God’s instruction in how we manage our finances is more important than the actual dollars themselves.

  • Proverbs 22:1 – Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.
  • Proverbs 22:5 – Corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life will avoid it.
  • Ecclesiastes 12:13 – That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

9 – Do Not Be Greedy: To those who love money, they will never have enough. Money is a tool to serve God and to support yourself and your family. The draw to “get rich quick” brings much risk.

  • 1 Timothy 6:10 –  For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
  • Ecclesiastes 5:10 – Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!

10 – Store Up Treasure in Heaven

  • Matthew 6:20 – Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.
  • 2 Corinthians 9:7 –  You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
  • Proverbs 22:9 – Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Diversification, Proverbs, Speculative Investment, Treasures In Heaven

Start Investing In 5 Steps

For those of you who have established consistent income, a budget to control spending, gotten debt under control, established at least an emergency savings fund that is easily available to you in case you need it, and have money available in addition to that… you may be ready to consider investing.

Now you find yourself asking a common question:

“How do I get started investing my money?”

1- Establish your personal goals.

Before you start investing you should spend time clearly defining (and writing down) the objectives you are trying to accomplish.  Are you planning for college expenses for your children? a house?  retirement?

Defining your goals and writing them down helps to clarify for yourself what you are trying to accomplish with any investment, and it will help you make reasonable choices in investing to accomplish your goals.

2- Decide if you prefer to work with a professional investment advisor or go it alone.

If you work with an advisor, remember that they have other motives besides just your best interest (e.g. getting paid) and not all look out for you the way they should.  On the other hand, many of us are not prepared to invest effectively and wisely without a professional to help give us input and guidance. You are your own chief investment advisor. They provide helpful counsel, but you make the decisions. Consider verifying by researching online or meeting with more than one professional advisor separately and comparing notes.

With or without an advisor, you really need to do some homework to understand how to make good decisions.

3- Diversify your portfolio to manage risk and potential gain.

For example, let’s consider two cases:

Jack wants to invest and prepare for retirement. He is starting early and has time on his side. Jack wants to limit his risk exposure for his investment losing value and will be satisfied with a moderate return on investment.

Joe has a higher risk tolerance and is willing to consider more risk to achieve higher return on investment.

Diversify your portfolio consistent with your personal goals and personality. You need to be comfortable with your investment decisions. If you are nervous or lacking in confidence you may make poor decisions when unexpected events happen (e.g. 2008/09 stock market crash) and may make poor decisions. If you had a lot of your portfolio in U.S. stocks and then sold when the market bottomed instead of riding it out… you are really hurting.

4- Get Started.

Do not wait until you have perfect clarity on exactly what you will need to spend 20 years from now or more.  Do not be discouraged from starting because you think you do not have enough to make it worthwhile. Even if you are starting small, you are going to gain knowledge and experience along the way.

Set aside some designated funds to start investing toward your objectives. Open an account at a reputable broker or financial institution. Begin the investing journey.

5- Steward your investments regularly.

Verify your portfolio is on track to deliver your objectives. Make adjustments as needed consistent with changes in your plans or the performance of the investments. Continue on a schedule of investing additional funds consistent with your long-term goals.

Do not be afraid to admit you made a mistake and get out of an investment, if warranted. Establish conditions ahead of time that would indicate when you should exit an investment if it does not go well. Our human tendency is to hold on to our bad investment decisions too long hoping for them to turn around.

If you are uncomfortable getting started, begin with a small investment that you are not afraid to lose. Invest wisely and you will soon see a return on investment that will encourage you and give you more confidence.

Remember, choosing not to invest is also a decision… and it may cost you a lot of lost opportunity to grow your money over time.

Bring your finances and investments before God and ask for wisdom and blessing. Seek Him in all you do, and He will make straight your path.

Proverbs 3:5-10

5Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.

6In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

7Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

8It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.

9Honor the LORD from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;

10So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

 

Control Debt, Control Spending, Diversification, Ethics, False Teaching, Generate Income, Greed, Guiding Framework, Parables, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice, Saving, Speculative Investment, Stewardship, Treasures In Heaven

How Is Financial Planning Like the Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl is considered by many to be one of the most important sporting events in the world each year. Many from around the world tune in to watch it even if “their team” did not make it to the final game. Much time and preparation is spent certainly by the teams in preparing for the game, but even by many spectators and fans around the world as they prepare parties and tailgating and other such events to watch the game.

Many people spend more time preparing for, watching, and then talking about the Super Bowl then they actually spend preparing their personal financial strategies. One could spend a little time reflecting on which will ultimately be more important for each of us… but we quickly conclude that perhaps we should spend a little more time planning our finances, even if we have to wait until the big game is over and behind us.

Financial planning may not sound like much fun, so let’s try to make it a bit more interesting. In some ways it is like preparing for the Super Bowl.  Without good planning and execution, you will never win. “Luck” or “winging it” is just not good enough to carry you to victory. Proper preparation for a Super Bowl victory begins before the season every starts.

Start with the end in mind. Teams don’t just show up in training camp with the intent to “play football”… if they do, they do not win very much. They must define success and goals along the way to evaluate their performance in moving toward that success. Winning teams come into the season planning to play for the Super Bowl rings! They don’t just plan to play catch and throw and suddenly find themselves in the Super Bowl. There is short term sacrifice for long term success.

Similarly, for our financial planning you must define what success looks like for you. Define your personal goals and steward progress toward them. Think big! Do not limit yourself to simply having money for earthly things, but also to store up treasure in heaven. How you view your success will strongly influence how you play the game!

Define your goals… define success.

  • Matthew 6:20-21 – 20“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
  • 2 Corinthians 9:7 –  7Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
  • Proverbs 22:9 –   9He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor.

Steward your progress toward those goals and make adjustments when called for. If something is not working as you expected, do not be afraid to consider making “in game” adjustments to your game plan.

  • In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus teaches us through the parable of the talents that a good steward periodically checks on the effectiveness of his efforts and makes adjustments according to their performance.

With every game there are rules. If you do not know the rules and play by them, you will likely not do well on the field. Penalties for failing to follow the rules can ruin your game. In finances, as with most of life’s challenges, God has laid out the rules for us in the Bible. Know what God says about how we should treat others and how we should conduct our earthly affairs. It is also true that man has added some rules, called laws, as well. We should heed both sets of rules.

  • Proverbs 22:1 – 1A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold.
  • Proverbs 22:5 – 5Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards himself will be far from them.
  • Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 – 13The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Plan carefully and seek wise counsel. Do you ever see a winning Super Bowl coach who did not have a staff of assistant coaches… advisors? The head coach makes the final decisions, but the good ones listen to the advice of others and weigh carefully in their decisions the counsel of others.  Surround yourself with bad counselors and you will fail.

  • Proverbs 22:3 – 3The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, But the naive go on, and are punished for it.
  • Proverbs 15:22 – 22Without consultation, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.
  • Proverbs 14:15 –   15The naive believes everything, But the sensible man considers his steps.

To win at any level, you should carefully evaluate your gear… your tools. In football, you need the right shoes, gloves, helmet, pads, ball, etc. In financial planning, the tools you use (or don’t) are also important. They can be of great help or set you up to underperform your abilities. We recommend you visit our Resources section of our website to find some organizations we recommend that provide helpful tools to assist you in “elevating your game”… to be more effective and successful in planning and managing your finances.

It is important to focus on fundamentals to excel. No team will win the Super Bowl on trick plays and misdirection if they do not also have strong foundation in executing the fundamentals well.

Super Bowl Champions do not start with trick plays and 80 yard touchdown plays as their foundational strategy and neither should you in your financial planning.  Avoid greed… assuming you can win with a few big plays… a few high risk investments that are “sure to pay out”. You may want to put a few in as diversification, but don’t put yourself in a position to win or lose solely on “making the big play” over and over again. To those who love money, they will never have enough. Money is a tool to serve God and to support yourself and your family. The draw to “get rich quick” brings much risk.

  • 1 Timothy 6:10 –  10For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
  • Ecclesiastes 5:10 – 10He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.

Let’s talk more about your Offense (e.g. earning money) . Offense wins games. Your offensive stars:

  •  Hard work and a great attitude are a formidable pair. Develop a skill and work hard to generate income.
    • Colossians 3:23 – 23Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,
    • Proverbs 6:9-11 – 9How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 10“A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest”— 11Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.
  • Invest your financial resources for growth. Don’t stuff your mattress with cash in hopes of avoiding risk.
    • Matthew 25:14-30 – Jesus teaches us through the parable of the talents. Click the link to read the scripture.
    • Ecclesiastes 11:1 –   1Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.
  • Diversify investments to manage risks.
    • Ecclesiastes 11:2 – 2Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.

Finally… Defense wins championships! No one can win unless they can stop the other team from scoring. Similarly, no one can earn enough money to win the game if they spend like drunken sailors. Just consider government spending, which almost always outpaces essentially unlimited income from taxes – it is never enough to satisfy those in government. Defense requires discipline.

  • Control spending.  Set a budget that matches your income and stick to it in order to control spending. This budget should include short term “monthly expenses” but also saving ahead for long term expenses like a house, university education, future medical expenses, retirement, and contingency funds for the unknown.
  • Control debt. Carefully consider any debt before committing.
    • Proverbs 22:7 – 7The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
    • Romans 13:8 –  8Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
  • Save money. Save for known expenses and for unknown. Save for today, and save to have money to invest tomorrow.
    • Proverbs 6:6-8 –  6Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, 7Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, 8Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest.

Perhaps with a little less fanfare, do not forget Special Teams. They may not affect every down, but they can make the difference in a win or a loss. Prepare for long term expenses such as buying a car, paying off a house, paying for college education, preparing for retirement. To be successful, you must prepare for these things in advance… you can not wait until the special teams is on the field to start planning !

One last piece of advice for your game plan in financial planning… even with the best game plan, you can’t win if you don’t start playing the game! Don’t wait for the “perfect” time to get started.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 – 4He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.

(If you are too worried about the clouds and winds to start preparing the fields and planting the crops… waiting for perfect conditions… you will not have a harvest. The perfect time never comes. Look only for a good or appropriate time to get started.)

Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you prefer a “non-football” version, please review our Guiding Framework.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .