Rob West: Trafficking drives in the shadows, but even Wall Street can help shine a light. Hi, I'm Rob West. Nearly 50 million people around the world are trapped in modern slavery, including forced labor and human trafficking. But Christian investors are using their influence to confront exploitation and encourage companies to protect the vulnerable. Will Laughlin joins us today with an encouraging update. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance on American Family Radio, biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Rob West: Will Laughlin joins us again today. He's Managing Director of Faith-Based Investing at GuideStone Funds, one of our valued underwriters. GuideStone helps individuals, churches, and ministry organizations pursue their financial goals through investment solutions designed to reflect their Christian values. Will, always a treat to have you here.
Will Laughlin: Thanks, Rob. Always glad to be here.
Rob West: Well, GuideStone has made combating human trafficking a major focus of its faith-based investing efforts. I'd love for you to help us understand the scope of this tragedy and why investors have an important role to play in addressing it.
Will Laughlin: Yeah, absolutely. So, when you think about companies around the world and you think about issues there, human trafficking is something that maybe hides a little bit in the shadows, but is actually a very real problem. An organization called Walk Free estimates that there are roughly 50 million victims right now of some degree of human trafficking. More than 27 million of those are in the forced labor area, and another 3.3 million of those specifically focused just on children being victims of human trafficking. You know, when I say it hides in plain sight, that can be everywhere from supply chains for things like cell phones, food, clothing. So, the dollars that we spend that we have, you know, they vote whether we realize it or not. And when we think about it from a Christian perspective, you know, if you look at Proverbs 31:8–9, it tells us to speak up for the vulnerable, and so stewardship isn't passive in that case. You know, open your mouths for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute, defend the rights of the poor and needy. So, that's really the biblical imperative for us and why we think it's critical to work on issues like this.
Rob West: Oh, I couldn't agree more. In the past, GuideStone's approach, Will, focused largely on screening out certain companies. Today, you're also engaging directly through shareholder advocacy. So, talk to us about what that looks like in practice.
Will Laughlin: Yeah. So, the idea of advocacy was really born out of that concept of stewardship: How can we be the best stewards of the companies we're investing in? And there are two levers that we can use to do that. The two levers are really proxy voting and then actual conversations with companies. So, making sure we vote every proxy ballot for every company that we invest in, and then the other side, sitting down with leaders of companies to talk through specific issues like child labor, forced labor, and online exploitation. And when we think about that as a practical solution, an actual action in the marketplace, one of the more recent endeavors for us was becoming a founding member of something called the Eagle Freedom Alliance. And that is specifically focused on bringing anti-trafficking experts into boardrooms, as opposed to just writing letters and trying to kind of name and shame companies. But it's bringing forth people who can help companies with solutions, because what we found is that many companies, they don't want to have exposure to this. They want to proactively root it out. They want to be good actors in the space. And so, what we're trying to do is be proactive and engage in solutions-oriented dialogue that protects people and protects long-term shareholder value.
Rob West: Well, why is collaboration with other faith-based investors often more effective than trying to create change alone?
Will Laughlin: Yeah, the idea of collaboration, I think, is important because when we think about Christians, it's working together, uniting believers. And that's where the collaboration works with groups like Eagle Freedom Alliance. We're trying to bring a united front of many voices to companies so that they perceive the severity of the issue and that people want real change. And it's the idea that, as a unified body, we can bring real change by shining a much brighter and bigger light on issues.
Rob West: Yeah. Well, Will, we're going to have to leave it there. So appreciate our partnership with GuideStone, and thanks for being here today.
Will Laughlin: Thanks, Rob. I appreciate it.
Rob West: That's Will Laughlin, Managing Director of Faith-Based Investing at GuideStone Funds. GuideStone truly envisions a world transformed by Christian investing. Their strategies allow investors to be more proactive with their dollars to make a meaningful difference in the world while preparing for their financial future. To learn more, go to faithfi.com/guidestone. That's faithfi.com/guidestone. We'll be right back with your questions.
David Wollen: For your walk with Jesus, I'm David Wollen with Haven Today, inviting you to anchor your day in God's word. God has a heart for this world, and His promise to Abraham long ago was that all nations would be blessed through his line. True, Abraham's descendants had their share of ups and downs, but God had set His plan in motion to save the world. Jeremiah 3:17 points to this hope: "At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord." This is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who today is reigning and is drawing the nations to Himself, and one day, people of every tribe, tongue, and nation will worship Him. Until then, we're called to share this good news with the world. Get more encouragement for your walk with Jesus at haventoday.org.
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Rob West: Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today, the number 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Also, something special going on today. That's right, in celebration of the launch of our brand new, first-ever field guide, How Much Money Is Enough?, just coming off the press into inventory literally this week, we are running, for today only, 50% off your purchase of two or more copies. And it's an incredible opportunity for you to secure two of these field guides for $10—$5 each—which would mean one for you and one for a friend or a family member, or perhaps you would like to buy more of them because you can buy as many as you want at 50% off and maybe use them in your small group.
But this is the opportunity to have this practical guide answering the question, "How much money is enough?" so you can discover contentment, generosity, and purpose through what we call a financial finish line. Two types of finish lines that we uncover in this field guide: The first is your lifestyle finish line. How much money is enough for my lifestyle? We're not going to find that answer in Scripture directly. It'd be great if God said, "Yeah, your lifestyle should be defined by 62.8% of your income." You won't find that there! So, it's a thoughtful process of working through the answer to that question so you know what enough is. And we give you some very practical models and frameworks to think about setting your lifestyle finish line.
And then out of that lifestyle finish line flows what we call a lifetime finish line. One is about your income and expenses—really your expenses, how much are you going to spend on your lifestyle—the other is really about your balance sheet: What is enough for your ultimate accumulation?
And we're so delighted about this field guide. It has really three sections. The first is the biblical perspective on how you think about how much money is enough. It will walk you through from God's word, really, the key ideas around thinking through this: First, that enough is a heart issue, not a number issue; that enough is about stewardship, not ownership; that it leads us toward contentment, not control; and that, finally, enough is about purpose, not possessions. And so, we go through kind of the biblical perspective of thinking about defining a financial finish line, looking at rich texts from God's word and really thinking through this issue biblically.
And then in section two, we take you into really the practical exercises for creating that lifestyle finish line—whether you want to use the maintenance approach, basically capping your current spending wherever you're at; if you want to use the benchmark approach, where you peg it to perhaps a profession or a median income, some benchmark, and we give you some ideas on what that can look like; or the future approach, maybe you're not yet there, but you're defining enough before your income even reaches it, and we give you a framework to do that. And then once you settle on the appropriate approach for your lifestyle finish line, we then help you carry that into your lifetime finish line.
And then we finish up in section three of the field guide with case studies—basically, those who have gone before you, lived case studies about enough. And each of these case studies really addresses one of the objections that we can often have when we think about setting a finish line. First would be, "I don't have enough as it is." You'll hear a story of somebody who really approached this with that perspective. Another case study is around someone who said, "I already spend much less than I earn," or "My spouse would never agree," or "I don't even know where to start," or perhaps the last case study on, "I don't know what the future holds." And we connect each of those perhaps obstacles to a lived case study of someone who really wrestled through that and was able to settle the outcome of their "enough" finish line.
And so, if you'd like to pick up a copy, again, today only as we launch this brand new field guide—we're only going to do this once—50% off, that makes these field guides $5 each when you order two or more copies. Just head to faithfi.com/shop to learn more and order your copy today. Again, that's faithfi.com/shop.
Well, we're going to be taking your calls and questions today. If you've got something you're wrestling with in your financial life, we'd love to hear about it. Just call right now. We've got lines open. Patty's standing by, ready to take your call. And so, maybe you want to unpack this idea of a financial finish line, or you're thinking about preparing the next steward. I just got out of a shoot with Ron Blue and Sharon Epps a few moments ago, where Ron, the author, the founder of Kingdom Advisors, was on our set talking about really the importance of passing wisdom before wealth, and the importance of communicating, and the importance of doing your giving while you're living so you're knowing where it's going. All of these ideas around not estate planning with the goal to minimize taxes—especially in light of the current estate laws, where most people don't have to think about taxes—but really that idea of transferring the wealth and answering the question: Is the next steward chosen and prepared? Because wealth doesn't create wisdom, but wisdom can create wealth. So, we need to be on our guard there.
Maybe you're thinking about your own inheritance that you're going to pass someday, or the giving that you can do now versus later. We'd love to chat about that. Perhaps it's Social Security or investing, whatever you're thinking about today, you can call right now. Again, that number: 800-525-7000. We will dive into those questions here in just a moment, so go ahead and place that call right now.
In the news today, used electric vehicle prices are rising in 2026. That's reversing the usual pattern of depreciation. According to Recurrent, used EV prices increased 5.1% from January through June, and 7% through mid-July. Edmunds found that the average price of a three-year-old EV rose 6% during the first half of the year, reaching $33,300. Most high-volume used EV models also gained value. Now, that's welcome news for current owners considering a sale, but higher prices may make used EVs less affordable for buyers. The increase is especially surprising because more than 500,000 leased EVs are expected to enter the used market this year. Now, strong demand, however, is offsetting the growing supply.
Several factors are driving that demand: Higher gasoline prices, clearly, are encouraging shoppers to consider fuel-efficient vehicles, while inflation has pushed more consumers toward the used car market. Used EV sales rose 20% in June from a year earlier, while new electric vehicle sales fell about 28%. Demand is strongest for lower-priced models. Used EVs under $20,000 rose 9.5% in the first half of 2026, while prices declined for models above $40,000. Lower maintenance and potential fuel savings may also make used EVs attractive.
For us as Christ-followers, wise stewardship means looking beyond the purchase price to consider, certainly, reliability, financing, maintenance, insurance, even long-term operating costs. The best choice is not necessarily the newest technology, but the vehicle that faithfully meets your needs without placing unnecessary strain on your finances. So, certainly a welcome sight for those who have purchased in the past an electric vehicle, maybe thinking of replacing it. This might be the time to do it, as those prices had been on the decline, now ticking up for the very first time.
All right, we're going to head to the break. When we come back, we'd love to take some calls. We've got lines open, ready for your call today: 800-525-7000. Again, today only, two or more of our field guides 50% off as we celebrate the launch of How Much Money Is Enough? Go to faithfi.com/shop. We'll be right back.
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Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith & Finance here at American Family Radio. I'm Rob West, taking your calls and questions. We'll dive into those questions here in just a moment. So, no matter what you're thinking about in your financial life, perhaps as inflation has ticked up over the last few years and, and significantly, before that, you're feeling the squeeze and your family budget, maybe that has resulted in some credit card debt that has been accumulated, we'd love to help you think through the best path forward for that. I have some thoughts, as you might imagine, on the better strategy versus those that I don't recommend for paying off debt. You can call with that question. Maybe it's navigating the stock market. We're seeing kind of a rollercoaster of sorts, the market up again, S&P 500 hitting a record, the Dow surging 600 points after the Treasury Secretary this morning saying that a Hormuz deal is near. That's the Strait of Hormuz related to a movement of freedom, which is the critical choke point that drives, or at least has been driving, oil prices higher, which you're feeling at the gas pump. The news that that deal on a movement of freedom through the Strait of Hormuz sending stock prices higher as oil is naturally selling off today down 5%. The markets up across the board. The Dow Jones up 600, 53,700, the S&P 500 hitting a new all-time high, the NASDAQ up 1.5% as well. So, maybe you're just wondering, how do I navigate that market? Maybe you've been on the sidelines sitting in a money market in your retirement plan wondering, do I enter here? Whatever you're thinking about today, call right now: 800-525-7000. We're ready for those phone calls. Patty's standing by, and we will get to as many as we can today. Let's head to Texas. Aaron, how can I help you?
Aaron: Uh, yes. I am interested in a couple of those booklets. We are retired and, uh, have a nice income and investments, but I'm wondering if we can give away more. So, I'm very interested in the booklet, but I didn't get the, uh, uh, the, uh, uh, website down to buy them.
Rob West: Oh, I love that. Yes. Well, let me do this, Aaron. I appreciate your call, and, you know, I hear from more and more people in that season of life saying, "You know, perhaps we have more than we need." You know, we just don't know. And, you know, maybe we could accelerate our giving. I just was mentioning a moment ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time in our studio, our video studio here at Kingdom Advisors this morning with Ron Blue, the author of Splitting Heirs. And Ron has this great line in the book where he says, "Do your giving while you're living so you're knowing where it's going." And I think that's a really thoughtful idea for us to be able to participate in God's kingdom and in His redemptive purposes through our generosity. But often, being able to define "enough" is critical to really having permission and the confidence to perhaps accelerate our giving in this season of life. And that's precisely why we created this field guide, Aaron, dealing with this topic of How Much Is Enough? for you to be able to have some help both biblically and practically on what does a lifestyle finish line look like for us. And maybe you've already settled that in your 70s, but then out of that, what does a lifetime finish line look like as well? So, here's what I'd like to do. Because of your call today and your interest in this topic, I'd love to send one to you free, just as our gift to you. So, when we're done here today, stay on the line, and we'll get your information and get that out to you. But what Aaron's referencing is, because of the launch of our first-ever field guide, the first one on How Much Is Enough?—by the way, the next one comes this fall, How Do I Prepare the Next Steward?—but today only, with purchases of two or more, they're 50% off to celebrate our launch, that makes them $5 each. Just go to faithfi.com/shop. That's faithfi.com/shop. But Aaron, I'd be delighted to send you one. I'd love to hear, though, a bit more, if you don't mind sharing, just what you and your husband have been wrestling with. Is it really just making sure you have enough given the unknowns of what could come in this season of life, or is there something else you're thinking about?
Aaron: Exactly. No, and I feel like we have plenty, and we're at the age where we can't travel much, and we stay home a lot, so I don't want to waste the money. So...
Rob West: Yes, ma'am. Yeah, I hear you. I had a call from a listener not too long ago. She said, "Rob, I'm in my 70s." She said, "I'm probably going to die with $6 million in my trust." Now, we don't all have $6 million in our trust, but that was her situation.
Aaron: No.
Rob West: And she said, "Uh," she said, "I'm giving $150 a month to four ministries, and I read Ron Blue's book, Splitting Heirs, and I should probably write a $200,000 check tomorrow to my favorite ministry." And I said, "Well, that's between you and the Lord, but yeah, you probably could and should, and you would get a whole lot of joy out of that." And I think whether it's 6 million or 600,000 or, you know, 60,000, being able to say, "God, you know, why have You entrusted to me what You have? How much do we need for ourselves?" And that's not an answer anybody can give you. It's really something you need to wrestle with between you and the Lord. And, and that's why we created this tool. And that's why I always talk so much about having a Certified Kingdom Advisor, because having an advisor, you know, come alongside you who can run the financial analysis and give you permission to give maybe beyond what you have, but do it in a thoughtful way where you're still good stewards, you're still acknowledging there are unknowns and uncertainties in this season of life, but the extent to which we could take perhaps a larger portion than we ever imagined of what God has entrusted to us, and not at death, but right now, get that into God's economy is a really freeing and joy-filled idea. So, Aaron, thank you for your call today. Stay on the line. We'll get this field guide out to you, okay?
Aaron: Okay, thank you.
Rob West: Absolutely. Thanks so much. By the way, folks, if you pick up two or more of these field guides today only, as we celebrate the launch of Field Guide No. 1, How Much Is Enough?, they will be 50% off—just $5 each. Just go to faithfi.com/shop. And we would love to grab your question today. You know, when it comes to setting that finish line, you know, a lot of us just allow the gravitational pull of an increase in income over time to cause our spending to rise with our income. And so, unless you protest to the contrary, your spending is just naturally going to rise to your income. One of the things setting a finish line does is it pushes back on that idea and said, "We were going to—we're going to define 'enough' separate from our income." Now, maybe we're not there yet, maybe it's a future number, but maybe we've already passed it. And that could allow us to accelerate our giving right now. Think about that. We're going to take more questions after this break: 800-525-7000. We'll be right back.
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Announcer: How much money is enough? It's a question almost all of us wrestle with, but few of us know how to answer. What if God has already given us a better way to think about enough? One that leads to contentment, freedom, and greater generosity. Our FaithFi field guide, How Much Money Is Enough?, will help you explore this important question through scripture and practical exercises. Get your copy today at FaithFi.com/shop. That's Faith F-I .com/shop.
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Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. We're celebrating the launch of our new field guide today, How Much Money Is Enough?, with a biblical perspective, practical exercises, and lived case studies around defining enough, both for your lifestyle and your lifetime accumulation, so that you can be generous, so that you can give more away, so that you can understand that God is our ultimate treasure. And this is one of the most common questions we get, so we decided to tackle it head-on. This is the first in this series of field guides, and as we celebrate the launch today, we're making them available with the purchase of two or more. We're making them available at 50% off—that means they're $5 each. Just head to FaithFi.com/shop if you want to pick up your copy.
Let's see. We'll head back to the phones here. We do have a few lines open. If you have a question on any topic today, whether it's debt repayment, investing, maybe saving for the future, call right now: 800-525-7000. Let's go to Georgia and James. Thanks for calling. Go ahead.
James: Uh, yes. So, a while back—it was probably a year ago—you talked about QCDs.
Rob West: Yes.
James: So, I'm 71 years old now. And so, I want to start doing my tithing and offering through my... well, it's a TSP right now, but I'm getting ready to roll it over. And part of it I'm going to go to the bank with. But... since you only insure $250,000, I was... I'm going to do something else with the rest of it. So, I'm trying to figure out, you know, what... what's a QCD? Is annuity a QCD? And if it is, what's the best company to go to?
Rob West: Yes, it's a great question. The qualified charitable distribution, James, is one of my favorite tools for giving, specifically for money coming out of an IRA. So, you would need to roll it first to an Individual Retirement Account, which you can do. Once you separate from service, you can roll that out. And as long as you roll it to a traditional IRA—what's often called a rollover IRA—then that is not a taxable event because inside the TSP, it's in a tax-deferred environment, and so is the traditional IRA. And so, you roll it over to the IRA. At that point, so long as it's in an IRA and you are 70½ or older, you become eligible to give money directly from your IRA to a charity.
Now, QCDs cannot be made from an annuity unless it's an IRA annuity that permits QCDs. That's uncommon, but it does happen. It's plan-specific, so you would need to ask. But in just about every other situation, the way the QCD works is you would roll that money to the IRA, and then at that point, you could make a gift directly to your church, American Family Association, FaithFi, any ministry you choose who is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. And as long as that money doesn't come to you and goes straight to the charity, it's not going to be added to your taxable income for the year. You don't get a deduction, but it never gets added. And remember, every other distribution or withdrawal from an IRA that comes to you is taxable, and therefore, the amount of the distribution gets added to your taxable income for the year. The qualified charitable deduction is the only way the money comes out without ever paying any tax on it, but it has to go straight to a charity. Does that make sense?
James: Right, so... okay, because 25% of my RMD is going to be taxable because that's going to come to me. Because 75% will go to my... go to my, uh, church.
Rob West: Okay, yeah.
James: But the problem is, is... is I'm trying... I'm trying to get the rest of my money, um, to uh... to something other than the bank in order to do the QCD.
Rob West: Yeah, got it. And how much do you have in that TSP right now, roughly?
James: Uh, I got $470,000.
Rob West: Okay. And how much are you taking out per year? Only the required minimum?
James: Right. Yeah, I'm... I don't... I don't need the money at all.
Rob West: Yeah. Yeah, very good. So, what I would recommend, James, is for you to connect with a Certified Kingdom Advisor who could help you, first of all, open that IRA, but secondly, after you all spend a lot of time together talking about your income needs—which clearly you don't have any, at least as it relates to the IRA—and your risk tolerance, your goals and objectives, what God's doing in your life, where you're headed in the future, could help you build a portfolio and manage this money with the appropriate level of risk that aligns with your goals and objectives.
And so, it would be probably a mix of largely bonds, maybe some CDs, maybe some money market, maybe a smaller allocation to stocks, so you have a growth component. But the advisor would open that IRA, you'd roll the TSP in, he or she would build the portfolio, and then they could ensure that you take enough out each year to reach the required minimum and direct it so that 25% is coming to you as a taxable distribution, 75% of your RMD going straight to charity or ministry, and then they've handled the investment selections for you, which clearly you don't want to do anyway. So, that would typically be the way I would recommend you go. But give me your thoughts on that.
James: Uh, okay. So... so where would you find the... the Kingdom Advisor?
Rob West: Yeah, just go to FindACrowd—or FindACKA.com. That's FindACKA.com. Stands for Certified Kingdom Advisor, and you could do a zip code search and find... I would interview maybe two or three, find the one that you feel like is the best fit for you. There's about 2,000 Certified Kingdom Advisors across the US and Canada. They've met high standards in character and competence and experience, and they've been trained to bring a biblical worldview. They've got at least 10 years experience, pastor reference, client reference, annual continuing education, regulatory review. We put them through the paces. But if they've achieved the CKA designation, which is the only industry-accepted designation in financial services for biblically wise financial advice, then you know that they share your values and can bring God's perspective to bear in their counsel.
James: Okay. Okay, thank you.
Rob West: Excellent, James. Thanks for your call today. Again, that website: FindACKA.com. Let's go to Oklahoma. Robert, how can I help you?
Robert: Hey. Um, I'm just... you know, recently retired, and my investor—the people managing my IRA—you know, they've done pretty well in the past, but this whole year, since the... since the conflict or war started, you know, it's... I've been losing value pretty good. And I'm just wondering, should... should I just change my strategy for, you know, put it in something that's not going to be volatile until this conflict's over, or I mean, or should we ride it out?
Rob West: Yeah. It's a great question, and I think the key is we don't want to make any kind of quick, emotional decisions trying to time the market in terms of the entry or the exit point. What we always want to do is come back to the asset allocation: What is the right mix of investments for you based on your age and risk tolerance? Now, listen, market volatility is unsettling, especially when the headlines are dominated by war or geopolitical conflict. But here's what history teaches us, Robert: is that markets have weathered wars, and recessions, and pandemics, and political uncertainty. And anytime we try to get out of the market—especially after it's already fallen, although I would say, you know, as I mentioned a moment ago, the market's hitting today all-time highs, like levels we've never seen before. Now, does that mean that's affecting the actual investments in your portfolio? Maybe or maybe not. It, you know, often is concentrated in certain, you know, aspects of the market. But what we don't want to do is try to time the market. That just is often a losing proposition. So, I would say go back to your advisor and first assess: How have we been doing in light of this market? And second, am I in the right mix of investments that's appropriate for me, my age, my risk tolerance, my income needs, and my future goals? That's really the approach, not trying to time the entry or the exit. Stay on the line. We'll talk a bit more.
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Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. We're taking your calls and questions. We'd like to get to a few more in this segment. You've got a question on anything financial? Call right now: 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000.
You know, the last caller, Robert, was asking about trying to, you know, time the market. And as I said, I wouldn't change your IRA strategy solely because of war-related headlines. You know, markets react sharply often to geopolitical events, but selling during fear really locks in those losses and disrupts a long-term retirement plan. So, the better approach is to say: What is my asset allocation? Where am I currently invested? How is that doing? And does that still match today my risk tolerance, my goals and objectives? And if the answer is no, well, that then could warrant a change in the portfolio, not because you're trying to time the market, but because you're rebalancing to an appropriate mix of investments for you.
I think one of the other strongest arguments against market timing—and by the way, I will get to a few more questions after this, so if you have a question today, call right now; we've got some lines open: 800-525-7000, any financial questions today, 800-525-7000.
One of the strongest arguments against market timing is that the best days and the worst days often occur very close together. So, if you sell during a downturn—and we're not experiencing one today, I mean, as I said, the market, the S&P 500's hitting an all-time high today. Now keep in mind, that's just 500 stocks. That's not the market, because your portfolio may have bonds, which, you know, have been down. I'll talk about that in a second. May have other sectors of the market that are not performing as well, but at least those large-cap, big 500 US companies are hitting all-time highs today. But if you sell during a downturn, you often risk missing the rebound, because history shows that, you know, market timing is incredibly difficult. You know, if you move to cash after the market falls, you have to make two correct decisions: when to get out and when to get back in. And most investors don't get both right. The data just says it doesn't happen.
Here's some helpful perspective. So, missing just the 10 best market days over a period of decades has historically reduced long-term returns dramatically. Interestingly, this is one of the reasons why I don't love variable annuities. A lot of people get excited about the fact that, "Well, wait a minute, Rob, why wouldn't I want to, you know, take downside protection, meaning I have a floor that I can't lose money, and why wouldn't it be appropriate for me to give up some of the upside on that return in exchange for the downside protection?" Because that's often how a variable annuity works: they give you a floor and say, "Okay, you can't lose money, but you're only going to get the first"—I'll pick a number—"7% of the upside, we're going to keep the rest." Well, just the 10 best days over a period of decades can reduce long-term returns. Why? Well, it's those dramatic upswings that often are what drive those high, annualized long-term returns. If you look over the past 100 years, the S&P 500 with dividends has done better than 9% per year on average. Well, often a lot of that is driven by those wild upswings that are factored in with all the sideways markets and the down markets and so forth. And when you give that up through a variable annuity or by trying to time the market, it severely impacts your overall long-term performance. But you have to be able to weather that downside, which is one of the reasons we will often say to somebody, "Okay, with the stock portion of your portfolio—just the stock portion, let's set aside the bonds—would you be okay if you turned on the computer one day and logged into your account and saw that the stock portion was down 25%, even 30%? Would you be able to say, 'You know what? I've got a long time horizon. I'm going to wait it out. I don't need that money. That's not going to cause me to lose sleep'?" If so, you've probably got the right mix of stocks. If, on the other hand, you said, "Oh no, absolutely not. If I saw it down 30%, I'd be calling my advisor or calling my brokerage company and telling them to sell and take me to cash." Well, if that's the answer, then you have too much allocated to stocks, because you need to be able to weather that downside and know the market's going to come back, "I'm going to wait this out. I don't need that money tomorrow or next month or next year. I'm long-term with at least that portion."
Missing the 20 or 30 best days reduces long-term returns even more, often by more than half compared with simply staying invested. And many of those best days occurred—listen to this—during bear markets. What's a bear market? It's when the market is going down, or immediately after major declines. So a simple illustration, you know, would be the pandemic. Remember what happened there? I mean, we had the quickest bear market in history, down 20% or more, and the quickest recovery to a bull market, up 20%, that we've ever seen before. Well, guess what? Everybody who got out during the downturn missed the uptick.
Now, we can't control wars or markets or world events. We can control, though, whether we have a prudent, diversified plan, with the discipline to stick with it, with a long-term investing horizon. And that approach has historically rewarded patience far more than prediction.
Now, let me make one other observation here, because, you know, perhaps you're looking at your portfolio and saying, "Well, wait a minute, you're talking about all-time highs on the S&P 500; that's not what I'm experiencing today. You know, I don't see that in my portfolio." Well, it could be the bond portion. You know, many people think of bonds as safe, but safe doesn't mean they never lose value. You see, when interest rates rise and bond yields rise, existing bond prices fall. And that's exactly what bond investors have experienced in recent years. So if you own bond funds, those have experienced periods of weakness as interest rates have stayed elevated. The good news is that higher interest rates also mean new bonds are paying higher yields, which helps improve future return potential.
But here's just some perspective over the last 6, 12, and 24 months. So, the last 6 months, broad investment-grade bond returns have been relatively flat to modestly negative, because of rising Treasury yields—those have put pressure on bond prices. The last 12 months? Well, high-quality US bonds have generally produced over 12 months modest positive returns, but in the low single digits. And that's largely helped by what we call the coupon income, the income or the yield being paid to you as the bondholder. And then the last 24 months, bonds have recovered from the historic losses of 2022 as interest rates were headed higher, but have been, I'll say, choppy in terms of their recovery—certainly not a straight line upward, as interest rates have been really volatile.
So if your IRA is diversified, here's the takeaway: really, some of that decline you could be very well experiencing is coming from your bond allocation. That's not a reason to abandon bonds. They play an important role by providing income, by providing more stability, less volatility, by providing diversification over the long term. So again, I think the general idea here across the board is: we take a long-term perspective, we match our overall allocation to our age and our risk tolerance and our retirement goals, and we do so with the long term in mind.
Rob West: Okay, let me finish with this, because we had a question that was asked, but the person who asked it was not able to join us on the air. We've been talking today about the launch of our field guide, How Much Money Is Enough?. It launches today, our first-ever field guide, and because of today's launch, we're making them available when you buy two or more, they're 50% off—$5. Just go to FaithFi.com/shop.
But we had a question from somebody who said, "I'm 20. How should I think about how much is enough?" And here's what I would say: it's less about reaching a specific number and more about building a faithful foundation. You know, at this stage in your 20s, "enough" may mean earning what's needed to cover basic expenses, avoiding unnecessary debt, saving consistently, giving generously, and preparing for future responsibilities. It also means learning contentment before your income rises.
There's a fabulous book by one of our friends, John Cortines, who joins us regularly on this broadcast—and John was one of the contributors to How Much Money Is Enough?. He's written a book called God and Money. And when he and his friend Greg Baumer were in Harvard Business School, they did a survey of graduates and uncovered some just fascinating ideas around "enough," and generosity, and finish lines, and the fact that money doesn't satisfy. And they made the decision coming right out of school—and so this is, you know, early 20s—that they were going to go ahead and set their financial finish line well before they knew where God was leading them. One ended up heading into ministry, and he's been able to live out that finish line. The other headed into private equity and has been a part of multiple sales of multi-million dollar businesses with millions coming his way. And I will tell you that his decision, along with his wife, to set that finish line and decide how much was enough for their lifestyle in their 20s has allowed them to give away tens of millions of dollars already by their 30s, because they made that decision in advance.
So, that's the kind of thing that you have the opportunity to do as you live out this idea that the scripture reminds us in 1 Timothy: godliness with contentment is great gain. Money is a tool; it's not a measure of identity or success. Ultimately, we need to define "enough" by recognizing that Christ Himself is enough and money is a tool.
Listen, folks, so grateful to have you along with us today. We appreciate you joining us day in and day out on this broadcast. I hope you found something helpful and encouraging. By the way, if you would like to pick up one of our field guides today only, if you buy two or more, they're half off. We would love for you to head to FaithFi.com/shop. Also, don't forget: Truth for Youth Bible Week! Call right now to order yours: 800-733-4737. We'll see you tomorrow.
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Rob West: Trafficking drives in the shadows, but even Wall Street can help shine a light. Hi, I'm Rob West. Nearly 50 million people around the world are trapped in modern slavery, including forced labor and human trafficking. But Christian investors are using their influence to confront exploitation and encourage companies to protect the vulnerable. Will Laughlin joins us today with an encouraging update. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance on American Family Radio, biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Rob West: Will Laughlin joins us again today. He's Managing Director of Faith-Based Investing at GuideStone Funds, one of our valued underwriters. GuideStone helps individuals, churches, and ministry organizations pursue their financial goals through investment solutions designed to reflect their Christian values. Will, always a treat to have you here.
Will Laughlin: Thanks, Rob. Always glad to be here.
Rob West: Well, GuideStone has made combating human trafficking a major focus of its faith-based investing efforts. I'd love for you to help us understand the scope of this tragedy and why investors have an important role to play in addressing it.
Will Laughlin: Yeah, absolutely. So, when you think about companies around the world and you think about issues there, human trafficking is something that maybe hides a little bit in the shadows, but is actually a very real problem. An organization called Walk Free estimates that there are roughly 50 million victims right now of some degree of human trafficking. More than 27 million of those are in the forced labor area, and another 3.3 million of those specifically focused just on children being victims of human trafficking. You know, when I say it hides in plain sight, that can be everywhere from supply chains for things like cell phones, food, clothing. So, the dollars that we spend that we have, you know, they vote whether we realize it or not. And when we think about it from a Christian perspective, you know, if you look at Proverbs 31:8–9, it tells us to speak up for the vulnerable, and so stewardship isn't passive in that case. You know, open your mouths for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute, defend the rights of the poor and needy. So, that's really the biblical imperative for us and why we think it's critical to work on issues like this.
Rob West: Oh, I couldn't agree more. In the past, GuideStone's approach, Will, focused largely on screening out certain companies. Today, you're also engaging directly through shareholder advocacy. So, talk to us about what that looks like in practice.
Will Laughlin: Yeah. So, the idea of advocacy was really born out of that concept of stewardship: How can we be the best stewards of the companies we're investing in? And there are two levers that we can use to do that. The two levers are really proxy voting and then actual conversations with companies. So, making sure we vote every proxy ballot for every company that we invest in, and then the other side, sitting down with leaders of companies to talk through specific issues like child labor, forced labor, and online exploitation. And when we think about that as a practical solution, an actual action in the marketplace, one of the more recent endeavors for us was becoming a founding member of something called the Eagle Freedom Alliance. And that is specifically focused on bringing anti-trafficking experts into boardrooms, as opposed to just writing letters and trying to kind of name and shame companies. But it's bringing forth people who can help companies with solutions, because what we found is that many companies, they don't want to have exposure to this. They want to proactively root it out. They want to be good actors in the space. And so, what we're trying to do is be proactive and engage in solutions-oriented dialogue that protects people and protects long-term shareholder value.
Rob West: Well, why is collaboration with other faith-based investors often more effective than trying to create change alone?
Will Laughlin: Yeah, the idea of collaboration, I think, is important because when we think about Christians, it's working together, uniting believers. And that's where the collaboration works with groups like Eagle Freedom Alliance. We're trying to bring a united front of many voices to companies so that they perceive the severity of the issue and that people want real change. And it's the idea that, as a unified body, we can bring real change by shining a much brighter and bigger light on issues.
Rob West: Yeah. Well, Will, we're going to have to leave it there. So appreciate our partnership with GuideStone, and thanks for being here today.
Will Laughlin: Thanks, Rob. I appreciate it.
Rob West: That's Will Laughlin, Managing Director of Faith-Based Investing at GuideStone Funds. GuideStone truly envisions a world transformed by Christian investing. Their strategies allow investors to be more proactive with their dollars to make a meaningful difference in the world while preparing for their financial future. To learn more, go to faithfi.com/guidestone. That's faithfi.com/guidestone. We'll be right back with your questions.
David Wollen: For your walk with Jesus, I'm David Wollen with Haven Today, inviting you to anchor your day in God's word. God has a heart for this world, and His promise to Abraham long ago was that all nations would be blessed through his line. True, Abraham's descendants had their share of ups and downs, but God had set His plan in motion to save the world. Jeremiah 3:17 points to this hope: "At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord." This is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who today is reigning and is drawing the nations to Himself, and one day, people of every tribe, tongue, and nation will worship Him. Until then, we're called to share this good news with the world. Get more encouragement for your walk with Jesus at haventoday.org.
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Rob West: Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today, the number 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Also, something special going on today. That's right, in celebration of the launch of our brand new, first-ever field guide, How Much Money Is Enough?, just coming off the press into inventory literally this week, we are running, for today only, 50% off your purchase of two or more copies. And it's an incredible opportunity for you to secure two of these field guides for $10—$5 each—which would mean one for you and one for a friend or a family member, or perhaps you would like to buy more of them because you can buy as many as you want at 50% off and maybe use them in your small group.
But this is the opportunity to have this practical guide answering the question, "How much money is enough?" so you can discover contentment, generosity, and purpose through what we call a financial finish line. Two types of finish lines that we uncover in this field guide: The first is your lifestyle finish line. How much money is enough for my lifestyle? We're not going to find that answer in Scripture directly. It'd be great if God said, "Yeah, your lifestyle should be defined by 62.8% of your income." You won't find that there! So, it's a thoughtful process of working through the answer to that question so you know what enough is. And we give you some very practical models and frameworks to think about setting your lifestyle finish line.
And then out of that lifestyle finish line flows what we call a lifetime finish line. One is about your income and expenses—really your expenses, how much are you going to spend on your lifestyle—the other is really about your balance sheet: What is enough for your ultimate accumulation?
And we're so delighted about this field guide. It has really three sections. The first is the biblical perspective on how you think about how much money is enough. It will walk you through from God's word, really, the key ideas around thinking through this: First, that enough is a heart issue, not a number issue; that enough is about stewardship, not ownership; that it leads us toward contentment, not control; and that, finally, enough is about purpose, not possessions. And so, we go through kind of the biblical perspective of thinking about defining a financial finish line, looking at rich texts from God's word and really thinking through this issue biblically.
And then in section two, we take you into really the practical exercises for creating that lifestyle finish line—whether you want to use the maintenance approach, basically capping your current spending wherever you're at; if you want to use the benchmark approach, where you peg it to perhaps a profession or a median income, some benchmark, and we give you some ideas on what that can look like; or the future approach, maybe you're not yet there, but you're defining enough before your income even reaches it, and we give you a framework to do that. And then once you settle on the appropriate approach for your lifestyle finish line, we then help you carry that into your lifetime finish line.
And then we finish up in section three of the field guide with case studies—basically, those who have gone before you, lived case studies about enough. And each of these case studies really addresses one of the objections that we can often have when we think about setting a finish line. First would be, "I don't have enough as it is." You'll hear a story of somebody who really approached this with that perspective. Another case study is around someone who said, "I already spend much less than I earn," or "My spouse would never agree," or "I don't even know where to start," or perhaps the last case study on, "I don't know what the future holds." And we connect each of those perhaps obstacles to a lived case study of someone who really wrestled through that and was able to settle the outcome of their "enough" finish line.
And so, if you'd like to pick up a copy, again, today only as we launch this brand new field guide—we're only going to do this once—50% off, that makes these field guides $5 each when you order two or more copies. Just head to faithfi.com/shop to learn more and order your copy today. Again, that's faithfi.com/shop.
Well, we're going to be taking your calls and questions today. If you've got something you're wrestling with in your financial life, we'd love to hear about it. Just call right now. We've got lines open. Patty's standing by, ready to take your call. And so, maybe you want to unpack this idea of a financial finish line, or you're thinking about preparing the next steward. I just got out of a shoot with Ron Blue and Sharon Epps a few moments ago, where Ron, the author, the founder of Kingdom Advisors, was on our set talking about really the importance of passing wisdom before wealth, and the importance of communicating, and the importance of doing your giving while you're living so you're knowing where it's going. All of these ideas around not estate planning with the goal to minimize taxes—especially in light of the current estate laws, where most people don't have to think about taxes—but really that idea of transferring the wealth and answering the question: Is the next steward chosen and prepared? Because wealth doesn't create wisdom, but wisdom can create wealth. So, we need to be on our guard there.
Maybe you're thinking about your own inheritance that you're going to pass someday, or the giving that you can do now versus later. We'd love to chat about that. Perhaps it's Social Security or investing, whatever you're thinking about today, you can call right now. Again, that number: 800-525-7000. We will dive into those questions here in just a moment, so go ahead and place that call right now.
In the news today, used electric vehicle prices are rising in 2026. That's reversing the usual pattern of depreciation. According to Recurrent, used EV prices increased 5.1% from January through June, and 7% through mid-July. Edmunds found that the average price of a three-year-old EV rose 6% during the first half of the year, reaching $33,300. Most high-volume used EV models also gained value. Now, that's welcome news for current owners considering a sale, but higher prices may make used EVs less affordable for buyers. The increase is especially surprising because more than 500,000 leased EVs are expected to enter the used market this year. Now, strong demand, however, is offsetting the growing supply.
Several factors are driving that demand: Higher gasoline prices, clearly, are encouraging shoppers to consider fuel-efficient vehicles, while inflation has pushed more consumers toward the used car market. Used EV sales rose 20% in June from a year earlier, while new electric vehicle sales fell about 28%. Demand is strongest for lower-priced models. Used EVs under $20,000 rose 9.5% in the first half of 2026, while prices declined for models above $40,000. Lower maintenance and potential fuel savings may also make used EVs attractive.
For us as Christ-followers, wise stewardship means looking beyond the purchase price to consider, certainly, reliability, financing, maintenance, insurance, even long-term operating costs. The best choice is not necessarily the newest technology, but the vehicle that faithfully meets your needs without placing unnecessary strain on your finances. So, certainly a welcome sight for those who have purchased in the past an electric vehicle, maybe thinking of replacing it. This might be the time to do it, as those prices had been on the decline, now ticking up for the very first time.
All right, we're going to head to the break. When we come back, we'd love to take some calls. We've got lines open, ready for your call today: 800-525-7000. Again, today only, two or more of our field guides 50% off as we celebrate the launch of How Much Money Is Enough? Go to faithfi.com/shop. We'll be right back.
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Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith & Finance here at American Family Radio. I'm Rob West, taking your calls and questions. We'll dive into those questions here in just a moment. So, no matter what you're thinking about in your financial life, perhaps as inflation has ticked up over the last few years and, and significantly, before that, you're feeling the squeeze and your family budget, maybe that has resulted in some credit card debt that has been accumulated, we'd love to help you think through the best path forward for that. I have some thoughts, as you might imagine, on the better strategy versus those that I don't recommend for paying off debt. You can call with that question. Maybe it's navigating the stock market. We're seeing kind of a rollercoaster of sorts, the market up again, S&P 500 hitting a record, the Dow surging 600 points after the Treasury Secretary this morning saying that a Hormuz deal is near. That's the Strait of Hormuz related to a movement of freedom, which is the critical choke point that drives, or at least has been driving, oil prices higher, which you're feeling at the gas pump. The news that that deal on a movement of freedom through the Strait of Hormuz sending stock prices higher as oil is naturally selling off today down 5%. The markets up across the board. The Dow Jones up 600, 53,700, the S&P 500 hitting a new all-time high, the NASDAQ up 1.5% as well. So, maybe you're just wondering, how do I navigate that market? Maybe you've been on the sidelines sitting in a money market in your retirement plan wondering, do I enter here? Whatever you're thinking about today, call right now: 800-525-7000. We're ready for those phone calls. Patty's standing by, and we will get to as many as we can today. Let's head to Texas. Aaron, how can I help you?
Aaron: Uh, yes. I am interested in a couple of those booklets. We are retired and, uh, have a nice income and investments, but I'm wondering if we can give away more. So, I'm very interested in the booklet, but I didn't get the, uh, uh, the, uh, uh, website down to buy them.
Rob West: Oh, I love that. Yes. Well, let me do this, Aaron. I appreciate your call, and, you know, I hear from more and more people in that season of life saying, "You know, perhaps we have more than we need." You know, we just don't know. And, you know, maybe we could accelerate our giving. I just was mentioning a moment ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time in our studio, our video studio here at Kingdom Advisors this morning with Ron Blue, the author of Splitting Heirs. And Ron has this great line in the book where he says, "Do your giving while you're living so you're knowing where it's going." And I think that's a really thoughtful idea for us to be able to participate in God's kingdom and in His redemptive purposes through our generosity. But often, being able to define "enough" is critical to really having permission and the confidence to perhaps accelerate our giving in this season of life. And that's precisely why we created this field guide, Aaron, dealing with this topic of How Much Is Enough? for you to be able to have some help both biblically and practically on what does a lifestyle finish line look like for us. And maybe you've already settled that in your 70s, but then out of that, what does a lifetime finish line look like as well? So, here's what I'd like to do. Because of your call today and your interest in this topic, I'd love to send one to you free, just as our gift to you. So, when we're done here today, stay on the line, and we'll get your information and get that out to you. But what Aaron's referencing is, because of the launch of our first-ever field guide, the first one on How Much Is Enough?—by the way, the next one comes this fall, How Do I Prepare the Next Steward?—but today only, with purchases of two or more, they're 50% off to celebrate our launch, that makes them $5 each. Just go to faithfi.com/shop. That's faithfi.com/shop. But Aaron, I'd be delighted to send you one. I'd love to hear, though, a bit more, if you don't mind sharing, just what you and your husband have been wrestling with. Is it really just making sure you have enough given the unknowns of what could come in this season of life, or is there something else you're thinking about?
Aaron: Exactly. No, and I feel like we have plenty, and we're at the age where we can't travel much, and we stay home a lot, so I don't want to waste the money. So...
Rob West: Yes, ma'am. Yeah, I hear you. I had a call from a listener not too long ago. She said, "Rob, I'm in my 70s." She said, "I'm probably going to die with $6 million in my trust." Now, we don't all have $6 million in our trust, but that was her situation.
Aaron: No.
Rob West: And she said, "Uh," she said, "I'm giving $150 a month to four ministries, and I read Ron Blue's book, Splitting Heirs, and I should probably write a $200,000 check tomorrow to my favorite ministry." And I said, "Well, that's between you and the Lord, but yeah, you probably could and should, and you would get a whole lot of joy out of that." And I think whether it's 6 million or 600,000 or, you know, 60,000, being able to say, "God, you know, why have You entrusted to me what You have? How much do we need for ourselves?" And that's not an answer anybody can give you. It's really something you need to wrestle with between you and the Lord. And, and that's why we created this tool. And that's why I always talk so much about having a Certified Kingdom Advisor, because having an advisor, you know, come alongside you who can run the financial analysis and give you permission to give maybe beyond what you have, but do it in a thoughtful way where you're still good stewards, you're still acknowledging there are unknowns and uncertainties in this season of life, but the extent to which we could take perhaps a larger portion than we ever imagined of what God has entrusted to us, and not at death, but right now, get that into God's economy is a really freeing and joy-filled idea. So, Aaron, thank you for your call today. Stay on the line. We'll get this field guide out to you, okay?
Aaron: Okay, thank you.
Rob West: Absolutely. Thanks so much. By the way, folks, if you pick up two or more of these field guides today only, as we celebrate the launch of Field Guide No. 1, How Much Is Enough?, they will be 50% off—just $5 each. Just go to faithfi.com/shop. And we would love to grab your question today. You know, when it comes to setting that finish line, you know, a lot of us just allow the gravitational pull of an increase in income over time to cause our spending to rise with our income. And so, unless you protest to the contrary, your spending is just naturally going to rise to your income. One of the things setting a finish line does is it pushes back on that idea and said, "We were going to—we're going to define 'enough' separate from our income." Now, maybe we're not there yet, maybe it's a future number, but maybe we've already passed it. And that could allow us to accelerate our giving right now. Think about that. We're going to take more questions after this break: 800-525-7000. We'll be right back.
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Announcer: How much money is enough? It's a question almost all of us wrestle with, but few of us know how to answer. What if God has already given us a better way to think about enough? One that leads to contentment, freedom, and greater generosity. Our FaithFi field guide, How Much Money Is Enough?, will help you explore this important question through scripture and practical exercises. Get your copy today at FaithFi.com/shop. That's Faith F-I .com/shop.
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Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. We're celebrating the launch of our new field guide today, How Much Money Is Enough?, with a biblical perspective, practical exercises, and lived case studies around defining enough, both for your lifestyle and your lifetime accumulation, so that you can be generous, so that you can give more away, so that you can understand that God is our ultimate treasure. And this is one of the most common questions we get, so we decided to tackle it head-on. This is the first in this series of field guides, and as we celebrate the launch today, we're making them available with the purchase of two or more. We're making them available at 50% off—that means they're $5 each. Just head to FaithFi.com/shop if you want to pick up your copy.
Let's see. We'll head back to the phones here. We do have a few lines open. If you have a question on any topic today, whether it's debt repayment, investing, maybe saving for the future, call right now: 800-525-7000. Let's go to Georgia and James. Thanks for calling. Go ahead.
James: Uh, yes. So, a while back—it was probably a year ago—you talked about QCDs.
Rob West: Yes.
James: So, I'm 71 years old now. And so, I want to start doing my tithing and offering through my... well, it's a TSP right now, but I'm getting ready to roll it over. And part of it I'm going to go to the bank with. But... since you only insure $250,000, I was... I'm going to do something else with the rest of it. So, I'm trying to figure out, you know, what... what's a QCD? Is annuity a QCD? And if it is, what's the best company to go to?
Rob West: Yes, it's a great question. The qualified charitable distribution, James, is one of my favorite tools for giving, specifically for money coming out of an IRA. So, you would need to roll it first to an Individual Retirement Account, which you can do. Once you separate from service, you can roll that out. And as long as you roll it to a traditional IRA—what's often called a rollover IRA—then that is not a taxable event because inside the TSP, it's in a tax-deferred environment, and so is the traditional IRA. And so, you roll it over to the IRA. At that point, so long as it's in an IRA and you are 70½ or older, you become eligible to give money directly from your IRA to a charity.
Now, QCDs cannot be made from an annuity unless it's an IRA annuity that permits QCDs. That's uncommon, but it does happen. It's plan-specific, so you would need to ask. But in just about every other situation, the way the QCD works is you would roll that money to the IRA, and then at that point, you could make a gift directly to your church, American Family Association, FaithFi, any ministry you choose who is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. And as long as that money doesn't come to you and goes straight to the charity, it's not going to be added to your taxable income for the year. You don't get a deduction, but it never gets added. And remember, every other distribution or withdrawal from an IRA that comes to you is taxable, and therefore, the amount of the distribution gets added to your taxable income for the year. The qualified charitable deduction is the only way the money comes out without ever paying any tax on it, but it has to go straight to a charity. Does that make sense?
James: Right, so... okay, because 25% of my RMD is going to be taxable because that's going to come to me. Because 75% will go to my... go to my, uh, church.
Rob West: Okay, yeah.
James: But the problem is, is... is I'm trying... I'm trying to get the rest of my money, um, to uh... to something other than the bank in order to do the QCD.
Rob West: Yeah, got it. And how much do you have in that TSP right now, roughly?
James: Uh, I got $470,000.
Rob West: Okay. And how much are you taking out per year? Only the required minimum?
James: Right. Yeah, I'm... I don't... I don't need the money at all.
Rob West: Yeah. Yeah, very good. So, what I would recommend, James, is for you to connect with a Certified Kingdom Advisor who could help you, first of all, open that IRA, but secondly, after you all spend a lot of time together talking about your income needs—which clearly you don't have any, at least as it relates to the IRA—and your risk tolerance, your goals and objectives, what God's doing in your life, where you're headed in the future, could help you build a portfolio and manage this money with the appropriate level of risk that aligns with your goals and objectives.
And so, it would be probably a mix of largely bonds, maybe some CDs, maybe some money market, maybe a smaller allocation to stocks, so you have a growth component. But the advisor would open that IRA, you'd roll the TSP in, he or she would build the portfolio, and then they could ensure that you take enough out each year to reach the required minimum and direct it so that 25% is coming to you as a taxable distribution, 75% of your RMD going straight to charity or ministry, and then they've handled the investment selections for you, which clearly you don't want to do anyway. So, that would typically be the way I would recommend you go. But give me your thoughts on that.
James: Uh, okay. So... so where would you find the... the Kingdom Advisor?
Rob West: Yeah, just go to FindACrowd—or FindACKA.com. That's FindACKA.com. Stands for Certified Kingdom Advisor, and you could do a zip code search and find... I would interview maybe two or three, find the one that you feel like is the best fit for you. There's about 2,000 Certified Kingdom Advisors across the US and Canada. They've met high standards in character and competence and experience, and they've been trained to bring a biblical worldview. They've got at least 10 years experience, pastor reference, client reference, annual continuing education, regulatory review. We put them through the paces. But if they've achieved the CKA designation, which is the only industry-accepted designation in financial services for biblically wise financial advice, then you know that they share your values and can bring God's perspective to bear in their counsel.
James: Okay. Okay, thank you.
Rob West: Excellent, James. Thanks for your call today. Again, that website: FindACKA.com. Let's go to Oklahoma. Robert, how can I help you?
Robert: Hey. Um, I'm just... you know, recently retired, and my investor—the people managing my IRA—you know, they've done pretty well in the past, but this whole year, since the... since the conflict or war started, you know, it's... I've been losing value pretty good. And I'm just wondering, should... should I just change my strategy for, you know, put it in something that's not going to be volatile until this conflict's over, or I mean, or should we ride it out?
Rob West: Yeah. It's a great question, and I think the key is we don't want to make any kind of quick, emotional decisions trying to time the market in terms of the entry or the exit point. What we always want to do is come back to the asset allocation: What is the right mix of investments for you based on your age and risk tolerance? Now, listen, market volatility is unsettling, especially when the headlines are dominated by war or geopolitical conflict. But here's what history teaches us, Robert: is that markets have weathered wars, and recessions, and pandemics, and political uncertainty. And anytime we try to get out of the market—especially after it's already fallen, although I would say, you know, as I mentioned a moment ago, the market's hitting today all-time highs, like levels we've never seen before. Now, does that mean that's affecting the actual investments in your portfolio? Maybe or maybe not. It, you know, often is concentrated in certain, you know, aspects of the market. But what we don't want to do is try to time the market. That just is often a losing proposition. So, I would say go back to your advisor and first assess: How have we been doing in light of this market? And second, am I in the right mix of investments that's appropriate for me, my age, my risk tolerance, my income needs, and my future goals? That's really the approach, not trying to time the entry or the exit. Stay on the line. We'll talk a bit more.
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Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. We're taking your calls and questions. We'd like to get to a few more in this segment. You've got a question on anything financial? Call right now: 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000.
You know, the last caller, Robert, was asking about trying to, you know, time the market. And as I said, I wouldn't change your IRA strategy solely because of war-related headlines. You know, markets react sharply often to geopolitical events, but selling during fear really locks in those losses and disrupts a long-term retirement plan. So, the better approach is to say: What is my asset allocation? Where am I currently invested? How is that doing? And does that still match today my risk tolerance, my goals and objectives? And if the answer is no, well, that then could warrant a change in the portfolio, not because you're trying to time the market, but because you're rebalancing to an appropriate mix of investments for you.
I think one of the other strongest arguments against market timing—and by the way, I will get to a few more questions after this, so if you have a question today, call right now; we've got some lines open: 800-525-7000, any financial questions today, 800-525-7000.
One of the strongest arguments against market timing is that the best days and the worst days often occur very close together. So, if you sell during a downturn—and we're not experiencing one today, I mean, as I said, the market, the S&P 500's hitting an all-time high today. Now keep in mind, that's just 500 stocks. That's not the market, because your portfolio may have bonds, which, you know, have been down. I'll talk about that in a second. May have other sectors of the market that are not performing as well, but at least those large-cap, big 500 US companies are hitting all-time highs today. But if you sell during a downturn, you often risk missing the rebound, because history shows that, you know, market timing is incredibly difficult. You know, if you move to cash after the market falls, you have to make two correct decisions: when to get out and when to get back in. And most investors don't get both right. The data just says it doesn't happen.
Here's some helpful perspective. So, missing just the 10 best market days over a period of decades has historically reduced long-term returns dramatically. Interestingly, this is one of the reasons why I don't love variable annuities. A lot of people get excited about the fact that, "Well, wait a minute, Rob, why wouldn't I want to, you know, take downside protection, meaning I have a floor that I can't lose money, and why wouldn't it be appropriate for me to give up some of the upside on that return in exchange for the downside protection?" Because that's often how a variable annuity works: they give you a floor and say, "Okay, you can't lose money, but you're only going to get the first"—I'll pick a number—"7% of the upside, we're going to keep the rest." Well, just the 10 best days over a period of decades can reduce long-term returns. Why? Well, it's those dramatic upswings that often are what drive those high, annualized long-term returns. If you look over the past 100 years, the S&P 500 with dividends has done better than 9% per year on average. Well, often a lot of that is driven by those wild upswings that are factored in with all the sideways markets and the down markets and so forth. And when you give that up through a variable annuity or by trying to time the market, it severely impacts your overall long-term performance. But you have to be able to weather that downside, which is one of the reasons we will often say to somebody, "Okay, with the stock portion of your portfolio—just the stock portion, let's set aside the bonds—would you be okay if you turned on the computer one day and logged into your account and saw that the stock portion was down 25%, even 30%? Would you be able to say, 'You know what? I've got a long time horizon. I'm going to wait it out. I don't need that money. That's not going to cause me to lose sleep'?" If so, you've probably got the right mix of stocks. If, on the other hand, you said, "Oh no, absolutely not. If I saw it down 30%, I'd be calling my advisor or calling my brokerage company and telling them to sell and take me to cash." Well, if that's the answer, then you have too much allocated to stocks, because you need to be able to weather that downside and know the market's going to come back, "I'm going to wait this out. I don't need that money tomorrow or next month or next year. I'm long-term with at least that portion."
Missing the 20 or 30 best days reduces long-term returns even more, often by more than half compared with simply staying invested. And many of those best days occurred—listen to this—during bear markets. What's a bear market? It's when the market is going down, or immediately after major declines. So a simple illustration, you know, would be the pandemic. Remember what happened there? I mean, we had the quickest bear market in history, down 20% or more, and the quickest recovery to a bull market, up 20%, that we've ever seen before. Well, guess what? Everybody who got out during the downturn missed the uptick.
Now, we can't control wars or markets or world events. We can control, though, whether we have a prudent, diversified plan, with the discipline to stick with it, with a long-term investing horizon. And that approach has historically rewarded patience far more than prediction.
Now, let me make one other observation here, because, you know, perhaps you're looking at your portfolio and saying, "Well, wait a minute, you're talking about all-time highs on the S&P 500; that's not what I'm experiencing today. You know, I don't see that in my portfolio." Well, it could be the bond portion. You know, many people think of bonds as safe, but safe doesn't mean they never lose value. You see, when interest rates rise and bond yields rise, existing bond prices fall. And that's exactly what bond investors have experienced in recent years. So if you own bond funds, those have experienced periods of weakness as interest rates have stayed elevated. The good news is that higher interest rates also mean new bonds are paying higher yields, which helps improve future return potential.
But here's just some perspective over the last 6, 12, and 24 months. So, the last 6 months, broad investment-grade bond returns have been relatively flat to modestly negative, because of rising Treasury yields—those have put pressure on bond prices. The last 12 months? Well, high-quality US bonds have generally produced over 12 months modest positive returns, but in the low single digits. And that's largely helped by what we call the coupon income, the income or the yield being paid to you as the bondholder. And then the last 24 months, bonds have recovered from the historic losses of 2022 as interest rates were headed higher, but have been, I'll say, choppy in terms of their recovery—certainly not a straight line upward, as interest rates have been really volatile.
So if your IRA is diversified, here's the takeaway: really, some of that decline you could be very well experiencing is coming from your bond allocation. That's not a reason to abandon bonds. They play an important role by providing income, by providing more stability, less volatility, by providing diversification over the long term. So again, I think the general idea here across the board is: we take a long-term perspective, we match our overall allocation to our age and our risk tolerance and our retirement goals, and we do so with the long term in mind.
Rob West: Okay, let me finish with this, because we had a question that was asked, but the person who asked it was not able to join us on the air. We've been talking today about the launch of our field guide, How Much Money Is Enough?. It launches today, our first-ever field guide, and because of today's launch, we're making them available when you buy two or more, they're 50% off—$5. Just go to FaithFi.com/shop.
But we had a question from somebody who said, "I'm 20. How should I think about how much is enough?" And here's what I would say: it's less about reaching a specific number and more about building a faithful foundation. You know, at this stage in your 20s, "enough" may mean earning what's needed to cover basic expenses, avoiding unnecessary debt, saving consistently, giving generously, and preparing for future responsibilities. It also means learning contentment before your income rises.
There's a fabulous book by one of our friends, John Cortines, who joins us regularly on this broadcast—and John was one of the contributors to How Much Money Is Enough?. He's written a book called God and Money. And when he and his friend Greg Baumer were in Harvard Business School, they did a survey of graduates and uncovered some just fascinating ideas around "enough," and generosity, and finish lines, and the fact that money doesn't satisfy. And they made the decision coming right out of school—and so this is, you know, early 20s—that they were going to go ahead and set their financial finish line well before they knew where God was leading them. One ended up heading into ministry, and he's been able to live out that finish line. The other headed into private equity and has been a part of multiple sales of multi-million dollar businesses with millions coming his way. And I will tell you that his decision, along with his wife, to set that finish line and decide how much was enough for their lifestyle in their 20s has allowed them to give away tens of millions of dollars already by their 30s, because they made that decision in advance.
So, that's the kind of thing that you have the opportunity to do as you live out this idea that the scripture reminds us in 1 Timothy: godliness with contentment is great gain. Money is a tool; it's not a measure of identity or success. Ultimately, we need to define "enough" by recognizing that Christ Himself is enough and money is a tool.
Listen, folks, so grateful to have you along with us today. We appreciate you joining us day in and day out on this broadcast. I hope you found something helpful and encouraging. By the way, if you would like to pick up one of our field guides today only, if you buy two or more, they're half off. We would love for you to head to FaithFi.com/shop. Also, don't forget: Truth for Youth Bible Week! Call right now to order yours: 800-733-4737. We'll see you tomorrow.
Announcer: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.
Trafficking thrives in the shadows—but even Wall Street can shine a light. Nearly 50 million people around the world are trapped in modern slavery, including forced labor and human trafficking. But Christian investors can use their influence to confront exploitation and encourage companies to protect the vulnerable. On this Faith & Finance on AFR, Rob West and Will Lofland provide an encouraging update. Then, it’s on to calls.
(00:00) Rob West speaks with Will Lofland about combatting human trafficking with your investments
(08:50) FaithFi launches the new Field Guide, addressing the question “How much is enough?”
(14:50) In The News: Used electric vehicle prices are increasing in 2026
(21:18) Markets hit new highs as oil prices drop
(22:29) Caller Erin: Retired and interested in learning more about how much is enough
(31:10) FaithFi launching new Field Guide, purchase at FaithFi.com/shop
(32:15) Caller James: Seeking explanation of QCDs and annuities
(38:06) Caller Robert: Retired, worried that IRA may be affected by Iran conflict
(42:10) Follow up thoughts on previous call with a caution against trying to time the markets
(51:27) Answer to a question from a 20 year old asking how they should be thinking about the question of “how much is enough?”
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