A Catholic Way to Handle Personal Finances
We're going to start posting some ideas focused on a Catholic way to handle personal finances. Even though I'm a professional in the financial services industry, I've mostly avoided the topic over the years. Why? I think it's because I don't want to hold myself out as some sort of authority on the subject. But with that in mind, let's give it a shot.
Disclaimer: Before we dive into this, remember nothing here is meant to be personal financial advice. If you want that, find a professional or professionals whom you know and trust. These could include: financial planners, CPAs, lawyers, Registered Investment Advisors, etc.
The disclaimer is important because I don't want anyone to construe what's being posted as personal financial advice. (Didn't I say that already?) Got it?
A little background first. I work with individuals and institutions in matters related to financial planning and investment advice. I run a Registered Investment Advisory firm that handles these matters. In the course of my professional career, I've worked with all sorts of people and institutions - some Catholic, most not. What I'm going to share will be thoughts and ideas that spring from that experience, as well as my knowledge of my Catholic religion.
And regarding these thoughts and ideas, know that they're strictly my personal opinion, even though they're based on years of experience and a solid base of knowledge. Take what I'm offering in that spirit, even with a grain of salt. If you find some of the thoughts and ideas helpful, great. If you're skeptical about some things that you read, that's good too. Maybe they'll serve as food for your own thoughts.
In the end, check everything I say against your own experience and knowledge. If you want to chime in, go right ahead. I'm always open to ideas.
Here's a little story that will help explain why I decided - after all these years - to go ahead and write some of my thoughts down.
I once worked with a fine, very successful Catholic gentleman for a spell. He made a lot of money, had a big family, and wanted my firm to look over his situation and make appropriate recommendations based on his stated personal goals and objectives. He knew me pretty well through some Catholic charitable work we did. I think he liked that we were both serious Catholics. I assessed that he was sincere in wanting our assistance. He paid his retainer and we went to work.
Now I've worked with lots of super-busy people. But right from the get-go, though, something seemed "off." It was unusually difficult to get his attention and to set up meetings, even phone calls. And the sessions we were able to squeeze in were "on the run." At one point, since we were heading for a meeting at a non-profit that required a longish drive, he offered to drive me, thinking we could talk on the way. I generally don't do meetings like this. But since I kind of knew the guy, and since he did seem to want to make progress, I gave it a shot. So we talked while he drove. I learned some of the important facts that we need to do an initial assessment. But when we arrived at our destination, there was still more we needed to know.
At that point, I put together a list of items that included information and various documents that would be necessary for us to get a proper snapshot of his current situation. (Again, a necessary part of initial discussions in any of our financial planning engagements.) That's when we hit a brick wall.
Despite repeated efforts to follow-up, what became clear was that - for some reason - he simply could not take the time necessary to provide information, never mind the documents we needed.
The engagement eventually died on the vine. It was a friendly parting. We both agreed it wasn't working. While rare, sometimes I've had to forego working with someone because they just don't put in the time and attention necessary to make progress. Sometimes it's because they're too busy; or their personal lives are so chaotic they're always thrown off by some event or crisis; or sometimes they just don't want to be forthcoming about certain details of their finances. But what was interesting about this guy was that he seemed to think that not only his professional life and his chaotic personal life, but also his Catholic faith somehow got in the way of his devoting the time and attention necessary to manage his personal finances.
Why would his Catholic faith get in the way?
My sense at the time was that he thought that spending "too much" time on matters related to money and possessions was somehow inappropriate. First of all, it took away time he could devote to his family and his profession. (He was extraordinarily competent and quite dedicated. And his firm constantly put pressure on him to produce.) But I think there was something else. The closer we got to money in our discussions, the more uncomfortable, even distracted he became. Strange when you've expressed a desire to get advice about your financial affairs.
We'll talk more about this as we go along.
For now, let's consider that, whether we make a lot or a little, whether we have a lot or a little, we should consider money and the things it buys as belonging to God. We're just the temporary custodians. And as such, we have an obligation to treat what's given to us by God as good stewards. More on this next time.
Disclaimer: Before we dive into this, remember nothing here is meant to be personal financial advice. If you want that, find a professional or professionals whom you know and trust. These could include: financial planners, CPAs, lawyers, Registered Investment Advisors, etc.
The disclaimer is important because I don't want anyone to construe what's being posted as personal financial advice. (Didn't I say that already?) Got it?
A little background first. I work with individuals and institutions in matters related to financial planning and investment advice. I run a Registered Investment Advisory firm that handles these matters. In the course of my professional career, I've worked with all sorts of people and institutions - some Catholic, most not. What I'm going to share will be thoughts and ideas that spring from that experience, as well as my knowledge of my Catholic religion.
And regarding these thoughts and ideas, know that they're strictly my personal opinion, even though they're based on years of experience and a solid base of knowledge. Take what I'm offering in that spirit, even with a grain of salt. If you find some of the thoughts and ideas helpful, great. If you're skeptical about some things that you read, that's good too. Maybe they'll serve as food for your own thoughts.
In the end, check everything I say against your own experience and knowledge. If you want to chime in, go right ahead. I'm always open to ideas.
Here's a little story that will help explain why I decided - after all these years - to go ahead and write some of my thoughts down.
I once worked with a fine, very successful Catholic gentleman for a spell. He made a lot of money, had a big family, and wanted my firm to look over his situation and make appropriate recommendations based on his stated personal goals and objectives. He knew me pretty well through some Catholic charitable work we did. I think he liked that we were both serious Catholics. I assessed that he was sincere in wanting our assistance. He paid his retainer and we went to work.
Now I've worked with lots of super-busy people. But right from the get-go, though, something seemed "off." It was unusually difficult to get his attention and to set up meetings, even phone calls. And the sessions we were able to squeeze in were "on the run." At one point, since we were heading for a meeting at a non-profit that required a longish drive, he offered to drive me, thinking we could talk on the way. I generally don't do meetings like this. But since I kind of knew the guy, and since he did seem to want to make progress, I gave it a shot. So we talked while he drove. I learned some of the important facts that we need to do an initial assessment. But when we arrived at our destination, there was still more we needed to know.
At that point, I put together a list of items that included information and various documents that would be necessary for us to get a proper snapshot of his current situation. (Again, a necessary part of initial discussions in any of our financial planning engagements.) That's when we hit a brick wall.
Despite repeated efforts to follow-up, what became clear was that - for some reason - he simply could not take the time necessary to provide information, never mind the documents we needed.
The engagement eventually died on the vine. It was a friendly parting. We both agreed it wasn't working. While rare, sometimes I've had to forego working with someone because they just don't put in the time and attention necessary to make progress. Sometimes it's because they're too busy; or their personal lives are so chaotic they're always thrown off by some event or crisis; or sometimes they just don't want to be forthcoming about certain details of their finances. But what was interesting about this guy was that he seemed to think that not only his professional life and his chaotic personal life, but also his Catholic faith somehow got in the way of his devoting the time and attention necessary to manage his personal finances.
Why would his Catholic faith get in the way?
My sense at the time was that he thought that spending "too much" time on matters related to money and possessions was somehow inappropriate. First of all, it took away time he could devote to his family and his profession. (He was extraordinarily competent and quite dedicated. And his firm constantly put pressure on him to produce.) But I think there was something else. The closer we got to money in our discussions, the more uncomfortable, even distracted he became. Strange when you've expressed a desire to get advice about your financial affairs.
We'll talk more about this as we go along.
For now, let's consider that, whether we make a lot or a little, whether we have a lot or a little, we should consider money and the things it buys as belonging to God. We're just the temporary custodians. And as such, we have an obligation to treat what's given to us by God as good stewards. More on this next time.
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