Stewardship: Aligning Money with Christian Values

How Does Christian-based Financial Planning Differ From Traditional Financial Planning?

Money talks, but does yours speak the language of faith? In this thought-provoking episode, Cody Stansell, senior wealth advisor at Steadfast Wealth Planning, pulls back the curtain on how Christian-based financial planning differs from conventional approaches in meaningful ways.

At its foundation lies the stewardship mindset—recognizing that our resources aren't truly ours, but entrusted to us for wise management. Cody explores three key areas where faith transforms financial practice. First, he breaks down Biblically Responsible Investing, explaining how portfolios can be filtered to exclude companies involved in activities contrary to Christian values without confusing faith-based investing with politically-motivated approaches. For Christians concerned about where their investment dollars flow, this provides practical guidance for aligning portfolios with personal convictions.

Transitioning to retirement challenges, Cody addresses a common question from Christian retirees: how to tithe without regular income. He offers two straightforward approaches—tithing on retirement income streams or tithing based on monthly spending—while cautioning against tying giving directly to investment performance. The conversation shifts naturally to legacy planning with a stewardship perspective, encouraging intentionality about how our resources can bless others both during our lifetime and beyond. Rather than simply accumulating wealth until death, Cody advocates experiencing the joy of generosity while still living through foundations, donor-advised funds, and meaningful family experiences.

Grounded in 1 Corinthians 15:58, Steadfast Wealth Planning embodies being "steadfast, immovable" amid market volatility and media-driven fear. This conversation reminds us that financial planning at its best isn't just about building wealth, but cultivating a life of purpose and faith. 

Ready to align your finances with your faith? Call 469-606-2040 to explore how stewardship principles can transform your approach to wealth.

To learn more about Steadfast Wealth Planning visit:
https://www.SteadfastWealthPlanning.com
Steadfast Wealth Planning
5550 Granite Pkwy, STE 270
Plano, TX 75024
469-606-2040

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Steadfast Wealth Planning
Podcast, where faith andfinancial wisdom come together.
Hosted by Cody Stansel, ownerand senior wealth advisor, we
provide comprehensiveChristian-based financial
planning to help families,individuals and business owners
build a life they're proud tolive.
From investment management andtax planning to preparing for

(00:25):
retirement, we're here to guideyou with clarity, integrity and
purpose.
Let's get started.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Christian-based financial planning doesn't just
ask what's the smartest movefinancially.
In this episode, cody exploreshow faith-based principles guide
every step of the planningprocess, from stewardship to
legacy.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host slashproducer, back in the studio
with Cody Stansel, senior wealthadvisor at Steadfast Wealth

(01:01):
Planning.
Cody, how's it going today?

Speaker 3 (01:07):
at Steadfast Wealth Planning Cody, how's it going
today?
Hey, sophia, I'm doing well.
Summer is coming along and tooka family vacation a couple
weeks ago, so that was good.
And yeah, here we are back atit.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Oh, lots of fun.
Well, happy to have you back,cody, now in this conversation.
This is going to be one thatgoes beyond dollars and cents.
It goes straight to the heartof what we value most.
How does Christian-basedfinancial planning differ from
traditional financial planning?

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yeah, we have a stewardship mindset, like you
mentioned before, when it comesto running our practice advising
our clients, like you mentionedbefore when it comes to running
our practice advising ourclients.
So stewardship is all aboutbeing wise with what someone has
entrusted you.
So our view is it's obviouslynot our money, it's our client's
money, but they have entrustedus to manage it wisely for them

(01:58):
on their behalf.
But for my clients that want tohave a Christian aim for how
they handle their money, thereare a few key areas that are a
little bit different than justif you Google something you know
from a Christian landscape.
Three topics that we'll go overtoday.
You know there's some otherones, but the three that I want
to talk about Biblicallyresponsible investing.
You know how can we invest ourmoney with a little bit more

(02:19):
Christian view on it.
Second one is tithing inretirement.
I get this from a lot ofretirees that life is different.
We don't have a paycheck earnedincome anymore.
Hey, cody, how do we go abouttithing in retirement?
And then the last one is havinga legacy mindset, just a little
bit different than justtraditional American estate

(02:40):
planning.
If you have a Christian viewand a stewardship view, that
legacy mindset's a little bitdifferent.
First off, yeah, biblicallyresponsible investing.
If you've ever thought I don'tlike how some of these companies
handle their business or whatthey do with their money, I'd
rather not invest and be ashareholder in some of these
companies.
I'd rather invest my money alittle bit more wisely, based on

(03:01):
my beliefs.
Biblically responsible investing, or faith-driven investing as
some folks refer to it, as is abiblical approach to investing,
where you align your investmentdecisions with your Christian
values.
So if you have an investmentportfolio, we have investment
portfolios that screen outcertain companies that go

(03:23):
against Christian values.
Think of this as selectinginvestments with a biblical
filter, if you will.
With these filters, they maynot buy stocks or bonds of
companies that directly supportor in the business of abortion,
adult entertainment, maybe thiscompany conducts business with a
terrorist organization ornation gambling, drug use, right

(03:46):
?
So most of the common ones,clients that don't want their
dollar supporting these kind ofcompanies, have these options,
right.
You don't have to just investin every mutual fund and you're
with every single company.
So I do want to warn folks thisisn't a politically driven
investing approach.
There is some overlap I getfrom folks that want to have a
biblically responsible view, andthen, the more we dive into it,

(04:09):
it's really more.
Oh, they're trying to investbased on their political belief,
which that's an option too, butthat's just different than what
I'm referring to today.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
There's a lot of misunderstandings between
Christian values and certain redor blue lens when it comes to
your investing.
I was going to ask you too,cody wouldn't principle one have
to be have to do with tithing?
Is that kind of a misconception?

Speaker 3 (04:33):
Yes, yeah, very much so.
So I get this question a lot,like I said, hey, cody, I don't
technically have an incomeanymore, what you know.
How do I go about tithing?
Even the term retirement isn'tmentioned much in the Bible.
If you think about it, it's arelatively new concept in the
last 100, 150 years even beingable to retire For a vast

(04:58):
majority ever since we've beenhumans on this earth you just
kind of just work until yourbody doesn't allow you to, and
then you live with your kids orgrandkids and that's kind of it,
right.
So retirement's not really athing.
So the Bible doesn't have muchto say on tithing in retirement,
because retirement, like I said, wasn't really a biblical
concept.
But the two ways I recommend andwhat I see most from my clients
are these approaches Tithing onwhat is coming in.

(05:21):
So I have Social security, Itake withdrawals from my IRA or
my 401k, maybe I have a pension,add up all those income streams
and just tithe on that number,right?
So that's the simplest, that'swhat I recommend.
Or, if this way is too unevenfor you, you know I have some
clients that don't take adistribution from their

(05:43):
retirement account for fourstraight months and then take a
bigger one month, five, which isperfectly fine.
But if that way of tithing is alittle bit too lumpy if you
will and uneven.
The other approach is justtithing on what you spend each
month.
So once again, even the termtithe a tenth of your blessings.

(06:04):
If you don't have trueblessings anymore from a job,
then really what you're spendingin retirement is a good
approach too.
So if you're spending $5,000 amonth, tithe on that number.
That's just an easier way.
Our spending is more even.
So it's easier way to give toour church or charity based on

(06:24):
that number.
What is hard is I have somefolks ask me this one and I
don't really recommend it.
It gets tricky if you titheonly on your investment growth.
So some clients will say, okay,my investment's made X, I'll
just tithe on that number, whichyou can.
I don't recommend it.
As we all know, investmentsgood one year, bad the next year

(06:44):
, and so if you're okay givingmore in one year and then
nothing the next year, you knowthat makes it very uneven and
once again, the whole purpose ofa tithe is give a percentage of
your blessings.
So I discourage that approach.
Also, it's easy to slip intothe okay, should my investments
be more aggressive?

(07:05):
Because I'll make more,therefore I'll tithe more.
Or I'm so conservative with myinvestments Now I'm not tithing
as much as I used to.
Now you're kind of playing thatgame, which is a different,
difficult game to play inretirement as well.
And the last one is leaving alegacy mindset.
So being a good steward of whatthe Lord has blessed you with

(07:26):
today and tomorrow is what we'recalled to do, right If you
share the same faith.
So having your estate planupdated and having a plan for
your money later in life, afteryour life, is what leaving a
legacy is all about.
So I also see this a lot too.
Giving back whether it's tochildren, church, favorite
charity while you're stillliving, and not waiting

(07:47):
necessarily until you pass away,is also something we discuss
with clients.
For example, I have a clientfour million dollars plus.
They're not close to runningout of money, they're not close
to spending all of it.
So we've discussed hey, insteadof just waiting, giving nothing
throughout the rest of yourlife, and then lump sum to kids

(08:08):
or church, whatever it may be,let's give a little bit each and
every year.
Why not give a little bit morewhile you're living or spend a
little bit more while you'reliving on the grandkids, taking
more trips, maybe not for yourbenefit, but benefiting others.
If you truly want to pass awaywith $10 million plus, and
that's your plan, that's great.
Nope, no problem.

(08:29):
But I see too many clients andfolks just float and they don't
really have a true legacy plan.
They haven't really sat downand okay, how do I want to bless
myself, my kids, my heirs, mychurch with this blessing so you
can bless others while you'restill living right.
We open foundations for clients, donor advice funds to bless
other others while you're stillliving right.
We open foundations for clients, donor advice funds to bless

(08:49):
other nonprofits while we'restill here, and so that's
another angle, too is seeingyour blessings while you're
still here.
So those are the three big ones.
Obviously, there's more.
In saying all that I do want topreface.
If you do none of these that Imentioned above biblically
responsible investing or tithingand retirement, like I showed

(09:10):
an example doesn't mean you'renot a good Christian.
That's not what that means,right.
But if you want to gear yourfinances a little bit more
toward the stewardship mindset,these are obviously just some
examples.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
Now final question for you today, cody what are
some key scriptures thatinfluence the way you guide
clients in their financialdecisions?

Speaker 3 (09:31):
Great question.
Our firm motto on our websiteis First Corinthians 1558.
And I think it's a good one.
It has our company name in it.
That's why it's our firm motto.
That's why it's our firm motto.
But First Corinthians 1558 istherefore, my beloved brothers,
be steadfast, immovable, alwaysabounding in the works of the

(09:52):
Lord, knowing that in the Lordyour labor is not in vain.
So we like that scripture,especially from an investing
standpoint being steadfast andimmovable, no matter what the
market does, knowing the Lordhas a plan.
He's entrusted us to meet withyou, sit down with you, talk

(10:13):
through that plan a little bitmore, and being steadfast, not
easily swayed by the world orthe news or the media, because
they're obviously driving a lotof fear and a lot of hype.
So being steadfast, we think,is a great way to live life in
general, but especially withyour finances.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
Amen, Cody.
Now, thank you for reminding ustoday that financial planning
isn't just about building wealth.
It's about building a liferooted in purpose and faith.
Looking forward to our nextconversation.
Catch you next time, Cody.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Thanks, Sophia Call 469-606-2040.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
Smart planning Christian values a life well
lived.
We'll see you next time.