June 19, 2025 • 12 mins
The Building Blocks To Everyone’s Finances – What Should I Be Focused On?
In this episode of the Steadfast Wealth Planning Podcast, host Cody Stansell, owner and senior wealth advisor, discusses comprehensive Christian-based financial planning for different life stages. The episode breaks down financial planning into three stages: early years (under 40), crucial years (40-60), and enjoyment years (60+). The episode provides practical advice for individuals and families to establish a strong financial foundation at any age
Key focus areas include maintaining a good cash balance, prioritizing debt repayment, saving for retirement, life insurance, and estate planning. Cody provides valuable insights tailored to each phase, helping you build a strong financial foundation and plan for a prosperous future. Join us for expert advice to secure your financial health through all stages of life.
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
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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 (00:36):
Good financial health starts with a strong foundation
, but what key areas are youprioritizing for stability and
growth?
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host,slash producer, back in the
studio with Cody Stansel, SeniorWealth Advisor for Steadfast
Wealth Planning.
Cody, how's it going today?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Hey, sofia, we are blessed, doing well.
Wife and I just got back from avacation we just took about a
week ago, so we're feelingrejuvenated and revived and,
yeah, we're doing well.
Wife and I just got back from avacation we just took about a
week ago, so we're feelingrejuvenated and revived and,
yeah, we're doing well.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Awesome, awesome, All good things.
So Cody financial planning canfeel overwhelming, but having a
clear roadmap makes all thedifference.
Let's talk about the essentialfinancial building blocks
everyone should focus on.
Let's talk about the essentialfinancial building blocks
everyone should focus on.
What should I?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
be focused on?
Yeah, really excited about thistopic.
This is probably our mostcommon question I get from
clients how are we doing?
What should we be focusing on?
I even get a lot of peoplecomparing themselves to their
friends or whatever it may be.
Hey, cody, how are we doingcompared to other folks in our
age range?
So this topic is good if you'rein your 20s, if you're in your
(01:48):
70s, anywhere in between.
We really think about yourfinancial journey in three
different phases.
I'm going to put ages on them,but it's really more depending
on your goals and how long youhave until those goals.
But, to simplify it and put itin age terms, so we think of it
as years.
In your early years, like 40and younger, what you should be
(02:10):
focusing on and doing is alittle bit different.
And then you have the crucialyears.
Is what I'll call it Anywherefrom 40 to 60, or really five or
10 years from retirement, right.
And then there's the enjoymentyears right, you're either five
years from retirement or alreadyretired, and that's a different
slew of topics and things thatyou'd be concerned about, really
(02:30):
the building blocks.
I'll start with the early years, the early years.
If you're just listening to thisand you've never talked to a
financial planner and you'rejust wondering how are we doing?
What should we focus on?
I'd say the first thing is cashis king.
Having a good cash balance isreally important.
We focus on three to six monthsof expenses.
(02:50):
So simple math.
If you spend five grand a monthjust, uh, living expenses we're
gonna want you to have anywherefrom fifteen to thirty thousand
dollars in a savings accountfor the what ifs in life.
What if you're laid off?
What if your spouse getsinjured?
What if your water heaterexplodes?
(03:10):
You need new tires in the car?
Just life, right, those kindsof things that range that three
to six months.
I'm not going to fight you ifyour savings balance is anywhere
between those two numbers.
But if it's below that $15,000mark in my previous example, I'm
gonna say, hey, let's pauseinvestments or pause some of
these other things and buildthat up.
(03:31):
Or if it's over that $30,000number, I'm gonna say, hey, your
savings account isn't reallypaying you anything.
We could use some of that moneyfor investments or paying down
your mortgage or saving forcollege or whatever it may be,
but anywhere in between I'mperfectly fine with folks.
Everyone's a little bitdifferent.
The second thing, once you havethat cash balance.
(03:52):
The second thing isprioritizing your debt.
Once you have all your debtpaid off, not including your
mortgage, so think of consumerdebt cars, student loans, credit
cards, those kinds of things.
So that's the real importantthere and it really depends on
this is where we sit down withfolks.
It depends on certain factorsyour interest rate, how close
(04:13):
you are to paying one off.
Hey, cody, I have a credit card, I have a car payment, I have a
student loan.
Which one should I focus onfirst?
It really depends.
This is where we need to sitdown with folks Because, let's
say, your car payment first.
It really depends.
This is where we need to sitdown with folks Because, let's
say, your car payment, you'refive months from having your car
paid off.
I'm going to want you to paythat one off as quickly as
possible.
Let's throw money at that,because if we can save that $300
(04:36):
or $1,000 a month whatever itmay be as quickly as possible,
then we can throw that at thestudent loan or the credit card
or whatever it may be.
Sometimes it depends on yourinterest rate, sometimes it
depends on other factors, but inessence, once you get out of
debt and then, once you have agood cash position, you don't
have any debt anymore.
That's really where saving forretirement comes into play.
(04:59):
15% is a good generalized number, but we obviously have software
that really details.
Okay, are we okay at 10%?
Does it need to be 18%?
We have software to really whatare your goals?
When do you want to retirethose kinds of things?
And then, once again, in theearly years, once you have those
three kind of checked off yourlist, which I'm prioritizing in
(05:20):
the order that you shouldprioritize them, so go through
that list together.
And then the next one is lifeinsurance and estate planning.
So, especially if you'remarried, especially if you have
kids, this is a big one.
We want to make sure, godforbid, something happened to
you and or your spouse.
We got to make sure your lifeinsurance is adequate enough and
(05:42):
your estate planning isadequate enough.
Those are two very boringtopics, but they are needed, I
promise you.
And then it's saving forcollege.
Right, we have software that.
Okay, little Susie is fouryears old right now, assuming
she'll go to school when she's18, we have 14 years left.
Okay, little Susie is fouryears old right now, assuming
she'll go to school when she's18.
(06:03):
We have 14 years left.
Okay, what kind of school doesshe want to go to?
And then answers how much weshould be saving every single
month, and then it's paying moretoward the mortgage.
Once you have all of those doneand you say, hey, cody, I still
have surplus every single month, then I want you to be on track
to pay off your mortgage early,right?
So there's other topics thrownin there as well, but those are
the basics.
If you are 40 years old oryounger, that's what I want you
(06:25):
to focus on right now in yourcareer.
The next phase is the crucialyears, right?
Hey, cody, I'm between 40 or 60.
It's called the crucial yearson purpose, because we still
have a runway to save and investand plan for your retirement
and for your future.
But they're crucial because ifyou don't do it in this phase,
(06:48):
guess what?
The next phase is retirement,right, and so you can't start
planning for retirement inretirement, so you can't do that
.
So once again, to prioritizethe topics here in the crucial
years.
It's a good cash position,everything that I just mentioned
above, same kind of principlesthere, and then it's a little
bit different from there in ouropinion.
I would put saving forretirement as number two.
(07:10):
We have to prioritize havingenough safe for retirement.
If you're on an airplane andthe oxygen masks come down, they
tell you to put yours on beforehelping someone around you.
For us, that is your retirement.
You can't stay for college orhelp an aging parent of yours
financially or do some of theseother things if you are not
(07:30):
putting your oxygen mask on foryourself.
For us, that's retirement.
And then the math changes alittle bit.
What rate do we need to bepaying toward our mortgage?
What extra do we need to bepaying toward our mortgage to be
necessarily being mortgage freeas soon as possible?
But we want you to be mortgagefree day one of retirement.
(08:03):
So, lining those timelines up.
And then really the conversationfrom here starts you need to
start envisioning retirement.
What does that even mean?
A lot of my folks, especiallyin their forties, that's not
just an easy topic to havedinner with your spouse about,
right, but truly start thatconversation of hey, honey, when
do you want to retire?
What kind of lifestyle do youwant to live?
(08:24):
Do you want to travel a lot?
Do you want to spend time withthe grandkids?
What kind of lifestyle do youwant to live, because usually
folks don't talk about it intheir early years, but they need
to start talking about it inthe crucial years.
And then the same thing withlife insurance and estate plan.
It just becomes even morecrucial.
Usually kiddos are older ormaybe they're out of the house,
so your estate plan definitelyneeds to be in order.
(08:45):
And this is where a lot of taxplanning comes in as well.
You're probably making muchmore than you're making in your
30s, cody.
I've never been in this kind oftax bracket ever, so tax
planning is more crucial inthese years as well.
So, once again, more topics inthat age range, but those are
the basics and that was what Iwould focus on if you were in
(09:06):
that age range.
And then, lastly, the enjoymentyears right, you're five years
or less from retirement oryou're already retired, right?
Everything that I justmentioned before.
Not necessarily throw it outthe window, but it's different,
right?
Retirement is different.
So the first priority, in ouropinion, is having those three
(09:27):
buckets of investment money.
I have a podcast We've shot onebefore where I go into depth on
this topic, but high level.
I want your investment money tohave three different buckets 24
to 36 months of cashflow ofexpenses, we want you to have
invested conservatively, andthen another 24 to 36 months
(09:49):
invested moderately, and thenthe remaining of your balance
you can have for growth for yourfuture self.
So that is crucial to youroverall financial plan of not
being too aggressive with yourinvestments.
If you're in this stage of lifeand then we have to have our
mortgage paid off, does thatmean downsizing?
Does that mean selling thehouse that you're in right now
(10:11):
and moving into assisted livingor an apartment?
Or we just can't have amortgage payment, dragging down
our expenses every month.
And then taxes.
Taxes are higher on this listfor retirees than it is for the
early years.
Do Roth conversions make sensebetween right now, after you
(10:32):
retire, and before you turn onSocial Security?
Is there a tax window that wecan take advantage of where your
tax bracket is much lower?
And then in this bracket youhave to do your estate plan.
Your estate plan has to be inorder, just naturally, no
offense, you are closer to deaththan you've ever been before.
Usually in this phase of yourlife, your estate plan has to be
(10:53):
in order and then it keepsgoing from there.
But for the sake of time, Iwon't beat you over the head
with it.
But there's, you don't need lifeinsurance in retirement.
Life insurance is incomereplacement, but if you're not
earning an income, you don'tneed life insurance, right?
Unless you have a pension thatdies when you do, or you have
another unique income streamthat stops when you pass away.
(11:16):
Then that's the let's talkabout that situation.
But really it's all incomefocused.
How much income do we need inretirement, matching those cash
flows?
Once again, we have otherpodcasts that talk about these
topics and then it's leaving alegacy, right?
Where do you want your assetsto pass?
What do you want?
The goal of your money afteryou're gone that you've been
(11:37):
blessed with?
In essence, those are the threephases that we focus on and
they're a little bit different,and once again I'm putting age
ranges around it, but it'sreally more okay.
If you're 20 years plus fromretirement, you're in this phase
.
If you're between zero and 20years from retirement, you're in
this phase, and if you'realready retired, you're in the
next phase.
But to simplify it, I put it inage ranges.
(11:58):
But yeah, I hope that's helpful.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Wow, cody.
Thank you so much for thosehelpful insights for our
listeners here today, building astrong financial foundation is
essential, and your guidancemakes it much easier to navigate
.
Thanks again, and we'll catchyou in the next episode.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Absolutely.
Thanks, Sophia.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Thanks for joining us on the Steadfast Wealth
Planning Podcast.
Ready to take the next step inyour financial journey, Visit
steadfastfastWealthPlanningcomfor a complimentary consultation
or call 469-606-2040.
Smart planning Christian values, a life well lived.
We'll see you next time.
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 (00:36):
Good financial health starts with a strong foundation
, but what key areas are youprioritizing for stability and
growth?
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host,slash producer, back in the
studio with Cody Stansel, SeniorWealth Advisor for Steadfast
Wealth Planning.
Cody, how's it going today?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Hey, sofia, we are blessed, doing well.
Wife and I just got back from avacation we just took about a
week ago, so we're feelingrejuvenated and revived and,
yeah, we're doing well.
Wife and I just got back from avacation we just took about a
week ago, so we're feelingrejuvenated and revived and,
yeah, we're doing well.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Awesome, awesome, All good things.
So Cody financial planning canfeel overwhelming, but having a
clear roadmap makes all thedifference.
Let's talk about the essentialfinancial building blocks
everyone should focus on.
Let's talk about the essentialfinancial building blocks
everyone should focus on.
What should I?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
be focused on?
Yeah, really excited about thistopic.
This is probably our mostcommon question I get from
clients how are we doing?
What should we be focusing on?
I even get a lot of peoplecomparing themselves to their
friends or whatever it may be.
Hey, cody, how are we doingcompared to other folks in our
age range?
So this topic is good if you'rein your 20s, if you're in your
(01:48):
70s, anywhere in between.
We really think about yourfinancial journey in three
different phases.
I'm going to put ages on them,but it's really more depending
on your goals and how long youhave until those goals.
But, to simplify it and put itin age terms, so we think of it
as years.
In your early years, like 40and younger, what you should be
(02:10):
focusing on and doing is alittle bit different.
And then you have the crucialyears.
Is what I'll call it Anywherefrom 40 to 60, or really five or
10 years from retirement, right.
And then there's the enjoymentyears right, you're either five
years from retirement or alreadyretired, and that's a different
slew of topics and things thatyou'd be concerned about, really
(02:30):
the building blocks.
I'll start with the early years, the early years.
If you're just listening to thisand you've never talked to a
financial planner and you'rejust wondering how are we doing?
What should we focus on?
I'd say the first thing is cashis king.
Having a good cash balance isreally important.
We focus on three to six monthsof expenses.
(02:50):
So simple math.
If you spend five grand a monthjust, uh, living expenses we're
gonna want you to have anywherefrom fifteen to thirty thousand
dollars in a savings accountfor the what ifs in life.
What if you're laid off?
What if your spouse getsinjured?
What if your water heaterexplodes?
(03:10):
You need new tires in the car?
Just life, right, those kindsof things that range that three
to six months.
I'm not going to fight you ifyour savings balance is anywhere
between those two numbers.
But if it's below that $15,000mark in my previous example, I'm
gonna say, hey, let's pauseinvestments or pause some of
these other things and buildthat up.
(03:31):
Or if it's over that $30,000number, I'm gonna say, hey, your
savings account isn't reallypaying you anything.
We could use some of that moneyfor investments or paying down
your mortgage or saving forcollege or whatever it may be,
but anywhere in between I'mperfectly fine with folks.
Everyone's a little bitdifferent.
The second thing, once you havethat cash balance.
(03:52):
The second thing isprioritizing your debt.
Once you have all your debtpaid off, not including your
mortgage, so think of consumerdebt cars, student loans, credit
cards, those kinds of things.
So that's the real importantthere and it really depends on
this is where we sit down withfolks.
It depends on certain factorsyour interest rate, how close
(04:13):
you are to paying one off.
Hey, cody, I have a credit card, I have a car payment, I have a
student loan.
Which one should I focus onfirst?
It really depends.
This is where we need to sitdown with folks Because, let's
say, your car payment first.
It really depends.
This is where we need to sitdown with folks Because, let's
say, your car payment, you'refive months from having your car
paid off.
I'm going to want you to paythat one off as quickly as
possible.
Let's throw money at that,because if we can save that $300
(04:36):
or $1,000 a month whatever itmay be as quickly as possible,
then we can throw that at thestudent loan or the credit card
or whatever it may be.
Sometimes it depends on yourinterest rate, sometimes it
depends on other factors, but inessence, once you get out of
debt and then, once you have agood cash position, you don't
have any debt anymore.
That's really where saving forretirement comes into play.
(04:59):
15% is a good generalized number, but we obviously have software
that really details.
Okay, are we okay at 10%?
Does it need to be 18%?
We have software to really whatare your goals?
When do you want to retirethose kinds of things?
And then, once again, in theearly years, once you have those
three kind of checked off yourlist, which I'm prioritizing in
(05:20):
the order that you shouldprioritize them, so go through
that list together.
And then the next one is lifeinsurance and estate planning.
So, especially if you'remarried, especially if you have
kids, this is a big one.
We want to make sure, godforbid, something happened to
you and or your spouse.
We got to make sure your lifeinsurance is adequate enough and
(05:42):
your estate planning isadequate enough.
Those are two very boringtopics, but they are needed, I
promise you.
And then it's saving forcollege.
Right, we have software that.
Okay, little Susie is fouryears old right now, assuming
she'll go to school when she's18, we have 14 years left.
Okay, little Susie is fouryears old right now, assuming
she'll go to school when she's18.
(06:03):
We have 14 years left.
Okay, what kind of school doesshe want to go to?
And then answers how much weshould be saving every single
month, and then it's paying moretoward the mortgage.
Once you have all of those doneand you say, hey, cody, I still
have surplus every single month, then I want you to be on track
to pay off your mortgage early,right?
So there's other topics thrownin there as well, but those are
the basics.
If you are 40 years old oryounger, that's what I want you
(06:25):
to focus on right now in yourcareer.
The next phase is the crucialyears, right?
Hey, cody, I'm between 40 or 60.
It's called the crucial yearson purpose, because we still
have a runway to save and investand plan for your retirement
and for your future.
But they're crucial because ifyou don't do it in this phase,
(06:48):
guess what?
The next phase is retirement,right, and so you can't start
planning for retirement inretirement, so you can't do that
.
So once again, to prioritizethe topics here in the crucial
years.
It's a good cash position,everything that I just mentioned
above, same kind of principlesthere, and then it's a little
bit different from there in ouropinion.
I would put saving forretirement as number two.
(07:10):
We have to prioritize havingenough safe for retirement.
If you're on an airplane andthe oxygen masks come down, they
tell you to put yours on beforehelping someone around you.
For us, that is your retirement.
You can't stay for college orhelp an aging parent of yours
financially or do some of theseother things if you are not
(07:30):
putting your oxygen mask on foryourself.
For us, that's retirement.
And then the math changes alittle bit.
What rate do we need to bepaying toward our mortgage?
What extra do we need to bepaying toward our mortgage to be
necessarily being mortgage freeas soon as possible?
But we want you to be mortgagefree day one of retirement.
(08:03):
So, lining those timelines up.
And then really the conversationfrom here starts you need to
start envisioning retirement.
What does that even mean?
A lot of my folks, especiallyin their forties, that's not
just an easy topic to havedinner with your spouse about,
right, but truly start thatconversation of hey, honey, when
do you want to retire?
What kind of lifestyle do youwant to live?
(08:24):
Do you want to travel a lot?
Do you want to spend time withthe grandkids?
What kind of lifestyle do youwant to live, because usually
folks don't talk about it intheir early years, but they need
to start talking about it inthe crucial years.
And then the same thing withlife insurance and estate plan.
It just becomes even morecrucial.
Usually kiddos are older ormaybe they're out of the house,
so your estate plan definitelyneeds to be in order.
(08:45):
And this is where a lot of taxplanning comes in as well.
You're probably making muchmore than you're making in your
30s, cody.
I've never been in this kind oftax bracket ever, so tax
planning is more crucial inthese years as well.
So, once again, more topics inthat age range, but those are
the basics and that was what Iwould focus on if you were in
(09:06):
that age range.
And then, lastly, the enjoymentyears right, you're five years
or less from retirement oryou're already retired, right?
Everything that I justmentioned before.
Not necessarily throw it outthe window, but it's different,
right?
Retirement is different.
So the first priority, in ouropinion, is having those three
(09:27):
buckets of investment money.
I have a podcast We've shot onebefore where I go into depth on
this topic, but high level.
I want your investment money tohave three different buckets 24
to 36 months of cashflow ofexpenses, we want you to have
invested conservatively, andthen another 24 to 36 months
(09:49):
invested moderately, and thenthe remaining of your balance
you can have for growth for yourfuture self.
So that is crucial to youroverall financial plan of not
being too aggressive with yourinvestments.
If you're in this stage of lifeand then we have to have our
mortgage paid off, does thatmean downsizing?
Does that mean selling thehouse that you're in right now
(10:11):
and moving into assisted livingor an apartment?
Or we just can't have amortgage payment, dragging down
our expenses every month.
And then taxes.
Taxes are higher on this listfor retirees than it is for the
early years.
Do Roth conversions make sensebetween right now, after you
(10:32):
retire, and before you turn onSocial Security?
Is there a tax window that wecan take advantage of where your
tax bracket is much lower?
And then in this bracket youhave to do your estate plan.
Your estate plan has to be inorder, just naturally, no
offense, you are closer to deaththan you've ever been before.
Usually in this phase of yourlife, your estate plan has to be
(10:53):
in order and then it keepsgoing from there.
But for the sake of time, Iwon't beat you over the head
with it.
But there's, you don't need lifeinsurance in retirement.
Life insurance is incomereplacement, but if you're not
earning an income, you don'tneed life insurance, right?
Unless you have a pension thatdies when you do, or you have
another unique income streamthat stops when you pass away.
(11:16):
Then that's the let's talkabout that situation.
But really it's all incomefocused.
How much income do we need inretirement, matching those cash
flows?
Once again, we have otherpodcasts that talk about these
topics and then it's leaving alegacy, right?
Where do you want your assetsto pass?
What do you want?
The goal of your money afteryou're gone that you've been
(11:37):
blessed with?
In essence, those are the threephases that we focus on and
they're a little bit different,and once again I'm putting age
ranges around it, but it'sreally more okay.
If you're 20 years plus fromretirement, you're in this phase
.
If you're between zero and 20years from retirement, you're in
this phase, and if you'realready retired, you're in the
next phase.
But to simplify it, I put it inage ranges.
(11:58):
But yeah, I hope that's helpful.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Wow, cody.
Thank you so much for thosehelpful insights for our
listeners here today, building astrong financial foundation is
essential, and your guidancemakes it much easier to navigate
.
Thanks again, and we'll catchyou in the next episode.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Absolutely.
Thanks, Sophia.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Thanks for joining us on the Steadfast Wealth
Planning Podcast.
Ready to take the next step inyour financial journey, Visit
steadfastfastWealthPlanningcomfor a complimentary consultation
or call 469-606-2040.
Smart planning Christian values, a life well lived.
We'll see you next time.
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