Category: Stewardship
Market Update
March 10, 2020by Ron Bare
One thing I have learned, working in the financial services industry over the past 24 years, is by having your investment decisions flow out of a comprehensive personal financial plan, based on your values and goals, is essential to making wise decisions over time. The moment you separate your investment decisions and make them independently of a comprehensive financial plan is when those decisions are made based on emotions, news events, or other items that do not point back towards your values and goals.
If you have worked with Bare Wealth for any length of time, you know we believe in planning around our client’s purpose, values and goals and letting these items drive all decision making. However, we do understand when world events cause large movements in the financial markets, feelings of concern may arise regarding how these shifts may impact your objectives. With that in mind, we do not want to be silent when events, such as the coronavirus, influence the markets with an 11% drop in one week.
In case this has caused any concern (or fear) related to life or your finances, we want to assure you that unless your goals or short-term financial needs have changed, it is best not to react to these news events. Let your financial plan have the time it needs to properly help carry out your goals. As always, we are here to take any questions or inquiries surrounding these events. In the meantime, lets pray for the families impacted by the virus and pray that a solution would be developed to stop the spread of the disease.
Year of Vision
February 26, 2020by Ron Bare
As mentioned in our “Yearly Update Letter,” 2020 is Bare Wealth Advisors’ Year of Vision.
At the beginning of this year, I (Ron) set some time aside to get alone with God and to focus on HIS vision for 2020. As I did, something stirred in my heart. God helped me see that during the last two decades, He has been developing my influence… my voice… and my abilities to move towards solutions to some problems in our world. As I wrote down the vision I felt God gave me, I closed my laptop that day and was excited to begin taking steps towards accomplishing what God had just planted in my heart.
How about you? Have you taken time to get alone with God as this new year has begun? If not, I would encourage you to! I feel confident that as you desire to hear from and seek Him, He will begin to unfold a vision for you with the gifting’s He has developed in you.
Proverbs 29:18 says “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. Some versions of this verse replace perish with “the people cast off restraint”. Several versions of Proverbs 29:18 actually replace the word vision with “revelation” or “divine guidance” which may give us a better picture of what this actually is. What this verse is saying is that without godly vision for your life, or revelation from God, we are left to perish or “run wild”. God’s revelation is His Word! At Bare Wealth, we have seen this to be true especially in the area of finance. Without using God’s wisdom given in His Word and without formulating a plan or vision for your finances, mistakes are more easily made. In addition, if there is no order or restraint –financial problems (too much debt, too little margin, very little impact, no contentment, etc.)– all begin to surface.
Aligning our “vision” or plans with God’s divine revelation is the ultimate goal. What we all need to ask ourselves to help us gain clarity in our vision is this question: What has God shown me and what will I do with what I have been given?
Many of us have been given much not only in the financial area of life, but also talents, relationships, education, experiences, time etc. Those who have been given much have a higher level of responsibility and accountability (Luke 12:48). With a focus on Vision in 2020, we hope to help each family we serve better answer the above questions and take steps to help you gain a clearer vision in your finances, relationships, and many other areas of your life – ultimately in your God given purpose. Here is what I believe will happen if we are successful managing our lives with a greater vision: we will have great impact, improved relationships, increased adventure and fun, and gain eternal rewards.
Clarity in Planning
January 6, 2020Driving into work today the classic 1972 Johnny Nash song “I Can See Clearly Now” came strolling into my mind. It made me first break out in song and then contemplate the blessing of sight and finally consider how this year is going to be the Year of Vision at Bare Wealth Advisors. You will hear more about our Year of Vision throughout the year but for now I simply want to focus on seeing clearly or having clarity.
Did you know that eyes are made up of 2 million working parts? Or that your eye is the fastest muscle in your body? I regularly take my eyes for granted and forget that my vision is one of the greatest gifts I have. However, when I forget my glasses or get something in my eyes and lose the clarity of vision, it’s an easy reminder how critical it is to see clearly.
As a financial advisor, one of the areas we excel at is giving financial clarity to our clients. It’s more than just wealth management and insurance products based on your age and risk tolerance. These might provide a course but cannot provide full clarity. Once we get a chance to walk through a full financial plan, understanding a client’s core values in addition to their financial goals and circumstances, we can provide a lot of clarity as to the path they are on and help them answer the question of “how much is enough?” in many areas of their financial lives.
We’re looking forward to 2020 and hope to see you soon! As the Johnny Nash chorus continues, “It’s gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiny day”.
Tell Your Story
November 8, 2019As you know this is our Year of Generosity and one of the interesting things about generosity is that it’s always easier to tell someone else’s story of generosity than our own. We are quick to quote Matthew 6 when Jesus said “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.” We take that sentence out of the rest of the Sermon of the Mount and fear “losing our reward” if we tell someone about our giving.
Yet the sections of Matthew 6 on giving, prayer, fasting, treasures, and worry are all about the heart of why we do what we do. In speaking about giving, Jesus said don’t be like those who do it “to be honored by men”. What if our cheerful giving to the Glory of God included “spurring others on in love and good deeds”? Generous Giving is on a mission to see the generosity of God displayed through the generosity of God’s people. Since it’s football season we thought we’d include a story below of a Quarterback’s generosity journey.
Living Beyond “90/10” Generosity
August 5, 2019As we continue to explore what generosity looks like this year, we found this video inspiring and think you will too! A life of generosity can encompass so much more than monetary donations. Please pass this along to others you know who will be inspired in their generosity.
This video is courtesy of Generous Giving. To learn more about Generous Giving, click here .
Removing Old Fences
July 8, 2019Recently I sat in a client meeting where we were starting to map out a farm succession plan for a family and the husband quoted G.K. Chesterton by saying “Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.”. It sounded catchy but it didn’t quite click so I asked him to repeat it. I have thought of this moment now several times since. This really speaks to the core of why we do financial planning. When it comes to money and investment decisions, too often we let our emotions get in the way. That is why at Bare Wealth Advisors we don’t just pick investments or stick our clients in products that fit us…rather we take the time to work on values and purpose to keep our financial goals in alignment. These life values and purposes are really the fence put up to give the framework for a financial plan. So, when the storms of life or the market cause mountains and valleys on the dot chart of our statements we can be here to remind you why the fence was put up in the first place. Having an advisor that can call you back to your values and to the plan is key when volatility seems to be the norm.
If you already partner with us on your stewardship journey, thank you for trusting us to help you build the fence. If you don’t work with an advisor that calls you to value based decisions we would love if you would consider us.
By Lamar King
Generosity Video
March 14, 20192019 is the Year of Generosity at Bare Wealth Advisors. Throughout the upcoming year, we will be sending out several videos that we have found to be inspiring. Please pass this along to others you know who will be inspired in their generosity.
This video is courtesy of Generous Giving. To learn more about Generous Giving, click here .
Generosity
February 19, 2019by Ron Bare
“When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” Luke 12:48b
In this passage, Jesus begins by instructing them not to worry and first seek God’s Kingdom. In verses 33-34 Jesus says to sell your possessions and give to those in need, unlocking an important principle in money management, the principle of Generosity.
Generosity requires us take our eyes off our possessions and puts our focus on the Kingdom of God where it belongs. Later Jesus says “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” He seems to make the point that a generous life on earth (what we treasure) will help our hearts desire a deeper relationship with God and the advancement of His Kingdom.
The more we have been given the harder it can be to keep our focus on our love of God and not develop a love for money. By living a generous life, we invest into the Kingdom by helping people and furthering the work God has given all believers, to make disciples of all nations. Now that is a good return on our investment!
Year of Purpose Recap
December 7, 2018by Ron Bare
Early in 2018, I wrote that this year Bare Wealth Advisors was themed to be a year of purpose. If you have worked with us for some time, you know that we believe that all of us have a unique calling and purpose in life. However, living life on purpose means to live intentionally as we journey together through this life. At Bare we made a commitment to helping you achieve that this past year.
Here are some things we set out to do in order to help you live a life on purpose in 2018 – we hope these were a blessing to you and your family!
- Help you create a life mission statement or help you identify a few core values. If you have not been able to go through these exercises, be sure to bring it up to us next time you’re in for a meeting! We have received some great feedback on how these were helpful.
- Books and devotionals. We have given out many “Purpose Driven Life” devotionals and “Splitting Heirs” books for those working through the estate planning process. We are excited to talk to you next time you visit us to receive feedback on the usefulness to these resources.
- We have written blogs on how to live a life of purpose, how to retire with purpose and how to vacation on purpose. Let us know if you missed any or check out our website as all previous blogs can be found at www.barewealthadvisors.com
- Tee shirts! We had “Run with Purpose” tee-shirts made and have seen them being worn in the community. If you have not received one stop by anytime to pick one or two up as an early Christmas Gift.
We look forward to hearing from you and any stories you have on how living ON PURPOSE has helped you or those you care about. Blessings to you and your family as we enter the Christmas season! A time to be thankful and reflect on faith, family and friendships – the things that matter most!
Purpose
April 2, 2018by Ron Bare
Purpose is defined as “the reason for which something exists” and also “an intended or desired result”. Living a life on purpose means that we first understand there is a reason we are here on this earth and that we are not an accident. Second, it means we should live life on purpose by being intentional in all areas of our life.
As busy people, we can sometimes look for balance in our lives – we even use phrases like “finding work/life balance”. Although there may be some good that comes from not being too focused on one area of life that it negatively affects the other areas of life, perhaps a better way to look at life is to live to the fullest in each area. We are not created to separate our lives into different components or departments acting independently of one another, but rather each area of our lives should work together to complete a beautiful picture of life to the fullest. Jesus said he came to give and provide a full or abundant life (John 10:10). A life of abundance or fullness is not a life of compartments, but rather a life of integration.
As an example, how can I have an abundant life if my job or work life is going well but my marriage or family life is a wreck? If I make terrible financial decisions don’t you think that will trickle into my relationships and emotions? If I have the best marriage in the world but treat my children with no respect or give them no time, do I still have a “full” life? No, each area of our lives affects all parts and to live a full life of purpose we must work on the following:
- Define your purpose – you should first know why you exist and how this relates to the current season in life. We are a Masterpiece or the most special creation (see Eph. 2:10 below). Without a good understanding of who we are it will be hard to make much progress in reaching our purpose.
- Live intentionally – nothing happens unless you make intentional decisions. Each area of your life will take intentionality for you to experience fullness. Good marriages take hard work – good careers take effort and education.
- Be faithful – Most successful people in life will tell you it is the small decisions they make each day that help them accomplish the goals and purpose they have in life.
- Define your work – Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” God created us to do “work” and work can be enjoyable and have meaning when we understand it is all part of our purpose in life.
As you reflect on the above thoughts consider the following questions until our next blog:
- What areas of my life are thriving?
- Which areas are suffering?
- How are the thriving and suffering areas affecting each other?
- What is one thing I can do to be more intentional in each area of my life?