SMI's Executive Editor Mark Biller answers questions about investing today on MoneyWise, the nationally syndicated radio program hosted by Howard Dayton and Steve Moore.
MoneyWise is produced by Compass — finances God's way, a ministry Howard launched in 2009 after leaving Crown Financial Ministries. The program is heard on more than 400 stations and outlets.
SMI's executive editor Mark Biller is the guest today on MoneyWise, the nationally syndicated radio program hosted by Howard Dayton and Steve Moore. The subject: gold.
As a reminder, MoneyWise, which debuted in March, is produced by Compass — finances God's way, a ministry Howard launched in 2009 after leaving Crown Financial Ministries. The program is heard on more than 400 stations and outlets.
As you may know by now, former SMI Assistant Editor Joseph Slife, is working for World Magazine, producing and co-hosting a new radio program called, The World and Everything In It. It's a "fast-paced, week-in-review radio news program that airs weekends on the Salem Radio Network and features reports, interviews, and analysis from WORLD's editorial team."
On August 6th, The World and Everything In It had it's broadcast debut. The program covered the following topics:
Mubarak on trial in Egypt | Debt-ceiling raised | Stocks fall off a cliff
Will the debt deal endanger national security? A conversation with Ambassador John Bolton
Defense and the debt ceiling by John R. Bolton (DecideAmerica.com)
The world of ideas — a conversation with WORLD magazine founder Joel Belz
Captain America throws his mighty shield: WORLD’s Megan Basham reviews
The definition of ‘marriage’ slides further down the slippery slope: A commentary by Timothy Dalrymple
Man’s inhumanity to man in Syria and Sub-Saharan Africa | Religious leaders push back against the welfare state
Read the letter from Christians for a Sustainable Economy.
Taking a stand: A town clerk in New York State resigns rather than sign marriage licenses for homosexual couples
The Screwtape Letters on stage: Joseph Slife interviews actor Max McLean
Remembering John R.W. Stott
Flashback: The Cane Ridge Campmeeting | The first atomic bomb | Nixon resigns | A forewarning of 9-11?
To give the debut program a listen, click the arrow.
The debt deal is finally a done deal. Despite the breathless reporting of recent weeks, the outcome was never likely to be a big deal for long-term investors.
Why? Our (now) former assistant editor Joseph Slife talked about that in a conversation yesterday with host Bob Crittenden on The Meeting House from Alabama's Faith Radio.
In case you missed our earlier announcement, Joseph has left SMI after four years to go full time into radio, producing WORLD magazine's new weekly radio program, The World and Everything In It.
However, he'll still be writing for us on an occasional basis.
SMI's executive editor Mark Biller offered an easy-to-understand overview of current economic conditions on Friday's "Connecting Faith" program on Faith Radio (with stations in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas).
Mark also talked with guest host Michelle Strombeck about how implementing wise investing boundaries can help investors gain financial stability and make steady long-term progress.
To listen, click the arrow on the audio player below.
SMI's executive editor Mark Biller is a guest today on MoneyWise, the nationally syndicated radio program hosted by Howard Dayton and Steve Moore.
MoneyWise, which debuted in March, is produced by Compass — finances God's way, a ministry Howard launched in 2009 after leaving Crown Financial Ministries. The program is heard on more than 400 stations and outlets.
Mark, as you might guess, is answering listener questions about (wait for it) — investing. Actually, this is a two-parter. Mark was also on MoneyWise yesterday, but we didn't blog about it because the rest of us were taking the day off for Memorial Day!
Use the audio players below to listen (click the arrow for the program you want to hear). Mark joins Howard and Steve about six minutes into the first program.
After a three-year absence from the airwaves, long-time SMI friends Howard Dayton and Steve Moore return to radio today with a new half-hour call-in program, MoneyWise.
Howard and Steve were behind the microphones from 2004-2008 on the Crown Financial Ministries program, Money Matters. For many years before that (1988-2003), Steve co-hosted Money Matters with the late Larry Burkett (and SMI's founder and publisher Austin Pryor was a regular guest).
MoneyWise is produced by Compass-Finances God's Way, a ministry Howard Dayton launched in 2009. "Compass' mission is to help people learn and apply [the Bible's] life-changing financial principles so they may experience a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Lord," according to the ministry's website.
With Crown Financial Ministries reducing its radio presence (Crown discontinued its daily half-hour program 10 days ago), Compass decided to move into that space.
As yet, Compass doesn't have a station listing on its site, so to find out if MoneyWise is airing where you are, you'll have to check with your local Christian station(s). The program should also be available online soon.
If you have a financial question for the MoneyWise team, here's the number to call: 1-800-525-7000. (By the way, we're told you can expect to hear SMI executive editor Mark Biller on MoneyWise from time to time — so, if you want to, call and say: "I have a question for when Mark Biller is on the program!")
Welcome back, guys. It's great to have you back on the air!
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To listen to an excerpt from the inaugural broadcast, click the arrow on the player below (3:30).
(If the audio player won't work for you, click here.)
SMI's assistant editor Joseph Slife, who's been tracking federal spending issues for more than 20 years (he did research for Larry Burkett's 1990's bestseller, The Coming Economic Earthquake), has been reading "The Moment of Truth" (PDF) — the report issued last week by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (aka the deficit commission).
In a discussion yesterday with host Bob Crittenden on The Meeting House (on Alabama's Faith Radio), Joseph explained why the report is proving to be so unpopular — and why some of its recommendations may be sorely needed.
At Sound Mind Investing, we eat a lot of our own cooking. In other words, we actually do the things that we suggest to our readers!
Case in point: I wrote a piece a few months ago on the wisdom of having multiple savings accounts, with each account each earmarked for a specific purpose.
Here's a snippet from that article (subscribers' link), which appeared in the June issue of the SMI newsletter:
If all of us kept excellent records...there wouldn't be any need for [multiple,] dedicated accounts. You would know, for example, that $356 in your general savings account is earmarked for new curtains and $1,442 is for getting your driveway fixed.
But human nature being what it is, our record-keeping is sometimes haphazard and our "mental accounting" can get fuzzy. "How much of this money is for the next tuition bill and how much is for a new washer/dryer?"
So in the real world, a dedicated savings account is helpful. Indeed, multiple accounts — each with its own targeted purpose — can be even better....
At first, this sounds like a paperwork headache — and not too many years ago it would have been. But in these days of online savings accounts that link to your checking account, setting up multiple accumulation funds is a relatively simple matter. Furthermore, money can be transferred to each targeted fund (from your checking account) at pre-scheduled times.
Around the time I was working on that article, I had a problem with my heating and air conditioning system. Thankfully, the repair turned out to be minor, but the repair guy (who is also a friend) said something like, "Systems like this are usually good for about 15 years. How old is your house?"
"Uh, 15 years," I said, realizing the implication.
I priced what it would cost to replace the heating/cooling system, and a few days later set up a dedicated savings account. For the past six months or so, my wife and I have been diligently putting away money for the day when the HVAC system finally went ker-plunk.
Last week, it happened. Sure, I wish we had been able to save for another year before the system died, but I'm grateful we had a six-month head start. As it turned out, the money we had saved in our "heating/cooling fund" plus the $1,500 tax credit available (through Dec. 31) for energy upgrades brought us to about more than half the cost of replacement.
I had to dip into other savings to pay the rest of the amount, but guess what? Literally moments before I sat down to write the check, my eldest son sent me an online message: he had just been awarded a scholarship for his overseas study next year!
Remarkably, the scholarship amount was very close to the amount I had to take from other savings to pay the balance on the new heating/AC system. In other words, at the very time I had an expense I wasn't entirely prepared for, I got word that another big expense that is still a few months down the road won't be as large as I anticipated.
So here's what I learned: thinking ahead and saving in a dedicated account for future needs is a good thing indeed. Doing so with our heating/cooling need prompted us to keep saving, even though we weren't sure about the timing of when the system would go bad.
But I also was reminded that when you do your best to be a good steward by planning ahead and yet you still come up short, God often acts to make up the difference. This certainly isn't the first time I have witnessed His just-in-time provision.
When we get together with extended family next week for Thanksgiving, my wife and I will have a good story to tell about the wisdom of saving — and about the faithfulness of God.
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I discussed the practicalities and benefits of multiple savings accounts in an interview earlier this year on The Meeting House on Alabama's Faith Radio. You can hear that conversation, with host Bob Crittenden, below.
SMI's assistant editor Joseph Slife was a repeat guest yesterday on The Meeting House, produced by Alabama's Faith Radio.
Interviewed by host Bob Crittenden, Joseph offered analysis of financial matters facing the lame-duck Congress and discussed what may be ahead for the new Congress in 2011.
In a second segment, he talked about the Fed's attempt to create inflationary pressure by pumping $600 billion into the economy.
To listen, use the audio players below — or right click/save as to download mp3 files of segment one and segment two.
SMI's assistant editor Joseph Slife talked about the impact of Election 2010 — and other current factors — on the environment ahead for stock-market investors on yesterday's edition of The Meeting House from Alabama's Faith Radio.
Use the audio player below to listen (18 min.) or download an mp3 (right click/save as). The host is Bob Crittenden.
Each year contains a six-month period that is generally "favorable" for stocks (November through April) followed by a six-month period that's generally "unfavorable" (May through October).... Stock market strength/weakness [also correlates with] the four-year [presidential election] cycle closely enough that, over time, clear trends have become evident....
[T]he unfavorable period of [a president's second year] (corresponding to the six months leading up to the midterm elections) has been especially bad, and the favorable period of year three (i.e., the six months following midterms) has been especially good.
In other words, we are coming out of a period that, historically, has been tough sledding for the market and entering a six-month period of time when the stock market has shown particularly strong performance.
Why market returns typically improve following a mid-term election is anyone's guess. And, of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results (as the legal disclaimer goes).
In this particular case, some of the push higher surely is driven by the fact that it looks likely (but it ain't over till it's over) that Republicans will take the House half of Congress. They might even take the Senate.
Many (not all) investors, unhappy with what they see as an overly activist government — or at least a government that has created significant uncertainties in the marketplace — are hoping for what Washington watchers call "gridlock" (i.e., little gets done because the policy differences are just to broad to reach agreement).
But as a J.P. Morgan official said last week (quoted yesterday in the Wall Street Journal), "Gridlock surely promotes the status quo but that is not great in a time when action is needed." In other words, stopping something is not the same as doing something.
The main question is what a gridlocked Washington would do if faced with a new recession or financial crisis. But other issues abound: the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which control a huge proportion of the nation's mortgages, Medicare and Social Security costs, trade disputes and other issues involving China, the moribund housing market, unemployment.
Gridlock, if it occurs, may not emerge right away, however. Keep in mind that before the new Congress is seated until January, the lame-duck Congress will still have several weeks in which to pass bills to the president's liking — such as extending tax relief only for certain taxpayers. Doing so could leave many investors with significantly higher tax liabilities (subscribers' link) in 2011. (Note: The make-up of the Senate could change slightly before January because of a special election in which the winner will be sworn in shortly after the election is decided.)
Also in the mix in the weeks ahead: the final report (due Dec. 1) from the president's deficit commission (the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform). It is unlikely the outgoing Congress will deal with any suggestions therein, but the report's recommendations could set up some bruising legislative battles in the new year.
What all this means for the investing climate no one can tell, especially with the Fed pumping even more money into the economy. One thing seems likely: there will be no shortage of confrontations, speculations, and congressional investigations.
I talked about some of these issues in an interview that will air this afternoon on The Meeting House from Alabama's Faith Radio. Host Bob Crittenden played a 3-minute preview of that conversation on yesterday's program. Listen below.
Our October-issue article, "Health Savings Accounts: A Primer" (subscribers' link), notes that consumer-friendly HSAs survived this year's massive health-care overhaul law virtually unscathed. So if your employer is rolling out a Health Savings Account/High-Deductible Health Plan arrangement in 2011, it's likely to be a good deal for you and your fellow workers, while at the same time helping the company hold down insurance costs.
Unfortunately, the news starting to emerge elsewhere on the health insurance front isn't so reassuring. Already some insurance companies have decided — in light of the new law's cost-inducing mandates — to stop issuing child-only policies. And the New York Timesreported Friday that the Principal Financial Group, which provides employer-based coverage to more than 800,000 people, has decided to get out of the health insurance business altogether:
Principal's decision closely tracks moves by other insurers that have indicated in recent weeks that they plan to drop out of certain segments of the market.... State regulators say some insurance companies are already threatening to leave particular markets because of the new law....
[In addition,] McDonald's recently asked federal officials for an exemption to rules that would ban the kind of health plans many of its restaurant workers have, because the existing policies sharply limit coverage.... The [company received a] waiver [that] will allow McDonald's and other companies to continue offering such plans, which cap benefits, to their workers. The administration has already issued dozens of such waivers....
More insurers are likely to follow Principal's lead, especially as they try to meet the new rules that require plans to spend at least 80 cents of every dollar they collect in premiums on the welfare of their customers. Many of the big insurers have been lobbying federal officials to forestall or drastically alter those rules.
"It's just going to drive the little guys out," said Robert Laszewski, a health policy consultant in Alexandria, Va. Smaller players like Principal in states like Iowa, Missouri and elsewhere will not be able to compete because they do not have the resources and economies of scale of [the larger] players [in the marketplace].
UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest health insurers, has agreed to take over Principal's health insurance clients.
Update: If you want to find out more about Health Savings Accounts (mentioned in the first paragraph above), listen below to my Monday conversation with host Bob Crittenden on Faith Meeting House, a program produced by Alabama's Faith Radio. (To download an mp3, right click here.)
If you have son or daughter in college, you're sure to be interested in how the new Credit CARD Act affects card marketing on campus. Also, the new law restricts card availability for those under 21.
SMI assistant editor Joseph Slife discussed the details this week in a conversation with host Bob Crittenden on Faith Meeting House from Alabama's Faith Radio.
You can listen below (12 min.) — or download an mp3 (Windows users: right click, then "save link as").
A related story — from the September issue of the Sound Mind Investing newsletter — is here (subscribers' link).
Ever struggle with trusting God in your finances? Join the club.
When economy seems to be teetering and the stock market is a roller coaster, trusting God for your financial future (and, yes, your financial present) can be tough.
In a conversation Monday on Minnesota-based Faith Radio, SMI's Assistant Editor Joseph Slife talked with host Neil Stavem about being confident in our "certain God" in an uncertain world.
The Faith Radio Network, a ministry of Northwestern College, includes stations in Minneapolis/Saint Paul and Duluth, Minn.; Madison, Wis.; Fargo, N.D; and Sioux Falls, S.D.
You can listen to the 14-minute conversation below — or right click here (and "save link as") to download an mp3.
Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke rattled markets and raised eyebrows yesterday when he told the Senate Finance Committee the outlook for the economy is "unusually uncertain."
Of course, economic uncertainty is nothing new — and therefore not all that unusual. But present-day uncertainty tends to be very sharp in our minds while previous times of uncertainty have faded in our memories.
Last week, I spoke with radio host Bob Crittenden about the certainty of uncertainty on "The Meeting House," a program airing on Alabama's Faith Radio.
You can hear that segment below (14 min.) — or download an mp3 (Windows users: right click, then "save link as").
"So how should one manage money in an era of unpredictability and volatility?" asks a story on the front page of today's "Money" section in USA Today.
The Dow Jones industrials' 261-point plunge Friday sparked by a sharp drop in consumer sentiment in July highlights that gloominess persists....
In recent weeks, a spate of economic reports have come in weaker than expected, fueling double-dip fears. In July, readings on manufacturing, retail sales, factory orders, employment, auto and home sales came in light. Last Wednesday, minutes of the Federal Reserve's June meeting indicated it expects growth to slow in the second half, prompting the central bank to lower its 2010 growth outlook to as low as 3%.
In the words of former Fed chief Alan Greenspan, the economy has hit an "invisible wall."
Whew! How should investors respond?
On a recent Faith Meeting House program on Alabama's Faith Radio, SMI assistant editor Joseph Slife (right) talked with host Bob Crittenden about the maintaining a long-term perspective when the short-term is unsettling.
Use the audio player below to listen (16 min.) — or download an mp3 (Windows users: right click, then "save link as").
"Christmas Club accounts are now largely a thing of the past (undercut by the rise of easy credit)..." — so I wrote in the current issue of the Sound Mind Investing newsletter in an article on multiple savings accounts (subscribers' link).
That's true — Christmas Clubs have faded into the past for the most part.
But a reversal may be in the offing. Sears/Kmart promoted a Christmas Club program last year. Now, the New York Timesreports another major retailer is rolling out such a club for this year:
Toys "R" Us is counting on an Eisenhower-era tactic to get consumers to spend this Christmas. The toy retailer will begin offering a "Christmas Savers Club" [this week] that allows shoppers to put money away with the company for holiday gifts.
Participants will receive a card similar to a gift card, and can contribute funds to it through cash or credit card payments. As an incentive Toys "R" Us will add 3 percent interest on the balance.
The program is a throwback to what banks and credit unions offered in the 1950s and 1960s before credit cards allowed people to spend money they did not have.
Our Level 2 article focused on Christmas Clubs run by banks, but many retailers had them too back in the day — to build customer loyalty, of course. That's exactly what Toys "R" Us is going for.
Shoppers can sign up for the program in Toys "R" Us stores, either at the cash register or the customer service stand. The company will add the interest on the balance as of Oct. 16, and the funds will be available Oct. 31 for purchases at Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores and Web sites.
Earning 3% is nothing to sneeze at these days, but unless you are absolutely, positively planning to buy something from Toys "R" Us — and you know exactly how much you're going to spend — it's probably better to set aside your Christmas savings in an earmarked bank account.
Earlier this week, I talked about the benefits of having multiple earmarked accounts with host Bob Crittenden on Faith Radio's Faith Meeting House program. Listen below (13 min.) — or download an mp3 (right click/save as).
The fundamentals of good financial management aren't difficult, but they do require 1) planning and 2) discipline to stick with your plan.
In a short interview Monday on Alabama's Faith Radio, SMI assistant editor Joseph Slife (right) talked with host Bob Crittenden about the importance of having a savings plan. In a follow-up to air soon, he'll discuss a simple way to make sure your savings plan works.
Use the audio player below to listen — only 7 minutes!
In these days of low, low interest rates (not to mention a fair amount of bank instability), where is a good place to store your savings?
SMI's executive editor Mark Biller (right) discussed that question with host Chuck Bentley on yesterday's MoneyLiferadio program from Crown Financial Ministries.
Click the arrow below to listen (20 min.) — or use this link to download an mp3 (right click/save as).
Well, that was interesting. Last night, I went along with son Andrew (SMI's esteemed webmaster) to visit with friend Hugh Hewitt, who was in town (Louisville, Ky.) doing his talk show for the evening. Hugh usually broadcasts from Southern California, and has (according to Talkers magazine) an audience estimated to be about 1.75+ million listeners who tune in at some point during the average week.
Hugh was in town for personal reasons, and was broadcasting from the studios of his local Salem Radio Network affiliate. The drawing card for us was not only a chance to visit with Hugh again, but to also connect with some Young Life friends who head up the YL outreaches in the UK — Tom and Ninie Hammon.
Andrew and I and our wives are friends and financial supporters of the Hammons, and always enjoy our visits to learn the latest about their efforts in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Hugh had invited them to be interviewed on his program last night.
It was really Andrew's deal, but at the last minute he invited me to tag along. Thought it would be fun to see everyone, and also be in a radio studio again. As many of you may know, I was a regular guest on Larry Burkett's call-in program throughout the 1990s, and continued on with Howard Dayton for a few years after Larry went home to heaven.
The last thing I was expecting was to be on the air, speaking off the cuff, to a national audience. But that's what happened. On something of an impulse, Hugh asked if I would be willing to do a segment and talk a little about SMI as well as the market's wild behavior yesterday. No prep time, but being the seasoned veteran that I am, I foolishly agreed.
It was fun, went by quickly, and it wasn't until this morning that I began thinking of how I might have expressed myself better. So I decided to give myself something of a "do-over" and write all about it in the upcoming June issue of the Sound Mind Investing newsletter. Look for my editorial "What I Should Have Said" (working title).
If you'd like to hear what, in fact, I did say, you can listen to that below. The first two segments contain Hugh's interview with Tom Hammon. I believe you'll find it very interesting — Hugh, Andrew, and I sure did. Then I come along in segment three. Those segments cover a total of about 25 minutes.
In the midst of high unemployment and growing concern about federal spending, the stock market (despite yesterday's sharp loss) has been moving along very nicely, thank you.
Why? SMI's executive editor Mark Biller (right) discusses that question — and explains why it's so important to have a long-term investing plan — on today's MoneyLiferadio program. Mark talks with host Chuck Bentley of Crown Financial Ministries.
Click the arrow below to listen (20 min.) — or use this link to download an mp3 (right click/save as).
Echoing concerns raised by Larry Burkett in his 1994 book, The Coming Economic Earthquake, SMI Assistant Editor Joseph Slife recently wrote a "déjà vu all over again" post about runaway government spending and debt. (Back in the day, Joseph did some of the research for the Earthquake book and produced a radio special based on it.)
To listen to a conversation with Joseph about these issues — from last Monday's Faith Meeting House program on Alabama's Faith Radio — click the arrow on the audio player below, or use this link to download an mp3 file (17 minutes—right click/save as).
In the interview, host Bob Crittenden mentions the radio special based on the Earthquake book. Use the audio player below to hear an excerpt from that 1994 program (13 minutes).
From SMI's audio archive, executive editor Mark Biller explains how Scripture can correct common mistaken ideas about money. Mark was interviewed by host Bob Crittenden on Faith Meeting House, a program produced by Alabama's Faith Radio.
Click the arrow below to listen (30 min.) — or use this link to download (right click/save as).
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SMI's executive editor Mark Biller offered an easy-to-understand overview of current economic conditions on Friday's "Connecting Faith" program on 
Howard and Steve were behind the microphones from 2004-2008 on the Crown Financial Ministries program, Money Matters. For many years before that (1988-2003), Steve co-hosted Money Matters with the late Larry Burkett (and SMI's founder and publisher Austin Pryor was a regular guest).
Here's a snippet from that 
I had to dip into other savings to pay the rest of the amount, but guess what? Literally moments before I sat down to write the check, my eldest son sent me an online message: he had just been awarded a scholarship for his overseas study next year! 
SMI's assistant editor Joseph Slife was a repeat guest yesterday on The Meeting House, produced by Alabama's Faith Radio.
In a conversation Monday on Minnesota-based 
Whew! How should investors respond?
That's true — Christmas Clubs have faded into the past for the most part.
In these days of low, low interest rates (not to mention a fair amount of bank instability), where is a good place to store your savings?