Free money! How often do you hear that phrase? Not very often. But generating free money in a bank account is essentially what investing is.
I’m surprised how many people are scared of the whole topic. Among people under 30 in ministry there are three groups.
1. I’m too young to worry about savings and retirement. These folks are typically focused on their mountain of college debt. And in their minds they shouldn’t save anything until they pay that off.
2. I don’t know anything about investing so I just don’t do it at all. Essentially, this is who this series is for. This group of people plead ignorance or try to pretend it is all too complicated for them.
3. I’m in it to win it. These folks understand the basics of investing and know that starting young means more free money down the road.
It’s all about the interest. Do you remember back to 5th grade where we learned about compounding interest? The teacher would say, “if you put $500 on a credit card with an APR of 22% interest, how much would you owe at the end of 12 months? Essentially, investing is the same process in reverse. The earlier you can put money away the sooner interest will start compounding for you.
This is critical for those in ministry. We have to start earlier than our peers since we will make less over a lifetime than those in other industries! Fortunately for us, there are some great tax benefits that help us save for tomorrow today.
401k, 403b, 529, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Education IRA… where do I start?
The basics: Essentially, all of those accounts are going to allow you to defer when you pay taxes on your savings. Theoretically, you could save for retirement with a savings account. Three problems with that. First, the interest rate generally stinks. I’ve never seen a savings account at a bank offer more than 4% interest. Second, you can get to that money way too easily. This is long-term savings so you don’t want to be able to access it with your ATM card. Third, each year you will pay taxes on the interest you earn. A retirement plan of any variety is going to allow you to earn a higher rate of return, the money isn’t readily accessible to you, (unless there is an emergency) and will allow you to defer paying income tax on interest until you withdrawal.
401l/403b: These are essentially the same thing. These are retirement plans for “regular employees” of either for-profit (401k) or non-profit (403b) companies. The great news is that 99% of the time you can invest in 401k/403b through payroll deduction, the money will go into the account pre-tax, and your employer will likely match a certain percentage of your investment. For instance, if they match 100% up to 5% of your income and you make $1000 per week… they would take $100 out of your check and give you an additional $100… depositing $200 per pay period into your account. ($4800 per year) With a 100% match you make 100% interest on day one! There is no better investment on the planet. To not accept this offer of free money is foolish. Since it is payroll deduction you won’t even miss the money. Typically, if you enroll in the program and do nothing else they will automatically select a very conservative mutual fund for you, guaranteeing a small return with minimal risk. Remember, by putting in a little you get free money automatically on the first day. Even if your employer only matches 50% up to 4% of your income… that’s still better interest than you will get anywhere else. The bad news is that you won’t be able to touch that money until you are 59.5 years old. Technically, you can withdrawal early but that will come with some nasty penalties. It is important to understand that money invested in your 401k/403b has almost nothing to do with your employer. Sometimes they will allow you to buy stock in the company through your retirement plan (never do that) but otherwise you are putting money into a bank. This means that the savings belong to you. If you change jobs the money is still yours. (We’ll just not talk about vesting right now to keep it simple) We’ll also talk about investment choices another time. For now, keep it simple.
IRA: (Individual Retirement Accounts) For some reason this one is scarier to people. It shouldn’t be as it is way more fun! This is the most obvious retirement savings option for those church workers who are “self-employed.” These savings are not pre-tax, but when you file your return you typically reap the same benefits so it all works out. Most people end up with an IRA because they change jobs and want to withdrawal money from their previous employers 401k/403b program. (Called a rollover) Kristen and I did this in 2002 to consolidate about five 401k programs, it was simple and pain free. Unlike a 401k, an IRA is going to depend on you depositing money into the account. If you are absolutely unwilling to make any choices, find a broker and have them set it up for you. Any U.S. citizen can have an IRA (or IRAs). Essentially, it is just a savings account that allows you to purchase investments. Technically, you can invest in all sorts of things with IRA money. But the most common things people invest in with an IRA are stocks and mutual funds. While your employer doesn’t typically match your investment most churches I have worked at will include retirement savings in your contract with them. So, each quarter or month they will give you a check for the agreed amount of money and it is up to you to invest that money. I use E-Trade for my IRA and they allow me to transfer money from my savings account to my IRA. But even writing a check to your broker or mutual fund is a snap.
Which IRA do I want? Unless you have some serious cash, you want a Roth IRA. There is an investment cap for how much money you can put in every year, I’ll be honest, as a youth worker you don’t have to worry about that.
529/Education IRA plans: A 529 is basically a 401k for your kids college education. You make an investment and they manage the funds. When the time comes for your kid to go to college, the college withdrawals the money from the account. If you invest in your state’s 529 plan there may be state tax benefits for you. Typically, the money can be used at any college that is accredited. So if you plan on sending your kids to an non-accredited training school or Christian college… this may not be the best option for you. An Education IRA is basically an IRA for money dedicated to your kids college. (You manage the investments.) So if grandma dies and leaves your kids $10,000… this is your best bet to allow it to earn interest without paying taxes.
Kristen and I don’t believe it is our responsibility to fund our kids college. But we do have a 529 plan for them with the intention of helping out a little. (Books?) We make a simple investment each month… the same dollar amount since Megan was born… and it adds up really fast! We have a few thousand bucks in that account already and it was completely pain free. Also, we’ve always taken the small checks for their birthday’s ($10, $20) and added that to their monthly investment. We still give them the money (of course!) but we want them to know later on that grandma and grandpa invested in their education and every little bit counts.
The key to all of this is starting now. It’s all about compounding interest to make your small investments today work for you later. (Remember 5th grade!) If you are 22 and just out of college…. this is the right time to get started! If you are 32 and haven’t gotten started… get on your horse and get it done.
Still got questions about this stuff? Ask a question in the comments and I’ll hunt down the answer.
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