The longer I maintain www.moneyhelpforchristians.com, the less money it seems like I’m going to have.
From the very first days of this blog, I was open about the fact that I wanted to learn what the Bible had to say about money (as opposed to assuming that I already knew).
I used to have a simple and effective retirement strategy … and then I had to go reading the Bible. The result? I started rethinking retirement.
Question: What do you think is most people’s greatest fear about retirement savings?
Answer: That they won’t have enough.
Question: What does the New Testament propose should be the greatest concern about retirement savings?
Answer: That you’ll have too much.
Strange, eh?
There’s a Bible story (Luke 12:15-21) about a guy who kept building bigger barns to stockpile his savings. Obviously, a huge part of this man’s failing is that he did so without being rich towards God. Is the point of this passage that we should build bigger and bigger barns while being rich towards God, or is the point that if we are rich towards God we won’t build bigger and bigger barns?
The moral of the story of the Rich Fool is don’t be an idiot. Don’t do dumb things with money. It’s dumb to build up savings here on earth when you could be investing in treasure in heaven. Why put more in the insecure, temporary investment of this earth when you could use it for an eternal investment that will not spoil, perish, or fade?
It’s not a sin. It’s just plain foolish.
I’ve never had any financial advisor, counselor, or guru tell me to carefully analyze how much I’m saving to be sure it’s not too much.
Is there such a thing as saving too much for retirement?
In our society of bigger is better, why would anyone be worried that they might be saving too much?
By the way, I do realize how dangerous this information can be in the hands of the wrong person. I do hereby release myself of any responsibility of a foolish person who foolishly applies this information.
How We Managed to Reduce our Nest Egg
Step #1 – Say Goodbye to Saving 15% for retirement.
My wife and I did this a year or two ago.
I used Dave Ramsey’s very generous retirement formula and figured out that we were on track to have something in excess of a few million dollars in retirement.
What in the world am I ever going to do with that kind of money?
It was insane! It was too much.
Thus, my wife and I decided our fist baby step was going to be reducing our retirement to 10%. Hey, that’s not a huge leap of faith, but we felt like it was a needed change in the right direction.
What if a Big Mac costs $125 when I retire?
I trust that if one sacrifices savings for giving that God will provide some means for them. You see, I’m not talking about reducing retirement savings so you can take an extra cruise in 2012. I’m not suggesting that you stop saving for retirement so you can install a 397,892 inch Plasma TV. That’s foolish.
I’m suggesting some Christians may be in a place in life where they could/should consider reducing the amount they contribute to retirement so they have more to use for giving to the church, the poor, and missions.
Step #2 Say Goodbye to Saving 10% for Retirement
Here’s my biggest gripe with the percentage idea of saving for retirement.
It assumes you actually plan to have a lifestyle in line with your income.
Let’s imagine for a moment that you were to get a raise. If you save a percentage of your income, that means you now save even more for retirement.
Does getting a raise mean you need more money for retirement?
Only if you adjust your lifestyle upward in kind with your income. However, I think we have a higher call: to use our income (especially as it increases) to be a blessing to others – not just ourselves.
The point?
Don’t blindly trust advice when someone says you should be saving X, Y, or Z for retirement. Prayerfully consider the decision.
Be open to the possibility that God might not want you to save as much as you can.
In our case, we got an early start (I was 21 and my wife 20) when we started saving for retirement. While I know most people are going to have the problem of not having enough for retirement, some will have the issue of having too much.
I’ll follow up in about 40 years when I retire and let you know if I regret this post or not.
Do you think this message is valuable for Christians to consider, or do you think it’s dangerous advice that will do more damage than good?
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
I can only speak as a person who is now retired. We saved a decent amount but not an enormous sum of money and certainly not as much as the guidelines indicate. Perhaps it is just us and our circumstances but major health issues have claimed almost all of the retirement funds. The remaining amount of money is very low.
Am I or my spouse concerned? Not really. We had never figured on exotic vacations or living a lavish lifestyle. We have our needs met and some wants. We still are able to give and are content and feel blessed.
Thanks for addressing a subject I have often wondered about. The “higher call” you are talking about puts it into perspective for me.
Thanks for the article, Craig. Certainly something all Christians would do well to consider. We probably don’t save “enough” for retirement according to the experts, but it has always been difficult for us to save more when we have opportunities now to give. Maybe when we get to retirement we will wish we have saved more, but I do believe that God will provide for us then as he has for us now. Based on my current salary, there is no way we should have what we have now, so that is a testimony of God’s provisions for us, and God will not retire when/if I retire!
Great post, Craig! I think it’s a valuable message. In secular personal finance, the only time the question of “When is enough enough?” comes up in retirement saving is when people are concerned they’re giving up good times/stuff in their younger years. Other than that, the question is hardly ever explored. But I feel that for Christians this should be a constant question. When is enough retirement savings enough? When is enough eating out enough? When is enough entertainment enough? And it’s not that I’m saying we should live strict, ascetic lives, but when so much of what we waste and fritter away without thought could be used for storing up treasure in heaven you have to ask yourself when you need to rethink how you’re doing things.
Paul,
Thanks for highlighting the reason ‘why’ this question is important. It’s not so we can free up more play around time for today. It’s so we can more fully participate in the present work of the Kingdom.
Amen! Participating with God in the work of His kingdom is what it’s all about!!!
I just want to say thank you for these posts. It goes against so much that we are taught in America. I have read Randy Alcorn’s book “Money, Possessions and Eternity” and I totally believe the biblical truths, although I feel so slow in that true heart change to put myself and my wants aside to give more. That’s why I enjoy the things you are posting so much. The posts are a continual challenge for me to put it into action. It’s not a message I’m going to hear very often otherwise.
Georgiana,
You’re most welcome. Thanks for your kind words. I intentionally wrote this post to force us to think against the natural American approach to retirement. If we’re prayerfully thinking about it we’re more likely to honor God with whatever we decide.
i think we should consider the possibility that if we save and store huge amounts for ourselves -its possible we might not live long enough to use it–i think that was mentioned in the bible about the barns
Suzy,
Indeed. Life is but a mist. It is possible to invest too much now and not enough then.
In my field of working in philanthropy, I have witnessed incredible generosity made from retirement funds that have been stored up. So to the readers who have an abundance in retirement, you might consider how you can be generous with donations directly from the retirement account to support needs in your community or across the world.
And for all of us, we aren’t taking our nest eggs with us! Please consider how you can make generosity part of your final act on earth through your estate plans.
Loved this post! Do you like John Piper? He has a statement that I have made my viewpoint on retirement: “The great tragedy is not [your sin]. The tragedy is that Satan uses the guilt of these failures to strip you of every radical dream you ever had, or might have, and in its place give you a happy, safe, secure, American life of superficial pleasures until you die in your lakeside rocking chair, wrinkled and useless, leaving a big fat inheritance to your middle-aged children to confirm them in their worldliness. That’s the main tragedy.” – John Piper
Interesting, Craig. I wonder how many this applies to. In the states, there was an article that many (I think it was one in four) don’t have $2500 available for an emergency. My 13 year old was horrified to hear that, having already saved more than that in an IRA from her sitting money.
For us, we’re saving at about a 25% pace to keep the possibility of early retirement open. It’s easier to look around at 65, decide we have more than we need and increase giving than for the opposite to occur, too little savings and the need to keep working.
Exactly, JoeTaxpayer. I’m thinking this doesn’t apply to many people.
Thanks for making me think a little. The idea of saving less now and using it for other worthy causes makes sense. We all may be saving more than we need. If I did this i would always be afraid of not meeting my goals. Dave Ramsey has given us a magical percentage to save for our future. It may be to little or to much. I would rather error to the to much.
Dave,
Thanks for the comment.
Clearly the goal of the article is to make people think. It certainly isn’t wrong to follow Ramsey’s advice and save 15%, but it would be wrong if someone didn’t seriously consider less without giving it a lot of prayer and thought. That’s what I did for a long time.
I believe most people aren’t saving enough. Asking “are you saving too much money for retirement” is like asking “are you eating too many vegetables” or “are you exercising too much?” Sure. There are some who over do it, but far too many are under doing it.
I do think you make an interesting point when you ask and answer the following question:
“Does getting a raise mean you need more money for retirement? Only if you adjust your lifestyle upward in kind with your income.”
This is so true. If you carefully monitor lifestyle inflation, you won’t need so much money in retirement. If you’re not going to put the money towards some form of savings, you then have two choices or a combination of both: 1) spend the money now or 2) give it away. If you choose the former, then I guess you will need more money in retirement. So it seems like the logic doesn’t really work out after all.
Shawanda,
I agree 100% that most people aren’t saving enough. That’s why there are so many blogs, articles, and financial advice encouraging people to save more. But, surely there is a segment of the population that needs a different message? That’s my audience. Those are the people how I hope take this message to heart.
No financial advice is for everyone. My prayer is simply that people will have the wisdom to know when they need to switch gears from saving everything to focusing more on giving.
As you said, I do think we should all ‘carefully monitor our lifestyle inflation’ (very well said!).
Thanks for the comment.
Great article Craig. I learned this from Dr. David Jeremiah’s Book “Searching for Heaven on Earth”:
The more you have, the more you want. The more you want, the more you spend. The more you spend, the more you need. The more you need, the more you have to have.
I think that it is so hard for people to give more because they load up on debt, that they must use the excess on themselves. Solomon says, “There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture.”
No matter what, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”
Sean,
Thanks for sharing the quote. I think it fits in really well.
I think that 10% is too little, but also keep in mind that by saving and investing your money, you’re providing capital that can then be invested in developing new medical technologies, building new infrastructure, and improving current technology, so it is a win-win situation. I also believe in giving in the present for those that are truly down on their luck, because everyone deserves a second chance, but I see saving and investing as even more important, because only that will raise the standards of living for everyone.
Hi Craig, I can’t remember how I came across your website, but I’ve been getting your emails for a little while now. I think we have a hard time trusting God to take care of us (now, and for the future, too).
If we look at what He did with Israel coming out of Egypt, we could probably all learn a few things from that. They came out of the richest country on the earth at that time (perhaps ever), having plundered gold, silver, etc. At the fork in the road coming out of Egypt, the Lord intentionally led them the right way (vs. a paved road to the left), out into a barren wilderness in which all that wealth wouldn’t do anything at all for them. Why? So they would learn to trust Him. I recently read I Timothy 6 (NIV):
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
I don’t think there’s necessarily anything wrong with saving, but I do think you’re right that we need to make sure our priorities are where they should be.
Carrie,
I can’t remember who said it but one time I read that the desert is God’s “school for the soul”. It is in those times of dependance that God teaches us so much. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.