Faithful Investing

Not too long ago, I sat down with a young couple in their early 30s—both public school teachers. They reached out to me, a bit unsure, and said, “Jack, maybe you can help us plan our future.”

They had been married for five years. They owned a modest condominium, had no car loans, and were diligently saving the wife’s salary. Ten percent of their combined income went into savings every month, and they were thinking about starting a retirement plan with just ₱5,000.

But behind their composure was a silent worry: “Will we ever afford to retire?”

They didn’t see themselves ever escaping the limitations of a teacher’s salary—especially when, someday, it might be down to just one income.

As I listened, I smiled and said, “Would it surprise you to know that if you stay consistent, you could end up in the top 1% of financially free Filipinos?”

Their eyes widened. “Really?”

Defining What Real Investments Are

Let’s take a moment to talk about a word we often misunderstand: investment.

An investment is not just about money. It’s about intention.

An investment is something you buy:

To grow in value, or
To provide yield (income, dividends, or interest).

And when it no longer serves your purpose or begins to lose value, you let it go.

🚫 Not Everything You Buy is an Investment

Many think they’re investing when they’re simply spending.

A car? Most of the time, it's not an investment. I’ve heard people say, “I made a smart investment—I bought a new car.” But unless it’s an antique or collectible, its value only goes one way: down.

I once believed I’d never buy a car for that very reason—until my first son was born. Then came the rainy seasons, the pandemic, and the realization that our family needed safety more than idealism. By God's provision, we got our first car just in time—and I learned: some purchases are not financial investments but life investments.

The same applies to jewelry, homes, or gadgets. They might be valuable, but if they don’t grow in worth or yield, they’re not financial investments.

✔️ Real Investments Have These Traits:

Potential to grow over time
Yield income or returns
Are convertible to cash
Serve a long-term purpose
Reflect values that align with your faith and life

The Spiritual Side of Investing

God’s Word has so much to say about wealth, stewardship, and priorities.

Proverbs 28:20

“A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”

The world says, “Get rich quick.” The Bible says, “Be faithful and patient.”

Luke 14:28

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost…”

Financial planning is spiritual. It’s a matter of faith and wisdom. God isn’t just concerned with how much we give—but also with how well we manage the rest.

Long-Term Vision Beats Short-Term Rush

When we panic about money or try to rush results, we often fall into traps. A better way is to make time your ally—not your enemy.

Ecclesiastes 5:13–14

“I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune.”

The world teaches us to spend first and maybe save later. The Word teaches us to save and invest first.

Proverbs 6:6–8

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It stores its provisions in summer…”

Wise investing means storing during the harvest season of your life. It’s a habit of diligence, not of luck.

Time is a tool.

I start now in the future. The world tends to say, " Time is an enemy. I cant wait for the Fall to begin accumulating. I need it right now. " Ecclesiastes 11:2 says, "Divide your portion into seven, or even to eight, for you don't know what misfortune may occur on earth."

But I believe that God's word says, "Diversify, diversify, diversify, in order to avoid loss." I'd like for you to put a principle in your mind, and its this: that wealth is typically created by a career or vocation over some long timeframe. For example, that couple that I was talking about, the teachers. They've left of 30-35 years and if they spend less than they earn, save as a first, priority, then they've got 30-35 years to accumulate wealth.

So, if I create wealth by my career or my vocation,

I then preserve it by a diversified investment strategy, and I do that because it's impossible to see or predict the future, no matter what investment that I am in. I think there are two critical concepts we want to take a look at. First, is the magic of compounding and second is a prioritized investment strategy. In other words, step one, step two, step three, step four.

Let's take a look at both of them. In order to do that first of all, looking at the magic compounding, I need to introduce you to a concept called "the rule of 72." The rules of 72 say this: if I can earn of have appreciation or growth in value of a certain percent over time, how long will it take my money to double? For example, if I have a savings 3%, and I put P1,000 in there, how long will it take that savings account to double? Well, divide the 3% into 72 and its equals 24 years.

So I invest P1,000/ year and in 24 years I have P24,000. Now, if I double my interest rate from 3% to 6%, that means that the money will double, 6% divide into 72, in 12 years. So, in 24 years, it doubles twice, and that seems to make sense. If I invest P1,000 in 12 years, I have P2,000.00 and in 24 years, I have P4,000 at 6% compared to P2,000 at 3%.

Now here's where the magic compounding comes in. Let's assume that I double that interest again to 12%. So if I divide 12% into 72 that means that my money is going to double or my investment is going to double 12 into 72 every 6 years. So when I look at the same 24 years time frame, my money doubles in 6 years. It doubles again in 12 years again in 24 years. so what I have now is P1000 at 12% and through 4 times doubling, it equals to P16,000. In other words, I doubled and I got a four times increase. That is the magic of compounding.

There are some observations. As the earning rate is doubled, there is a geometric increase in the amount accumulated. Now don't get lost with all this math. I am trying to make a point that I think you'll see when we get to the compounding charts. Because here' hat happens on the compounding. Interest earns which earns interest or growth in value- it has grown and value or growth and value. So I have a compounding impact on the money that I invest. This is called the magic of compounding," and there are really four variables that you need to think about.

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