What do you want to be remembered for? I love watching ‘The Office’ and can quote tons of lines and apply them to a variety of situations. While I do love sharing this incredible gift, I can’t help but wonder, is this what I want to be remembered for? A conversation regarding leaving a legacy seems in order.
Ok I’m not dead inside, but it does make you consider the future a little bit. At The Compounding Interests, our primary goal in life is to leave a spiritual and a financial legacy.
Blessed
We have been richly blessed and we want to pass that onto others. To us, a financial legacy involves the spreading of financial knowledge and to be relationally wealthy. This is what I want to be known for. Ok, I also hope people thought I was funny and had a knack for applying Michael Scott quotes to everyday situations, alas.
I have a feeling that our legacy may not be shared by most of the U.S.A. Nerd Wallet reports that Americans had month to month credit card balances of $420.22 billion in late 2018. Clearly, people are trying to find happiness through spending and are being charged high credit card fees to do it. However, this lifestyle only leads to emptiness and despair despite the high-affluence of many Americans.
Others strive towards Financial Independence (FI) to solve all their problems. While Financial Independence has many sound principles, and can serve as a financial compass, it can not serve as a legacy.
Freedom
Our legacy is intrinsically tied to an increase in our freedom. Troy and I desire freedom to spend our time the way that allows us to maximize our gifting and passions. We have already received freedom from our relationship with Jesus, and it pains us when we witness so many others in bondage.
There are examples of bondage everywhere in the form of sin, money or other force. But humans aren’t designed to be enslaved to the things of this world and we instead strive to be financially independent and Christ dependent.
People sometimes say that money is the root of all evil, which is incorrect. The Bible instead says that the love of money is the root of all evil. We hold that while FI can help treat financial bondage, if you love money, you life will actually be bankrupt.
A Legacy Example
My grandfather didn’t constantly speak to me about the evils of debt. Nor did he preach against over-extending credit cards. This was because his life embodied sound money management and his consistent way of approaching people and finances spoke volumes.
My grandparents worked hard, saved, and invested. Pretty straightforward stuff, yet it left a profound impact on me and my family. However, the largest impression my grandparents left on me was a product of the time they spent with me. I similarly hope to emulate my grandparents examples by being part of people’s lives and intentional use of time.
A Riddle
Do you know the answer to this riddle from ‘The Hobbit’? As you may have guessed, the answer is time. Time devours all things and sadly will devour each of us as well. Not a very happy thing to consider. To get even more real, I went to a website called My Death Clock and punched in my details and it made this nice little personalized death clock for me.
Saturday, August 9th 2064 probably won’t be the date of my death but it does make you think. It makes me think about living. Living with intention and purpose. Cue the other Lord of the Rings reference (Gandalf addressing Frodo) to drive home the point.
Our desire is to provide tools and encouragement in your financial journey and to allow you give with outrageous generosity. The Compounding Interests was in fact founded to be a platform for people want to leave a legacy.
Troy and I have worked many jobs over the years and even served as (young and inexperienced) youth pastors. We understand the unique struggles that ministry staff face. As such, we want to help pastors, and those in non-ministry occupations, who are trying to find the balance between giving, spending, and saving. Thanks for reading about our legacy plans and please leave a comment below about what you hope to leave as your legacy!