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If your private student loans are in default, you're not out of options. Go to whyrefi.com Ramsey I've been wrestling
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with whether certain ways of making money are morally right from a Christian perspective. I understand working for a salary, creating a useful product or service, or renting housing at a fair price. But I feel conflicted about things like stocks and bank deposits because they seem more indirect and harder to evaluate ethically. For example, when you buy and later sell stock for a profit, it can feel like you're benefiting without really creating value. And with banks, you do not always know how your money is being used. Am I overthinking this, or are some forms of investing more consistent with Christian convictions than others? Yeah, I do think you're overthinking it, but I don't take a shot at you there. I think, you know, you've got a great heart. I think you've got to use God given common sense and then also that still small voice of discernment. And I think that when it comes to just your general investing in banks, you don't need to feel guilty about making money on your deposits or making money on your money market or making money on your investment strategy, certainly what we teach here at Ramsey. So I think while you're overthinking it, I appreciate where your heart is. And I think you just have to back off to what? Wait a second. Am I in any way making money through some type of Ponzi scheme? Right now? That is dishonesty. That is lying. Making money off of evil actions would be your meter. And so outside of that, I think you're overthinking it.
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But bringing harm to someone.
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Yeah, that's the other thing.
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And so, you know, when you deposit money in a bank and they pay you interest, you're not bringing harm to someone. You can't control what the bank does. Okay. It's the same thing as if you go buy groceries at a grocery store, they now have your money if they go and do something evil with it. You bought groceries, you didn't do anything, they did. And so same thing with a bank. If you put a deposit in a bank and they do something evil with it. Now, if a bank is known for screwing people and you put your money in there. Well, yeah, you're kind of participating then. But just if a grocery store is known for screwing people and you do business with them, you're participating too. Same thing, right? And so, you know, the trick is we try not to do business with people that have evil intent. In any way, because they're going to do that and that, that is consistent now. And here's another interesting one that comes up also in this thing. It's stocks. You know, buying stock. Now, I don't want to. I've heard people say from a Christian perspective that I don't want to buy stock in X Company because X Company might be doing something wrong. Well, if you buy stock from that company, unless it's an initial public offering or unless it's treasury stock being sold, both of which are very unusual. But if you simply call your broker up and say, I want to buy stock in Home Depot, Home Depot doesn't get the money. You're not buying the stock from Home Depot. You're buying it from Ken, who's selling his Home Depot stock. It's an individual to an individual. It's like my, it's like my buddy has a Chevy pickup up for sale and you go buy the Chevy pickup. Chevy doesn't get any of the money. Okay? But, you know, but if, so if Chevy, if Chevrolet is screwing somebody somewhere or messing somebody over, you buying that Chevy pickup from another individual is not in any way funding the evil practices. Now, you are driving around a brand that you don't agree with, okay? But aside from that there, you know, it's a used car. The, in the new car dealer does not get. The new car manufacturer does not get. This is a used share of stock. You know, they don't get any benefit from it at all. Now if the, if the stock goes up in value and you, you, you know that benefit that while you, while that because that company's doing evil things and screwing people, then you have benefited. But the actual purchase of the stock is from another individual. And so there's nothing there. And that's the thing. So you have to be real careful about jot and tittle here, the details. In other words, you have to be careful about how far down in the weeds am I gonna try to do this? And so, you know, it's. There's almost no way that you can have any transactions in the marketplace that at some point you can't lead it back to something that you don't, like, somewhere, somehow. But where you have to decide is, okay, how much, what control do I have and is my intent to profit off of this? So, for instance, I would never buy or do business with or put money in any way anywhere near a payday lender. They're charging 800% and they're screwing poor people, okay? So I'm not I don't want to own one of those secretly on the side that none of you know about, but God would know about it, right? So as a Christian, I'd be screwing poor people. And so I'm not having to do with a payday lender in any stretch anyway. And, but, but you know, just because the grocery store, they don't get a pass either because, you know, they sell whatever that I don't agree with in there, you know. And you know, you could say, well, there's some kind of toxic. What? You know what? It's just you can never get to the end of this if you spend all yourself crazy. So I spend a reasonable amount of time saying this is God's money. Am I doing something that makes him blush? If it does and I don't do it. But I'm also not going to spend my entire life trying to live in a cave. Click lint and and avoid doing business out here in a positive way. Helping people in the process and not enjoying the whole process. Why Refi Refinances Defaulted private student loans for struggling borrowers. Learn more at Y r e f y.com Ramsey.