The Pastoral Finance Podcast

Episode 5 · The Mortgage Is Gone. The Housing Allowance Isn't.
A pastor called me the week he made his last mortgage payment. He wasn't celebrating. He wanted to know if his housing allowance was about to disappear.
The answer is no. But almost nobody had ever explained the part that actually matters.
In this episode we walk through what really happens to the Section 107 housing allowance when the mortgage goes away. What still counts as a housing expense once the note is paid. How the lesser-of-three test quietly decides everything. Why home improvements count in full the year you pay for them, and why the timing of a big renovation across two tax years can shelter thousands more than doing it all at once.
Then we get to the part most pastors have never been told. The housing allowance doesn't have to end when your paycheck does. A qualifying church plan, a 403(b)(9), can generally designate your retirement distributions as housing allowance. And one routine rollover into an IRA can end that treatment permanently.
Also covered: what does not count, the fair rental value number most pastors have never calculated, what parsonage pastors need to know, and the five steps to take before you move a dollar.
Todd Hukill is an ordained pastor, Finance Director for the Tennessee Ministry Network, and founder of Legacy Path Advisors LLC.
More at pastoralfinance.com
This show is for education and encouragement, not personalized financial or tax advice. Talk with a qualified professional who knows clergy taxes and your situation before you act.

Is it okay for me to do well financially? A lot of pastors are afraid to ask that out loud. A raise comes through, a little margin finally shows up in the savings account, and instead of relief they feel a quiet guilt, like they got away with something they shouldn't have.
In Episode 4 of The Pastoral Finance Podcast, Todd Hukill takes that guilt apart. Nobody handed it to you from Scripture. Ministry culture handed it to you, and it is costing you and maybe your family too.
Scripture doesn't shame provision. It honors it. The famous warning is about the love of money, the root that pulls a heart from God, never about money itself, and never about a worker being paid for his work. Writing to Timothy about elders who lead well, Paul says the worker deserves his wages. Provision for the people who do the work is the design, not a loophole.
In this episode:
Why pastors feel guilt over financial health that no one else in their situation would feel
The line ministry culture keeps smudging: greed is wanting more to have more; provision is having enough to do more
Why a financially healthy pastor is often the most generous person in the room
The hard truth: staying broke is not a spiritual gift, it often just makes you a future burden
Four practical steps: receive what your church already offers, know what your money is for, plan without apologizing, and give on purpose
You can do well and stay humble. The two were never enemies.
More free articles and resources for pastors: https://pastoralfinance.com
Want help seeing the whole picture? Todd offers a Pastor Retirement Checkup through Legacy Path Advisors: https://www.legacypathadvisors.com/pastor-retirement-checkup
Grab the free first chapter of Todd's book: https://www.toddhukill.com/free-chapter (New book releases next week. Get the free chapter now and be first in line.)
If this helped, subscribe, leave a review, and send it to a pastor who needs it.
This show is for education and encouragement, not personalized financial or tax advice. Before you act on anything, talk it through with a qualified professional who knows clergy taxes and your situation.

"The church will take care of me." Most pastors would never say it out loud, but many quietly build their future on it. In Episode 3 of The Pastoral Finance Podcast, Todd Hukill explains why your church, no matter how much it loves you, is not your retirement plan, and why realizing that early is one of the kindest things you can do for your family.
 
A church can love you completely and still not be your retirement plan. One is a relationship. The other is a structure. You need the structure, on purpose, with your name on it.
 
In this episode:
Why "we'll take care of our pastor" is a sentiment, not a funded account
How board turnover and tightening budgets quietly change that promise
Why the parsonage is a gift while you serve but builds no equity that is yours
The 403(b)(9) church plan and the feature that makes it different: distributions a credentialed minister can designate as housing allowance, excluded from federal income tax within the limits, a benefit you lose if you move that money to an ordinary IRA
The one honest question to start with: if ministry income stopped, where would yours come from?
 
This is stewardship, not fear. You can love your church and still build something your family can stand on.
 
Read the full article this episode is based on: https://www.pastoralfinance.com/blog/your-church-isnt-your-retirement-plan
 
More free articles and resources for pastors: https://pastoralfinance.com
 
Want help seeing the whole picture? Todd offers a Pastor Retirement Checkup through Legacy Path Advisors: https://www.legacypathadvisors.com/pastor-retirement-checkup
 
If this helped, subscribe, leave a review, and send it to a pastor who needs it.
 
This show is for education and encouragement, not personalized financial or tax advice. Before you act on anything, talk it through with a qualified professional who knows clergy taxes and your situation.

Many pastors reach their fifties and sixties carrying a quiet fear. They gave their best years to the church, and now they wonder if they will ever be able to retire. If that is you, hear this: it is not too late.
 
In Episode 2 of The Pastoral Finance Podcast, Todd Hukill talks honestly about retirement for pastors. Why so many feel behind, why clergy retirement works differently than most advice assumes, and the steps you can take today no matter where you are starting from.
 
Todd is an ordained pastor and has spent nearly two decades as a financial advisor and as Finance Director for a statewide ministry network. This show gives pastors clear, trustworthy help with the money side of ministry. No pressure, no guilt.
 
In this episode:
Why so many pastors feel like retirement is out of reach
What makes clergy retirement different: the housing allowance in retirement, 403(b)(9) church plans, and the Social Security opt-out decision
Why it is not too late to start, even later in ministry
A simple next step to get clarity on where you stand
 
Free articles and resources for pastors: https://pastoralfinance.com
 
Want a clearer picture of your own retirement? Todd offers a Pastor Retirement Checkup through Legacy Path Advisors: https://www.legacypathadvisors.com/pastor-retirement-checkup
 
If this helped, subscribe, leave a review, and send it to a pastor who needs it.
 
This show is for education and encouragement, not personalized financial or tax advice. Before you act on anything, talk it through with a qualified professional who knows clergy taxes and your situation.

Most pastors were never taught how to handle money. They lead people well, then quietly carry stress about their own finances. In this first episode of The Pastoral Finance Podcast, Todd Hukill walks through five money mistakes he sees pastors make again and again, and a simple next step out of each one.
 
Todd is an ordained pastor and has spent nearly two decades as a financial advisor and as Finance Director for a statewide ministry network. This show exists to give pastors clear, trustworthy help with money. No pressure, no guilt.
 
In this episode:
1. Waiting too long to ask for help
2. Living paycheck to paycheck without knowing where the money goes
3. Trying to manage your money without a system
4. Thinking you are planning just because you have a budget
5. Trying to fix everything at once
 
The takeaway: you are not alone, and you are not stuck. Real progress is a series of small, consistent steps. Pick one and take it this week.
 
Free articles and resources for pastors: https://pastoralfinance.com
 
If this helped, subscribe, leave a review, and send it to another pastor you care about.
 
This show is for education and encouragement, not personalized financial or tax advice. Before you act on anything, talk it through with a qualified professional who knows clergy taxes and your situation.

The Pastoral Finance Podcast launches June 26. Todd Hukill, a pastor and longtime financial advisor, gives pastors clear, trustworthy help with the money side of ministry. Housing allowance, retirement, and the decisions that quietly shape your future. No pressure, no guilt, no jargon.
 
Follow or subscribe now so the first episodes land the day they drop. More anytime at https://pastoralfinance.com
 
This show is for education and encouragement, not personalized financial advice.r