What If Thomas Aquinas Was Your Financial Advisor? | Chris Schilmoeller

Catholic Money Mastermind - Financial Planning conversations with Catholic CFP® Practitioners

Today, Ben is joined by Chris Schilmoeller—Orlando-based financial advisor and former FOCUS missionary—for a deep dive into what it might mean to have Thomas Aquinas as your financial advisor. Chris reflects on his own journey from campus evangelization to financial planning, sharing how Aquinas’s emphasis on order, integration, and the proper end of human life continues to shape his work. The conversation explores Aquinas’s treatment of money, happiness, and stewardship, with special attention to the tension between Christ’s teaching on poverty and the practical responsibilities of wealth. Together, they unpack the virtue of liberality as a sign of rightly ordered finances, the dangers of money becoming an idol, and the call to view abundance as an opportunity for generosity rather than self-indulgence. Grounded in both theology and lived experience, their discussion highlights how faith can illuminate financial decisions, offering a vision where money serves not as an end in itself but as a means to deepen virtue, strengthen families, and grow in communion with God and neighbor.

Key Takeaways:

• Thomas Aquinas emphasized order and integration, qualities that can guide financial planning today.

• Money itself is not inherently problematic—it is our attachment to it that can lead us astray.

• Aquinas’s commentary on the Beatitudes highlights that being “poor in spirit” is compatible with financial success if one’s heart is rightly ordered.

• Prudence is required: one should not give recklessly at the expense of family responsibilities.

• Radical poverty is a specific vocation, not a universal mandate for all Christians.

• Financial planning, when ordered toward virtue and stewardship, becomes a pathway to holiness rather than a distraction from it.

Key Timestamps:

(03:02) – Thomas Aquinas: A Brief Introduction

(09:12) – Aquinas as Your Financial Advisor

(16:01) – The Pursuit of Happiness

(21:44) – The Corruptive Nature of Money

(22:36) – Aquinas on Happiness and Money

(26:21) – The Virtue of Liberality

(28:30) – Balancing Wealth and Responsibility

(33:51) – The Role of Stewardship

Key Topics Discussed:

Catholic Money Mastermind, Catholic financial planning, Catholic financial planners, Catholic financial advisors, Ben Martinek, faith and finances, Thomas Aquinas

Mentions:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisschilmoeller/

Mentions:

https://focus.org/

More of Catholic Money Mastermind:

Catholic Money Mastermind Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

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