“Wisdom for Wealth. For Life.” Episode 27: Stewarding Your Faith in Hollywood
Many people are often curious about the idea of Hollywood and the people who spend their careers in that environment. Colby Gilmore, a Blue Trust private wealth advisor, recently had a conversation about faith and finances on the Wisdom For Wealth. For Life. podcast with actors and Blue Trust clients, Allegra and Clayton Snyder. The Snyders share their experiences as Christians in the film industry, as well as how they are choosing to steward their finances.
Both working actors from a young age, Clayton and Allegra built their individual careers through grit and determination, doing whatever it took to make it to the big screen. Today, Allegra is an actress in a hit Amazon television series. Clayton is a realtor and active with the Los Angeles Athletic Club Water Polo Team; he was a passionate water polo player in high school and college following his stint on the television show and movie Lizzie McGuire.
Building a Solid Marriage and Family Life
The couple feels fortunate that they are “believers raised by believers.” A consistent thread of faith throughout their lives has kept them steady through the ups and downs of their careers. In their marriage and now recently parenthood, they look to the model of God for how to love one another. “Love is a much more active choice than merely a feeling,” Clayton explains. “People have grown up with Disney and how love stories are portrayed on screen. However, if you’re depending on another person who is just as flawed as you are to make you feel complete, it’s not going to work. Love is not how I feel, but how I choose. To say, ‘I love you’ is to say, ‘I choose you and commit to you.’”
Serving as a Positive Influence in Hollywood
Allegra views Hollywood as an untapped area of mission work. “We send people all over the world to places that need to hear about the gospel, but there’s great need right here in Hollywood,” she says. “I may not have much control over things that happen here, but I can offer someone the experience of Jesus relationally on a daily basis, whether it’s the person doing my makeup or hair, the camera person, my driver to and from the set, or my castmates. It’s a chance to be the light of Christ to others.”
Stewarding Their Finances Faithfully
The Snyders point to the importance of getting professional advice and counsel when it comes to managing their money, which allows them to focus on what they do best. Given that they are not salaried employees, they must realistically assess their income. They follow Blue Trust’s biblical principles of financial planning to cover the important areas of taxes, giving, savings and investments, and debt. After they settled work contracts and understood the money that would be coming in, they found a donor advised fund to help them implement a plan for generosity and giving. They’ve set up a trust and estate plan for their son, which gives them peace of mind as they travel for work. They’re also putting great thought and care into buying a home and exploring the right financing options.
“We’re communicating to God that we want to live responsibly and within our means. If this is how we’re being provided for and this is what our numbers look like, we’ll follow His leadership,” Clayton says.
Blue Trust is pleased to support the Snyders on their mission and journey in Hollywood, as they pursue their craft and expand the gospel through it.
If you need assistance with financial planning and would like to talk to a Blue Trust advisor, please get in touch with us at 800.987.2987 or email blog@bluetrust.com.
“We’re communicating to God that we want to live responsibly and within our means. If this is how we’re being provided for and this is what our numbers look like, we’ll follow His leadership.”
– Clayton Snyder
In our “Wisdom for Wealth. For Life.” podcast series, we share financial advice and wisdom from our network of wealth advisors and thought leaders in the industry, and from around our community of over 10,000 financially blessed families who apply biblical wisdom to their financial planning and giving.
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