1 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:11,760 S1: A new name often marks a new season. And that's 2 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:16,560 S1: exactly what's happening at Adelphi Christian Banking. Hi, I'm Rob West. 3 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,560 S1: When two faith based credit unions come together, the goal 4 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:23,640 S1: isn't just greater size, it's greater kingdom impact. That's the 5 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:28,840 S1: story behind the newly rebranded Adelphi Christian Banking. Erin Kaye 6 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,560 S1: joins us to share how this merger came together, what 7 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,800 S1: the new brand represents and how it will strengthen Christian 8 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,240 S1: banking for years to come. Then it's on to your 9 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:42,240 S1: calls at 800 525 7000. This is faith and finance. Live. 10 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:48,440 S1: Biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, it's always a 11 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,920 S1: conversation about faith as much as finance. When Aaron Kaye 12 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,960 S1: joins us, he's the chief marketing officer at Adelphi Christian Banking, 13 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,360 S1: still a not for profit financial institution and a proud 14 00:00:59,460 --> 00:01:02,180 S1: underwriter of this program. Aaron, great to have you back. 15 00:01:02,460 --> 00:01:03,820 S2: It's great to be back. Rob. 16 00:01:04,100 --> 00:01:08,020 S1: Aaron, this is a significant moment for both organizations with 17 00:01:08,020 --> 00:01:11,899 S1: the rollout of a new name and brand. So introduce 18 00:01:11,900 --> 00:01:15,780 S1: us to Adelphi Christian Banking. How did this new identity 19 00:01:15,780 --> 00:01:17,860 S1: come together and what does it represent? 20 00:01:18,300 --> 00:01:21,220 S2: Well, our new name and identity are a visual representation 21 00:01:21,220 --> 00:01:23,500 S2: of what we desire to accomplish with the merger of 22 00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:27,220 S2: Adelphi and Christian Community Credit Union. It represents a union 23 00:01:27,260 --> 00:01:29,500 S2: of the best of both credit unions and honors the 24 00:01:29,500 --> 00:01:32,580 S2: legacy and members of both. The root of our name 25 00:01:32,580 --> 00:01:35,580 S2: is Adelphos, which is used over 300 times in the 26 00:01:35,580 --> 00:01:38,380 S2: New Testament to refer to brothers and sisters in Christ. 27 00:01:39,060 --> 00:01:42,300 S2: And the staff of both credit unions, truly and our members, 28 00:01:42,300 --> 00:01:45,220 S2: our brothers and sisters in Christ, coming together to build 29 00:01:45,220 --> 00:01:48,500 S2: a financial institution that is centered on Christ and dedicated 30 00:01:48,500 --> 00:01:52,220 S2: to advancing God's kingdom. And the moniker Christian banking is 31 00:01:52,220 --> 00:01:55,820 S2: a bold declaration of who we serve. As for timing, 32 00:01:55,820 --> 00:01:59,240 S2: we completed the merger on December 1st. For the next 33 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,200 S2: few months, you'll see both brands in the marketplace. The 34 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,800 S2: rollout of Adelphi Christian Banking will take place over the 35 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,760 S2: course of 2026, with notable milestones including the launch of 36 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:12,239 S2: a new website in Q2 and an enhanced digital banking 37 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:13,560 S2: experience in Q3. 38 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:18,080 S1: Wow, this is really exciting. So, Adelphi and Christian Community 39 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,959 S1: Credit Union coming together as Adelphi Christian Banking now, Aaron. 40 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,320 S1: Every merger, of course, brings unique strengths to the table. 41 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,120 S1: What stands out to you about each organization and how 42 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:34,200 S1: will bringing them together create something really special and even stronger? 43 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,560 S2: Well, both Christian Community Credit Union and Adelphi are Christ 44 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:44,040 S2: centered financial institutions with shared values, complementary strengths, and together 45 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:48,400 S2: we bring over 125 years of ministry focused experience. Wow. 46 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,560 S2: Adelphi tithes 10% of its earnings to Christian charities and 47 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,070 S2: mission sending agencies, for its part, gives a portion of 48 00:02:57,070 --> 00:02:59,430 S2: every swipe on its credit and debit cards to Christian 49 00:02:59,430 --> 00:03:04,350 S2: ministries over $6.5 million to date. Together, we will amplify 50 00:03:04,350 --> 00:03:08,270 S2: our giving increasing kingdom impact. Yeah. And with our union, 51 00:03:08,270 --> 00:03:11,510 S2: we will form the nation's largest Christian credit union, creating 52 00:03:11,510 --> 00:03:15,190 S2: a digital forward Christian banking experience that honors God and 53 00:03:15,190 --> 00:03:18,750 S2: meets members wherever they are in their financial journey. And 54 00:03:18,750 --> 00:03:22,470 S2: this merger also expands our lending capacity for churches, ministries 55 00:03:22,470 --> 00:03:26,510 S2: and Christian businesses and opens new opportunities to support gospel 56 00:03:26,510 --> 00:03:28,670 S2: centered causes and fuel Kingdom growth. 57 00:03:28,950 --> 00:03:32,589 S1: Wow. Yeah, it just seems like putting these two organizations 58 00:03:32,590 --> 00:03:37,150 S1: together means so much for not only the kingdom, but 59 00:03:37,150 --> 00:03:40,430 S1: also for those that will be using this as a 60 00:03:40,430 --> 00:03:43,990 S1: banking institution. Now, you've said this moment is significant for 61 00:03:43,990 --> 00:03:47,110 S1: the broader Christian banking community. So how do you see 62 00:03:47,110 --> 00:03:50,270 S1: this merger strengthening the industry and its influence in the 63 00:03:50,270 --> 00:03:50,750 S1: years ahead? 64 00:03:51,590 --> 00:03:55,090 S2: Well, Christian banking is a fairly small industry, And to 65 00:03:55,130 --> 00:03:57,810 S2: be frank, most Americans don't even know that a Christian 66 00:03:57,810 --> 00:04:02,050 S2: banking solution exists. Yeah. Thus, by merging, we're aligning our 67 00:04:02,050 --> 00:04:06,890 S2: resources to create more opportunity for awareness, growth, and kingdom impact. 68 00:04:07,490 --> 00:04:10,570 S2: Adelphi Christian Banking is now the clear leader in this space, 69 00:04:10,570 --> 00:04:13,810 S2: and we're just getting started. So we desire to be 70 00:04:13,810 --> 00:04:16,570 S2: the go to financial solution for Christ followers who seek 71 00:04:16,570 --> 00:04:19,770 S2: to align their finances with their faith and steward God's 72 00:04:19,770 --> 00:04:21,410 S2: resources to his glory. 73 00:04:21,650 --> 00:04:25,410 S1: That's really helpful. Aaron Christian banking isn't something you come 74 00:04:25,410 --> 00:04:28,609 S1: across every day. Would you say it's a bit countercultural? 75 00:04:29,010 --> 00:04:32,410 S2: Well, yeah. We've seen a major market shift among Christians 76 00:04:32,410 --> 00:04:34,529 S2: who are just plain fed up with how their secular 77 00:04:34,529 --> 00:04:37,849 S2: banks use their funds and the causes they support. They 78 00:04:37,850 --> 00:04:40,650 S2: instead want the resources God has entrusted with them to 79 00:04:40,690 --> 00:04:44,250 S2: be stewarded well and to honor him. So we're boldly 80 00:04:44,250 --> 00:04:46,690 S2: stating that there's a quality option to unite your Christian 81 00:04:46,690 --> 00:04:49,370 S2: faith with your finances, a place where your funds are 82 00:04:49,370 --> 00:04:53,590 S2: stewarded for kingdom impact and gospel expansion. These principles contrast 83 00:04:53,589 --> 00:04:56,670 S2: greatly with the worldly priorities of our culture. So therefore, 84 00:04:56,670 --> 00:04:59,589 S2: banking with your Christian values could be considered countercultural. 85 00:04:59,630 --> 00:05:02,990 S1: Yeah, that's well said. Aaron, really excited about this merger. 86 00:05:02,990 --> 00:05:04,430 S1: Thanks for sharing the big news. 87 00:05:04,830 --> 00:05:06,429 S2: Thank you. Thanks for having me, Rob. 88 00:05:06,750 --> 00:05:10,510 S1: Our guest has been Aaron Cade with Adelphi Christian Banking. 89 00:05:10,550 --> 00:05:14,510 S1: It's clear this new identity reflects a unified vision. And 90 00:05:14,550 --> 00:05:16,589 S1: what an opportunity for you. To learn more, go to 91 00:05:16,630 --> 00:05:22,710 S1: faith banking. That's faith. We'll be right back. 92 00:05:33,990 --> 00:05:37,350 S3: The opinions offered during this program represent the personal or 93 00:05:37,350 --> 00:05:42,230 S3: professional opinions of the participants, given for informational purposes only. 94 00:05:42,470 --> 00:05:46,029 S3: Any information provided is not intended to replace advice from 95 00:05:46,029 --> 00:05:50,790 S3: a financial, medical, legal, or other professional who understands your 96 00:05:50,790 --> 00:05:52,330 S3: specific situation. 97 00:05:58,210 --> 00:05:59,850 S1: Great to have you with us today on Faith and 98 00:05:59,850 --> 00:06:06,050 S1: Finance Live. Again, that website is faith.com/banking. If you want 99 00:06:06,089 --> 00:06:09,570 S1: to learn more about the combination of Christian Community Credit 100 00:06:09,570 --> 00:06:16,370 S1: Union and Adelphi as the new significantly by a lot largest, uh, 101 00:06:16,410 --> 00:06:21,650 S1: Christian banking solution in the country. Adelphi Christian banking. All right. 102 00:06:21,650 --> 00:06:23,770 S1: I've got a favor to ask before we dive into 103 00:06:23,770 --> 00:06:26,130 S1: the questions today. And by the way, uh, now's a 104 00:06:26,130 --> 00:06:28,170 S1: good time to call. So if you do have a question, 105 00:06:28,170 --> 00:06:35,010 S1: call 800 525 7000. That's 800 525 7000. All right. 106 00:06:35,010 --> 00:06:38,409 S1: To that favor. If you, uh, are a client of 107 00:06:38,410 --> 00:06:40,730 S1: a certified Kingdom advisor. So I know a lot of 108 00:06:40,730 --> 00:06:44,410 S1: you listen to this program, uh, over the years have said, yeah, 109 00:06:44,450 --> 00:06:46,969 S1: I want an advisor who shares my values and has 110 00:06:46,970 --> 00:06:51,229 S1: been trained to bring advice rooted in a biblical worldview 111 00:06:51,270 --> 00:06:55,070 S1: that is professional and competent, but aligns with the heart 112 00:06:55,070 --> 00:06:58,070 S1: of God in Scripture. Uh, you've reached out to and 113 00:06:58,070 --> 00:07:00,870 S1: connected with a certified Kingdom advisor. We hear from you 114 00:07:00,870 --> 00:07:02,910 S1: all the time. You say, I'm so thankful that I 115 00:07:02,950 --> 00:07:06,270 S1: found a CX in my area. Well, we are doing 116 00:07:06,270 --> 00:07:11,710 S1: a national research project, and we're studying the impact of 117 00:07:11,710 --> 00:07:17,310 S1: advice from a traditional advisor versus advice given by a 118 00:07:17,310 --> 00:07:21,270 S1: certified Kingdom advisor. And we're doing that both with advisors. 119 00:07:21,270 --> 00:07:26,470 S1: So we're surveying through this national research project. We're surveying 120 00:07:26,510 --> 00:07:30,150 S1: advisors who are not sikayet. And then we're doing the 121 00:07:30,150 --> 00:07:33,070 S1: same survey with the Kas. And we're going to compare 122 00:07:33,070 --> 00:07:37,190 S1: and contrast the outcomes and the fulfillment and really just 123 00:07:37,230 --> 00:07:40,030 S1: how it's impacting their work and their life and their 124 00:07:40,030 --> 00:07:43,230 S1: planning outcomes and the topics they deal with and the 125 00:07:43,390 --> 00:07:47,430 S1: intergenerational communication, all those issues. But we're also conducting a 126 00:07:47,430 --> 00:07:52,820 S1: survey directly with clients. And so we're surveying those who 127 00:07:52,820 --> 00:07:56,420 S1: are currently with a certified Kingdom advisor and those who 128 00:07:56,420 --> 00:08:00,900 S1: are not. Now for the non the clients of of 129 00:08:00,940 --> 00:08:03,500 S1: an advisor who is not a CX, we have reached 130 00:08:03,500 --> 00:08:06,059 S1: all that we need for that, but we are still 131 00:08:06,060 --> 00:08:10,820 S1: looking for some folks, a couple of hundred, uh, over 132 00:08:10,820 --> 00:08:14,540 S1: the next month, uh, to complete the survey, if you 133 00:08:14,580 --> 00:08:17,140 S1: are a client of a certified Kingdom advisor. So if 134 00:08:17,140 --> 00:08:19,420 S1: that's you, you're like, yeah, I've got one of those, 135 00:08:19,420 --> 00:08:21,060 S1: and you'd be willing to give us ten minutes of 136 00:08:21,060 --> 00:08:23,820 S1: your time for this anonymous survey that will not be 137 00:08:23,820 --> 00:08:26,660 S1: shared with us individually, and it will not be shared 138 00:08:26,660 --> 00:08:30,740 S1: with your advisor individually. It's all anonymous. Then I've got 139 00:08:30,740 --> 00:08:32,740 S1: a link for you. I need you to go to faith. 140 00:08:35,500 --> 00:08:41,979 S1: That's faith. Again, it'll take you 10 to 12 minutes. 141 00:08:41,980 --> 00:08:44,580 S1: And if you are an active client of a certified 142 00:08:44,580 --> 00:08:47,560 S1: Kingdom advisor and you'd be willing to complete it. I'm 143 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:50,720 S1: so excited about what we're going to uncover just as 144 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,359 S1: we further study. I mean, we know anecdotally the impact 145 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:56,720 S1: of you being with a certified Kingdom advisor, but we 146 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:59,040 S1: want to look at that in the aggregate and really 147 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:03,240 S1: have some, uh, some data that we can trust that, uh, 148 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,600 S1: you know, with a research project, uh, you know, that 149 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:11,960 S1: that really meets all the standards, uh, for a really thoughtful, uh, project. 150 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:16,079 S1: So that's what we're doing, the website again, faithfully. And 151 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,840 S1: if you would, uh, join that, we would be very, 152 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:21,000 S1: very grateful. All right. We're going to begin taking your 153 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,679 S1: calls here in just a moment. That number 800 525 154 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:30,240 S1: 7000 again. That's 800 525 7000. We'd love to hear 155 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:33,559 S1: from you today. Uh, in the news today, uh, there's 156 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:37,320 S1: a lot being talked about related to the Trump accounts. 157 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:39,600 S1: You might say. Wait a minute. What is that? Well, 158 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,280 S1: I'll get to that. But first, what's, uh, what's making 159 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:47,100 S1: news this week? Is that tech CEO Michael Dell and 160 00:09:47,100 --> 00:09:51,220 S1: his wife, Susan. So think Dell computer. Yeah, that Michael Dell, 161 00:09:51,420 --> 00:09:56,460 S1: he just pledged $6.25 billion with a B on giving 162 00:09:56,500 --> 00:10:01,620 S1: Tuesday to help jump start these new children's savings account. 163 00:10:01,660 --> 00:10:05,660 S1: Now their gift could enable about 25 million kids here 164 00:10:05,660 --> 00:10:10,300 S1: in the United States, ages ten and under, that were 165 00:10:10,300 --> 00:10:15,540 S1: born before January 1st, 2025, and living in moderate income 166 00:10:15,540 --> 00:10:20,500 S1: ZIP codes to receive a $250 deposit to begin saving 167 00:10:20,500 --> 00:10:24,540 S1: for the future. Now, these Trump accounts function like long 168 00:10:24,580 --> 00:10:30,140 S1: term investment IRAs for kids starting July 4th, 2026. You 169 00:10:30,140 --> 00:10:33,260 S1: know what that date is? Families can contribute up to 170 00:10:33,300 --> 00:10:40,140 S1: $5,000 a year, and newborns from 2025 to 2028 will 171 00:10:40,140 --> 00:10:45,440 S1: automatically get a $1,000 government deposit. Now the money grows 172 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,000 S1: tax deferred and can later be used for education. But 173 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,480 S1: it goes beyond that job training, a first home, even 174 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,160 S1: starting a business. So the Trump accounts. And by the way, 175 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:56,400 S1: if you want to learn more you can go to 176 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:00,400 S1: Trump accounts. Gov to read up on this. What is 177 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:03,760 S1: already in place is the children that are born between 178 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:09,240 S1: January 1st, 2025 through the year 2028. They're going to 179 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,480 S1: get that government funded Trump account with a one time 180 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:18,520 S1: $1,000 deposit. And then beginning July 4th, 2026, that's where 181 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:22,800 S1: families can begin adding to that $5,000 a year, what 182 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,320 S1: Michael Dell has enabled and you'll see it Trump accounts.gov. 183 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:30,800 S1: They're actually asking for other business owners like Dell. Those 184 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,560 S1: who are very well off. Mr. Dell would be in 185 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:38,680 S1: that category uh to pledge like he has to actually 186 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:44,820 S1: expand this beyond newborns to those ten and younger. Uh, that, uh, 187 00:11:44,820 --> 00:11:48,660 S1: that were born prior to January 1st, 2025. Now they're 188 00:11:48,660 --> 00:11:51,340 S1: not going to get a thousand like those born after 189 00:11:51,340 --> 00:11:54,740 S1: January 1st, 2025, but they are going to get 250, 190 00:11:55,059 --> 00:11:59,460 S1: but it's going to create the account and then allow 191 00:11:59,500 --> 00:12:01,939 S1: mom and dad and grandparents to come in and continue 192 00:12:01,940 --> 00:12:04,500 S1: to fund it. So a lot we're learning about this. 193 00:12:04,500 --> 00:12:07,140 S1: This is just remarkable. I mean, can you imagine a 194 00:12:07,140 --> 00:12:10,700 S1: $6 billion gift to be able to fund these accounts 195 00:12:10,700 --> 00:12:14,180 S1: for these children, go to Trump accounts.gov. We're also hearing 196 00:12:14,179 --> 00:12:17,700 S1: one other thing. And this is just phenomenal, is that 197 00:12:17,860 --> 00:12:21,939 S1: donor advised funds are going to be permitted to contribute 198 00:12:21,940 --> 00:12:25,260 S1: to these accounts. And this is just unheard of. Uh, 199 00:12:25,260 --> 00:12:27,940 S1: you know, donor advised funds. We talk about those often. 200 00:12:27,940 --> 00:12:30,940 S1: It's one of my favorite giving tools where you put 201 00:12:30,940 --> 00:12:33,940 S1: money or assets in, you get the immediate deduction and 202 00:12:33,940 --> 00:12:36,740 S1: then you can recommend grants out of it. Well, normally 203 00:12:36,740 --> 00:12:40,020 S1: that can only go to a 501 C3, including your 204 00:12:40,020 --> 00:12:43,330 S1: church or another ministry. But what we're hearing is that 205 00:12:43,330 --> 00:12:46,890 S1: the legislation is going to allow contributions out of a 206 00:12:46,929 --> 00:12:50,530 S1: donor advised fund, and one of those approved entities beyond 207 00:12:50,530 --> 00:12:53,530 S1: a 501, C three is a Trump account. And so 208 00:12:53,530 --> 00:12:56,250 S1: they'll be able to be funded up to 5000 a 209 00:12:56,250 --> 00:13:01,050 S1: year through 2028 out of a donor advised fund. Incredible. Um, 210 00:13:01,090 --> 00:13:03,170 S1: there'll be a lot more on this in the days ahead. 211 00:13:03,170 --> 00:13:07,530 S1: We'll be covering it between now and July 4th, 2026. 212 00:13:07,530 --> 00:13:10,890 S1: But just something to have on your radar, because undoubtedly 213 00:13:10,890 --> 00:13:13,810 S1: it's going to affect a lot of our listeners and 214 00:13:13,809 --> 00:13:15,170 S1: you're going to want to know about it again, that 215 00:13:15,170 --> 00:13:20,010 S1: website Trump accounts.org. Uh, let me just wrap this up. 216 00:13:20,010 --> 00:13:21,850 S1: And by the way, after the break, we will be 217 00:13:21,850 --> 00:13:24,050 S1: taking your calls and questions. So if you have one 218 00:13:24,090 --> 00:13:28,929 S1: 800 525 7000. If you want to open a donor 219 00:13:28,929 --> 00:13:31,450 S1: advised fund, the place to do it in my view, 220 00:13:31,450 --> 00:13:35,330 S1: is the National Christian Foundation. And here's why. The money 221 00:13:35,330 --> 00:13:40,270 S1: gets granted out by you to the the 501 C3 222 00:13:40,510 --> 00:13:44,069 S1: at your direction. The IRS says as long as their 223 00:13:44,070 --> 00:13:48,550 S1: 501 C3 they qualify, but the donor advised fund sponsor 224 00:13:48,550 --> 00:13:50,870 S1: could shut it down if for some reason they had 225 00:13:50,870 --> 00:13:54,590 S1: a list of ministries that they didn't agree with. Doesn't 226 00:13:54,590 --> 00:13:57,830 S1: happen often. Could it happen? Absolutely. So that's why I 227 00:13:57,830 --> 00:14:00,710 S1: think being aligned with the donor advised fund sponsor who 228 00:14:00,750 --> 00:14:05,030 S1: understands your Christian values is really important. And that's why 229 00:14:05,030 --> 00:14:07,710 S1: the National Christian Foundation is a place to go. So 230 00:14:07,750 --> 00:14:10,309 S1: if you want to open a giving fund here in December, 231 00:14:10,309 --> 00:14:15,190 S1: just head to faith. Com. All right. We're going to 232 00:14:15,190 --> 00:14:16,950 S1: take a break. I know I had a lot for 233 00:14:16,950 --> 00:14:19,350 S1: you in that segment. So we'll dive into your questions 234 00:14:19,350 --> 00:14:32,510 S1: after this. 800 525 7000. We'll be right back. Great 235 00:14:32,510 --> 00:14:34,990 S1: to have you with us today on faith and finance. Live. Well. 236 00:14:34,990 --> 00:14:36,990 S1: The calls are coming in. We've got three lines open 237 00:14:37,130 --> 00:14:41,490 S1: 800 525 7000. Let's go to Florida. Peter. Go ahead. 238 00:14:42,610 --> 00:14:45,890 S4: Steve. Good afternoon. Rob. Thanks for taking my call. 239 00:14:46,090 --> 00:14:47,010 S1: Of course sir. 240 00:14:47,810 --> 00:14:51,810 S4: Just want to let you know that you and your team, 241 00:14:52,770 --> 00:14:55,210 S4: it's a great thing you do. I've listened to you 242 00:14:55,210 --> 00:14:58,170 S4: a few times on the road, and, um, the people 243 00:14:58,170 --> 00:15:01,970 S4: that you help out and, uh, it's just, uh, it's 244 00:15:01,970 --> 00:15:04,730 S4: definitely a good ministry. So thank you for that, man. 245 00:15:05,010 --> 00:15:07,210 S1: Well, thank you for saying that, Peter. I appreciate that 246 00:15:07,210 --> 00:15:09,890 S1: a lot. And I would second the idea that my 247 00:15:09,890 --> 00:15:12,850 S1: team is what makes all this happen. They are amazing. 248 00:15:12,850 --> 00:15:14,130 S1: But how can I help you today? 249 00:15:14,850 --> 00:15:19,770 S4: Well, I've been super blessed. And, uh, my wife and I, and, uh, 250 00:15:20,530 --> 00:15:23,530 S4: you know, God, God is. He can do things in 251 00:15:23,530 --> 00:15:26,490 S4: a few years that some people work a lot of 252 00:15:26,490 --> 00:15:29,850 S4: years to do. Um, but anyway, I got a business partner, 253 00:15:29,890 --> 00:15:33,570 S4: and we started a company ten years ago, and and, uh, 254 00:15:34,290 --> 00:15:36,950 S4: about five years into it, we started doing really good 255 00:15:36,990 --> 00:15:41,310 S4: and it's construction and, um, you know, we've been able 256 00:15:41,310 --> 00:15:47,830 S4: to build the church in Haiti and multiple construction projects and, uh, 257 00:15:47,830 --> 00:15:52,150 S4: Honduras and El Salvador. And so it's been it's been 258 00:15:52,150 --> 00:15:56,270 S4: an incredible ride. And, and we've saved a lot of money. 259 00:15:56,310 --> 00:15:59,070 S4: My wife and I are pretty, we're super frugal and 260 00:15:59,510 --> 00:16:04,550 S4: we don't do extravagant things. And, uh, so we didn't 261 00:16:04,550 --> 00:16:07,670 S4: really have a retirement. We've been saving up these dividend checks, and, well, 262 00:16:07,670 --> 00:16:13,350 S4: we put we put some in an account, uh, like 250,000, 263 00:16:13,390 --> 00:16:15,950 S4: in an account with a LPL financial. And I'm not 264 00:16:15,950 --> 00:16:19,070 S4: sure if Kyle's a certified Kingdom advisor. I'm going to 265 00:16:19,070 --> 00:16:19,710 S4: find out. 266 00:16:20,390 --> 00:16:20,870 S1: Okay. 267 00:16:20,990 --> 00:16:23,990 S4: He does love Jesus, and he does care about helping 268 00:16:23,990 --> 00:16:26,110 S4: us to do well with some retirement. 269 00:16:26,110 --> 00:16:28,390 S1: But yeah, well, let me just say, when you do 270 00:16:28,390 --> 00:16:31,110 S1: have that conversation, tell him that if he's not, he 271 00:16:31,110 --> 00:16:35,410 S1: can become one. And there's a huge and growing community 272 00:16:35,410 --> 00:16:39,490 S1: of CCAs inside LPL right now, and they have a 273 00:16:39,530 --> 00:16:43,250 S1: community where they meet monthly on, you know, on electronically 274 00:16:43,250 --> 00:16:47,170 S1: with a national conference call, and they get together at 275 00:16:47,170 --> 00:16:49,450 S1: our conference every year. So not only can he get 276 00:16:49,450 --> 00:16:52,050 S1: the designation, but he can plug into a community of 277 00:16:52,050 --> 00:16:56,050 S1: other believing advisors within LPL, which is really cool. 278 00:16:56,810 --> 00:16:59,850 S4: All right. I will definitely mention that to him and 279 00:16:59,850 --> 00:17:03,530 S4: find out. So anyway, we put some money in an 280 00:17:03,530 --> 00:17:06,850 S4: account and we talked about a retirement plan and, uh, 281 00:17:07,250 --> 00:17:10,490 S4: you know, hey, this is what we'd like to do. 282 00:17:10,530 --> 00:17:13,210 S4: And so. Okay, we'll see how we can get you there. Well, 283 00:17:13,210 --> 00:17:19,330 S4: then I, uh, I got this letter from Oxford Communique, and, and, uh, 284 00:17:20,210 --> 00:17:23,409 S4: I signed up and got some stock tips, and a 285 00:17:23,410 --> 00:17:26,930 S4: friend of mine's wife works at, uh, Edward Jones. So 286 00:17:26,930 --> 00:17:28,650 S4: I said, hey, will you purchase these stocks? I think 287 00:17:28,650 --> 00:17:31,130 S4: they're going to do good. One of them was Berkshire 288 00:17:31,170 --> 00:17:34,320 S4: Hathaway about five years, six years ago. Man, it's done. Amazing. 289 00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:37,320 S4: And a couple other ones have done good. And and 290 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,800 S4: so I've got this account with like 250 grand in it. 291 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,280 S4: And I've got, uh, with the stocks and then I've 292 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:48,520 S4: got this one with, uh, LPL that's like 400 now. 293 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,040 S4: And I just wonder if it would be smarter to 294 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:55,520 S4: combine those. Take the stock money and put it in 295 00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:00,760 S4: the LPL so it would grow quicker and maybe consolidate it. And, 296 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,400 S4: and I just was hoping you would give me some 297 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:05,720 S4: good advice on that because you have some wisdom. 298 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,960 S1: Well, I appreciate that and I will certainly try. You know, 299 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,800 S1: I like that a lot. I mean, obviously you pick 300 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,640 S1: the stock and you picked a good one. I love 301 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:18,119 S1: Berkshire Hathaway and, uh, you know, it has obviously done very, 302 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:20,600 S1: very well. But I think one of the benefits of 303 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,399 S1: you moving that over to your LPL account is not 304 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,360 S1: only having everything in one under one roof can often 305 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:31,260 S1: reduce fees, because usually there's price breaks when you get 306 00:18:31,260 --> 00:18:34,100 S1: over a certain amount, maybe at 250. And then if 307 00:18:34,140 --> 00:18:37,859 S1: you get over 500,000, maybe you get a price break there. 308 00:18:38,060 --> 00:18:41,460 S1: It simplifies the paperwork because now you're just getting tax 309 00:18:41,460 --> 00:18:44,780 S1: documents from one, you know, custodian instead of two. You're 310 00:18:44,780 --> 00:18:48,060 S1: not getting monthly statements from both, but it allows you 311 00:18:48,060 --> 00:18:53,420 S1: to make the investment strategy more consistent and have one person, 312 00:18:53,580 --> 00:18:57,340 S1: ideally a fiduciary, which is probably what your LPL advisor is, 313 00:18:57,340 --> 00:18:59,900 S1: where he or she is legally bound to put your 314 00:18:59,900 --> 00:19:04,460 S1: interests above their own, and you can avoid duplication or 315 00:19:04,460 --> 00:19:10,060 S1: conflicting strategies with the various investments in the accounts. And so, 316 00:19:10,180 --> 00:19:13,180 S1: you know, you've had a stock that's been a big winner, 317 00:19:13,340 --> 00:19:17,660 S1: but you're probably more highly concentrated in that one investment. 318 00:19:18,060 --> 00:19:20,020 S1: When you look at how much you have in that 319 00:19:20,020 --> 00:19:26,300 S1: one investment versus your total investable assets of about 650,000 320 00:19:26,540 --> 00:19:29,179 S1: such that, you know, it would be good, I think, 321 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,920 S1: even though it may continue to do well. And maybe 322 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,840 S1: you keep it. You know, I would say in one 323 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:37,879 S1: particular investment like that, I wouldn't want more than 10%. 324 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:43,000 S1: So that'd be 65,000 of your 650. Um, but it 325 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,320 S1: would allow you to take a good bit of that, 326 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:48,520 S1: including all the profits that you've got, uh, because it 327 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:52,199 S1: was a winner, and move it into a more diversified 328 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:57,280 S1: position so that you're just not unnecessarily concentrated, you know, 329 00:19:57,320 --> 00:19:59,399 S1: beyond what I would say would be, you know, a 330 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:01,680 S1: max of 10%. Does that make sense? 331 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:07,640 S4: Yes it does. Okay. Yeah. So. Well there is that's 332 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:09,200 S4: just one stock that I did. It was good. Some 333 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:10,920 S4: of them didn't do so good. I probably have about 334 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,400 S4: 25 in the in the portfolio thing. You know I'm 335 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,000 S4: not super educated. But like I said man, God's been 336 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,719 S4: super good to us. And and you know as well 337 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:23,240 S4: as I do you cannot give them. 338 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,600 S1: That's exactly right. Well a couple of thoughts there. Number 339 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,940 S1: one is, I mean, you know, the bottom line is 340 00:20:29,940 --> 00:20:32,540 S1: you having this money, which is a significant sum of 341 00:20:32,540 --> 00:20:36,060 S1: money that the Lord has entrusted to you with an advisor, 342 00:20:36,100 --> 00:20:39,700 S1: regardless of whether you know you're good or you know 343 00:20:39,780 --> 00:20:42,540 S1: or not at picking investments, having somebody who can take 344 00:20:42,540 --> 00:20:46,580 S1: a rules based approach where it's, you know, their responsibility 345 00:20:46,820 --> 00:20:49,900 S1: can make sure you're properly diversified, not make emotional buy 346 00:20:49,900 --> 00:20:52,620 S1: and sell decisions when something goes up or goes down. 347 00:20:52,900 --> 00:20:55,020 S1: I think it's just always the better approach. So when 348 00:20:55,020 --> 00:20:58,899 S1: we're talking about a a sum of that amount, I 349 00:20:58,940 --> 00:21:01,780 S1: much prefer you having that with an advisor, unless you 350 00:21:01,780 --> 00:21:04,459 S1: just have a unique skill set and the time, you know, 351 00:21:04,500 --> 00:21:06,460 S1: to manage it yourself, and you can do it in 352 00:21:06,460 --> 00:21:09,219 S1: a way that doesn't, uh, you know, cause you to 353 00:21:09,260 --> 00:21:12,420 S1: react emotionally. But let me also just affirm what you 354 00:21:12,420 --> 00:21:15,580 S1: said there, because I love what you're doing. God has 355 00:21:15,580 --> 00:21:18,060 S1: obviously blessed your business. I love what you're doing with 356 00:21:18,060 --> 00:21:20,860 S1: these churches around the world. You know, money is meant 357 00:21:20,859 --> 00:21:24,700 S1: for kingdom impact. I mean, everything you've earned, saved, built 358 00:21:24,700 --> 00:21:28,730 S1: or invested Did flows from God and is intended to 359 00:21:28,770 --> 00:21:31,649 S1: serve people and glorify him. He's the giver. Money is 360 00:21:31,690 --> 00:21:34,010 S1: a tool, and as we like to say, you can't 361 00:21:34,010 --> 00:21:37,649 S1: serve God and money, but you can serve God with money. 362 00:21:37,650 --> 00:21:40,690 S1: And you're doing that, my friend. And your testimony today, 363 00:21:41,090 --> 00:21:43,970 S1: I'm confident, has been an encouragement to many of our listeners. 364 00:21:43,970 --> 00:21:47,210 S1: So thanks for calling. God bless you, my friend. Take care. 365 00:21:47,410 --> 00:22:01,170 S1: We'll be right back on faith and finance live. So 366 00:22:01,170 --> 00:22:03,330 S1: glad you're with us today on Faith and finance live. 367 00:22:03,330 --> 00:22:05,649 S1: I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions. We 368 00:22:05,650 --> 00:22:07,330 S1: do have a few lines open, so if you have 369 00:22:07,330 --> 00:22:11,090 S1: a financial question. We've got half the program remaining and 370 00:22:11,090 --> 00:22:15,170 S1: a few lines ready for you. 800 525 7000. Let's 371 00:22:15,170 --> 00:22:17,450 S1: head out to Idaho. Cara. Go ahead. 372 00:22:18,810 --> 00:22:22,010 S5: Yes. Hi. Thanks for taking my call. First time. Of course. 373 00:22:22,050 --> 00:22:24,130 S5: Doing this. Um. Oh. That's great. I do try to 374 00:22:24,510 --> 00:22:26,830 S5: listen to your show regularly. So I really appreciate all 375 00:22:26,830 --> 00:22:27,990 S5: your great advice and. 376 00:22:28,030 --> 00:22:28,430 S1: Well, thank. 377 00:22:28,430 --> 00:22:33,350 S5: You. Just your biblical perspective here. So, um, question, um, 378 00:22:33,390 --> 00:22:39,310 S5: when using a loan and and we did get a HELOC, um, 379 00:22:39,869 --> 00:22:45,070 S5: at roughly, you know, 7% and we do have some 380 00:22:45,510 --> 00:22:49,470 S5: credit cards, um, that are, that we need to take 381 00:22:49,470 --> 00:22:53,710 S5: care of. So it's roughly about 80 K. And so 382 00:22:53,750 --> 00:22:58,949 S5: I guess I'm wondering, does it make sense to switch 383 00:22:59,430 --> 00:23:03,590 S5: to the lower rate and use the loan? We do 384 00:23:03,590 --> 00:23:07,669 S5: have some house projects as well. Um, okay. So I'm 385 00:23:07,670 --> 00:23:09,110 S5: just wondering what makes sense here. 386 00:23:09,390 --> 00:23:12,149 S1: Yeah, it's a good question. And I can see how 387 00:23:12,590 --> 00:23:15,550 S1: it might look attractive because at face value we say, well, 388 00:23:15,550 --> 00:23:19,469 S1: wait a minute, why would I, you know, not swap 24% 389 00:23:19,470 --> 00:23:22,510 S1: or whatever that credit card interest rate is for seven 390 00:23:22,710 --> 00:23:26,250 S1: and maybe it's falling because as rates come down, that 391 00:23:26,290 --> 00:23:30,570 S1: HELOC probably has a variable rate. The problem is really twofold. 392 00:23:30,570 --> 00:23:35,610 S1: Number one, you're making unsecured debt secured. And so now 393 00:23:35,609 --> 00:23:37,850 S1: your home is on the line. So I realized we 394 00:23:37,850 --> 00:23:40,490 S1: might say well I don't plan on defaulting. I mean 395 00:23:40,490 --> 00:23:42,570 S1: I'm going to keep this thing current. And and I 396 00:23:42,570 --> 00:23:45,850 S1: would say, well, that's great. But what if the unknown, 397 00:23:45,890 --> 00:23:49,689 S1: the unexpected comes. There's a disruption in income, a loss 398 00:23:49,690 --> 00:23:52,050 S1: of a job. Now all of a sudden, instead of 399 00:23:52,050 --> 00:23:55,609 S1: risking a judgment against you for an unsecured debt, you're 400 00:23:55,609 --> 00:23:57,770 S1: putting your home at risk. So that's the first issue. 401 00:23:57,770 --> 00:24:00,970 S1: The second issue is, you know, often when we come 402 00:24:00,970 --> 00:24:03,729 S1: in and wipe out the credit card debt, and I 403 00:24:03,730 --> 00:24:06,210 S1: don't know what led to the debt in your situation, 404 00:24:06,210 --> 00:24:09,690 S1: maybe it was a single event or a medical issue, 405 00:24:10,010 --> 00:24:12,010 S1: but if it was like most people and it was 406 00:24:12,010 --> 00:24:15,690 S1: just lifestyle spending beyond your means, and I'm not pointing fingers, 407 00:24:15,690 --> 00:24:19,409 S1: it's easy to do. We've all been there, um, often 408 00:24:19,410 --> 00:24:21,330 S1: when we come in and wipe it out and we 409 00:24:21,470 --> 00:24:23,950 S1: take that pressure off and we take the deep breath. 410 00:24:23,950 --> 00:24:26,310 S1: And you know, we know we got that interest rate down. 411 00:24:26,310 --> 00:24:28,070 S1: We just kind of take our foot off the gas 412 00:24:28,109 --> 00:24:30,670 S1: a little bit in terms of our, you know, being 413 00:24:30,670 --> 00:24:36,550 S1: diligent around dialing back spending, living within our means, being 414 00:24:36,550 --> 00:24:39,190 S1: content with what you know, we have in terms of 415 00:24:39,190 --> 00:24:43,190 S1: income and trying to make the hard choices to balance 416 00:24:43,190 --> 00:24:46,149 S1: the budget so that you, you know, not only can 417 00:24:46,150 --> 00:24:49,109 S1: get through the month, but also have something a little 418 00:24:49,109 --> 00:24:51,190 S1: surplus left at the end of the month. And so 419 00:24:51,590 --> 00:24:55,710 S1: my preferred approach, rather than a HELOC for credit card debt, 420 00:24:56,030 --> 00:24:58,350 S1: is to leave it right where it is and slide 421 00:24:58,350 --> 00:25:01,229 S1: it into a credit counseling program with our friends at 422 00:25:01,230 --> 00:25:05,390 S1: Christian Credit Counselors. When you do that, the interest rates 423 00:25:05,390 --> 00:25:08,109 S1: will drop. It depends on the creditor, but usually somewhere 424 00:25:08,109 --> 00:25:13,350 S1: between 0 and 10%. And you'll have a level monthly payment, 425 00:25:13,350 --> 00:25:16,470 S1: let's say 3% of the balance, except as the balance 426 00:25:16,470 --> 00:25:20,129 S1: is coming down, especially with that lower interest rate, That 427 00:25:20,130 --> 00:25:22,690 S1: level payment means you're sending a higher and higher percentage 428 00:25:22,690 --> 00:25:25,370 S1: of the balance every month. The combination of those two 429 00:25:25,369 --> 00:25:29,090 S1: things will help you pay it off 80% faster. And 430 00:25:29,090 --> 00:25:31,930 S1: then the goal is to, you know, continue to do 431 00:25:31,930 --> 00:25:35,410 S1: the hard work to dial back spending so that once 432 00:25:35,410 --> 00:25:38,250 S1: the debt is paid off, we don't ever go back 433 00:25:38,250 --> 00:25:41,730 S1: there again. So that would be my preferred approach. And 434 00:25:41,730 --> 00:25:44,649 S1: then use the help only for those things that are 435 00:25:44,650 --> 00:25:48,770 S1: truly going to add value to the home. Uh, you know, 436 00:25:48,810 --> 00:25:50,970 S1: which is, I think, a proper use for a home 437 00:25:50,970 --> 00:25:53,250 S1: equity line of credit. But give me your thoughts on that. 438 00:25:53,970 --> 00:25:58,010 S5: Mhm. Yeah. No I, I agree with all of that 439 00:25:58,010 --> 00:26:01,730 S5: for sure. Um I do kind of have um, a 440 00:26:01,970 --> 00:26:06,570 S5: second part that's a little bit unrelated to the first question, 441 00:26:06,570 --> 00:26:10,889 S5: but I definitely agree that, um, just swapping the loans, 442 00:26:11,050 --> 00:26:14,770 S5: you know, just for the interest rate is definitely risky, 443 00:26:14,770 --> 00:26:19,600 S5: but it it is attractive because obviously with the rate 444 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:24,040 S5: being so much lower. Um, so, um, like I said, 445 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:29,120 S5: a little bit unrelated, but, um, for our retirement, we, 446 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:31,880 S5: we basically we have a couple rentals. One of them 447 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:36,399 S5: is not making any, um, you know, any gains for us. 448 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,320 S5: We're just kind of just it's just a wash. Um, 449 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:44,040 S5: and so I'm wondering, um, and we each, my husband 450 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:47,400 S5: and I, we each have, um, you know, a little, 451 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:53,479 S5: a small, little, um, nest egg in an IRA, you know, 100, um, 452 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:57,479 S5: K and then a 200 K. Um, but and but 453 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,360 S5: I've always kind of thought, well, our rentals will be 454 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:03,000 S5: kind of really for our retirement, but we don't have 455 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:07,320 S5: an emergency fund. So I guess I'm wondering, um, is 456 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,080 S5: the best thing to do would be to, like, say, 457 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:12,760 S5: sell it this spring, sell the one that's not making 458 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:16,360 S5: us any money, and then invest that money in, say 459 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,500 S5: like mutual funds or what would be the best approach 460 00:27:19,500 --> 00:27:23,619 S5: to get us set up a little better, um, for retirement? 461 00:27:24,060 --> 00:27:27,620 S1: Yeah, it's a good question. And, you know, the emergency 462 00:27:27,619 --> 00:27:30,300 S1: fund is really something that we wouldn't invest. I mean, 463 00:27:30,340 --> 00:27:34,139 S1: that's for the unexpected. So that would be liquid savings 464 00:27:34,420 --> 00:27:38,660 S1: personally of 3 to 6 months expenses. And then I 465 00:27:38,660 --> 00:27:40,820 S1: would say, if you're going to be a landlord and 466 00:27:40,820 --> 00:27:43,660 S1: you already are, you would want 3 to 6 months 467 00:27:43,660 --> 00:27:48,100 S1: of rental expenses in addition to that. And so I 468 00:27:48,100 --> 00:27:50,620 S1: would say, you know, that would be your primary goal. 469 00:27:50,619 --> 00:27:53,420 S1: So if you did end up selling one and even 470 00:27:53,420 --> 00:27:56,460 S1: though it's not generating any income right now, I mean, 471 00:27:56,500 --> 00:27:59,540 S1: if at the very least it's covering all the expenses, 472 00:27:59,540 --> 00:28:03,460 S1: the debt service, the, you know, the insurance, the taxes, 473 00:28:03,780 --> 00:28:07,820 S1: the the maintenance, the marketing, you know, improvements. I mean, 474 00:28:07,859 --> 00:28:11,620 S1: at least you're, you know, you're building wealth by way of, 475 00:28:11,900 --> 00:28:14,820 S1: you know, they're helping you pay the mortgage and it's 476 00:28:14,820 --> 00:28:17,479 S1: hopefully appreciating such that you're going to have an asset 477 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:21,359 S1: either to liquidate and invest in retirement to generate income, 478 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:24,879 S1: or just to hold and throw off cash flow that 479 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:29,080 S1: could supplement Social Security and investments. So I like that. 480 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:32,760 S1: And obviously there's expenses involved in selling it. But I 481 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:34,800 S1: think the key is to your point, if you don't 482 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:38,720 S1: have an emergency fund, starting with that personal emergency fund, 483 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,640 S1: we are in a bit of a risky situation where, 484 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:44,600 S1: especially with the existing credit card debt, if something comes 485 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:47,200 S1: out of left field, you know you don't have the 486 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,280 S1: ability to handle it apart from adding to the credit 487 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:52,960 S1: card debt. So in that case, it may make sense 488 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:55,280 S1: to go ahead and sell the one that's not throwing 489 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:57,760 S1: off any income. But if you did that, I would 490 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:01,600 S1: shore up the 3 to 6 months of emergency expenses 491 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:05,040 S1: not in the market, but in a high yield savings account. 492 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:09,360 S1: And then, you know, maybe fully fund your your rental 493 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:13,440 S1: emergency fund. And then at that point we're looking at, okay, 494 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,380 S1: do we start saving for the purchase of another property, 495 00:29:16,380 --> 00:29:19,340 S1: or do we just start piling any surplus, especially once 496 00:29:19,340 --> 00:29:24,420 S1: the credit card debts gone into further investable assets in 497 00:29:24,420 --> 00:29:28,020 S1: like a stock and bond retirement account? Does that make sense? 498 00:29:29,380 --> 00:29:33,020 S5: Yeah. Do you think it's pressing to kind of get 499 00:29:33,060 --> 00:29:35,900 S5: on this like, you know, in the next whatever six 500 00:29:35,900 --> 00:29:39,940 S5: months to, to actually because in my mind I'm thinking, yeah, 501 00:29:40,180 --> 00:29:43,900 S5: you're correct. It doesn't feel like we're in a very, um, 502 00:29:44,300 --> 00:29:47,660 S5: good situation. If anything were to happen either to our 503 00:29:47,660 --> 00:29:52,140 S5: renters or whatnot. Um, it's going to. Yeah. Be we're 504 00:29:52,140 --> 00:29:55,420 S5: going to get hit really hard. So if we sell it, 505 00:29:55,700 --> 00:30:01,100 S5: you know, um, we have approximately 200 K equity in there. 506 00:30:01,140 --> 00:30:08,140 S5: So we could use that to pay off debt and, um, yeah. 507 00:30:08,180 --> 00:30:13,480 S5: And do an emergency fund and I guess, Um, yeah, 508 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:15,320 S5: I guess we're just trying to figure. 509 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:17,480 S1: Well, I think that would be good, because you could 510 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,520 S1: pay off the debt again as long as you're committed to, 511 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:23,600 S1: you know, getting that budget in place and not taking 512 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:25,240 S1: any more debt on because I wouldn't want you to 513 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:27,280 S1: pay it off. You take a deep breath and you 514 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:29,200 S1: call me six months later and say, guess what, Rob? 515 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,720 S1: The debt's back. I'd want you to really have a 516 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,000 S1: plan that gives you confidence you're not going to go 517 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,560 S1: back there. You could shore up the emergency fund, but 518 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,320 S1: you'd obviously have some left over quite a bit. So 519 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:42,000 S1: then at that point, we'd want to evaluate, okay, do 520 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,239 S1: we have retirement plans we could put that into or 521 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:45,760 S1: do we want to put it right back into a 522 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:49,760 S1: future real estate fund? Let's talk about that after the break. 523 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:59,320 S1: Stay right there, Kara. We'll be right back. Great to 524 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:01,400 S1: have you with us today on Faith and finance live 525 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:03,320 S1: in our final segment today. We'll get to as many 526 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,360 S1: calls as we can. Before the break, we were talking 527 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:09,560 S1: to Kara in Ohio. That was a combination of Idaho 528 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:15,150 S1: and Ohio. Cara in Idaho, and she has several rentals. Uh, 529 00:31:15,150 --> 00:31:18,510 S1: they don't have an emergency fund. One of the rentals, uh, 530 00:31:18,510 --> 00:31:21,510 S1: they are not really generating any income on. It's basically 531 00:31:21,510 --> 00:31:25,430 S1: just breaking even. And she's wondering, with some credit card 532 00:31:25,430 --> 00:31:28,030 S1: debt and the fact that they don't have an emergency fund, 533 00:31:28,070 --> 00:31:32,510 S1: should they, uh, sell that particular property among their various 534 00:31:32,510 --> 00:31:36,910 S1: rentals and shore up the emergency fund, pay off the debt? Uh, 535 00:31:36,910 --> 00:31:39,430 S1: and then perhaps what is the best thing to do 536 00:31:39,430 --> 00:31:43,310 S1: with what remains? So, Cara, just go back over the 537 00:31:43,310 --> 00:31:46,870 S1: access to retirement accounts that you have. What what retirement 538 00:31:46,870 --> 00:31:48,870 S1: vehicles do you have already in place? 539 00:31:49,990 --> 00:31:52,630 S5: Uh, we each have an IRA Roth. 540 00:31:53,110 --> 00:31:54,910 S1: Okay. And what is your age? 541 00:31:56,070 --> 00:31:58,310 S5: Uh, we're both in our 50s. 542 00:31:58,550 --> 00:32:02,310 S1: Okay, so you could each put $8,000 into the Roth 543 00:32:02,350 --> 00:32:05,550 S1: this year. Are you on track to fully fund that currently? 544 00:32:06,270 --> 00:32:08,030 S5: No. Okay. No, no. 545 00:32:08,590 --> 00:32:12,570 S1: You You. You have. Until you file your 2025 return 546 00:32:12,770 --> 00:32:15,489 S1: to contribute for 2025. So you could go all the 547 00:32:15,490 --> 00:32:20,810 S1: way to April of 26 and still be contributing to 2025. 548 00:32:21,210 --> 00:32:23,650 S1: Let's say you were to sell the you know, the 549 00:32:23,690 --> 00:32:25,969 S1: that home. And I'm not saying you necessarily should. I'm 550 00:32:25,970 --> 00:32:28,610 S1: just saying if you did you'd have the ability to 551 00:32:28,610 --> 00:32:31,610 S1: do that. Do you have access to any other retirement accounts. 552 00:32:31,610 --> 00:32:33,489 S1: Do you or your husband have one at work or 553 00:32:33,490 --> 00:32:34,410 S1: anything like that? 554 00:32:35,570 --> 00:32:39,210 S5: No, no we don't we just we we pretty much 555 00:32:39,210 --> 00:32:43,290 S5: depleted the savings and bought bought the rentals. 556 00:32:43,530 --> 00:32:46,570 S1: Got it. And are you all W-2 employees or either 557 00:32:46,570 --> 00:32:48,130 S1: of you or are you self-employed? 558 00:32:49,130 --> 00:32:53,450 S5: Um, my husband is self-employed. I work just a little bit. 559 00:32:53,450 --> 00:32:54,730 S5: Part time W-2. 560 00:32:54,770 --> 00:32:57,490 S1: Okay. Yeah, but you don't have access to a 401 K? 561 00:32:58,050 --> 00:32:58,730 S5: No. 562 00:32:59,050 --> 00:33:01,690 S1: Okay. Well, with him being self-employed and with you all 563 00:33:01,690 --> 00:33:04,650 S1: being landlords and being the rental business, you could open 564 00:33:04,650 --> 00:33:06,770 S1: what's called a Sep IRA that would allow you to 565 00:33:06,810 --> 00:33:11,230 S1: put away up to 25% of compensation, so you could 566 00:33:11,230 --> 00:33:13,750 S1: put away quite a bit more if you wanted to 567 00:33:13,790 --> 00:33:16,950 S1: start investing. You know, you've already got the real estate, 568 00:33:16,950 --> 00:33:18,750 S1: and let's say you were to sell one, pay off 569 00:33:18,750 --> 00:33:21,430 S1: the debt, shore up the emergency fund and say to 570 00:33:21,470 --> 00:33:25,510 S1: diversify ourselves, we're going to fully fund the two Roths, 571 00:33:25,670 --> 00:33:28,190 S1: and then we're going to start contributing, you know, to 572 00:33:28,230 --> 00:33:30,430 S1: a Sep IRA. So that way we've got the stock 573 00:33:30,430 --> 00:33:34,510 S1: and bond portfolios, the three accounts growing. And then we 574 00:33:34,510 --> 00:33:37,590 S1: have the real estate growing. And the combination of all 575 00:33:37,590 --> 00:33:39,950 S1: of it, you know, is what's ultimately going to be 576 00:33:39,950 --> 00:33:43,469 S1: available for retirement. The other option is we pay, we 577 00:33:43,510 --> 00:33:45,910 S1: sell the home, we shore up the emergency fund, we 578 00:33:45,910 --> 00:33:48,510 S1: pay off the debt, we take whatever's left, put it 579 00:33:48,510 --> 00:33:51,350 S1: in a high yield savings account, and then keep adding 580 00:33:51,390 --> 00:33:55,070 S1: to it, and then look to buy another rental property. 581 00:33:55,070 --> 00:33:58,350 S1: But now we're in a much stronger position in terms 582 00:33:58,350 --> 00:34:00,950 S1: of your financial foundation. Does that make sense? 583 00:34:01,830 --> 00:34:05,150 S5: Yeah. Yeah. I'm not familiar with the Sep. Is that 584 00:34:05,150 --> 00:34:07,850 S5: something that, um. What does that stand for? 585 00:34:08,210 --> 00:34:10,690 S6: Yeah, it's self-employed pension. 586 00:34:11,010 --> 00:34:16,489 S1: Um, and so it's basically for people like you who 587 00:34:16,530 --> 00:34:19,450 S1: don't have access to a 401 K. And so rather 588 00:34:19,450 --> 00:34:22,890 S1: than just being limited to the 8000 a year or 7000, 589 00:34:22,930 --> 00:34:25,850 S1: if you're not 50 in the IRA, it allows you 590 00:34:25,850 --> 00:34:28,850 S1: to put away quite a bit more. The contribution limits, 591 00:34:29,090 --> 00:34:33,930 S1: for instance, for this year are 25% of your compensation 592 00:34:34,050 --> 00:34:40,690 S1: or $69,000, whatever is, you know, the lesser of the two. Um, 593 00:34:41,170 --> 00:34:43,370 S1: and so it allows you to put away, you know, 594 00:34:43,410 --> 00:34:46,009 S1: quite a bit more because you don't have access to 595 00:34:46,050 --> 00:34:47,290 S1: another type of plan. 596 00:34:47,969 --> 00:34:49,170 S5: Oh, okay. Okay. 597 00:34:49,810 --> 00:34:50,930 S6: All right. And is. 598 00:34:51,170 --> 00:34:53,850 S5: Okay. Is that something that you have to do with 599 00:34:53,850 --> 00:34:56,250 S5: an advisor or just. We can just do it on 600 00:34:56,250 --> 00:34:56,810 S5: our own. 601 00:34:56,850 --> 00:34:58,810 S1: You can do it on your own. The only downside 602 00:34:58,810 --> 00:35:00,810 S1: to that is then you're also on your own going 603 00:35:00,850 --> 00:35:03,050 S1: to have to pick the investments. So where the advisor 604 00:35:03,050 --> 00:35:06,710 S1: comes in is not necessarily because it's overly complex to 605 00:35:06,750 --> 00:35:09,109 S1: set up a Sep. That's very simple. It's just that 606 00:35:09,110 --> 00:35:10,750 S1: at the end of the day, if all of a 607 00:35:10,750 --> 00:35:15,790 S1: sudden you have, you know, 50, 75,000 in there and growing, 608 00:35:16,270 --> 00:35:17,790 S1: you know, you're going to have to make the buy 609 00:35:17,790 --> 00:35:20,830 S1: and sell decisions yourself. And an advisor could help choose 610 00:35:20,830 --> 00:35:21,630 S1: those for you. 611 00:35:22,310 --> 00:35:25,630 S6: Okay, okay. All right. Thanks for your call, Cara. 612 00:35:25,630 --> 00:35:28,629 S1: We covered a lot of ground today. Uh, glad you called, though. 613 00:35:28,670 --> 00:35:31,550 S1: Call anytime. Let's go out to Oklahoma. Stan. Go ahead. 614 00:35:33,830 --> 00:35:38,910 S7: Yes. I was just wondering. I've got my 401 K. Um, 615 00:35:39,070 --> 00:35:44,710 S7: I put 10% pre-tax, 5% post-tax. The 5% is maxed out. 616 00:35:45,390 --> 00:35:49,109 S7: But I was wondering, with the way that they've changed 617 00:35:49,390 --> 00:35:54,790 S7: the laws for the overtime, you know, it being tax free, 618 00:35:54,830 --> 00:35:58,989 S7: up to 25,000. I was just wondering, is it actually 619 00:35:58,989 --> 00:36:02,070 S7: benefit me one way or the other, you know, to 620 00:36:02,350 --> 00:36:06,180 S7: like keep it 5% or should I take in? Just 621 00:36:06,219 --> 00:36:10,820 S7: roll it over and put instead of 10% 15%? 622 00:36:12,219 --> 00:36:15,500 S1: Yeah. Okay. So is this a 401 K that you're 623 00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:16,620 S1: putting the money into? 624 00:36:17,620 --> 00:36:18,180 S7: Yes. 625 00:36:18,780 --> 00:36:22,380 S1: Okay. Um, yeah. I mean, there was a study done 626 00:36:22,420 --> 00:36:27,140 S1: on this, um, where they looked at literally thousands of 627 00:36:27,140 --> 00:36:32,339 S1: accounts and basically tried to determine what is the optimal strategy, 628 00:36:32,340 --> 00:36:35,020 S1: because keep in mind we've got some unknowns here. And 629 00:36:35,060 --> 00:36:38,100 S1: in particular, the main unknown is what is what are 630 00:36:38,100 --> 00:36:40,940 S1: the tax laws going to look like, the various tax 631 00:36:40,940 --> 00:36:44,580 S1: brackets during retirement in the future for you. And we 632 00:36:44,580 --> 00:36:48,219 S1: just that's that's an unknown. And so we have to 633 00:36:48,260 --> 00:36:53,299 S1: balance the benefit of the, the pre-tax contribution today where 634 00:36:53,300 --> 00:36:57,219 S1: you get the deduction with the after tax contribution where 635 00:36:57,219 --> 00:37:00,580 S1: you don't get the deduction today and potentially during your 636 00:37:00,580 --> 00:37:05,880 S1: peak earning years, but you get tax free withdrawals later, 637 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:10,359 S1: and perhaps at a higher tax bracket just because, not 638 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:13,560 S1: necessarily your earning a lot because you'd be in retirement 639 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:16,160 S1: at that point, but because, you know, there's a new 640 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:20,560 S1: administration and a new Congress and they're raising rates on taxes. 641 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:24,480 S1: And that is a likely outcome in the future. So 642 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:30,279 S1: they studied thousands of of retirement accounts and basically determined that, 643 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:33,000 S1: at least based on the ones they evaluated, the optimal 644 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:37,000 S1: formula was you take your age, you add 20 to it, 645 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,879 S1: and that's how much you put in pre-tax. And then 646 00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:42,839 S1: you put the balance in the after tax. So if 647 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:46,759 S1: you're 50, you'd put 70% in the pre-tax and you'd 648 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:52,680 S1: put 30% in in the after tax. Doesn't mean that's foolproof, 649 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:56,279 S1: but at least based on their studies, that was what produced, 650 00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:00,140 S1: you know, the most optimal outcomes. Does that make sense? 651 00:38:01,660 --> 00:38:02,060 S7: Yes. 652 00:38:02,739 --> 00:38:06,259 S1: Okay. So, you know, you may want to look at 653 00:38:06,260 --> 00:38:10,500 S1: your percentages and just see based on the total dollars 654 00:38:10,500 --> 00:38:13,939 S1: going in, how much is of that is going into 655 00:38:13,940 --> 00:38:16,779 S1: a pre-tax environment. How much is going to an after 656 00:38:16,780 --> 00:38:19,980 S1: tax environment. And if you wanted to apply this age 657 00:38:19,980 --> 00:38:24,219 S1: plus 20 into pre-tax, then you could evaluate whether you 658 00:38:24,219 --> 00:38:27,020 S1: need to bump that up or down accordingly. 659 00:38:28,460 --> 00:38:28,940 S7: Okay. 660 00:38:29,580 --> 00:38:30,100 S1: Okay. 661 00:38:30,580 --> 00:38:33,100 S7: I appreciate it. I was just wondering, I wasn't sure 662 00:38:34,100 --> 00:38:39,180 S7: if necessarily with them changing the laws for the overtime, 663 00:38:39,580 --> 00:38:46,859 S7: if that would actually really affect anything. Um, because I 664 00:38:46,860 --> 00:38:53,180 S7: do cover the 25,000 with the overtime and I, I 665 00:38:53,219 --> 00:38:58,120 S7: haven't actually maxed out my 401 K per year, But 666 00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:03,440 S7: I'm right there at the cusp of maxing it out. 667 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:07,799 S1: Yeah, yeah. I mean, the overtime law changes really don't 668 00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:11,520 S1: affect whether you would use Pretax or Roth. Um, I mean, 669 00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:15,759 S1: that really is dependent upon taxes and whether you get 670 00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:20,000 S1: more benefit now from the deduction at a higher earning, 671 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:24,839 S1: you know, period, versus, you know, getting the tax free 672 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:29,040 S1: growth later and paying the taxes now. Um, you know, 673 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:32,600 S1: I don't really see any necessarily any connection to the 674 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:36,200 S1: overtime changes that would affect that one way or the other. 675 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:39,440 S1: It's really just, you know, given the unknowns and given 676 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:41,840 S1: where you're at in terms of what you're earning right now, 677 00:39:42,239 --> 00:39:46,239 S1: just trying to find that optimal mix between the pre-tax 678 00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:49,239 S1: and Roth, I like you having both buckets growing for 679 00:39:49,239 --> 00:39:51,920 S1: the future, because then you could choose down the road 680 00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:55,040 S1: when you're ready to start taking withdrawals to supplement your income. 681 00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:58,819 S1: Which bucket is more effective given the environment that we're 682 00:39:58,820 --> 00:40:01,460 S1: in at that point, which we don't know today. Um, 683 00:40:01,860 --> 00:40:04,660 S1: so I think going back to that percentage, or at 684 00:40:04,700 --> 00:40:07,859 S1: least that formula of your age plus 20 into pre-tax 685 00:40:08,100 --> 00:40:10,779 S1: is about as good as you're going to find in 686 00:40:10,780 --> 00:40:13,700 S1: terms of where you go from here. So hopefully that helps. 687 00:40:13,700 --> 00:40:16,940 S1: We appreciate your call today. Lord bless you. Quickly to Florida. Hamilton, 688 00:40:16,940 --> 00:40:17,700 S1: how can I help? 689 00:40:18,860 --> 00:40:22,620 S8: Yes, I have a relative who have siblings. They inherited 690 00:40:22,620 --> 00:40:26,819 S8: property and they're getting calls from people from out of 691 00:40:26,820 --> 00:40:30,420 S8: town wanting to help them sell the property. And I 692 00:40:30,420 --> 00:40:34,580 S8: was curious, would there be a good CTA that could 693 00:40:34,580 --> 00:40:36,060 S8: be helping them? 694 00:40:37,020 --> 00:40:41,020 S1: Yeah. Um, in terms of a real estate professional or 695 00:40:41,060 --> 00:40:43,180 S1: an attorney, what do you thinking? 696 00:40:45,380 --> 00:40:49,819 S8: Um, since it's real estate, I would think. Real estate attorney. 697 00:40:50,420 --> 00:40:53,900 S1: Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah. I mean, I think having somebody 698 00:40:53,900 --> 00:40:56,569 S1: who can walk alongside them just to make sure. What 699 00:40:56,570 --> 00:40:59,290 S1: is the title, how is it structured, who you know, 700 00:40:59,330 --> 00:41:03,210 S1: what is the ownership structure? And making sure that, uh, 701 00:41:03,210 --> 00:41:06,850 S1: you know, ultimately that's handled properly? Uh, just given that 702 00:41:06,850 --> 00:41:10,890 S1: it's an inheritance and there's several properties, uh, and you're 703 00:41:10,890 --> 00:41:12,850 S1: going to want to make sure everything's free and clear, 704 00:41:12,850 --> 00:41:15,250 S1: and then you're going to want, you know, the executor 705 00:41:15,489 --> 00:41:18,489 S1: should be able to help you understand, you know, if 706 00:41:18,489 --> 00:41:20,530 S1: it was left, if any of the properties were left 707 00:41:20,530 --> 00:41:24,930 S1: to multiple errors, kind of what is that ownership structure 708 00:41:24,930 --> 00:41:28,009 S1: now and what portion belongs to each person? You got 709 00:41:28,010 --> 00:41:30,250 S1: to sort all that out. And then ultimately you're going 710 00:41:30,250 --> 00:41:33,410 S1: to need a real estate professional that's, you know, really 711 00:41:33,410 --> 00:41:38,090 S1: skilled in not only real estate, uh, transactions, but also 712 00:41:38,130 --> 00:41:41,529 S1: has some expertise in the particular locale of where these 713 00:41:41,530 --> 00:41:43,569 S1: properties are. That's where you're going to be able to 714 00:41:43,570 --> 00:41:46,970 S1: maximize the value. I think all of that could be 715 00:41:46,969 --> 00:41:50,450 S1: a referral from a certified Kingdom advisor there in Florida, 716 00:41:50,489 --> 00:41:54,230 S1: because any C.K. would have not only an estate planning 717 00:41:54,270 --> 00:41:57,430 S1: attorney that they would work with regularly, or a couple 718 00:41:57,430 --> 00:42:00,710 S1: of them, but probably have a real estate professional that 719 00:42:00,710 --> 00:42:02,750 S1: they could refer you to. So I would head to 720 00:42:02,790 --> 00:42:07,350 S1: find a. Com and then reach out to those individuals, 721 00:42:07,350 --> 00:42:09,709 S1: let them know you listen to this program and just 722 00:42:09,750 --> 00:42:11,469 S1: ask for a referral, and they should be able to 723 00:42:11,469 --> 00:42:12,469 S1: help you. Okay. 724 00:42:13,270 --> 00:42:14,510 S9: Thank you for taking my call. 725 00:42:14,750 --> 00:42:17,589 S1: Absolutely. Hamilton. Lord bless you, sir. Well, as we wrap 726 00:42:17,590 --> 00:42:20,029 S1: up here today, just a quick reminder. If you are 727 00:42:20,070 --> 00:42:22,710 S1: a client of a certified Kingdom advisor, I need your 728 00:42:22,710 --> 00:42:24,989 S1: help to take a survey that's going to be a 729 00:42:24,989 --> 00:42:28,029 S1: part of a national research project we're doing, if you'll 730 00:42:28,030 --> 00:42:32,390 S1: go to. That would be a big help. If you 731 00:42:32,390 --> 00:42:34,069 S1: want to support our work between now and the end 732 00:42:34,070 --> 00:42:38,069 S1: of the year, every gift doubled. At least give big 733 00:42:38,070 --> 00:42:41,670 S1: thanks to Tahira, Taylor, Omar and Josh. Faith and Finance 734 00:42:41,710 --> 00:42:44,589 S1: Lives a partnership between Moody Radio and Faith fi. Come 735 00:42:44,630 --> 00:42:46,670 S1: back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. Bye bye.