1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,160 S1: The following program was pre-recorded so our phone lines are 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:08,000 S1: not open. 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:10,920 S2: What would you call a marriage where spouses see eye 4 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 S2: to eye about money? Some might call it bliss. I 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:17,759 S2: am Rob West. It's true that most couples at least 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:22,239 S2: occasionally quarrel about their finances, but could a better understanding 7 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:26,840 S2: of each other's values help spouses avoid that bickering? Shaunti 8 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,720 S2: Feldhahn thinks so, and she joins us today to talk 9 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,600 S2: about it. Then we'll have some great calls that we've 10 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:35,520 S2: lined up. But since this program is not live today, 11 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:38,600 S2: please hold your calls until we're back in the studio. 12 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:42,480 S2: This is faith and finance. Live. Biblical wisdom for your 13 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:48,959 S2: financial journey. Well, it's always a blessing to have relationship 14 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:53,040 S2: expert Shaunti Feldhahn on the program. Shaunti. Welcome back. 15 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:54,960 S3: It's always great to be with you. 16 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,279 S2: Shaunti you have an insightful article in the first edition 17 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,710 S2: of our quarterly magazine Faithful Steward. It's titled Money in Marriage. 18 00:01:02,710 --> 00:01:06,390 S2: It's a matter of value, and it shows how important 19 00:01:06,390 --> 00:01:09,310 S2: it is to understand where spouses are coming from if 20 00:01:09,310 --> 00:01:12,910 S2: we want to avoid money squabbles. Now you start the 21 00:01:12,910 --> 00:01:16,350 S2: piece with a great story about how you and your husband, Jeff, 22 00:01:16,350 --> 00:01:19,110 S2: discovered this early in your marriage, and I thought it 23 00:01:19,110 --> 00:01:21,190 S2: might be a great place for us to start today. 24 00:01:21,830 --> 00:01:24,830 S3: Yeah, we this is one of those things that's kind 25 00:01:24,830 --> 00:01:28,030 S3: of embarrassing to even mention. But, you know, this is 26 00:01:28,030 --> 00:01:30,470 S3: this is where the lessons come from, right? We were 27 00:01:30,470 --> 00:01:32,470 S3: living in New York and we were both working these 28 00:01:32,470 --> 00:01:34,990 S3: long hours. And, you know, in New York, one of 29 00:01:34,990 --> 00:01:36,509 S3: the things that you kind of have to do when 30 00:01:36,510 --> 00:01:39,110 S3: you're both working long hours is you just eat out 31 00:01:39,110 --> 00:01:42,190 S3: a lot. Yeah. And for us, that was great. Like, 32 00:01:42,190 --> 00:01:44,309 S3: we had kind of we kind of had the money 33 00:01:44,310 --> 00:01:47,030 S3: for it. Um, but we would always get into these 34 00:01:47,030 --> 00:01:49,510 S3: crazy arguments as we were sort of in the middle 35 00:01:49,510 --> 00:01:51,750 S3: of dinner, and it took me a while to figure 36 00:01:51,750 --> 00:01:54,310 S3: out what was going on. Took us a while because 37 00:01:54,310 --> 00:01:56,910 S3: the waiter would always come over and say, you know, 38 00:01:56,950 --> 00:01:59,380 S3: can I get you anything to drink? Jeff would order water, 39 00:01:59,380 --> 00:02:03,420 S3: I would order a Diet Coke, and then later I 40 00:02:03,420 --> 00:02:06,780 S3: would ask for a refill and Jeff would start shutting down. 41 00:02:07,420 --> 00:02:10,820 S3: And it took us a while to recognize that. Oh, 42 00:02:10,860 --> 00:02:12,820 S3: by the way, in New York, I should say that 43 00:02:12,820 --> 00:02:14,180 S3: refills are not free. 44 00:02:14,540 --> 00:02:15,179 S2: Right? 45 00:02:16,780 --> 00:02:21,180 S3: And Jeff is thinking, apparently what? I did not know. Yeah. 46 00:02:21,300 --> 00:02:24,339 S3: Is that Jeff was thinking something about my motivation that 47 00:02:24,340 --> 00:02:25,900 S3: was not what I was thinking. 48 00:02:26,900 --> 00:02:29,419 S2: And it really all had to do with what each 49 00:02:29,419 --> 00:02:32,740 S2: of you value. Now, I know this became a lot 50 00:02:32,780 --> 00:02:37,700 S2: clearer as you launched in to this really important survey 51 00:02:37,700 --> 00:02:40,660 S2: and study that resulted in a book, and we'll talk 52 00:02:40,660 --> 00:02:44,300 S2: about that, but unpack how you were able to begin 53 00:02:44,300 --> 00:02:46,980 S2: to understand what was going on beneath the surface as 54 00:02:46,980 --> 00:02:48,980 S2: you continued through your work. 55 00:02:49,139 --> 00:02:52,820 S3: Well, we didn't actually realize until we started this big 56 00:02:52,820 --> 00:02:56,980 S3: national project for, you know, helping people around their marriage 57 00:02:56,980 --> 00:02:59,940 S3: and money? Yeah. Um, we didn't we kind of went 58 00:02:59,940 --> 00:03:02,019 S3: back to the Diet Coke thing, which had become kind 59 00:03:02,020 --> 00:03:07,180 S3: of infamous, and we went, oh, that's an example of 60 00:03:07,180 --> 00:03:09,180 S3: one of the things that we found, which is that 61 00:03:09,180 --> 00:03:11,820 S3: it turns out one of those issues that that causes 62 00:03:11,860 --> 00:03:15,260 S3: a lot of conflict in most marriages is that you're 63 00:03:15,260 --> 00:03:19,220 S3: not valuing what the other person is valuing. And in 64 00:03:19,260 --> 00:03:23,180 S3: that particular case, what we realized is that Jeff was 65 00:03:23,180 --> 00:03:28,620 S3: literally thinking like, if we keep ordering refills for $4.50. Yeah. Like, 66 00:03:28,620 --> 00:03:32,460 S3: we're going to be homeless in retirement, right? Like that 67 00:03:32,460 --> 00:03:34,900 S3: was what was in his mind like. And he was thinking, 68 00:03:34,940 --> 00:03:37,740 S3: you know, how can she be willing to do this? Like, 69 00:03:37,780 --> 00:03:40,220 S3: she doesn't realize how hard I'm working. Like, we have 70 00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:43,780 S3: $125,000 in student loan debt, and. 71 00:03:43,940 --> 00:03:47,380 S2: Clearly she doesn't care about our financial well-being, right? 72 00:03:47,420 --> 00:03:50,180 S3: There you go. She doesn't care about it, right? And 73 00:03:50,180 --> 00:03:53,340 S3: what he didn't know until we were able to actually 74 00:03:53,380 --> 00:03:57,170 S3: talk about it. Is that it actually? No, it was 75 00:03:57,170 --> 00:04:01,130 S3: something completely different, which was for me. We were newlyweds 76 00:04:01,130 --> 00:04:03,730 S3: at the time. He didn't know that. I know this 77 00:04:03,730 --> 00:04:06,650 S3: is weird, but I don't like the taste of water. Yeah, 78 00:04:06,690 --> 00:04:09,690 S3: I know, that's strange, but literally, like, it's a thing 79 00:04:09,690 --> 00:04:12,610 S3: for me. I'm fine with staying home and cooking at home, 80 00:04:12,610 --> 00:04:15,170 S3: but if I'm going out somewhere to eat like I 81 00:04:15,170 --> 00:04:17,570 S3: can only enjoy a meal if I have, like an 82 00:04:17,570 --> 00:04:20,490 S3: iced tea or a Diet Coke or something else to drink. 83 00:04:21,050 --> 00:04:25,170 S3: And he can enjoy a meal just fine with just water. Yeah, 84 00:04:25,210 --> 00:04:29,810 S3: this little tiny thing was just something that we didn't 85 00:04:29,810 --> 00:04:34,089 S3: know about each other, and so we didn't know how 86 00:04:34,130 --> 00:04:37,130 S3: to even we didn't even know that this was a thing, 87 00:04:37,170 --> 00:04:40,729 S3: much less how to honor what the other person valued. 88 00:04:40,770 --> 00:04:44,130 S2: Yeah. And that was a key understanding. That was really 89 00:04:44,130 --> 00:04:46,490 S2: a game changer for you all. And I know as 90 00:04:46,490 --> 00:04:49,409 S2: you got into your work, you realized that, hey, we're 91 00:04:49,410 --> 00:04:53,050 S2: not alone. This is very common. And in fact, there's 92 00:04:53,050 --> 00:04:57,000 S2: all kinds of examples about how what you value is 93 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,760 S2: different than what I value, and it shows up in 94 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,919 S2: the money conversation all the time. So when we come back, 95 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,839 S2: we'll unpack a few of those and maybe you'll have 96 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:09,440 S2: that aha! That Shanti and Jeff had about how your 97 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,960 S2: understanding of your spouse is wiring and preferences could be 98 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,840 S2: a game changer. Shanti Felton here today we're talking money 99 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:19,920 S2: and marriage back with more right after this. Stick around. 100 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:40,000 S2: I'm so glad you've joined us today for Faith and 101 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,640 S2: Finance live. I'm Rob West with me today. My friend 102 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,320 S2: Shaunti Feldhahn Shanti and her husband Jeff wrote the book 103 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,720 S2: Thriving in Love and Money. And folks, it is a 104 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,670 S2: game changer in terms of you understanding what are the 105 00:05:54,670 --> 00:06:00,630 S2: drivers to the breakdown in communication, to the arguments, to 106 00:06:00,670 --> 00:06:04,469 S2: the frustration around money and marriage, because God's heart is 107 00:06:04,710 --> 00:06:07,590 S2: that we would have oneness, that we'd have unity in marriage. 108 00:06:07,710 --> 00:06:10,549 S2: And despite the fact that we have different backgrounds and 109 00:06:10,550 --> 00:06:14,750 S2: different ways that God has hardwired us, this whole area 110 00:06:14,750 --> 00:06:17,630 S2: of money management can be an instrument of peace that 111 00:06:17,630 --> 00:06:22,150 S2: drives you toward God's ultimate plan for your marriage and 112 00:06:22,150 --> 00:06:25,510 S2: your family, and each of you in your walk with him. 113 00:06:25,830 --> 00:06:28,390 S2: But it doesn't have to be a source of distraction 114 00:06:28,390 --> 00:06:31,390 S2: or frustration, and thriving in love and money will help 115 00:06:31,390 --> 00:06:33,390 S2: you get to the heart of that. So pick it 116 00:06:33,390 --> 00:06:36,430 S2: up wherever you buy books. And Shanti, we were sharing 117 00:06:36,430 --> 00:06:39,669 S2: before the break that really at the foundation of this 118 00:06:39,670 --> 00:06:42,870 S2: book is a massive study that you and Jeff did 119 00:06:42,910 --> 00:06:45,390 S2: on this topic of money and marriage. I'd love for 120 00:06:45,390 --> 00:06:47,430 S2: you to unpack a little bit of the data, and 121 00:06:47,430 --> 00:06:49,470 S2: maybe some of the key learnings from that. 122 00:06:49,510 --> 00:06:54,390 S3: Yeah, no, we we spent several years, um, essentially trying 123 00:06:54,390 --> 00:06:56,950 S3: to understand what is it that creates a great marriage 124 00:06:56,950 --> 00:07:00,150 S3: around money. Now, obviously, other people can do a much 125 00:07:00,150 --> 00:07:02,429 S3: better job of, you know, how do you help people 126 00:07:02,470 --> 00:07:05,109 S3: budget and all that kind of stuff. What we really 127 00:07:05,110 --> 00:07:07,910 S3: wanted to uncover were what were the factors in your 128 00:07:07,910 --> 00:07:11,470 S3: relationship that most matter? And what we talked about right 129 00:07:11,470 --> 00:07:14,070 S3: before the break was one of them, you know, this 130 00:07:14,070 --> 00:07:18,350 S3: concept of, wow, the thing that causes the friction is 131 00:07:18,350 --> 00:07:21,190 S3: often that you're simply just not valuing what the other 132 00:07:21,190 --> 00:07:24,470 S3: person is valuing. We found that this was really common, 133 00:07:24,470 --> 00:07:27,390 S3: and depending on the survey question, this was anywhere from 134 00:07:27,430 --> 00:07:32,430 S3: like two thirds to like 80, 85% of people fell 135 00:07:32,430 --> 00:07:35,670 S3: into this category. One of my favorite ones, because I 136 00:07:35,670 --> 00:07:39,750 S3: recognized it in myself is that 67%. So more than 137 00:07:39,750 --> 00:07:43,670 S3: two thirds of people in a spending conflict, they're looking 138 00:07:43,670 --> 00:07:47,310 S3: at their spouse. And while they're arguing over buying this 139 00:07:47,310 --> 00:07:51,020 S3: refrigerator or that refrigerator, and they're thinking to themselves, if 140 00:07:51,060 --> 00:07:53,100 S3: you would just look at this logically, you would agree 141 00:07:53,100 --> 00:08:00,380 S3: with me. You're just not being logical, right? The problem is, 142 00:08:00,420 --> 00:08:02,620 S3: both people are thinking that. 143 00:08:02,900 --> 00:08:05,100 S2: Yes, exactly at the same time. 144 00:08:05,140 --> 00:08:08,540 S3: Yeah. And so that's one of the big issues that 145 00:08:08,540 --> 00:08:10,220 S3: is running under the surface. 146 00:08:10,500 --> 00:08:13,180 S2: Well, let's talk about that for a second, because I'd 147 00:08:13,180 --> 00:08:16,580 S2: love for you to perhaps share some examples of what 148 00:08:16,580 --> 00:08:21,059 S2: this looks like in the typical couple's life, where they 149 00:08:21,060 --> 00:08:24,420 S2: value different things and perhaps are thinking just that. If 150 00:08:24,420 --> 00:08:26,940 S2: you would just think about this logically, we'd be on 151 00:08:26,940 --> 00:08:29,020 S2: the same page here. Where does that show up? 152 00:08:29,260 --> 00:08:32,500 S3: Well, think about let me give you just a silly example, 153 00:08:32,740 --> 00:08:36,100 S3: because all of us kind of get these sorts of things. 154 00:08:36,660 --> 00:08:44,020 S3: Imagine that you have a real desire to, um, buy 155 00:08:44,020 --> 00:08:49,929 S3: a particularly expensive or nice or high end membership in 156 00:08:49,970 --> 00:08:54,530 S3: a gym or a golf club or a, you know, whatever. Okay. Yeah. 157 00:08:54,570 --> 00:08:57,050 S3: And it's and let's just say, you know, it's a 158 00:08:57,050 --> 00:09:01,810 S3: it's a nice gym. It's $150 a month, $200 a month. 159 00:09:02,370 --> 00:09:04,929 S3: And for you. Yeah. It's a kind of expensive, but, 160 00:09:04,970 --> 00:09:07,850 S3: you know, okay. It's worth it. Right. It's. That's okay. 161 00:09:08,210 --> 00:09:14,370 S3: Your spouse comes back from Costco with $200 worth of stuff, 162 00:09:14,490 --> 00:09:18,250 S3: and you're like, why does it cost so much? Right. 163 00:09:18,290 --> 00:09:20,209 S3: And it's the same amount. 164 00:09:20,370 --> 00:09:20,850 S2: Yes. 165 00:09:20,890 --> 00:09:24,170 S3: But you're like, come on. Like, what we most need 166 00:09:24,170 --> 00:09:26,450 S3: from Costco is toilet paper and whatever. And it should 167 00:09:26,450 --> 00:09:29,890 S3: cost $75 or $100 per visit. You know, total. Sure. 168 00:09:30,050 --> 00:09:34,410 S3: Those are examples of you're valuing two different things and 169 00:09:34,410 --> 00:09:39,450 S3: you don't realize it. For you, the value is. Wow. 170 00:09:39,490 --> 00:09:41,929 S3: It's it's not just a golf club. This is a 171 00:09:41,929 --> 00:09:43,850 S3: chance for me to have a place that I network 172 00:09:43,850 --> 00:09:46,610 S3: with people. This is a chance for me to make 173 00:09:46,610 --> 00:09:49,559 S3: sure that I'm kind of up on, you know, how 174 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:51,920 S3: when I'm golfing. So I'm not embarrassed. Like, that's really 175 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:56,120 S3: important to me. Yes. To to to actually be competent 176 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:59,520 S3: and to have the opportunity to take some lessons and, 177 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:01,840 S3: you know, that kind of thing. So it's not just 178 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,040 S3: a service that just happens to cost some hundreds of 179 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,040 S3: dollars a month. It's there's a lot of other stuff 180 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:11,199 S3: under there. It's being better at my job, etc.. Yes. 181 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,920 S3: Whereas your spouse may be on the other thing thinking, 182 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,560 S3: that's just ridiculous. Why are we spending that much money 183 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,559 S3: for a monthly, you know, fees of the golf club 184 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:24,960 S3: when really what we need are we need to be 185 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:28,560 S3: spending our money on consumables, like going to Costco and 186 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:32,920 S3: spending $200. That saves me from spending $400 at the 187 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,800 S3: grocery store, because everything's much more cheap and consumables are 188 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:39,560 S3: worth it. That's just an example. The idea of like 189 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:44,400 S3: things versus services. Those are two different types of things 190 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:49,990 S3: that people care about. And here's the thing there's no 191 00:10:50,030 --> 00:10:54,950 S3: one right answer. That's the key, is that for us 192 00:10:54,950 --> 00:10:59,270 S3: to recognize that it's not that you're right and I'm wrong. 193 00:10:59,470 --> 00:11:03,150 S3: It's that we're valuing two different things and you have to. 194 00:11:03,190 --> 00:11:06,190 S3: And this is this is not overstating it. In order 195 00:11:06,190 --> 00:11:09,910 S3: to have a good marriage around money, you have to 196 00:11:10,429 --> 00:11:14,950 S3: understand what's going on underneath what your spouse values so 197 00:11:14,950 --> 00:11:16,070 S3: you can talk about it. 198 00:11:16,309 --> 00:11:18,950 S2: Yeah. And I know this shows up in other areas. 199 00:11:19,270 --> 00:11:21,830 S2: You give other examples in the book, like enjoying the 200 00:11:21,830 --> 00:11:26,990 S2: present and using money to deepen relationships versus saving for retirement. 201 00:11:26,990 --> 00:11:29,750 S2: It could be giving great presents to the kids or 202 00:11:29,750 --> 00:11:33,950 S2: grandkids versus building an inheritance. It can manifest itself in 203 00:11:33,950 --> 00:11:36,470 S2: all kinds of ways, but at the heart of it 204 00:11:36,470 --> 00:11:39,750 S2: is a difference in what we value. Now that leads 205 00:11:39,750 --> 00:11:43,030 S2: to Shanti, one of the other big findings to avoid 206 00:11:43,630 --> 00:11:47,230 S2: this conflict in marriage, which was communication, because the only 207 00:11:47,230 --> 00:11:49,550 S2: way you're going to understand what the other values is 208 00:11:49,550 --> 00:11:50,990 S2: if you're talking about it. Right? 209 00:11:51,190 --> 00:11:55,390 S3: Yes. And the issue that often comes up, and this 210 00:11:55,390 --> 00:11:59,950 S3: is extremely common, the issue that often comes up is 211 00:11:59,950 --> 00:12:05,069 S3: you don't realize you're not actually communicating about what's going 212 00:12:05,070 --> 00:12:07,990 S3: on in your spouse's heart and mind. You're telling them 213 00:12:07,990 --> 00:12:08,950 S3: what you want. 214 00:12:09,350 --> 00:12:09,870 S2: Mhm. 215 00:12:10,190 --> 00:12:14,270 S3: Which is fine. Like of course like everybody has their opinions. Awesome. 216 00:12:14,390 --> 00:12:18,390 S3: But just recognize that there is a heart underneath what 217 00:12:18,390 --> 00:12:22,390 S3: your spouse cares about. And there's a heart underneath what 218 00:12:22,390 --> 00:12:26,270 S3: you care about. And you have to understand that underneath 219 00:12:26,710 --> 00:12:32,030 S3: the surface stuff, if you want a great relationship around 220 00:12:32,030 --> 00:12:34,550 S3: money now you might be able to have great money. 221 00:12:34,550 --> 00:12:37,110 S3: You might be able to have a great retirement account. 222 00:12:37,110 --> 00:12:39,670 S3: You might be able to have, you know, perfect financial 223 00:12:39,670 --> 00:12:44,140 S3: services and have not a great marriage around money. And 224 00:12:44,140 --> 00:12:45,620 S3: I think people want both. 225 00:12:45,900 --> 00:12:50,260 S2: Yeah. Shante, obviously doing the hard work and uncovering and 226 00:12:50,260 --> 00:12:52,740 S2: understanding each other's values is something we can do on 227 00:12:52,740 --> 00:12:55,140 S2: our own just by talking about it. But what about 228 00:12:55,140 --> 00:12:58,060 S2: the role of the advisor to walk alongside you in this? 229 00:12:58,179 --> 00:13:00,860 S3: Well, one of the things that that we found actually 230 00:13:00,860 --> 00:13:03,820 S3: in the research that was so encouraging for like the 231 00:13:03,820 --> 00:13:08,340 S3: Kingdom Advisor community, the Christian financial advisor community, is that 232 00:13:08,340 --> 00:13:12,060 S3: the average financial advisor, they don't want any part of 233 00:13:12,100 --> 00:13:15,740 S3: that conversation, right? Like that. 234 00:13:15,780 --> 00:13:19,380 S2: This is let me deal with the numbers, not the marriage, please. 235 00:13:19,700 --> 00:13:23,300 S3: Exactly. They're like, ah, I'm not a marriage counselor. And no, 236 00:13:23,340 --> 00:13:27,740 S3: of course your financial advisor is not a marriage counselor regardless. However, 237 00:13:27,740 --> 00:13:29,860 S3: one of the things that people who have a kingdom 238 00:13:29,860 --> 00:13:32,620 S3: mindset are trained to do, and I've done some of 239 00:13:32,620 --> 00:13:36,460 S3: the training for some of the kingdom advisors in your world, um, 240 00:13:36,500 --> 00:13:38,900 S3: is actually to go, you know what? This is a 241 00:13:38,900 --> 00:13:41,690 S3: bigger thing. Like God cares just as much or more 242 00:13:41,690 --> 00:13:44,410 S3: about the marriage as he does about the finances, because 243 00:13:44,850 --> 00:13:47,370 S3: if the marriage is in trouble, your finances could be 244 00:13:47,370 --> 00:13:50,570 S3: great and you're still not actually honoring God in this. 245 00:13:50,570 --> 00:13:54,050 S3: And so I really do encourage people to talk to 246 00:13:54,090 --> 00:13:58,050 S3: their financial advisor about, help me work through these values 247 00:13:58,050 --> 00:14:01,010 S3: with my spouse so we know where to put our money. 248 00:14:01,250 --> 00:14:03,370 S2: That is so good. Well, Shanti, we're going to have 249 00:14:03,370 --> 00:14:06,050 S2: you back because we just scratched the surface. But thanks 250 00:14:06,050 --> 00:14:07,010 S2: for your time today. 251 00:14:07,290 --> 00:14:08,010 S3: Absolutely. 252 00:14:08,410 --> 00:14:12,210 S2: That's Shanti Feldon, co-author with her husband, Jeff, of Thriving 253 00:14:12,210 --> 00:14:16,250 S2: in Love and Money. Five game changing insights about your relationship, 254 00:14:16,250 --> 00:14:19,330 S2: your money, and yourself. And folks, to learn more about 255 00:14:19,330 --> 00:14:21,890 S2: becoming a Faith five partner so you can read articles 256 00:14:21,890 --> 00:14:26,410 S2: like Shanti's and our Faithful Steward magazine. Just go to faith. Comments. 257 00:14:33,610 --> 00:14:36,210 S2: Grateful you've tuned in to Faith and finance live. I'm 258 00:14:36,210 --> 00:14:38,890 S2: Rob West, your host. This is where we recognize that 259 00:14:38,890 --> 00:14:41,560 S2: God owns it all. You're a steward or a manager 260 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,600 S2: of God's resources, and money is a tool to accomplish 261 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,760 S2: God's purposes. Hey, we're away from the studio today, so 262 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,479 S2: don't call in. But we lined up some great questions 263 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,040 S2: in advance that I know you will enjoy. In fact, 264 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,680 S2: let's go ahead and take one of those right now. 265 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,680 S2: Let's go to Mississippi. Hi, Miguel. Thanks for calling. Go ahead. 266 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:02,240 S4: Well, thank you, Rob, so much. And thank you for 267 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:07,680 S4: taking my call. Um, I have about, uh, ten credit cards. 268 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:13,440 S4: Open credit cards with a credit limit over, I guess $80,000. 269 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:18,120 S4: They're all at zero balance, but I'm. I'm going to 270 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:20,880 S4: try to refinance my home this summer. 271 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:21,680 S2: Yeah. 272 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:24,160 S4: You know, some of these credit cards I haven't used 273 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,760 S4: in 2 or 3 years? Yeah. Would it be okay 274 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,480 S4: for me to close? Maybe 4 or 5? Six of 275 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:34,680 S4: them without hurting my credit for the refinance? 276 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:39,760 S2: Yeah. What are you looking to accomplish other than simplicity and, 277 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:42,480 S2: you know, eliminating the potential for one of these to 278 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:46,360 S2: be compromised. Uh, are you trying to bring down the 279 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:50,520 S2: overall credit that's available to you? Because that might be 280 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:54,520 S2: seen negatively as you try to qualify for the home? 281 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:56,320 S2: Or is there some other objective? 282 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,320 S4: No, no, just just just for safety, security reasons. I mean, 283 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,720 S4: I haven't used them in, you know, 3 or 4 years, 284 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,280 S4: some of them. Yeah. And so that's the only reason. 285 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:13,920 S2: Yeah, I would probably keep them open until you get beyond, uh, 286 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:19,080 S2: the refi. Um, just because closing them will likely hurt 287 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,440 S2: your score, even though it would be temporary, I wouldn't 288 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,000 S2: want it to cause you to drop down into a 289 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,240 S2: lower bracket of scores, which would not allow you to 290 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,440 S2: get the highest interest rate available. Or, excuse me, the 291 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,960 S2: lowest interest rate available to you. The best terms. Um, 292 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,670 S2: what happens when you close an account is usually twofold. 293 00:16:39,670 --> 00:16:42,790 S2: The biggest issue, which doesn't sound like it'll affect you, 294 00:16:43,030 --> 00:16:48,750 S2: is what's called credit utilization. So if you have any 295 00:16:48,750 --> 00:16:53,150 S2: accounts where you are carrying a balance, closing other accounts, 296 00:16:53,150 --> 00:16:57,150 S2: even accounts at zero is going to remove that portion 297 00:16:57,150 --> 00:17:00,510 S2: of the total limit that was available to you, and 298 00:17:00,510 --> 00:17:03,150 S2: that's going to make any balances you're carrying, even month 299 00:17:03,150 --> 00:17:05,510 S2: to month balances where you're paying it off. But it's 300 00:17:05,510 --> 00:17:08,350 S2: still being reported at the end of the cycle because 301 00:17:08,350 --> 00:17:11,550 S2: you're using it for monthly expenses. It's going to make 302 00:17:11,550 --> 00:17:17,949 S2: those balances a larger percentage of your total available credit. Um, now, 303 00:17:17,950 --> 00:17:20,950 S2: if you're not doing that and you know you're paying 304 00:17:20,950 --> 00:17:23,149 S2: on a cash basis or with a debit card, or 305 00:17:23,150 --> 00:17:25,590 S2: you're paying off the credit cards before the end of 306 00:17:25,590 --> 00:17:29,030 S2: the cycle rather than on the due date, then you know, 307 00:17:29,070 --> 00:17:32,470 S2: that's less of an issue. Um, but the second issue 308 00:17:32,510 --> 00:17:36,180 S2: that comes into play is those accounts I know you 309 00:17:36,180 --> 00:17:40,419 S2: mentioned several of them have a long history. And history 310 00:17:40,460 --> 00:17:43,540 S2: does make up 10% of your score. And what they 311 00:17:43,540 --> 00:17:46,220 S2: mean by that in the algorithm is the fact that 312 00:17:46,220 --> 00:17:49,140 S2: these accounts have been open a long time. They're in 313 00:17:49,140 --> 00:17:52,220 S2: good standing. They always have been in good standing. That 314 00:17:52,220 --> 00:17:55,860 S2: length of time that these accounts have been open shows stability. 315 00:17:55,859 --> 00:17:59,179 S2: And you get rewarded for that in the credit score. 316 00:17:59,580 --> 00:18:02,900 S2: And when you close those they're going to be eliminated 317 00:18:02,900 --> 00:18:07,700 S2: from the algorithm. And so it could reduce the length 318 00:18:07,700 --> 00:18:11,140 S2: of time, the average length of time your accounts have 319 00:18:11,140 --> 00:18:13,740 S2: been open. And that could cause you to have a 320 00:18:13,740 --> 00:18:17,940 S2: slight reduction. So I think for those reasons, unless the 321 00:18:17,980 --> 00:18:20,459 S2: the lender is saying, wait a minute, there's just too 322 00:18:20,460 --> 00:18:23,620 S2: much risk here because you have $100,000 worth of credit 323 00:18:23,619 --> 00:18:26,060 S2: available to you, that even though I realize it's at 324 00:18:26,060 --> 00:18:28,540 S2: zero today and you've got a good credit score, you 325 00:18:28,540 --> 00:18:30,980 S2: could go out and run that up tomorrow. We don't 326 00:18:30,980 --> 00:18:33,620 S2: like that. If you heard that, then you might want 327 00:18:33,619 --> 00:18:36,649 S2: to close a few of them, but apart from that, 328 00:18:36,650 --> 00:18:40,369 S2: I'd probably wait. Uh, let them stay open just until 329 00:18:40,369 --> 00:18:42,650 S2: you get to the other side of the refi and 330 00:18:42,650 --> 00:18:46,930 S2: then start closing. You know, maybe two, three accounts every 331 00:18:46,930 --> 00:18:50,290 S2: six months until you get them all closed out. Does 332 00:18:50,290 --> 00:18:51,050 S2: that make sense? 333 00:18:51,730 --> 00:18:53,929 S4: Yes, sir. Very much. Rob. Perfect. 334 00:18:53,970 --> 00:18:54,370 S2: Excellent. 335 00:18:54,410 --> 00:18:54,730 S4: That's what. 336 00:18:54,730 --> 00:18:55,050 S2: All right. 337 00:18:55,369 --> 00:18:55,850 S4: I'll do. 338 00:18:56,010 --> 00:18:58,290 S2: All right. Very good. Listen, thanks for your call today. 339 00:18:58,330 --> 00:19:00,850 S2: Lord bless you. And we appreciate you being on the program. 340 00:19:00,850 --> 00:19:03,969 S2: Call anytime. Uh, let's go to Tennessee. Hi, Michael. Go ahead. 341 00:19:05,450 --> 00:19:09,050 S5: Uh, yes. Thank you for your show. Uh, I am 342 00:19:09,090 --> 00:19:14,169 S5: full time employment, and I'd like to, um, withdraw money 343 00:19:14,170 --> 00:19:15,730 S5: out of my own one k. 344 00:19:17,010 --> 00:19:18,690 S2: Okay. What is your age? 345 00:19:20,090 --> 00:19:20,929 S5: 64. 346 00:19:21,130 --> 00:19:25,770 S2: Yeah. Okay, well, since you're over 59.5, Michael, you absolutely 347 00:19:25,770 --> 00:19:28,770 S2: can withdraw money from that 401 K without the 10% 348 00:19:28,770 --> 00:19:32,410 S2: early withdrawal penalty. You're still going to owe ordinary income 349 00:19:32,609 --> 00:19:36,450 S2: tax on whatever you take out. Um, and so, you know, 350 00:19:36,490 --> 00:19:39,130 S2: are you still working or did you say you're fully retired? 351 00:19:40,450 --> 00:19:42,090 S5: No, I'm still working full time. 352 00:19:42,130 --> 00:19:45,129 S2: Okay. Yeah. Okay. So you need to check with your 353 00:19:45,130 --> 00:19:49,970 S2: plan because some employers limit withdrawals while you're still working. 354 00:19:49,970 --> 00:19:52,010 S2: So you're going to need to ask about something called 355 00:19:52,010 --> 00:19:56,130 S2: an in-service withdrawal. And I think the key here is 356 00:19:56,250 --> 00:19:59,330 S2: think long term. So pulling money out means less growth 357 00:19:59,330 --> 00:20:03,369 S2: for retirement. So sometimes you know there's other options you 358 00:20:03,369 --> 00:20:05,689 S2: may want to consider. I would just say use it 359 00:20:05,690 --> 00:20:09,050 S2: with purpose. Make sure it's a real need not lifestyle spending. 360 00:20:09,090 --> 00:20:12,129 S2: To the best of your ability. But uh yeah, you're 361 00:20:12,130 --> 00:20:15,090 S2: going to need to ask about that in-service withdrawal. If 362 00:20:15,090 --> 00:20:17,129 S2: they allow it, then you're going to be able to 363 00:20:17,130 --> 00:20:20,370 S2: get by without that penalty. But again, just make sure 364 00:20:20,369 --> 00:20:23,530 S2: you're ready for the tax implications of that when you file. 365 00:20:24,970 --> 00:20:28,730 S5: Okay. So I need to call the company that uh, 366 00:20:28,730 --> 00:20:29,650 S5: this is with. 367 00:20:30,090 --> 00:20:33,360 S2: That's exactly right. Call either your HR department or your 368 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:36,680 S2: plan administrator and just say, I'm still working. I'd like 369 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,639 S2: to take an in-service withdrawal. Tell me how that works. 370 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:42,720 S5: Okay, that'd be great. Thank you. 371 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,040 S2: All right. Thanks for your call today. Um, let's go 372 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:47,639 S2: to Texas. Hi, Thomas. Go ahead. 373 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:52,240 S6: No, I had a question about reverse mortgages. My wife 374 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:56,440 S6: is retired and in her 60s, but I am not, um, 375 00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:00,000 S6: at retirement age yet. Can we still get a reverse mortgage, 376 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,240 S6: or do we both have to be of a certain age? Yeah, 377 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:06,200 S6: we're both on the mortgage as well. 378 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:10,200 S2: Okay. Got it. Uh, and so what is it? Give 379 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,680 S2: me a little rundown of the equity that you have 380 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:13,760 S2: in the house right now. 381 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:17,800 S6: I'd say roughly about 150 to 170. 382 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:20,840 S2: Okay. That's the the equity that you have. 383 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:21,960 S6: Yes, sir. 384 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:27,359 S2: Yeah. So in order to qualify, you know, the youngest borrower, um, 385 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,909 S2: must be, you know, at least 62. So if your 386 00:21:30,910 --> 00:21:34,230 S2: wife were to apply alone, if your wife is on 387 00:21:34,230 --> 00:21:37,510 S2: the title and at least 62, she could apply for 388 00:21:37,510 --> 00:21:40,830 S2: the reverse in her name only. And then you, as 389 00:21:40,830 --> 00:21:44,510 S2: the younger spouse would be listed as a non borrowing spouse. 390 00:21:44,750 --> 00:21:46,790 S2: And so while your wife is alive and living in 391 00:21:46,790 --> 00:21:49,750 S2: the home, the reverse mortgage works as it does normally. 392 00:21:49,750 --> 00:21:53,070 S2: If she passes before you, protections would allow you to 393 00:21:53,109 --> 00:21:55,150 S2: stay in the home. Let's talk a bit more off 394 00:21:55,150 --> 00:22:05,669 S2: the air. We'll be right back. So glad to have 395 00:22:05,670 --> 00:22:08,430 S2: you with us today on Faith and Finance Live. Our 396 00:22:08,430 --> 00:22:11,390 S2: team is away today, so don't call in. But we 397 00:22:11,430 --> 00:22:13,750 S2: lined up some great questions in advance and we'll be 398 00:22:13,750 --> 00:22:16,030 S2: going to those here in just a moment. Let me 399 00:22:16,030 --> 00:22:18,710 S2: also remind you that the advice that I give each 400 00:22:18,710 --> 00:22:22,590 S2: day on this program is general in nature. We offer 401 00:22:22,590 --> 00:22:26,310 S2: principles and ideas that apply at a high level. They 402 00:22:26,310 --> 00:22:29,980 S2: are not personalized. So that's why you should always seek 403 00:22:29,980 --> 00:22:33,219 S2: professional financial advice. And if you'd like to find a 404 00:22:33,220 --> 00:22:36,459 S2: professional who shares your values, we of course, here at 405 00:22:36,460 --> 00:22:40,619 S2: Faith and Finance Live recommend the Certified Kingdom Advisor designation. 406 00:22:40,700 --> 00:22:43,260 S2: These are men and women who've met high standards, and 407 00:22:43,260 --> 00:22:46,260 S2: they've been trained to bring a biblical worldview of financial 408 00:22:46,260 --> 00:22:49,379 S2: decision making. You can find one at Faith. Com. All right. 409 00:22:49,380 --> 00:22:52,300 S2: Let's head back to the phones. Northbrook, Illinois. Pete. Go 410 00:22:52,300 --> 00:22:53,060 S2: right ahead, sir. 411 00:22:53,619 --> 00:22:55,740 S7: Hey, Rob, thanks for taking the call. So I'm 60 412 00:22:55,740 --> 00:22:59,100 S7: years old, and I've got a pension worth about a 413 00:22:59,100 --> 00:23:03,220 S7: lump sum of $700,000. I was interested in investing into 414 00:23:03,260 --> 00:23:06,700 S7: a income variable annuity product. Put it in for like, 415 00:23:06,700 --> 00:23:09,700 S7: three years to to grow it. It's got a buffer 20%. 416 00:23:09,700 --> 00:23:12,540 S7: So I won't lose anything if the market goes down 20%. 417 00:23:12,540 --> 00:23:14,460 S7: But I do gain based on the index and then 418 00:23:14,460 --> 00:23:17,300 S7: maybe start pulling it as fixed income in about three 419 00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:19,859 S7: years at some pretty good withdrawal rates. I'm wondering if 420 00:23:19,859 --> 00:23:20,900 S7: that's a good idea. 421 00:23:20,940 --> 00:23:25,060 S2: Yeah. So that variable annuity with the 20% buffer offers 422 00:23:25,060 --> 00:23:30,450 S2: as you stated, market linked growth potential. Partial downside risk. 423 00:23:30,490 --> 00:23:34,930 S2: Absorbing the risk. Absorbing the first 20% of any losses. 424 00:23:35,130 --> 00:23:38,290 S2: And it you know its balances the opportunity and the 425 00:23:38,290 --> 00:23:41,730 S2: risk because you know with trade offs like capped gains 426 00:23:41,730 --> 00:23:45,250 S2: meaning you can only own so much and complexity and 427 00:23:45,250 --> 00:23:49,730 S2: the costs with the downside protection. You know, these aren't 428 00:23:49,730 --> 00:23:52,489 S2: my favorite. Just because, you know, when you look at 429 00:23:52,490 --> 00:23:57,050 S2: the historical average annual returns of most market indexes, what 430 00:23:57,090 --> 00:24:00,730 S2: gets those seven, eight, 9% annualized returns up where they 431 00:24:00,730 --> 00:24:03,730 S2: have been over a long period of time is those 432 00:24:03,770 --> 00:24:07,489 S2: years that have dramatic upside potential, and you've got to 433 00:24:07,490 --> 00:24:10,610 S2: give that up in order to get the downside protection. Now, 434 00:24:10,609 --> 00:24:13,250 S2: you may say, listen, the peace of mind, Rob is 435 00:24:13,250 --> 00:24:15,850 S2: worth it. And I'm happy with the upside. And if 436 00:24:15,850 --> 00:24:18,810 S2: I can get the downside protection, I'm all in and 437 00:24:18,810 --> 00:24:21,090 S2: I've got some tax deferral and I can convert that 438 00:24:21,090 --> 00:24:24,689 S2: to an income stream. Okay, then then that's fine. I 439 00:24:24,690 --> 00:24:27,930 S2: just want you to go into it knowing that they're complex. 440 00:24:27,970 --> 00:24:30,570 S2: There's some limited liquidity, meaning if you need to get 441 00:24:30,570 --> 00:24:32,689 S2: to the money, you might have some surrender charges at 442 00:24:32,690 --> 00:24:34,890 S2: least in the first few years, and you've got that 443 00:24:34,890 --> 00:24:38,530 S2: capped upside. But if the downside protection is worth it, 444 00:24:38,530 --> 00:24:40,010 S2: then I'd say go for it. I don't have a 445 00:24:40,010 --> 00:24:43,409 S2: problem with it. I will say, Pete, get get multiple bids, 446 00:24:43,410 --> 00:24:46,040 S2: talk to 2 or 3 advisors. Let's compare 2 or 447 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,689 S2: 3 products before you make your final decision. Thanks for 448 00:24:48,690 --> 00:24:51,490 S2: your call. Let's go out to Texas, Keith. Go ahead. 449 00:24:52,890 --> 00:24:56,090 S8: Yes, sir. Thank you for taking my call. Um, I'm 450 00:24:56,090 --> 00:24:58,450 S8: running a small business in Texas, and I'm looking for 451 00:24:58,450 --> 00:25:02,090 S8: a Christian value based company that offers POS systems. Do 452 00:25:02,090 --> 00:25:02,850 S8: you know of any. 453 00:25:03,170 --> 00:25:06,810 S2: Ah, yeah. Good question. Uh, you know, um, I do 454 00:25:06,810 --> 00:25:10,609 S2: not know of one specifically that is is Christian based 455 00:25:10,609 --> 00:25:14,010 S2: or Christian friendly. I will tell you that I'm familiar 456 00:25:14,010 --> 00:25:18,610 S2: with a number of ministries, uh, that use Authorize.net, uh, 457 00:25:18,609 --> 00:25:22,970 S2: for processing. And, um, you know, I've never heard of any, 458 00:25:23,010 --> 00:25:27,159 S2: you know, being shut down for, you know, their faith 459 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:29,840 S2: or anything like that, which is not necessarily the case 460 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:32,240 S2: with some of the other big players out there. So 461 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,000 S2: that might be one to look at. Um, you know, 462 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,080 S2: obviously the biggest player in this space in terms of 463 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:42,400 S2: POS systems would be square. I am not sure you know, 464 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,399 S2: whether they're Christian friendly or not, but I think in 465 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,280 S2: the meantime, if you're looking for credit card processing, I 466 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,000 S2: can tell you I'm at least familiar with several ministries, 467 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:55,080 S2: large ones that use Authorize.net authorize.net. 468 00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:56,640 S8: I'll look into that. Thank you very much. 469 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,399 S2: All right. Appreciate your call, Keith. Lord bless you. Uh, 470 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,480 S2: let's head to, uh, Virginia. Hi, Carol. How can I 471 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:02,040 S2: help you? 472 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,119 S9: Yes, I have a question. I've been in the stock 473 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:11,320 S9: market for years, and I'm 81 years old. My question is, 474 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,639 S9: would it be safe for me to take some of 475 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:17,320 S9: my money out of stock market and invest it in annuities? 476 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,719 S2: Mhm. Yeah. So at 81 obviously you know your goal 477 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:26,149 S2: is preservation of capital. And I think, you know, you're 478 00:26:26,150 --> 00:26:28,550 S2: right to say, how do I make sure I'm not 479 00:26:28,550 --> 00:26:32,470 S2: taking unnecessary risk? And so I think, you know, reducing 480 00:26:32,470 --> 00:26:35,550 S2: stock market exposure can be done a couple of ways. 481 00:26:35,550 --> 00:26:38,949 S2: One way is just usually through an advisor or a 482 00:26:38,950 --> 00:26:43,750 S2: financial advisor who's an investment manager. By getting more conservative 483 00:26:43,750 --> 00:26:48,350 S2: in your investment allocations. So decreasing your stock exposure, maybe 484 00:26:48,350 --> 00:26:52,110 S2: not entirely because, you know, even at 81, we might 485 00:26:52,109 --> 00:26:54,990 S2: need this money to last still a couple of decades, 486 00:26:55,750 --> 00:26:58,510 S2: depending on your health and if the Lord tarries. And 487 00:26:58,510 --> 00:27:01,790 S2: because of that, I think, you know, even at 81, 488 00:27:01,790 --> 00:27:05,390 S2: we may want 20 or 30% exposure to stocks to 489 00:27:05,430 --> 00:27:09,790 S2: provide a little growth component to offset inflation. But we 490 00:27:09,790 --> 00:27:14,429 S2: can take 70 or 80% and move it toward lower risk, 491 00:27:14,470 --> 00:27:18,910 S2: safer alternatives. What we generally refer to as fixed income. 492 00:27:18,910 --> 00:27:22,260 S2: So that could be treasury bills from the US government. 493 00:27:22,260 --> 00:27:25,820 S2: It could be certificates of deposit, CDs. We could use 494 00:27:25,820 --> 00:27:29,859 S2: high yield savings accounts. We can use money market. Those 495 00:27:29,859 --> 00:27:33,780 S2: are the kinds of things that offer stable returns without 496 00:27:33,780 --> 00:27:38,140 S2: locking up your capital for years, which is what happens 497 00:27:38,140 --> 00:27:40,860 S2: with the annuity. Now, one of the benefits of the annuity, 498 00:27:40,859 --> 00:27:43,620 S2: which is why I wouldn't take that off the table, 499 00:27:44,020 --> 00:27:48,260 S2: is you get that stability and you transfer the risk 500 00:27:48,500 --> 00:27:51,260 S2: over to the insurance company. And so if you could 501 00:27:51,260 --> 00:27:54,419 S2: get a guaranteed rate of return that you were happy 502 00:27:54,420 --> 00:27:58,340 S2: with from the insurance company, then, you know, you kind 503 00:27:58,340 --> 00:28:01,700 S2: of eliminate that risk at that point. And, you know, 504 00:28:01,740 --> 00:28:05,500 S2: the only question then would be, number one, how strong 505 00:28:05,500 --> 00:28:09,620 S2: is the, uh, the insurance company that you're going with? 506 00:28:09,660 --> 00:28:11,900 S2: You'd want to make sure that it's it's highly rated 507 00:28:11,900 --> 00:28:15,060 S2: and there's a way to check that. And then secondly, 508 00:28:15,300 --> 00:28:16,979 S2: you'd want to make sure that you can still get 509 00:28:17,020 --> 00:28:20,619 S2: access to your money because, you know, you are locking 510 00:28:20,619 --> 00:28:24,260 S2: it up now. Often you could take out up to 10% 511 00:28:24,260 --> 00:28:27,100 S2: a year, which gives you a little bit of flexibility. 512 00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:29,940 S2: And many of them are paying, you know, pretty attractive 513 00:28:29,940 --> 00:28:31,980 S2: rates better than you would get in a CD or 514 00:28:31,980 --> 00:28:34,740 S2: a savings account. So, for instance, one of the annuity 515 00:28:34,740 --> 00:28:37,899 S2: companies that's getting a lot of attention right now is 516 00:28:37,900 --> 00:28:40,660 S2: an online insurance company. So they don't have brick and 517 00:28:40,660 --> 00:28:44,940 S2: mortar operations still very strong in terms of their rating. 518 00:28:44,940 --> 00:28:48,300 S2: They have a an excellent rating from Am best, which 519 00:28:48,300 --> 00:28:52,580 S2: is the the rating service for annuity companies. It's called 520 00:28:52,580 --> 00:28:57,260 S2: Gain Bridge and they're paying about 5.3% right now guaranteed. 521 00:28:57,260 --> 00:29:00,080 S2: And you can decide, you know, anywhere between 1 and 522 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:02,820 S2: 10 years. And I believe you can get up to 10% 523 00:29:02,820 --> 00:29:05,740 S2: of your money a year. So that would be an option. 524 00:29:05,740 --> 00:29:07,940 S2: Maybe you take a portion of your money and put 525 00:29:07,940 --> 00:29:10,459 S2: it there, and then with the rest you use the 526 00:29:10,460 --> 00:29:14,380 S2: other things I mentioned like treasuries or money market or 527 00:29:14,460 --> 00:29:18,580 S2: CDs and then together, you know, using all these different tools, 528 00:29:18,580 --> 00:29:21,330 S2: you can build out a kind of a nice, very 529 00:29:21,330 --> 00:29:25,489 S2: low risk, uh, you know, income generating portfolio. But let 530 00:29:25,490 --> 00:29:27,370 S2: me stop there, Carol. I've thrown a lot at you 531 00:29:27,370 --> 00:29:28,890 S2: and just see what questions you have. 532 00:29:30,330 --> 00:29:33,690 S9: Well, I've heard I've heard good and bad about annuities. 533 00:29:34,170 --> 00:29:37,330 S9: I have one that I do have a broker. I 534 00:29:37,370 --> 00:29:40,530 S9: do have one that's with nationwide. And I've had it 535 00:29:40,530 --> 00:29:43,850 S9: about two years, I suppose, but I don't draw any 536 00:29:43,890 --> 00:29:46,770 S9: income from it. And the one you want that you suggest, 537 00:29:46,810 --> 00:29:48,290 S9: it was called Game Bridge. 538 00:29:48,530 --> 00:29:51,290 S2: That's right. Yeah. And they're online only, so you'd have 539 00:29:51,290 --> 00:29:53,610 S2: to be comfortable with that. But they're highly rated. And 540 00:29:53,610 --> 00:29:56,090 S2: it's kind of like the online banks where you can 541 00:29:56,090 --> 00:29:59,650 S2: get an FDIC insured savings account at your local brick 542 00:29:59,650 --> 00:30:02,570 S2: and mortar, you know, big brand name, and you might 543 00:30:02,570 --> 00:30:06,650 S2: get 0.1% interest. And if you use an online bank 544 00:30:06,810 --> 00:30:11,610 S2: instead of getting 0.1, you might get 4%, you know, um, and, 545 00:30:11,650 --> 00:30:14,210 S2: you know, you still get the FDIC insurance, you just 546 00:30:14,210 --> 00:30:17,210 S2: can't walk in the door. And they use that savings 547 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:19,680 S2: from the brick and no brick and mortar to pass 548 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:22,600 S2: along to the the customers. And that's that's kind of 549 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,240 S2: the idea behind Gainbridge. But I'm not selling that one. 550 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:26,760 S2: It doesn't matter to me which one you use. I 551 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:29,760 S2: was just using that as an example. Um, you know, 552 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:33,080 S2: I appreciate your question about the annuities. I'm not a 553 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:35,560 S2: huge fan, but I do think in your in a 554 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:39,520 S2: situation like yours, as long as you're okay with lower liquidity, 555 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:42,520 S2: meaning your money's often locked up, and as long as 556 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:44,400 S2: you can get a rate of return you're happy with, 557 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,000 S2: I think those are the keys, and maybe it's one 558 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:50,160 S2: piece of an overall portfolio. Just a quick reminder we're 559 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:52,440 S2: not here today, so don't call in. But we're going 560 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:54,840 S2: to head to a break and much more coming just 561 00:30:54,840 --> 00:31:05,520 S2: after this. Stay with us. I'm so glad to have 562 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:08,280 S2: you with us today on Faith and finance live here 563 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:11,360 S2: on Moody Radio. I'm Rob West. Hey, our team is 564 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:14,240 S2: away from the studio today, so don't call in. We 565 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:18,150 S2: did line up though. Some great questions and we'll get 566 00:31:18,150 --> 00:31:21,510 S2: to those just around the corner. But you know here 567 00:31:21,510 --> 00:31:25,310 S2: at Moody Radio everything is about first of all the gospel. 568 00:31:25,310 --> 00:31:29,590 S2: And then beyond that, helping you live as wise stewards, 569 00:31:29,590 --> 00:31:33,110 S2: engaging the culture, living out a biblical worldview in every 570 00:31:33,110 --> 00:31:36,510 S2: facet of your lives, whether it's your walk with Jesus 571 00:31:36,510 --> 00:31:40,310 S2: personally in your marriage, as you raise your children, and yes, 572 00:31:40,350 --> 00:31:42,630 S2: as you manage God's money. And that's our heart on 573 00:31:42,630 --> 00:31:45,270 S2: this program, each day is just to walk alongside you 574 00:31:45,270 --> 00:31:47,990 S2: in that journey. We know it's a high calling from 575 00:31:47,990 --> 00:31:50,989 S2: the Lord, and we want to help you be found faithful. Uh, 576 00:31:50,990 --> 00:31:53,390 S2: let's go to Arkansas. Hi, Anne, thanks for your patience. 577 00:31:53,390 --> 00:31:54,150 S2: How can I help? 578 00:31:54,870 --> 00:31:56,590 S10: I appreciate your program. 579 00:31:56,990 --> 00:31:58,270 S2: Well, thank you very much. 580 00:31:58,710 --> 00:32:02,030 S10: A couple of months ago, the company that administers my 581 00:32:02,030 --> 00:32:06,670 S10: retirement funds notified me of a data breach, and they 582 00:32:06,670 --> 00:32:12,670 S10: offered free monitoring through Kroll. Uh, I believe that was 583 00:32:12,670 --> 00:32:16,070 S10: for two years, and I signed up for that. Well, 584 00:32:16,070 --> 00:32:19,190 S10: this week our bank has notified us of a data 585 00:32:19,190 --> 00:32:26,630 S10: breach and they are offering free data monitoring through a 586 00:32:26,630 --> 00:32:31,310 S10: company C, y e x for 12 months. I would 587 00:32:31,310 --> 00:32:34,710 S10: like to know if they're a reputable company and if 588 00:32:34,710 --> 00:32:39,110 S10: it's advisable to have two different companies monitoring you at 589 00:32:39,110 --> 00:32:40,110 S10: the same time. 590 00:32:40,390 --> 00:32:43,270 S2: Yeah, yeah, it's a good question. Where are you in 591 00:32:43,270 --> 00:32:47,070 S2: the Kroll free period. Are you still do you still 592 00:32:47,070 --> 00:32:48,470 S2: have a ways to go on that one? 593 00:32:49,550 --> 00:32:52,870 S10: Oh yeah. That started just a couple of months ago 594 00:32:52,870 --> 00:32:54,469 S10: and it was for two years. 595 00:32:54,870 --> 00:32:58,710 S2: Okay. All right. Very good. Yeah. So I mean, here's 596 00:32:58,710 --> 00:33:02,590 S2: my position on this. I don't think unless you've been 597 00:33:02,590 --> 00:33:05,630 S2: the victim of ID theft or you have somebody who's 598 00:33:05,630 --> 00:33:08,030 S2: willing to pay for it for you because of a breach, 599 00:33:08,030 --> 00:33:10,630 S2: which seems like that's just kind of a rolling thing 600 00:33:10,630 --> 00:33:14,340 S2: now because of how often that's happening. My opinion is 601 00:33:14,380 --> 00:33:18,060 S2: there's no need to pay for credit monitoring. As long 602 00:33:18,060 --> 00:33:21,500 S2: as you're using best practices. Checking your credit score, which 603 00:33:21,500 --> 00:33:26,020 S2: you can do free now, creditkarma.com and even your website. 604 00:33:26,060 --> 00:33:27,940 S2: Or excuse me, your credit card. Many of them will 605 00:33:27,980 --> 00:33:32,180 S2: offer that you're checking your credit reports on Annualcreditreport.com three 606 00:33:32,180 --> 00:33:35,540 S2: times a year. You're not clicking on phishing links. You're 607 00:33:35,540 --> 00:33:39,500 S2: changing your passwords. You're not, you know, doing financial transactions 608 00:33:39,500 --> 00:33:42,060 S2: on public Wi-Fi, like at a coffee shop. I mean, 609 00:33:42,060 --> 00:33:45,380 S2: if you're doing those things, then, you know, I don't 610 00:33:45,380 --> 00:33:48,220 S2: think you need to be paying for adding another subscription 611 00:33:48,220 --> 00:33:52,060 S2: for credit monitoring. Now, the exception to that is go ahead. 612 00:33:52,380 --> 00:33:54,260 S10: Most of these are are free. 613 00:33:54,460 --> 00:33:57,820 S2: Yeah. And so for your case I think absolutely somebody's 614 00:33:57,860 --> 00:34:00,620 S2: offering it to you free. Why not have that extra 615 00:34:00,620 --> 00:34:04,620 S2: layer of protection. Do you know Kroll is very reputable? 616 00:34:05,020 --> 00:34:08,700 S2: I'm not as familiar with, you know, Saiacs. I know 617 00:34:08,700 --> 00:34:11,660 S2: they're a they are a legit company. I just haven't 618 00:34:11,730 --> 00:34:14,370 S2: read any reviews on them, you know. Does it hurt 619 00:34:14,370 --> 00:34:17,049 S2: for you to have two? No, I don't think so. 620 00:34:17,050 --> 00:34:19,689 S2: Although Kroll is is one of the big ones. And 621 00:34:19,690 --> 00:34:22,649 S2: so I think they'll probably be sufficient. But if they're 622 00:34:22,650 --> 00:34:25,290 S2: paying for it, you know, at least the, the, the 623 00:34:25,290 --> 00:34:30,529 S2: new one would continue after Kroll drops off because this 624 00:34:30,530 --> 00:34:33,489 S2: is a new instance. So again, I don't think it's 625 00:34:33,489 --> 00:34:36,810 S2: a problem. Just make sure they're not automatically renewing it 626 00:34:36,850 --> 00:34:38,850 S2: at the end of the free period. Then all of 627 00:34:38,850 --> 00:34:42,210 S2: a sudden you're paying for something that you didn't intend to. 628 00:34:42,370 --> 00:34:45,290 S2: Is it bad to have overlapping monitoring? No, I don't 629 00:34:45,290 --> 00:34:47,410 S2: think so. As long as somebody else is paying the bill. 630 00:34:48,210 --> 00:34:52,489 S10: Okay. Uh, we have credit freezes with all three. 631 00:34:52,530 --> 00:34:52,970 S2: Good. 632 00:34:53,570 --> 00:34:57,050 S10: Credit bureaus. So is there any point in us getting 633 00:34:57,050 --> 00:34:58,530 S10: our credit reports? 634 00:34:59,090 --> 00:35:01,890 S2: Uh, I think there is, because here's the thing. Credit 635 00:35:01,930 --> 00:35:06,969 S2: reports on occasion will have inaccurate information. So even if 636 00:35:07,010 --> 00:35:10,130 S2: you know somebody hasn't compromised your account by opening a 637 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:14,319 S2: fraudulent account because the credit freeze should take care of that, 638 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:16,520 S2: because the lender won't be able to actually access the 639 00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:19,799 S2: credit file to approve the loan. There could be an 640 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:22,239 S2: accurate information on there and you just don't know about it. 641 00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:24,160 S2: So I think, you know, at least a couple of 642 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:27,800 S2: times a year I'd go to Annualcreditreport.com, pull it, just 643 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,359 S2: make sure there's nothing out of the ordinary that that 644 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,200 S2: you think is incorrect. It's less of an issue with 645 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:35,000 S2: a credit freeze, but I'd still do it. 646 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:37,680 S10: Okay. Thank you very much. 647 00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:39,680 S2: All right. And thank you for calling. May the Lord 648 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:43,160 S2: bless you. Uh, Karina is in Texas, waiting patiently. Karina. 649 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:43,680 S2: Go ahead. 650 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:48,600 S11: Hi, there. Thank you for answering my question. Of course 651 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:51,920 S11: I'm getting my call. Well, I'm from Texas, and I 652 00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:55,280 S11: have a small business here in my city at the. 653 00:35:55,320 --> 00:36:00,840 S11: At the department mall. Um, it's the only mall here, but, um, 654 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:05,120 S11: with the current economy right now, it just seems that 655 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:09,150 S11: our business is failing even with the location that we 656 00:36:09,150 --> 00:36:14,270 S11: have relocated a few years back ago and with with 657 00:36:14,310 --> 00:36:19,630 S11: that happening, many other department stores are closing as well. Yeah. Um, 658 00:36:19,630 --> 00:36:22,469 S11: so at this point, you know, it just seems that 659 00:36:22,510 --> 00:36:26,110 S11: we're we're losing money right now and we're kind of 660 00:36:26,150 --> 00:36:30,670 S11: going under debt, um, something that we really haven't, um, 661 00:36:31,390 --> 00:36:35,310 S11: you know, been faced with yet. And, um, now it's 662 00:36:35,310 --> 00:36:38,069 S11: kind of time that I'm thinking, you know, after so 663 00:36:38,070 --> 00:36:40,910 S11: many years being in business as a brick and mortar, 664 00:36:40,910 --> 00:36:44,070 S11: is it best that we close and sell the business 665 00:36:44,070 --> 00:36:47,230 S11: and move on to a new venture, or find a 666 00:36:47,230 --> 00:36:50,029 S11: job so I can financially stable my family? 667 00:36:50,350 --> 00:36:52,790 S2: Well, I know this is hard, but I appreciate the 668 00:36:52,790 --> 00:36:56,790 S2: question because you're exactly right. Uh, you know, this is 669 00:36:56,910 --> 00:36:59,630 S2: something you need to take a long and hard look at. 670 00:36:59,870 --> 00:37:02,149 S2: And let me just give you some rules of thumb 671 00:37:02,150 --> 00:37:04,189 S2: that I think will make this clear. And it sounds 672 00:37:04,190 --> 00:37:07,310 S2: like you're already headed down this road anyway, even though 673 00:37:07,430 --> 00:37:10,790 S2: this is a difficult decision to make because we get 674 00:37:10,830 --> 00:37:15,270 S2: emotionally and financially invested in our small businesses and they're 675 00:37:15,270 --> 00:37:18,310 S2: hard to let go. And there's a grieving process really 676 00:37:18,310 --> 00:37:20,750 S2: that comes with that. But I would say, first of all, 677 00:37:20,950 --> 00:37:23,910 S2: if the business can't pay you a living wage, you know, 678 00:37:23,950 --> 00:37:26,870 S2: that's the first rule of thumb that signals it might 679 00:37:26,870 --> 00:37:30,350 S2: be time to shut down. If after ten years, you know, 680 00:37:30,390 --> 00:37:34,350 S2: you can't reliably pay household expenses without debt and it's 681 00:37:34,350 --> 00:37:37,910 S2: requiring personal credit cards or loans to survive, that's a 682 00:37:37,910 --> 00:37:40,750 S2: strong signal. The model isn't working, even if it has 683 00:37:40,750 --> 00:37:44,270 S2: in the past. It's not today. Second, you're subsidizing the 684 00:37:44,270 --> 00:37:47,390 S2: business with family money. You know, it's draining your savings. 685 00:37:47,390 --> 00:37:51,670 S2: You're skipping retirement contributions. You're taking on personal debt. A 686 00:37:51,670 --> 00:37:56,550 S2: healthy business needs to serve the family, not consume it. Uh, third, 687 00:37:56,590 --> 00:37:59,710 S2: the business has no clear path to profitability. So I 688 00:37:59,710 --> 00:38:04,150 S2: would ask, you know, what specific changes might I expect 689 00:38:04,150 --> 00:38:07,620 S2: in the next 6 to 12 months? More revenue. Higher margins, 690 00:38:07,660 --> 00:38:11,299 S2: fewer hours. And if the answers are vague, that's, you know, 691 00:38:11,340 --> 00:38:14,779 S2: not a strategy. I'd move on. Um, number four would 692 00:38:14,780 --> 00:38:19,860 S2: be if the stress cost outweighs the financial benefit, um, 693 00:38:19,980 --> 00:38:24,540 S2: you know, it's causing anxiety or marital tension. Um, you know, 694 00:38:24,580 --> 00:38:27,100 S2: I would say that's another one. And then, you know, 695 00:38:27,140 --> 00:38:30,340 S2: I would just say, lastly, you going out and getting 696 00:38:30,340 --> 00:38:34,540 S2: a job if that would stabilize the family, stop debt accumulation, 697 00:38:34,540 --> 00:38:39,340 S2: restore predictable income, then, you know, that's just wise stewardship. 698 00:38:39,700 --> 00:38:42,540 S2: I mean, at the end of the day, the business 699 00:38:42,780 --> 00:38:45,739 S2: is not, you know, part of your identity. And I 700 00:38:45,739 --> 00:38:49,060 S2: think we need to reframe the conversation. You know the question. 701 00:38:49,060 --> 00:38:51,580 S2: It's not just, can I hang on a little longer? 702 00:38:52,060 --> 00:38:55,660 S2: It's is this business serving my family, or is it 703 00:38:55,660 --> 00:38:59,900 S2: slowly harming the family because the business is a tool? Um, 704 00:39:00,180 --> 00:39:02,700 S2: you know, to do that. And the moment it stops 705 00:39:02,700 --> 00:39:05,850 S2: doing that without a clear path to to changing that, 706 00:39:05,850 --> 00:39:08,210 S2: then I think, you know, we need to think about 707 00:39:08,210 --> 00:39:12,529 S2: that exit strategy. So I feel like, um, you're probably 708 00:39:12,530 --> 00:39:15,570 S2: at that point just what I'm hearing. Obviously you can't, 709 00:39:15,610 --> 00:39:17,129 S2: you know, you need to be the one to make 710 00:39:17,130 --> 00:39:19,890 S2: that decision. But, you know, just based on some of 711 00:39:19,890 --> 00:39:22,690 S2: the things you're describing, I think if we're not there, 712 00:39:22,690 --> 00:39:26,330 S2: we're close to there. And without a path forward, you know, 713 00:39:26,370 --> 00:39:29,609 S2: with some real confidence in turning this around, I would 714 00:39:29,610 --> 00:39:32,050 S2: say start to think about unwinding it. 715 00:39:32,810 --> 00:39:36,690 S11: Right. I am there, um, ready and looking for a buyer. 716 00:39:36,690 --> 00:39:40,490 S11: But it is hard knowing that God sent you this 717 00:39:40,489 --> 00:39:44,169 S11: idea and this feeling of opening this business for your 718 00:39:44,170 --> 00:39:48,490 S11: community and then having to close years later and not 719 00:39:48,489 --> 00:39:52,370 S11: providing for your community and following through what God wanted. 720 00:39:52,370 --> 00:39:55,370 S11: But I hope that he gives me the strength to 721 00:39:55,410 --> 00:39:57,569 S11: close and find a new passion. 722 00:39:57,969 --> 00:39:59,250 S12: Yeah, I hear you in that. 723 00:39:59,250 --> 00:40:01,970 S2: And I think that's right and well said. And obviously, 724 00:40:02,010 --> 00:40:05,600 S2: you know, God gave us work as a part of 725 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:07,759 S2: his creation. Remember, Adam and Eve were to keep and 726 00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:10,080 S2: cultivate the garden, and so work is a part of 727 00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:13,320 S2: God's plan. Uh, we're to be productive. God is a worker. 728 00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:15,840 S2: We see that on display in creation. We're to be workers. 729 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,560 S2: He creates out of nothing. We create out of the 730 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:21,920 S2: latent potential of his creation. And we use that to, 731 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:24,719 S2: you know, create human flourishing and to love our neighbor 732 00:40:24,719 --> 00:40:27,280 S2: and to provide goods and services that are good and 733 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:29,960 S2: serve people. And that's a part of God's plan. But 734 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:32,600 S2: it could be that this business was for a season, 735 00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:36,120 S2: and he's now using this to redirect you to somebody else, 736 00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:39,000 S2: something else. But you can be confident that as long 737 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:43,200 S2: as you're working as unto the Lord, you're fulfilling that 738 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:47,239 S2: responsibility that we all have to be workers, um, and 739 00:40:47,239 --> 00:40:49,759 S2: to bring God glory. And I think in part you 740 00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:52,520 S2: could use this as saying, God's closing this door and 741 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:54,560 S2: therefore he has something else in mind for me. And 742 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:57,320 S2: so I'm going to pursue that and bring him glory 743 00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:00,399 S2: in that, that additional context. And so I don't think 744 00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:03,480 S2: you need to for a moment Think God's disappointed. I'm 745 00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:05,960 S2: letting people down. You're following the leading of the Lord, 746 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:08,560 S2: and one of the ways he redirects us is often 747 00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:12,120 S2: through the financial story, the stewardship. Um, and, you know, 748 00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:14,200 S2: we know that you need to be a good steward 749 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:17,919 S2: as a part of God's plan. So, uh, hope that's 750 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:20,160 S2: helpful to you. Karina, I know this is not easy, 751 00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:23,520 S2: but I'm confident the Lord will provide. James one five 752 00:41:23,560 --> 00:41:26,880 S2: if we lack wisdom, ask God and he will provide 753 00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:30,080 S2: it richly. And so make this a matter of prayer, 754 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:33,880 S2: and I'm confident God will direct you. Arkansas. Charlie. Go ahead. 755 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:37,640 S13: Rob, I'd like to know, since I am going to 756 00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:41,439 S13: be drawing my full benefit of Social Security, I was 757 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:46,640 S13: wondering how much can I make without being taxed? 758 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:51,680 S2: Yeah. Um, so you are at full retirement age, and 759 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:55,560 S2: so that means that you no longer have an earnings limit. 760 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:59,280 S2: That limit in terms of what you can earn only 761 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:03,790 S2: applies to people before full retirement age. But once you 762 00:42:03,790 --> 00:42:07,189 S2: reach full retirement age, which is, you know, no later 763 00:42:07,190 --> 00:42:11,549 S2: than 67, uh, then you can earn any amount and 764 00:42:11,550 --> 00:42:15,149 S2: still receive your full Social Security benefit with no reduction. 765 00:42:16,030 --> 00:42:18,830 S2: I think we lost him. Hopefully that helps you, Charlie, 766 00:42:18,830 --> 00:42:21,149 S2: but it sounds like you're in good shape there. You 767 00:42:21,150 --> 00:42:23,710 S2: can work away, earn as much as you want. You're 768 00:42:23,710 --> 00:42:26,350 S2: going to continue receiving that benefit. Hey, thanks for your 769 00:42:26,350 --> 00:42:28,710 S2: call today. Well, folks, it's been a joy to be 770 00:42:28,710 --> 00:42:32,629 S2: along with you today. Thanks for inviting us into your story. 771 00:42:32,830 --> 00:42:35,150 S2: What a joy it is to encourage you with God's 772 00:42:35,150 --> 00:42:38,469 S2: Word as you seek to be that wise and faithful steward. 773 00:42:38,510 --> 00:42:41,989 S2: Our goal that you'd see God as your ultimate treasure. 774 00:42:42,310 --> 00:42:44,310 S2: Let me say thanks to my team today. I couldn't 775 00:42:44,310 --> 00:42:47,509 S2: do it without them. Amy, Dan, Gabby, T, and Jim. 776 00:42:47,510 --> 00:42:50,270 S2: Faith and Finance Live is a partnership between Moody Radio 777 00:42:50,270 --> 00:42:53,270 S2: and Faith fi. Have a wonderful day and come back 778 00:42:53,270 --> 00:42:55,830 S2: and join us next time for another edition of Faith 779 00:42:55,830 --> 00:42:56,990 S2: and Finance live.