1 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,240 S1: The following program was pre-recorded, so our phone lines are 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:08,040 S1: not open. 3 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,760 S2: What do Bigfoot and credit reports have in common? Well, 4 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:16,079 S2: they're each the subject of many myths. Hi, I'm Rob West. Well, 5 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:19,160 S2: we don't know much about eight foot furry creatures, but 6 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,279 S2: we can dispel some of the folklore about credit and 7 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,360 S2: credit reports. Neil Simon is here to help us do 8 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,240 S2: that today. And then we have some great calls lined up. 9 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,840 S2: But please don't call in today because we're pre-recorded. This 10 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:42,240 S2: is faith and finance. Live biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, 11 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,919 S2: we always enjoy having Neil Simon with us. She's a 12 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,919 S2: certified credit counselor with Christian credit counselors and underwriter of 13 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,360 S2: this program. Neelie. Great to have you back. 14 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:53,600 S3: Thanks for having me on the show. 15 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,560 S2: I'm glad we're tackling this topic because there are certainly 16 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,360 S2: plenty of credit report myths out there that you're going 17 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,840 S2: to dispel today. But why do you think this is 18 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:04,600 S2: so important? 19 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,919 S3: Well, it's important because some people are scared of credit. 20 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,600 S3: They're afraid of debt or getting in too much debt. 21 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,720 S3: And they believe that credit is bad. But the reality is, 22 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,560 S3: is that credit can be a very useful tool. And 23 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,200 S3: now more than ever, your credit score is important, especially 24 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:27,520 S3: when it comes to insurance companies and employers. 25 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:30,280 S2: Yeah, that's a good point. I mean, there are rules 26 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:32,600 S2: we talk about. I know you follow them, Neelie. We 27 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:34,960 S2: only want to use credit for budgeted items. We want 28 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:36,960 S2: to make sure you and your spouse are on the 29 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,280 S2: same page. And there are some dangers here. But as 30 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,360 S2: you point out, credit can be a very useful tool 31 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,200 S2: in your credit report is the key to that. So 32 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:49,160 S2: let's dive into these myths today. The first one is 33 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,440 S2: that paying down your debts will make your credit report 34 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:56,400 S2: instantly pristine or perfect. Why is that a myth? 35 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:01,790 S3: That's because establishing a good credit score takes time. Because 36 00:02:01,790 --> 00:02:04,670 S3: your credit score is a history of payments, and it 37 00:02:04,670 --> 00:02:08,630 S3: gives the lenders a snapshot in terms of how responsible 38 00:02:08,669 --> 00:02:13,310 S3: you're using your debt. Keep in mind that improvements take time. 39 00:02:13,590 --> 00:02:16,430 S3: What's most important is that you keep paying your bills 40 00:02:16,430 --> 00:02:17,190 S3: on time. 41 00:02:17,750 --> 00:02:20,470 S2: Yeah. Which is why anyone who says they can, quote, 42 00:02:20,510 --> 00:02:23,670 S2: fix your credit overnight, you should stay far away from 43 00:02:23,669 --> 00:02:24,430 S2: that person. 44 00:02:24,950 --> 00:02:25,750 S3: That's right. 45 00:02:25,790 --> 00:02:29,630 S2: All right. The next myth is that credit counseling destroys 46 00:02:29,630 --> 00:02:33,190 S2: your credit score. Boy, we have so many listeners calling 47 00:02:33,190 --> 00:02:36,070 S2: in asking this question. So clear this up for us. 48 00:02:36,630 --> 00:02:40,790 S3: Sure. So credit counseling does not impact your score negatively. 49 00:02:40,790 --> 00:02:43,950 S3: And in fact, it's a neutral mark on your credit score. 50 00:02:44,110 --> 00:02:48,110 S3: And being involved in a credit counseling program alone isn't 51 00:02:48,110 --> 00:02:52,270 S3: what negatively impacts your score. What impacts the score is 52 00:02:52,270 --> 00:02:55,549 S3: closing the accounts. So what you need to be aware 53 00:02:55,550 --> 00:02:59,390 S3: of is that when you're choosing a credit counseling agency, 54 00:02:59,830 --> 00:03:02,669 S3: you want to make sure they're a nonprofit and that 55 00:03:02,669 --> 00:03:06,230 S3: they're accredited. And I encourage you, don't waste your money 56 00:03:06,230 --> 00:03:11,590 S3: on fancy credit monitoring or identity protection. You can monitor 57 00:03:11,630 --> 00:03:13,430 S3: your own credit for free. 58 00:03:14,310 --> 00:03:16,750 S2: Yeah, that's a really great point. And it's important to 59 00:03:16,790 --> 00:03:19,870 S2: note that debt management or credit counseling is my preferred 60 00:03:19,870 --> 00:03:21,790 S2: way for you to get out of debt. And that's 61 00:03:21,790 --> 00:03:25,310 S2: why we're so delighted to be partnered with Christian credit counselors. 62 00:03:25,310 --> 00:03:29,150 S2: You can learn more, of course, at Christian credit counselors.org. Now, 63 00:03:29,150 --> 00:03:33,310 S2: the next myth is that canceling credit cards boosts my 64 00:03:33,310 --> 00:03:35,870 S2: credit score. Boy, a lot of folks are surprised by 65 00:03:35,870 --> 00:03:36,430 S2: this one. 66 00:03:37,510 --> 00:03:40,440 S3: Yeah. So creditors want to see at least 2 or 67 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,950 S3: 3 pieces of active credit. And closing credit card accounts 68 00:03:45,070 --> 00:03:48,830 S3: won't help your score, but it actually hurts your score. 69 00:03:49,030 --> 00:03:51,910 S3: And the reason for that is because the available credit 70 00:03:51,910 --> 00:03:55,830 S3: will decrease and lower your score, not raise it. I 71 00:03:55,830 --> 00:04:00,630 S3: always tell people who have zero balance accounts, as long 72 00:04:00,630 --> 00:04:03,550 S3: as the creditor is not charging you an annual fee, 73 00:04:03,830 --> 00:04:07,790 S3: keep it open because it will help your score and 74 00:04:07,790 --> 00:04:08,590 S3: improve it. 75 00:04:08,630 --> 00:04:10,950 S2: Yeah. Now, if you decide you need to close one 76 00:04:10,950 --> 00:04:13,190 S2: because it does have a fee or you just have 77 00:04:13,190 --> 00:04:16,990 S2: too many to keep up with, perhaps consider only closing 78 00:04:17,029 --> 00:04:20,870 S2: a couple of them every six months. It will be temporary. 79 00:04:20,870 --> 00:04:24,349 S2: That decline in your credit score, it will come back. 80 00:04:24,350 --> 00:04:26,750 S2: But I think you make a great point here nearly 81 00:04:26,750 --> 00:04:29,710 S2: that a lot of people just don't understand that closing 82 00:04:29,710 --> 00:04:32,909 S2: that account will pull your score down slightly. All right. 83 00:04:32,910 --> 00:04:35,350 S2: This next one needs some explanation and that is that 84 00:04:35,350 --> 00:04:39,830 S2: too many inquiries hurt my score. Tell us more about that. 85 00:04:39,950 --> 00:04:43,710 S3: Sure. So once upon a time that statement was true. 86 00:04:44,190 --> 00:04:48,229 S3: But now credit bureaus are recognizing that people are shopping 87 00:04:48,230 --> 00:04:51,670 S3: where you have multiple inquiries in a short period of time. 88 00:04:51,670 --> 00:04:54,700 S3: If you're shopping for like a car or a or mortgage. 89 00:04:54,860 --> 00:04:57,700 S3: So you have a 45 day period where you can 90 00:04:57,700 --> 00:05:03,420 S3: shop multiple creditors and it will only count for one pull. 91 00:05:04,060 --> 00:05:06,859 S2: Yeah, this is a big deal because we really want 92 00:05:06,860 --> 00:05:08,940 S2: you to be out there shopping. I mean, think about it. 93 00:05:08,980 --> 00:05:11,060 S2: When you get a mortgage, the last thing you want 94 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:14,100 S2: to do with your largest transaction ever is just get 95 00:05:14,100 --> 00:05:17,179 S2: one bid. Let's get several. And good news. The credit 96 00:05:17,220 --> 00:05:20,460 S2: bureaus will see that all as one, as Neely said 97 00:05:20,500 --> 00:05:23,740 S2: in a 45 day window. Neely Simon is here today. 98 00:05:23,740 --> 00:05:27,060 S2: She's with Christian credit counselors, an underwriter of this program 99 00:05:27,060 --> 00:05:38,979 S2: and a great partner. Back with more after this. I'm 100 00:05:38,980 --> 00:05:41,100 S2: so glad you're with us today on Faith in finance. 101 00:05:41,140 --> 00:05:44,180 S2: Live with me today. My friend Neely Simon, she's a 102 00:05:44,180 --> 00:05:48,260 S2: certified credit counselor with Christian credit counselors and underwriter of 103 00:05:48,260 --> 00:05:52,140 S2: this program. Boy, Christian Credit Counselors has been a wonderful 104 00:05:52,140 --> 00:05:55,979 S2: partner for a long time. Literally hundreds, if not thousands 105 00:05:55,980 --> 00:05:58,540 S2: of our listeners have used them to get out of 106 00:05:58,540 --> 00:06:01,659 S2: credit card debt once and for all. Credit counseling is 107 00:06:01,660 --> 00:06:05,420 S2: my preferred way. If you have more than about $4,000 108 00:06:05,420 --> 00:06:08,980 S2: in credit card debt sliding those cards into this program, 109 00:06:08,980 --> 00:06:13,380 S2: reducing the interest rates, paying one level monthly payments going 110 00:06:13,420 --> 00:06:16,460 S2: to help you pay this off 80% faster. You can 111 00:06:16,460 --> 00:06:20,260 S2: learn more at Christian credit counselors.org. Now, today, Neil is 112 00:06:20,260 --> 00:06:25,700 S2: tackling some top credit report myths and boy credit scores 113 00:06:25,740 --> 00:06:29,220 S2: and credit reports are a frequent topic on this program. 114 00:06:29,220 --> 00:06:31,539 S2: So I'm glad you're clearing a lot of this up 115 00:06:31,540 --> 00:06:33,940 S2: for us today. Neely. And just before the break, you 116 00:06:33,940 --> 00:06:38,100 S2: were sharing around inquiries and the impact that they have 117 00:06:38,220 --> 00:06:40,339 S2: on our credit score. And you said something that a 118 00:06:40,339 --> 00:06:43,420 S2: lot of people may not realize, and that is the agencies, 119 00:06:43,420 --> 00:06:47,740 S2: the bureaus now recognize shopping. So if you're out there 120 00:06:47,940 --> 00:06:52,140 S2: looking with multiple lenders for the same type of loan. 121 00:06:52,140 --> 00:06:54,580 S2: They're going to see that all as one in a 122 00:06:54,580 --> 00:06:57,780 S2: 45 day window, which is going to help to keep 123 00:06:57,779 --> 00:07:02,260 S2: your score higher during that shopping period. But the next 124 00:07:02,260 --> 00:07:05,340 S2: one is a follow up myth to that, and that 125 00:07:05,339 --> 00:07:08,860 S2: is around checking your own credit report. The myth is 126 00:07:08,860 --> 00:07:12,620 S2: that checking my own credit report harms my standing. Help 127 00:07:12,660 --> 00:07:13,260 S2: us with that. 128 00:07:13,300 --> 00:07:15,660 S3: Sure. So what's important to understand is that there's a 129 00:07:15,660 --> 00:07:18,820 S3: difference between a soft pull and a hard pull. So 130 00:07:18,820 --> 00:07:22,020 S3: a hard pull will impact your credit score. And it 131 00:07:22,020 --> 00:07:26,060 S3: happens when you're applying for credit cards, loans or mortgages. 132 00:07:26,420 --> 00:07:29,820 S3: Now a soft pill will not impact your score. And 133 00:07:29,820 --> 00:07:33,020 S3: so what's important and what we recommend is that everyone 134 00:07:33,020 --> 00:07:36,980 S3: should be pulling a soft credit report every 6 to 135 00:07:36,980 --> 00:07:40,980 S3: 12 months to check for any errors or fraud. Now, 136 00:07:40,980 --> 00:07:44,380 S3: a credit counselor can help you achieve this by pulling 137 00:07:44,380 --> 00:07:46,580 S3: a soft pull. But what you really want to do 138 00:07:46,580 --> 00:07:50,650 S3: is avoid companies promising free reports. You want to go 139 00:07:50,650 --> 00:07:54,210 S3: directly to the credit bureaus themselves, or you can go 140 00:07:54,210 --> 00:07:59,370 S3: to Annualcreditreport.com and run all three credit bureaus for free. 141 00:07:59,650 --> 00:08:04,010 S2: Yeah, and that's a really important reminder. Neely. Annualcreditreport.com is 142 00:08:04,010 --> 00:08:08,170 S2: the only resource that's from the government that provides free 143 00:08:08,210 --> 00:08:11,330 S2: credit reports. Everybody else would be a third party unless 144 00:08:11,330 --> 00:08:16,490 S2: you go directly to the bureau. Again. Annualcreditreport.com. All right. Neely. 145 00:08:16,530 --> 00:08:20,130 S2: Here's one myth that maybe is not quite so prevalent, 146 00:08:20,130 --> 00:08:24,130 S2: and that is credit scores are locked in for six months. 147 00:08:24,530 --> 00:08:27,890 S3: Right? So a Fico score is very dynamic in the 148 00:08:27,890 --> 00:08:31,970 S3: sense that it's always changing. So scores change as credit 149 00:08:32,010 --> 00:08:36,450 S3: reporting data changes. So the score will recalculate each time 150 00:08:36,450 --> 00:08:37,690 S3: a file is pulled. 151 00:08:37,929 --> 00:08:40,770 S2: Okay. Yeah that's helpful. All right. Continuing to work our 152 00:08:40,770 --> 00:08:44,530 S2: way through these credit report myths. And this next one 153 00:08:44,530 --> 00:08:47,410 S2: sounds like it should actually be true. But it's definitely 154 00:08:47,410 --> 00:08:49,610 S2: a myth. And that is, I don't need to check 155 00:08:49,610 --> 00:08:52,449 S2: my credit report if I pay my bills on time. 156 00:08:52,890 --> 00:08:56,610 S3: Right? Absolutely false. What's important for people to understand is 157 00:08:56,610 --> 00:09:01,650 S3: that 80% of credit reports contain errors. So by checking 158 00:09:01,650 --> 00:09:05,330 S3: your reports once or twice a year, you can really 159 00:09:05,330 --> 00:09:07,530 S3: make sure that you stay on top of it so 160 00:09:07,530 --> 00:09:10,610 S3: that if there is fraud or if there is errors, 161 00:09:10,610 --> 00:09:13,130 S3: that you can address it right away because it usually 162 00:09:13,130 --> 00:09:15,970 S3: takes up to 90 days to correct the report. 163 00:09:16,490 --> 00:09:19,690 S2: Very good. All right. That's helpful. Okay, here's another myth. 164 00:09:19,690 --> 00:09:21,730 S2: All credit reports are the same. 165 00:09:22,490 --> 00:09:25,130 S3: Absolutely not. So what you need to understand is that 166 00:09:25,130 --> 00:09:31,689 S3: the three major agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion all use 167 00:09:31,690 --> 00:09:34,250 S3: the Fico score. But the formula is a little bit 168 00:09:34,250 --> 00:09:37,970 S3: different and it's different per category. So if you go 169 00:09:37,970 --> 00:09:40,130 S3: and shop for a car, your score is going to 170 00:09:40,130 --> 00:09:42,410 S3: be different from the car score than it would if 171 00:09:42,410 --> 00:09:45,970 S3: you were going to shop for a mortgage loan. And 172 00:09:45,970 --> 00:09:49,650 S3: also what's important is that agencies update their records at 173 00:09:49,650 --> 00:09:55,410 S3: different speeds. There's also inquiry activity used like addresses, phone 174 00:09:55,410 --> 00:09:59,530 S3: numbers and employment status, which are forever changing as well. 175 00:09:59,809 --> 00:10:03,370 S3: So what's important is that when you pull your reports, 176 00:10:03,370 --> 00:10:06,010 S3: make sure to pull all three so that you have 177 00:10:06,010 --> 00:10:09,970 S3: a complete understanding of who and what you owe and 178 00:10:09,970 --> 00:10:12,729 S3: making sure you eliminate any errors. 179 00:10:12,970 --> 00:10:16,450 S2: Yeah, that's exactly right. And depending upon which lender you use, 180 00:10:16,450 --> 00:10:19,770 S2: they may use one bureau over another. They may use 181 00:10:19,770 --> 00:10:23,970 S2: one credit score that's calculated an entirely different way than another. 182 00:10:23,970 --> 00:10:27,810 S2: And so it's important to monitor all three. That's great advice, Neelie. 183 00:10:27,850 --> 00:10:31,410 S2: All right. Next up these are myths related to credit reports. 184 00:10:31,690 --> 00:10:37,250 S2: This one is that a divorce decree automatically severs joint accounts. 185 00:10:37,450 --> 00:10:39,970 S3: Right. So what's important to understand is that a court 186 00:10:39,970 --> 00:10:45,130 S3: decision on dividing debts does not impact the creditor. So 187 00:10:45,130 --> 00:10:48,280 S3: often we see at Christian credit counselors when people have 188 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,480 S3: gone through a divorce, the debts are split up. And 189 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,560 S3: what happens is if both people are on the account, 190 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:58,400 S3: if one person falls delinquent, it's going to impact your scores. 191 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,839 S3: So we always recommend if you're in this situation, make 192 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,120 S3: sure the accounts get closed. And if you're able to 193 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,840 S3: either refinance or, you know, if you have a car 194 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,920 S3: or a mortgage, it would require that you refinance it 195 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,680 S3: to get the other person off. But certainly, if you're 196 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:18,360 S3: an authorized user, make sure that the primary removes you 197 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:22,120 S3: from the account because too often you'll end up getting 198 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:26,679 S3: negative impacts based on someone else's behavior and decisions. 199 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,640 S2: Okay. Yeah, that's very helpful. All right. Neely, this next 200 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,720 S2: one might surprise some folks and that is that bad 201 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:36,760 S2: marks come off your reports automatically in seven years. But 202 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:38,800 S2: it's a bit more complicated, isn't it? 203 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,000 S3: That's correct. Only some bad news comes off in seven years. 204 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,360 S3: So a chapter 13 bankruptcy will stay on your report 205 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:50,040 S3: for seven years, and a chapter seven bankruptcy stays on 206 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:54,000 S3: your report for ten years. Accounts in bankruptcy can be 207 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:58,439 S3: deleted after seven years after the first missed payment. But 208 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,439 S3: what's important too, is that paid off or closed accounts 209 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:05,600 S3: without delinquencies will stay on your record for ten years, 210 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,760 S3: which is great because positive information will stay on record 211 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:14,040 S3: longer than negative information, which benefits you as the consumer. 212 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,400 S2: Yeah. That's helpful. All right. Our last credit report myth 213 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,400 S2: has cost folks a lot of money with very little gain. 214 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:23,840 S2: And that is I can always pay someone to fix 215 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:25,359 S2: or repair my credit. 216 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,839 S3: So there's really no such thing as credit repair. What's 217 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:31,720 S3: important to understand is that you as the consumer can 218 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:34,720 S3: do that on your own, because what happens is if 219 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:39,880 S3: the information is factual, then it cannot be removed, such 220 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,720 S3: as a late payment. Credit repair companies send dispute letters 221 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,960 S3: to reporting agencies. Agencies can ask the creditors to verify 222 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:52,880 S3: or document the disputed information. If the information is verified 223 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:57,959 S3: as inaccurate, the mistake will be corrected. But if it's accurate, 224 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,240 S3: then the information will remain on their credit report. So 225 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,480 S3: the client still has to pay the credit repair company, 226 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:10,720 S3: even though they weren't able to produce any results. So 227 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:15,440 S3: consumers themselves can write these dispute letters directly to the creditors. 228 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,439 S3: And at Christian credit Counselors, we have a resource tab 229 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:22,079 S3: on our website. If you want to see template letters 230 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:24,360 S3: and provide you with some more tools in order to 231 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:25,480 S3: do this on your own. 232 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:28,680 S2: All right. Very good. Well, this has been so helpful. Neelie, 233 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:31,400 S2: I know you've cleared a lot of this up for us. 234 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:32,440 S2: Tie a bow on this. 235 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,960 S3: Sure. So correcting credit myths sets the record straight on 236 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:40,600 S3: credit reports and scores. What's really important is that you 237 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:43,510 S3: educate yourself and you gain the knowledge so that you 238 00:13:43,510 --> 00:13:47,829 S3: can manage your credit correctly. Learning how to manage your 239 00:13:47,830 --> 00:13:52,750 S3: debt and repay credit helps achieve life and financial goals. 240 00:13:52,910 --> 00:13:57,150 S3: Accurate information promotes financial success and freedom. 241 00:13:57,590 --> 00:14:00,429 S2: Yeah, that's well said. Neely. Folks, if you are struggling 242 00:14:00,429 --> 00:14:02,790 S2: with credit card debt, reach out to our friends at 243 00:14:02,790 --> 00:14:05,949 S2: Christian Credit Counselors. You'll find them on the web. Christian 244 00:14:05,950 --> 00:14:12,150 S2: credit counselors.org or call 800 557 1985. They've worked with 245 00:14:12,190 --> 00:14:15,470 S2: hundreds of our listeners, and I'm so excited about the 246 00:14:15,510 --> 00:14:18,190 S2: work they do. Go ahead and reach out to them today. Neely, 247 00:14:18,190 --> 00:14:19,070 S2: thanks for being here. 248 00:14:19,430 --> 00:14:20,870 S3: Thank you so much for having me. 249 00:14:21,230 --> 00:14:24,150 S2: That's Neely Simon with Christian credit counselors. We're back with 250 00:14:24,150 --> 00:14:35,950 S2: your questions after this. Stick around. I'm so thankful you're 251 00:14:35,950 --> 00:14:39,270 S2: joining us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West. Hey, 252 00:14:39,310 --> 00:14:41,670 S2: just a quick reminder, our team is away from the 253 00:14:41,670 --> 00:14:44,350 S2: studio today, so don't call in. But in just a 254 00:14:44,350 --> 00:14:46,750 S2: few moments, we're going to get to some questions that 255 00:14:46,750 --> 00:14:49,510 S2: we lined up in advance that I know you'll find 256 00:14:49,550 --> 00:14:52,350 S2: very interesting. But let me take a moment just to 257 00:14:52,390 --> 00:14:55,710 S2: invite you first to be a supporter of this ministry 258 00:14:55,710 --> 00:14:57,910 S2: here at Faith fi. You know, we bring you this 259 00:14:57,910 --> 00:15:02,190 S2: broadcast every day as a listener supported ministry only because 260 00:15:02,190 --> 00:15:06,670 S2: of your generous support. So maybe you listen regularly, perhaps 261 00:15:06,670 --> 00:15:09,030 S2: you count on this program, maybe you've been able to 262 00:15:09,030 --> 00:15:11,870 S2: apply some of the wisdom from God's Word that you've 263 00:15:11,870 --> 00:15:15,230 S2: heard in your financial life, or it's just help you 264 00:15:15,230 --> 00:15:18,230 S2: to be that wise and faithful steward, and you'd like 265 00:15:18,230 --> 00:15:20,310 S2: to be a part of our team. Well, one way 266 00:15:20,310 --> 00:15:22,870 S2: you can do that is by investing in this work 267 00:15:22,870 --> 00:15:25,750 S2: through a one time gift, or even by becoming a 268 00:15:25,750 --> 00:15:29,830 S2: faithful partner. I just invite you to join us on 269 00:15:29,830 --> 00:15:32,870 S2: this journey. When you head to faith fi.com and click give, 270 00:15:32,910 --> 00:15:35,390 S2: a gift of any amount would be a big help. Again, 271 00:15:35,390 --> 00:15:38,950 S2: that's faith fi.com and just click give and let me 272 00:15:38,950 --> 00:15:42,190 S2: say thank you in advance. Your gift will make a 273 00:15:42,190 --> 00:15:45,150 S2: huge difference. Now let's head to the phone calls we 274 00:15:45,150 --> 00:15:48,270 S2: have lined up. Let's head to Michigan. Peter, thanks for 275 00:15:48,270 --> 00:15:49,150 S2: your call. Go ahead. 276 00:15:49,950 --> 00:15:51,750 S4: Hey, Rob, thanks for taking my call. 277 00:15:51,750 --> 00:15:53,030 S2: Of course. Thanks for calling. 278 00:15:53,710 --> 00:15:57,070 S4: Yeah, just had a question. My wife and I, we 279 00:15:57,070 --> 00:16:01,030 S4: bought a house in 2024, you know, 800 square foot, 280 00:16:01,070 --> 00:16:04,150 S4: two bedroom house. And, uh, the Lord continue to bless 281 00:16:04,150 --> 00:16:10,750 S4: us with two beautiful daughters. Uh, quickly, uh, and we, uh, 282 00:16:10,790 --> 00:16:13,750 S4: just feel a call that we want to continue, uh, 283 00:16:13,750 --> 00:16:18,110 S4: and have, have many kids. So, um, you know, as 284 00:16:18,110 --> 00:16:21,710 S4: any father would feel, I want to provide a comfortable spot, uh, 285 00:16:21,710 --> 00:16:24,910 S4: for our kids to, to grow and, and, uh, fortunately, 286 00:16:24,950 --> 00:16:29,910 S4: we've got good margin in our monthly budget, uh, but 287 00:16:29,910 --> 00:16:33,670 S4: we just feel like maybe it might be better to 288 00:16:33,710 --> 00:16:36,150 S4: find something that has a better interest rate right now. 289 00:16:36,150 --> 00:16:38,940 S4: We got a high yield savings of about 3.25, and 290 00:16:38,980 --> 00:16:41,220 S4: I'm worried the interest rates might come down. And it 291 00:16:41,220 --> 00:16:44,420 S4: might be better to maybe put my money in something 292 00:16:44,420 --> 00:16:47,460 S4: like the S&P 500. What would you suggest? 293 00:16:47,820 --> 00:16:51,580 S2: Yeah, it really just depends on your time horizon as 294 00:16:51,580 --> 00:16:53,740 S2: to where you want to go with the money and 295 00:16:53,740 --> 00:16:56,540 S2: how much risk you're willing to take to get a 296 00:16:56,540 --> 00:16:59,980 S2: better return, and whether you have the time horizon to 297 00:17:00,020 --> 00:17:05,500 S2: wait out any kind of pullback related to a market downturn. Um, 298 00:17:05,540 --> 00:17:07,660 S2: I love the, the way you're thinking here. I love 299 00:17:07,660 --> 00:17:09,940 S2: the idea that you're going to, uh, you know, be 300 00:17:09,940 --> 00:17:13,100 S2: fruitful and multiply and, uh, continue to grow your family. 301 00:17:13,100 --> 00:17:18,060 S2: That's amazing. Uh, we had 4 in 4 years. Incredibly, uh, 302 00:17:18,060 --> 00:17:19,739 S2: had a three year old, a two year old, and 303 00:17:19,740 --> 00:17:23,340 S2: then we had, uh, twin girls and, uh, it was, uh, 304 00:17:23,340 --> 00:17:27,139 S2: it was a busy time, but incredible blessing. And, uh, 305 00:17:27,140 --> 00:17:29,820 S2: I know it sounds like the Lord has given you 306 00:17:29,820 --> 00:17:33,379 S2: an incredible blessing there as well. Um, so in terms 307 00:17:33,380 --> 00:17:36,300 S2: of kind of thinking about where to position this money. 308 00:17:36,340 --> 00:17:38,820 S2: You know, we really need to put it in buckets 309 00:17:38,820 --> 00:17:41,859 S2: and then define the purpose of it. And then along 310 00:17:41,859 --> 00:17:44,540 S2: with that purpose, kind of when you plan to use 311 00:17:44,540 --> 00:17:47,300 S2: it from a time horizon standpoint. So what do you 312 00:17:47,300 --> 00:17:49,820 S2: have in that high yield savings account right now? 313 00:17:51,580 --> 00:17:54,100 S4: I have $16,000 in there. 314 00:17:54,260 --> 00:17:57,180 S2: Okay. So that would be what I would consider your 315 00:17:57,180 --> 00:17:59,740 S2: emergency fund. Is that right or do you have that 316 00:17:59,740 --> 00:18:00,740 S2: separate from this? 317 00:18:01,820 --> 00:18:03,820 S4: That is what I consider my emergency fund. Yeah. 318 00:18:03,859 --> 00:18:06,300 S2: Okay. Great. And what do you all spend on a 319 00:18:06,300 --> 00:18:08,100 S2: monthly basis? Typically. 320 00:18:08,660 --> 00:18:10,100 S4: $3,100. 321 00:18:10,140 --> 00:18:13,220 S2: Okay. Got it. And you've got a budget and, you know, 322 00:18:13,260 --> 00:18:16,140 S2: you track it and that's pretty consistent month to month. 323 00:18:16,780 --> 00:18:17,660 S4: Yes, sir. Yep. 324 00:18:17,700 --> 00:18:20,220 S2: Okay, good. So, you know, we typically want to have 325 00:18:20,220 --> 00:18:23,220 S2: at least 3 to 6 months expenses. So, you know, 326 00:18:23,260 --> 00:18:27,659 S2: three months expenses would be $9,300. Six months would be 327 00:18:27,660 --> 00:18:31,260 S2: all the way up over, you know, about 18 five. Um, so, 328 00:18:31,500 --> 00:18:33,940 S2: you know, you're pretty much there in terms of being 329 00:18:33,940 --> 00:18:37,540 S2: fully funded. But, you know, we would want to try 330 00:18:37,540 --> 00:18:39,820 S2: to hang on to that for the unexpected, not things 331 00:18:39,820 --> 00:18:41,900 S2: we can plan on. Like we know tires are going 332 00:18:41,940 --> 00:18:43,940 S2: to wear out and we know, you know, the home's 333 00:18:43,940 --> 00:18:46,139 S2: going to have some basic maintenance along the way and 334 00:18:46,140 --> 00:18:48,660 S2: those kinds of things. We need to be planning for that. 335 00:18:48,660 --> 00:18:51,340 S2: But something truly unexpected, we have a all of a sudden, 336 00:18:51,340 --> 00:18:54,020 S2: a disruption in your income or a lost job or 337 00:18:54,060 --> 00:18:56,780 S2: a major medical event or, you know, just something you 338 00:18:56,780 --> 00:19:00,260 S2: you couldn't have anticipated. And that's where this emergency fund 339 00:19:00,260 --> 00:19:03,859 S2: comes in. So fortunately, we've got some decent interest rates 340 00:19:03,859 --> 00:19:05,659 S2: right now. I think they're going to stick around. I 341 00:19:05,660 --> 00:19:08,820 S2: think the fed you know despite the the new chairman 342 00:19:08,820 --> 00:19:11,179 S2: he's only going to be one vote. And I think 343 00:19:11,220 --> 00:19:14,580 S2: you know just given the fact that inflation is proving 344 00:19:14,580 --> 00:19:16,740 S2: to be a little stickier than the fed would like, 345 00:19:16,740 --> 00:19:19,580 S2: we're probably not going to see the fed rushing to 346 00:19:19,619 --> 00:19:22,659 S2: lower rates, which means we're still going to get better 347 00:19:22,660 --> 00:19:26,620 S2: than normal savings rates, at least for the last, you know, 348 00:19:26,940 --> 00:19:30,340 S2: 10 or 20 years. Um, you know, we're not going 349 00:19:30,340 --> 00:19:34,210 S2: back to 1% or anything like that anytime soon. Um, 350 00:19:34,290 --> 00:19:37,170 S2: so if this truly is your emergency phone, we want 351 00:19:37,170 --> 00:19:40,130 S2: it liquid and safe. Um, you know, even though you 352 00:19:40,130 --> 00:19:42,050 S2: could do better, what we wouldn't want is you put 353 00:19:42,050 --> 00:19:44,330 S2: this in an S&P 500 and all of a sudden, 354 00:19:44,369 --> 00:19:46,090 S2: you know, we hit a speed bump. I mean, we're 355 00:19:46,090 --> 00:19:49,690 S2: way overdue for a recession. Now, I like a lot 356 00:19:49,690 --> 00:19:51,929 S2: of what the Trump administration is doing with regard to 357 00:19:51,970 --> 00:19:56,050 S2: deregulation and just positioning this economy to continue to grow. 358 00:19:56,410 --> 00:19:59,290 S2: But we don't know what we don't know. And and 359 00:19:59,290 --> 00:20:02,929 S2: if the market were down 20 or 30% from some event, 360 00:20:03,170 --> 00:20:06,090 S2: whether we could anticipate it or not, you wouldn't want 361 00:20:06,090 --> 00:20:08,449 S2: to have to tap into that and liquidate those funds 362 00:20:08,450 --> 00:20:12,129 S2: and sell at a loss because your emergency fund, you know, 363 00:20:12,170 --> 00:20:14,890 S2: is not available and you didn't have a choice. So 364 00:20:14,890 --> 00:20:17,369 S2: I would say we leave this right here. Now, the 365 00:20:17,369 --> 00:20:21,889 S2: extent to which you're wanting to, uh, buy a bigger home, uh, 366 00:20:22,050 --> 00:20:24,450 S2: you know, you could just roll the equity that you 367 00:20:24,450 --> 00:20:26,969 S2: have from this home into that next home. And if 368 00:20:27,010 --> 00:20:31,210 S2: you've got the margin to take on a bigger monthly payment, then, 369 00:20:31,250 --> 00:20:33,570 S2: you know, perhaps we don't have to come use any 370 00:20:33,570 --> 00:20:36,609 S2: of this cash for that. You would just want to 371 00:20:36,609 --> 00:20:38,810 S2: make sure it still fits within your budget. We usually 372 00:20:38,810 --> 00:20:41,369 S2: use 25% of your take home pay as kind of 373 00:20:41,410 --> 00:20:44,130 S2: a good gauge there, but it sounds like just based 374 00:20:44,130 --> 00:20:47,170 S2: on the income you have, you've got room to see 375 00:20:47,170 --> 00:20:49,449 S2: that continue to grow. You just want to put everything 376 00:20:49,450 --> 00:20:53,010 S2: else in there as well. The increases in the utilities 377 00:20:53,010 --> 00:20:57,090 S2: and the property taxes and future increases in property taxes, 378 00:20:57,130 --> 00:20:59,609 S2: and just the additional costs that come with having a 379 00:20:59,609 --> 00:21:02,409 S2: bigger home. And make sure all that fits into the 380 00:21:02,450 --> 00:21:05,290 S2: budget before you make this move, because it's really expensive 381 00:21:05,290 --> 00:21:08,970 S2: and difficult to unwind that if you get overextended. But 382 00:21:09,010 --> 00:21:11,890 S2: in terms of this emergency fund, you know, I would 383 00:21:11,890 --> 00:21:14,490 S2: leave it right where it is. And let's do your 384 00:21:14,490 --> 00:21:18,290 S2: investments in maybe a, you know, a retirement account, whether 385 00:21:18,290 --> 00:21:20,490 S2: you have one at work or one on your own. 386 00:21:20,770 --> 00:21:23,369 S2: And then beyond that, you know, if you need to 387 00:21:23,410 --> 00:21:26,690 S2: save for other things, um, you know, let's do that 388 00:21:26,690 --> 00:21:29,490 S2: in addition to the 16 K, does that make sense? 389 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,920 S4: That does make sense now. So once I have my 390 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:39,160 S4: emergency savings, like fully funded, you would say to put 391 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:43,399 S4: that extra monthly margin elsewhere like the market or no. 392 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:45,520 S2: Yeah. But I would probably, I would want you to 393 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:47,600 S2: do it in a retirement account. Let's do this. I've 394 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,960 S2: got to take a break. Let's identify beyond emergency savings, 395 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:54,920 S2: what other savings goals you have alongside retirement, and then 396 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:57,040 S2: we'll figure out a plan. Stay right there. We'll be 397 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:57,600 S2: right back. 398 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:08,880 S5: You're listening to Faith and Finance Live. This program is prerecorded, 399 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,680 S5: so we're not available to answer your calls, but you 400 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:16,560 S5: can email us your questions at ask Rob at free.com. 401 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:19,720 S2: Before the break, we were talking to Peter in Chicago. 402 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:24,600 S2: Excuse me, Michigan. He's 28 years old. Uh, employed full time. 403 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,439 S2: His wife stays home. They're wanting eventually to get a 404 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:31,240 S2: bigger home. God's bless them with some children. And, uh. He's, uh, 405 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:34,520 S2: current mortgage is about 1100 a month. He's got, uh. 406 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:38,560 S2: He earned about 100,000 last year, and he's got 16,000 407 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,680 S2: in a high yield savings, which is really, uh, a 408 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:44,480 S2: little less than six months worth of expenses because they're 409 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,159 S2: spending 30, 100 a month and he's wondering what to 410 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,560 S2: do with that extra surplus. So, uh, alongside, you know, 411 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,080 S2: so if we call Peter this emergency fund fully funded 412 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,199 S2: at this point, and you've still got margin before you 413 00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:58,679 S2: were to buy a new home that's going to eat 414 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:01,840 S2: up some of that margin. Um, let's talk about long 415 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,160 S2: term savings. Are you putting anything away in a retirement plan? 416 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:09,600 S4: Yeah. My wife and I just talked about upping it. Uh, 417 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,920 S4: it was 5% while she was pregnant because he wanted 418 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,679 S4: to have some more money. Yeah. For, uh, her when 419 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,680 S4: we were going through that, but we upped it to 10%. Uh, 420 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:22,560 S4: and we're kind of leaving it there. Would you recommend 421 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:23,840 S4: higher or lower? 422 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,440 S2: I think 10 to 15% is great. I mean, you 423 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,639 S2: guys are young. I think if you, you know, put 10% 424 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:32,960 S2: away somewhere between 10 and 15 throughout your working career, 425 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,439 S2: you'll be in really good shape. So I think that's 426 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:37,879 S2: a good place to be. If you have additional margin, 427 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,960 S2: I think you could go all the way up to 15%. 428 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,920 S2: But certainly, you know, that's a good spot to be. 429 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:48,200 S2: What other goals do you have kind of in between emergency, 430 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:51,720 S2: which is needs to be available right now and retirement, 431 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:55,560 S2: which is, you know, 35, 40 years down the road. Um, 432 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:59,520 S2: what else would you have any other goals that you've identified? 433 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:03,280 S4: Yeah, I guess the reason why, you know, we're talking 434 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,159 S4: about the bigger house and wanted to make it affordable 435 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,200 S4: as well as comfortable is because I like my wife 436 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:11,760 S4: to continue to have the option to stay home. Sure. 437 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:17,520 S4: As well as, uh, possibly homeschool or if, if that, 438 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,280 S4: you know, she decides she wants to do something else 439 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:22,879 S4: and not not homeschool, then be able to afford a 440 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:27,830 S4: private school education. Yeah. Um, so I'd really like to keep, uh, 441 00:24:27,830 --> 00:24:30,590 S4: the monthly margin good. And, and also, I think it's 442 00:24:30,590 --> 00:24:33,830 S4: worth noting that, um, the 100,000 is, is quite a 443 00:24:33,869 --> 00:24:35,910 S4: lot of overtime hours and I'd like to be able 444 00:24:35,910 --> 00:24:37,870 S4: to be able to cut back and be with my 445 00:24:37,869 --> 00:24:38,430 S4: kids and. 446 00:24:38,470 --> 00:24:38,910 S2: Okay. 447 00:24:38,950 --> 00:24:40,830 S4: As they grow and stuff. But yeah. 448 00:24:40,869 --> 00:24:43,550 S2: That sounds great. Well, I mean, I think you know, 449 00:24:43,590 --> 00:24:45,590 S2: what you're talking about here makes a lot of sense. 450 00:24:45,590 --> 00:24:47,669 S2: I think anything you would be putting in the market 451 00:24:47,670 --> 00:24:51,230 S2: at this point, let's do that in a tax deferred environment. 452 00:24:51,230 --> 00:24:55,030 S2: So if you've got additional margin that at least temporarily 453 00:24:55,030 --> 00:24:56,909 S2: while you're waiting to decide, you know, what are we 454 00:24:56,950 --> 00:24:59,550 S2: going to do about schooling, private or home school and 455 00:24:59,710 --> 00:25:01,629 S2: your ability to cut back a little bit, which is 456 00:25:01,630 --> 00:25:04,869 S2: going to reduce, you know, your income slightly while you're 457 00:25:04,869 --> 00:25:08,149 S2: still kind of have plenty of margin. Let's bump up, 458 00:25:08,190 --> 00:25:12,190 S2: you know, that 401 K contribution, uh, you know, up 459 00:25:12,190 --> 00:25:15,230 S2: to maybe even closer to 15%. You can always dial 460 00:25:15,230 --> 00:25:17,990 S2: that back at any point. I think, you know, anything 461 00:25:17,990 --> 00:25:20,430 S2: you have beyond that, I would just continue to pile 462 00:25:20,430 --> 00:25:23,350 S2: away in that emergency savings. And that way, you know, 463 00:25:23,390 --> 00:25:25,590 S2: when you need to replace an automobile. Maybe you're not 464 00:25:25,590 --> 00:25:27,790 S2: having to take on a car payment or, you know, 465 00:25:27,830 --> 00:25:30,830 S2: something like that. But I think let's look with an 466 00:25:30,830 --> 00:25:33,709 S2: eye toward you being able to maybe not work as 467 00:25:33,710 --> 00:25:37,750 S2: many hours, be more available to the family. And, and, um, 468 00:25:37,750 --> 00:25:40,669 S2: you know, I think you're in really good position here. 469 00:25:40,830 --> 00:25:43,870 S2: It's really smart for you to just kind of build 470 00:25:43,869 --> 00:25:46,190 S2: in some of these pieces that you're thinking about because 471 00:25:46,190 --> 00:25:48,830 S2: that's going to lead ultimately to quality of life. And 472 00:25:48,950 --> 00:25:51,229 S2: I think that's, uh, that's the name of the game. 473 00:25:51,230 --> 00:25:54,630 S2: So I wouldn't change a thing here, but any investments 474 00:25:54,630 --> 00:25:56,790 S2: you're going to do out of any of this surplus, 475 00:25:56,950 --> 00:26:01,150 S2: I would direct that into higher, uh, retirement plan contributions 476 00:26:01,150 --> 00:26:03,389 S2: before I'd put it in the S&P 500 in a 477 00:26:03,390 --> 00:26:04,310 S2: taxable account. 478 00:26:04,670 --> 00:26:07,590 S4: Okay. Rob, thank you so much for taking so much time. 479 00:26:07,750 --> 00:26:09,710 S2: Absolutely, Peter. Lord bless you. Thanks for being on the 480 00:26:09,710 --> 00:26:11,869 S2: program today. Let's go to Texas. Will go ahead. 481 00:26:12,550 --> 00:26:16,910 S6: Thank you. Uh, I'm 79. I'm I still work as 482 00:26:16,910 --> 00:26:20,070 S6: a bi vocational pastor. We've been living in a parsonage 483 00:26:20,070 --> 00:26:22,070 S6: for a number of years, but about eight years ago, 484 00:26:22,070 --> 00:26:25,189 S6: bought a house. We only owe about 17,000 on the 485 00:26:25,190 --> 00:26:28,909 S6: house because we have really been working on that. I 486 00:26:28,910 --> 00:26:30,870 S6: caught the end of a program you had a few 487 00:26:30,869 --> 00:26:34,390 S6: weeks back and really didn't get to understand. What do 488 00:26:34,390 --> 00:26:37,230 S6: you your recommendation on reverse mortgage? 489 00:26:37,869 --> 00:26:40,710 S2: Yeah. You know, I love the idea of getting out 490 00:26:40,750 --> 00:26:43,109 S2: of debt completely and staying there. I think there's a 491 00:26:43,109 --> 00:26:45,230 S2: lot of wisdom in that. And if we can sync 492 00:26:45,230 --> 00:26:47,989 S2: up the payoff of the home as close to a 493 00:26:47,990 --> 00:26:51,390 S2: transition into whatever the retirement season is going to look 494 00:26:51,390 --> 00:26:55,070 S2: like is helpful because it takes that largest expense on 495 00:26:55,190 --> 00:26:58,350 S2: off the table. But for a lot of folks, you know, 496 00:26:58,390 --> 00:27:01,270 S2: they just haven't saved enough. And so they're just really 497 00:27:01,270 --> 00:27:03,750 S2: squeezed in this season of life. Many of them still 498 00:27:03,750 --> 00:27:06,630 S2: have a mortgage. You know, two thirds of retirees now 499 00:27:06,630 --> 00:27:11,030 S2: are bringing a mortgage payment into retirement. Um, and with 500 00:27:11,030 --> 00:27:14,230 S2: people living longer, there's just a lot of longevity risk. 501 00:27:14,230 --> 00:27:17,110 S2: And so, you know, the reverse mortgages of today are 502 00:27:17,109 --> 00:27:19,790 S2: not the reverse mortgages of a couple of decades ago 503 00:27:19,790 --> 00:27:23,220 S2: that got a bad rap. These are different products. What's 504 00:27:23,220 --> 00:27:26,780 S2: called a home equity conversion mortgage. You know, in part 505 00:27:26,820 --> 00:27:31,820 S2: is not. You know, it's non-recourse, meaning you're not even 506 00:27:31,820 --> 00:27:35,020 S2: signing for it personally, the only thing that's serving as 507 00:27:35,020 --> 00:27:37,860 S2: collateral is the home. So even if the home lost 508 00:27:37,859 --> 00:27:41,980 S2: value for some reason and you never made a mortgage payment, 509 00:27:41,980 --> 00:27:44,619 S2: which you don't have to on a reverse mortgage, it's optional. 510 00:27:44,619 --> 00:27:47,740 S2: And that loan continued to grow. Whatever amount you took 511 00:27:47,740 --> 00:27:50,740 S2: out at your death or when you move the FHA, 512 00:27:50,780 --> 00:27:54,660 S2: the Federal Housing Administration would cover any gap there, but 513 00:27:54,660 --> 00:27:58,220 S2: you retain ownership of the home. And whatever you take 514 00:27:58,220 --> 00:28:00,540 S2: out of the home equity, which comes to you tax 515 00:28:00,540 --> 00:28:03,139 S2: free because it's your money, it's your equity. And you 516 00:28:03,140 --> 00:28:05,220 S2: can get that as a line of credit. You can 517 00:28:05,220 --> 00:28:08,900 S2: get it by paying off a forward mortgage and eliminating 518 00:28:08,900 --> 00:28:11,700 S2: the payment, or you can get it as a monthly check. 519 00:28:11,740 --> 00:28:14,140 S2: Most people get it as a line of credit. Whatever 520 00:28:14,140 --> 00:28:16,700 S2: amount you pull out, it's going to grow over time 521 00:28:16,700 --> 00:28:20,820 S2: with interest and fees. Interest is variable. It's going to 522 00:28:21,020 --> 00:28:23,620 S2: be whatever close to whatever the prevailing rate is of 523 00:28:23,619 --> 00:28:25,980 S2: the day. And so it will grow over time, but 524 00:28:25,980 --> 00:28:28,700 S2: your home will appreciate over time as well. And when 525 00:28:28,700 --> 00:28:30,900 S2: you both pass away, you and your wife or you 526 00:28:30,900 --> 00:28:33,379 S2: move out, whatever that balance is, gets paid out of 527 00:28:33,380 --> 00:28:36,260 S2: the proceeds and the rest is available for your heirs 528 00:28:36,260 --> 00:28:38,700 S2: or charity, just like if you had a forward mortgage. 529 00:28:39,020 --> 00:28:42,780 S2: But often, you know, having that reverse mortgage, you know, 530 00:28:42,820 --> 00:28:47,100 S2: to supplement your income or for major expenses like renovations or, 531 00:28:47,260 --> 00:28:49,300 S2: you know, a big trip every couple of years or 532 00:28:49,300 --> 00:28:52,340 S2: something like that is a game changer for people in 533 00:28:52,340 --> 00:28:54,700 S2: this season of life who just don't have a lot 534 00:28:54,700 --> 00:28:57,460 S2: of other income, don't have a lot of other assets. 535 00:28:57,740 --> 00:29:00,700 S2: And this is the difference in them being able to 536 00:29:00,740 --> 00:29:03,180 S2: live a little more comfortably. Does that make sense? 537 00:29:03,620 --> 00:29:06,460 S6: It does. We only had one child. She was killed 538 00:29:06,460 --> 00:29:09,500 S6: about nearly 12 years ago in a car accident. So we, 539 00:29:10,220 --> 00:29:13,220 S6: along with our son in law and grandson. Wow. We 540 00:29:13,220 --> 00:29:16,540 S6: received a little bit of a settlement. Yeah. Our grandson 541 00:29:16,540 --> 00:29:19,660 S6: is really our only heir. He does not need anything 542 00:29:19,660 --> 00:29:22,860 S6: from us because he'll start receiving. He's been receiving some. 543 00:29:22,860 --> 00:29:25,300 S6: But next this year he's going to receive a huge 544 00:29:25,340 --> 00:29:30,660 S6: amount of money. We'll three different times. So he doesn't 545 00:29:30,660 --> 00:29:34,900 S6: need anything that we have. Yeah. Yeah. Um we bought 546 00:29:34,900 --> 00:29:38,540 S6: the house for about 97,000 and I think it's valued 547 00:29:38,540 --> 00:29:43,260 S6: at about 150,000 now. Only oh 17,000. I really believe 548 00:29:43,900 --> 00:29:45,420 S6: I talked to my wife the other day. I believe 549 00:29:45,420 --> 00:29:47,060 S6: in the next year and a half to two years 550 00:29:47,060 --> 00:29:49,380 S6: at the most, we're going to be out of debt completely. 551 00:29:49,540 --> 00:29:49,980 S2: Yeah. 552 00:29:50,140 --> 00:29:53,060 S6: House paid off everything. Yeah. We're working. As a matter 553 00:29:53,060 --> 00:29:56,660 S6: of fact, I made a huge payment on her car. Yeah, 554 00:29:56,700 --> 00:29:58,340 S6: I believe we'll have her car paid off in the 555 00:29:58,340 --> 00:29:59,420 S6: next couple of months. 556 00:29:59,860 --> 00:30:00,300 S2: Yeah. 557 00:30:00,500 --> 00:30:02,540 S6: So that's what I was wondering about. The reverse mortgage. 558 00:30:02,740 --> 00:30:05,180 S2: Yeah. And so that's the idea is that you're going 559 00:30:05,180 --> 00:30:09,340 S2: to be sitting on this massive asset called your home that's, 560 00:30:09,380 --> 00:30:10,979 S2: you know, just going to sit there. It's going to 561 00:30:10,980 --> 00:30:14,540 S2: grow over time as your home appreciates. And when you 562 00:30:14,540 --> 00:30:17,140 S2: all pass away, you know, it'll be a part of 563 00:30:17,140 --> 00:30:20,170 S2: your estate, and if there's no errors that need the money, 564 00:30:20,170 --> 00:30:22,810 S2: then it can be given to charity. But you also 565 00:30:22,810 --> 00:30:26,130 S2: have the ability right now to tap into it via 566 00:30:26,130 --> 00:30:28,490 S2: a reverse mortgage, where you never have a payment for 567 00:30:28,490 --> 00:30:31,210 S2: as long as you live. It's always optional. And you 568 00:30:31,210 --> 00:30:33,450 S2: could use it for additional giving. You could use it 569 00:30:33,450 --> 00:30:37,450 S2: to just enjoy this, you know, this additional asset that 570 00:30:37,450 --> 00:30:39,810 S2: you have. You almost kind of look at it like, 571 00:30:39,810 --> 00:30:43,290 S2: I've got an IRA, I've got home equity, I've got savings, 572 00:30:43,650 --> 00:30:46,290 S2: and I'm going to tap into these and use them 573 00:30:46,290 --> 00:30:48,490 S2: while the Lord has me here. That's that's kind of 574 00:30:48,530 --> 00:30:50,730 S2: the idea. Stay on the line. We'll finish up off 575 00:30:50,730 --> 00:30:52,890 S2: the air. We'll be right back on faith and finance. 576 00:31:05,250 --> 00:31:07,770 S5: This is our final segment of a Faith and finance 577 00:31:07,770 --> 00:31:11,130 S5: live program that we previously recorded. Thanks so much for 578 00:31:11,130 --> 00:31:13,370 S5: being with us today, and we hope you'll stick around 579 00:31:13,370 --> 00:31:15,490 S5: and enjoy the rest of the program. 580 00:31:16,890 --> 00:31:19,130 S2: Cleveland, Ohio. Hi, Linda. How can I help? 581 00:31:19,410 --> 00:31:22,690 S7: Hi. Thank you. We have some friends that have asked 582 00:31:22,690 --> 00:31:26,570 S7: us to give them a letter of giftedness to help 583 00:31:26,570 --> 00:31:30,330 S7: them buy a home. They're asking for $17,000, for which 584 00:31:30,330 --> 00:31:34,850 S7: they have $17,000 in cash that they will exchange for 585 00:31:34,850 --> 00:31:38,810 S7: our tech immediately. And we don't understand why they can't. 586 00:31:38,930 --> 00:31:40,850 S7: We said, well, why don't you just give them the cash? 587 00:31:41,330 --> 00:31:43,570 S7: And they said, no, they can't. The loan company will 588 00:31:43,570 --> 00:31:46,290 S7: not allow them to do that. So we're not sure 589 00:31:46,290 --> 00:31:49,690 S7: if there's a reason if we would do this, will 590 00:31:49,690 --> 00:31:52,490 S7: we be causing ourselves difficulties or them? 591 00:31:52,930 --> 00:31:56,130 S2: Well, yeah, I'm not exactly. I mean, this is not uncommon. 592 00:31:56,130 --> 00:31:59,170 S2: So here's the way this normally works. I mean, normally 593 00:31:59,410 --> 00:32:01,450 S2: if I were going to buy a house and I 594 00:32:01,450 --> 00:32:04,410 S2: didn't have the money to buy it, and I call 595 00:32:04,410 --> 00:32:07,570 S2: a friend like you, and I say, listen, you know, 596 00:32:07,610 --> 00:32:10,610 S2: I don't have the money to buy this house. Can 597 00:32:10,610 --> 00:32:14,890 S2: you loan me $17,000 and I'll pay it back, you know, 598 00:32:14,930 --> 00:32:18,370 S2: over time. And all of a sudden you give me 17,000. 599 00:32:18,570 --> 00:32:23,570 S2: Then the lender wants to know that you essentially have 600 00:32:23,610 --> 00:32:26,850 S2: have taken out another loan for the purpose of being 601 00:32:26,850 --> 00:32:28,970 S2: able to buy this house, and therefore you don't really 602 00:32:28,970 --> 00:32:32,730 S2: have the money. And so what they typically want is 603 00:32:32,730 --> 00:32:37,610 S2: a gift letter from the person giving you the money saying, listen, 604 00:32:37,610 --> 00:32:39,970 S2: we're giving you this money as a gift. This is 605 00:32:39,970 --> 00:32:42,890 S2: a family member or a friend. This is your money. 606 00:32:42,930 --> 00:32:46,490 S2: Keep it. And we're not expecting repayment. And then that 607 00:32:46,490 --> 00:32:49,250 S2: gives the lender the confidence to say, okay, it's not 608 00:32:49,250 --> 00:32:52,010 S2: like there's a second loan out there. This person actually 609 00:32:52,010 --> 00:32:55,010 S2: does have the money that they're, you know, putting down 610 00:32:55,010 --> 00:32:57,050 S2: on the house. We're going to do our underwriting to 611 00:32:57,090 --> 00:32:59,610 S2: make sure we feel like they're a good risk for 612 00:32:59,610 --> 00:33:02,170 S2: the rest of it that we're loaning them. But at 613 00:33:02,210 --> 00:33:04,290 S2: least we know that, you know, the money they're getting 614 00:33:04,290 --> 00:33:07,210 S2: is a down payment that we see just came into 615 00:33:07,210 --> 00:33:10,570 S2: the account in the last 90 days or whatever, um, 616 00:33:10,570 --> 00:33:13,170 S2: you know, is not expected to be repaid. And therefore 617 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:17,480 S2: now there's two loans, essentially one personal and one conventional. 618 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:20,440 S2: And so that's typically the way this works. There's something 619 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:23,800 S2: awry here with regard to them asking you for the 620 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:26,480 S2: for the gift letter, because you're not actually making them 621 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:29,680 S2: a gift. They're giving you the money back. And I'm 622 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,840 S2: trying to figure out exactly what that would be in 623 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:35,840 S2: terms of if they've already got the money and they're 624 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:39,320 S2: trying to justify how they got it, I suspect. And 625 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:42,000 S2: I'm just guessing here, maybe they borrowed it from somebody 626 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,600 S2: else that does expect repayment. And they're going to use 627 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:50,160 S2: your exchange of 17,000 and your gift letter, you know, 628 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,360 S2: to justify it, which obviously any of those scenarios are 629 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:57,760 S2: wrong because it's just not true. Right? Right. Yeah. So 630 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:00,000 S2: I would stay far from this. Go ahead. 631 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:02,920 S7: I was going to say they are, um, from another 632 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,800 S7: country that deals in cash only. And so I think 633 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:09,919 S7: that that probably is part of the issue, but we 634 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:12,239 S7: just don't know how that's going to come down on 635 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:12,920 S7: us for them. 636 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:15,200 S2: Well, and I think at the end of the day, 637 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:17,160 S2: you just need to say, listen, we're willing to help, 638 00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:19,560 S2: but we're not going to say something that's not true. 639 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:22,839 S2: And so, you know, you providing a letter saying you 640 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:26,320 S2: made a gift when you didn't. You just exchanged checks. 641 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:29,399 S2: That's not a gift. I think that's where you need to. 642 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:31,719 S2: That's the showstopper as far as I'm concerned. 643 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:35,120 S7: Okay. And they should just tell the again, the fact 644 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:36,839 S7: that they've got the money, is there some way that 645 00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:40,320 S7: they can convince the loan company or they're just. 646 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:42,920 S2: Yeah. I mean, there's something there that's tripping the loan 647 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,640 S2: company up as to the source of funds. And I'm 648 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:48,120 S2: sure there's any number of scenarios as to what that 649 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,040 S2: is and the fact that they're coming from out of 650 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:53,880 S2: the country, you know, further complicates things. And so they're 651 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:57,239 S2: just trying to appease the requests on the underwriting of 652 00:34:57,239 --> 00:34:59,759 S2: here's all the things we need. And that's one of them. 653 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:01,520 S2: And they're trying to figure out a way to get that. 654 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,400 S2: But I just don't think you guys can be involved in, 655 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:07,720 S2: you know, attesting to something that doesn't actually represent what's 656 00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:08,840 S2: really going on here. 657 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:12,480 S7: Right, right. Okay. Well, thank you very much for your answer. 658 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,000 S2: All right, Linda, appreciate your call very much. Thanks for 659 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:18,000 S2: being on today. Let's go to Illinois. Hi, Mark. Go ahead. 660 00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:22,800 S8: Hi. Um, I appreciate all the information that you guys do. Sure. 661 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:26,880 S8: Thank you. But my mom has passed away, and we're 662 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:30,040 S8: closing on the house in March. My portion of that 663 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:36,319 S8: is going to be roughly $70,000. Uh, I'm 59. I 664 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,239 S8: plan on retiring at 62. I've already got a previous 665 00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:42,760 S8: IRA that I transferred from a plant that I worked 666 00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:48,000 S8: at that closed. And, um, they, they retired, they paid 667 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:50,160 S8: me my retirement in cash and started that. But I 668 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:55,879 S8: don't know, I can only add, what, $8,000 a year into, 669 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:58,719 S8: into that one, but I don't know what would be 670 00:35:58,719 --> 00:36:01,960 S8: the best option to do with the rest of the 70,000. 671 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:05,799 S2: Yeah, yeah. Uh, do you have a, a, uh, an 672 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:06,960 S2: emergency fund? 673 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:12,109 S8: Yeah. I mean, I've got a savings account that, you know, 674 00:36:12,150 --> 00:36:13,630 S8: pretty much serves as that. 675 00:36:13,670 --> 00:36:15,830 S2: Okay. And do you have at least 3 to 6 676 00:36:15,830 --> 00:36:17,150 S2: months expenses in there? 677 00:36:18,830 --> 00:36:19,390 S8: Yes. 678 00:36:19,550 --> 00:36:21,590 S2: Okay. And do you have any debt to speak of? 679 00:36:23,390 --> 00:36:27,190 S8: No, no, I mean, vehicles are paid and house is paid. 680 00:36:27,590 --> 00:36:30,470 S2: Okay. Yeah, yeah. So you would be able to put 681 00:36:30,469 --> 00:36:33,710 S2: for 2026, I mean, going back to 2025, you could 682 00:36:33,710 --> 00:36:36,589 S2: put in $8,000 over age 50. You could also turn 683 00:36:36,590 --> 00:36:40,390 S2: around if you haven't filed your 2025 return. Most people 684 00:36:40,390 --> 00:36:43,230 S2: have it at this point. So you could put eight in. 685 00:36:43,230 --> 00:36:45,469 S2: And if you're married, you could put that in twice 686 00:36:45,469 --> 00:36:48,230 S2: you and your wife. Um, and then you could turn 687 00:36:48,230 --> 00:36:51,790 S2: around and do the 2026 contribution as well, which would 688 00:36:51,790 --> 00:36:58,790 S2: be over age $58,600. So it's 7500 for 2026 for 689 00:36:58,790 --> 00:37:01,270 S2: an individual. And then you can put in an 11 690 00:37:01,310 --> 00:37:05,830 S2: additional 1100 over the age of 50. Uh, so you 691 00:37:05,830 --> 00:37:10,510 S2: could plow all that into an IRA and then whatever's left. So, 692 00:37:10,630 --> 00:37:11,710 S2: you know. Are you married? 693 00:37:12,350 --> 00:37:12,870 S8: Yes. 694 00:37:13,030 --> 00:37:15,950 S2: Okay. So you could do this for your IRA and 695 00:37:15,950 --> 00:37:20,149 S2: a spousal IRA. So that'd be 16,000, uh, between the 696 00:37:20,150 --> 00:37:23,150 S2: two of you. And if you did 8600 times two, 697 00:37:23,430 --> 00:37:27,190 S2: you know, that's 17,200. So between the two of you, 698 00:37:27,350 --> 00:37:30,350 S2: you could put in close to 20 grand. If you 699 00:37:30,350 --> 00:37:35,029 S2: fund an IRA for 2025 and 2026. And then that 700 00:37:35,030 --> 00:37:38,470 S2: would leave, you know, I think you said you were getting, uh, 701 00:37:38,469 --> 00:37:42,989 S2: about 70,000. So that would leave you a little over 50,000. 702 00:37:43,230 --> 00:37:45,350 S2: And with that, you could just go ahead and invest 703 00:37:45,350 --> 00:37:48,230 S2: that in a taxable account. Um, you could reach out 704 00:37:48,230 --> 00:37:52,510 S2: to a certified kingdom advisor at find a.com to manage 705 00:37:52,510 --> 00:37:55,230 S2: this for you. You could do it yourself. Um, you 706 00:37:55,230 --> 00:37:58,549 S2: could use the, the mutual fund strategy offered by our 707 00:37:58,550 --> 00:38:02,590 S2: friends at sound mind investing.org that you could do yourself. 708 00:38:02,710 --> 00:38:05,149 S2: Just open an account at fidelity or Schwab and you'd 709 00:38:05,150 --> 00:38:08,350 S2: buy the, you know, some, some no load mutual funds 710 00:38:08,350 --> 00:38:10,629 S2: or exchange traded funds, and they could guide you on 711 00:38:10,630 --> 00:38:14,310 S2: which ones or you could use like a robo advisor. Um, 712 00:38:14,550 --> 00:38:17,350 S2: that would basically just build a portfolio. It's very low 713 00:38:17,350 --> 00:38:21,870 S2: cost using indexes, which are basically just ways to capture 714 00:38:21,870 --> 00:38:24,350 S2: the broad moves of the market, but you'd have a 715 00:38:24,350 --> 00:38:27,630 S2: mix of stocks and bonds that's appropriate for somebody, you know, 716 00:38:27,670 --> 00:38:30,190 S2: who's 60 years old. It'd probably be about a 5050 717 00:38:30,230 --> 00:38:34,910 S2: portfolio where 50% is kind of following the overall bond market, 718 00:38:34,910 --> 00:38:38,629 S2: and 50% is following the broad stock market with some 719 00:38:38,630 --> 00:38:42,270 S2: exposure both domestically and international. So, you know, I think 720 00:38:42,270 --> 00:38:43,590 S2: that would be the way to go. And that way 721 00:38:43,590 --> 00:38:45,910 S2: you'd be able to take this money, get some of 722 00:38:45,910 --> 00:38:51,150 S2: it in my example up to 18,800 into IRAs. So 723 00:38:51,150 --> 00:38:55,470 S2: it's growing tax deferred or even tax free in a Roth. Um, 724 00:38:55,870 --> 00:38:59,109 S2: and then, you know, the rest of it, 50,000 would 725 00:38:59,110 --> 00:39:01,790 S2: be growing on a taxable basis. So every time you 726 00:39:01,790 --> 00:39:04,270 S2: sell an investment for a profit, you'd have to pay 727 00:39:04,270 --> 00:39:07,580 S2: a capital gain, but it would still be growing. And 728 00:39:07,580 --> 00:39:09,379 S2: I think that could work really well for you. 729 00:39:11,219 --> 00:39:14,580 S8: Um, is there is that would that be considered an inheritance? 730 00:39:14,580 --> 00:39:18,819 S8: And in 26 was there some changes to the inheritance 731 00:39:18,820 --> 00:39:19,660 S8: tax or. 732 00:39:20,100 --> 00:39:24,379 S2: No, there is no inheritance tax. Um, so if any yeah, 733 00:39:24,420 --> 00:39:26,100 S2: any tax that would have been due would have been 734 00:39:26,100 --> 00:39:29,700 S2: paid by her estate. But estate taxes don't kick in until, 735 00:39:29,739 --> 00:39:33,500 S2: you know, north of $15 million. So you'll be fine there. 736 00:39:33,500 --> 00:39:37,060 S2: So yeah, you can take that. There's no federal inheritance tax, 737 00:39:37,060 --> 00:39:39,460 S2: so you'd be able to plow all that right into 738 00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:40,540 S2: some investments. 739 00:39:40,980 --> 00:39:42,700 S8: Great. That sounds great. 740 00:39:43,100 --> 00:39:45,460 S2: All right. Thanks for your call today. We appreciate you 741 00:39:45,460 --> 00:39:47,899 S2: being on the program. Uh, Tia is in Georgia. Go 742 00:39:47,900 --> 00:39:48,540 S2: right ahead. 743 00:39:49,340 --> 00:39:52,260 S9: Hey, it's so nice to talk to you. I love 744 00:39:52,260 --> 00:39:53,540 S9: listening to your show. 745 00:39:53,660 --> 00:39:55,460 S2: Well, thank you, I appreciate it. 746 00:39:55,460 --> 00:40:00,500 S9: I have a question. I've got into a situation. Um, 747 00:40:00,540 --> 00:40:04,820 S9: I'm out of work on short term disability, but that's 748 00:40:04,820 --> 00:40:09,739 S9: been stopped for medical reasons and they're trying to get 749 00:40:09,739 --> 00:40:13,060 S9: all the medical stuff situated. I've gone through all my 750 00:40:13,100 --> 00:40:21,939 S9: savings and I have a $30,000 whole life policy. And 751 00:40:21,940 --> 00:40:26,660 S9: I was wondering, um, if I could take a loan 752 00:40:26,660 --> 00:40:30,620 S9: against it or something to have some income coming in. 753 00:40:31,100 --> 00:40:36,460 S2: Yeah. I am so sorry to hear about your situation here, Tia. Uh, 754 00:40:36,460 --> 00:40:39,180 S2: so you said you've gone through your savings. Uh, you're 755 00:40:39,180 --> 00:40:42,020 S2: on short term disability. Are you going to be able 756 00:40:42,020 --> 00:40:43,140 S2: to go back to work? 757 00:40:44,060 --> 00:40:49,060 S9: Um, I just had surgery two weeks ago, and, um, 758 00:40:49,620 --> 00:40:53,980 S9: I'm supposed to go back in April or May based 759 00:40:53,980 --> 00:40:57,980 S9: on physical therapy and all what the doctor's saying, but 760 00:40:58,300 --> 00:41:01,460 S9: I got a note saying, I mean, a letter saying 761 00:41:01,500 --> 00:41:05,899 S9: that the FMLA runs out. So I'm not even sure 762 00:41:05,900 --> 00:41:07,340 S9: if I'm going to have the job. 763 00:41:07,700 --> 00:41:11,299 S2: Oh boy. Yeah. I am so sorry. All right, let's 764 00:41:11,300 --> 00:41:14,700 S2: do this. Uh, perhaps that would be a resource, that 765 00:41:14,700 --> 00:41:16,700 S2: whole life policy. But I want to get you with 766 00:41:16,700 --> 00:41:19,899 S2: one of our certified Christian financial counselors just to look 767 00:41:19,900 --> 00:41:22,779 S2: at everything you've got and help you chart out a 768 00:41:22,780 --> 00:41:24,660 S2: plan here. We're going to pay for it. There won't 769 00:41:24,660 --> 00:41:27,620 S2: be any cost to you. This person can come alongside you, 770 00:41:27,620 --> 00:41:30,299 S2: encourage you, pray with you, but help you work out 771 00:41:30,300 --> 00:41:33,220 S2: a plan and a path forward. Listen, folks, if you're 772 00:41:33,340 --> 00:41:35,500 S2: listening to Tia right now and you'd like to help 773 00:41:35,500 --> 00:41:39,420 S2: her navigate this financially, we can help make that available. 774 00:41:39,420 --> 00:41:42,140 S2: Let our team know. Um, I know so often when 775 00:41:42,140 --> 00:41:46,219 S2: we have folks in a desperate situation, our faith and 776 00:41:46,219 --> 00:41:48,820 S2: finance community is amazing and they step up and say, 777 00:41:48,820 --> 00:41:52,299 S2: I want to help. Count me in. And we can 778 00:41:52,300 --> 00:41:55,060 S2: actually use our friends at Helpinghands to to verify the 779 00:41:55,060 --> 00:41:58,100 S2: need and then provide coordination on getting the gifts to 780 00:41:58,140 --> 00:42:00,620 S2: the right places to help her out. So Tia, stay 781 00:42:00,650 --> 00:42:02,690 S2: on the line will get you connected with one of 782 00:42:02,690 --> 00:42:06,569 S2: our Certified Christian Financial counselors. Thanks for your call. Well, 783 00:42:06,570 --> 00:42:08,690 S2: we're about out of time today. Before we go, let 784 00:42:08,690 --> 00:42:11,169 S2: me remind us why we do what we do here 785 00:42:11,170 --> 00:42:14,370 S2: on this program. Every day we gather for faith and 786 00:42:14,370 --> 00:42:18,570 S2: finance live because we recognize we all have a high calling. 787 00:42:18,570 --> 00:42:22,330 S2: We're money managers for the King of Kings, which means 788 00:42:22,330 --> 00:42:27,290 S2: we're to be found faithful as we manage God's resources, faithfulness, 789 00:42:27,290 --> 00:42:31,450 S2: obedience over a long period of time, applying the wisdom 790 00:42:31,450 --> 00:42:34,050 S2: of God's Word to every area of our lives, and 791 00:42:34,090 --> 00:42:36,890 S2: that includes our finances. So thanks for being here today. 792 00:42:37,090 --> 00:42:39,489 S2: We love to do what we do and serving you 793 00:42:39,489 --> 00:42:42,690 S2: to be wise stewards of God's money. Want to say 794 00:42:42,690 --> 00:42:45,170 S2: thanks to my team today? Couldn't do it without them. 795 00:42:45,170 --> 00:42:48,210 S2: Faith and finance live as a partnership between Faith Fi 796 00:42:48,210 --> 00:42:51,489 S2: and Moody Radio. We'll see you next time. God bless you. 797 00:42:51,489 --> 00:42:51,970 S2: Bye bye.