July 3, 2025 • 43 mins
“He who has ears, let him hear.” – Matthew 13:9. Those were Jesus’ closing words after telling the Parable of the Sower—a story that invites us to listen carefully, not just with our ears, but with our hearts. On Faith & Finance Live, Rob West looks at this story and what it reveals about the heart behind our finances, especially the warning about “the deceitfulness of riches.” Then, Rob addresses your questions on different financial topics.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:03):
Today's faith and finance live is actually not live, so
our phone lines are not open.
S2 (00:08):
He who has ears, let him hear Matthew 13 nine. Hi,
I'm Rob West. Those were Jesus closing words after telling
the parable of the sower, a story that invites us
to listen carefully, not just with our ears, but with
our hearts. Today we'll look at this story and what
it reveals about the heart behind our finances, especially the
warning about the deceitfulness of riches. Then we have some
(00:31):
great calls lined up. But we won't be taking your
live calls today because we're pre-recorded. This is faith in finance.
Live biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, the parable
of the sower appears in Matthew 13, Mark four, and
Luke eight. It begins with a farmer scattering seed, which
(00:53):
falls on four types of soil. Jesus later explains that
the seed is the Word of God, and the soils
represent different heart conditions. Some hearts are hard, others are shallow,
some are fertile and ready. But one soil in particular
draws our attention today the seed that fell among thorns.
In Matthew 1322, Jesus says, as for what was sown
(01:15):
among thorns, this is the one who hears the word,
but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of
riches choke the word and prove it unfruitful. Let's break
that down. First, Jesus points to the cares of the world,
the daily anxieties and distractions that can crowd out our
trust in God. Then he adds the deceitfulness of riches.
(01:37):
It's not wealth itself that's the issue. It's the lie.
Wealth tells us that more money will bring more peace,
that possessions equal security, and that success means significance. The
Bible consistently warns us about that lie. Proverbs 1128 says,
whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous
(01:57):
will flourish like a green leaf. And Paul reminds Timothy
in one Timothy 617, command those who are rich in
this present world not to be arrogant or to put
their hope in wealth which is so uncertain, but to
put their hope in God. Wealth deceives us by offering
the illusion of control and independence. It tempts us to
believe we're self-sufficient, and when we buy that lie, we
(02:20):
slowly stop depending upon God like thorns in a garden.
Worldly cares and the lure of wealth take root in
our hearts, slowly crowding out our affection for God. The
space once reserved for trust and obedience becomes overrun with
distraction and self reliance. It's like C.S. Lewis put it
prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels like
(02:42):
he is finding his place in it, while really it's
finding its place in him. You might be saving diligently,
investing wisely, and even giving regularly, but if you're trusting
in your portfolio more than God's promises, or if your
finances have become a source of anxiety. Then it may
be time to do a heart check. What kind of
soil are you cultivating? When unexpected expenses hit, what comes first?
(03:06):
Prayer or panic? When you think about the future, is
your hope grounded and your retirement account, or in the
one who holds all things together? Jesus said the seed
among thorns becomes unfruitful. The word doesn't lose its power,
but when wealth and worry take over our hearts, we
stop responding to it. Outwardly we may look fruitful, but
(03:27):
inwardly our love for him is being choked out. So
how do we respond? Well, Jesus points to the solution.
Just a few verses later, in Matthew 1323, he says,
the good soil is the one who hears the word
and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields. But
receiving God's Word deeply isn't a one time event. It's
(03:48):
a lifelong process of cultivating the soil of our hearts.
It means creating space where God's truth can take root, thrive,
and grow without being overtaken by competing desires. That's how
fruitfulness begins and continues. So with that being said, here
are three simple practices to help you cultivate good soil
(04:08):
in your finances. First, prioritize your giving. Start with generosity
not as an afterthought, but as an act of worship.
Giving reminds us that money is not our master and
that we trust God to provide for us. Second, check
your emotional temperature. If your peace rises and falls with
your financial circumstances, that's a signal to lean into God's
(04:30):
Word more than your wallet. And number three, rethink your
financial goals. Ask yourself, what am I building and why?
Is your financial plan aligned with kingdom purposes or is
it just chasing comfort or status? As Dallas Willard said,
the main thing God gets out of your life is
the person you become. That includes how you handle money. Generosity, peace,
(04:53):
and contentment are fruits of a life rooted in Christ,
not one choked out by wealth. At the end of
the day, remember that the condition of your heart matters
more than the condition of your accounts. If you want
to be fruitful in your finances and faithful in your
walk with God, start by asking, what am I trusting in?
Let the answer lead you back to Christ, because only
(05:13):
in him will your life bear lasting fruit. I hope
that's an encouragement to you. Hey folks, we're going to
pause now for a brief break, but we'll be back
with much more on today's faith and finance live. Great
(05:35):
to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live.
I'm Rob West. Our team is taking some time away
from the studio, so don't call in today. But we
do have some great questions lined up. Those will come
in just a bit. Uh, let me mention we have
an incredible opportunity for you, you know, more and more
of our listeners and the faithful audience are wanting to
align their faith with all of those that they do
(05:58):
business with, including their investments, but that includes their banking partner.
And we have had a relationship for a long time
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(06:20):
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Going to some Christian ministries doing amazing work in the
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(06:41):
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about Christian Community Credit Union, our great partner. All right.
(07:02):
We're going to head to the phones here in just
a moment. But first in the news, a recent J.D.
power study reveals that online only banks are outshining traditional
brick and mortar institutions in customer satisfaction, especially among younger generations.
Here's the key findings. First, in the area of customer support,
direct banks excel in providing support, with customers appreciating easy
(07:26):
access to services and clear communication. Second would be around
the digital experience. High satisfaction rates are attributed to user
friendly mobile apps and websites because that's their primary means
of engaging with their customers, so they tend to do
that well. And then third would be around top performers uh,
(07:46):
Charles Schwab, American Express, and Ally Bank were among the
top performers. We think here at Faith VI that our
friends at Christian Community Credit Union should definitely be on
that list, too. Uh c.c.c. meets all of the key
factors valued by members like excellent customer service, a seamless
digital experience, and innovative mobile access and all that, while
(08:11):
staying true to Christian values by integrating faith with financial services.
Kcu is helping members grow their wealth while advancing kingdom causes.
And more often than not, our listeners to this program
are wanting to align all of their investments and banking
and financial transactions and decisions with their values. And that
(08:32):
means having trusted kingdom partners and Kcu would would certainly
be that, because their mission is to serve, support and
uplift the community. And that's evident in everything they do
with faith driven financial guidance. If you want to learn more,
just head to join Christian community.org that's join Christian Community Dot.
(08:55):
All right. Let's dive into your questions. Today we're going
to begin in Pennsylvania. Hi Raymond. Go ahead sir.
S3 (09:00):
Hello. Well I'm collecting early Social security at age 65
and working part time, which means I'm still paying Social
Security taxes. Well, these additional benefits increase my future benefits
or be returned to me in another way. Thank you Rob.
S2 (09:17):
Yeah great question there. So yes, they can increase your benefit.
And here's how Raymond. Uh, Social Security recalculates your benefit
each year automatically based on what's called your high 35.
So that's your highest 35 years of earnings. So if
your current work years are higher than earlier ones, perhaps,
(09:40):
you know, when you were just starting out, some of
your high 35 are were lower than they are today.
then that would cause your monthly check to go up
slightly so it could pay off, and that would be
the way that happened. Now, if you're just working part time,
it could be that when we look at your high
35 years of full time work, that this is not
(10:03):
going to get to a place where it would cause
any of those to roll off and be replaced. And
if that's the case, you continuing to work and pay
into Social Security through your FICA taxes does nothing for you.
You're just helping to support other people's benefits because yours
is is essentially set, and the only increase you would
get then is the cost of living adjustment. But if
(10:24):
you could replace any of those high. 35. Then absolutely
it could cause your benefit to increase and that would
happen automatically.
S3 (10:32):
Well thank you. That's fine. That's that's okay with me now.
S2 (10:35):
All right. Very good. Thanks, Raymond. Lord bless you, sir.
We appreciate you being on the program. Uh, let's go
to Texas. Hi, George. How can I help?
S4 (10:42):
Hey, Rob. How's it going?
S2 (10:44):
Doing great. Thanks for your call.
S4 (10:46):
Yeah, so I need help. Uh, last year I called in, and, uh,
you helped me tremendously. We were, uh, about 70 grand
in debt. You recommended credit counseling, which we did, uh,
start that program, and we've knocked, uh, a fairly large
chunk down. Um, however, you know, my the the budget
(11:09):
has been tight. Where, you know, if we have any
unexpected costs. If I don't hit bonus with my job,
we can't afford these to fix things. Um, I recently
had my air conditioning unit go out. I had an
extended home warranty that only offered us $150 towards it,
(11:30):
so I had to get financing, uh, 0%, but that
was $11,000. Um, and if I don't hit bonus, I'm
not going to be able to pay that. And so
I was wondering, I know I hear a lot of
people calling in about who to give to and charity.
Is there any programs for individuals such as myself that people, um,
can provide or or. The other option that I was
(11:54):
wondering is I do have a 401 K from my job.
Do I deplete that to pay? I don't know what
to do. I'm just at lost and I if I
get hit with one other financial burden or unexpected cost,
I'm almost want to file bankruptcy. And we try to
be doing everything the right way and, you know, under
your guidance of last year. So.
S2 (12:15):
Yeah. Well, I appreciate that, George, and I'm delighted to
hear you made so much progress. I mean, you knock
in $20,000 off that credit card debt in in just
a year is phenomenal. And hopefully getting those lower interest
rates has helped. Uh, are you sending more than the
scheduled monthly payment? I mean, how did you how did
you knock off so much over 12 months?
S4 (12:38):
I don't know, they just they set it up. They
did it all for us. Okay.
S2 (12:41):
So so you're just paying the scheduled payment, is that right?
S4 (12:45):
Correct. Yeah. Whatever they did. And then they send us
the little review every, every quarter and say, hey, this
is what's left and this is how much you've paid off.
S2 (12:54):
So yeah. Got it. Yeah. I mean, so ideally and
I realize, you know, this, this means a lot of
things have to go right in terms of you not
having unexpected expenses and you hitting bonus to get, you know,
your full compensation. But ideally we would, you know, build
your budget, including that payment to, uh, you know, the
financing on the air conditioning and the payment to Christian
(13:16):
credit counselors. We'd build your budget such that you'd be
able to cover those and have something left over. And
then we would use that to start building up an
emergency fund. And then that would be, you know, where
you tap whenever those things come out of left field.
I realize that's easier said than done. And if you're
living right up to the edge and that's right up
to the edge with your bonus, and and if that
(13:36):
doesn't come in or you have something else, then that
kind of throws everything, Thing, uh, you know, out of whack. So, um,
you know, here's what I would love to do. I
wouldn't have anything to recommend. Um, as much as I
would love to, that could come in and help you, uh,
you know, cover some of these bills other than direct
you back to your local church. I mean, perhaps your
church has a benevolence department or something like that that
(13:59):
they could help with something like this. But I'd be
happy to connect you with one of our certified Christian
financial counselors who could help you look at that spending
plan and the budget, and maybe make some recommendations on
places to cut back, at least just improving the control
of flow of money in and out. But at the
end of the day, we want to try to stay
the course, trust God for his provision. Uh, let's really
(14:21):
dial back spending and cut any way we can. And
that's where assert CFC can help. Stay on the line.
We'll talk a bit more off the air. We'll be
right back. Great to have you with us today on
faith and finance live. By the way, we're not live today.
We're away from the studio, so don't call in. But
we have some great questions that we lined up in advance.
(14:45):
By the way, this ministry is entirely listener supported. That
means we rely on your financial gifts and support to
do what we do on the air every day. If
you consider a gift, we'd certainly be grateful. Just head
to our website. Faith. That's faith. Dot com and click
the give button. Thanks in advance. Uh, let's head back
(15:05):
to the phones. We're going to go to Texas and
welcome Evan. Go ahead sir.
S5 (15:09):
So I'm a very recent newlywed. I got married about
three months ago. I'm 19, and growing up, my parents
never really taught me about finances and how to handle
them properly. All I was taught was work hard for
what I earned and save as much as I can
of it. But I'm really not sure how I can
(15:29):
start saving long term financial wealth. And I'm also not
sure how I can have these deep conversations With my
new wife as to how to save money properly, and
how we can not spend as much as we typically do.
Whether it's just eating out or extra shopping, or any
(15:51):
other little place where we may be spending too much money.
S2 (15:55):
Yeah, yeah, I totally understand. First of all, congratulations on
your new marriage. I'm delighted to hear that you really
want to understand God's heart and get set up in
the right way in terms of your financial future, which
is going to be a key, you know, piece of
of your life as a married couple. Uh, because money
is not evil. It's a good gift from God, but
(16:17):
it does need to be managed wisely. You and I
are stewards. Everything belongs to God. And so we need
to manage his resources entrusted to us with care. Good
news is the Bible is our source for that. And
we we make it a matter of prayer. We also
recognize that, uh, you know, this can rival our hearts, uh,
for first position. And so we've we've got to be careful.
(16:39):
There's a seductive nature of wealth that can cause us
to think that, you know, anything we're lacking, whether it's
significance or security or even fulfillment, that, you know, that
can come by way of financial means, getting to a certain,
you know, income or buying things that make us feel better,
those kinds of things. And we need to guard against that.
We need to see money as a tool to bring
(17:01):
God glory and to accomplish his purposes. That includes enjoyment.
So there should be an element of enjoyment. I think
when we have a celebration, a joyful, you know, meal
that causes God to smile, that's a great way to
use money. But we also give it generously. We use
it to provide, we invest. And all of that needs
to be done in the context of a plan that
(17:22):
starts with our values. What's important to us as Christ followers?
Where is God taking you as a married couple, and
how can money be a tool, not a source of
conflict and not an end, but a means to an
end to accomplish God's purposes in your life. And that's
going to include, first and foremost, living within your means.
And I know that's kind of at the heart of
your question here, which is, you know, how do I
(17:44):
get to a place where my wife and I are
on the same page about, yeah, we can enjoy this,
but it needs to be in the midst of a
plan where we're living on less than we're earning, because
we don't want to live outside of God's provision. We
need to find contentment. We need to build a plan
around what God has provided. And there should be some margin,
something left over at the end of the month. And
(18:04):
that's not going to happen by default. You're not going
to just, you know, gravitate to that naturally. It's going
to be it's going to take some work. Um, but
the extent to which you and your wife can come together,
prayerfully put a plan together that reflects both of you,
how God has wired you, where he's taking you and
that causes you to live within your means, is going
to be essential. But getting to that place is not enough.
(18:27):
Then we need a system to control the flow of
money in and out from that point forward, whether that's
a physical envelope system, where you take discretionary funds after
every paycheck and fund physical envelopes for eating out and
clothing and entertainment and some of those those budget busters
or something like the Faith VI app, where you have
a digital version of that, where it downloads your transactions
(18:49):
and automatically places them in, you know, each of your envelopes,
so you can see at any point during the month
what's left. You need some system that works for you
and your wife. And then I think you need to
come together at least monthly for a money date just
to say, how are we doing? And what course corrections
do we need to make those kinds of things? So
I think that's really key. And that's really the first
key financial principle living within your means. Second, we need
(19:12):
to avoid the use of debt because that mortgage is
the future. Third, I've already talked about this. We need
to have some liquidity or some margin in our financial lives,
because that's the only way we're going to fund longer
term goals beyond just what you're spending month to month.
You might want to be able to pay down student
loans or save for the future, or give generously beyond
what you're already doing. That's only going to happen with
(19:34):
margin something left over. Fourth, you need those long term
goals because the longer the perspective, the better the decision today.
And then five is to give generously because giving breaks
the grip of money over our lives. And if you
do those five things, live within your means. Avoid debt,
have some margin, set long term goals, give generously, and
(19:54):
you all communicate regularly with understanding about how God has
wired you and your backgrounds and just kind of your
money personalities. Money can be a wonderful gift and a
tool to accomplish really great things. It doesn't have to
be a source of conflict. So, um, that's kind of
maybe the foundation, some things for you to think about. Um,
(20:15):
what I'd be happy to do is connect you with
one of our certified Christian financial counselors. If you and
your wife would be willing, we'll cover the cost for
it won't cost you anything, but they can help you
all set up that spending plan and maybe be that
kind of third party that helps the two of you
come together around building that plan and creating a system
to manage it, because I think that's really the cornerstone
(20:37):
of of a successful, you know, financial plan is being
able to build that budget and live within it. Does
that make sense, though?
S5 (20:46):
Yes, sir.
S2 (20:47):
All right. Sounds good. Would you and your wife be
willing to meet with, uh, a few meetings with a
certified Christian financial counselor?
S5 (20:54):
Yes. We would.
S2 (20:55):
Okay, awesome. Well, let's do that. Um, so I'm going
to get you to hold. We're going to get your information.
I'm going to get you connected with one of our
cert Cfc's. These are people that have been trained to help,
you know, with money in marriage, with setting up spending
plans with, you know, paying off debt, those kinds of things.
And they'll get you kind of going in the right direction.
The other thing I want to do is send you
(21:15):
a book called Money and Marriage God's Way from Howard Dayton,
and I think that'll be a great resource for you.
Maybe you and your wife commit to, you know, taking
a chapter a week and you'd each read through it,
come together and talk about it. I think that could
get you pointed in the right direction as well. So, Evan, listen,
you got this. And we're here to help, so stay
on the line. We'll get your information. We'll get that
(21:37):
book out to you. We'll get you connected with assert, CFC. And, uh,
call me back and share how it's going a little
ways down the road. Okay.
S6 (21:45):
All right. Thanks very much.
S2 (21:46):
All right. God bless you, buddy. Just a quick reminder.
We're not here today, so don't call in, but we're
going to head to a break and much more coming
just after this. Stay with us. I'm so thankful you're
joining us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West. Hey,
(22:09):
just a quick reminder. Our team is away from the
studio today, so don't call in. But in just a
few moments, we're going to get to some questions that
we lined up in advance that I know you'll find
very interesting, but let me take a moment just to
invite you first to be a supporter of this ministry
here at Faith. Fi. You know, we bring you this
broadcast every day as a listener supported ministry only because
(22:32):
of your generous support. So maybe you listen regularly. Perhaps
you count on this program. Maybe you've been able to
apply some of the wisdom from God's Word that you've
heard in your financial life, or it's just help you
to be that wise and faithful steward, and you'd like
to be a part of our team. Well, one way
you can do that is by investing in this work
(22:52):
through a one time gift, or even by becoming a
faith life partner. I just invite you to join us
on this journey. When you head to Faith, find com
and click give. A gift of any amount would be
a big help. Again, that's faith.com and just click give
and let me say thank you in advance. Your gift
will make a huge difference. Now let's head back to
(23:14):
the phone calls we have lined up. Let's go to Illinois.
Sally has been waiting patiently. Go right ahead.
S7 (23:19):
I have a question and I've heard this from a
couple of people, and I don't know if it's true
or not. Um, I worked for, Well, my husband and
I will be married 65 years. 63? 63 years this July.
And he worked for the DoD and received a pension.
And I worked for Social Security for, like, 35 years. And, um,
(23:46):
people have told me that if he were to die
before me, he set me up to get 40% of
his pension. But I would lose my Social Security or pension,
whichever is lower.
S2 (24:02):
Yeah. You know, it's always a good idea to check
with Social Security just on your specifics. Normally, the way
this would work is, uh, you would get to keep
one Social Security benefit the higher of the two. So
if your husband passes, you could switch to his survivor's benefit. Although, uh,
perhaps if he's with the DoD, he doesn't have, uh,
Social Security, um, through that government pension offset. Even though
(24:26):
there has been changes in that and that's that's going away.
But the bottom line is that 40% pension from the
DoD that you're set to receive is separate, and you
will still receive it. Um, you just need to, you know,
check with Social Security with regard to that government pension offset.
But that shouldn't, uh, you know, one should not affect
(24:48):
the other. You should be able to keep both the 40%
pension and your Social Security.
S7 (24:55):
Okay, that's what I was wondering. I've had different people
tell me that I was going to lose one of them.
And I thought, well, that's really not fair. But, um, anyway,
I thought, that's the way it works. And that's why
I wanted to call you and find out.
S2 (25:12):
Yeah. So I think just given, you know, there's been
some recent changes, um, with regard to the government pension offset,
if that's what, you know, is affecting, uh, the, you know, the, um,
him not receiving Social Security, having that DoD job. So I,
you know, I would call in to Social Security, perhaps
even schedule an in person meeting to visit with them
(25:34):
and use your specific record so that they could tell
you exactly what you will receive, at what age, and
so forth. With he when he passes. But typically, the
way it would work is you would not lose that
you can't receive, uh, you know, two benefits, but you
could continue receiving your benefit and then you would get that, uh,
(25:54):
that 40% DoD pension separately and, and, and not have
that affected by Social Security. So hopefully that helps. Sally,
we appreciate your call today. Thank you both for your, uh,
your service to our nation. And we, uh, would love
to have you back on the program anytime. God bless you. Uh,
let's go to New Mexico. Hi, Pam. How can I help?
S8 (26:13):
Hi. I was calling to ask a few questions about
my husband's. My husband is getting ready to, um, get.
He got a letter recently, um, asking if he wanted
to go ahead and take his, um, retirement early, um,
at the age of 60, which is at the end
of this month. And, um, they want to, you know,
(26:36):
know if we want, you know, the monthly payments or
defer it or to take the lump sum. And I
was curious what your thoughts are on that.
S2 (26:45):
Yeah. You know, it's, uh, it's a question that comes
up a lot. And, you know, the lump sum gives
you the flexibility and control, but puts the investment risk
on you. Uh, the monthly payments offered guarantee income, uh,
but less flexibility and deferring obviously increases the monthly payout.
But you give up the income now. And so I
(27:06):
think as you compare these options, including taxes and survivor's
benefits and whether or not you need the income now
or later, you know, usually it becomes pretty obvious which
one you need. Um, if you really have the flexibility
to choose, you know, both. I think it's it's ultimately
going to come down to, uh, if you're willing to
take on the investment risk, there's something nice about having
(27:28):
that lump sum where you're in control. You could have
access to larger amounts of money down the road if
you needed them, um, at any point. But you also
could invest it and convert it to an income stream.
But you are baring that investment risk. Um, you know,
there is also a process you might want to go
through to just look at, you know, whether the, you know,
(27:50):
present value of that lump sum is, you know, more
advantageous than the future value of that income stream. And so,
you know, what I would probably do is, is connect
with a, a Kingdom advisor who could actually run some
of those calculations where they'd look at the present value,
what is what the future income is worth today, uh,
(28:14):
based on the monthly payment amount. And then they apply
a discount rate to it and then, you know, a.
and they make an assumption around the number of years,
which we have to just use life expectancy on that.
And then you can compare that lump sum offer to
the monthly income stream to determine the better value, um,
you know, of the actual offer. Um, and so that
(28:38):
becomes then one factor that you could, you know, look
at and then, you know, I think secondly, you would
look at just what is my need for money now, um,
or in the next couple of years. Um, and then thirdly,
you'd consider your health and longevity, but it does get
somewhat complicated. And I think that's why it's always best
to make these decisions, even if you have to spend
(28:59):
a little bit of money, um, you know, to hire
an advisor to help you kind of look at your
situation and your financial plan, look at the offers of
what are being offered to you in terms of a
lump sum now or a few years down the road
versus the the monthly payment, and then help you kind
of back into the best decision for you because there's
not a right or wrong decision here, if that makes sense.
S8 (29:22):
Right. Yeah. Okay. And, um, do you have is it
the website for the Kingdom Advisor?
S2 (29:29):
Yes, ma'am. You would just go to Faith. Com that's faith.com.
And right there at the top of the page it'll
say find a professional. And you could look for some
certified Kingdom advisors there in New Mexico. And what you'd
want to do is just say that you listen to
the program and you're not necessarily looking for investment management.
You're really just looking for somebody who could you could,
(29:49):
you know, pay by the hour to help you do
some planning, specifically around making this decision on the payout
for this retirement account.
S8 (29:59):
Okay. Sounds good.
S2 (30:01):
All right. Very good. Absolutely. Pam, thanks for being on
the program today. We appreciate your call. Uh, Don is
waiting patiently in Mississippi. Don, we're going to get to
you right after this next break. I don't want to
cut you short. I know you have, uh, questions about
getting equity out of your home. We'll come to you first. Hey,
before we head to this break, just a quick reminder.
Our team is away from the studio today, so don't
(30:21):
call in. We did line up some great questions in advance,
and when we come back from this break, we'll have
an opportunity to hear some of those questions. Let me
also remind you that if you have a question, you'd
like to get in front of us and get an
answer to, you can always send it in electronically. That's right.
The way to send an electronic question is just to
head to Moody Radio.com. You'll see the form there on
(30:46):
that page where you can submit your question. We try
to get to a few of those each week on
the air. Again, Moody radio. Back with more on Faith
and finance. Live right after this. Stick around.
S1 (31:04):
You're listening to Faith and Finance Live, and you can
find us online at Faith giphy.com. However, today we are
not live. So if you hear that phone number, please
don't call. But do stay with us. There's lots of
good information ahead.
S2 (31:19):
So glad you're joining us today for faith and finance.
You know, everything we do here at Moody Radio is
about equipping God's people to live out a biblical worldview,
to share the gospel of Jesus Christ without reservation whatsoever.
And then once we commit our lives to Christ, to
living out of a biblical worldview, and that includes every
domain of our lives as we parent our kids and
(31:41):
in our marriage and in our walk with Jesus. And
as we engage the culture and as we serve in
our churches, but it also includes our financial journey. You know,
my experience is one of the key ways God shapes
your spiritual journey is through your financial journey. It's one
of those tangible expressions of what we value, where we
place our trust. How you use this good gift of
money as a tool on purpose to give God glory
(32:04):
and accomplish his purposes. Boy, it's a it's a really
big deal. And we live in the most prosperous nation
in the history of the world. And so it can
rival our hearts. There's a lot of allure out there
in the things of this world. If we're not careful,
we can have a a temporal mindset rather than an
eternal perspective. And the Word of God can be choked
(32:24):
out in our lives. We see that in the parable
of the sower, you remember what choked out the the
third soil from bearing fruit that 3060 hundredfold return. It was,
among other things, the deceitfulness of wealth or riches. We
don't want that to be true about us. And so
each day on this program, we help you renew your minds,
understand God's heart, and help you with practical advice on
(32:45):
how you manage God's money. Well, let's do that right now.
Here in our final segment, we'll get to as many
calls as we can. Don's been waiting patiently in Mississippi. Don.
Go right ahead, sir.
S9 (32:54):
Hey, Rob. How are you, man? I'm doing great. Listen,
I listened faithfully to you. Um, I truly appreciate your advice. Um,
and I go right into it. I'm retired military. Um, unfortunately,
at a young age, I did not think about what
God had for me until I got saved. And I
thank God for salvation because it gives us new thoughts,
(33:16):
new ideas, and new understanding about things. So now I
am doing some things. Trying to save some money, didn't
do as well as I thought it would be. But
you know, God is still opening up doors and he's
still providing. So what I have is I'm buying a
house through a company called, well, I won't mention the name,
(33:39):
but they are. I'm constantly paying my mortgage and I
pay more than, than, than is due every month. And
so I can see my mortgage payment each month, each
quarter coming down. So but I get these flyers that
come in and say, you know, you can draw X
amount of dollars out, uh, for equity. And um, and I, I,
(34:05):
I'm considering that to help pay some bills off, if
that is a good idea. But I don't want to
lose what I have. Uh, as far as the April goes,
because I'm still at 2%, and I know the market
is way above that now.
S2 (34:22):
Yeah, yeah. Well, first of all, uh, Don, thank you
for your service to our nation, my friend. Uh, we're grateful,
and I appreciate your call today. Listen, all of us
are on a journey in our financial lives, and, you know,
there's plenty of things we all wish we could have
done differently. But I think the key right now is
you're trying to do everything you can to be a
faithful steward of what passes through your hands. I love
that you've been accelerating the payoff on this house. That's great. Um,
(34:46):
and you know, now, as you you look at this asset, uh,
you know, you're wondering how you might be able to
tap into that to pay some bills. Uh, I would
encourage you to guard against that. I mean, the first
thing I would do, and I agree with you. We
don't want to touch this mortgage. I mean, you got
a mortgage with a two handle on it. Uh, that's
a good thing. Uh, there's a lot of people out
there who have had to buy houses in the last
(35:06):
few years, um, because they didn't have a choice. And,
you know, they're in sixes and sevens. And even though
that's pretty, you know, much closer to the long term average,
we got pretty accustomed over the last 20 years to,
you know, 3% interest rates or thereabouts. So that's a
great thing. Enjoy that. And you know, don't don't touch that. Um,
(35:27):
you know, the first thing I would probably do is
pull back on sending extra. And let's try to build
up an emergency fund. Let's go back to work on
that spending plan and really dial in your expenses and,
you know, look for areas to cut back, including, you know,
perhaps as a first step, just, you know, making the
scheduled monthly payment on that mortgage instead of sending extra,
(35:48):
which normally I would love, but I'd rather do that
than you tap into that home equity, you know, to
pay some bills. I mean, unless you're doing a home
renovation or something where you're going to improve the value
of the home, I'd rather you not, you know, have
a loan that's secured to your house, which puts your
house at risk if for some reason you couldn't make
the payment. Secondly, you know those home equity loans, even
(36:08):
though you will find some banks periodically that offer some incentives,
there is a cost to putting that loan in place.
And with the prevailing rates today and what would likely
be either a higher fixed rate or a variable rate,
you know you're going to have a rate probably 2
to 3 times, uh, you know, three times probably for sure.
What you have on your first mortgage. So I would
(36:30):
try to avoid that. I mean, if it came down
to it and you really as you get into retirement,
you find that you're sitting on this, this major asset
of your home, and you paid it down significantly, and
you just can't make the budget balance because you don't
have enough in the way of retirement assets. Um, you know, I,
I would be open to you looking at a reverse
mortgage at some point where you could either have access
(36:52):
to a line of credit where you'd never have to
make a payment, or you could get an income stream.
You know, there's a lot of folks that want to
get out of debt once and for all and stay there,
and I love that idea. But other folks who just
haven't saved enough, who are sitting on their their their
largest asset being their home, and because they've carried a
mortgage with them into retirement, or even if they've paid
(37:13):
it off and they just don't have enough to meet,
make ends meet and kind of enjoy this fourth quarter
of life. That's where the new version of a reverse mortgage,
which is called a home equity conversion mortgage, where you
can never owe more than the house is worth. You
can stay in it. You and or your spouse, um,
you know, for the rest of your life and whatever
equity is left, you know, at death or when you
(37:35):
sell it, you know, is available to go to heirs,
but you never have a payment, you know, that can
be a game changer for some folks. So as a
planning tool, you know, I don't mind that at all. Um,
but I think kind of based on what you're describing
right now, I would avoid taking out a new loan
and let's just go to work on that spending plan
and perhaps pull back on extra principal reduction just to
(37:57):
free up some additional funds. Does that make sense, though?
S9 (38:00):
And yes, sir, it makes a lot of sense. And
the other thing is, is that, uh, you know, I've
been doing what you said about emergency funds. Uh, right
now I'm able to put at least $200 a month
into my emergency fund, which is now actually have gotten
up to about ten grand. So I'm constantly trying to
(38:22):
build that up while I can.
S2 (38:24):
Yeah. That's great. Um, how much extra are you spending
per month or per year to the house?
S9 (38:30):
Uh, I only I only do maybe $100 extra.
S2 (38:34):
Okay. Yeah. So maybe just while you're building that up
to six months expenses, uh, you know, the emergency fund.
Maybe we wait on that just because it'd be important
that you have that liquid cash, which the the home
is illiquid, that you have that liquid cash. Just if
something comes out of left field, um, and then what
are the bills you're talking about? Is it just monthly
spending or is there some kind of one time event
(38:56):
that you're looking to fund?
S9 (38:58):
Well, I'm just looking to take out, you know, all
of my credit cards. I want to pay those off completely.
There It's not much on those. And I want to
pay my vehicle off.
S2 (39:09):
Okay. Yeah. So I think that's the key right now
is let's let's wait on paying the extra to the house. Let's,
you know, let's keep building that, uh, that emergency fund
and then let's, you know, take care of those credit cards.
We want to probably prioritize those first, then the car second.
But I would avoid taking out that home equity loan
if it were me.
S10 (39:29):
Okay.
S9 (39:29):
Well, thank you, sir. I really appreciate it. Uh. Uh,
I just gave a young lady some advice about just
what you are talking about now. So thank you, thank you,
thank you so much.
S2 (39:41):
Absolutely. Don, thanks for your call. And we appreciate you
being on the program today. Uh, let's see. We're going
to go to Tennessee next. Diana. Go right ahead.
S11 (39:50):
Hey, um, so my mother passed away recently, and she
has a, uh, home mortgage that has a subsidy on it.
And so I've tried to contact them, the company, and
I'm kind of getting a run around. Um, so they're
saying that if we pay that house off early that
we would owe for that whole subsidy.
S2 (40:12):
Yes. Yeah, that's exactly right.
S12 (40:14):
Way to go.
S11 (40:16):
I don't know what's the best route. At one point,
they say if you pay the mortgage balance off and
you also pay the subsidy at the same time, you
get a like a 20 or 25% discount. I mean,
what route should we go here?
S2 (40:30):
Yeah. Well, so.
S12 (40:31):
The paying on the house.
S11 (40:33):
What should we do?
S2 (40:34):
Yeah. So the the payment assistance, the USDA subsidies, uh,
have to be repaid when the home is sold or transferred,
even if the mortgage is nearly paid off. So, um,
you know, when. So did you say that, uh, your
mom passed away? Is that right?
S11 (40:52):
Yes.
S2 (40:53):
Okay. Yeah. And so it it when when the transfer
happens through the inheritance, that subsidy is likely going to
need to be repaid. So I would get on the
phone with the USDA loan servicer to confirm the exact
amount and the options, if you haven't already. In some cases,
they may reduce or waive part of it, especially if
(41:15):
you as the air keeps the home and your income qualifies.
But you're going to need to talk that through with
them just to see what options you have.
S11 (41:24):
Well thank you. I appreciate that very much.
S2 (41:26):
Yeah. You're welcome. I know there's this can be confusing.
And so you you really it's ultimately going to come
down to what the loan servicer says and can do
for you. Um, so I would get on the phone
with them, they'll tell you exactly what's possible. But I
would ask for this, you know, ability to find out
what would it take for you to qualify for a
portion of it to be waived or reduced? And let's
(41:49):
see if, um, you know, they can give you some
advice on that. Hey, all the best to you, Diana.
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's passing. We
appreciate your call today. God bless you. Well, folks, that's
going to do it for us today. So thankful to
have you along with us today. Listen, if you find
value in the program, want to support our work, just
head to faith. Com and click give. We have some
incredible things coming up over the balance of this year.
(42:10):
A new devotional that I can't wait to put in
your hands. It'll be out in the, uh, in the fall.
We're working on our digital studies. So in the Faith
V app, we're going to be able to make, uh,
some of our studies and devotionals available to you in
a digital experience. Uh, we've got, uh, new short form
content coming your way that's going to be video based,
working on a lot of great things all around this
(42:32):
idea of how do we as as Christ followers who
are growing in our faith, how do we not make money,
our treasure, but God, our ultimate treasure? And and then
how do we steward wisely what he has entrusted to us? And, uh,
that's our passion here. Hey, faith and finance live is
a ministry of faith. Fi and Moody Radio. Thanks to
my team today. And we'll see you tomorrow. Come back
(42:52):
and join us then.
S13 (42:53):
Bye bye.
Today's faith and finance live is actually not live, so
our phone lines are not open.
S2 (00:08):
He who has ears, let him hear Matthew 13 nine. Hi,
I'm Rob West. Those were Jesus closing words after telling
the parable of the sower, a story that invites us
to listen carefully, not just with our ears, but with
our hearts. Today we'll look at this story and what
it reveals about the heart behind our finances, especially the
warning about the deceitfulness of riches. Then we have some
(00:31):
great calls lined up. But we won't be taking your
live calls today because we're pre-recorded. This is faith in finance.
Live biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, the parable
of the sower appears in Matthew 13, Mark four, and
Luke eight. It begins with a farmer scattering seed, which
(00:53):
falls on four types of soil. Jesus later explains that
the seed is the Word of God, and the soils
represent different heart conditions. Some hearts are hard, others are shallow,
some are fertile and ready. But one soil in particular
draws our attention today the seed that fell among thorns.
In Matthew 1322, Jesus says, as for what was sown
(01:15):
among thorns, this is the one who hears the word,
but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of
riches choke the word and prove it unfruitful. Let's break
that down. First, Jesus points to the cares of the world,
the daily anxieties and distractions that can crowd out our
trust in God. Then he adds the deceitfulness of riches.
(01:37):
It's not wealth itself that's the issue. It's the lie.
Wealth tells us that more money will bring more peace,
that possessions equal security, and that success means significance. The
Bible consistently warns us about that lie. Proverbs 1128 says,
whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous
(01:57):
will flourish like a green leaf. And Paul reminds Timothy
in one Timothy 617, command those who are rich in
this present world not to be arrogant or to put
their hope in wealth which is so uncertain, but to
put their hope in God. Wealth deceives us by offering
the illusion of control and independence. It tempts us to
believe we're self-sufficient, and when we buy that lie, we
(02:20):
slowly stop depending upon God like thorns in a garden.
Worldly cares and the lure of wealth take root in
our hearts, slowly crowding out our affection for God. The
space once reserved for trust and obedience becomes overrun with
distraction and self reliance. It's like C.S. Lewis put it
prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels like
(02:42):
he is finding his place in it, while really it's
finding its place in him. You might be saving diligently,
investing wisely, and even giving regularly, but if you're trusting
in your portfolio more than God's promises, or if your
finances have become a source of anxiety. Then it may
be time to do a heart check. What kind of
soil are you cultivating? When unexpected expenses hit, what comes first?
(03:06):
Prayer or panic? When you think about the future, is
your hope grounded and your retirement account, or in the
one who holds all things together? Jesus said the seed
among thorns becomes unfruitful. The word doesn't lose its power,
but when wealth and worry take over our hearts, we
stop responding to it. Outwardly we may look fruitful, but
(03:27):
inwardly our love for him is being choked out. So
how do we respond? Well, Jesus points to the solution.
Just a few verses later, in Matthew 1323, he says,
the good soil is the one who hears the word
and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields. But
receiving God's Word deeply isn't a one time event. It's
(03:48):
a lifelong process of cultivating the soil of our hearts.
It means creating space where God's truth can take root, thrive,
and grow without being overtaken by competing desires. That's how
fruitfulness begins and continues. So with that being said, here
are three simple practices to help you cultivate good soil
(04:08):
in your finances. First, prioritize your giving. Start with generosity
not as an afterthought, but as an act of worship.
Giving reminds us that money is not our master and
that we trust God to provide for us. Second, check
your emotional temperature. If your peace rises and falls with
your financial circumstances, that's a signal to lean into God's
(04:30):
Word more than your wallet. And number three, rethink your
financial goals. Ask yourself, what am I building and why?
Is your financial plan aligned with kingdom purposes or is
it just chasing comfort or status? As Dallas Willard said,
the main thing God gets out of your life is
the person you become. That includes how you handle money. Generosity, peace,
(04:53):
and contentment are fruits of a life rooted in Christ,
not one choked out by wealth. At the end of
the day, remember that the condition of your heart matters
more than the condition of your accounts. If you want
to be fruitful in your finances and faithful in your
walk with God, start by asking, what am I trusting in?
Let the answer lead you back to Christ, because only
(05:13):
in him will your life bear lasting fruit. I hope
that's an encouragement to you. Hey folks, we're going to
pause now for a brief break, but we'll be back
with much more on today's faith and finance live. Great
(05:35):
to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live.
I'm Rob West. Our team is taking some time away
from the studio, so don't call in today. But we
do have some great questions lined up. Those will come
in just a bit. Uh, let me mention we have
an incredible opportunity for you, you know, more and more
of our listeners and the faithful audience are wanting to
align their faith with all of those that they do
(05:58):
business with, including their investments, but that includes their banking partner.
And we have had a relationship for a long time
now with Christian Community Credit Union. They've been providing Christian
banking solutions to thousands of Christ followers and ministries for
over 68 years, and they're making a special offer available
to faithful listeners. They're offering up to a $400 bonus
(06:20):
when you open a high yield checking savings or visa
cash back card, and you'll know that you're with a
partner that is supporting only things that align with your
Christian values, including a portion of everything that they make.
Going to some Christian ministries doing amazing work in the
name of Jesus as our recommended banking partner, it's a
(06:41):
great opportunity for you to align your faith and finances.
So to learn more, just go to Faith banking and
enter the code. Fi. That's faith. Fi. And then you'll
want to enter the code. Faith. Fi. To learn more
about Christian Community Credit Union, our great partner. All right.
(07:02):
We're going to head to the phones here in just
a moment. But first in the news, a recent J.D.
power study reveals that online only banks are outshining traditional
brick and mortar institutions in customer satisfaction, especially among younger generations.
Here's the key findings. First, in the area of customer support,
direct banks excel in providing support, with customers appreciating easy
(07:26):
access to services and clear communication. Second would be around
the digital experience. High satisfaction rates are attributed to user
friendly mobile apps and websites because that's their primary means
of engaging with their customers, so they tend to do
that well. And then third would be around top performers uh,
(07:46):
Charles Schwab, American Express, and Ally Bank were among the
top performers. We think here at Faith VI that our
friends at Christian Community Credit Union should definitely be on
that list, too. Uh c.c.c. meets all of the key
factors valued by members like excellent customer service, a seamless
digital experience, and innovative mobile access and all that, while
(08:11):
staying true to Christian values by integrating faith with financial services.
Kcu is helping members grow their wealth while advancing kingdom causes.
And more often than not, our listeners to this program
are wanting to align all of their investments and banking
and financial transactions and decisions with their values. And that
(08:32):
means having trusted kingdom partners and Kcu would would certainly
be that, because their mission is to serve, support and
uplift the community. And that's evident in everything they do
with faith driven financial guidance. If you want to learn more,
just head to join Christian community.org that's join Christian Community Dot.
(08:55):
All right. Let's dive into your questions. Today we're going
to begin in Pennsylvania. Hi Raymond. Go ahead sir.
S3 (09:00):
Hello. Well I'm collecting early Social security at age 65
and working part time, which means I'm still paying Social
Security taxes. Well, these additional benefits increase my future benefits
or be returned to me in another way. Thank you Rob.
S2 (09:17):
Yeah great question there. So yes, they can increase your benefit.
And here's how Raymond. Uh, Social Security recalculates your benefit
each year automatically based on what's called your high 35.
So that's your highest 35 years of earnings. So if
your current work years are higher than earlier ones, perhaps,
(09:40):
you know, when you were just starting out, some of
your high 35 are were lower than they are today.
then that would cause your monthly check to go up
slightly so it could pay off, and that would be
the way that happened. Now, if you're just working part time,
it could be that when we look at your high
35 years of full time work, that this is not
(10:03):
going to get to a place where it would cause
any of those to roll off and be replaced. And
if that's the case, you continuing to work and pay
into Social Security through your FICA taxes does nothing for you.
You're just helping to support other people's benefits because yours
is is essentially set, and the only increase you would
get then is the cost of living adjustment. But if
(10:24):
you could replace any of those high. 35. Then absolutely
it could cause your benefit to increase and that would
happen automatically.
S3 (10:32):
Well thank you. That's fine. That's that's okay with me now.
S2 (10:35):
All right. Very good. Thanks, Raymond. Lord bless you, sir.
We appreciate you being on the program. Uh, let's go
to Texas. Hi, George. How can I help?
S4 (10:42):
Hey, Rob. How's it going?
S2 (10:44):
Doing great. Thanks for your call.
S4 (10:46):
Yeah, so I need help. Uh, last year I called in, and, uh,
you helped me tremendously. We were, uh, about 70 grand
in debt. You recommended credit counseling, which we did, uh,
start that program, and we've knocked, uh, a fairly large
chunk down. Um, however, you know, my the the budget
(11:09):
has been tight. Where, you know, if we have any
unexpected costs. If I don't hit bonus with my job,
we can't afford these to fix things. Um, I recently
had my air conditioning unit go out. I had an
extended home warranty that only offered us $150 towards it,
(11:30):
so I had to get financing, uh, 0%, but that
was $11,000. Um, and if I don't hit bonus, I'm
not going to be able to pay that. And so
I was wondering, I know I hear a lot of
people calling in about who to give to and charity.
Is there any programs for individuals such as myself that people, um,
can provide or or. The other option that I was
(11:54):
wondering is I do have a 401 K from my job.
Do I deplete that to pay? I don't know what
to do. I'm just at lost and I if I
get hit with one other financial burden or unexpected cost,
I'm almost want to file bankruptcy. And we try to
be doing everything the right way and, you know, under
your guidance of last year. So.
S2 (12:15):
Yeah. Well, I appreciate that, George, and I'm delighted to
hear you made so much progress. I mean, you knock
in $20,000 off that credit card debt in in just
a year is phenomenal. And hopefully getting those lower interest
rates has helped. Uh, are you sending more than the
scheduled monthly payment? I mean, how did you how did
you knock off so much over 12 months?
S4 (12:38):
I don't know, they just they set it up. They
did it all for us. Okay.
S2 (12:41):
So so you're just paying the scheduled payment, is that right?
S4 (12:45):
Correct. Yeah. Whatever they did. And then they send us
the little review every, every quarter and say, hey, this
is what's left and this is how much you've paid off.
S2 (12:54):
So yeah. Got it. Yeah. I mean, so ideally and
I realize, you know, this, this means a lot of
things have to go right in terms of you not
having unexpected expenses and you hitting bonus to get, you know,
your full compensation. But ideally we would, you know, build
your budget, including that payment to, uh, you know, the
financing on the air conditioning and the payment to Christian
(13:16):
credit counselors. We'd build your budget such that you'd be
able to cover those and have something left over. And
then we would use that to start building up an
emergency fund. And then that would be, you know, where
you tap whenever those things come out of left field.
I realize that's easier said than done. And if you're
living right up to the edge and that's right up
to the edge with your bonus, and and if that
(13:36):
doesn't come in or you have something else, then that
kind of throws everything, Thing, uh, you know, out of whack. So, um,
you know, here's what I would love to do. I
wouldn't have anything to recommend. Um, as much as I
would love to, that could come in and help you, uh,
you know, cover some of these bills other than direct
you back to your local church. I mean, perhaps your
church has a benevolence department or something like that that
(13:59):
they could help with something like this. But I'd be
happy to connect you with one of our certified Christian
financial counselors who could help you look at that spending
plan and the budget, and maybe make some recommendations on
places to cut back, at least just improving the control
of flow of money in and out. But at the
end of the day, we want to try to stay
the course, trust God for his provision. Uh, let's really
(14:21):
dial back spending and cut any way we can. And
that's where assert CFC can help. Stay on the line.
We'll talk a bit more off the air. We'll be
right back. Great to have you with us today on
faith and finance live. By the way, we're not live today.
We're away from the studio, so don't call in. But
we have some great questions that we lined up in advance.
(14:45):
By the way, this ministry is entirely listener supported. That
means we rely on your financial gifts and support to
do what we do on the air every day. If
you consider a gift, we'd certainly be grateful. Just head
to our website. Faith. That's faith. Dot com and click
the give button. Thanks in advance. Uh, let's head back
(15:05):
to the phones. We're going to go to Texas and
welcome Evan. Go ahead sir.
S5 (15:09):
So I'm a very recent newlywed. I got married about
three months ago. I'm 19, and growing up, my parents
never really taught me about finances and how to handle
them properly. All I was taught was work hard for
what I earned and save as much as I can
of it. But I'm really not sure how I can
(15:29):
start saving long term financial wealth. And I'm also not
sure how I can have these deep conversations With my
new wife as to how to save money properly, and
how we can not spend as much as we typically do.
Whether it's just eating out or extra shopping, or any
(15:51):
other little place where we may be spending too much money.
S2 (15:55):
Yeah, yeah, I totally understand. First of all, congratulations on
your new marriage. I'm delighted to hear that you really
want to understand God's heart and get set up in
the right way in terms of your financial future, which
is going to be a key, you know, piece of
of your life as a married couple. Uh, because money
is not evil. It's a good gift from God, but
(16:17):
it does need to be managed wisely. You and I
are stewards. Everything belongs to God. And so we need
to manage his resources entrusted to us with care. Good
news is the Bible is our source for that. And
we we make it a matter of prayer. We also
recognize that, uh, you know, this can rival our hearts, uh,
for first position. And so we've we've got to be careful.
(16:39):
There's a seductive nature of wealth that can cause us
to think that, you know, anything we're lacking, whether it's
significance or security or even fulfillment, that, you know, that
can come by way of financial means, getting to a certain,
you know, income or buying things that make us feel better,
those kinds of things. And we need to guard against that.
We need to see money as a tool to bring
(17:01):
God glory and to accomplish his purposes. That includes enjoyment.
So there should be an element of enjoyment. I think
when we have a celebration, a joyful, you know, meal
that causes God to smile, that's a great way to
use money. But we also give it generously. We use
it to provide, we invest. And all of that needs
to be done in the context of a plan that
(17:22):
starts with our values. What's important to us as Christ followers?
Where is God taking you as a married couple, and
how can money be a tool, not a source of
conflict and not an end, but a means to an
end to accomplish God's purposes in your life. And that's
going to include, first and foremost, living within your means.
And I know that's kind of at the heart of
your question here, which is, you know, how do I
(17:44):
get to a place where my wife and I are
on the same page about, yeah, we can enjoy this,
but it needs to be in the midst of a
plan where we're living on less than we're earning, because
we don't want to live outside of God's provision. We
need to find contentment. We need to build a plan
around what God has provided. And there should be some margin,
something left over at the end of the month. And
(18:04):
that's not going to happen by default. You're not going
to just, you know, gravitate to that naturally. It's going
to be it's going to take some work. Um, but
the extent to which you and your wife can come together,
prayerfully put a plan together that reflects both of you,
how God has wired you, where he's taking you and
that causes you to live within your means, is going
to be essential. But getting to that place is not enough.
(18:27):
Then we need a system to control the flow of
money in and out from that point forward, whether that's
a physical envelope system, where you take discretionary funds after
every paycheck and fund physical envelopes for eating out and
clothing and entertainment and some of those those budget busters
or something like the Faith VI app, where you have
a digital version of that, where it downloads your transactions
(18:49):
and automatically places them in, you know, each of your envelopes,
so you can see at any point during the month
what's left. You need some system that works for you
and your wife. And then I think you need to
come together at least monthly for a money date just
to say, how are we doing? And what course corrections
do we need to make those kinds of things? So
I think that's really key. And that's really the first
key financial principle living within your means. Second, we need
(19:12):
to avoid the use of debt because that mortgage is
the future. Third, I've already talked about this. We need
to have some liquidity or some margin in our financial lives,
because that's the only way we're going to fund longer
term goals beyond just what you're spending month to month.
You might want to be able to pay down student
loans or save for the future, or give generously beyond
what you're already doing. That's only going to happen with
(19:34):
margin something left over. Fourth, you need those long term
goals because the longer the perspective, the better the decision today.
And then five is to give generously because giving breaks
the grip of money over our lives. And if you
do those five things, live within your means. Avoid debt,
have some margin, set long term goals, give generously, and
(19:54):
you all communicate regularly with understanding about how God has
wired you and your backgrounds and just kind of your
money personalities. Money can be a wonderful gift and a
tool to accomplish really great things. It doesn't have to
be a source of conflict. So, um, that's kind of
maybe the foundation, some things for you to think about. Um,
(20:15):
what I'd be happy to do is connect you with
one of our certified Christian financial counselors. If you and
your wife would be willing, we'll cover the cost for
it won't cost you anything, but they can help you
all set up that spending plan and maybe be that
kind of third party that helps the two of you
come together around building that plan and creating a system
to manage it, because I think that's really the cornerstone
(20:37):
of of a successful, you know, financial plan is being
able to build that budget and live within it. Does
that make sense, though?
S5 (20:46):
Yes, sir.
S2 (20:47):
All right. Sounds good. Would you and your wife be
willing to meet with, uh, a few meetings with a
certified Christian financial counselor?
S5 (20:54):
Yes. We would.
S2 (20:55):
Okay, awesome. Well, let's do that. Um, so I'm going
to get you to hold. We're going to get your information.
I'm going to get you connected with one of our
cert Cfc's. These are people that have been trained to help,
you know, with money in marriage, with setting up spending
plans with, you know, paying off debt, those kinds of things.
And they'll get you kind of going in the right direction.
The other thing I want to do is send you
(21:15):
a book called Money and Marriage God's Way from Howard Dayton,
and I think that'll be a great resource for you.
Maybe you and your wife commit to, you know, taking
a chapter a week and you'd each read through it,
come together and talk about it. I think that could
get you pointed in the right direction as well. So, Evan, listen,
you got this. And we're here to help, so stay
on the line. We'll get your information. We'll get that
(21:37):
book out to you. We'll get you connected with assert, CFC. And, uh,
call me back and share how it's going a little
ways down the road. Okay.
S6 (21:45):
All right. Thanks very much.
S2 (21:46):
All right. God bless you, buddy. Just a quick reminder.
We're not here today, so don't call in, but we're
going to head to a break and much more coming
just after this. Stay with us. I'm so thankful you're
joining us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West. Hey,
(22:09):
just a quick reminder. Our team is away from the
studio today, so don't call in. But in just a
few moments, we're going to get to some questions that
we lined up in advance that I know you'll find
very interesting, but let me take a moment just to
invite you first to be a supporter of this ministry
here at Faith. Fi. You know, we bring you this
broadcast every day as a listener supported ministry only because
(22:32):
of your generous support. So maybe you listen regularly. Perhaps
you count on this program. Maybe you've been able to
apply some of the wisdom from God's Word that you've
heard in your financial life, or it's just help you
to be that wise and faithful steward, and you'd like
to be a part of our team. Well, one way
you can do that is by investing in this work
(22:52):
through a one time gift, or even by becoming a
faith life partner. I just invite you to join us
on this journey. When you head to Faith, find com
and click give. A gift of any amount would be
a big help. Again, that's faith.com and just click give
and let me say thank you in advance. Your gift
will make a huge difference. Now let's head back to
(23:14):
the phone calls we have lined up. Let's go to Illinois.
Sally has been waiting patiently. Go right ahead.
S7 (23:19):
I have a question and I've heard this from a
couple of people, and I don't know if it's true
or not. Um, I worked for, Well, my husband and
I will be married 65 years. 63? 63 years this July.
And he worked for the DoD and received a pension.
And I worked for Social Security for, like, 35 years. And, um,
(23:46):
people have told me that if he were to die
before me, he set me up to get 40% of
his pension. But I would lose my Social Security or pension,
whichever is lower.
S2 (24:02):
Yeah. You know, it's always a good idea to check
with Social Security just on your specifics. Normally, the way
this would work is, uh, you would get to keep
one Social Security benefit the higher of the two. So
if your husband passes, you could switch to his survivor's benefit. Although, uh,
perhaps if he's with the DoD, he doesn't have, uh,
Social Security, um, through that government pension offset. Even though
(24:26):
there has been changes in that and that's that's going away.
But the bottom line is that 40% pension from the
DoD that you're set to receive is separate, and you
will still receive it. Um, you just need to, you know,
check with Social Security with regard to that government pension offset.
But that shouldn't, uh, you know, one should not affect
(24:48):
the other. You should be able to keep both the 40%
pension and your Social Security.
S7 (24:55):
Okay, that's what I was wondering. I've had different people
tell me that I was going to lose one of them.
And I thought, well, that's really not fair. But, um, anyway,
I thought, that's the way it works. And that's why
I wanted to call you and find out.
S2 (25:12):
Yeah. So I think just given, you know, there's been
some recent changes, um, with regard to the government pension offset,
if that's what, you know, is affecting, uh, the, you know, the, um,
him not receiving Social Security, having that DoD job. So I,
you know, I would call in to Social Security, perhaps
even schedule an in person meeting to visit with them
(25:34):
and use your specific record so that they could tell
you exactly what you will receive, at what age, and
so forth. With he when he passes. But typically, the
way it would work is you would not lose that
you can't receive, uh, you know, two benefits, but you
could continue receiving your benefit and then you would get that, uh,
(25:54):
that 40% DoD pension separately and, and, and not have
that affected by Social Security. So hopefully that helps. Sally,
we appreciate your call today. Thank you both for your, uh,
your service to our nation. And we, uh, would love
to have you back on the program anytime. God bless you. Uh,
let's go to New Mexico. Hi, Pam. How can I help?
S8 (26:13):
Hi. I was calling to ask a few questions about
my husband's. My husband is getting ready to, um, get.
He got a letter recently, um, asking if he wanted
to go ahead and take his, um, retirement early, um,
at the age of 60, which is at the end
of this month. And, um, they want to, you know,
(26:36):
know if we want, you know, the monthly payments or
defer it or to take the lump sum. And I
was curious what your thoughts are on that.
S2 (26:45):
Yeah. You know, it's, uh, it's a question that comes
up a lot. And, you know, the lump sum gives
you the flexibility and control, but puts the investment risk
on you. Uh, the monthly payments offered guarantee income, uh,
but less flexibility and deferring obviously increases the monthly payout.
But you give up the income now. And so I
(27:06):
think as you compare these options, including taxes and survivor's
benefits and whether or not you need the income now
or later, you know, usually it becomes pretty obvious which
one you need. Um, if you really have the flexibility
to choose, you know, both. I think it's it's ultimately
going to come down to, uh, if you're willing to
take on the investment risk, there's something nice about having
(27:28):
that lump sum where you're in control. You could have
access to larger amounts of money down the road if
you needed them, um, at any point. But you also
could invest it and convert it to an income stream.
But you are baring that investment risk. Um, you know,
there is also a process you might want to go
through to just look at, you know, whether the, you know,
(27:50):
present value of that lump sum is, you know, more
advantageous than the future value of that income stream. And so,
you know, what I would probably do is, is connect
with a, a Kingdom advisor who could actually run some
of those calculations where they'd look at the present value,
what is what the future income is worth today, uh,
(28:14):
based on the monthly payment amount. And then they apply
a discount rate to it and then, you know, a.
and they make an assumption around the number of years,
which we have to just use life expectancy on that.
And then you can compare that lump sum offer to
the monthly income stream to determine the better value, um,
you know, of the actual offer. Um, and so that
(28:38):
becomes then one factor that you could, you know, look
at and then, you know, I think secondly, you would
look at just what is my need for money now, um,
or in the next couple of years. Um, and then thirdly,
you'd consider your health and longevity, but it does get
somewhat complicated. And I think that's why it's always best
to make these decisions, even if you have to spend
(28:59):
a little bit of money, um, you know, to hire
an advisor to help you kind of look at your
situation and your financial plan, look at the offers of
what are being offered to you in terms of a
lump sum now or a few years down the road
versus the the monthly payment, and then help you kind
of back into the best decision for you because there's
not a right or wrong decision here, if that makes sense.
S8 (29:22):
Right. Yeah. Okay. And, um, do you have is it
the website for the Kingdom Advisor?
S2 (29:29):
Yes, ma'am. You would just go to Faith. Com that's faith.com.
And right there at the top of the page it'll
say find a professional. And you could look for some
certified Kingdom advisors there in New Mexico. And what you'd
want to do is just say that you listen to
the program and you're not necessarily looking for investment management.
You're really just looking for somebody who could you could,
(29:49):
you know, pay by the hour to help you do
some planning, specifically around making this decision on the payout
for this retirement account.
S8 (29:59):
Okay. Sounds good.
S2 (30:01):
All right. Very good. Absolutely. Pam, thanks for being on
the program today. We appreciate your call. Uh, Don is
waiting patiently in Mississippi. Don, we're going to get to
you right after this next break. I don't want to
cut you short. I know you have, uh, questions about
getting equity out of your home. We'll come to you first. Hey,
before we head to this break, just a quick reminder.
Our team is away from the studio today, so don't
(30:21):
call in. We did line up some great questions in advance,
and when we come back from this break, we'll have
an opportunity to hear some of those questions. Let me
also remind you that if you have a question, you'd
like to get in front of us and get an
answer to, you can always send it in electronically. That's right.
The way to send an electronic question is just to
head to Moody Radio.com. You'll see the form there on
(30:46):
that page where you can submit your question. We try
to get to a few of those each week on
the air. Again, Moody radio. Back with more on Faith
and finance. Live right after this. Stick around.
S1 (31:04):
You're listening to Faith and Finance Live, and you can
find us online at Faith giphy.com. However, today we are
not live. So if you hear that phone number, please
don't call. But do stay with us. There's lots of
good information ahead.
S2 (31:19):
So glad you're joining us today for faith and finance.
You know, everything we do here at Moody Radio is
about equipping God's people to live out a biblical worldview,
to share the gospel of Jesus Christ without reservation whatsoever.
And then once we commit our lives to Christ, to
living out of a biblical worldview, and that includes every
domain of our lives as we parent our kids and
(31:41):
in our marriage and in our walk with Jesus. And
as we engage the culture and as we serve in
our churches, but it also includes our financial journey. You know,
my experience is one of the key ways God shapes
your spiritual journey is through your financial journey. It's one
of those tangible expressions of what we value, where we
place our trust. How you use this good gift of
money as a tool on purpose to give God glory
(32:04):
and accomplish his purposes. Boy, it's a it's a really
big deal. And we live in the most prosperous nation
in the history of the world. And so it can
rival our hearts. There's a lot of allure out there
in the things of this world. If we're not careful,
we can have a a temporal mindset rather than an
eternal perspective. And the Word of God can be choked
(32:24):
out in our lives. We see that in the parable
of the sower, you remember what choked out the the
third soil from bearing fruit that 3060 hundredfold return. It was,
among other things, the deceitfulness of wealth or riches. We
don't want that to be true about us. And so
each day on this program, we help you renew your minds,
understand God's heart, and help you with practical advice on
(32:45):
how you manage God's money. Well, let's do that right now.
Here in our final segment, we'll get to as many
calls as we can. Don's been waiting patiently in Mississippi. Don.
Go right ahead, sir.
S9 (32:54):
Hey, Rob. How are you, man? I'm doing great. Listen,
I listened faithfully to you. Um, I truly appreciate your advice. Um,
and I go right into it. I'm retired military. Um, unfortunately,
at a young age, I did not think about what
God had for me until I got saved. And I
thank God for salvation because it gives us new thoughts,
(33:16):
new ideas, and new understanding about things. So now I
am doing some things. Trying to save some money, didn't
do as well as I thought it would be. But
you know, God is still opening up doors and he's
still providing. So what I have is I'm buying a
house through a company called, well, I won't mention the name,
(33:39):
but they are. I'm constantly paying my mortgage and I
pay more than, than, than is due every month. And
so I can see my mortgage payment each month, each
quarter coming down. So but I get these flyers that
come in and say, you know, you can draw X
amount of dollars out, uh, for equity. And um, and I, I,
(34:05):
I'm considering that to help pay some bills off, if
that is a good idea. But I don't want to
lose what I have. Uh, as far as the April goes,
because I'm still at 2%, and I know the market
is way above that now.
S2 (34:22):
Yeah, yeah. Well, first of all, uh, Don, thank you
for your service to our nation, my friend. Uh, we're grateful,
and I appreciate your call today. Listen, all of us
are on a journey in our financial lives, and, you know,
there's plenty of things we all wish we could have
done differently. But I think the key right now is
you're trying to do everything you can to be a
faithful steward of what passes through your hands. I love
that you've been accelerating the payoff on this house. That's great. Um,
(34:46):
and you know, now, as you you look at this asset, uh,
you know, you're wondering how you might be able to
tap into that to pay some bills. Uh, I would
encourage you to guard against that. I mean, the first
thing I would do, and I agree with you. We
don't want to touch this mortgage. I mean, you got
a mortgage with a two handle on it. Uh, that's
a good thing. Uh, there's a lot of people out
there who have had to buy houses in the last
(35:06):
few years, um, because they didn't have a choice. And,
you know, they're in sixes and sevens. And even though
that's pretty, you know, much closer to the long term average,
we got pretty accustomed over the last 20 years to,
you know, 3% interest rates or thereabouts. So that's a
great thing. Enjoy that. And you know, don't don't touch that. Um,
(35:27):
you know, the first thing I would probably do is
pull back on sending extra. And let's try to build
up an emergency fund. Let's go back to work on
that spending plan and really dial in your expenses and,
you know, look for areas to cut back, including, you know,
perhaps as a first step, just, you know, making the
scheduled monthly payment on that mortgage instead of sending extra,
(35:48):
which normally I would love, but I'd rather do that
than you tap into that home equity, you know, to
pay some bills. I mean, unless you're doing a home
renovation or something where you're going to improve the value
of the home, I'd rather you not, you know, have
a loan that's secured to your house, which puts your
house at risk if for some reason you couldn't make
the payment. Secondly, you know those home equity loans, even
(36:08):
though you will find some banks periodically that offer some incentives,
there is a cost to putting that loan in place.
And with the prevailing rates today and what would likely
be either a higher fixed rate or a variable rate,
you know you're going to have a rate probably 2
to 3 times, uh, you know, three times probably for sure.
What you have on your first mortgage. So I would
(36:30):
try to avoid that. I mean, if it came down
to it and you really as you get into retirement,
you find that you're sitting on this, this major asset
of your home, and you paid it down significantly, and
you just can't make the budget balance because you don't
have enough in the way of retirement assets. Um, you know, I,
I would be open to you looking at a reverse
mortgage at some point where you could either have access
(36:52):
to a line of credit where you'd never have to
make a payment, or you could get an income stream.
You know, there's a lot of folks that want to
get out of debt once and for all and stay there,
and I love that idea. But other folks who just
haven't saved enough, who are sitting on their their their
largest asset being their home, and because they've carried a
mortgage with them into retirement, or even if they've paid
(37:13):
it off and they just don't have enough to meet,
make ends meet and kind of enjoy this fourth quarter
of life. That's where the new version of a reverse mortgage,
which is called a home equity conversion mortgage, where you
can never owe more than the house is worth. You
can stay in it. You and or your spouse, um,
you know, for the rest of your life and whatever
equity is left, you know, at death or when you
(37:35):
sell it, you know, is available to go to heirs,
but you never have a payment, you know, that can
be a game changer for some folks. So as a
planning tool, you know, I don't mind that at all. Um,
but I think kind of based on what you're describing
right now, I would avoid taking out a new loan
and let's just go to work on that spending plan
and perhaps pull back on extra principal reduction just to
(37:57):
free up some additional funds. Does that make sense, though?
S9 (38:00):
And yes, sir, it makes a lot of sense. And
the other thing is, is that, uh, you know, I've
been doing what you said about emergency funds. Uh, right
now I'm able to put at least $200 a month
into my emergency fund, which is now actually have gotten
up to about ten grand. So I'm constantly trying to
(38:22):
build that up while I can.
S2 (38:24):
Yeah. That's great. Um, how much extra are you spending
per month or per year to the house?
S9 (38:30):
Uh, I only I only do maybe $100 extra.
S2 (38:34):
Okay. Yeah. So maybe just while you're building that up
to six months expenses, uh, you know, the emergency fund.
Maybe we wait on that just because it'd be important
that you have that liquid cash, which the the home
is illiquid, that you have that liquid cash. Just if
something comes out of left field, um, and then what
are the bills you're talking about? Is it just monthly
spending or is there some kind of one time event
(38:56):
that you're looking to fund?
S9 (38:58):
Well, I'm just looking to take out, you know, all
of my credit cards. I want to pay those off completely.
There It's not much on those. And I want to
pay my vehicle off.
S2 (39:09):
Okay. Yeah. So I think that's the key right now
is let's let's wait on paying the extra to the house. Let's,
you know, let's keep building that, uh, that emergency fund
and then let's, you know, take care of those credit cards.
We want to probably prioritize those first, then the car second.
But I would avoid taking out that home equity loan
if it were me.
S10 (39:29):
Okay.
S9 (39:29):
Well, thank you, sir. I really appreciate it. Uh. Uh,
I just gave a young lady some advice about just
what you are talking about now. So thank you, thank you,
thank you so much.
S2 (39:41):
Absolutely. Don, thanks for your call. And we appreciate you
being on the program today. Uh, let's see. We're going
to go to Tennessee next. Diana. Go right ahead.
S11 (39:50):
Hey, um, so my mother passed away recently, and she
has a, uh, home mortgage that has a subsidy on it.
And so I've tried to contact them, the company, and
I'm kind of getting a run around. Um, so they're
saying that if we pay that house off early that
we would owe for that whole subsidy.
S2 (40:12):
Yes. Yeah, that's exactly right.
S12 (40:14):
Way to go.
S11 (40:16):
I don't know what's the best route. At one point,
they say if you pay the mortgage balance off and
you also pay the subsidy at the same time, you
get a like a 20 or 25% discount. I mean,
what route should we go here?
S2 (40:30):
Yeah. Well, so.
S12 (40:31):
The paying on the house.
S11 (40:33):
What should we do?
S2 (40:34):
Yeah. So the the payment assistance, the USDA subsidies, uh,
have to be repaid when the home is sold or transferred,
even if the mortgage is nearly paid off. So, um,
you know, when. So did you say that, uh, your
mom passed away? Is that right?
S11 (40:52):
Yes.
S2 (40:53):
Okay. Yeah. And so it it when when the transfer
happens through the inheritance, that subsidy is likely going to
need to be repaid. So I would get on the
phone with the USDA loan servicer to confirm the exact
amount and the options, if you haven't already. In some cases,
they may reduce or waive part of it, especially if
(41:15):
you as the air keeps the home and your income qualifies.
But you're going to need to talk that through with
them just to see what options you have.
S11 (41:24):
Well thank you. I appreciate that very much.
S2 (41:26):
Yeah. You're welcome. I know there's this can be confusing.
And so you you really it's ultimately going to come
down to what the loan servicer says and can do
for you. Um, so I would get on the phone
with them, they'll tell you exactly what's possible. But I
would ask for this, you know, ability to find out
what would it take for you to qualify for a
portion of it to be waived or reduced? And let's
(41:49):
see if, um, you know, they can give you some
advice on that. Hey, all the best to you, Diana.
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's passing. We
appreciate your call today. God bless you. Well, folks, that's
going to do it for us today. So thankful to
have you along with us today. Listen, if you find
value in the program, want to support our work, just
head to faith. Com and click give. We have some
incredible things coming up over the balance of this year.
(42:10):
A new devotional that I can't wait to put in
your hands. It'll be out in the, uh, in the fall.
We're working on our digital studies. So in the Faith
V app, we're going to be able to make, uh,
some of our studies and devotionals available to you in
a digital experience. Uh, we've got, uh, new short form
content coming your way that's going to be video based,
working on a lot of great things all around this
(42:32):
idea of how do we as as Christ followers who
are growing in our faith, how do we not make money,
our treasure, but God, our ultimate treasure? And and then
how do we steward wisely what he has entrusted to us? And, uh,
that's our passion here. Hey, faith and finance live is
a ministry of faith. Fi and Moody Radio. Thanks to
my team today. And we'll see you tomorrow. Come back
(42:52):
and join us then.
S13 (42:53):
Bye bye.
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