October 10, 2025 • 43 mins
When two faith-based credit unions unite, it’s not just about growing bigger—it’s about multiplying Kingdom impact. It’s much more than just a merger— it’s about expanding services and supporting ministries worldwide. On the next Faith & Finance Live, Rob West and Aaron Caid talk about the exciting merger of Christian Community Credit Union and AdelFi Credit Union. Then, it’s on to your calls. That’s Faith & Finance Live —where biblical wisdom meets today’s finances, weekdays at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central on Moody Radio.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:08):
When two faith based credit unions unite. It's not just
about growing bigger, it's about multiplying kingdom impact. Hi, I'm
Rob West. We're talking about something that's a lot more
than just a merger. It's about expanding services and supporting
ministries worldwide. Aaron Kaye joins us today to talk about
the exciting merger of Christian Community Credit Union and Adelphi
(00:31):
Credit Union. And then we'll take your phone calls at
800 525 7000. That's 800 525 7000. This is faith
and finance live. Biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well,
it's always a conversation that goes deeper than just the numbers.
(00:51):
When Aaron Card is with us, he's chief marketing officer
at Christian Community Credit Union, a faith based, not for
profit financial institution and proud underwriter of this program. Aaron,
great to have you back. We're so thrilled you're here today.
S2 (01:05):
Thank you. Rob, I'm excited to be with you today
and to share news of a joyous new season in
our credit union's journey in service of the Lord.
S1 (01:12):
Well, I've been looking forward to sharing this news. You
and I have been talking about this for a few weeks,
and so we're thrilled to be able to share it
with our listeners. And that is the merger between Christian
Community Credit Union and Adelphi. Give us the big picture.
Why now and why is this such a big deal?
S2 (01:29):
Well, this is really the culmination of almost a two
year prayerful process. Uh, both boards approved the merger after
thoughtful consideration, after much prayer, after seeking God's discernment. The
goal is to create an even stronger, Christ centered credit
union that can expand, reach and increase kingdom impact. Adelphi
(01:50):
has a 60 year history of faith aligned banking, so
our missions are naturally aligned. And like Kcu, Adelphi has
a strong commitment to giving back to Christian ministries and
missions that are the hands and feet of Jesus in
the world.
S1 (02:03):
What a vision and what an opportunity. Aaron, I know
you and your team are so excited. And that's true
at Kcu and Adelphi. Let's get practical for a second.
How will this impact members? Will they notice any big
changes in their day to day banking?
S2 (02:17):
Yes and no. Accounts and services will remain seamless during
the transition. However, members can expect enhanced digital tools, security
and member support, and greater lending capacity means more opportunities
to serve individuals, ministries and faith based businesses, and our
expanded product offerings will help meet a diverse set of
member financial needs.
S1 (02:39):
Yeah, let's get back to the The Kingdom Impact, which
I know is what we're so excited about. In what
ways will this merger, Aaron, allow Kcu to expand its
mission and even deepen kingdom impact?
S2 (02:53):
Well, this is what's so exciting about this step. Combining
our resources allows us to give more generously and to
support global ministry partners like Samaritan's Purse. The Tim Tebow Foundation,
Mission Aviation Fellowship, and others together will have even greater
financial strength to support churches, missions, sending agencies, and faith
(03:14):
based organizations. At the end of the day, it's not
just banking, it's stewarding resources for eternal impact.
S1 (03:20):
Yeah, Aaron, I love that vision for Kingdom Impact. What
about just the sheer size of putting Kcu and Adelphi together?
It's significant, isn't it?
S2 (03:29):
It is. In terms of assets, we will be by
far the largest Christian banking institution in the country, with
over $1.5 billion in assets. Wow.
S1 (03:39):
Yeah. That's incredible. And then what about any particular expertise
that Adelphi is bringing to the table as it merges
into Kcu?
S2 (03:48):
Well, Adelphi has really developed strong expertise in product set
in serving Christian owned businesses and that nicely complements the
work that we've done to develop ministry relationships and develop
products and service of ministry.
S1 (04:03):
And I know there's a lot of missionaries among their
ranks at Adelphi as well. Right?
S2 (04:07):
They have a real heart for serving missionaries. There's over
4000 missionaries in the membership ranks. They have strong connection
with several mission sending agencies, and in fact, even directly
support several missionaries who are serving abroad right now.
S1 (04:22):
That's incredible. All right, one last question. What about the
practical side of this merger? Give us just a sense
of the timeline and the remaining steps.
S2 (04:30):
Well, this is a merger of equals, however, because Adelphi
members will be leaving federal insurance for Ctu's private insurance
they needed to approve. I'm happy to report that an
overwhelming majority of Adelphi members voted to approve the merger
back in July. And now, as of the official merger date,
each and every one of their accounts will be insured
up to $250,000. We've also recently received regulatory approval and
(04:55):
will begin to operate as one credit union starting December
1st of this year. Members don't need to take any
action at this time. Services will continue without interruption, and
we'll continue to keep everyone updated through email and on
the merger hubs on both of our websites.
S1 (05:10):
Incredible. Well folks, what an opportunity for Kingdom Impact as
Kcu and Adelphi come together. Aaron, great to have you
with us folks. If you want to learn more, go
to faith.com/banking. That's faith. Com. We'll be right back.
S3 (05:34):
The opinions offered during this program represent the personal or
professional opinions of the participants, given for informational purposes only.
Any information provided is not intended to replace advice from
a financial, medical, legal, or other professional who understands your
specific situation.
S1 (05:59):
Great to have you with us today on faith and finance.
Live well. We're going to be taking your calls and
questions here in just a moment. That number to call
to get in on the conversation today. 800 525 7000. Again,
that's 800 525 7000. Would love to tackle what's on
your mind today. Help you apply biblical wisdom. We'll be
(06:20):
headed to the phones here in just a moment. But first,
in the news today, rising debt continues to hinder Americans
ability to save. A recent survey by the National Foundation
for Credit Counseling found that 71% of U.S. adults report
that monthly debt payments hinder their ability to build wealth.
Credit card balances reached 1.21 trillion in the second quarter
(06:44):
of 2025. That's according to the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York, matching last year's record high. Experts say that
debt struggles often stem from a combination of limited financial knowledge,
lifestyle pressures and the high cost of today's economy vis
a vis inflation. While reducing debt is a top priority
(07:06):
for many Americans, few are taking advantage of real relief
programs such as debt consolidation, according to the CFP board.
So to regain control, financial counselors recommend four steps. First, clarity.
Know where you stand. You need to list out all
of your debts, minimum payments and interest rates to see
how they fit in your budget. We recommend if you
(07:29):
have less than 4000 in credit card debt, consider snowballing
it yourself. Basically, start with the budget. Free up as
much as you can in terms of margin after expenses.
Line the credit cards up smallest to largest balance. Pay
the minimums on all of them, but take that margin
you freed up in your budget and attack the smallest balance.
Reason being, the best plan for you is the one
(07:52):
you'll actually finish, meaning all the cards eventually get paid off.
The one that will usually lead to that is the
the snowball method, because here's why. Let's say that smallest
bounce is $500 and you free up 200 a month
in your budget. Well, three months later, that's gone. You
tear it up, have a little celebration, and then move
on to the next one that gives you that emotional win. Psychologically,
(08:17):
that's going to keep you progressing through and often results
in you eventually paying them all off. But beyond 4000,
we recommend debt management at 50. We recommend our friends
at Christian Credit Counselors who help believers find freedom through
biblical wisdom and practical repayment plans. Typically, the interest rates
(08:38):
are adjusted down to between 0 and 11%. Um. They
also find that most people are able to pay off
their debt 80% faster, And they honour their obligations in full.
So you can learn more at Christian Credit Counselors. Org.
That's Christian credit counselors.org. By all means, don't go with
debt settlement where they ask you to stop paying the
(09:01):
balance that's going to get you into collections. Destroy your
credit could even be judgments that come. There's a lot
of bad actors in that space as well. So I
would stick with debt management again. Christian credit counselors. All right. Uh,
let's dive into your questions today. I know you've got, uh,
a lot of questions. The calls are coming in. We
(09:22):
do have room for perhaps a few more if you
want to call right now. 800 525 7000. Uh, let's
start today in Indiana. Hi, Ann. Go ahead.
S4 (09:33):
Hi, there. Thanks for taking my call. And thank you
for sharing your wisdom. The wisdom God has given you. Um,
my husband and I are 55 and 56, and we, uh,
own a business that we've owned for 25 over 25 years,
and we've always invested everything we've had into that business,
but we've reached a point where we are now debt free.
(09:56):
We own three rental properties and our office building. We
still have another ten years to work, and we now
have a chunk of money that we would like to
invest about maybe 500,000. And so we have no retirement
savings at all except for like our business and our
rental properties. And we spoke with an advisor, and one
(10:18):
of the items they were recommending was a hybrid life
insurance policy. It has a benefit access rider that you
can access for long term care. And I just wanted
to see what your thoughts on that were. It sounds
like a good thing. We would invest about 155,000 into it.
(10:42):
We would be guaranteed a death The benefit of 250,000 each.
So 500,000 plus the growth on the policy because they
invest it. Um, I don't. What are your thoughts on
something like that?
S1 (10:58):
Yeah. Uh, and did they say whether or not the
you'd ever have to put anything more into it?
S4 (11:04):
No. We would pay over the next ten years, which
we're planning to work for another at least ten years.
And so they they did the premium plan over the
next ten years, and then we would be done.
S1 (11:17):
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So they call that a paid up policy.
And so it's a single premium hybrid policy. So you
have that large check up front or eventually it would
be fully paid for. And then you got that quarter
of $1 million death benefit. Um, and so that's a
nice way to protect against two major risks. Dying too
(11:37):
soon or living too long with care needs. Um, and so,
you know, the main thing here is just to make
sure you have enough liquidity after you put this investment in,
because you know, if you need it back later, you
may only get a portion. The growth is typically modest,
so I wouldn't want kind of all of your investable
(11:58):
assets here. I'd want you to have a good bit
that's free to grow at a more compelling rate outside
of an insurance product. But if you have cash sitting
in the bank, earning a little just a little bit
of interest and you want to reposition that for protection,
tax free benefits, this can be a good use. And
because it's paid up, there's no future premium risk, which
(12:20):
is a big advantage over traditional long term care insurance.
That's really where a lot of people have struggled, is
these policies have continued to increase as the cost of
health care rises, and eventually it becomes a much bigger
portion of their cash flow, or they just have to
drop it all together. Um, you know, so I'm, I'm
(12:41):
on board with this, You know, at the end of
the day, I think, you know, it gives you that
death benefit. It gives you access. Um, you know, to the,
the benefit early if you need the long term care,
I would say maybe the cautions are, you know, they're complex. Um,
so you just need to understand exactly what you're getting.
Know that the growth part doesn't perform like true investments.
(13:03):
It's more of a conservative, insurance based, you know, crediting strategy.
And you you do want to compare it to a
long term care insurance traditional policy. But I think just,
you know, given your age and the fact that you
wouldn't have the premium risk in the future, I kind
of like the hybrid policy in your case, because that's a,
(13:25):
you know, a lot of time where those premiums could
be increasing. And in this case they would not be. Um,
so what would that leave you outside that you can
invest once this was paid up?
S4 (13:37):
Well, like I said, we we have probably about 500
we could do right now. And so we were going
to do a simple IRA. Um, as well as like
a Russell investment.
S1 (13:50):
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I would have an advisor,
you know, working with you to manage the rest of it.
Plus what you're going to be able to add to
it during the rest of your working years as the
business continues to generate cash flow. So I think at
face value, I'm on board with this. I'd probably look
for a wealth manager to manage the rest of it, though. Uh,
let's do this. I've got to take a break. You
(14:11):
and I'll finish up off the air. But I think
at face value, I like this, uh, this option a lot.
It gives you a lot of things that are desirable
here at this stage in life. Puts this good, this
cash to use, and allows you to still have plenty
left over to invest. We'll be right back. Great to
(14:35):
have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live.
I had a chance to visit with Ann a bit
more off the air. And, you know, I think one
of the challenges in thinking through this biggest risk that
we have in this fourth quarter of life around the
need for long term care and just the dramatic increases
we're seeing in in the cost of health care, alongside
the idea that 70% of Americans 65 and older will
(14:58):
need long term care. Now the average is usually somewhere
around 3 to 4 years. Um, but, you know, at
100,000 plus a year, maybe even 120,000 in today's dollars.
And it's it's going to continue to increase. I mean,
that could erode a significant portion of your investable assets.
So that's where a policy like a long term care
(15:21):
insurance or a hybrid with a, you know, a whole
life that has some growth potential and something to leave,
you know, to heirs, um, alongside the ability to tap
into it to long for long term care can make
some sense. Um, but once you, you know, cross $1
million in liquid assets. I think, you know, now all
(15:42):
of a sudden, we're starting to think about self-insuring. Um,
and you keep full access to the money, the ability
to invest it, let it grow. Not inside an insurance
company where there's kind of a governor on what you
can make on it. But the ability to really, truly
manage the risk on your own, get the full upside for,
you know, whatever portion is in stocks and be able
(16:03):
to tap into that money for other purposes as you
want to give. And, you know, to maybe give a
portion to heirs while you're living or give to ministry
or your church, uh, you know, those kinds of things.
So the question is just finding that sweet spot between
how do I, you know, protect against that risk in
(16:23):
the future of the increasing costs of long term care
versus keeping the flexibility and the liquidity of not putting
a big chunk of our assets in this case, uh,
you know, an in situation $175,000 into one of these
hybrid policies. And I think they're kind of right there
on the bubble where you could go either way. But
(16:44):
I do think, you know, if you're looking to offset
that risk, these hybrid policies are worth looking at, especially
on a paid up basis, because, again, one of the
biggest challenges with long term care insurance is just the
the premium risk. The future increases that just about everybody
who has one of these policies is experiencing where they
eventually might even get priced out of it, where they
(17:06):
have to drop it, and then it's of no value.
And so I think, you know, being paid up, not
having to worry about that, as long as it's a
good quality policy with a reputable company committed to this space,
it's got the features you need, you know, that can
make a lot of sense. Not to mention the fact
that it's still growing, at least at a modest level
inside the policy. So I think it really does come
(17:28):
down to getting with an advisor, creating a financial plan,
looking at the total net worth, looking at all the
investments that are out there. How will you generate income?
How will you protect against risks, including long term care?
How do you minimize taxes and and keep the money
growing at an appropriate level with proper liquidity? Those are
(17:49):
kind of the the main issues that an advisor can
help you solve for. By the way, if you want
to find an advisor in your area who shares your
values as a Christ follower, I would connect with a
certified Kingdom Advisor. You can do that on our website.
Com just click Find Us or you can go direct
find a com that's find a k.com. All right let's
(18:13):
head to Chattanooga. Michael go ahead.
S5 (18:18):
Yes sir I am interested in paying off or paying
on my student loans. So I'm 72. I'm 72. I've
been teaching at a state school for the last ten years.
And so since they're in deferment, I haven't been able
to make any of my payments of 101 $106 a month.
(18:40):
Is there any mechanism that will allow me to make
those payments? Because they're saying that they are not qualified
for loan forgiveness until I pay them. So what do
you think?
S1 (18:54):
Okay. Yeah. Um, so bottom line is they're currently in deferment. Um,
you're wanting to pay them down even though they're in deferment,
because you're mainly looking to start the the clock on
the loan forgiveness. Is that right?
S5 (19:09):
Well, I've been on the clock for the last seven years.
It's just been since they've been in deferment. I haven't
had any that are that are qualifying because I haven't
made any. Right.
S1 (19:21):
Right. And what are they telling you as you've inquired
on this?
S5 (19:26):
Uh, they're saying nope. You just got to wait until government,
until the Congress decides what we're going to do. So.
S1 (19:34):
Okay. Yeah. Um, and right now, um, you know, there
the deferment. Well, here's the bottom line. So on the
public service loan forgiveness, once they're in deferment, they don't
count toward the 120 payments. Um, and so you've got
seven years of qualifying payments on the direct loan. Um,
(19:56):
and then, you know, if you want to keep making
progress toward the forgiveness, um, what typically you would do
is call the loan servicer and ask to end the
deferment and restart the income driven repayment plan. And that way,
your payments would resume counting toward the pslf. Um, if
(20:19):
forgiveness isn't likely, then the voluntary payments, you know, during
deferment are still fine. They just won't move you closer
to the 120 payment goal. But if they if you
if you believe you qualify and that's been verified. Typically,
you can end that deferment and then restart the income
driven repayment option, which is going to once again start
(20:39):
counting toward the ultimate goal.
S5 (20:43):
Okay. So Mohela is the servicer. So I just contact them.
S1 (20:48):
That's exactly right. And just tell them what you're trying
to do here and say, listen, I want to restart
an income driven repayment plan so I can continue making
progress toward the public service loan forgiveness. I've got, you know,
seven years. So, you know, you're 84 payments into the
120 payment goal, and you just want to keep making
(21:09):
progress here.
S5 (21:11):
All right. Perfect. That's exactly what I needed to know.
S1 (21:14):
All right. Thanks, Michael. God bless you, my friend. Thanks
for your call today. Well, we're going to take another
break when we come back. Lori is in Cleveland. We'll
tackle her question, then we'll head out to Alaska and
talk to Derek. Also, Jerry Boyer buying our last segment today.
we'll get Jerry's take on the markets, the economy, lots
going on, including some talk from President Trump today about
(21:37):
China that is pushing the markets lower market. Dow Jones
down 900 points S&P 500 off 182. That's almost 3% lower. Uh,
on the escalation in the, uh, China conversation. We'll get
more on that straight ahead. Stay with us. Thanks for
(22:06):
joining us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West.
We're taking your calls and questions today. 800 525 7000
is the number to call. Let's head back to the phones. Cleveland,
Ohio is where Laurie is located. Go ahead.
S6 (22:20):
Hi. Thanks for taking my call. Um, I'm calling to
find I'm getting ready to retire. Well, turning 65 in December,
considering retiring in the next year, but getting a little nervous,
wondering if we're going to have enough, that kind of thing.
And I had tried to reach out to the Kingdom
Advisor folks. It's been like a year or two ago.
(22:41):
It's been a while, and I don't know why. I
could never get a no one ever got back to me,
so I never got with them. We went with somebody
else and had some issues. Um, and so now I'm like,
I just want to get back to somebody in your,
you know, I feel like I could trust your group better.
And so just wondering how I know who I can
(23:02):
trust with this, for one thing, because, you know, we've
gone to several different people and you get several different answers, um,
about things. And it's hard to know who's right with
some of this, and it's such a big decision to make.
So that was one question. I just want to kind
of get to the right place. And then second of all, um,
wondering if I should put my money like in a
403 B with work. And I don't know if I
(23:23):
can put that in a Roth IRA or if I
should keep it where it's at because, you know, we're
getting older. We don't have a lot of recovery time.
If the stock market goes down. So, you know, I'm
just wondering, should I have this in a safer place? Yes. Um.
That money.
S1 (23:40):
Okay. Now go ahead. Did you have another part of that?
S6 (23:43):
One more question. Yes. So what we did when things
were kind of getting crazy, like around, you know, around 20,
20 and everything was going nuts. We got well, I
got kind of scared. We put our money in something
with the gentleman who advertises. If the if the rates
go up, you make money. If they go down, you
don't lose anything. It turns out it's an annuity. So
we went with that and then we're stuck like for
ten years in that. And so then we realized we
(24:05):
barely made any money on it. Even though the stock
market was up. We didn't make a ton and we
didn't lose it, but we didn't make any. So now
I feel bad that I, you know, kind of did
a knee jerk reaction, put it in that thing. So
I'm just afraid to do the wrong things and I'm
just trying to get some good direction, I guess.
S1 (24:18):
Yeah. No, I can certainly appreciate that. And I think
that's where this trusted advisor will come in. And the
fact that you haven't found that person that you know
you have the chemistry with. Has the character you're looking
for has the competence. You know, that's where I think
you're feeling like we don't really have the plan. And,
you know, I don't know who to trust, but once
(24:38):
that's in place, you're going to feel a lot better
because you're going to know you have somebody that you know,
you can really count on. Anytime you have a question,
do a comprehensive financial plan, but then also help you
work through what is the right investment strategy for you,
given your, you know, your age and your risk tolerance,
your income needs in this next season of life? You know,
(25:00):
you guys have worked, you know, your entire working life.
You've built this nest egg up and, you know, now
we don't want to just drop it into a complicated
insurance product, but we also don't want to take on
unnecessary risk. And so, you know, that's where I think
having this trusted advisor is going to solve a lot
of that. We do need to get you connected to
(25:20):
the right person. I don't know why you didn't get
that call back. We don't hear that often. But, you know,
at the end of the day, um, I think a
certified Kingdom advisor is what you're looking for because these
were our individuals who really are committed to offering biblically
wise financial advice. But there's a high bar to earn
the designation, which is the way we designed it. I mean,
(25:43):
they've got to have one of the other professional designations
and ten years of experience and a pastor reference and
a client reference, and they have to have been trained
through our 50 hour university based program on how they
apply God's Word to all the professional decision making they've
been trained on. Um, you know, they have an ethical requirement,
(26:03):
a statement of faith, annual continuing education, not to mention
a regulatory review every year to make sure there's not
any issues or disclosures that would disqualify them from keeping it.
So it's a very high bar by design. And that
gives us at Kingdom Advisors and Faith, by the confidence
to say these are men and women that we can
hold out to God's people as really having met high standards, uh,
(26:27):
to be able to carry the designation. So I don't
do this often, but I'd love to to connect you
with a couple of people. Uh, since you weren't able
to make that connection previously, I'd love to help that
process along and make sure you get connected with probably
three CHS there in Cleveland that you can interview and
(26:50):
find the one that's the best fit. And I'll, I'll
personally help make that handoff. Um, so when we're done here, um,
I'll ask you to give your information to my team,
and then we'll get in touch with you and and
make those connections. And I think, you know, you sitting
down and, you know, understanding how do they define success
and how do they help you integrate your faith into
(27:11):
the decisions, uh, understanding their experience, understanding how they're going to, uh,
you know, what they recommend in terms of the various
investment strategies that meets your goals and objectives and, you know,
generates the income you need without any unnecessary risk. You know,
as you talk through all of these things, I think
you and your husband will eventually be able to settle
(27:32):
on the right person for you. And I think that's
going to be a game changer moving forward. But give
me your thoughts on all that.
S6 (27:38):
That'd be great. No, I really appreciate that. And I trust, like,
you know, things have been crazy the last few years,
Covid and all that, and people weren't in office. Who
knows if it was any of that. So I'm not
blaming anyone. It's just like, you know, I could have
been more forthcoming, but I tried several times and it
was just like kind of frustrating. So I kind of just,
you know, moved on. But I really appreciate this because
I feel like, I mean, I've been listening to I
(27:59):
love the station, listen to it my whole life, pretty much.
So I'm like, you know, that's why I really wanted
to get set up with you guys because I really
trust you. And and I do really appreciate that really
so much. I had one other question. I don't know
if you can answer this. Yeah. Um, that that medi-share 65.
Do you know anything about those type of programs? Because
I'm also having to pick out my supplemental, you know, medical, um,
(28:21):
Medicare stuff pretty soon. And I don't know if that's
something to go with or not go with that type
of plan. And I don't know if you can recommend
that or not.
S1 (28:30):
Yeah. You know, I think, um, it can be very helpful.
So once you're 65, um, you know, then you have, uh, the,
the Medicare, you're already covered for most major medical expenses
through Medicare A and B and where Medicare or Christian
healthcare ministries, who we have worked with the longest here
at at Faith VI, um, they serve as really a
(28:54):
supplement and depending on what program you choose, essentially, you know,
Medicare or C.h.m would step in and reimburse some of
the out-of-pocket costs that Medicare doesn't cover. So like deductibles
and copays and coinsurance. So it's different from a Medicare
supplement like Medigap or a Medicare Advantage plan. Those are
(29:17):
regulated insurance products, whereas Medi-share and PHM are voluntary sharing
among members, but it's often less expensive and can provide
that additional peace of mind. To know that you know,
some of those other out of pocket costs are going
to be covered. So I'm a big fan of that approach.
S6 (29:40):
Okay. Okay. And then lastly, do you know what a
dual directional is? It's one of the gentlemen recommended a
dual directional investment.
S1 (29:49):
Okay. Um yeah. What was the context for it? It's
probably I mean, these are sometimes called structured notes or
a buffered strategy. Is that what he was talking about?
S6 (30:00):
He was saying like, basically if the stock market went down,
you wouldn't you would gain actually gain money even if
it went down up to 15% or something. And then
if it went up, it was I, was it it
seemed like too good to be true. One of those things,
you know. And I asked him about it, but he
said it's like a real thing. And I'm like, okay,
I mentioned it to another person. They hadn't heard of it.
S7 (30:21):
It's a real thing.
S1 (30:22):
It provides less volatility and downside cushion. The the only
con if you will on it is limited upside. So
you're capped on your upside potential. And when you look
at the historic average annual returns, the way people get
those nice annual returns is in those big up years.
And you just don't get that with these buffered strategies.
(30:44):
They're also complex. They have rules and terms and calculations
that are hard to understand. And they can be illiquid,
meaning if you don't hold them to the full term,
you can't get your money out in full. Stay on
the line. We'll be right back.
S7 (31:09):
Great to have you with us today on Faith and
Finance live.
S1 (31:11):
I'm Rob West. I had a chance to visit a
bit more off the air with our previous caller. And
you know, when it comes to managing God's money, finding
that trusted advisor is so critical. That person that you can,
you know, have a great rapport with somebody who has
the experience you're looking for, but also and and I
think this is critical, especially when it comes to financial
(31:33):
decision making, having that person who shares your values as
a Christ follower, who understands the heart of God in
Scripture as it relates to money, that it can compete
with our hearts, that the the goal is not just
the mindless accumulation of wealth that we're trying to accumulate it, uh,
appropriately so we can give it generously and be connected
(31:54):
into God's activity so we can deploy it strategically in
terms of how we invest it, whether that's engaging with
the companies we own to advocate for Christian values, or
perhaps even investing in companies that are looking for investments
that are God honoring. You know, those things happen when
you have an advisor who really has purposed him or
(32:16):
herself to serve God's people. And that's why we trust
the K designation. If you want to find a certified
Kingdom advisor in your city, just go to find k.com.
All right, it's Friday. Jerry Boyer's here. Jerry. Uh, you know,
you and I spoke this morning, and, uh, a lot
has changed since then. And it only took a. Yeah,
(32:37):
it only took a tweet. Tell us what's going on.
S8 (32:40):
Yeah, but before I do that, you know, you just
mentioned that you were, you know, talking off air with
your previous caller. So I don't know if you know that,
but if, if you've got your next guest on hold,
they can hear those conversations. Did you know that I
could hear you talking to her?
S1 (32:55):
I know that the person uh, no, I didn't know that, actually.
So that's good to know.
S8 (33:00):
Yeah. So I'm warning you now, it wasn't about that,
but it's just you were like. Like so pastoral. Uh,
so the transmitter was off, right? You. That wasn't media.
That was just you talking to a woman who has
anxiety about a financial matter. And it was just like
a really nice kind of financial pastor kind of moment. Um,
(33:21):
because I don't people don't know this, but I've been
in media for a long time, and there are people
and they're on the air. Right. And then you hear
what they're like on the air, but then off the air,
they're different people. But you are off the air then,
and you were the same guy. You were just she
was worried and you were comforting. Um, and that was
just a really nice thing to listen in. I was,
I was totally eavesdropping. So, you know, that wasn't good,
(33:43):
but that was just a really nice thing.
S7 (33:45):
I appreciate you saying that.
S1 (33:47):
That means a lot, Jerry. And and that is my
heart that we're here to serve people, whether the mikes
are rolling or not.
S8 (33:53):
Yeah. I mean, if you weren't doing a radio program,
you would still be talking to people. That's right. You
would just be talking to them one at a time.
All right. So what was the topic? What did you
ask me about? Oh, yeah. This morning and and now.
So we got, uh, so the trade war kind of
stuff is heating up with China, right. Um, and that
just immediately pivoted things. Um, and I just I just
(34:15):
don't think that's really a positive thing. Uh, and then
there was another tweet from the president, just, you know,
before I came on the air and he said, look,
oil's down, you know. Um, so, you know, we're going
to have, you know, cheaper gas prices, you know, because oil's,
you know, oil's dropping in price. And, you know, oil
is an industrial commodity. Look, I like cheap gas prices, okay?
(34:36):
But things like oil and copper and aluminum, by and large,
when they suddenly go down in price, it's not because
good times are here. It's because they're industrial commodities. And
we expect a global slowdown. And you look how many,
you know, quarterly webinars have you and I done on
this with your Kingdom Advisors members, where we showed the
(34:57):
very tight correlation between supply adjusted oil prices and copper
and all the rest of it. So I'm all for
lower gas prices. But let's be clear. Sometimes gas prices
go down because we've unleashed the energy and we've got
lots of abundant production. We have not really ramped up production.
Sometimes gas prices go down because when the global economy
(35:19):
slows down, your car is not competing with industrial factories
around the world because you have a global slowdown in
production of, of of, you know, of goods. So a
sudden downturn in the price of oil generally is a
concern in terms of overall growth. Now, I have to
say there's another reason why oil would come down, which
(35:39):
is the war in the Middle East coming to an end.
And that's entirely good news. So I just want to
be clear here that the trade war being back on
is an economic stressor. It is not an economic positive thing. Uh,
and just as the president, I think, deserves a tremendous
amount of credit for helping to bring an end to
(36:01):
the war in Gaza. I think that, you know, and
maybe he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. And it's always
great to see the opposition leader in Venezuela say, well,
I'm kind of dedicating part of my Nobel Peace Prize
to President Trump, who's who's really helped. I think that
is a great thing. I think she's also kind of
seeing in the future, and she she knows how to
talk to keep him on her side. But, you know,
(36:23):
let's have a Nobel Peace Prize and hey, let's have
a dual Nobel Peace Prize and Nobel Prize for economics
for ending the trade war. Because whatever you think about
whether we ought to have a lot of global trade
or not, or whether we ought to have done what
we've done over the past 50 years, we did it.
We spread out production over the entire world, and we
(36:44):
have factories all over the world, and we have supply
chains that are extended. And if we just come along
and start taxing those cross-border transactions, we are disrupting trillions
of dollars of allocated capital and a tremendous amount of
planning and decision making and infrastructure. And we're not going
to turn on a dime and do that. So if, if,
(37:07):
let's say, back in 1980, we had said, okay, we're
going to slow down global trade. Well, then maybe there
would have been less deindustrialization in the United States, but
that already happened. And if we come in here and
we just hit the brakes really hard by hiking taxes
on global trade, that's not the same thing as having
prevented it in the first place. That's disruptive, and it
(37:27):
tends to slow down the economy and it tends to
be inflationary. Now I don't want to be too negative
about it. The president's tax cuts have been really good
for the economy and deregulation is. So some things are
good and some things are bad. And I would say
the trade war is more on the bad side.
S1 (37:43):
Yeah. Uh, I think that's well said, Jerry, and I
certainly appreciate that perspective. I want to press into this
particular issue because, you know, tariffs are his default now.
And how he weighs in on the the policies of
the rest of the world, in this case, the way
he's describing it, he's almost representing the rest of the
free world, uh, with this particular tweet and perhaps tariff
(38:08):
in that he's he's highlighting the fact that China controls 70%
of the global supply of rare earths. And now they're
starting to move toward, you know, things like, well, you know,
we want to be able to to have those registered. And,
you know, we're going to have control mechanisms in place
as to how they get doled out. You know, how
(38:29):
concerning is that just given how dependent we are on
semiconductors and other technologies that rely on these rare earths?
S8 (38:36):
Well, first of all, I like the Free World Against
China strategy. Uh, the early earlier this year, the president
was more in we're the US and we're going to
have a trade war with everybody. Not smart. Uh, but
the rest of the world kind of representing the rest
of the world against China. That's a lot more defensible. Uh,
but there is there is trade tensions and there's a
(38:58):
there's a back and forth. So, you know, what I
said even before the trade war to you is, um,
the president kind of acts like, well, a trade war
is something we do to another country. And he kind
of forgets. Yeah, but they do something back to us, right?
So we do something to China, and then China does
something to us. So where is their greatest leverage point?
It's rare earths. So part so there is a kind
(39:21):
of escalation of the trade war that has to do
with rare earths. Well, okay, China is holding the world hostage.
China is a bad actor in every conceivable way, from
organ harvesting to rare earths to the persecution of the
Christian church. It is, in my view, an evil power,
and it stands under the potential of God's wrath, which
(39:43):
its ruling class completely deserves. That having been said, um,
if we're going to put them in a position where
they're evil, escalation is going to be about rare earths,
then we better get cracking on getting rare earths of
our own. Right? Which means we need to really expedite
the process of getting clearance for that because we have them, too. Uh,
(40:06):
and you're able to pull them out of some of
the out of slag, for example, and some of the
other industrial products. So if we're going to go to
a trade war with China and they're going to say, well,
you're not going to get any rare earths, so you
can't make batteries and you can't make chips. We better
be ready to do it ourselves. And it feels like
we got we kind of got in this trade war
situation where we were dependent on them before we counted
(40:30):
the cost and were prepared not just to say that
we're going to mine our own rare earths, but to
actually get that going. So, you know, we talked about
something with Greenland, right? Um, so that's great. But we
don't have we don't have the mining deals with them. Uh,
we had some great executive orders about Alaska and opening
up mining there, but we haven't done it yet. So,
(40:53):
you know, if we're going to if we're going to
have this. Okay, I don't like China having the world
buy the rest of the by the throat, but we
really need to move quickly then on getting rare earths
out of the free world. If we're going to have
the free world versus China, because as of now, they
do have a leverage point, let's take away their leverage point.
We provoked the battle before we were ready for it, frankly.
(41:16):
So yeah, um, I would have rather that you get
you get what I'm saying?
S1 (41:21):
I sure do. Yeah. It makes a lot of sense. Jerry,
just a minute left. Let's kind of pull out a
little bit and look at the economy more broadly and
stay here in the United States for this final question.
What does it signal to you that gold is through
the roof? Uh, north of $4,000 an ounce. At the
same time, the market is bumping up against new highs
every day.
S8 (41:42):
Yeah. That signals to me that most of this rally, uh,
in the stock market, has been about easy money, uh,
and not about actual economic growth. So when stock prices
are going up faster than the earnings of the companies,
that means that valuations have increased their price. They're more
(42:03):
expensive right. And let's be honest we are a bubble
valuations there's no doubt about it far higher than we
were in 2007. Uh, you know and a little bit
higher than we were for the most part in the
late 90s. So that's easy money. That's not the way
for prosperity. The way for prosperity is human productivity. That's
the way God designed the world.
S1 (42:24):
Yeah, that's well said. And a lot of what President
Trump is doing is trying to pave the way for that. But, uh,
the the easy money piece of it is, is not
necessarily the way to go. Uh, even though every president
seems to like, uh, loose fiscal policy. Jerry, thanks for
your time, my friend.
S8 (42:42):
Thank you. God bless.
S1 (42:43):
All right. Tara, Taylor, Josh and Dan serving us today,
plus everybody here at Faith. Be so thankful for that team.
Faith and Finance Live is a partnership between Moody Radio
and Faith fi. Have a wonderful weekend. Come back and
join us on Monday. Buh bye.
When two faith based credit unions unite. It's not just
about growing bigger, it's about multiplying kingdom impact. Hi, I'm
Rob West. We're talking about something that's a lot more
than just a merger. It's about expanding services and supporting
ministries worldwide. Aaron Kaye joins us today to talk about
the exciting merger of Christian Community Credit Union and Adelphi
(00:31):
Credit Union. And then we'll take your phone calls at
800 525 7000. That's 800 525 7000. This is faith
and finance live. Biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well,
it's always a conversation that goes deeper than just the numbers.
(00:51):
When Aaron Card is with us, he's chief marketing officer
at Christian Community Credit Union, a faith based, not for
profit financial institution and proud underwriter of this program. Aaron,
great to have you back. We're so thrilled you're here today.
S2 (01:05):
Thank you. Rob, I'm excited to be with you today
and to share news of a joyous new season in
our credit union's journey in service of the Lord.
S1 (01:12):
Well, I've been looking forward to sharing this news. You
and I have been talking about this for a few weeks,
and so we're thrilled to be able to share it
with our listeners. And that is the merger between Christian
Community Credit Union and Adelphi. Give us the big picture.
Why now and why is this such a big deal?
S2 (01:29):
Well, this is really the culmination of almost a two
year prayerful process. Uh, both boards approved the merger after
thoughtful consideration, after much prayer, after seeking God's discernment. The
goal is to create an even stronger, Christ centered credit
union that can expand, reach and increase kingdom impact. Adelphi
(01:50):
has a 60 year history of faith aligned banking, so
our missions are naturally aligned. And like Kcu, Adelphi has
a strong commitment to giving back to Christian ministries and
missions that are the hands and feet of Jesus in
the world.
S1 (02:03):
What a vision and what an opportunity. Aaron, I know
you and your team are so excited. And that's true
at Kcu and Adelphi. Let's get practical for a second.
How will this impact members? Will they notice any big
changes in their day to day banking?
S2 (02:17):
Yes and no. Accounts and services will remain seamless during
the transition. However, members can expect enhanced digital tools, security
and member support, and greater lending capacity means more opportunities
to serve individuals, ministries and faith based businesses, and our
expanded product offerings will help meet a diverse set of
member financial needs.
S1 (02:39):
Yeah, let's get back to the The Kingdom Impact, which
I know is what we're so excited about. In what
ways will this merger, Aaron, allow Kcu to expand its
mission and even deepen kingdom impact?
S2 (02:53):
Well, this is what's so exciting about this step. Combining
our resources allows us to give more generously and to
support global ministry partners like Samaritan's Purse. The Tim Tebow Foundation,
Mission Aviation Fellowship, and others together will have even greater
financial strength to support churches, missions, sending agencies, and faith
(03:14):
based organizations. At the end of the day, it's not
just banking, it's stewarding resources for eternal impact.
S1 (03:20):
Yeah, Aaron, I love that vision for Kingdom Impact. What
about just the sheer size of putting Kcu and Adelphi together?
It's significant, isn't it?
S2 (03:29):
It is. In terms of assets, we will be by
far the largest Christian banking institution in the country, with
over $1.5 billion in assets. Wow.
S1 (03:39):
Yeah. That's incredible. And then what about any particular expertise
that Adelphi is bringing to the table as it merges
into Kcu?
S2 (03:48):
Well, Adelphi has really developed strong expertise in product set
in serving Christian owned businesses and that nicely complements the
work that we've done to develop ministry relationships and develop
products and service of ministry.
S1 (04:03):
And I know there's a lot of missionaries among their
ranks at Adelphi as well. Right?
S2 (04:07):
They have a real heart for serving missionaries. There's over
4000 missionaries in the membership ranks. They have strong connection
with several mission sending agencies, and in fact, even directly
support several missionaries who are serving abroad right now.
S1 (04:22):
That's incredible. All right, one last question. What about the
practical side of this merger? Give us just a sense
of the timeline and the remaining steps.
S2 (04:30):
Well, this is a merger of equals, however, because Adelphi
members will be leaving federal insurance for Ctu's private insurance
they needed to approve. I'm happy to report that an
overwhelming majority of Adelphi members voted to approve the merger
back in July. And now, as of the official merger date,
each and every one of their accounts will be insured
up to $250,000. We've also recently received regulatory approval and
(04:55):
will begin to operate as one credit union starting December
1st of this year. Members don't need to take any
action at this time. Services will continue without interruption, and
we'll continue to keep everyone updated through email and on
the merger hubs on both of our websites.
S1 (05:10):
Incredible. Well folks, what an opportunity for Kingdom Impact as
Kcu and Adelphi come together. Aaron, great to have you
with us folks. If you want to learn more, go
to faith.com/banking. That's faith. Com. We'll be right back.
S3 (05:34):
The opinions offered during this program represent the personal or
professional opinions of the participants, given for informational purposes only.
Any information provided is not intended to replace advice from
a financial, medical, legal, or other professional who understands your
specific situation.
S1 (05:59):
Great to have you with us today on faith and finance.
Live well. We're going to be taking your calls and
questions here in just a moment. That number to call
to get in on the conversation today. 800 525 7000. Again,
that's 800 525 7000. Would love to tackle what's on
your mind today. Help you apply biblical wisdom. We'll be
(06:20):
headed to the phones here in just a moment. But first,
in the news today, rising debt continues to hinder Americans
ability to save. A recent survey by the National Foundation
for Credit Counseling found that 71% of U.S. adults report
that monthly debt payments hinder their ability to build wealth.
Credit card balances reached 1.21 trillion in the second quarter
(06:44):
of 2025. That's according to the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York, matching last year's record high. Experts say that
debt struggles often stem from a combination of limited financial knowledge,
lifestyle pressures and the high cost of today's economy vis
a vis inflation. While reducing debt is a top priority
(07:06):
for many Americans, few are taking advantage of real relief
programs such as debt consolidation, according to the CFP board.
So to regain control, financial counselors recommend four steps. First, clarity.
Know where you stand. You need to list out all
of your debts, minimum payments and interest rates to see
how they fit in your budget. We recommend if you
(07:29):
have less than 4000 in credit card debt, consider snowballing
it yourself. Basically, start with the budget. Free up as
much as you can in terms of margin after expenses.
Line the credit cards up smallest to largest balance. Pay
the minimums on all of them, but take that margin
you freed up in your budget and attack the smallest balance.
Reason being, the best plan for you is the one
(07:52):
you'll actually finish, meaning all the cards eventually get paid off.
The one that will usually lead to that is the
the snowball method, because here's why. Let's say that smallest
bounce is $500 and you free up 200 a month
in your budget. Well, three months later, that's gone. You
tear it up, have a little celebration, and then move
on to the next one that gives you that emotional win. Psychologically,
(08:17):
that's going to keep you progressing through and often results
in you eventually paying them all off. But beyond 4000,
we recommend debt management at 50. We recommend our friends
at Christian Credit Counselors who help believers find freedom through
biblical wisdom and practical repayment plans. Typically, the interest rates
(08:38):
are adjusted down to between 0 and 11%. Um. They
also find that most people are able to pay off
their debt 80% faster, And they honour their obligations in full.
So you can learn more at Christian Credit Counselors. Org.
That's Christian credit counselors.org. By all means, don't go with
debt settlement where they ask you to stop paying the
(09:01):
balance that's going to get you into collections. Destroy your
credit could even be judgments that come. There's a lot
of bad actors in that space as well. So I
would stick with debt management again. Christian credit counselors. All right. Uh,
let's dive into your questions today. I know you've got, uh,
a lot of questions. The calls are coming in. We
(09:22):
do have room for perhaps a few more if you
want to call right now. 800 525 7000. Uh, let's
start today in Indiana. Hi, Ann. Go ahead.
S4 (09:33):
Hi, there. Thanks for taking my call. And thank you
for sharing your wisdom. The wisdom God has given you. Um,
my husband and I are 55 and 56, and we, uh,
own a business that we've owned for 25 over 25 years,
and we've always invested everything we've had into that business,
but we've reached a point where we are now debt free.
(09:56):
We own three rental properties and our office building. We
still have another ten years to work, and we now
have a chunk of money that we would like to
invest about maybe 500,000. And so we have no retirement
savings at all except for like our business and our
rental properties. And we spoke with an advisor, and one
(10:18):
of the items they were recommending was a hybrid life
insurance policy. It has a benefit access rider that you
can access for long term care. And I just wanted
to see what your thoughts on that were. It sounds
like a good thing. We would invest about 155,000 into it.
(10:42):
We would be guaranteed a death The benefit of 250,000 each.
So 500,000 plus the growth on the policy because they
invest it. Um, I don't. What are your thoughts on
something like that?
S1 (10:58):
Yeah. Uh, and did they say whether or not the
you'd ever have to put anything more into it?
S4 (11:04):
No. We would pay over the next ten years, which
we're planning to work for another at least ten years.
And so they they did the premium plan over the
next ten years, and then we would be done.
S1 (11:17):
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So they call that a paid up policy.
And so it's a single premium hybrid policy. So you
have that large check up front or eventually it would
be fully paid for. And then you got that quarter
of $1 million death benefit. Um, and so that's a
nice way to protect against two major risks. Dying too
(11:37):
soon or living too long with care needs. Um, and so,
you know, the main thing here is just to make
sure you have enough liquidity after you put this investment in,
because you know, if you need it back later, you
may only get a portion. The growth is typically modest,
so I wouldn't want kind of all of your investable
(11:58):
assets here. I'd want you to have a good bit
that's free to grow at a more compelling rate outside
of an insurance product. But if you have cash sitting
in the bank, earning a little just a little bit
of interest and you want to reposition that for protection,
tax free benefits, this can be a good use. And
because it's paid up, there's no future premium risk, which
(12:20):
is a big advantage over traditional long term care insurance.
That's really where a lot of people have struggled, is
these policies have continued to increase as the cost of
health care rises, and eventually it becomes a much bigger
portion of their cash flow, or they just have to
drop it all together. Um, you know, so I'm, I'm
(12:41):
on board with this, You know, at the end of
the day, I think, you know, it gives you that
death benefit. It gives you access. Um, you know, to the,
the benefit early if you need the long term care,
I would say maybe the cautions are, you know, they're complex. Um,
so you just need to understand exactly what you're getting.
Know that the growth part doesn't perform like true investments.
(13:03):
It's more of a conservative, insurance based, you know, crediting strategy.
And you you do want to compare it to a
long term care insurance traditional policy. But I think just,
you know, given your age and the fact that you
wouldn't have the premium risk in the future, I kind
of like the hybrid policy in your case, because that's a,
(13:25):
you know, a lot of time where those premiums could
be increasing. And in this case they would not be. Um,
so what would that leave you outside that you can
invest once this was paid up?
S4 (13:37):
Well, like I said, we we have probably about 500
we could do right now. And so we were going
to do a simple IRA. Um, as well as like
a Russell investment.
S1 (13:50):
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I would have an advisor,
you know, working with you to manage the rest of it.
Plus what you're going to be able to add to
it during the rest of your working years as the
business continues to generate cash flow. So I think at
face value, I'm on board with this. I'd probably look
for a wealth manager to manage the rest of it, though. Uh,
let's do this. I've got to take a break. You
(14:11):
and I'll finish up off the air. But I think
at face value, I like this, uh, this option a lot.
It gives you a lot of things that are desirable
here at this stage in life. Puts this good, this
cash to use, and allows you to still have plenty
left over to invest. We'll be right back. Great to
(14:35):
have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live.
I had a chance to visit with Ann a bit
more off the air. And, you know, I think one
of the challenges in thinking through this biggest risk that
we have in this fourth quarter of life around the
need for long term care and just the dramatic increases
we're seeing in in the cost of health care, alongside
the idea that 70% of Americans 65 and older will
(14:58):
need long term care. Now the average is usually somewhere
around 3 to 4 years. Um, but, you know, at
100,000 plus a year, maybe even 120,000 in today's dollars.
And it's it's going to continue to increase. I mean,
that could erode a significant portion of your investable assets.
So that's where a policy like a long term care
(15:21):
insurance or a hybrid with a, you know, a whole
life that has some growth potential and something to leave,
you know, to heirs, um, alongside the ability to tap
into it to long for long term care can make
some sense. Um, but once you, you know, cross $1
million in liquid assets. I think, you know, now all
(15:42):
of a sudden, we're starting to think about self-insuring. Um,
and you keep full access to the money, the ability
to invest it, let it grow. Not inside an insurance
company where there's kind of a governor on what you
can make on it. But the ability to really, truly
manage the risk on your own, get the full upside for,
you know, whatever portion is in stocks and be able
(16:03):
to tap into that money for other purposes as you
want to give. And, you know, to maybe give a
portion to heirs while you're living or give to ministry
or your church, uh, you know, those kinds of things.
So the question is just finding that sweet spot between
how do I, you know, protect against that risk in
(16:23):
the future of the increasing costs of long term care
versus keeping the flexibility and the liquidity of not putting
a big chunk of our assets in this case, uh,
you know, an in situation $175,000 into one of these
hybrid policies. And I think they're kind of right there
on the bubble where you could go either way. But
(16:44):
I do think, you know, if you're looking to offset
that risk, these hybrid policies are worth looking at, especially
on a paid up basis, because, again, one of the
biggest challenges with long term care insurance is just the
the premium risk. The future increases that just about everybody
who has one of these policies is experiencing where they
eventually might even get priced out of it, where they
(17:06):
have to drop it, and then it's of no value.
And so I think, you know, being paid up, not
having to worry about that, as long as it's a
good quality policy with a reputable company committed to this space,
it's got the features you need, you know, that can
make a lot of sense. Not to mention the fact
that it's still growing, at least at a modest level
inside the policy. So I think it really does come
(17:28):
down to getting with an advisor, creating a financial plan,
looking at the total net worth, looking at all the
investments that are out there. How will you generate income?
How will you protect against risks, including long term care?
How do you minimize taxes and and keep the money
growing at an appropriate level with proper liquidity? Those are
(17:49):
kind of the the main issues that an advisor can
help you solve for. By the way, if you want
to find an advisor in your area who shares your
values as a Christ follower, I would connect with a
certified Kingdom Advisor. You can do that on our website.
Com just click Find Us or you can go direct
find a com that's find a k.com. All right let's
(18:13):
head to Chattanooga. Michael go ahead.
S5 (18:18):
Yes sir I am interested in paying off or paying
on my student loans. So I'm 72. I'm 72. I've
been teaching at a state school for the last ten years.
And so since they're in deferment, I haven't been able
to make any of my payments of 101 $106 a month.
(18:40):
Is there any mechanism that will allow me to make
those payments? Because they're saying that they are not qualified
for loan forgiveness until I pay them. So what do
you think?
S1 (18:54):
Okay. Yeah. Um, so bottom line is they're currently in deferment. Um,
you're wanting to pay them down even though they're in deferment,
because you're mainly looking to start the the clock on
the loan forgiveness. Is that right?
S5 (19:09):
Well, I've been on the clock for the last seven years.
It's just been since they've been in deferment. I haven't
had any that are that are qualifying because I haven't
made any. Right.
S1 (19:21):
Right. And what are they telling you as you've inquired
on this?
S5 (19:26):
Uh, they're saying nope. You just got to wait until government,
until the Congress decides what we're going to do. So.
S1 (19:34):
Okay. Yeah. Um, and right now, um, you know, there
the deferment. Well, here's the bottom line. So on the
public service loan forgiveness, once they're in deferment, they don't
count toward the 120 payments. Um, and so you've got
seven years of qualifying payments on the direct loan. Um,
(19:56):
and then, you know, if you want to keep making
progress toward the forgiveness, um, what typically you would do
is call the loan servicer and ask to end the
deferment and restart the income driven repayment plan. And that way,
your payments would resume counting toward the pslf. Um, if
(20:19):
forgiveness isn't likely, then the voluntary payments, you know, during
deferment are still fine. They just won't move you closer
to the 120 payment goal. But if they if you
if you believe you qualify and that's been verified. Typically,
you can end that deferment and then restart the income
driven repayment option, which is going to once again start
(20:39):
counting toward the ultimate goal.
S5 (20:43):
Okay. So Mohela is the servicer. So I just contact them.
S1 (20:48):
That's exactly right. And just tell them what you're trying
to do here and say, listen, I want to restart
an income driven repayment plan so I can continue making
progress toward the public service loan forgiveness. I've got, you know,
seven years. So, you know, you're 84 payments into the
120 payment goal, and you just want to keep making
(21:09):
progress here.
S5 (21:11):
All right. Perfect. That's exactly what I needed to know.
S1 (21:14):
All right. Thanks, Michael. God bless you, my friend. Thanks
for your call today. Well, we're going to take another
break when we come back. Lori is in Cleveland. We'll
tackle her question, then we'll head out to Alaska and
talk to Derek. Also, Jerry Boyer buying our last segment today.
we'll get Jerry's take on the markets, the economy, lots
going on, including some talk from President Trump today about
(21:37):
China that is pushing the markets lower market. Dow Jones
down 900 points S&P 500 off 182. That's almost 3% lower. Uh,
on the escalation in the, uh, China conversation. We'll get
more on that straight ahead. Stay with us. Thanks for
(22:06):
joining us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West.
We're taking your calls and questions today. 800 525 7000
is the number to call. Let's head back to the phones. Cleveland,
Ohio is where Laurie is located. Go ahead.
S6 (22:20):
Hi. Thanks for taking my call. Um, I'm calling to
find I'm getting ready to retire. Well, turning 65 in December,
considering retiring in the next year, but getting a little nervous,
wondering if we're going to have enough, that kind of thing.
And I had tried to reach out to the Kingdom
Advisor folks. It's been like a year or two ago.
(22:41):
It's been a while, and I don't know why. I
could never get a no one ever got back to me,
so I never got with them. We went with somebody
else and had some issues. Um, and so now I'm like,
I just want to get back to somebody in your,
you know, I feel like I could trust your group better.
And so just wondering how I know who I can
(23:02):
trust with this, for one thing, because, you know, we've
gone to several different people and you get several different answers, um,
about things. And it's hard to know who's right with
some of this, and it's such a big decision to make.
So that was one question. I just want to kind
of get to the right place. And then second of all, um,
wondering if I should put my money like in a
403 B with work. And I don't know if I
(23:23):
can put that in a Roth IRA or if I
should keep it where it's at because, you know, we're
getting older. We don't have a lot of recovery time.
If the stock market goes down. So, you know, I'm
just wondering, should I have this in a safer place? Yes. Um.
That money.
S1 (23:40):
Okay. Now go ahead. Did you have another part of that?
S6 (23:43):
One more question. Yes. So what we did when things
were kind of getting crazy, like around, you know, around 20,
20 and everything was going nuts. We got well, I
got kind of scared. We put our money in something
with the gentleman who advertises. If the if the rates
go up, you make money. If they go down, you
don't lose anything. It turns out it's an annuity. So
we went with that and then we're stuck like for
ten years in that. And so then we realized we
(24:05):
barely made any money on it. Even though the stock
market was up. We didn't make a ton and we
didn't lose it, but we didn't make any. So now
I feel bad that I, you know, kind of did
a knee jerk reaction, put it in that thing. So
I'm just afraid to do the wrong things and I'm
just trying to get some good direction, I guess.
S1 (24:18):
Yeah. No, I can certainly appreciate that. And I think
that's where this trusted advisor will come in. And the
fact that you haven't found that person that you know
you have the chemistry with. Has the character you're looking
for has the competence. You know, that's where I think
you're feeling like we don't really have the plan. And,
you know, I don't know who to trust, but once
(24:38):
that's in place, you're going to feel a lot better
because you're going to know you have somebody that you know,
you can really count on. Anytime you have a question,
do a comprehensive financial plan, but then also help you
work through what is the right investment strategy for you,
given your, you know, your age and your risk tolerance,
your income needs in this next season of life? You know,
(25:00):
you guys have worked, you know, your entire working life.
You've built this nest egg up and, you know, now
we don't want to just drop it into a complicated
insurance product, but we also don't want to take on
unnecessary risk. And so, you know, that's where I think
having this trusted advisor is going to solve a lot
of that. We do need to get you connected to
(25:20):
the right person. I don't know why you didn't get
that call back. We don't hear that often. But, you know,
at the end of the day, um, I think a
certified Kingdom advisor is what you're looking for because these
were our individuals who really are committed to offering biblically
wise financial advice. But there's a high bar to earn
the designation, which is the way we designed it. I mean,
(25:43):
they've got to have one of the other professional designations
and ten years of experience and a pastor reference and
a client reference, and they have to have been trained
through our 50 hour university based program on how they
apply God's Word to all the professional decision making they've
been trained on. Um, you know, they have an ethical requirement,
(26:03):
a statement of faith, annual continuing education, not to mention
a regulatory review every year to make sure there's not
any issues or disclosures that would disqualify them from keeping it.
So it's a very high bar by design. And that
gives us at Kingdom Advisors and Faith, by the confidence
to say these are men and women that we can
hold out to God's people as really having met high standards, uh,
(26:27):
to be able to carry the designation. So I don't
do this often, but I'd love to to connect you
with a couple of people. Uh, since you weren't able
to make that connection previously, I'd love to help that
process along and make sure you get connected with probably
three CHS there in Cleveland that you can interview and
(26:50):
find the one that's the best fit. And I'll, I'll
personally help make that handoff. Um, so when we're done here, um,
I'll ask you to give your information to my team,
and then we'll get in touch with you and and
make those connections. And I think, you know, you sitting
down and, you know, understanding how do they define success
and how do they help you integrate your faith into
(27:11):
the decisions, uh, understanding their experience, understanding how they're going to, uh,
you know, what they recommend in terms of the various
investment strategies that meets your goals and objectives and, you know,
generates the income you need without any unnecessary risk. You know,
as you talk through all of these things, I think
you and your husband will eventually be able to settle
(27:32):
on the right person for you. And I think that's
going to be a game changer moving forward. But give
me your thoughts on all that.
S6 (27:38):
That'd be great. No, I really appreciate that. And I trust, like,
you know, things have been crazy the last few years,
Covid and all that, and people weren't in office. Who
knows if it was any of that. So I'm not
blaming anyone. It's just like, you know, I could have
been more forthcoming, but I tried several times and it
was just like kind of frustrating. So I kind of just,
you know, moved on. But I really appreciate this because
I feel like, I mean, I've been listening to I
(27:59):
love the station, listen to it my whole life, pretty much.
So I'm like, you know, that's why I really wanted
to get set up with you guys because I really
trust you. And and I do really appreciate that really
so much. I had one other question. I don't know
if you can answer this. Yeah. Um, that that medi-share 65.
Do you know anything about those type of programs? Because
I'm also having to pick out my supplemental, you know, medical, um,
(28:21):
Medicare stuff pretty soon. And I don't know if that's
something to go with or not go with that type
of plan. And I don't know if you can recommend
that or not.
S1 (28:30):
Yeah. You know, I think, um, it can be very helpful.
So once you're 65, um, you know, then you have, uh, the,
the Medicare, you're already covered for most major medical expenses
through Medicare A and B and where Medicare or Christian
healthcare ministries, who we have worked with the longest here
at at Faith VI, um, they serve as really a
(28:54):
supplement and depending on what program you choose, essentially, you know,
Medicare or C.h.m would step in and reimburse some of
the out-of-pocket costs that Medicare doesn't cover. So like deductibles
and copays and coinsurance. So it's different from a Medicare
supplement like Medigap or a Medicare Advantage plan. Those are
(29:17):
regulated insurance products, whereas Medi-share and PHM are voluntary sharing
among members, but it's often less expensive and can provide
that additional peace of mind. To know that you know,
some of those other out of pocket costs are going
to be covered. So I'm a big fan of that approach.
S6 (29:40):
Okay. Okay. And then lastly, do you know what a
dual directional is? It's one of the gentlemen recommended a
dual directional investment.
S1 (29:49):
Okay. Um yeah. What was the context for it? It's
probably I mean, these are sometimes called structured notes or
a buffered strategy. Is that what he was talking about?
S6 (30:00):
He was saying like, basically if the stock market went down,
you wouldn't you would gain actually gain money even if
it went down up to 15% or something. And then
if it went up, it was I, was it it
seemed like too good to be true. One of those things,
you know. And I asked him about it, but he
said it's like a real thing. And I'm like, okay,
I mentioned it to another person. They hadn't heard of it.
S7 (30:21):
It's a real thing.
S1 (30:22):
It provides less volatility and downside cushion. The the only
con if you will on it is limited upside. So
you're capped on your upside potential. And when you look
at the historic average annual returns, the way people get
those nice annual returns is in those big up years.
And you just don't get that with these buffered strategies.
(30:44):
They're also complex. They have rules and terms and calculations
that are hard to understand. And they can be illiquid,
meaning if you don't hold them to the full term,
you can't get your money out in full. Stay on
the line. We'll be right back.
S7 (31:09):
Great to have you with us today on Faith and
Finance live.
S1 (31:11):
I'm Rob West. I had a chance to visit a
bit more off the air with our previous caller. And
you know, when it comes to managing God's money, finding
that trusted advisor is so critical. That person that you can,
you know, have a great rapport with somebody who has
the experience you're looking for, but also and and I
think this is critical, especially when it comes to financial
(31:33):
decision making, having that person who shares your values as
a Christ follower, who understands the heart of God in
Scripture as it relates to money, that it can compete
with our hearts, that the the goal is not just
the mindless accumulation of wealth that we're trying to accumulate it, uh,
appropriately so we can give it generously and be connected
(31:54):
into God's activity so we can deploy it strategically in
terms of how we invest it, whether that's engaging with
the companies we own to advocate for Christian values, or
perhaps even investing in companies that are looking for investments
that are God honoring. You know, those things happen when
you have an advisor who really has purposed him or
(32:16):
herself to serve God's people. And that's why we trust
the K designation. If you want to find a certified
Kingdom advisor in your city, just go to find k.com.
All right, it's Friday. Jerry Boyer's here. Jerry. Uh, you know,
you and I spoke this morning, and, uh, a lot
has changed since then. And it only took a. Yeah,
(32:37):
it only took a tweet. Tell us what's going on.
S8 (32:40):
Yeah, but before I do that, you know, you just
mentioned that you were, you know, talking off air with
your previous caller. So I don't know if you know that,
but if, if you've got your next guest on hold,
they can hear those conversations. Did you know that I
could hear you talking to her?
S1 (32:55):
I know that the person uh, no, I didn't know that, actually.
So that's good to know.
S8 (33:00):
Yeah. So I'm warning you now, it wasn't about that,
but it's just you were like. Like so pastoral. Uh,
so the transmitter was off, right? You. That wasn't media.
That was just you talking to a woman who has
anxiety about a financial matter. And it was just like
a really nice kind of financial pastor kind of moment. Um,
(33:21):
because I don't people don't know this, but I've been
in media for a long time, and there are people
and they're on the air. Right. And then you hear
what they're like on the air, but then off the air,
they're different people. But you are off the air then,
and you were the same guy. You were just she
was worried and you were comforting. Um, and that was
just a really nice thing to listen in. I was,
I was totally eavesdropping. So, you know, that wasn't good,
(33:43):
but that was just a really nice thing.
S7 (33:45):
I appreciate you saying that.
S1 (33:47):
That means a lot, Jerry. And and that is my
heart that we're here to serve people, whether the mikes
are rolling or not.
S8 (33:53):
Yeah. I mean, if you weren't doing a radio program,
you would still be talking to people. That's right. You
would just be talking to them one at a time.
All right. So what was the topic? What did you
ask me about? Oh, yeah. This morning and and now.
So we got, uh, so the trade war kind of
stuff is heating up with China, right. Um, and that
just immediately pivoted things. Um, and I just I just
(34:15):
don't think that's really a positive thing. Uh, and then
there was another tweet from the president, just, you know,
before I came on the air and he said, look,
oil's down, you know. Um, so, you know, we're going
to have, you know, cheaper gas prices, you know, because oil's,
you know, oil's dropping in price. And, you know, oil
is an industrial commodity. Look, I like cheap gas prices, okay?
(34:36):
But things like oil and copper and aluminum, by and large,
when they suddenly go down in price, it's not because
good times are here. It's because they're industrial commodities. And
we expect a global slowdown. And you look how many,
you know, quarterly webinars have you and I done on
this with your Kingdom Advisors members, where we showed the
(34:57):
very tight correlation between supply adjusted oil prices and copper
and all the rest of it. So I'm all for
lower gas prices. But let's be clear. Sometimes gas prices
go down because we've unleashed the energy and we've got
lots of abundant production. We have not really ramped up production.
Sometimes gas prices go down because when the global economy
(35:19):
slows down, your car is not competing with industrial factories
around the world because you have a global slowdown in
production of, of of, you know, of goods. So a
sudden downturn in the price of oil generally is a
concern in terms of overall growth. Now, I have to
say there's another reason why oil would come down, which
(35:39):
is the war in the Middle East coming to an end.
And that's entirely good news. So I just want to
be clear here that the trade war being back on
is an economic stressor. It is not an economic positive thing. Uh,
and just as the president, I think, deserves a tremendous
amount of credit for helping to bring an end to
(36:01):
the war in Gaza. I think that, you know, and
maybe he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. And it's always
great to see the opposition leader in Venezuela say, well,
I'm kind of dedicating part of my Nobel Peace Prize
to President Trump, who's who's really helped. I think that
is a great thing. I think she's also kind of
seeing in the future, and she she knows how to
talk to keep him on her side. But, you know,
(36:23):
let's have a Nobel Peace Prize and hey, let's have
a dual Nobel Peace Prize and Nobel Prize for economics
for ending the trade war. Because whatever you think about
whether we ought to have a lot of global trade
or not, or whether we ought to have done what
we've done over the past 50 years, we did it.
We spread out production over the entire world, and we
(36:44):
have factories all over the world, and we have supply
chains that are extended. And if we just come along
and start taxing those cross-border transactions, we are disrupting trillions
of dollars of allocated capital and a tremendous amount of
planning and decision making and infrastructure. And we're not going
to turn on a dime and do that. So if, if,
(37:07):
let's say, back in 1980, we had said, okay, we're
going to slow down global trade. Well, then maybe there
would have been less deindustrialization in the United States, but
that already happened. And if we come in here and
we just hit the brakes really hard by hiking taxes
on global trade, that's not the same thing as having
prevented it in the first place. That's disruptive, and it
(37:27):
tends to slow down the economy and it tends to
be inflationary. Now I don't want to be too negative
about it. The president's tax cuts have been really good
for the economy and deregulation is. So some things are
good and some things are bad. And I would say
the trade war is more on the bad side.
S1 (37:43):
Yeah. Uh, I think that's well said, Jerry, and I
certainly appreciate that perspective. I want to press into this
particular issue because, you know, tariffs are his default now.
And how he weighs in on the the policies of
the rest of the world, in this case, the way
he's describing it, he's almost representing the rest of the
free world, uh, with this particular tweet and perhaps tariff
(38:08):
in that he's he's highlighting the fact that China controls 70%
of the global supply of rare earths. And now they're
starting to move toward, you know, things like, well, you know,
we want to be able to to have those registered. And,
you know, we're going to have control mechanisms in place
as to how they get doled out. You know, how
(38:29):
concerning is that just given how dependent we are on
semiconductors and other technologies that rely on these rare earths?
S8 (38:36):
Well, first of all, I like the Free World Against
China strategy. Uh, the early earlier this year, the president
was more in we're the US and we're going to
have a trade war with everybody. Not smart. Uh, but
the rest of the world kind of representing the rest
of the world against China. That's a lot more defensible. Uh,
but there is there is trade tensions and there's a
(38:58):
there's a back and forth. So, you know, what I
said even before the trade war to you is, um,
the president kind of acts like, well, a trade war
is something we do to another country. And he kind
of forgets. Yeah, but they do something back to us, right?
So we do something to China, and then China does
something to us. So where is their greatest leverage point?
It's rare earths. So part so there is a kind
(39:21):
of escalation of the trade war that has to do
with rare earths. Well, okay, China is holding the world hostage.
China is a bad actor in every conceivable way, from
organ harvesting to rare earths to the persecution of the
Christian church. It is, in my view, an evil power,
and it stands under the potential of God's wrath, which
(39:43):
its ruling class completely deserves. That having been said, um,
if we're going to put them in a position where
they're evil, escalation is going to be about rare earths,
then we better get cracking on getting rare earths of
our own. Right? Which means we need to really expedite
the process of getting clearance for that because we have them, too. Uh,
(40:06):
and you're able to pull them out of some of
the out of slag, for example, and some of the
other industrial products. So if we're going to go to
a trade war with China and they're going to say, well,
you're not going to get any rare earths, so you
can't make batteries and you can't make chips. We better
be ready to do it ourselves. And it feels like
we got we kind of got in this trade war
situation where we were dependent on them before we counted
(40:30):
the cost and were prepared not just to say that
we're going to mine our own rare earths, but to
actually get that going. So, you know, we talked about
something with Greenland, right? Um, so that's great. But we
don't have we don't have the mining deals with them. Uh,
we had some great executive orders about Alaska and opening
up mining there, but we haven't done it yet. So,
(40:53):
you know, if we're going to if we're going to
have this. Okay, I don't like China having the world
buy the rest of the by the throat, but we
really need to move quickly then on getting rare earths
out of the free world. If we're going to have
the free world versus China, because as of now, they
do have a leverage point, let's take away their leverage point.
We provoked the battle before we were ready for it, frankly.
(41:16):
So yeah, um, I would have rather that you get
you get what I'm saying?
S1 (41:21):
I sure do. Yeah. It makes a lot of sense. Jerry,
just a minute left. Let's kind of pull out a
little bit and look at the economy more broadly and
stay here in the United States for this final question.
What does it signal to you that gold is through
the roof? Uh, north of $4,000 an ounce. At the
same time, the market is bumping up against new highs
every day.
S8 (41:42):
Yeah. That signals to me that most of this rally, uh,
in the stock market, has been about easy money, uh,
and not about actual economic growth. So when stock prices
are going up faster than the earnings of the companies,
that means that valuations have increased their price. They're more
(42:03):
expensive right. And let's be honest we are a bubble
valuations there's no doubt about it far higher than we
were in 2007. Uh, you know and a little bit
higher than we were for the most part in the
late 90s. So that's easy money. That's not the way
for prosperity. The way for prosperity is human productivity. That's
the way God designed the world.
S1 (42:24):
Yeah, that's well said. And a lot of what President
Trump is doing is trying to pave the way for that. But, uh,
the the easy money piece of it is, is not
necessarily the way to go. Uh, even though every president
seems to like, uh, loose fiscal policy. Jerry, thanks for
your time, my friend.
S8 (42:42):
Thank you. God bless.
S1 (42:43):
All right. Tara, Taylor, Josh and Dan serving us today,
plus everybody here at Faith. Be so thankful for that team.
Faith and Finance Live is a partnership between Moody Radio
and Faith fi. Have a wonderful weekend. Come back and
join us on Monday. Buh bye.
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