March 17, 2025 • 42 mins
As the saying goes, you don’t need to be wealthy to start saving—but you do need savings to build wealth. And the higher the yield, the faster your savings can grow. On today's Faith & Finance Live, Rob West will explore high-yield savings accounts and whether these rates are here to stay. Then he'll answer your questions on various financial topics.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:08):
As the saying goes, you don't need to be wealthy
to start saving, but you do need savings to build wealth. Hi,
I'm Rob West. The higher the yield, the faster your
savings can grow. Today, we'll explore high yield savings accounts
and whether these rates are here to stay. And then
it's on to your calls at 800 525 7000. That's
(00:28):
800 525 7000. You can call that number 24 seven.
This is faith and finance live. Biblical wisdom for your
financial decisions. Okay. So this discussion is about savings accounts.
Not to be confused with investing accounts that usually involve
(00:51):
holdings with higher risk. You need both. But today we're
just talking about savings. A savings account is the ideal
place for your emergency fund, as well as money set
aside for big purchases you'll need in the next few years,
like a new car. Right now, some online savings accounts
are offering yields around 4.5%, significantly outperforming most traditional brick
(01:14):
and mortar banks. We can thank inflation in part for
today's higher interest rates for borrowing or saving. The reason
inflation leads to higher rates is because the Federal Reserve
steps in and raises rates to fight inflation when it rises.
In recent months, inflation has remained stubbornly higher than the 2%
(01:35):
the fed would like. That's caused the fed to backtrack
on earlier signals that successive rate cuts were in order.
In fact, they've been few and far between. That's not
good news. If you have a variable interest rate loan
of any kind, like a credit card or home equity
line of credit, it is good news. However, if you
have money in a higher yield online savings account. Banks
(01:58):
typically set their rates according to the federal funds rate,
which is set by the Federal Reserve. When the fed
started raising interest rates a few years ago to combat
soaring inflation. Savings yields followed suit, especially at online banks
with lower overhead costs. Since then, these rates have remained high.
A common question we hear at Faith and finance is
(02:20):
how long will they stay that way? Well, only God
knows for sure, but we can make some educated guesses
based on two key factors first, the latest inflation numbers,
and second, how the fed reacts to them. If inflation declines,
the fed may consider cutting rates, but if it holds
steady around 3%, the fed is likely to stay the course,
(02:41):
meaning your high yield savings rate should remain secure, at
least for now. Now, let's say inflation drops to 2.5%,
and the fed decides to drop interest rates by a
quarter point. That might affect yields on savings accounts, but
when would you likely see those lower yields? Well, as
it turns out, it can take a while for savings
(03:03):
account yields to follow. Fed rate cuts. Banks tend to
hold off a bit before lowering savings yields. It works
the other way, too, with banks taking their time to
increase yield rates when the fed raises rates. Now why
is that? Well, it seems no bank wants to be
the first to raise or lower yields. They tend to
(03:24):
wait until they see how the market and other banks react,
so they stay within industry standards. Above all, they want
to remain competitive with the onset of online banking. They
know you can put your money anywhere. Typically, when the
fed cuts rates, it takes a few weeks or even
months before banks start lowering savings yields. We're not saying
(03:45):
you should move your money every time the fed makes
a small rate adjustment, but it's wise to watch the
trends if your bank's yield consistently lags behind what's available online,
it may be time to switch for the best current rates,
check sites like Bank rate and NerdWallet. By the way,
if your bank's savings yields aren't to your liking, you
(04:06):
might consider moving money to CDs or a money market account.
They tend to have higher yields than a regular savings account.
You don't necessarily have to switch banks to get a
better yield. Okay, but what if you don't have your
money in a bank at all? No, I'm not saying
keep it under your mattress. I am saying that you
can get competitive yield rates on savings accounts at a
(04:28):
credit union. A lot of folks are generally unaware that
credit unions may offer higher savings yields than traditional banks.
Credit unions are not for profit organizations that return revenues
to members in the form of better interest rates and
lower fees. Now we know of one credit union, Christian
Community Credit Union, that does all of that, but also
(04:50):
gives part of its revenues to advance God's Kingdom. Christian
Community Credit Union works with ministries to share the love
of Christ and spread the gospel around the world. It's
also an underwriter of this program. You can find out
more about this amazing organization at join Christian community.org that's
Join Christian community.org. Well, I hope that was helpful. Today.
(05:14):
The key take advantage of these high yields while they last.
Your calls are next 800 525 7000. We'll be right back.
S2 (05:33):
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 (05:57):
Great to have you with us today on Faith and
finance live, I'm Rob West. Looking forward to taking your
calls and questions today, by the way. A huge thank
you to so many of you who are involved in
our spring share last week. Boy, what a privilege to
be able to hear from so many of you. Thousands
that came alongside us to support Moody Radio. So many
of you. Our Faith in Finance Live listeners also stepping
(06:19):
in to support. Listener supported Moody Radio. And we're so
thankful for the testimonies that you shared and even the
impact of this program that was often referenced. We have
amazing listeners here at Moody Radio, and the fact that
you are so generous and willing to stand with this
ministry is such an encouragement to us, and I know it. Uh, well,
(06:40):
we and the team here will exercise great stewardship over
every dollar that comes in. So just know that we
are incredibly grateful. Now we're going to get back to
regular programming today, so I can't wait to take your
questions on anything financial to help you navigate your financial life.
The ultimate goal? Not that we would enrich ourselves, although
(07:00):
there's nothing wrong with money. In fact, if God bestows
upon you trust to you significant wealth, you want to
have the right heart posture so you can handle that effectively.
Because the big idea through a biblical lens of money
management as a Christ follower, is an understanding that we
own nothing. God owns everything, but we have great responsibility
(07:20):
for everything entrusted to our care. We're that household manager
walking in the door of the home, seeing everything that's
in there that's beautiful. But we own nothing. We're a
caretaker and therefore we need to know the heart of
the master so we can manage it effectively. Well, that's
our goal each day on this program to help you
be that wise and faithful steward. And so we're going
to be hopeful. We're going to be theologically sound with
(07:43):
the counsel that we give you. We're going to be
expert and wise because we're going to look to God's Word,
but we're also going to be empathetic because we know
that you're on a journey. I'm on a journey. We've
made mistakes, but our goal is faithfulness from this point forward.
And so hopefully this program is an encouragement to you
in that each day. So with those specific financial questions
(08:04):
that you have, you can call right now 800 525 7000. Again,
that number to call with your financial questions. Lines are
open 800 525 7000. And we will dive into those
questions here in just a moment in the news today,
other than the fact that the market closed higher across
all of the major indexes, which is a welcome sign. Um,
(08:27):
I will say in the news is also the the
story about the gig economy. That, by the way, is
still going strong according to brand new figures from the
Federal Reserve. But that may not always be a good thing.
Here's what the data shows. More Americans are working multiple jobs,
and that's driven largely by financial necessity and career advancement,
(08:50):
a record high 8.9 million workers. That's just under 5.5%
of the workforce held multiple jobs in February. That's the
highest rate since the Great Recession. Now, the reasons for
working multiple jobs, including and you won't be surprised by these.
First and foremost, covering higher living costs due to inflation. Second,
(09:12):
stagnant wages falling to keep up with expenses or excuse me,
failing to keep up with expenses. Third, paying off debt
or saving for the future. The fourth reason for multiple jobs.
Looking for career shifts while maintaining stable income. Somebody wanting
to make a change or start their own business needs
some stable income while they make that shift. Now wages
(09:34):
have struggled to keep pace with inflation. That makes it
harder to afford essentials like housing and food and transportation.
The Federal Reserve also reports an increase in Highly educated
multiple job holders with 50% holding college degrees in 2024.
That's up from 45% in 2019. One thing this shows
(09:55):
is that choosing a college major that gives you marketable
skills is extremely important. It's one way you can lower
the chances you'll need to take on more than one
job after graduating. But bottom line, the gig economy is
alive and well and something we'll keep an eye on
in the days ahead. All right, let's head to the phones.
We're going to begin today in Montgomery, Alabama. Hi, Marianne.
(10:18):
Go right ahead.
S3 (10:19):
Hi. Thank you for taking my my request. Yes, ma'am.
I am calling to see how can I invest in
a gold IRA or silver IRA with a reputable Christian
dealer or company?
S1 (10:37):
Yeah. You know, it's a great question. And unfortunately, we
do not have someone that we have been partnered with
in this area, specifically related to gold IRAs. I know
there's a ton of them that are advertising right now,
less than perhaps we saw last year just because of
the movement of the price of gold. But there's still
a ton out there, and I wish I had a
(10:59):
specific name to give you. I don't. So let's talk
about just what you need to look for when choosing
the right dealer, because it's really important that you have,
you know, and this goes without saying, avoid scams or
overpaying or buying subpar products. So what you typically want
to look for is, first of all, their reputation and credibility.
So I would read a lot of consumer reviews on
(11:22):
sites like Better Business Bureau or the more common one
now is Trustpilot. You can even read Google reviews. You're
going to want to look for dealers with long histories.
So I'm talking 5 to 10 years, uh, a avoid
dealers with excessive complaints. You know, what you'll see in
those complaints often is hidden fees or delivery delays. And
(11:42):
that's of course, with physical gold. It's a little different
when it comes to a gold IRA because they're going
to keep it in a vault. So you really want
to know that, you know, people have had good customer
service and timely response, that kind of thing. Um, pricing
transparency is, of course, uh, you know, important as well.
And then you want to know about the liquidity. So,
(12:03):
you know, if you wanted to, you know, get out
and make a change, you know, how quickly can you
do that? Um, and, you know, the reviews will help
you with that, plus the fine print on the website. Uh,
in the case of the gold IRA, you're basically looking
for a self-directed IRA, which allows the IRA to hold essentially,
(12:26):
you know, alternative assets. So if you're not in stocks
and bonds, where a typical brokerage firm would allow you
to invest with an IRA, then you need a self-directed
IRA custodian. That's IRS approved. Um, in the gold that
they're buying, because the IRS only allows certain types of
gold to be held in the IRA. Um, so I
(12:49):
think at this point, you know, your best option would
be just to do a lot of of searching online
to find which ones are the most reputable. Um, and see,
you know, as long as you read a lot of reviews,
I could get comfortable with you doing that. Uh, what
percent of your overall investable assets. Marianne, are you looking
to put into gold?
S3 (13:09):
Well, I'm retired now, and, um, and I have. I
have a cassette. I found a cassette. An old cassette
of Larry Burkett. Um, and he was titled The Coming
Economic Earthquake.
S1 (13:24):
Yeah.
S3 (13:24):
And that the tape was sent to me, actually, from
Faith radio here. We live by Faith. The radio station here.
They sent this to me many years ago, so I've
pulled it up and and, um, he recommended on, on
his on on the tape to do no more than 10%
between 5 and 10%. And some other people have told me,
(13:46):
you know, not to do too much. 10%, you know,
at the most are no more than 10% or 12%.
S1 (13:55):
Yeah. And I would agree with that. Yeah. So that's
generally my rule of thumb is no more than 10%.
I think, you know, a lot of people will say no,
just go ahead and put it all in there. Gold's
going to do well. Um, you know, the data just
doesn't back that up. It's more volatile. It doesn't perform
as well. My typical approach is a 5% forever allocation
where you'd buy it and hold it. Now, you wouldn't
(14:17):
want to do that in an IRA because you'd have
to take the money out. But I think no more
than 10% of your IRA would be a great place
to go. Thanks for your call today. We'll be right back. Hey,
great to have you with us today on Faith and
finance live here on Moody Radio. I'm Rob West. We're
(14:37):
taking your calls and questions. Let's go to Kansas City. Hi, Angie.
How can I help?
S4 (14:44):
Hi, Rob. I have a question for you.
S1 (14:46):
Okay.
S4 (14:47):
Um, my my, um. I have a whole life policy
that I bought out. Bought when our children were little,
and they're grown and have their own lives now, and
it's worth about 32,000. And I would like. And it's
it's growing. It's an investment type of insurance. And I
would like to take it out, save enough for a
burial and taxes. I forgot my husband told me to
(15:09):
make sure I get taxes and then put the rest
on our home to pay down the mortgage. And I'm
wondering if that's a wise decision.
S1 (15:18):
It certainly could be. Um, and, you know, none of
those are bad options. What is the interest rate on
that mortgage?
S4 (15:26):
Um, it's pretty low. It's like pre-COVID, we took it
out in, uh, 19, so I'm not sure exactly.
S1 (15:33):
Probably around 3%. I would, I would guess. Um, and
so now is the cash value eroding? Um, in this
because you're, you're not paying premiums any longer. Correct?
S4 (15:47):
Correct. And it's not eroding. It grows, you know, small
it grows a small amount, but it grows every year.
S1 (15:53):
Okay. Yeah. So is your primary objective just peace of
mind and knowing that you're well planned on the funeral
and burial and that you've, you know, own your home.
Is that the driver or is it really just that
you're you feel like you could do better financially or
a combination of the two?
S4 (16:13):
It's just the driver. The driver is just to pay
down on the home and save for burial. My husband,
you know, takes care of everything else. Yeah.
S1 (16:22):
Got it. Yeah. So I like this idea because, remember,
there's the financial side of the equation and then there's
the non-financial side. And what I'm hearing is it would
give you great peace of mind to know that if
you can't pay off the mortgage in full. At least
you're headed in that direction by paying it down and
that you have your, you know, your burial expenses covered
(16:43):
and pre-planning done and so forth. The only key there
would just be to make sure that, you know, that's
a that's a funeral home that has been around a
while and it's pretty stable. And you don't plan to
move because that's the only downside. With these they can
go bankrupt, although it doesn't happen very often, and it
may not be transferable. If you moved and decided you
wanted to be buried somewhere else. But apart from that,
(17:05):
I think you know, the pre-planning is very helpful for
loved ones during that difficult period of time to have
all that decided in advance. So I like the idea
you're using money as a tool to accomplish things or
that are important to you. And so if you don't
need that life insurance policy, um, you know, because you're
(17:25):
no longer requiring that death benefit to offset the loss
of income if, if you were to pass away or
your husband, whoever's life it's on, and there's cash value
there that you could use for these other things that
really are important to you. I think that's a good idea.
S4 (17:41):
Okay, then I think we'll move forward with it. I
appreciate your help today.
S1 (17:46):
Absolutely, Angie. And I think your husband was wise to
say make sure you understand the tax implications before you
do it. You wouldn't want to be caught off guard
by that, but you may find that you know, the
amount you're getting back is below the the cost basis,
and then it wouldn't be taxable. But there may be
a portion that's taxable. So just check with your CPA
who can analyze that before you do it. Thanks for
(18:06):
your call today to Illinois. Hi Cindy, how can I help?
S4 (18:10):
Hi, Rob. Thanks for taking my call.
S5 (18:12):
Yeah, I have a simple question. I hope, um, I
have two credit cards and they're 29% interest each, and
I can't find another credit card with a lower interest
rate to transfer those to. What options do I have
to lower that interest rate?
S1 (18:29):
Yeah. Um, you know, even if you could. And there
are plenty of. That are out there that would offer
an introductory rate, although there's probably going to be a
2 or 3% fee to make that balance transfer. Uh,
and then you're going to have to keep doing it.
You know, once that, uh, introductory or temporary rate expires. So,
you know, my preferred approach on this, um, if you've
(18:51):
got more than 4000 in credit card debt, which you
said you had ten is what's called debt management. Uh,
I would contact our friends at Christian Credit counselors.org. They're believers. Um,
you know, they'll be wonderful to work with. And here's
basically the way credit counseling works is every one of
the creditors has a credit counseling program where they offer
a reduced interest rate. So as long as you work
(19:13):
through a nonprofit credit counseling agency like Christian Credit counselors,
you can slide into that program. Now what happens? Well,
the account is suspended. Uh, it doesn't factor into your
credit score, although the account would be closed, at least temporarily.
And that could have a minor effect on your credit score.
It could pull it down a little bit, just like
(19:34):
it would if you closed any account, and then you
would get that credit counseling rate, which is probably instead
of the 29% going to be somewhere between 0 and 10%
in most cases. And then you'd make one monthly payment
for both creditors to Christian credit counselors. They'd then send
it on to each of the creditors. And the combination
(19:55):
of that level, monthly payment and the lower interest rate,
perhaps dramatically lower, is going to help you pay this
off 80% faster. They've worked with thousands of our listeners.
We get incredible reports from listeners. And I think that
could be just what you're looking for. But how does
that sound?
S5 (20:13):
Well, that sounds a lot better. Thank you so much.
S1 (20:15):
Yeah. You're welcome. So just get on the web. Go
to Christian credit counselors.org Christian credit counselors.org. You can contact
them through the website or grab that toll free number
there from the site and they will get you going.
S5 (20:30):
Thank you very much.
S1 (20:32):
Okay. Thanks for your call today. May the Lord bless you. Uh,
800 525 7000 is the number to call. Let's go
to Central Florida. Dana, give us your question. Uh, I'll
probably have to give you the answer on the other
side of the break, but how can I help you?
S6 (20:46):
Yes. Um, we were looking to invest in the CD.
The financial advisor said the best rate right now was 4%
for 12 months. Um, I looked on the screen and
saw 18 months, and we talked about that. He said
that it would be. I thought it would be 4%
(21:07):
for the 18 months. He said. It's actually 8% for
the 18 months. Can you explain that?
S1 (21:14):
Well, it wouldn't be 8% for the 18 months. I mean,
the best that it could be is if you had
18 months. Um, it would be an annualized at 4%,
although you can do a little better than that. But
if you, you know, if you're getting let's keep it
round numbers. If you're getting 4% APY, that's annual. That's
what the A is annual. Then you would essentially get
(21:37):
a roughly a 6% return over 18 months. You get
a full year and then you get a half a year. Um,
you can find them as high as like for instance,
I'm looking right now 4.5% for 14 months. Let's do this.
I'm going to take a break. We'll come back and
finish this up on the other side. Stay right there.
We'll be right back. Great to have you with us
(22:02):
today on Faith and Finance live. I'm Rob West coming
up in our next segment, Bob Dole stops by. Good news.
Markets green across the board today. That's something we haven't
seen a lot of lately as the market's been under
some pressure. The Dow Jones up slightly less than 1%
up 350 points at the close. The S&P 500 up
(22:23):
uh 5%, so a little better than one half of 1%.
The Nasdaq up only 0.31%, so less than one half
of 1%. And then the Russell 2000 up over a point.
We'll find out what's moving the markets again. We've had
quite a bit of pressure as of late. The uncertainty
the tariffs some weakness in the economy. We'll get Bob
(22:45):
to weigh in on all of that. Plus what were
the retail sales numbers out today. We'll we'll get that
from Bob as well. That's straight ahead. In the meantime
we're taking your calls and questions. Lines are open 800
525 7000. You can call right now before the break
we were talking to Dana in Florida. She was talking
to an advisor and was asking about a CD that
(23:07):
had a particular rate, 4% for 12 months. And he
had said, or at least she understood him to say that,
that that would equate to 8% in terms of a
total yield percentage yield over 18 months. And she was
confused about this. And Dana, I think for good reason. So,
(23:28):
you know, if we were to just to play that out.
So a CD that has a 4% APY annual percentage
yield and by the way, you can do better than that,
you can get up to, I think, 4.5% for that
same period. But let's stay with your four. Over an
18 month period, the the total percent yield would be
just over 6%, 6.06%, because, you know, you'd have the
(23:52):
12 months and then you'd have the six month, one
half of a year wouldn't get to a full, you know,
two times that that, you know, that stated yield. Does
that make sense though?
S6 (24:03):
Yes it does. Thank you so much.
S1 (24:06):
You're welcome. If you do want to compare some other options,
one place to go is Bankrate.com. You could look at
just click on CDs and you can search by the
duration you're looking for and find out who has the
best rates right now. If you want somebody who shares
your values, you could go to Christian Community Credit Union
would be another option. Join Christian community. Com. Call any time.
(24:27):
Glad you could join the program today. 800 525 7000.
If you have a financial question, we'd love to tackle it. Today.
We've got room for you again. 800 525 7000 to Missouri. Hi, Dana.
Another Dana. Go right ahead.
S6 (24:43):
Hi.
S7 (24:43):
Thank you for taking my call. Sure. Um, we are
getting very close to retirement age. We have no children. Um,
we were young and dumb, and we did not save
too much for retirement. We had a really rough spot
a while back and pretty much spent what we have.
We have a good emergency fund. Our cars are paid for.
(25:04):
We have a very low interest rate on our mortgage,
and we probably have about 20 years left on it though.
But we have another property that we're getting ready to
sell this fall. And I was wondering if we should
take that money to knock off the mortgage, or if
we should somehow invest it and save it towards retirement.
S1 (25:25):
Yeah, it's a good question. I think the key is
just that you're doing exactly what you're doing, and that
is just think about from this point forward, regardless of
what's happened in the past, the mistakes and the challenges
you had financially, what can we do now to position
ourselves well for the future? And I think dumping debt
is a good thing. That's going to keep your lifestyle
as low as possible because you're not servicing debt through
(25:46):
monthly payments. Secondly, just continuing, you know, to save as
you're able. I love that you have a fully funded
emergency fund. And so now I think the key would
just be, you know, can you delay retirement, continue to work,
set money aside to both pay down debt and save
for the future, and then also delay Social Security as
long as possible to get that check up. So at
(26:09):
this point, just based on everything you know today, how
far off is retirement? Dana.
S7 (26:14):
Well, I am 60. He's 66, but we're working as
long as we can, just for the same reasons that
you mentioned.
S1 (26:21):
Yeah. Okay, good. And you said you have 20 years
left on the mortgage. Um, what what do you owe
on that?
S7 (26:28):
About I think it was 169 the last time around.
And we.
S1 (26:33):
Had one 5969.
S7 (26:35):
And we paid extra on it since since we got
the mortgage.
S1 (26:39):
All right. What's the interest rate?
S7 (26:41):
Uh, 2.25 or 7 five like that? It's really low.
We we find it right at the best time.
S1 (26:49):
Man. That's awesome. And this you said is a rental property, correct?
S7 (26:53):
Uh, no. The other property. Yeah, the other property is
an extra property. We're just going to sell it.
S1 (26:59):
Oh, so this is your primary residence?
S7 (27:02):
So, yeah, our primary residence.
S1 (27:03):
Got it. And what do you think you'll get for
the other property?
S7 (27:07):
Probably between 50 and 100,000.
S1 (27:09):
Okay. So you wouldn't be able to pay it off,
but you'd just be paying it down. Is that right?
S7 (27:14):
Correct.
S1 (27:15):
Okay. Yeah. So, I mean, the challenge is it doesn't
really help you in the near term because number one,
you know, if you can't pay it off in full, then,
you know, you still have the mortgage payment. So that's just,
you know, not giving you any extra that we could
take and push into a 401 K or some sort
of retirement vehicle of some kind. Um, and you're not
(27:38):
saving a ton in interest because you have this phenomenal
interest rate. So what else could you do with it?
Are you going to have capital gains on this property
that you're selling?
S7 (27:48):
I am not sure. We are actually sitting down with
someone to talk to them about that next week to
learn about it.
S1 (27:54):
Yeah. Very good. So you just need to factor that in.
If you are, it's probably going to be 15% if
it's anything. And so you just have to set that aside.
So then the question would be okay what could we
do with it. Do you have retirement plans available at work?
S7 (28:09):
Um, I don't I'm, I don't have any type of retirement.
My husband has, he won the parsons. He started a
new position about six years worth. He's been putting into
a retirement fund, eight years into a retirement fund, and
I put I have a very minimal IRA or a
(28:30):
Roth IRA that I transferred money into years ago, when
I was forced to cash in my 401 K, but
I haven't added a lot to it over the years.
S1 (28:40):
What type of retirement account does he have? Is it
a 401 K?
S7 (28:44):
It sure is a 401 K. I think it is.
He works for a school district.
S1 (28:49):
Yeah. Okay. Well, you have the ability. I mean, it's
probably a 403 B, but, um, you know, assuming it's
either a 401 K or a 403 B, uh, you know,
you do have the ability to put in, um, and
perhaps he would have even the option for what's called
the super catch up, which starts this year, where he
could put in a full 34,750. And so if he's
(29:12):
not putting that much in. You know, one option would
be you sell the house, you pay the taxes and listen,
if you have a conviction just to get out of
debt as soon as possible, then go for it and
don't look back. I think that's fine. I'm just saying,
because you have such a low interest rate and because
you wouldn't be able to pay it off, and therefore
you would not eliminate the monthly mortgage payment to free
(29:34):
up money on a monthly basis to invest. I'm wondering
if it might be better just to try to move
as much of that money into a retirement plan as possible. So,
for instance, let's say he goes from putting whatever he's
putting in today, which clearly you're making work, um, with
your budget, let's say he were to push it all
the way up to the max and you might say, well, then, Rob,
(29:56):
we wouldn't have enough to pay our bills. Well, that's fine,
you could supplement the shortfall out of the sale, you know,
the proceeds of the sale. And essentially, you're just shifting
it from one bucket to the other. You're shifting it
from the savings account where you'd put it after you
sell it and pay the taxes over to the tax
deferred environment in the 401 K by maxing out that
(30:17):
retirement contribution. I kind of like that option, you know,
for the next decade or longer while you all continue
to work, uh, more so than paying down this very
low interest rate mortgage. Does that make sense, though?
S8 (30:30):
It does.
S1 (30:31):
Okay.
S8 (30:31):
It does.
S1 (30:32):
Yeah. So that that's probably where I would go. Let's
talk to the CPA, get, uh, you know, his or
her advice on the the tax side of it. And again,
if you all have a conviction to be debt free,
pay down the mortgage and don't think twice about it,
I would be fine with that. But if you're comfortable
hanging on to it, I'd like to get it invested
and a tax deferred environment. And that's a way to
do it. Thanks for your call. We'll be right back.
S9 (31:01):
Great to have you with us today on Faith and
Finance live. I'm Rob West. Well, here in this.
S1 (31:05):
Segment our good friend Bob Dole is here. Bob is
our resident market guy. I is Chief executive officer and CIO.
That stands for chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments,
a leader in faith based investing. And Bob, great to
have you back, especially on a Green day. Green across
the board, huh?
S10 (31:25):
Two days in a row, Friday and Monday. We like green.
S1 (31:29):
Yes we do.
S10 (31:29):
What's, uh.
S1 (31:30):
What's tried well. And yeah, especially in light of, uh,
the other green.
S10 (31:35):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
S1 (31:38):
We'll take it. Um. Hey, what's driving this? I mean,
despite the the pressure we've had as of late. Why
the bounce?
S10 (31:45):
Yeah, I think it's largely an oversold technical bounce, Rob. Uh,
typically when you get these waterfall declines of, uh, a
double digit percentage, at some point the market's oversold. And
it's like the, the water balloon you put under the
in the water and it bounces when you let it go.
(32:06):
That's what's going on here. I don't think there are
a lot of fundamental reasons. I'd like to think that
the uncertainty level is falling. That will be necessary to
keep the rally moving.
S1 (32:17):
Yeah, yeah. No question about it. Obviously the uncertainty, the tariffs,
you know, are we getting any more clarity there or
is it just as murky as it's been for the
last several weeks?
S10 (32:28):
I would say it's still murky because we don't know.
But it's curious certainly on Friday. And there was not
much from the administration today either. So when the administration
does not talk about tariffs, the market says, well, I
guess it's safe to put my toe in the water.
S1 (32:42):
Yeah. Exactly right. Now, one thing that has moved we
for some reason, eggs became the tell all for inflation.
And we know those prices are plunging.
S10 (32:52):
Right, right, right. Go get go get your eggs. Make
some scrambled eggs. It's good. Yeah. It's amazing. It's amazing
how much the price of eggs went up. So it's
a relief to see him. See him coming down. That
will help consumers. It's. It's real, obviously, but it's also psychological.
S1 (33:09):
Yeah, yeah, there's no question about it. Bob, what about
just the overall economy? I know we talked about at
the beginning of the year we're seeing signs of weakness.
Is that continuing and is it deteriorating even more?
S10 (33:21):
It's certainly slowing. I think there were some of us
seeing it slowing a very early in the year and others.
Others not so much. But now just about everybody is saying, yeah,
it's slowing. Today we got retail sales for last month
and they weren't very good. Rob. And I think, you know,
this is all connected. It's it's partly hey I don't
(33:43):
know what the future holds. Therefore I might postpone a
vacation or if I'm a business, I might postpone hiring
somebody or doing that new project over there that's going
to cost some money until I understand the lay of
the land. So these things become somewhat self-fulfilling. I think
that's what's going on in the slowdown.
S1 (34:02):
Yeah. Uh, what is your base case on the possibility
of a recession this year. Same as when we started
the year.
S10 (34:09):
Um, no, it's up a bit. Um, you know, if
you know nothing, you say it's 15% because we as
a society spend 15% of our time in recession. So
if you knew nothing, that's what you'd say. My guess
was it was was and were in print 20% at
the beginning of the year. I think it's more like
one out of three, 33%, 35%, some somewhere in there.
(34:30):
So still comfortably under 50, but slowly rising.
S1 (34:33):
Yeah. All right. Very good. What about as we move
beyond the US globally in terms of the developed countries? Um,
are we seeing some of the the US weakness spill
over there?
S10 (34:47):
It's starting to affect psychology if nothing else. Um, I
would say their economies have not slowed to the extent
ours has. Of course, they haven't had the the tariffs
and all the other uncertainty. So they're kind of hanging
in there. There's one little area that's in a boomlet
and that's a European defence defense spending. Part of the
restructuring by the Trump administration is, hey, we're not we're
(35:09):
not going to fight your wars like we did before
you got to you got to raise your own defense budgets.
S1 (35:15):
Yeah. Very good Bob. Uh, you know, beyond that, just
in terms of the market, you know, we talked about
how the market was really richly priced. Obviously, this, you know,
correction has brought it down a bit. Has it brought
it down far enough in your view just based on
where we are with PES.
S10 (35:32):
Not really at the peak as we measure it 22.5
times now about 20.5 times. So down a couple of
points in the 20s it's still near all time highs.
So we need profitability to be strong to sustain these prices.
And you know my concern Rob is the economy weakens.
We're going to have more earnings estimate cuts. They've already
(35:55):
started for the first quarter and a bit of the
second quarter. I think they have to come down for
the full year some more.
S1 (36:01):
Awesome. Bob, Always appreciate your time, my friend.
S10 (36:04):
Have a great week.
S1 (36:06):
All right, that's Bob Dole. He's CEO and CIO at
Crossmark Global Investments. You can sign up for his weekly
investment commentary at crossmark global.com. All right. Let's head back
to the phones as we round out the broadcast today.
We'll get to as many as we can to Georgia, KY.
How can I help?
S11 (36:23):
Hi. Yeah, I was going through my mother's stuff and
came across some series E bonds that she had had
since my dad was alive, and that was like 23
years ago. They were in her name and my dad's name,
but I'm the executor of her estate. My question is,
(36:46):
should I hold on to them or should I cash
them in?
S1 (36:50):
Yeah, it's a good question. Are your mother and father
still living?
S11 (36:55):
No. My mother passed away a little over a year ago,
and my dad's been deceased for 23 years.
S1 (37:04):
Okay. All right. And you're the executor. So, uh, obviously,
when the the estate has already been settled, did it
go through the probate court?
S11 (37:13):
Yeah. Everything is done. I, you know, it's I just
she basically put me in charge of everything, so we
didn't really have to go, per se. Probate with everything.
S1 (37:29):
Yeah. Got it. Okay. And did everything go to you
or were there other heirs?
S11 (37:35):
It went to me and to my brother. And she specifically, um,
said that if he causes any issues or anything, he
wouldn't get a thing. So everything pretty much, you know,
was split down the middle.
S1 (37:54):
Okay. Yeah. Got it. Um, yeah. You know, I think
because they're less than 30 years. They're, you know, they're
still growing. Um, you know, but I think the key
is you need to understand the the bond status. Um,
and so if it's pre 1995, um, you know, it
could be that they were matured. If not, if it's
(38:16):
between 95 and 2005, they might still be earning. You
could go to Treasurydirect.gov and use the savings bond calculator. Um,
you know, it comes down to ultimately the interest that
you'd be earning. You could probably do better elsewhere. Um,
you know, as, as executor, you would be obligated to
distribute the estate's assets. So if they have value, then,
(38:39):
you know, you would want to go ahead and cash
them in and then distribute that out. That's probably the
best thing to do. And then you and your brother
could decide kind of what each of you want to
do with the proceeds of these particular bonds.
S11 (38:52):
Yeah. I didn't know if they quit earning interest at
some point Or if we might as well just cash
them in.
S8 (39:01):
Yeah, they they.
S1 (39:02):
They mature after 30 years. Um, so if they're less
than 30 years old, they may be, you know, still
earning interest, but, um, you know, obviously because they're in
her name, you need to go ahead and get this
settled anyway. And I think the easiest thing to do
at this point would probably be to go ahead and
cash them in. But I think the first step is
to go to Treasurydirect.gov. That's the Treasury Department's website specifically
(39:26):
for savings bonds. Treasurydirect.gov. You could take the bonds, type
in the Cusip numbers and get all the details there
as to whether or not still earning interest and how much,
and then you could decide what to do from that point.
S12 (39:39):
Okay, cool. Thank you.
S8 (39:41):
Okay.
S1 (39:41):
You're very welcome. Thanks for your call today. We appreciate
you being on the program. Uh, let's see. We're going
to finish up in Libertyville, Illinois. Hi, Sandra. Go ahead.
S13 (39:49):
Hi. Thank you so much for taking my call. My sister, she's, um,
has some autism, and she recently got scammed $14,000 unfortunately.
And she owed um, she owed now total with the
14,000 that she owes its totaled to 50 or 40.
(40:10):
About 40,000 total she owes. She just bought a house.
She's 65. Um, and now she's drowning in debt because
she took the 14,000 out of a credit card. The
scam money that she got scammed from, she took it
out of a credit card. So it's super high interest.
So now she's having a hard time paying her mortgage
(40:30):
and her other debt, that she had made some upgrades
in her house, so I don't know how to help her.
What do you suggest? Could she consolidate everything or or
what do you suggest? Or does she need to sell
the house that she just bought because she really can't
afford it? I know it was her dream. It was
like 150,000. It's 100. It's a manufactured home.
S1 (40:50):
Yeah. Has she reported the fraud? Did she file or
somebody help her file a police report.
S13 (40:56):
And, you know, I told her that. I said, file
a police report. The problem is, is because she's autistic.
She's very gullible. Like, not all autistic autistic people are,
but she's very gullible. So the person told her that
they were trying to crack down on scammers. And for her,
if she wanted to help, that they were calling from
the bank that she could help by sending them $5,000
(41:19):
and she would earn $5,000 just by helping them. And
she had to go to her bank, take $5,000 out
and in Western Union it to them. So she did
it three times in one day.
S1 (41:33):
Yeah, yeah. I am so sorry. Well, you know, I
think I think the key here is obviously, you know,
she was scammed and I think, you know, going to
the local police station, explain the situation if she's willing
to do it. You know, some jurisdictions will treat this
as elder or disabled fraud, which can get some more attention.
(41:53):
Get a copy of the credit report. You'll probably want
to notify the FTC. It's report fraud. Ftc.gov. Um, you know,
you can't dispute the charges. If she took it out
in good faith, it was her error. Clearly, I think
the bigger issue is protect her going forward. So what
can you do? You know, to address her vulnerability. Because
(42:14):
if she struggles with judgment or social cues due to autism,
this kind of thing could happen again and again. So
what can we do to put protections around her? Perhaps,
you know, even get support, network or, you know, some
legal help. And then I think with regard to this,
if she does end up owing it, our friends at
Christian Credit counselors.org could be a big help. But I
(42:37):
think the key is to get her prevented. This prevented
from happening in the future and get that police report filed. Unfortunately,
I'm out of time. Sandra, call back if you have
other questions. Faith and finance lives a partnership between Moody
Radio and Faith five. We'll see you tomorrow. Bye bye.
As the saying goes, you don't need to be wealthy
to start saving, but you do need savings to build wealth. Hi,
I'm Rob West. The higher the yield, the faster your
savings can grow. Today, we'll explore high yield savings accounts
and whether these rates are here to stay. And then
it's on to your calls at 800 525 7000. That's
(00:28):
800 525 7000. You can call that number 24 seven.
This is faith and finance live. Biblical wisdom for your
financial decisions. Okay. So this discussion is about savings accounts.
Not to be confused with investing accounts that usually involve
(00:51):
holdings with higher risk. You need both. But today we're
just talking about savings. A savings account is the ideal
place for your emergency fund, as well as money set
aside for big purchases you'll need in the next few years,
like a new car. Right now, some online savings accounts
are offering yields around 4.5%, significantly outperforming most traditional brick
(01:14):
and mortar banks. We can thank inflation in part for
today's higher interest rates for borrowing or saving. The reason
inflation leads to higher rates is because the Federal Reserve
steps in and raises rates to fight inflation when it rises.
In recent months, inflation has remained stubbornly higher than the 2%
(01:35):
the fed would like. That's caused the fed to backtrack
on earlier signals that successive rate cuts were in order.
In fact, they've been few and far between. That's not
good news. If you have a variable interest rate loan
of any kind, like a credit card or home equity
line of credit, it is good news. However, if you
have money in a higher yield online savings account. Banks
(01:58):
typically set their rates according to the federal funds rate,
which is set by the Federal Reserve. When the fed
started raising interest rates a few years ago to combat
soaring inflation. Savings yields followed suit, especially at online banks
with lower overhead costs. Since then, these rates have remained high.
A common question we hear at Faith and finance is
(02:20):
how long will they stay that way? Well, only God
knows for sure, but we can make some educated guesses
based on two key factors first, the latest inflation numbers,
and second, how the fed reacts to them. If inflation declines,
the fed may consider cutting rates, but if it holds
steady around 3%, the fed is likely to stay the course,
(02:41):
meaning your high yield savings rate should remain secure, at
least for now. Now, let's say inflation drops to 2.5%,
and the fed decides to drop interest rates by a
quarter point. That might affect yields on savings accounts, but
when would you likely see those lower yields? Well, as
it turns out, it can take a while for savings
(03:03):
account yields to follow. Fed rate cuts. Banks tend to
hold off a bit before lowering savings yields. It works
the other way, too, with banks taking their time to
increase yield rates when the fed raises rates. Now why
is that? Well, it seems no bank wants to be
the first to raise or lower yields. They tend to
(03:24):
wait until they see how the market and other banks react,
so they stay within industry standards. Above all, they want
to remain competitive with the onset of online banking. They
know you can put your money anywhere. Typically, when the
fed cuts rates, it takes a few weeks or even
months before banks start lowering savings yields. We're not saying
(03:45):
you should move your money every time the fed makes
a small rate adjustment, but it's wise to watch the
trends if your bank's yield consistently lags behind what's available online,
it may be time to switch for the best current rates,
check sites like Bank rate and NerdWallet. By the way,
if your bank's savings yields aren't to your liking, you
(04:06):
might consider moving money to CDs or a money market account.
They tend to have higher yields than a regular savings account.
You don't necessarily have to switch banks to get a
better yield. Okay, but what if you don't have your
money in a bank at all? No, I'm not saying
keep it under your mattress. I am saying that you
can get competitive yield rates on savings accounts at a
(04:28):
credit union. A lot of folks are generally unaware that
credit unions may offer higher savings yields than traditional banks.
Credit unions are not for profit organizations that return revenues
to members in the form of better interest rates and
lower fees. Now we know of one credit union, Christian
Community Credit Union, that does all of that, but also
(04:50):
gives part of its revenues to advance God's Kingdom. Christian
Community Credit Union works with ministries to share the love
of Christ and spread the gospel around the world. It's
also an underwriter of this program. You can find out
more about this amazing organization at join Christian community.org that's
Join Christian community.org. Well, I hope that was helpful. Today.
(05:14):
The key take advantage of these high yields while they last.
Your calls are next 800 525 7000. We'll be right back.
S2 (05:33):
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 (05:57):
Great to have you with us today on Faith and
finance live, I'm Rob West. Looking forward to taking your
calls and questions today, by the way. A huge thank
you to so many of you who are involved in
our spring share last week. Boy, what a privilege to
be able to hear from so many of you. Thousands
that came alongside us to support Moody Radio. So many
of you. Our Faith in Finance Live listeners also stepping
(06:19):
in to support. Listener supported Moody Radio. And we're so
thankful for the testimonies that you shared and even the
impact of this program that was often referenced. We have
amazing listeners here at Moody Radio, and the fact that
you are so generous and willing to stand with this
ministry is such an encouragement to us, and I know it. Uh, well,
(06:40):
we and the team here will exercise great stewardship over
every dollar that comes in. So just know that we
are incredibly grateful. Now we're going to get back to
regular programming today, so I can't wait to take your
questions on anything financial to help you navigate your financial life.
The ultimate goal? Not that we would enrich ourselves, although
(07:00):
there's nothing wrong with money. In fact, if God bestows
upon you trust to you significant wealth, you want to
have the right heart posture so you can handle that effectively.
Because the big idea through a biblical lens of money
management as a Christ follower, is an understanding that we
own nothing. God owns everything, but we have great responsibility
(07:20):
for everything entrusted to our care. We're that household manager
walking in the door of the home, seeing everything that's
in there that's beautiful. But we own nothing. We're a
caretaker and therefore we need to know the heart of
the master so we can manage it effectively. Well, that's
our goal each day on this program to help you
be that wise and faithful steward. And so we're going
to be hopeful. We're going to be theologically sound with
(07:43):
the counsel that we give you. We're going to be
expert and wise because we're going to look to God's Word,
but we're also going to be empathetic because we know
that you're on a journey. I'm on a journey. We've
made mistakes, but our goal is faithfulness from this point forward.
And so hopefully this program is an encouragement to you
in that each day. So with those specific financial questions
(08:04):
that you have, you can call right now 800 525 7000. Again,
that number to call with your financial questions. Lines are
open 800 525 7000. And we will dive into those
questions here in just a moment in the news today,
other than the fact that the market closed higher across
all of the major indexes, which is a welcome sign. Um,
(08:27):
I will say in the news is also the the
story about the gig economy. That, by the way, is
still going strong according to brand new figures from the
Federal Reserve. But that may not always be a good thing.
Here's what the data shows. More Americans are working multiple jobs,
and that's driven largely by financial necessity and career advancement,
(08:50):
a record high 8.9 million workers. That's just under 5.5%
of the workforce held multiple jobs in February. That's the
highest rate since the Great Recession. Now, the reasons for
working multiple jobs, including and you won't be surprised by these.
First and foremost, covering higher living costs due to inflation. Second,
(09:12):
stagnant wages falling to keep up with expenses or excuse me,
failing to keep up with expenses. Third, paying off debt
or saving for the future. The fourth reason for multiple jobs.
Looking for career shifts while maintaining stable income. Somebody wanting
to make a change or start their own business needs
some stable income while they make that shift. Now wages
(09:34):
have struggled to keep pace with inflation. That makes it
harder to afford essentials like housing and food and transportation.
The Federal Reserve also reports an increase in Highly educated
multiple job holders with 50% holding college degrees in 2024.
That's up from 45% in 2019. One thing this shows
(09:55):
is that choosing a college major that gives you marketable
skills is extremely important. It's one way you can lower
the chances you'll need to take on more than one
job after graduating. But bottom line, the gig economy is
alive and well and something we'll keep an eye on
in the days ahead. All right, let's head to the phones.
We're going to begin today in Montgomery, Alabama. Hi, Marianne.
(10:18):
Go right ahead.
S3 (10:19):
Hi. Thank you for taking my my request. Yes, ma'am.
I am calling to see how can I invest in
a gold IRA or silver IRA with a reputable Christian
dealer or company?
S1 (10:37):
Yeah. You know, it's a great question. And unfortunately, we
do not have someone that we have been partnered with
in this area, specifically related to gold IRAs. I know
there's a ton of them that are advertising right now,
less than perhaps we saw last year just because of
the movement of the price of gold. But there's still
a ton out there, and I wish I had a
(10:59):
specific name to give you. I don't. So let's talk
about just what you need to look for when choosing
the right dealer, because it's really important that you have,
you know, and this goes without saying, avoid scams or
overpaying or buying subpar products. So what you typically want
to look for is, first of all, their reputation and credibility.
So I would read a lot of consumer reviews on
(11:22):
sites like Better Business Bureau or the more common one
now is Trustpilot. You can even read Google reviews. You're
going to want to look for dealers with long histories.
So I'm talking 5 to 10 years, uh, a avoid
dealers with excessive complaints. You know, what you'll see in
those complaints often is hidden fees or delivery delays. And
(11:42):
that's of course, with physical gold. It's a little different
when it comes to a gold IRA because they're going
to keep it in a vault. So you really want
to know that, you know, people have had good customer
service and timely response, that kind of thing. Um, pricing
transparency is, of course, uh, you know, important as well.
And then you want to know about the liquidity. So,
(12:03):
you know, if you wanted to, you know, get out
and make a change, you know, how quickly can you
do that? Um, and, you know, the reviews will help
you with that, plus the fine print on the website. Uh,
in the case of the gold IRA, you're basically looking
for a self-directed IRA, which allows the IRA to hold essentially,
(12:26):
you know, alternative assets. So if you're not in stocks
and bonds, where a typical brokerage firm would allow you
to invest with an IRA, then you need a self-directed
IRA custodian. That's IRS approved. Um, in the gold that
they're buying, because the IRS only allows certain types of
gold to be held in the IRA. Um, so I
(12:49):
think at this point, you know, your best option would
be just to do a lot of of searching online
to find which ones are the most reputable. Um, and see,
you know, as long as you read a lot of reviews,
I could get comfortable with you doing that. Uh, what
percent of your overall investable assets. Marianne, are you looking
to put into gold?
S3 (13:09):
Well, I'm retired now, and, um, and I have. I
have a cassette. I found a cassette. An old cassette
of Larry Burkett. Um, and he was titled The Coming
Economic Earthquake.
S1 (13:24):
Yeah.
S3 (13:24):
And that the tape was sent to me, actually, from
Faith radio here. We live by Faith. The radio station here.
They sent this to me many years ago, so I've
pulled it up and and, um, he recommended on, on
his on on the tape to do no more than 10%
between 5 and 10%. And some other people have told me,
(13:46):
you know, not to do too much. 10%, you know,
at the most are no more than 10% or 12%.
S1 (13:55):
Yeah. And I would agree with that. Yeah. So that's
generally my rule of thumb is no more than 10%.
I think, you know, a lot of people will say no,
just go ahead and put it all in there. Gold's
going to do well. Um, you know, the data just
doesn't back that up. It's more volatile. It doesn't perform
as well. My typical approach is a 5% forever allocation
where you'd buy it and hold it. Now, you wouldn't
(14:17):
want to do that in an IRA because you'd have
to take the money out. But I think no more
than 10% of your IRA would be a great place
to go. Thanks for your call today. We'll be right back. Hey,
great to have you with us today on Faith and
finance live here on Moody Radio. I'm Rob West. We're
(14:37):
taking your calls and questions. Let's go to Kansas City. Hi, Angie.
How can I help?
S4 (14:44):
Hi, Rob. I have a question for you.
S1 (14:46):
Okay.
S4 (14:47):
Um, my my, um. I have a whole life policy
that I bought out. Bought when our children were little,
and they're grown and have their own lives now, and
it's worth about 32,000. And I would like. And it's
it's growing. It's an investment type of insurance. And I
would like to take it out, save enough for a
burial and taxes. I forgot my husband told me to
(15:09):
make sure I get taxes and then put the rest
on our home to pay down the mortgage. And I'm
wondering if that's a wise decision.
S1 (15:18):
It certainly could be. Um, and, you know, none of
those are bad options. What is the interest rate on
that mortgage?
S4 (15:26):
Um, it's pretty low. It's like pre-COVID, we took it
out in, uh, 19, so I'm not sure exactly.
S1 (15:33):
Probably around 3%. I would, I would guess. Um, and
so now is the cash value eroding? Um, in this
because you're, you're not paying premiums any longer. Correct?
S4 (15:47):
Correct. And it's not eroding. It grows, you know, small
it grows a small amount, but it grows every year.
S1 (15:53):
Okay. Yeah. So is your primary objective just peace of
mind and knowing that you're well planned on the funeral
and burial and that you've, you know, own your home.
Is that the driver or is it really just that
you're you feel like you could do better financially or
a combination of the two?
S4 (16:13):
It's just the driver. The driver is just to pay
down on the home and save for burial. My husband,
you know, takes care of everything else. Yeah.
S1 (16:22):
Got it. Yeah. So I like this idea because, remember,
there's the financial side of the equation and then there's
the non-financial side. And what I'm hearing is it would
give you great peace of mind to know that if
you can't pay off the mortgage in full. At least
you're headed in that direction by paying it down and
that you have your, you know, your burial expenses covered
(16:43):
and pre-planning done and so forth. The only key there
would just be to make sure that, you know, that's
a that's a funeral home that has been around a
while and it's pretty stable. And you don't plan to
move because that's the only downside. With these they can
go bankrupt, although it doesn't happen very often, and it
may not be transferable. If you moved and decided you
wanted to be buried somewhere else. But apart from that,
(17:05):
I think you know, the pre-planning is very helpful for
loved ones during that difficult period of time to have
all that decided in advance. So I like the idea
you're using money as a tool to accomplish things or
that are important to you. And so if you don't
need that life insurance policy, um, you know, because you're
(17:25):
no longer requiring that death benefit to offset the loss
of income if, if you were to pass away or
your husband, whoever's life it's on, and there's cash value
there that you could use for these other things that
really are important to you. I think that's a good idea.
S4 (17:41):
Okay, then I think we'll move forward with it. I
appreciate your help today.
S1 (17:46):
Absolutely, Angie. And I think your husband was wise to
say make sure you understand the tax implications before you
do it. You wouldn't want to be caught off guard
by that, but you may find that you know, the
amount you're getting back is below the the cost basis,
and then it wouldn't be taxable. But there may be
a portion that's taxable. So just check with your CPA
who can analyze that before you do it. Thanks for
(18:06):
your call today to Illinois. Hi Cindy, how can I help?
S4 (18:10):
Hi, Rob. Thanks for taking my call.
S5 (18:12):
Yeah, I have a simple question. I hope, um, I
have two credit cards and they're 29% interest each, and
I can't find another credit card with a lower interest
rate to transfer those to. What options do I have
to lower that interest rate?
S1 (18:29):
Yeah. Um, you know, even if you could. And there
are plenty of. That are out there that would offer
an introductory rate, although there's probably going to be a
2 or 3% fee to make that balance transfer. Uh,
and then you're going to have to keep doing it.
You know, once that, uh, introductory or temporary rate expires. So,
you know, my preferred approach on this, um, if you've
(18:51):
got more than 4000 in credit card debt, which you
said you had ten is what's called debt management. Uh,
I would contact our friends at Christian Credit counselors.org. They're believers. Um,
you know, they'll be wonderful to work with. And here's
basically the way credit counseling works is every one of
the creditors has a credit counseling program where they offer
a reduced interest rate. So as long as you work
(19:13):
through a nonprofit credit counseling agency like Christian Credit counselors,
you can slide into that program. Now what happens? Well,
the account is suspended. Uh, it doesn't factor into your
credit score, although the account would be closed, at least temporarily.
And that could have a minor effect on your credit score.
It could pull it down a little bit, just like
(19:34):
it would if you closed any account, and then you
would get that credit counseling rate, which is probably instead
of the 29% going to be somewhere between 0 and 10%
in most cases. And then you'd make one monthly payment
for both creditors to Christian credit counselors. They'd then send
it on to each of the creditors. And the combination
(19:55):
of that level, monthly payment and the lower interest rate,
perhaps dramatically lower, is going to help you pay this
off 80% faster. They've worked with thousands of our listeners.
We get incredible reports from listeners. And I think that
could be just what you're looking for. But how does
that sound?
S5 (20:13):
Well, that sounds a lot better. Thank you so much.
S1 (20:15):
Yeah. You're welcome. So just get on the web. Go
to Christian credit counselors.org Christian credit counselors.org. You can contact
them through the website or grab that toll free number
there from the site and they will get you going.
S5 (20:30):
Thank you very much.
S1 (20:32):
Okay. Thanks for your call today. May the Lord bless you. Uh,
800 525 7000 is the number to call. Let's go
to Central Florida. Dana, give us your question. Uh, I'll
probably have to give you the answer on the other
side of the break, but how can I help you?
S6 (20:46):
Yes. Um, we were looking to invest in the CD.
The financial advisor said the best rate right now was 4%
for 12 months. Um, I looked on the screen and
saw 18 months, and we talked about that. He said
that it would be. I thought it would be 4%
(21:07):
for the 18 months. He said. It's actually 8% for
the 18 months. Can you explain that?
S1 (21:14):
Well, it wouldn't be 8% for the 18 months. I mean,
the best that it could be is if you had
18 months. Um, it would be an annualized at 4%,
although you can do a little better than that. But
if you, you know, if you're getting let's keep it
round numbers. If you're getting 4% APY, that's annual. That's
what the A is annual. Then you would essentially get
(21:37):
a roughly a 6% return over 18 months. You get
a full year and then you get a half a year. Um,
you can find them as high as like for instance,
I'm looking right now 4.5% for 14 months. Let's do this.
I'm going to take a break. We'll come back and
finish this up on the other side. Stay right there.
We'll be right back. Great to have you with us
(22:02):
today on Faith and Finance live. I'm Rob West coming
up in our next segment, Bob Dole stops by. Good news.
Markets green across the board today. That's something we haven't
seen a lot of lately as the market's been under
some pressure. The Dow Jones up slightly less than 1%
up 350 points at the close. The S&P 500 up
(22:23):
uh 5%, so a little better than one half of 1%.
The Nasdaq up only 0.31%, so less than one half
of 1%. And then the Russell 2000 up over a point.
We'll find out what's moving the markets again. We've had
quite a bit of pressure as of late. The uncertainty
the tariffs some weakness in the economy. We'll get Bob
(22:45):
to weigh in on all of that. Plus what were
the retail sales numbers out today. We'll we'll get that
from Bob as well. That's straight ahead. In the meantime
we're taking your calls and questions. Lines are open 800
525 7000. You can call right now before the break
we were talking to Dana in Florida. She was talking
to an advisor and was asking about a CD that
(23:07):
had a particular rate, 4% for 12 months. And he
had said, or at least she understood him to say that,
that that would equate to 8% in terms of a
total yield percentage yield over 18 months. And she was
confused about this. And Dana, I think for good reason. So,
(23:28):
you know, if we were to just to play that out.
So a CD that has a 4% APY annual percentage
yield and by the way, you can do better than that,
you can get up to, I think, 4.5% for that
same period. But let's stay with your four. Over an
18 month period, the the total percent yield would be
just over 6%, 6.06%, because, you know, you'd have the
(23:52):
12 months and then you'd have the six month, one
half of a year wouldn't get to a full, you know,
two times that that, you know, that stated yield. Does
that make sense though?
S6 (24:03):
Yes it does. Thank you so much.
S1 (24:06):
You're welcome. If you do want to compare some other options,
one place to go is Bankrate.com. You could look at
just click on CDs and you can search by the
duration you're looking for and find out who has the
best rates right now. If you want somebody who shares
your values, you could go to Christian Community Credit Union
would be another option. Join Christian community. Com. Call any time.
(24:27):
Glad you could join the program today. 800 525 7000.
If you have a financial question, we'd love to tackle it. Today.
We've got room for you again. 800 525 7000 to Missouri. Hi, Dana.
Another Dana. Go right ahead.
S6 (24:43):
Hi.
S7 (24:43):
Thank you for taking my call. Sure. Um, we are
getting very close to retirement age. We have no children. Um,
we were young and dumb, and we did not save
too much for retirement. We had a really rough spot
a while back and pretty much spent what we have.
We have a good emergency fund. Our cars are paid for.
(25:04):
We have a very low interest rate on our mortgage,
and we probably have about 20 years left on it though.
But we have another property that we're getting ready to
sell this fall. And I was wondering if we should
take that money to knock off the mortgage, or if
we should somehow invest it and save it towards retirement.
S1 (25:25):
Yeah, it's a good question. I think the key is
just that you're doing exactly what you're doing, and that
is just think about from this point forward, regardless of
what's happened in the past, the mistakes and the challenges
you had financially, what can we do now to position
ourselves well for the future? And I think dumping debt
is a good thing. That's going to keep your lifestyle
as low as possible because you're not servicing debt through
(25:46):
monthly payments. Secondly, just continuing, you know, to save as
you're able. I love that you have a fully funded
emergency fund. And so now I think the key would
just be, you know, can you delay retirement, continue to work,
set money aside to both pay down debt and save
for the future, and then also delay Social Security as
long as possible to get that check up. So at
(26:09):
this point, just based on everything you know today, how
far off is retirement? Dana.
S7 (26:14):
Well, I am 60. He's 66, but we're working as
long as we can, just for the same reasons that
you mentioned.
S1 (26:21):
Yeah. Okay, good. And you said you have 20 years
left on the mortgage. Um, what what do you owe
on that?
S7 (26:28):
About I think it was 169 the last time around.
And we.
S1 (26:33):
Had one 5969.
S7 (26:35):
And we paid extra on it since since we got
the mortgage.
S1 (26:39):
All right. What's the interest rate?
S7 (26:41):
Uh, 2.25 or 7 five like that? It's really low.
We we find it right at the best time.
S1 (26:49):
Man. That's awesome. And this you said is a rental property, correct?
S7 (26:53):
Uh, no. The other property. Yeah, the other property is
an extra property. We're just going to sell it.
S1 (26:59):
Oh, so this is your primary residence?
S7 (27:02):
So, yeah, our primary residence.
S1 (27:03):
Got it. And what do you think you'll get for
the other property?
S7 (27:07):
Probably between 50 and 100,000.
S1 (27:09):
Okay. So you wouldn't be able to pay it off,
but you'd just be paying it down. Is that right?
S7 (27:14):
Correct.
S1 (27:15):
Okay. Yeah. So, I mean, the challenge is it doesn't
really help you in the near term because number one,
you know, if you can't pay it off in full, then,
you know, you still have the mortgage payment. So that's just,
you know, not giving you any extra that we could
take and push into a 401 K or some sort
of retirement vehicle of some kind. Um, and you're not
(27:38):
saving a ton in interest because you have this phenomenal
interest rate. So what else could you do with it?
Are you going to have capital gains on this property
that you're selling?
S7 (27:48):
I am not sure. We are actually sitting down with
someone to talk to them about that next week to
learn about it.
S1 (27:54):
Yeah. Very good. So you just need to factor that in.
If you are, it's probably going to be 15% if
it's anything. And so you just have to set that aside.
So then the question would be okay what could we
do with it. Do you have retirement plans available at work?
S7 (28:09):
Um, I don't I'm, I don't have any type of retirement.
My husband has, he won the parsons. He started a
new position about six years worth. He's been putting into
a retirement fund, eight years into a retirement fund, and
I put I have a very minimal IRA or a
(28:30):
Roth IRA that I transferred money into years ago, when
I was forced to cash in my 401 K, but
I haven't added a lot to it over the years.
S1 (28:40):
What type of retirement account does he have? Is it
a 401 K?
S7 (28:44):
It sure is a 401 K. I think it is.
He works for a school district.
S1 (28:49):
Yeah. Okay. Well, you have the ability. I mean, it's
probably a 403 B, but, um, you know, assuming it's
either a 401 K or a 403 B, uh, you know,
you do have the ability to put in, um, and
perhaps he would have even the option for what's called
the super catch up, which starts this year, where he
could put in a full 34,750. And so if he's
(29:12):
not putting that much in. You know, one option would
be you sell the house, you pay the taxes and listen,
if you have a conviction just to get out of
debt as soon as possible, then go for it and
don't look back. I think that's fine. I'm just saying,
because you have such a low interest rate and because
you wouldn't be able to pay it off, and therefore
you would not eliminate the monthly mortgage payment to free
(29:34):
up money on a monthly basis to invest. I'm wondering
if it might be better just to try to move
as much of that money into a retirement plan as possible. So,
for instance, let's say he goes from putting whatever he's
putting in today, which clearly you're making work, um, with
your budget, let's say he were to push it all
the way up to the max and you might say, well, then, Rob,
(29:56):
we wouldn't have enough to pay our bills. Well, that's fine,
you could supplement the shortfall out of the sale, you know,
the proceeds of the sale. And essentially, you're just shifting
it from one bucket to the other. You're shifting it
from the savings account where you'd put it after you
sell it and pay the taxes over to the tax
deferred environment in the 401 K by maxing out that
(30:17):
retirement contribution. I kind of like that option, you know,
for the next decade or longer while you all continue
to work, uh, more so than paying down this very
low interest rate mortgage. Does that make sense, though?
S8 (30:30):
It does.
S1 (30:31):
Okay.
S8 (30:31):
It does.
S1 (30:32):
Yeah. So that that's probably where I would go. Let's
talk to the CPA, get, uh, you know, his or
her advice on the the tax side of it. And again,
if you all have a conviction to be debt free,
pay down the mortgage and don't think twice about it,
I would be fine with that. But if you're comfortable
hanging on to it, I'd like to get it invested
and a tax deferred environment. And that's a way to
do it. Thanks for your call. We'll be right back.
S9 (31:01):
Great to have you with us today on Faith and
Finance live. I'm Rob West. Well, here in this.
S1 (31:05):
Segment our good friend Bob Dole is here. Bob is
our resident market guy. I is Chief executive officer and CIO.
That stands for chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments,
a leader in faith based investing. And Bob, great to
have you back, especially on a Green day. Green across
the board, huh?
S10 (31:25):
Two days in a row, Friday and Monday. We like green.
S1 (31:29):
Yes we do.
S10 (31:29):
What's, uh.
S1 (31:30):
What's tried well. And yeah, especially in light of, uh,
the other green.
S10 (31:35):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
S1 (31:38):
We'll take it. Um. Hey, what's driving this? I mean,
despite the the pressure we've had as of late. Why
the bounce?
S10 (31:45):
Yeah, I think it's largely an oversold technical bounce, Rob. Uh,
typically when you get these waterfall declines of, uh, a
double digit percentage, at some point the market's oversold. And
it's like the, the water balloon you put under the
in the water and it bounces when you let it go.
(32:06):
That's what's going on here. I don't think there are
a lot of fundamental reasons. I'd like to think that
the uncertainty level is falling. That will be necessary to
keep the rally moving.
S1 (32:17):
Yeah, yeah. No question about it. Obviously the uncertainty, the tariffs,
you know, are we getting any more clarity there or
is it just as murky as it's been for the
last several weeks?
S10 (32:28):
I would say it's still murky because we don't know.
But it's curious certainly on Friday. And there was not
much from the administration today either. So when the administration
does not talk about tariffs, the market says, well, I
guess it's safe to put my toe in the water.
S1 (32:42):
Yeah. Exactly right. Now, one thing that has moved we
for some reason, eggs became the tell all for inflation.
And we know those prices are plunging.
S10 (32:52):
Right, right, right. Go get go get your eggs. Make
some scrambled eggs. It's good. Yeah. It's amazing. It's amazing
how much the price of eggs went up. So it's
a relief to see him. See him coming down. That
will help consumers. It's. It's real, obviously, but it's also psychological.
S1 (33:09):
Yeah, yeah, there's no question about it. Bob, what about
just the overall economy? I know we talked about at
the beginning of the year we're seeing signs of weakness.
Is that continuing and is it deteriorating even more?
S10 (33:21):
It's certainly slowing. I think there were some of us
seeing it slowing a very early in the year and others.
Others not so much. But now just about everybody is saying, yeah,
it's slowing. Today we got retail sales for last month
and they weren't very good. Rob. And I think, you know,
this is all connected. It's it's partly hey I don't
(33:43):
know what the future holds. Therefore I might postpone a
vacation or if I'm a business, I might postpone hiring
somebody or doing that new project over there that's going
to cost some money until I understand the lay of
the land. So these things become somewhat self-fulfilling. I think
that's what's going on in the slowdown.
S1 (34:02):
Yeah. Uh, what is your base case on the possibility
of a recession this year. Same as when we started
the year.
S10 (34:09):
Um, no, it's up a bit. Um, you know, if
you know nothing, you say it's 15% because we as
a society spend 15% of our time in recession. So
if you knew nothing, that's what you'd say. My guess
was it was was and were in print 20% at
the beginning of the year. I think it's more like
one out of three, 33%, 35%, some somewhere in there.
(34:30):
So still comfortably under 50, but slowly rising.
S1 (34:33):
Yeah. All right. Very good. What about as we move
beyond the US globally in terms of the developed countries? Um,
are we seeing some of the the US weakness spill
over there?
S10 (34:47):
It's starting to affect psychology if nothing else. Um, I
would say their economies have not slowed to the extent
ours has. Of course, they haven't had the the tariffs
and all the other uncertainty. So they're kind of hanging
in there. There's one little area that's in a boomlet
and that's a European defence defense spending. Part of the
restructuring by the Trump administration is, hey, we're not we're
(35:09):
not going to fight your wars like we did before
you got to you got to raise your own defense budgets.
S1 (35:15):
Yeah. Very good Bob. Uh, you know, beyond that, just
in terms of the market, you know, we talked about
how the market was really richly priced. Obviously, this, you know,
correction has brought it down a bit. Has it brought
it down far enough in your view just based on
where we are with PES.
S10 (35:32):
Not really at the peak as we measure it 22.5
times now about 20.5 times. So down a couple of
points in the 20s it's still near all time highs.
So we need profitability to be strong to sustain these prices.
And you know my concern Rob is the economy weakens.
We're going to have more earnings estimate cuts. They've already
(35:55):
started for the first quarter and a bit of the
second quarter. I think they have to come down for
the full year some more.
S1 (36:01):
Awesome. Bob, Always appreciate your time, my friend.
S10 (36:04):
Have a great week.
S1 (36:06):
All right, that's Bob Dole. He's CEO and CIO at
Crossmark Global Investments. You can sign up for his weekly
investment commentary at crossmark global.com. All right. Let's head back
to the phones as we round out the broadcast today.
We'll get to as many as we can to Georgia, KY.
How can I help?
S11 (36:23):
Hi. Yeah, I was going through my mother's stuff and
came across some series E bonds that she had had
since my dad was alive, and that was like 23
years ago. They were in her name and my dad's name,
but I'm the executor of her estate. My question is,
(36:46):
should I hold on to them or should I cash
them in?
S1 (36:50):
Yeah, it's a good question. Are your mother and father
still living?
S11 (36:55):
No. My mother passed away a little over a year ago,
and my dad's been deceased for 23 years.
S1 (37:04):
Okay. All right. And you're the executor. So, uh, obviously,
when the the estate has already been settled, did it
go through the probate court?
S11 (37:13):
Yeah. Everything is done. I, you know, it's I just
she basically put me in charge of everything, so we
didn't really have to go, per se. Probate with everything.
S1 (37:29):
Yeah. Got it. Okay. And did everything go to you
or were there other heirs?
S11 (37:35):
It went to me and to my brother. And she specifically, um,
said that if he causes any issues or anything, he
wouldn't get a thing. So everything pretty much, you know,
was split down the middle.
S1 (37:54):
Okay. Yeah. Got it. Um, yeah. You know, I think
because they're less than 30 years. They're, you know, they're
still growing. Um, you know, but I think the key
is you need to understand the the bond status. Um,
and so if it's pre 1995, um, you know, it
could be that they were matured. If not, if it's
(38:16):
between 95 and 2005, they might still be earning. You
could go to Treasurydirect.gov and use the savings bond calculator. Um,
you know, it comes down to ultimately the interest that
you'd be earning. You could probably do better elsewhere. Um,
you know, as, as executor, you would be obligated to
distribute the estate's assets. So if they have value, then,
(38:39):
you know, you would want to go ahead and cash
them in and then distribute that out. That's probably the
best thing to do. And then you and your brother
could decide kind of what each of you want to
do with the proceeds of these particular bonds.
S11 (38:52):
Yeah. I didn't know if they quit earning interest at
some point Or if we might as well just cash
them in.
S8 (39:01):
Yeah, they they.
S1 (39:02):
They mature after 30 years. Um, so if they're less
than 30 years old, they may be, you know, still
earning interest, but, um, you know, obviously because they're in
her name, you need to go ahead and get this
settled anyway. And I think the easiest thing to do
at this point would probably be to go ahead and
cash them in. But I think the first step is
to go to Treasurydirect.gov. That's the Treasury Department's website specifically
(39:26):
for savings bonds. Treasurydirect.gov. You could take the bonds, type
in the Cusip numbers and get all the details there
as to whether or not still earning interest and how much,
and then you could decide what to do from that point.
S12 (39:39):
Okay, cool. Thank you.
S8 (39:41):
Okay.
S1 (39:41):
You're very welcome. Thanks for your call today. We appreciate
you being on the program. Uh, let's see. We're going
to finish up in Libertyville, Illinois. Hi, Sandra. Go ahead.
S13 (39:49):
Hi. Thank you so much for taking my call. My sister, she's, um,
has some autism, and she recently got scammed $14,000 unfortunately.
And she owed um, she owed now total with the
14,000 that she owes its totaled to 50 or 40.
(40:10):
About 40,000 total she owes. She just bought a house.
She's 65. Um, and now she's drowning in debt because
she took the 14,000 out of a credit card. The
scam money that she got scammed from, she took it
out of a credit card. So it's super high interest.
So now she's having a hard time paying her mortgage
(40:30):
and her other debt, that she had made some upgrades
in her house, so I don't know how to help her.
What do you suggest? Could she consolidate everything or or
what do you suggest? Or does she need to sell
the house that she just bought because she really can't
afford it? I know it was her dream. It was
like 150,000. It's 100. It's a manufactured home.
S1 (40:50):
Yeah. Has she reported the fraud? Did she file or
somebody help her file a police report.
S13 (40:56):
And, you know, I told her that. I said, file
a police report. The problem is, is because she's autistic.
She's very gullible. Like, not all autistic autistic people are,
but she's very gullible. So the person told her that
they were trying to crack down on scammers. And for her,
if she wanted to help, that they were calling from
the bank that she could help by sending them $5,000
(41:19):
and she would earn $5,000 just by helping them. And
she had to go to her bank, take $5,000 out
and in Western Union it to them. So she did
it three times in one day.
S1 (41:33):
Yeah, yeah. I am so sorry. Well, you know, I
think I think the key here is obviously, you know,
she was scammed and I think, you know, going to
the local police station, explain the situation if she's willing
to do it. You know, some jurisdictions will treat this
as elder or disabled fraud, which can get some more attention.
(41:53):
Get a copy of the credit report. You'll probably want
to notify the FTC. It's report fraud. Ftc.gov. Um, you know,
you can't dispute the charges. If she took it out
in good faith, it was her error. Clearly, I think
the bigger issue is protect her going forward. So what
can you do? You know, to address her vulnerability. Because
(42:14):
if she struggles with judgment or social cues due to autism,
this kind of thing could happen again and again. So
what can we do to put protections around her? Perhaps,
you know, even get support, network or, you know, some
legal help. And then I think with regard to this,
if she does end up owing it, our friends at
Christian Credit counselors.org could be a big help. But I
(42:37):
think the key is to get her prevented. This prevented
from happening in the future and get that police report filed. Unfortunately,
I'm out of time. Sandra, call back if you have
other questions. Faith and finance lives a partnership between Moody
Radio and Faith five. We'll see you tomorrow. Bye bye.
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