June 27, 2025 • 42 mins
“If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?” - Luke 16:11. What if managing money is about more than just numbers and budgets—what if it’s a window into something eternal? Afton Phillips joins Rob West to explore the mission behind the message you hear every day on this program. Discover how you can be a part of it. Then, Rob addresses your questions. That’s on the next 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
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:08):
If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth,
who will entrust to you the true riches? Luke 1611. Hi,
I'm Rob West. What if managing money is about more
than just numbers and budgets? What if it's a window
into something eternal? Afton Phillips joins us today as we
explore the mission behind the message you hear every day
(00:29):
on this program, and how you can be a part
of it. And then it's on to your calls at
800 525 7000. That's 800 525 7000. This is faith
in finance. Live biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well,
we're thrilled to have Afton Phillips with us on the
(00:49):
program today. Afton serves as our Head of Content here
at Faith V, shaping the direction and strategy behind everything
from this radio broadcast to our app, website, magazine and
Bible studies really just about all the content we create.
It's a big role and we're grateful for her leadership. Afton,
great to have you in the studio today.
S2 (01:10):
Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here.
S1 (01:12):
The first time. I'm so excited about it.
S2 (01:14):
It's so fun.
S1 (01:15):
Now, you came on board in January. So when people
ask you what you do for us here, how do
you describe Faith VI in the mission of this organization?
S2 (01:24):
Yeah. Well, something that's always been really important to me
is amplifying messages that matter, things that make an impact personally,
generationally and globally. And there are few topics that feel
as personal and maybe as triggering as money. Yeah. Something
you say on the show all the time, Rob, is
that money issues are heart issues. And it sounds simple,
(01:46):
but it's really this like paradigm shifting truth. And when
you feel anxiety about a purchase or you're frustrated with
your spouse or you feel boxed in by a budget,
those are all opportunities to take a beat and evaluate
your heart. And I think that's really what I've learned
from just being here in a short time, is really
to think about what really matters, and it will reshape
(02:09):
your perspective. Because really, we're already living in abundance because
we're living with the love of Christ.
S1 (02:15):
Boy, that is so well said. And I think that
captures the essence of the heart behind everything we do here. Now,
what do you see as some of the biggest challenges
Christians face when it comes to managing money faithfully?
S2 (02:28):
Well, certainly anxiety about money is an issue. Um, we
did a study look at the sparrows, and it was
just so wildly popular. And I think it's because a
lot of times we have this scarcity mindset, or we
have a fear of loss or this idea of keeping
up with the Joneses, and there's all these competing impulses
when it comes to how we handle our finances. But
(02:50):
the concepts we talk about on the show are in
the magazine or in our studies. They're all these intentional
opportunities for a reset, to draw biblical wisdom and help
us see the emptiness of accumulation, and really the peace
and fulfillment that comes from trust in Christ.
S1 (03:05):
Wow. Yeah. That's powerful. And I love that idea of
an opportunity for reset as we just step back and
perhaps change our perspective and lean into all that God's
Word has on this topic. Now, often for those who
might not be familiar with all that faith fi offers,
I'd love to just take an opportunity for you to
describe some of the resources we've created to help believers
(03:27):
grow as faithful stewards.
S2 (03:29):
Absolutely. Well, this show is a huge part of what
we do every single day, but we also create an
incredibly helpful app that really takes a lot of these
principles and practices, and just makes it easy for you
to implement into your everyday life. And one of the
other things that we started recently creating is our Faithful
Steward magazine, which I personally just love. It's the most
(03:49):
beautifully designed resource with just these quick, mindful articles about
these principles and these insights. And then we've also recently
begun publishing devotionals and studies, and those allow us to
do a real deep dive into Scripture and what it
has to say about our heart posture towards money, like
our most recent one, Wisdom over Wealth.
S1 (04:08):
Yeah, exactly. Right. And so wherever you're at on this journey,
there's a place for you to step in and explore
all that God's Word has to say about this, but
in a way that's engaging and I think really relevant
to your life now. There's a lot in our audience
who just they love the program, they love the resources.
They want to take a next step in supporting or
getting involved in our mission. How do you recommend they
(04:30):
do that?
S2 (04:30):
Let me just say I'm so thankful for those of
you who support our ministry, because it really just allows
us to do things like this show, to bring this
message to so many people who are struggling and honestly suffering,
and they need this financial relief that only Christ can provide.
And we've got a goal to get 50 more partners
by the end of this month. And we'd be so
(04:52):
grateful for your partnership and your generosity. Just go to pfaffikon.
S1 (04:58):
That's when you give a gift of $35 a month
or $400 a year. That will qualify you for our
partner program. And we'll send you as a thank you,
our quarterly magazine, Faithful Steward, and two print devotionals a year,
plus pro access to the Faith VI app. Thanks for
being here today.
S2 (05:16):
Thanks for having.
S1 (05:16):
Me. Again, that website COVID-19. We're looking for 50 partners
before the end of the month. We'll be right back.
S3 (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 (05:58):
Great to have you with us today on Faith in finance.
Live our goal today to be an encouragement to you,
to help you live as a faithful steward of God's resources.
That's a pretty important calling that you've been given, that
I've been given and our goal. Well done, good and
faithful servant. We want to help you hear those words,
and we realize you have very practical questions going on
in your financial life. Perhaps it's how to navigate the market,
(06:20):
you know, despite the tariffs and the questions surrounding them
and inflation and the geopolitical tensions, not to mention the
conflict between Iran and Iraq and, excuse me, Iran and
Israel and our involvement there. Despite that, the S&P 500
is pushing up against new records, which is just amazing. Um,
(06:41):
that we're at all time highs. Um, how do you
navigate all that? We'd love to weigh in, including how
you align your values with your investments. Maybe it's something
more everyday, like your spending plan, just staying on budget
or getting out of debt. Whatever you're thinking about in
your financial life today, we'd love to help you tackle
it and do that through the lens of biblical wisdom
you can call. Right now, our team is standing by
(07:03):
and we do have some lines open 800 525 7000
is the number to call again. That's 800 525 7000.
And you can call right now. We'll be diving into
a few of those questions here in just a moment.
But first in the news today in 2024. Listen to this.
401 K savings reached record highs, thanks in part to
(07:25):
features like automatic enrollment and what's called immediate eligibility. No
waiting period. Vanguard reports an average combined savings rate employee
and employer of 12%, which matches 2020 three's peak. Fidelity's
data shows an even higher rate of 14.3% across 24.4
(07:47):
million participants. Amazing. You know, these increases reflect growing participation
and engagement. Vanguard notes that 76% of plans now offer
immediate eligibility. That's up from 71% in 2020, and 61%
include automatic enrollment, up from 54% in 2020. Vanguard's rule
(08:10):
of thumb, which aligns pretty well with ours here at
Faith Fi, is a recommendation of saving 12 to 15%
of your income annually, including the employer contribution. Fidelity's benchmark
is about the same 15% in 2020, for the average
employee deferral was 7.7%, with 25% of workers saving 10%
(08:32):
or more, and 14% are maxing out their contributions. Those
are mostly older, higher income workers with longer tenure. Of course,
the ideal savings rate depends on your income, lifestyle goals,
and retirement timeline, I will tell you that, you know,
part of this comes down to what I call and
what we call here at Faith. Fi, your finish line.
(08:54):
Now we talk in terms of two types of finish lines.
One would be your lifestyle finish line. I think you
need to start there. And that is where are we
going to cap our spending on ourselves, on our lifestyle.
There's three approaches you can take to that. One would
be you might call it a maintenance spending finish line.
This would be where you look at your current budget
(09:15):
or actually, better yet, your current spending. And I'd look
at maybe the past three months. And then your maintenance
finish line involves just simply refusing to increase your spending
from this level. Where we're at right now, we're not
going above it. No matter what we get in the
way of a bonus or increases in pay over time.
This is the cap. The second would be what's called
(09:36):
a benchmark spending finish line, where you use some sort
of external reference point, a multiple of the median income
of your area. Maybe you, uh, use the the work that, uh,
our friends did at Finish line pledge.com, where they give
you a real thoughtful rationale for setting your, uh, finish
line from a lifestyle standpoint based on a benchmark. That's
(09:58):
the second option. The third is what you might call
a prioritization spending line. That's where you begin by reflecting
on how God is working in and through you and
your family. Review all your expenses from the last few months,
like we said initially, but then specifically look for spending
areas that are distracting you, perhaps from God's greater purpose
in your life, and then determine how much your monthly
(10:20):
spending would decrease by adjusting those spending areas. Regardless of
how you approach it, once you have that lifestyle cap,
then it's not hard to actually determine what is our
accumulation finish line, how much are we ultimately going to save?
And then once you know you're on track, or perhaps
you've reached it now, you can accelerate your giving, which
(10:41):
is an amazing opportunity. Now you might be listening, saying,
wait a minute, Rob, I'm not anywhere close. In fact,
I'm way behind. Okay, well, that's a different situation. And
I would say let's start somewhere and and start giving
system or excuse me, start saving and investing systematically. But
if you're well on your way, perhaps you haven't looked
at a finish line, or you're just doing it in
(11:01):
anticipation of the ability to have income increases down the road.
What a great exercise between you and the Lord to
just really think through. Why have you entrusted to me
what you have? And what if you, Lord, were to
entrust much more to me? How would I approach that?
Would I just automatically increase lifestyle spending, or would I
cap that at some level and then continue and more away?
(11:24):
Something to think about. By the way, this is one
of the articles in Faithful Steward, and we have articles
just like this in every issue. And that's what Afton
and I were talking about just a moment ago. If
you'd like to become a partner between now and the
end of the month, we would certainly be grateful. We
are trying to reach our goal to get, um, to
finish out our fiscal year here. And so as of
(11:46):
right now, we've had a great response looking for 19
more of you to become a partner. Just go to
Colorado to learn more. All right. We're ready to dive
into your questions today. We've got lines. Open the number
to call 800 525 7000. Let's go to Illinois. John,
you'll be our first caller. Go ahead.
S4 (12:05):
Hi, Rob. Um, I appreciate you taking my call. Yes, sir.
I've got a 14 year old son, and he was
just dying to work, and he finally got his full
time job this summer. He's actually working, uh, 37 to
40 hours a week. Um, so he's bringing home about
$100 a day, and we want to get him an
(12:25):
investment account. Um, like a I'm thinking Roth, but I'm
wondering what the best option for him and where to
go to get it.
S1 (12:36):
Yeah. Very good. Uh, I like that idea a lot.
I would just say, you know, perhaps you divide, you know,
between the Roth and something that would be savings for,
you know, more, uh, current spending. So if he has,
you know, a savings goal, uh, or he's saving for
something specific, you know, maybe a carve off a portion
(12:58):
of that, uh, that he'd be able to enjoy right now. Or,
you know, maybe it's not immediate, but something he can
save for, let's say, in the next 12 months. But
then I love the idea of getting a portion of
this going into an automatic investment. Um, I would actually
look at the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios or Betterment, either one
of those. Just type that in your search engine, Schwab
(13:20):
Intelligent Portfolios. And then as a second option, betterment b
e t e m e n t. This is essentially
a robo advisor. You'd open the Roth IRA there. Uh,
as long as he doesn't put in more than the
earned income he has for the year up to 7000.
He's in good shape, but the nice thing is it's
low cost and it's going to use ETFs to build
(13:43):
a very diversified portfolio. That's just going to capture the
broad moves of the market. You know, it might be
more fun for him to pick a company or two
to invest in than he knows and likes and follow it.
The problem is we're just not teaching the concept of
diversification that way. So you may want to do a
little bit of both, but I think the robo advisor
could be a great option. You'll open the Roth with them,
(14:04):
fund it with them, and then they'll build the portfolio.
So hope that helps, John. You sound like a great dad. Hey,
stay on the line. I'm going to send you a
book from our good friend Art Rayner. It's called The
Money Challenge for teens, and it'll be a great resource
to help him think about God's way of handling money.
We'll be right back with much more. Stay with us. Hey,
(14:32):
thanks for joining us today on Faith and finance live
here on Moody Radio. Let's go right back to the phones.
By the way, we have a few lines open. You
can call right now that number 800 525 7000. That's
800 525 7000. Let's go to Florida. Hi, Mike. How
can I help?
S5 (14:50):
Hey, how's it going today, Rob?
S1 (14:51):
Great. Thanks for calling.
S5 (14:53):
Thank you. Appreciate you taking the call. So, I, um,
got a tax bill, um, for prior year's taxes and
paid it. And right after that, I got another one, um,
for the year before it paid it. Then, um, not
three weeks later, I get this notice LP 14 saying
(15:14):
that you still have an unpaid balance and then it
delineates it that it spans, uh, looks like seven years
from 2014 to 17, 2019 to 2020, a total of
about $18,000 that I paid the other tax bills. I
don't have any more money to to squeeze out of
this turnip. Um, so I'm trying to figure out, short
(15:36):
of a payment plan with the IRS, what options can
I realistically pursue to either reduce the amount or come
up with something that doesn't involve getting certified letters and
having this escalate?
S1 (15:48):
Yeah, yeah. Very good. Well, I know this can be challenging,
and you're right. Um, you know, the payment plan is
where you would pay it back in full, assuming it is,
you know, correct in that, um, you weren't withholding enough
or you just didn't pay in enough. Um, the other offer,
you know, opportunity would be an offer in compromise, but
(16:09):
that would mean that you'd be able to justify a
financial hardship. Um, you could also, you know, see, if
you qualify for something called a penalty abatement, which is
where essentially you'd have to pay what you owe, but
you may be able to get the penalties waived. You
really need somebody, a professional who can look over the
situation and see, okay, what is the true amount that's owed,
(16:31):
and then how much of this that they're saying is
owed currently is, uh, you know, penalties and interest? And
is there an opportunity, especially if, you know, you're in
compliance with the most recent year and this just maybe
was a a period of time where you just didn't
understand what you needed to withhold or you made a mistake. You're,
(16:51):
you know, obviously not somebody who's trying to get out
of this by way of these more recent years, uh,
you being in full compliance. Um, you know, they may
be willing to work with you on getting some rid
of some of those penalties and interests, but you would
need somebody who has some skill and expertise in representing
taxpayers like you before the IRS. Uh, we have a
(17:14):
good friend. He was actually just on the broadcast, uh,
a few days ago named Kevin Cross. And he's really
a specialist in this area. I'd be delighted to connect
you with Kevin. Uh, he's obviously in the state of Georgia.
You're in Florida. Um, and so I suspect he could
work with you. Still out of state, but if you'd
like to, he would be somebody that I would trust.
(17:35):
That could at least evaluate your situation and then tell
you what your next steps are. Does that sound good?
S5 (17:41):
That'd be fantastic. Because, you know, the last thing I
wanted to do was, you know, call you know, what
you hear on, you know, secular talk radio. You know,
one of those, you know, tax services that, you know,
probably charges a ridiculous sum and doesn't accomplish much.
S1 (17:54):
That's exactly right. And actually, Kevin addressed that when he
was on our topic was just that the other day.
In fact, you ought to go look at faith. Com
and look for that episode with Kevin Cross on back taxes.
We literally spent an entire program just addressing this topic
and taking calls from listeners like you. And so I
think it'll be helpful to you. Just go to Faith Philly.com,
(18:17):
click on the show and just look for the the
episode in the last week with Kevin Cross. Um, but
if you stay on the line, we'll get your information
and or give you Kevin's information and you can get
in touch with him. All right.
S5 (18:31):
Very good. Thanks for your help. I do appreciate.
S1 (18:33):
It. Absolutely. God bless you, my friend. Thanks for calling today.
800 525 7000 is the number to call. We do
have some lines open today. If you have a financial question,
this is the time to go ahead and get in
the queue. We'll try to get you on the air
just as quickly as we can. All right. Plant city,
Florida is where Cletus is located. Go ahead sir.
S6 (18:52):
Yes, I have $20,000. I would like to invest to
get the best interest.
S1 (19:01):
Okay, so that key word there at the very end
was interest. So tell me a little bit more about this.
Is this money you're wanting to keep very safe and
liquid and you're just wanting to get the best interest
rate possible. Or are you wanting to invest it with
a longer time horizon, let's say minimum of five, maybe
ten years? You're willing to put the money at risk
(19:22):
in order to get a reasonable rate of return. Which
better describes your idea?
S6 (19:28):
Well, I would like to invest to get the best interest.
S1 (19:33):
Okay. But it always comes down to risk and reward.
How much risk are we willing to take for how
much reward? And so there's a there's a spectrum there.
On the most conservative end of the spectrum would be
where you'd put it in a, a high yield savings account.
Today you might be able to find one paying 4%
a year. It would be very safe. Nothing's risk free,
(19:56):
but it would be very safe. Reason being, if you
have an FDIC insured account, it'd be backed by the
full faith and credit of the United States government. I'd
put that on the most, uh, you know, conservative end
of the spectrum. Then as we begin to move up
that spectrum, you might get into something like savings. Well,
not savings bonds, because that's backed by the US government.
(20:16):
But you might get into corporate bonds where you're taking
a little more risk for a little more rate of return.
You keep going. You might get into stocks where you
could buy a mutual fund of dividend paying stocks or,
you know, large cap stocks, and then you could kind
of keep running up the spectrum. You might end up
at something like Bitcoin, you know, eventually where it's what
(20:37):
I would say is high risk, but there's a potential
for high return. So we've got to try to figure
out risk you want to take and also what your
time horizon is because Cletus, Cletus, if you're saying I
need to be able to get to this money within
the next 12 months, well, I would say then you
don't need to invest in the stock market. You need
to be in the savings or CDs or money market
(20:59):
types of investments. But if you said, Rob, I'm willing
to take a little risk and I'm comfortable not touching
this for 5 to 10 years at a minimum. Well,
now all of a sudden we can look at stocks
and bonds. Does that make sense?
S6 (21:12):
No, it does not because I'm 97 years old.
S1 (21:15):
Yes, sir. Okay, so here's what I'd like to do. Um,
I would, uh, why don't you and I connect off,
off the air and let's see if we can get
you pointed in the right direction, because I certainly want
to give you what you're looking for, but I want
to make sure it really fits with what your ultimate
objective is. So, Cletus, I'm delighted you called. I'm thrilled
(21:37):
that you want to be a good steward of God's resources.
And I'd like to help you for sure. So stay
right there. You and I will talk off the air
here in just a moment. This is Faith and finance
live here on Moody Radio. We'll be right back after
this break. Stay with us. Hey, thanks for listening. Also
(22:01):
calling today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West.
We are taking your calls and questions. When you call
800 525 7000. Go ahead and call right now. Again
that number 800 525 7000. Our team is standing by
and we've got some lines you'll get right through. Let's
go to Orlando. Hi, Eric. Go ahead.
S7 (22:20):
Hello. Good afternoon. Rob.
S1 (22:22):
Hi there.
S7 (22:23):
Thanks for taking my call.
S1 (22:25):
Yes, sir.
S7 (22:26):
So I have a question about. Well, I've never had
credit cards before, and I received a Capital One prequalified
offer letter stating that we recently reviewed your credit and
see that you're staying on top of your bills. That's
why you're eligible to apply for this Capital One Platinum Mastercard. Um, so,
(22:50):
so so I know that it's because of my car payment,
the 2020 Chevrolet that I have. And I'm just wondering,
like if I actually am approved for this. Um, two things.
Do you think it's worth it? And is there a
way that I can know that it's actually legit?
S1 (23:08):
Well, uh, it probably is legit. I mean, these come
all the time. I get maybe one every few days. Uh,
the fact that they're saying, uh, you know, you you
can apply just means that, you know, you fit their
profile for somebody that they want to extend a solicitation to,
but you're still going to have to qualify for it.
(23:29):
And that may or may not be the best card
for you. I mean, the first issue with credit is
we don't want to take on another credit card. If
you're if that's going to, you know, tempt you to
borrow money that you can't pay off at the end
of the month. So we only want to use credit
cards for budgeted items. Now, if we're disciplined in our
use of credit cards, I don't have any problem with them.
(23:50):
I mean, my friend Dave Ramsey would say no, never
a credit card. And we just agree to disagree because
I think if you're disciplined in how you manage God's
money and you're using credit cards, which, by the way,
are a little bit more secure than debit cards, if
they're compromised, you don't have the money taken out of
your account. You got to wait for it to be
put back. You really have no liability from day one
(24:13):
if you report it on a timely basis, but also
if you're disciplined and you're only using it for budgeted
items and you pay it off in full. Well, then
I think that's a good use of it. And you
can get some rewards now depending on what kind of
award you want, like cash back or travel rewards or
things like that. You know, there would be certain cards
that would be better than others. Um, you know, I
(24:35):
know Capital One has a pretty popular card right now
called the Saver. Uh, I know Wells Fargo has a
great card right now that offers 2% cash back on
every purchase. Uh, it's called the Active Cash Card. Chase
has one called the Freedom Unlimited. So what I would
do is not necessarily just take the one that comes
(24:55):
in the mail, but I would go to Bankrate.com or
Nerdwallet.com and research the best card for you. The best
card for you. Assuming what I said earlier is true,
that this is not going to tempt you to borrow
money you can't afford, but you're only using it for
budget items, and you just want to replace your current
card with a better one. The best one for you
(25:16):
is certainly one with no annual fee. But secondly, it
gives you the very best rewards that fit what you're
looking for. And again, it's either cash back or travel benefits.
Does that make sense?
S7 (25:28):
Yes, sir. It does. It really does.
S1 (25:30):
All right. So Bankrate.com Nerdwallet.com I'd research the best one
for you. And then you can go ahead and apply.
Make sure that it fits your, uh, you know, they'll
tell you right there on those websites what your credit
score needs to be. And if it doesn't fit in
the range, I would skip it. But if it does, uh,
you know, and it and it stacks up better than
(25:51):
the others, then I'd say go for it. Eric, thanks
for your call today. We appreciate it. Uh, Tennessee is
where we're headed next. Joanne. Go ahead.
S8 (25:58):
Hi, there. Thanks for taking my call.
S1 (26:00):
Yes, ma'am.
S8 (26:01):
I listened to you all the time. Okay. As a grandmother,
tell me how I can, um, teach my grandchildren or
encourage them to save. I mean, especially if their parents
aren't teaching them. Do you have any recommendations?
S1 (26:17):
Yeah. Well, you know, I mean, the first thing is
that more is caught than taught. And so we've got
to model this, which means mom and dad are key.
But if that's, you know, not happening quite the way
you'd want it to, you know, the Lord's put you
in their life for a reason. And so this is
one of the ways that that you can do that.
So maybe what are the ages of these kids.
S8 (26:38):
Oh, the the one I'm really wanting to speak to
is 20.
S1 (26:43):
Oh, 20 years old. Okay. Um, yeah. And so, you know,
one option would be you could give them a resource
and I'd be happy to send you one. There's a
great resource from some friends of ours. They were Taylor
University graduates, and they created a program called Open Hands Finance.
And it's a workbook combined with some podcasts. And essentially
(27:06):
it walks them through all of the key ideas of
what it means to be a faithful steward, but also practically,
you know how you save for the future. How you.
The dangers of debt. The reason you'd want to live generously.
How you set up a spending plan. And it does
it in the language and in the approach. That would
be really it would resonate with a college age student.
(27:29):
And I'd love to send you that resource. Joanne, just
as our gift for you to pass along to your
grandchild and just say, hey, you know what? In my experience,
one of the ways God shapes us is not only
through our spiritual journey, but it's through our financial journey.
And God's way of handling money is different from the world's.
And I just love to give you a resource that
(27:49):
would help you learn God's way of handling money, beginning
with the fact that he owns it all. And you
and I are stewards, and money is a tool. And
the moment money becomes our goal, it can become an idol.
And that's that's a real big problem. But when we
keep money in its proper place, it can be a
wonderful blessing to us and allow us to enjoy God's
provision and give generously and, you know, promote human flourishing
(28:12):
and all the things that comes when we when we
understand God's way of everything, but certainly handling money. And
so if you'd be interested, I'll be happy to send
you this resource and let you pass it along.
S8 (28:24):
I would definitely be interested because he's not interested in
the Dave Ramsey approach. So maybe this is a different one.
S1 (28:32):
That.
S8 (28:32):
He would be interested in. Yes.
S1 (28:35):
Yeah. Good. All right. Well, you stay on the line.
We're going to send you open hands finance. And from
our friends Brian and Rachel Wong, I think he'll love it. Uh,
it's phenomenal. And it really is going to cater right
to a a 20 year old who's learning to handle
money God's way. So, Joanne, stay on the line. We'll
get that in the mail to you. And I appreciate
your call. And you sound like a wonderful grandmother. Uh,
(28:57):
let's go to Chicago. Sarah. Go ahead.
S9 (29:00):
Hi. Thanks for taking my call. Um, so I my
question is around just day to day management of money. Um,
in the last couple of years, God has really given
me a lot of increase, uh, that I'm really, really
grateful for. However, I don't know, like, how to maybe
handle it right now because, um, I live in a
(29:23):
one bedroom condo, you know, drive a reasonable car, but
with the increase, um, I mean, I'm single. I can help, um,
my parents, more things like that. But I just want
to understand how to deal with the increase, because I
think you said this previous caller, just because you know,
(29:44):
your lifestyle doesn't need to change, but how do you
kind of manage the increase that is coming your way
and really think about it through a biblical lens of
what God is giving you and why?
S1 (29:57):
Yeah. Oh, I love that. I mean, you're exactly right.
And this is the point at which you need to
learn not only the mechanics of money management, although the
financial literacy is important. The dangers of debt and the
importance of compounded growth, and how you put a spending
plan together and live within your means. I mean, all
that's essential. The importance of setting goals and giving generously,
(30:18):
but also God's perspective and his heart on money and
how we should view it, and how it can be
a rival for our hearts and our devotion to the Lord. Hey,
let's do this! I'd love to connect you with one
of our certified Christian financial counselors. These are men and
women where their ministry is to help people do just
what you're describing. They love it. We're going to pay
(30:39):
for it for you. You'll get several sessions to get
on a plan and get moving in the right direction. Sarah,
stay on the line. We'll get you connected with assert CFC.
We'll be right back. Thanks for joining us today on
Faith and Finance Live here on Moody Radio here in
(31:00):
our final segment today, taking your calls and questions, I
may have room for one more question between now and
the end of the program. You can call right now
800 525 7000. Let's go to Chicago and welcome Mary. Hi, Mary.
Go ahead.
S10 (31:16):
Hi. Thank you for taking my call. And my question was,
I wanted to know if it was wise to get
into a car note for a second car. Um, we
don't have any debt. And the car note would be
about $500 a month with interest. Okay. Um, I'm just
not sure if that's the. That's a wise decision.
S1 (31:39):
Yeah. I mean, it's a great question. So, um, so
tell me a little bit about your situation. Um, just
your overall financial picture. Do you all have an emergency fund?
S10 (31:50):
We do have an emergency fund, and we have money
in our investments. Um, we don't have any debt. Uh,
our first car is already paid off. And the reason
why I'm a little nervous about it is because we
just bought a home last year. And so I'm trying
to see if it if it's, if it's wise to,
(32:12):
to to make that, that move at this moment.
S1 (32:15):
Yeah. No I get that. And so when you do
your budget, um, do you have the ability to add
a $500 a month payment and still have some surplus
or some margin at the end of the month?
S10 (32:30):
Um, a little bit. It would be very tight.
S1 (32:35):
Okay. Yeah. And right now you guys are operating on
just one car. Is that right?
S10 (32:40):
Well, we have a we have a second car, but
it's it's really not reliable. And we spend money on
the mechanic and all that. So we just we don't
know if we should just wait and continue to put
money in this car or to just get a second car.
S1 (32:56):
Yeah, yeah. So would you sell this second car, the
current one, if you, if you went ahead with the
new one.
S10 (33:02):
We would, but we wouldn't get much money out of it.
S1 (33:05):
Okay. Got it. Yeah, but you wouldn't have to insure
it any longer. And so it would reduce your overall expenses, right?
S10 (33:13):
Correct.
S1 (33:14):
Yeah. Okay.
S10 (33:15):
And another thing. So we would probably use money from
our dividends to pay for, um, for the car note.
S1 (33:23):
Um, so.
S10 (33:24):
That's one way that we would kind of be a
little bit more afloat.
S1 (33:27):
Okay. Yeah. I mean, it just sounds like you're right
up to the edge. That's the only thing that's concerning me.
And so I think you need to just take a
hard look at the budget. Um, you know, I'd be
happy to connect you with one of our certified financial
counselors if you all would take advantage of it, just
to kind of help you look through your spending plan
and get on a more solid, uh, you know, monthly
(33:48):
plan that you feel better about. I just don't want
you to be right up to the edge. And then,
you know, anything comes out of left field. You know,
you're all of a sudden slipping behind, uh, you know, or, uh,
you know, spending more than you're bringing in. Um, so
there's nothing wrong with having a second car, and you
probably need some good, reliable transportation. And there is a
point at which it doesn't make sense to continue to
(34:11):
put more money into an older car, especially one that's
been giving you some problems. But I also want you
to be able to live within your means. Now, based
on what I'm seeing here, it sounds like you've got
plenty of emergency savings and investments. And what do you
have left on your mortgage? You said that's fairly new, right?
S10 (34:27):
Yes. So it's a 30 year mortgage. So we have
about 29 years okay.
S1 (34:32):
Yeah. So you got a long way to go there.
So it really does come down to the spending plan.
You just need to go back and take a harder
look at it. I mean the rule of thumb is
you want to keep transportation costs under 15% of your
take home pay. And that includes car payment, gas insurance, maintenance, parking,
if you've got it there in Chicago. Um, so you
(34:53):
need to put everything in to that payment or into
that category, and you need to be under 15%. But
that's just a rule of thumb. At the end of
the day, you need to make your budget work. And
so that means, you know, you guys are going to
have to look at, first of all, what is our
budget if we're realistic because we can't just put in
the things that you get a bill for. We need
(35:13):
to put in those non-discretionary items. You know, Christmas comes
every year. And, you know, if you're spending 1000 or
$2000 on Christmas, you know, we really should have, uh,
you know, 150 or $100 a month, you know, at
a minimum, uh, maybe more in the budget every month.
And cars break down and, and so we've got to
have something the maintenance category. And so we really need
(35:35):
to have an accurate representation of your budget, including this new, uh,
you know, car payment and higher, um, insurance, because with
a newer car, you're going to probably have an increase
in your insurance premium. So when you put all of
that in, what you may find is, uh oh, all
of a sudden we're $300 upside down every month. Well,
(35:55):
that's not going to work. That's not sustainable. So I
think that really should be the deciding factor. Here is
what would it take for us to do to rightsize
the plan so that we can afford to take on
this car, which we could absolutely use? And it doesn't
sound like you're being you know, you're buying something that's
just crazy in terms of, uh, you know, it's the
right vehicle for you. But that's only going to be
(36:18):
true if you can get to the place where you've
got a plan that's realistic and that, you know, isn't
upside down, does that make sense?
S10 (36:27):
Yes. Now, my question also is, would it be smart
to to use money from our dividends to pay for this?
Because our financial advisor has mentioned that, you know, it's
it's fine. Um, but I'm not sure that that would
be a good a good option.
S1 (36:45):
Yeah. No, I don't have any problem with that. What
do you have in investments? What's your total portfolio?
S10 (36:53):
Um, about 900,000.
S1 (36:56):
Okay. Yeah. And what is your age?
S10 (37:00):
Uh, 35.
S1 (37:01):
Okay. Yeah. Um. So that's incredible. Did that come, you know,
in a lump sum as an inheritance? Or have you
all just saved really hard, or. How did you get
build that up?
S10 (37:10):
Saved really hard.
S1 (37:11):
And that's amazing.
S10 (37:12):
A pension. So our financial advisor is pretty comfortable with
that because of our pension.
S1 (37:20):
I can imagine. So, um, so yeah, I mean, you
you obviously are way ahead of the game at 35
with that kind of investment portfolio. So, um, it sounds
like I mean, I love that you're still being frugal,
despite the fact that you have nearly $1 million in investments. And, yes, uh,
dividends could be a great way for you to do that.
Ordinary dividends are taxed at your regular income tax rate.
(37:42):
That's going to happen regardless. And so if you could
take a portion of those to rightsize this budget, I
think that makes a lot of sense. And stop putting
money into a car, you know, that is continually giving
you problems. I also think, you know, hopefully you have
an advisor who understands, um, you know, God's word and
can really come alongside you from a biblical worldview. But
(38:04):
I think it would be important sooner rather than later
for you guys to determine what is your finish line.
You know, how much are you ultimately trying to accumulate?
And I can't tell you what that number is that's
between you and the Lord. Um, but once you know
what that is, now all of a sudden you're in
a situation where you know when you can start increasing
your giving, um, because, you know, the last thing you
(38:27):
want to do is just mindlessly accumulate over the next
30 years and build up way more than you need. Um,
but again, that number is something you would need to
arrive at prayerfully. I don't think anybody else can tell
you what it is. But yeah, I think to get
back to your original question, I don't see any problem
with you taking on this new car. It sounds like
a reasonable car note you know, the average car payment
(38:50):
today is over $700. You're at 500. Uh, six year
payoff is fine. Um, I like five better, but six
is fine. And if you've got another source of income
through the dividends to cover that, um, if you weren't
able to cover it, just add a monthly cash flow,
then I think that's fine as well.
S10 (39:08):
Okay. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
S1 (39:11):
Absolutely, Mary. Hey. Well done. We appreciate your call. And
thanks for your great question today. We appreciate you being
on the program. Uh, let's see, uh, Indiana is where
we're headed next. Hi, Karen. Go right ahead.
S8 (39:25):
Are you are you there?
S1 (39:27):
I sure am. How can I help you?
S11 (39:30):
Um, I just have a question on guidance for health insurance. Um,
where you can go if it's affordable, on a limited income,
if you've had a past health history, I'm afraid I'll
be penalized for. Because I've been sick for, I don't know,
about a year ago, I went through some major health issues,
and we're running out of, um, Our resources. My husband's retired.
(39:53):
I'm on a limited income now. Is there anywhere you
could direct me to on someone to talk to on this?
S1 (40:00):
Yeah. I mean, you've got a couple of options. You
could go to the federal marketplace where you can compare
plans and see if you qualify for subsidies. So that's healthcare.gov. Gov. Healthcare. Gov.
It's free. It's trustworthy. And you can look for a
plan that fits your needs and budgets. You know the
top private health insurance comparison sites are ehealthinsurance. Another one
(40:25):
would be health markets. And then I'll give you a
third one. Health Sherpa s h e r p a. Um,
any of those, you know, could be an alternative, uh,
to healthcare.gov. And what you're looking for is the plan type, um,
you know, the coverage breadth, the support level, any subsidy, ask, uh,
(40:48):
ask access if you qualify for it. So those would
be the what I would be looking at in terms of,
you know, the various options.
S11 (40:56):
Okay. All right. Thank you very much.
S1 (40:58):
All right. We appreciate your call today. Well, we covered
a lot of ground today with some great questions. And
I so appreciate you inviting us into your stories each day.
We don't take that lightly. We realize, you know, your
call in and maybe a little nervous and just wondering
how to handle the various situations that you have. And
it's a great privilege to be able to step into
each of those and offer, hopefully, some practical advice that
(41:22):
finds its roots in God's Word. That's the heart behind
everything we do here at Faith. Fi is we want
to help you live a generous life, live as a
faithful steward, seeing God as your ultimate treasure and putting
money in its proper place. And that is a tool
to glorify God and to accomplish his purposes. And, uh,
let me finish where we started today. We're just days
(41:43):
away from the end of our fiscal year here at
Faith fi. And so the invitation is, if you love
the program, you found something valuable and you'd like to
join us as a partner, we would be incredibly grateful.
Partners support us at $35 a month as a listener
supported ministry. You might imagine that's a big deal for
us to be able to reach more people and create
(42:04):
the resources the app, the magazine, the studies and devotionals
bring you this broadcast each day and everything we have
planned for the next fiscal year, which, by the way,
is amazing. My team is awesome and we're doing some
awesome stuff, so if you'd consider joining us, we'd be grateful.
Just head to faith. Com slash give. That's faith. Give.
(42:25):
And if you get on board before June the 30th,
you'll get our current partner package that includes not only
Faithful steward but our new study, Wisdom over Wealth. Thankful
for our team today. Rihanna, Omar, Lisa. Jim. Faith and finance.
Lives of partnership between Faith Fi and Moody Radio. Come
back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. Bye bye.
If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth,
who will entrust to you the true riches? Luke 1611. Hi,
I'm Rob West. What if managing money is about more
than just numbers and budgets? What if it's a window
into something eternal? Afton Phillips joins us today as we
explore the mission behind the message you hear every day
(00:29):
on this program, and how you can be a part
of it. And then it's on to your calls at
800 525 7000. That's 800 525 7000. This is faith
in finance. Live biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well,
we're thrilled to have Afton Phillips with us on the
(00:49):
program today. Afton serves as our Head of Content here
at Faith V, shaping the direction and strategy behind everything
from this radio broadcast to our app, website, magazine and
Bible studies really just about all the content we create.
It's a big role and we're grateful for her leadership. Afton,
great to have you in the studio today.
S2 (01:10):
Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here.
S1 (01:12):
The first time. I'm so excited about it.
S2 (01:14):
It's so fun.
S1 (01:15):
Now, you came on board in January. So when people
ask you what you do for us here, how do
you describe Faith VI in the mission of this organization?
S2 (01:24):
Yeah. Well, something that's always been really important to me
is amplifying messages that matter, things that make an impact personally,
generationally and globally. And there are few topics that feel
as personal and maybe as triggering as money. Yeah. Something
you say on the show all the time, Rob, is
that money issues are heart issues. And it sounds simple,
(01:46):
but it's really this like paradigm shifting truth. And when
you feel anxiety about a purchase or you're frustrated with
your spouse or you feel boxed in by a budget,
those are all opportunities to take a beat and evaluate
your heart. And I think that's really what I've learned
from just being here in a short time, is really
to think about what really matters, and it will reshape
(02:09):
your perspective. Because really, we're already living in abundance because
we're living with the love of Christ.
S1 (02:15):
Boy, that is so well said. And I think that
captures the essence of the heart behind everything we do here. Now,
what do you see as some of the biggest challenges
Christians face when it comes to managing money faithfully?
S2 (02:28):
Well, certainly anxiety about money is an issue. Um, we
did a study look at the sparrows, and it was
just so wildly popular. And I think it's because a
lot of times we have this scarcity mindset, or we
have a fear of loss or this idea of keeping
up with the Joneses, and there's all these competing impulses
when it comes to how we handle our finances. But
(02:50):
the concepts we talk about on the show are in
the magazine or in our studies. They're all these intentional
opportunities for a reset, to draw biblical wisdom and help
us see the emptiness of accumulation, and really the peace
and fulfillment that comes from trust in Christ.
S1 (03:05):
Wow. Yeah. That's powerful. And I love that idea of
an opportunity for reset as we just step back and
perhaps change our perspective and lean into all that God's
Word has on this topic. Now, often for those who
might not be familiar with all that faith fi offers,
I'd love to just take an opportunity for you to
describe some of the resources we've created to help believers
(03:27):
grow as faithful stewards.
S2 (03:29):
Absolutely. Well, this show is a huge part of what
we do every single day, but we also create an
incredibly helpful app that really takes a lot of these
principles and practices, and just makes it easy for you
to implement into your everyday life. And one of the
other things that we started recently creating is our Faithful
Steward magazine, which I personally just love. It's the most
(03:49):
beautifully designed resource with just these quick, mindful articles about
these principles and these insights. And then we've also recently
begun publishing devotionals and studies, and those allow us to
do a real deep dive into Scripture and what it
has to say about our heart posture towards money, like
our most recent one, Wisdom over Wealth.
S1 (04:08):
Yeah, exactly. Right. And so wherever you're at on this journey,
there's a place for you to step in and explore
all that God's Word has to say about this, but
in a way that's engaging and I think really relevant
to your life now. There's a lot in our audience
who just they love the program, they love the resources.
They want to take a next step in supporting or
getting involved in our mission. How do you recommend they
(04:30):
do that?
S2 (04:30):
Let me just say I'm so thankful for those of
you who support our ministry, because it really just allows
us to do things like this show, to bring this
message to so many people who are struggling and honestly suffering,
and they need this financial relief that only Christ can provide.
And we've got a goal to get 50 more partners
by the end of this month. And we'd be so
(04:52):
grateful for your partnership and your generosity. Just go to pfaffikon.
S1 (04:58):
That's when you give a gift of $35 a month
or $400 a year. That will qualify you for our
partner program. And we'll send you as a thank you,
our quarterly magazine, Faithful Steward, and two print devotionals a year,
plus pro access to the Faith VI app. Thanks for
being here today.
S2 (05:16):
Thanks for having.
S1 (05:16):
Me. Again, that website COVID-19. We're looking for 50 partners
before the end of the month. We'll be right back.
S3 (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 (05:58):
Great to have you with us today on Faith in finance.
Live our goal today to be an encouragement to you,
to help you live as a faithful steward of God's resources.
That's a pretty important calling that you've been given, that
I've been given and our goal. Well done, good and
faithful servant. We want to help you hear those words,
and we realize you have very practical questions going on
in your financial life. Perhaps it's how to navigate the market,
(06:20):
you know, despite the tariffs and the questions surrounding them
and inflation and the geopolitical tensions, not to mention the
conflict between Iran and Iraq and, excuse me, Iran and
Israel and our involvement there. Despite that, the S&P 500
is pushing up against new records, which is just amazing. Um,
(06:41):
that we're at all time highs. Um, how do you
navigate all that? We'd love to weigh in, including how
you align your values with your investments. Maybe it's something
more everyday, like your spending plan, just staying on budget
or getting out of debt. Whatever you're thinking about in
your financial life today, we'd love to help you tackle
it and do that through the lens of biblical wisdom
you can call. Right now, our team is standing by
(07:03):
and we do have some lines open 800 525 7000
is the number to call again. That's 800 525 7000.
And you can call right now. We'll be diving into
a few of those questions here in just a moment.
But first in the news today in 2024. Listen to this.
401 K savings reached record highs, thanks in part to
(07:25):
features like automatic enrollment and what's called immediate eligibility. No
waiting period. Vanguard reports an average combined savings rate employee
and employer of 12%, which matches 2020 three's peak. Fidelity's
data shows an even higher rate of 14.3% across 24.4
(07:47):
million participants. Amazing. You know, these increases reflect growing participation
and engagement. Vanguard notes that 76% of plans now offer
immediate eligibility. That's up from 71% in 2020, and 61%
include automatic enrollment, up from 54% in 2020. Vanguard's rule
(08:10):
of thumb, which aligns pretty well with ours here at
Faith Fi, is a recommendation of saving 12 to 15%
of your income annually, including the employer contribution. Fidelity's benchmark
is about the same 15% in 2020, for the average
employee deferral was 7.7%, with 25% of workers saving 10%
(08:32):
or more, and 14% are maxing out their contributions. Those
are mostly older, higher income workers with longer tenure. Of course,
the ideal savings rate depends on your income, lifestyle goals,
and retirement timeline, I will tell you that, you know,
part of this comes down to what I call and
what we call here at Faith. Fi, your finish line.
(08:54):
Now we talk in terms of two types of finish lines.
One would be your lifestyle finish line. I think you
need to start there. And that is where are we
going to cap our spending on ourselves, on our lifestyle.
There's three approaches you can take to that. One would
be you might call it a maintenance spending finish line.
This would be where you look at your current budget
(09:15):
or actually, better yet, your current spending. And I'd look
at maybe the past three months. And then your maintenance
finish line involves just simply refusing to increase your spending
from this level. Where we're at right now, we're not
going above it. No matter what we get in the
way of a bonus or increases in pay over time.
This is the cap. The second would be what's called
(09:36):
a benchmark spending finish line, where you use some sort
of external reference point, a multiple of the median income
of your area. Maybe you, uh, use the the work that, uh,
our friends did at Finish line pledge.com, where they give
you a real thoughtful rationale for setting your, uh, finish
line from a lifestyle standpoint based on a benchmark. That's
(09:58):
the second option. The third is what you might call
a prioritization spending line. That's where you begin by reflecting
on how God is working in and through you and
your family. Review all your expenses from the last few months,
like we said initially, but then specifically look for spending
areas that are distracting you, perhaps from God's greater purpose
in your life, and then determine how much your monthly
(10:20):
spending would decrease by adjusting those spending areas. Regardless of
how you approach it, once you have that lifestyle cap,
then it's not hard to actually determine what is our
accumulation finish line, how much are we ultimately going to save?
And then once you know you're on track, or perhaps
you've reached it now, you can accelerate your giving, which
(10:41):
is an amazing opportunity. Now you might be listening, saying,
wait a minute, Rob, I'm not anywhere close. In fact,
I'm way behind. Okay, well, that's a different situation. And
I would say let's start somewhere and and start giving
system or excuse me, start saving and investing systematically. But
if you're well on your way, perhaps you haven't looked
at a finish line, or you're just doing it in
(11:01):
anticipation of the ability to have income increases down the road.
What a great exercise between you and the Lord to
just really think through. Why have you entrusted to me
what you have? And what if you, Lord, were to
entrust much more to me? How would I approach that?
Would I just automatically increase lifestyle spending, or would I
cap that at some level and then continue and more away?
(11:24):
Something to think about. By the way, this is one
of the articles in Faithful Steward, and we have articles
just like this in every issue. And that's what Afton
and I were talking about just a moment ago. If
you'd like to become a partner between now and the
end of the month, we would certainly be grateful. We
are trying to reach our goal to get, um, to
finish out our fiscal year here. And so as of
(11:46):
right now, we've had a great response looking for 19
more of you to become a partner. Just go to
Colorado to learn more. All right. We're ready to dive
into your questions today. We've got lines. Open the number
to call 800 525 7000. Let's go to Illinois. John,
you'll be our first caller. Go ahead.
S4 (12:05):
Hi, Rob. Um, I appreciate you taking my call. Yes, sir.
I've got a 14 year old son, and he was
just dying to work, and he finally got his full
time job this summer. He's actually working, uh, 37 to
40 hours a week. Um, so he's bringing home about
$100 a day, and we want to get him an
(12:25):
investment account. Um, like a I'm thinking Roth, but I'm
wondering what the best option for him and where to
go to get it.
S1 (12:36):
Yeah. Very good. Uh, I like that idea a lot.
I would just say, you know, perhaps you divide, you know,
between the Roth and something that would be savings for,
you know, more, uh, current spending. So if he has,
you know, a savings goal, uh, or he's saving for
something specific, you know, maybe a carve off a portion
(12:58):
of that, uh, that he'd be able to enjoy right now. Or,
you know, maybe it's not immediate, but something he can
save for, let's say, in the next 12 months. But
then I love the idea of getting a portion of
this going into an automatic investment. Um, I would actually
look at the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios or Betterment, either one
of those. Just type that in your search engine, Schwab
(13:20):
Intelligent Portfolios. And then as a second option, betterment b
e t e m e n t. This is essentially
a robo advisor. You'd open the Roth IRA there. Uh,
as long as he doesn't put in more than the
earned income he has for the year up to 7000.
He's in good shape, but the nice thing is it's
low cost and it's going to use ETFs to build
(13:43):
a very diversified portfolio. That's just going to capture the
broad moves of the market. You know, it might be
more fun for him to pick a company or two
to invest in than he knows and likes and follow it.
The problem is we're just not teaching the concept of
diversification that way. So you may want to do a
little bit of both, but I think the robo advisor
could be a great option. You'll open the Roth with them,
(14:04):
fund it with them, and then they'll build the portfolio.
So hope that helps, John. You sound like a great dad. Hey,
stay on the line. I'm going to send you a
book from our good friend Art Rayner. It's called The
Money Challenge for teens, and it'll be a great resource
to help him think about God's way of handling money.
We'll be right back with much more. Stay with us. Hey,
(14:32):
thanks for joining us today on Faith and finance live
here on Moody Radio. Let's go right back to the phones.
By the way, we have a few lines open. You
can call right now that number 800 525 7000. That's
800 525 7000. Let's go to Florida. Hi, Mike. How
can I help?
S5 (14:50):
Hey, how's it going today, Rob?
S1 (14:51):
Great. Thanks for calling.
S5 (14:53):
Thank you. Appreciate you taking the call. So, I, um,
got a tax bill, um, for prior year's taxes and
paid it. And right after that, I got another one, um,
for the year before it paid it. Then, um, not
three weeks later, I get this notice LP 14 saying
(15:14):
that you still have an unpaid balance and then it
delineates it that it spans, uh, looks like seven years
from 2014 to 17, 2019 to 2020, a total of
about $18,000 that I paid the other tax bills. I
don't have any more money to to squeeze out of
this turnip. Um, so I'm trying to figure out, short
(15:36):
of a payment plan with the IRS, what options can
I realistically pursue to either reduce the amount or come
up with something that doesn't involve getting certified letters and
having this escalate?
S1 (15:48):
Yeah, yeah. Very good. Well, I know this can be challenging,
and you're right. Um, you know, the payment plan is
where you would pay it back in full, assuming it is,
you know, correct in that, um, you weren't withholding enough
or you just didn't pay in enough. Um, the other offer,
you know, opportunity would be an offer in compromise, but
(16:09):
that would mean that you'd be able to justify a
financial hardship. Um, you could also, you know, see, if
you qualify for something called a penalty abatement, which is
where essentially you'd have to pay what you owe, but
you may be able to get the penalties waived. You
really need somebody, a professional who can look over the
situation and see, okay, what is the true amount that's owed,
(16:31):
and then how much of this that they're saying is
owed currently is, uh, you know, penalties and interest? And
is there an opportunity, especially if, you know, you're in
compliance with the most recent year and this just maybe
was a a period of time where you just didn't
understand what you needed to withhold or you made a mistake. You're,
(16:51):
you know, obviously not somebody who's trying to get out
of this by way of these more recent years, uh,
you being in full compliance. Um, you know, they may
be willing to work with you on getting some rid
of some of those penalties and interests, but you would
need somebody who has some skill and expertise in representing
taxpayers like you before the IRS. Uh, we have a
(17:14):
good friend. He was actually just on the broadcast, uh,
a few days ago named Kevin Cross. And he's really
a specialist in this area. I'd be delighted to connect
you with Kevin. Uh, he's obviously in the state of Georgia.
You're in Florida. Um, and so I suspect he could
work with you. Still out of state, but if you'd
like to, he would be somebody that I would trust.
(17:35):
That could at least evaluate your situation and then tell
you what your next steps are. Does that sound good?
S5 (17:41):
That'd be fantastic. Because, you know, the last thing I
wanted to do was, you know, call you know, what
you hear on, you know, secular talk radio. You know,
one of those, you know, tax services that, you know,
probably charges a ridiculous sum and doesn't accomplish much.
S1 (17:54):
That's exactly right. And actually, Kevin addressed that when he
was on our topic was just that the other day.
In fact, you ought to go look at faith. Com
and look for that episode with Kevin Cross on back taxes.
We literally spent an entire program just addressing this topic
and taking calls from listeners like you. And so I
think it'll be helpful to you. Just go to Faith Philly.com,
(18:17):
click on the show and just look for the the
episode in the last week with Kevin Cross. Um, but
if you stay on the line, we'll get your information
and or give you Kevin's information and you can get
in touch with him. All right.
S5 (18:31):
Very good. Thanks for your help. I do appreciate.
S1 (18:33):
It. Absolutely. God bless you, my friend. Thanks for calling today.
800 525 7000 is the number to call. We do
have some lines open today. If you have a financial question,
this is the time to go ahead and get in
the queue. We'll try to get you on the air
just as quickly as we can. All right. Plant city,
Florida is where Cletus is located. Go ahead sir.
S6 (18:52):
Yes, I have $20,000. I would like to invest to
get the best interest.
S1 (19:01):
Okay, so that key word there at the very end
was interest. So tell me a little bit more about this.
Is this money you're wanting to keep very safe and
liquid and you're just wanting to get the best interest
rate possible. Or are you wanting to invest it with
a longer time horizon, let's say minimum of five, maybe
ten years? You're willing to put the money at risk
(19:22):
in order to get a reasonable rate of return. Which
better describes your idea?
S6 (19:28):
Well, I would like to invest to get the best interest.
S1 (19:33):
Okay. But it always comes down to risk and reward.
How much risk are we willing to take for how
much reward? And so there's a there's a spectrum there.
On the most conservative end of the spectrum would be
where you'd put it in a, a high yield savings account.
Today you might be able to find one paying 4%
a year. It would be very safe. Nothing's risk free,
(19:56):
but it would be very safe. Reason being, if you
have an FDIC insured account, it'd be backed by the
full faith and credit of the United States government. I'd
put that on the most, uh, you know, conservative end
of the spectrum. Then as we begin to move up
that spectrum, you might get into something like savings. Well,
not savings bonds, because that's backed by the US government.
(20:16):
But you might get into corporate bonds where you're taking
a little more risk for a little more rate of return.
You keep going. You might get into stocks where you
could buy a mutual fund of dividend paying stocks or,
you know, large cap stocks, and then you could kind
of keep running up the spectrum. You might end up
at something like Bitcoin, you know, eventually where it's what
(20:37):
I would say is high risk, but there's a potential
for high return. So we've got to try to figure
out risk you want to take and also what your
time horizon is because Cletus, Cletus, if you're saying I
need to be able to get to this money within
the next 12 months, well, I would say then you
don't need to invest in the stock market. You need
to be in the savings or CDs or money market
(20:59):
types of investments. But if you said, Rob, I'm willing
to take a little risk and I'm comfortable not touching
this for 5 to 10 years at a minimum. Well,
now all of a sudden we can look at stocks
and bonds. Does that make sense?
S6 (21:12):
No, it does not because I'm 97 years old.
S1 (21:15):
Yes, sir. Okay, so here's what I'd like to do. Um,
I would, uh, why don't you and I connect off,
off the air and let's see if we can get
you pointed in the right direction, because I certainly want
to give you what you're looking for, but I want
to make sure it really fits with what your ultimate
objective is. So, Cletus, I'm delighted you called. I'm thrilled
(21:37):
that you want to be a good steward of God's resources.
And I'd like to help you for sure. So stay
right there. You and I will talk off the air
here in just a moment. This is Faith and finance
live here on Moody Radio. We'll be right back after
this break. Stay with us. Hey, thanks for listening. Also
(22:01):
calling today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West.
We are taking your calls and questions. When you call
800 525 7000. Go ahead and call right now. Again
that number 800 525 7000. Our team is standing by
and we've got some lines you'll get right through. Let's
go to Orlando. Hi, Eric. Go ahead.
S7 (22:20):
Hello. Good afternoon. Rob.
S1 (22:22):
Hi there.
S7 (22:23):
Thanks for taking my call.
S1 (22:25):
Yes, sir.
S7 (22:26):
So I have a question about. Well, I've never had
credit cards before, and I received a Capital One prequalified
offer letter stating that we recently reviewed your credit and
see that you're staying on top of your bills. That's
why you're eligible to apply for this Capital One Platinum Mastercard. Um, so,
(22:50):
so so I know that it's because of my car payment,
the 2020 Chevrolet that I have. And I'm just wondering,
like if I actually am approved for this. Um, two things.
Do you think it's worth it? And is there a
way that I can know that it's actually legit?
S1 (23:08):
Well, uh, it probably is legit. I mean, these come
all the time. I get maybe one every few days. Uh,
the fact that they're saying, uh, you know, you you
can apply just means that, you know, you fit their
profile for somebody that they want to extend a solicitation to,
but you're still going to have to qualify for it.
(23:29):
And that may or may not be the best card
for you. I mean, the first issue with credit is
we don't want to take on another credit card. If
you're if that's going to, you know, tempt you to
borrow money that you can't pay off at the end
of the month. So we only want to use credit
cards for budgeted items. Now, if we're disciplined in our
use of credit cards, I don't have any problem with them.
(23:50):
I mean, my friend Dave Ramsey would say no, never
a credit card. And we just agree to disagree because
I think if you're disciplined in how you manage God's
money and you're using credit cards, which, by the way,
are a little bit more secure than debit cards, if
they're compromised, you don't have the money taken out of
your account. You got to wait for it to be
put back. You really have no liability from day one
(24:13):
if you report it on a timely basis, but also
if you're disciplined and you're only using it for budgeted
items and you pay it off in full. Well, then
I think that's a good use of it. And you
can get some rewards now depending on what kind of
award you want, like cash back or travel rewards or
things like that. You know, there would be certain cards
that would be better than others. Um, you know, I
(24:35):
know Capital One has a pretty popular card right now
called the Saver. Uh, I know Wells Fargo has a
great card right now that offers 2% cash back on
every purchase. Uh, it's called the Active Cash Card. Chase
has one called the Freedom Unlimited. So what I would
do is not necessarily just take the one that comes
(24:55):
in the mail, but I would go to Bankrate.com or
Nerdwallet.com and research the best card for you. The best
card for you. Assuming what I said earlier is true,
that this is not going to tempt you to borrow
money you can't afford, but you're only using it for
budget items, and you just want to replace your current
card with a better one. The best one for you
(25:16):
is certainly one with no annual fee. But secondly, it
gives you the very best rewards that fit what you're
looking for. And again, it's either cash back or travel benefits.
Does that make sense?
S7 (25:28):
Yes, sir. It does. It really does.
S1 (25:30):
All right. So Bankrate.com Nerdwallet.com I'd research the best one
for you. And then you can go ahead and apply.
Make sure that it fits your, uh, you know, they'll
tell you right there on those websites what your credit
score needs to be. And if it doesn't fit in
the range, I would skip it. But if it does, uh,
you know, and it and it stacks up better than
(25:51):
the others, then I'd say go for it. Eric, thanks
for your call today. We appreciate it. Uh, Tennessee is
where we're headed next. Joanne. Go ahead.
S8 (25:58):
Hi, there. Thanks for taking my call.
S1 (26:00):
Yes, ma'am.
S8 (26:01):
I listened to you all the time. Okay. As a grandmother,
tell me how I can, um, teach my grandchildren or
encourage them to save. I mean, especially if their parents
aren't teaching them. Do you have any recommendations?
S1 (26:17):
Yeah. Well, you know, I mean, the first thing is
that more is caught than taught. And so we've got
to model this, which means mom and dad are key.
But if that's, you know, not happening quite the way
you'd want it to, you know, the Lord's put you
in their life for a reason. And so this is
one of the ways that that you can do that.
So maybe what are the ages of these kids.
S8 (26:38):
Oh, the the one I'm really wanting to speak to
is 20.
S1 (26:43):
Oh, 20 years old. Okay. Um, yeah. And so, you know,
one option would be you could give them a resource
and I'd be happy to send you one. There's a
great resource from some friends of ours. They were Taylor
University graduates, and they created a program called Open Hands Finance.
And it's a workbook combined with some podcasts. And essentially
(27:06):
it walks them through all of the key ideas of
what it means to be a faithful steward, but also practically,
you know how you save for the future. How you.
The dangers of debt. The reason you'd want to live generously.
How you set up a spending plan. And it does
it in the language and in the approach. That would
be really it would resonate with a college age student.
(27:29):
And I'd love to send you that resource. Joanne, just
as our gift for you to pass along to your
grandchild and just say, hey, you know what? In my experience,
one of the ways God shapes us is not only
through our spiritual journey, but it's through our financial journey.
And God's way of handling money is different from the world's.
And I just love to give you a resource that
(27:49):
would help you learn God's way of handling money, beginning
with the fact that he owns it all. And you
and I are stewards, and money is a tool. And
the moment money becomes our goal, it can become an idol.
And that's that's a real big problem. But when we
keep money in its proper place, it can be a
wonderful blessing to us and allow us to enjoy God's
provision and give generously and, you know, promote human flourishing
(28:12):
and all the things that comes when we when we
understand God's way of everything, but certainly handling money. And
so if you'd be interested, I'll be happy to send
you this resource and let you pass it along.
S8 (28:24):
I would definitely be interested because he's not interested in
the Dave Ramsey approach. So maybe this is a different one.
S1 (28:32):
That.
S8 (28:32):
He would be interested in. Yes.
S1 (28:35):
Yeah. Good. All right. Well, you stay on the line.
We're going to send you open hands finance. And from
our friends Brian and Rachel Wong, I think he'll love it. Uh,
it's phenomenal. And it really is going to cater right
to a a 20 year old who's learning to handle
money God's way. So, Joanne, stay on the line. We'll
get that in the mail to you. And I appreciate
your call. And you sound like a wonderful grandmother. Uh,
(28:57):
let's go to Chicago. Sarah. Go ahead.
S9 (29:00):
Hi. Thanks for taking my call. Um, so I my
question is around just day to day management of money. Um,
in the last couple of years, God has really given
me a lot of increase, uh, that I'm really, really
grateful for. However, I don't know, like, how to maybe
handle it right now because, um, I live in a
(29:23):
one bedroom condo, you know, drive a reasonable car, but
with the increase, um, I mean, I'm single. I can help, um,
my parents, more things like that. But I just want
to understand how to deal with the increase, because I
think you said this previous caller, just because you know,
(29:44):
your lifestyle doesn't need to change, but how do you
kind of manage the increase that is coming your way
and really think about it through a biblical lens of
what God is giving you and why?
S1 (29:57):
Yeah. Oh, I love that. I mean, you're exactly right.
And this is the point at which you need to
learn not only the mechanics of money management, although the
financial literacy is important. The dangers of debt and the
importance of compounded growth, and how you put a spending
plan together and live within your means. I mean, all
that's essential. The importance of setting goals and giving generously,
(30:18):
but also God's perspective and his heart on money and
how we should view it, and how it can be
a rival for our hearts and our devotion to the Lord. Hey,
let's do this! I'd love to connect you with one
of our certified Christian financial counselors. These are men and
women where their ministry is to help people do just
what you're describing. They love it. We're going to pay
(30:39):
for it for you. You'll get several sessions to get
on a plan and get moving in the right direction. Sarah,
stay on the line. We'll get you connected with assert CFC.
We'll be right back. Thanks for joining us today on
Faith and Finance Live here on Moody Radio here in
(31:00):
our final segment today, taking your calls and questions, I
may have room for one more question between now and
the end of the program. You can call right now
800 525 7000. Let's go to Chicago and welcome Mary. Hi, Mary.
Go ahead.
S10 (31:16):
Hi. Thank you for taking my call. And my question was,
I wanted to know if it was wise to get
into a car note for a second car. Um, we
don't have any debt. And the car note would be
about $500 a month with interest. Okay. Um, I'm just
not sure if that's the. That's a wise decision.
S1 (31:39):
Yeah. I mean, it's a great question. So, um, so
tell me a little bit about your situation. Um, just
your overall financial picture. Do you all have an emergency fund?
S10 (31:50):
We do have an emergency fund, and we have money
in our investments. Um, we don't have any debt. Uh,
our first car is already paid off. And the reason
why I'm a little nervous about it is because we
just bought a home last year. And so I'm trying
to see if it if it's, if it's wise to,
(32:12):
to to make that, that move at this moment.
S1 (32:15):
Yeah. No I get that. And so when you do
your budget, um, do you have the ability to add
a $500 a month payment and still have some surplus
or some margin at the end of the month?
S10 (32:30):
Um, a little bit. It would be very tight.
S1 (32:35):
Okay. Yeah. And right now you guys are operating on
just one car. Is that right?
S10 (32:40):
Well, we have a we have a second car, but
it's it's really not reliable. And we spend money on
the mechanic and all that. So we just we don't
know if we should just wait and continue to put
money in this car or to just get a second car.
S1 (32:56):
Yeah, yeah. So would you sell this second car, the
current one, if you, if you went ahead with the
new one.
S10 (33:02):
We would, but we wouldn't get much money out of it.
S1 (33:05):
Okay. Got it. Yeah, but you wouldn't have to insure
it any longer. And so it would reduce your overall expenses, right?
S10 (33:13):
Correct.
S1 (33:14):
Yeah. Okay.
S10 (33:15):
And another thing. So we would probably use money from
our dividends to pay for, um, for the car note.
S1 (33:23):
Um, so.
S10 (33:24):
That's one way that we would kind of be a
little bit more afloat.
S1 (33:27):
Okay. Yeah. I mean, it just sounds like you're right
up to the edge. That's the only thing that's concerning me.
And so I think you need to just take a
hard look at the budget. Um, you know, I'd be
happy to connect you with one of our certified financial
counselors if you all would take advantage of it, just
to kind of help you look through your spending plan
and get on a more solid, uh, you know, monthly
(33:48):
plan that you feel better about. I just don't want
you to be right up to the edge. And then,
you know, anything comes out of left field. You know,
you're all of a sudden slipping behind, uh, you know, or, uh,
you know, spending more than you're bringing in. Um, so
there's nothing wrong with having a second car, and you
probably need some good, reliable transportation. And there is a
point at which it doesn't make sense to continue to
(34:11):
put more money into an older car, especially one that's
been giving you some problems. But I also want you
to be able to live within your means. Now, based
on what I'm seeing here, it sounds like you've got
plenty of emergency savings and investments. And what do you
have left on your mortgage? You said that's fairly new, right?
S10 (34:27):
Yes. So it's a 30 year mortgage. So we have
about 29 years okay.
S1 (34:32):
Yeah. So you got a long way to go there.
So it really does come down to the spending plan.
You just need to go back and take a harder
look at it. I mean the rule of thumb is
you want to keep transportation costs under 15% of your
take home pay. And that includes car payment, gas insurance, maintenance, parking,
if you've got it there in Chicago. Um, so you
(34:53):
need to put everything in to that payment or into
that category, and you need to be under 15%. But
that's just a rule of thumb. At the end of
the day, you need to make your budget work. And
so that means, you know, you guys are going to
have to look at, first of all, what is our
budget if we're realistic because we can't just put in
the things that you get a bill for. We need
(35:13):
to put in those non-discretionary items. You know, Christmas comes
every year. And, you know, if you're spending 1000 or
$2000 on Christmas, you know, we really should have, uh,
you know, 150 or $100 a month, you know, at
a minimum, uh, maybe more in the budget every month.
And cars break down and, and so we've got to
have something the maintenance category. And so we really need
(35:35):
to have an accurate representation of your budget, including this new, uh,
you know, car payment and higher, um, insurance, because with
a newer car, you're going to probably have an increase
in your insurance premium. So when you put all of
that in, what you may find is, uh oh, all
of a sudden we're $300 upside down every month. Well,
(35:55):
that's not going to work. That's not sustainable. So I
think that really should be the deciding factor. Here is
what would it take for us to do to rightsize
the plan so that we can afford to take on
this car, which we could absolutely use? And it doesn't
sound like you're being you know, you're buying something that's
just crazy in terms of, uh, you know, it's the
right vehicle for you. But that's only going to be
(36:18):
true if you can get to the place where you've
got a plan that's realistic and that, you know, isn't
upside down, does that make sense?
S10 (36:27):
Yes. Now, my question also is, would it be smart
to to use money from our dividends to pay for this?
Because our financial advisor has mentioned that, you know, it's
it's fine. Um, but I'm not sure that that would
be a good a good option.
S1 (36:45):
Yeah. No, I don't have any problem with that. What
do you have in investments? What's your total portfolio?
S10 (36:53):
Um, about 900,000.
S1 (36:56):
Okay. Yeah. And what is your age?
S10 (37:00):
Uh, 35.
S1 (37:01):
Okay. Yeah. Um. So that's incredible. Did that come, you know,
in a lump sum as an inheritance? Or have you
all just saved really hard, or. How did you get
build that up?
S10 (37:10):
Saved really hard.
S1 (37:11):
And that's amazing.
S10 (37:12):
A pension. So our financial advisor is pretty comfortable with
that because of our pension.
S1 (37:20):
I can imagine. So, um, so yeah, I mean, you
you obviously are way ahead of the game at 35
with that kind of investment portfolio. So, um, it sounds
like I mean, I love that you're still being frugal,
despite the fact that you have nearly $1 million in investments. And, yes, uh,
dividends could be a great way for you to do that.
Ordinary dividends are taxed at your regular income tax rate.
(37:42):
That's going to happen regardless. And so if you could
take a portion of those to rightsize this budget, I
think that makes a lot of sense. And stop putting
money into a car, you know, that is continually giving
you problems. I also think, you know, hopefully you have
an advisor who understands, um, you know, God's word and
can really come alongside you from a biblical worldview. But
(38:04):
I think it would be important sooner rather than later
for you guys to determine what is your finish line.
You know, how much are you ultimately trying to accumulate?
And I can't tell you what that number is that's
between you and the Lord. Um, but once you know
what that is, now all of a sudden you're in
a situation where you know when you can start increasing
your giving, um, because, you know, the last thing you
(38:27):
want to do is just mindlessly accumulate over the next
30 years and build up way more than you need. Um,
but again, that number is something you would need to
arrive at prayerfully. I don't think anybody else can tell
you what it is. But yeah, I think to get
back to your original question, I don't see any problem
with you taking on this new car. It sounds like
a reasonable car note you know, the average car payment
(38:50):
today is over $700. You're at 500. Uh, six year
payoff is fine. Um, I like five better, but six
is fine. And if you've got another source of income
through the dividends to cover that, um, if you weren't
able to cover it, just add a monthly cash flow,
then I think that's fine as well.
S10 (39:08):
Okay. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
S1 (39:11):
Absolutely, Mary. Hey. Well done. We appreciate your call. And
thanks for your great question today. We appreciate you being
on the program. Uh, let's see, uh, Indiana is where
we're headed next. Hi, Karen. Go right ahead.
S8 (39:25):
Are you are you there?
S1 (39:27):
I sure am. How can I help you?
S11 (39:30):
Um, I just have a question on guidance for health insurance. Um,
where you can go if it's affordable, on a limited income,
if you've had a past health history, I'm afraid I'll
be penalized for. Because I've been sick for, I don't know,
about a year ago, I went through some major health issues,
and we're running out of, um, Our resources. My husband's retired.
(39:53):
I'm on a limited income now. Is there anywhere you
could direct me to on someone to talk to on this?
S1 (40:00):
Yeah. I mean, you've got a couple of options. You
could go to the federal marketplace where you can compare
plans and see if you qualify for subsidies. So that's healthcare.gov. Gov. Healthcare. Gov.
It's free. It's trustworthy. And you can look for a
plan that fits your needs and budgets. You know the
top private health insurance comparison sites are ehealthinsurance. Another one
(40:25):
would be health markets. And then I'll give you a
third one. Health Sherpa s h e r p a. Um,
any of those, you know, could be an alternative, uh,
to healthcare.gov. And what you're looking for is the plan type, um,
you know, the coverage breadth, the support level, any subsidy, ask, uh,
(40:48):
ask access if you qualify for it. So those would
be the what I would be looking at in terms of,
you know, the various options.
S11 (40:56):
Okay. All right. Thank you very much.
S1 (40:58):
All right. We appreciate your call today. Well, we covered
a lot of ground today with some great questions. And
I so appreciate you inviting us into your stories each day.
We don't take that lightly. We realize, you know, your
call in and maybe a little nervous and just wondering
how to handle the various situations that you have. And
it's a great privilege to be able to step into
each of those and offer, hopefully, some practical advice that
(41:22):
finds its roots in God's Word. That's the heart behind
everything we do here at Faith. Fi is we want
to help you live a generous life, live as a
faithful steward, seeing God as your ultimate treasure and putting
money in its proper place. And that is a tool
to glorify God and to accomplish his purposes. And, uh,
let me finish where we started today. We're just days
(41:43):
away from the end of our fiscal year here at
Faith fi. And so the invitation is, if you love
the program, you found something valuable and you'd like to
join us as a partner, we would be incredibly grateful.
Partners support us at $35 a month as a listener
supported ministry. You might imagine that's a big deal for
us to be able to reach more people and create
(42:04):
the resources the app, the magazine, the studies and devotionals
bring you this broadcast each day and everything we have
planned for the next fiscal year, which, by the way,
is amazing. My team is awesome and we're doing some
awesome stuff, so if you'd consider joining us, we'd be grateful.
Just head to faith. Com slash give. That's faith. Give.
(42:25):
And if you get on board before June the 30th,
you'll get our current partner package that includes not only
Faithful steward but our new study, Wisdom over Wealth. Thankful
for our team today. Rihanna, Omar, Lisa. Jim. Faith and finance.
Lives of partnership between Faith Fi and Moody Radio. Come
back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. Bye bye.
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