Giving with an Open Heart

2 Corinthians 9 tells us each one must give as he is decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Notice it doesn't say apathetic giver. The Bible repeatedly makes clear that what's in your heart counts a lot more than what's in your checkbook. Today host Rob West speaks with financial expert Ron Blue about true generosity. Then it's your calls at 800-525-7000, 800-525-7000. I'm Steve Moore giving with an open heart.

That's next, right here on MoneyWise Live. All right, Rob, straighten your tie because your former boss is with us today. Ron Blue is co-founder of Kingdom Advisors and the author of more books than I can count about managing money God's way. Well, that's for sure, and he's a great mentor and friend as well. Ron, delighted to have you back. In full disclosure, I'm not wearing a tie today. And in full disclosure, I wrote one book 20 times.

That's great. Well, Ron, how is it that we can become apathetic about our giving? I know this is an area that you're incredibly passionate about, and how can that be possible? Well, I think the kind of the church teaches tithing regularly, and I'm speaking generically and not specifically. And it's interpreted as 10 percent coming out of the Old Testament because it doesn't mention 10 percent in the New Testament. But the church teaches tithing, and now we've even got online giving.

And I found myself, for example, that I'm a financial planner, so I planned, I knew what I was going to make this year or last year and so forth before the year started. And so I divided it by 52 and I put it on an automatic draft out of the church and forgot about it because I had tithed. And it's easy to lose the sense of giving and joy when you do that. I'm not saying that online giving is bad, but I am saying that it's really easy to become apathetic about your giving and assume that when I've given my 10 percent, I've given all that I need to give. I've given God his part back and he lets me keep my 90 percent. I love it. And I love, Ron, that you actually made a change as a result of that realization and how you do your own giving.

Yeah, I did. Judy and I heard a message and we were convicted by the message. We tend to get income on a pretty regular basis through Social Security and royalties and other things. So every Sunday morning, I keep track of our finances on Quicken and I'll go into Quicken and I'll say, how much income came in this week? And then I write it down. Like last week, I wrote down, I got my salary check from Kingdom Advisors and I got my Social Security check. So I totaled them up and took 10 percent of it. And then I always round up a little bit, filled out a three by five card, wrote a check and took the check to breakfast.

And Judy looked at the three by five card. We prayed over it. She signed the check and then we took it to church with us and she put it in the collection plate. It has changed everything about the way we think about giving by doing that. I think there's an alternative to that if people want to give online.

My suggestion would be that you still write a check every week. I had a father tell me that he realized that his children had never ever seen him give because it had all been done online. I always thought when a plate comes by and it's empty, after the pastor has said, if you're a guest here, you don't need to give, we must have all guests here.

Nothing's going in. That's great. Well, I love that story and it really just illustrates, I think, the opportunity we have to not only model to the next generation, but to really take seriously the joy of giving, the opportunity, the act of worship. By you and Judy having that moment together to celebrate God's provision, it does something special and it doesn't just get passed over. And I think that's so key. And I suspect it makes the act of giving, Ron, for you and Judy now a very worshipful experience, doesn't it?

Oh, very much so. Plus, we've started to give cash, Rob. Non-deductible cash. We see somebody who looks like they may have a need and we give to them. We'll talk more about that just around the corner because I know you and Judy have a lot of fun with that.

That's right. Giving with an open heart. Joining us today, our special guest, Ron Blue, will be back with more. 1-800-525-7000, 800-525-7000.

I'm Steve Moore. Don't forget, you can always send us a brief email question, just a couple of lines. The address is questions at moneywise.org.

Take a look around. Money and life run on the same track. But unfortunately, sometimes it seems like your money is heading in a different direction from your goals. In Never Enough, Three Keys to Financial Contentment, author Ron Blue helps you to break down all your financial options to a basic four and then shows you how to keep it all chugging along in the right direction on the same track. Never Enough, Three Keys to Financial Contentment, available when you click the store button at moneywiselive.org. For 30 years, SoundMind Investing has been helping Christians reach their financial goals with step-by-step guidance for investors at every stage, from those just getting started to those getting ready for retirement. Through scriptural principles and practical suggestions, SMI offers financial wisdom for living well.

More information, including a short video webinar on profit and peace of mind, no matter what's happening in the market, is available at soundmindinvesting.org. How strong is your faith? Hi, I'm Bernie Dymott from ChristianityWorks.com. I read this recently on Facebook. The way we deal with uncertainty lets us know whether Jesus is ahead of us leading or behind us just carrying our staff. Pretty confronting. Look, I know the corona pandemic is serious, and yes, we should be taking sensible precautions. Still, some people will lose their livelihood, some people will get sick, and yes, some people will die.

That's just the reality. And yet God wrote down every one of your days before any of them ever existed, today, tomorrow, next week, next month. None of this is any surprise to Him, and He has it all covered, from this day through to your very last day on this earth. He has it covered.

So yes, be sensible, but don't be afraid. If the heavy burden of debt is robbing you of freedom and peace of mind, Christian Credit Counselors can help. We're a nationwide nonprofit credit counseling organization that has helped over 300,000 individuals in the last 27 years get out of credit card debt 80% faster, while honoring that debt in full. To learn how Christian Credit Counselors can help you, visit christiancreditcounselors.org. That's christiancreditcounselors.org, or call 800-557-1985. Welcome back to MoneyWise Live. Your host is Rob West.

I'm Steve Moore, and our special guest is Ron Blue. We're discussing the important topic of giving. What does it mean to be a generous giver? What does it mean to give with an open heart?

And how much does God want you to give that and much more? Let's continue this discussion, Rob. Yeah, I'm delighted to. And Ron, just before the break, you were talking about the changes you've made and how you and Judy give the tithe. You also mentioned that you all are having a lot of fun just carrying cash around to give unexpectedly, as the Holy Spirit prompts you.

Give us a window into that. Well we, like when we go to the gas station and get a Coca-Cola or something, and somebody is standing in line, maybe a workman, and we hand them a $20 bill. I love it when I used to fly and go into the restrooms at the airport and you see these servicemen standing off in the corner totally unnoticed. And you walk up and you give them some money, and you see how their face lights up. So there's a real joy in giving without it.

It doesn't have to be tax-deductible. Giving is giving, and it's only in America really that we get the tax deduction for giving. Well we started today by talking about how we can become apathetic about our giving, but you hand somebody some money and see their face light up, and apathy is not something that follows. No, many times I've seen tears.

Somebody, you don't know what they needed, and tears come. So that is a real, real joy in giving. Well I know something else that you do. You're a busy guy. As you said, you used to travel a lot, not so much anymore, but working on all kinds of things all over the country and doing some writing and speaking, and a lot of it virtually now. But I know you and Judy continue to take people that God places on your path under your wing and actually journey with them, and that's been meaningful for you as well, hasn't it?

Probably the most meaningful thing happened about a year and a half ago. Judy was standing in line at the service station to pay for her Coke, and there was an eight-year-old girl in front of her who asked the attendant, handed him seven dollars and said, I want seven dollars worth of gas on pump, whatever it was. Judy thought, that's really unusual. So she followed the young girl out to the van. It turned out it was an abused single mom who had left in the middle of the night with just the clothes on their back and seven dollars. And that's all she had.

And so they needed it for gas so they could drive wherever they were going. So we gave her some money and Judy gave her some money. We helped her get into a shelter. We've kind of mentored her now for a year and a half. And I met with her three or four weeks ago and she said, can I go over my budget with you? And Rob, you helped me by setting her up with a credit counselor because she had credit problems. And she and it was the night the day we met her and she called that credit counselor that night and began a program of paying off her credit card. So today, a year and a half later, she has no credit card debt. She lives in an apartment.

She's working. And I went over her budget with her sitting at a Chick-fil-A about three or four weeks ago. And it looked like it was a good budget. She had considered everything. And then I said, do you have any savings?

Have you been able to save any money? And she says, well, yeah, I've got five thousand dollars in savings. Yeah, she's a very purposeful young woman. Yes. And very smart.

Not a lot of education, but a very wise lady. So. So really, all you need to get back on even keel is Ron Blue and a Chick-fil-A and those two things together. Now, you know, I want to say something to you. This happens to me all the time where somebody says, I read your book and it changed my life or heard you on the radio and it changed my life. And my comment is this.

No, no, no, no. I didn't do anything to change your life. I just shared some biblical principles.

You changed your life. Yeah. Amen.

Amen. So then at that point, Ron, when you find yourself in a better position than you were in, when you followed God's financial principles, you're out of debt, then what would be our responsibility? I think God gives us money, blesses us in order to be generous. So generosity is symptomatic of spirituality. And I think it's the joy of giving. That's why God wants us to give, not because he needs the money, but he wants my heart. And when I let go of something that he's blessed me with because it's not mine, I'm reminded what a provider God is.

That's great. Well, Ron, I think availability is something that's a key part of this. There's intentionality. Obviously, you and Judy have been very intentional to being open to the people that God places on your path. But you talk about some of the other barriers to giving. Perhaps one of them is just having a plan to give.

Yeah. I think there's three levels of giving. I think there's a should give level, and that is really a proportionate level. That's to give on the first day of each week, 1 Corinthians 16, 2. So I should plan to give regularly.

One. Secondly, there's an amount that I could give. I call that balance sheet giving or the giving that's in my pocket.

I could give that. It's not a part of my tithe, but I could give that. And that's where I think a lot of Christians fall down is they never think of the could give part. And then there's a third level of giving, and that is, God, if you will bless me with whatever it may be, a job or whatever, I will give. That's a faith gift. I don't think a tithe is a faith gift. I don't think committing to the billing fund is a faith gift.

I think it's when I'm giving where I don't know where it's coming from is a faith gift. Yes. Well, you and I have known men and women over the years that have said in the early days of starting businesses, I'm going to cap my income at some percentage of the median income in my city. And Lord, whatever you do with this business, I'm going to give the rest to you. That's a would give, right? And they've given tens of millions in some of those cases.

Absolutely. We have all heard the story of Alan Barnhart in Memphis who gave away his business before he even started it. And he's kept his lifestyle and has given away literally millions and millions of dollars because God has so blessed his business. But I was on a call with four very wealthy men several weeks ago who have kept their lifestyle and they've said, can you help us communicate what joy comes from giving above and beyond what you ever dreamed that you could and say, how much is enough? And then I'm going to give everything else away. Wow. That's true giving.

That's incredible. You just talked about the plan. You need to have a plan to give. There's also something to the community you surround yourself with, the relationships, people that perhaps can spur you on to greater giving. Is that important? Absolutely.

In fact, you know, the whole idea of community is important, Rob. I think living the Christian life, I'm just impressed more and more that you can't live it alone. And no matter how old you are, I'm 78.

I've been a Christian for a long time. But if I didn't have the reinforcement of the body of Christ, I've got no question that I would swerve off. Yes, we all would.

We all would. And this pandemic, I think, has just made us more aware, more acutely aware of the need for community, people around us. And certainly we need to avail ourselves of that. And that includes this area of giving. You know, the gift of giving is something we need to cultivate.

We need to use it regularly. You've certainly demonstrated that with your life, Ron. We're grateful for your testimony. Well, you know, everything I have, I received. I love it.

You certainly live that way. Well, Ron, thanks for stopping by today. We'll look forward to having you back real soon. Thank you. Ron Blue has been our guest today. He's the author of Master Your Money, a step-by-step plan for experiencing true financial contentment. Check it out at MoneyWiseLive.org. Your call is next, 800-525-7000.

And we'll be right back. Do you know if you have enough? Enough money? Enough house?

Do you know how much is enough? If not, Ron Blue can help with his book, Master Your Money, a step-by-step plan for experiencing financial contentment. Learn how to save, invest, and give wisely, how to create a long-term financial plan, and how to get out of debt.

You'll find it all in Master Your Money by Ron Blue, available when you click the Store button at MoneyWiseLive.org. Hebrews 4-12 says, For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Here's Beth Moore with a quick word. Christ is on the cross. This is in the midst of the crucifixion.

Listen to this. In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him, meaning Christ, he saved others, they said, but he can't save himself. He's the king of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him. I want to present to you that the hardest thing he thought on that cross was not just the cross itself, but all the psychological warfare that went with hanging on that cross, the who in behind the what. Because what does he do next?

Very next thing we're told. From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, darkness came over all the land, and about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? God let every single sin of humanity, past, present, and future, was heaped upon him.

He who knew no sin became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God in him. Well, when he did, the father, of course, has to separate himself from that for that moment until that moment is over. He's given his life. It is finished, wham, back on him. You understand what I'm saying? So he had to know the feeling of separation and being forsaken so that you and I never would.

He had to. Beth and Tim are thankful for the grace gift to serve you. Your letters, prayers, and support are a vital part of this program. To request this month's thank you gift, text the word GIFT to 57682. Again, text G-I-F-T to 57682, or go to BethMoore.org forward slash donate.

That's BethMoore.org forward slash donate. The financial wealth you leave behind could be the best thing that ever happened to your loved ones, or the worst. In Splitting Heirs, giving your money and things to your children without ruining their lives, Ron Blue explains why it's important to make these decisions now, instead of forcing your heirs to do it later.

Splitting Heirs will foster a real appreciation for the precious resources that God has entrusted to you. And it's available when you click the store button at MoneyWiseLive.org. Hey, great to have you with us today. It's MoneyWise Live with Rob West. I'm Steve Moore, and a good place to begin is to remember that God owns it all.

If we can help you today with any sort of financial question, conundrum, or comment, call right now toll free 800-525-7000. Rob, how are you doing today, buddy? I'm doing great, Steve. How about you? I'm doing pretty well. We had a lot of lightning just before we came in today, so I've rebooted everything, so the fact that you're just even there is a blessing, because around here, if you don't reboot, you get booted.

You're probably not on the radio. Every now and then, you just need a good reboot. There you go. That applies to so many areas of your life. I'm not going there.

Oh, Westville, Indiana. Hello, Carol, how can we help you? Hey guys, I wanted to share something with you that has really helped me. Recently, I just was on a seven-week furlough, so while I was furloughed, I was blessed to get unemployment money, and I was blessed to get the stimulus. What I did with the majority of that money that was extra was I paid off two loans.

One of them I paid off seven months early. Another thing I wanted to share with your listeners was if they could donate plasma in their area. Have you ever talked about that on your show?

You know, we haven't. Well, if you can donate plasma, they really need it now, especially with COVID, and I donate a plasma, and it doesn't affect your unemployment. It doesn't affect your taxes.

It goes on the debit card, and I made over $700 doing that. Wow. Really? Yeah. I know.

We always love a way to bring in some extra dollars, especially when it helps at a time like this, so it's a great idea, Carol. Yeah. Carol, how long did it take for the process, the plasma process?

Well, the first time you go, it takes at least two hours because they give you a physical and they check your veins, and so the first time it takes at least two hours, but my place where I go, they're only taking walk-ins only right now, but if people would just Google plasma donation in their area, and then after that, each donation takes approximately an hour. Okay. Very good. Well, that's great to know. We're happy to hear that you're paying off your debts early as well. Absolutely.

Did you have a question today, Carol, or just sharing that helpful information? Yes. My question was, my credit score is in the high 700s.

How can I get it in the 800s? Yeah. Well, congratulations. I mean, obviously, the fact that you have a score north of 700 means that you're managing your money wisely. The credit score is, of course, an indication of how likely you are to repay as agreed, and it's a formula. We know the big buckets, if you will, about what makes that up. We know that 35 percent, for instance, is based on your repayment history, and we know that 30 percent is based on your credit utilization, and then there are smaller percentages related to the types of credit you have and a number of other factors. We don't know exactly what goes into that formula.

And by the way, there are several of them. There's the FICO score, and there's the Vantage score. And even within those, there's different versions of those scores. There's also the consumer score that you would be able to pull yourself. There's the lender score, too, which is going to be slightly different. So that number is always a moving target any given day as well as how it's run. So it's going to ebb and flow. But the bottom line is, if you want to continue to see it move higher, and that's certainly a good thing.

A couple of things. Number one, of course, and this goes without saying, always pay your bills on time. That's going to be the number one priority. Beyond that, I think just keeping your balances paid off or certainly low is going to keep for those revolving accounts like a credit card, your credit utilization way down. That's always helpful. You're going to want to see if you can be with a utility or a cell phone company, if possible, that's going to report your payments. Not all of them will.

Some do. And of course, that additional on time history will actually help to boost your score. You'll want to try to minimize the number of new credit accounts you're opening once you have a good mix. And again, you're keeping those balances paid off, refraining from opening a lot of new accounts and at the same time, avoiding trying to close a bunch of the older ones. Try to keep that longevity in place and a manageable number of cards. But obviously, anytime you close them, you could see a temporary dip. So I think those are the main things. At the end of the day, managing your money wisely. If you get over 720, let's say you're really going to qualify for the top tier terms anytime you go to borrow. So I think there's diminishing returns on trying to get up over 800, although I've seen plenty of those scores.

But I think these big ideas here would be the primary ways you could see that score continue to move up over time. Carol, we're glad you called today. Thank you very much for all the great information you gave us and your question. Dixon, Tennessee. Hi, Dwight. You have a tithing question, huh?

Yes, sir. I've always wondered about tithing. I know you're supposed to tithe 10%, but what if you keep it from your growth or your gain? Yeah, Dwight, it's a great question. And the late Larry Burketta, Steve Nose, used to always answer this question by saying, well, do you want to be blessed, Gross or Ned?

And he would say that a bit tongue in cheek. But the idea, I think, is that really we give because we give with the right heart. We give cheerfully. We give it as an act of worship, not out of a legalistic approach or trying to check a box. Certainly not because we think as we give, then God will turn around and give back financially, although we see in his word that there is reward for giving. But I don't know what necessarily form that will take. I think the big idea, though, on tithing itself, if we go back to the original principle of giving off of your increase, it really would be based on the way we would see it play out in the Old Testament, based on your gross.

It would be the first and the best. And so I would say, you know, whether you're in an agricultural society and you're tithing off of a crop or you're tithing off of an income, a check that comes periodically, I think your increase is that which is your provision. And then out of that will be several things that will reduce that, whether it's a payment to the U.S. government for taxes or a contribution for health insurance or retirement. But it's all God's provision. So I think to honor the intent behind that principle, for me at least, I'd be tithing off the gross. Dwight, we're glad you called today and glad you got through, too. Thanks very much. Eight hundred, five, two, five, seven thousand. When we return, how do you cancel a credit card and work from home ideas?

Are there any that are good and legitimate? We'll find out. Investing is more than just returns. It's an expression of who you are and what you value. Does the way you invest your money reflect your identity as a Christian? At Eventide, we design investments for performance and a better world, so you can invest with a confidence to reach your financial goals while remaining true to your Christian values and commitments. We call this investing that makes the world rejoice. More is available at investeventide.com.

That's investeventide.com. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I couldn't have had the procedure I needed without CHM's help sharing the bills. That letter from a member displays Christian Health Care Ministries' purpose to glorify God and serve His people. CHM is the original non-insurance voluntary health cost sharing ministry, enabling its members to share the cost of each other's medical bills.

Call 800-791-6225 or visit chministries.org. Hey, this is Chris Brooks, and I'm so excited to share the Moody Radio Verse of the Week, which is found in Philippians 2, 1, and 2. If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one spirit and of one mind. That's Philippians 2, 1, and 2, the Moody Radio Verse of the Week. Here's how one person described the impact of Moody Radio. It's gotten me to focus on Christ more, starting with reading God's Word, but that also carries over into being a father, being a husband, and also be there for somebody that might be seeking Christ. Help reach listeners like this with the Word of God.

Call 1-800-DL-MOODY or visit moodyradio.org. Your family and your money are two very important subjects. That's why in this month's Money Wise e-magazine, we're giving your family tips and tools to grow closer to God, closer together, and closer to true financial freedom. Get practical advice to strengthen financial communication in your marriage, infuse more budget-friendly family activities into your week, and a lot more. Your free Money Wise e-magazine subscription is waiting for you at moneywise.org slash signup.

With SRN News, I'm John Scott. President Trump says his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination will be held at either the White House or the Gettysburg Battlefield. In a tweet, the President today says a decision on the location of the August 27th speech will be made soon. Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab says he and the rest of his cabinet are stepping down in the wake of a catastrophic explosion in Beirut last week that triggered public fury and mass protest. In a televised speech, Diab said corruption in the country is bigger than the state. In Portland, police say two officers injured and 16 people were arrested in yet another night of rioting. Police also say a mortar was fired at them.

Stocks closing mixed the Dow gained nearly 358 points, but the NASDAQ was down 42. This is SRN News. If you've never visited our website, you might want to check that out sometime. Lots of great information there to help you with your general financial questions and issues. Lots of free information, things like budget templates, our radio archives are located there, how to find a certified kingdom advisor in your area and how to connect with a budget coach at no charge. That and much more when you visit MoneyWiseLive.org and also where you can click the donate tab at the top of the page. Thank you in advance for any financial support that you're able to provide us.

We really do depend upon your financial partnership as well as your prayers. Let's go to the city where I spent my formative years, Rochester, New York. Hi Linda, how are you today? Hi gentlemen, good afternoon. Hi Linda, thanks for calling.

Hi, I have a question. I listened to you on Friday and you were talking about credit card debt and thankfully I don't have that. I've taught myself that I must pay my bill off but I have a question. How do you actually cancel a credit card?

In the past I have written letters but is there an easier way to do that? Because cutting it up doesn't actually mean that they know you cut it up. Well yeah, that's exactly right. So anytime you want to cancel a card and by the way if you have a number of cards you want to cancel I would not do it all at once but if you're canceling one or maybe two cards and then you wait several months and then cancel another which I think is a great idea because it's going to limit the number of open accounts that could potentially be compromised and therefore used fraudulently. You want to do a couple of things. Number one is if there's a rewards balance you're going to want to check that. Just make sure you've used your rewards first before you cancel the card because you could lose them. So that doesn't always apply but if it does check that out. Then I would contact the issuer using the customer service number on the back of the card. By the way get ready for a counter offer when you do that. They don't want to lose you but just say no thanks and tell them to cancel the card. I would though to your point Linda consider following up with a letter.

It's not required but it can't hurt. Include your name and address and phone number and card number and keep a copy for your records. Then destroy the card. Cissors are fine and then I would keep an eye on that account. You may still have some transactions in process like refunds. If a refund appears you can just ask for a check but you know I think that's basically the idea behind what you'll want to do in terms of steps and then you know keep in mind that canceling a card may cause you to see a slight dip in your credit score. It'll be temporary.

It'll come back over time as long as you're an on-time payer. Is that what you're looking for though? No that's perfect.

For your listeners in the past I used to have a form letter that I made and then I would just fill in the credit card number and sign it and mail it off with the cut-up card. Okay. Yeah.

But now that's been years ago so now with all more technology I was wondering if there was a quicker way. Which calling answers that question? Yeah and by the way there may be a way on their website that you can click a button or even in their smartphone app. Just make sure you're the one initiating that contact through the web or the smartphone as opposed to responding to something in an email. But they're very well depending on the issuer.

It could be an electronic way to do it without having to write a letter. Just whichever you prefer is the bottom line. Linda thank you very much for your phone call today and enjoy the Rochester weather this time of year. We appreciate it. Thanks. Tamarack Florida. Hello Barbara.

What's your question for Rob West? Yes. Hi.

Good afternoon. The reason for my call is are there any work at home jobs that are legitimate? I did try one about two years ago. Even got the Better Business Bureau in Arizona to you know I called them and they didn't give it a bad reference. But it was bad. It was bad anyway.

I got slammed. So I was afraid to try it and I'm 65 so I'm trying to do something from home and everybody says, oh I work from home. I'm thinking well you know is there anything I could do or any suggestions about working from home?

Well here's what I would say Barbara. You know that you've got to distinguish between the ability to work remotely and starting your own at home business. There are plenty of work remote jobs and in fact that particular slice of the working world is growing not just because of the pandemic.

It was already on the rise before that. But there are a lot of scams especially as it relates to you working at home where you're essentially starting your own business. So here would be a huge red flag if they want you to pay an upfront fee.

That would likely be a scam or at the very least it's you know they're trying to get you into a business not expecting a lot to come from it just wanting to get you to buy the kit or the upfront information knowing that you'll probably move on before you make any kind of meaningful money. What I would instead encourage you to do is go to the online job sites like Monster and Indeed and Career Builder and then look for work from home or work remote because many employers are now offering that as a benefit. They're realizing that more and more people especially now in the midst of COVID-19 but not only that that more and more people are looking for that flexibility and so those opportunities are there and then you would want to of course you know make your skills known and make a pitch as to the value you can bring to the company just like you would with any other position but I would encourage you to just work your network but then also pursue these online career sites that allow you to filter jobs by those particular offerings that offer a work from home option and I think that will give you what you're looking for. Barbara do you have any particular skills? Do you have office skills? Do you have other skills that an employer would want to speak to you about? Yes, the only thing is it was years ago. I worked for an attorney as a you know a type of legal typist and then the places I've applied they want recent skills and I have just been a homemaker for the last 20 years with personal issues I was tending to.

So that's my thing. I do have I believe you know skills but just and then you know age goes against you too it's just realistic. Yeah but the Lord doesn't pay attention to that and you know we would urge you as I'm sure you're already doing that you pray about this on a real regular basis and in a case such as this networking really is your friend and that includes everyone at church let them know that you're looking and what it is that you used to do. I'm on a website and it's a national site but it looks like a local or regional site it's called neighborhood and it's in all 50 states that I'm aware of and but it's a site that where you can sign up and it just includes people within a certain mile radius of your home so you can sign up for 20 miles or 40 miles and people kind of get to know one another on this website. Lots of it is about you know barking dogs and did you see you know I've lost my cat and things like that but there are a lot of people that advertise this kind of position because you feel as though it's you're talking to people only in your neighborhood people you can trust.

So it's called the neighborhood website it's national and I'd urge you to check it out for your area and see if there's anything there because I know people who have found jobs this way and I'm afraid that's all we have for you today but we are really glad that you called thank you very very much and we wish you the best. Rob how about an email from Rhonda who says how can I find the balance between saving and giving the kingdom work any thoughts? Yeah this is a great question Rhonda and I think it really does come down to a goal setting process starting on your knees saying Lord thank you for this provision you've given to me I recognize this is your money and I want to be a good manager of it and in doing that Rhonda really pray through the balance between how much is enough that is providing for your family and living with contentment and being generous and I think as you seek the Lord in that process as you understand his principles as you try to live modestly and give generously that the Lord will help you to land on the right lifestyle for you we know clearly you need to do both this is money wise please stick around. Many people are experiencing financial challenges such as credit card debt, downsizing, dead end jobs and depleted savings in fact more than half of all divorces are the result of financial pressures at home but there's hope in your money counts biblical financial expert Howard Dayton shows that the Bible is a veritable blueprint for managing your finances and you'll discover the profound impact it has on your relationship with God your money counts is available when you click the store button at MoneyWiseLive.org Hi I'm Barry Maguire I'm here to help you understand the urgency and how much fun it is to share your faith through the eyes of a layman this is not the time for fear and doubt and anxiety this is when the weed is separated for the shaft concerning our faith people are dying for the faith around the world why Christians in America are hiding in fear the first pushback the contrast is striking and the scriptures are clear how God expects us to react to adverse circumstances first Thessalonians 5 16 to 24 tells us to rejoice always pray without ceasing give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you do not quench the spirit do not treat prophecies with content but test them all may God himself the God of peace sanctify you through and through may your whole spirit soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and that should be evident to everyone watching you there's nothing more exciting than knowing God is using you to move people closer to him join us at igniteamerica.com have you recently felt like your prayers went unanswered like God wasn't even listening God hears all prayers and may be telling you something that you're simply not hearing could there be active sin in your life that he wants to address might he be saying no or not now to your request because he has something better is it possible that you're praying for your will to be done instead of his these are all potential reasons but the real place to start is your relationship with Jesus we're all sinners in need of forgiveness that should be our first prayer seeking forgiveness of our sins and an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is where our relationship with God changes if you truly accepted that invitation and prayed for Jesus to be first in your life if you want to talk about what that means and how to invite Jesus into your heart then call us at 888 need him or you can go online and chat with us at chat about jesus.com Many people adopt an attitude toward marriage and finances that it'll all work out somehow but sadly it often doesn't financial woes can devastate a marriage but there is a better way God's way money and marriage God's way by Howard Dayton will help you discover God's approach to growing your finances strengthening your relationship with your mate and cultivating Godly joy money and marriage God's way is available when you click the store button at MoneyWiseLive.org Here's a verse from the book of James James 4 verse 3 you ask and you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives so that you may spend it on your pleasures something to think about Spring Hill Florida hello Cheryl what's your question today for Rob yes can you hear me I'm on my car phone yes loud and clear okay I recently received an unexpected pension in the mail I couldn't remember how much the amount would be and it's $16,000 and I do owe 8,000 on my car but I'm debt-free except for my car I would like some of it to be liquid because I also am going to need an air conditioner possibly in the near future and this came at a time God blessed me when like all my appliances were dying so I was just like wow God is blessing me I do get disability every month so I would like to like maybe put some of it in something that's going to grow but be able if I need the money be able to access it somehow yeah okay a couple of thoughts Cheryl you know with a pension this is qualified money which means it went in pre-tax and so anything that you take as a distribution once you separate from service is going to be taxable now if that money was paid directly to you you could as long as you do it within 60 days you could redeposit it into an IRA an individual retirement account or another pension plan which doesn't sound like you have access to but again as long as it's within 60 days of withdrawal you could keep that portion of it any or all of it out of becoming taxable to you and at that point then it could be invested and you could let it continue to grow on a tax deferred basis anything that you do pull out and is not redeposited into a qualified account within 60 days would be added to your taxable income for the year and you're just going to want to set aside what you believe to be an estimated tax payment based on your effective tax rate which would be the total amount of income you have divided by what you paid in tax last year you can come up with a percentage and if you applied that assuming this year is similar to last to this particular amount whatever it is you keep that would give you at least a good idea on what you're going to owe and you just want to make sure you set that aside does it so it doesn't catch you off guard in terms of you know whether you should keep it or grow it that's really up to you in terms of your goals and priorities i would say anything you are going to invest i'd love for you to have a you know a five to ten year time horizon on that because i wouldn't want you to put it in all into the stock market through a mutual fund or exchange traded fund and then six months from now you remember you need it for something and all of a sudden the market has taken a significant downturn you're selling at a loss and you know that really probably wasn't the best move at that point but if you say no rob i'm going to leave this for five years or ten and down the road this is going to be part of what's going to help me cover my expenses you know i'll turn this into an income stream of some amount down the road then i'd say yeah that'd be a great way to use that money so given that shirrell tell me your thoughts it sounds good i have been doing research on iras and which type are the best ones to invest in traditional looks like it would be the better one because with the roth you have to have it in there at least five years before you can withdraw well the challenge is yeah the traditional is really the only option for you because if you put it into a roth it's all going to be taxable now um so in order to create a non-taxable event you need to go into the traditional ira you can do that at any one of the brokerage firms you could do it at charles schwab or a mutual fund company like vanguard or td emeritrade or if you want to use one of the new kind of online solutions you could use betterment or wealthfront it doesn't really matter i think the key is you want to go with a solid reputable institution who's not going to charge you a lot of fees and then in terms of the investment strategy again as long as you have five to ten years you could use like a robo advisor which would be betterment or wealthfront where they'd use low-cost index etfs to build a portfolio based on your goals and objectives or if you wanted to do it yourself once you open that account and deposit the funds i'd head over to soundmindinvesting.org soundmindinvesting.org and they could certainly help you out with a godly approach to that but we appreciate your call today i hope that's helpful to you thank you cheryl uh quickly to saint john indiana hello trudy what's on your mind hi there hi trudy go right ahead um thank you for taking my call i had um younger brother passed away in december and he had been homeless um he came to live with my husband and myself for six months before he passed away and he was on medicaid but i have no information of what he anything other than we recently found his um social security number but all the bills from the hospital he was in icu for two weeks and um all the ambulance bills i feel like all these people have a right to be paid but i can get no information of what i can do to get the numbers uh his personal numbers to get these bills paid yeah well trudy first of all i'm so sorry to hear about your brother's passing and i certainly appreciate your desire to really honor these obligations that are there with whatever resources are made available of course you're not responsible for anything unless you sign for something but to the extent there are funds available to cover outstanding obligations and you're willing to help with that that's certainly a great gesture that you're putting forward here i would say you are going to have challenges trying to get a lot of information medical creditors will have that but the HIPAA privacy rules are probably going to prevent them from sharing that with you perhaps with producing a death certificate you could get some information but where i would probably start trudy is your local medicaid office you could go to medicaid.gov or make an appointment at the local office try to explain the problem get some help and direction on where to go from here you'll find them to be very willing to help and i think perhaps that is going to be the best next step for you in this process so again i so appreciate what you're trying to do here and i know this is a difficult time and so we'll ask the MoneyWise live community to be praying for you in this process technically rob neither she or her husband are responsible for his deaths right right unless they were to sign for something but it sounds like she's just trying to help out here in this situation and yeah not not responsible for any of that that's good to know trudy god bless you thank you so much i think we can get to mike now mike's in cleveland ohio and what's on your mind what's your question for rob west good afternoon thank you for taking my call my question is my parents have a general will is that the best way for me to inherit their assets or is there a less complicated way or what's your thought yeah no that's really the most simple way actually to make sure that their wishes are carried out at death of course a will is not triggered until death as opposed to a trust which could go into place prior to death based on certain conditions of incapacitation or something like that but a simple will drawn up properly in accordance with state laws i think would be the most effective way for them to express their wishes and for those effects assets to be passed it would go through the probate process but the will would be the document that governs that so if they don't have one in place mike i would just seek a godly estate attorney there in cleveland you could contact one of our certified kingdom advisors and ask for a referral or perhaps even ask at your local church but i think that is going to be the very best way for you to go we appreciate your call today thank you mike and rosanne i wasn't sure we were going to be able to get to you but uh it looks like we are if you can make your question brief what's going on in your life oh hi thank you so much for taking my call you guys are such a blessing i have to say that and my question is i double checked on my um credit score today with experience and realized that during the month of june for whatever reason my my score went down like a point and it didn't say why but it had to do with a credit card that i had with um sears i no longer use the card i had no use for it and i'm just wondering what is the best way to cancel this card and not have reduced my my scores lower yeah what is it that's causing you to believe rosanne that it was that particular card that caused that very minor dip in your credit score i did check on it it gives you a statement of sword as to when it goes up when it goes down and so when i clicked on the when it says it went down i clicked on that and had to do with that card okay well the only thing i would say there is i agree if you're not using it let's go ahead and close it you may see a further slight dip in your score when you cancel it uh remember the reasons that are given as to what score you got are just generated based on the best four reasons out of the list and so i wouldn't put too much stock in that but the bottom line is you don't use it so let's get it closed uh the really the main thing you want to do there is like with any other card just contact the company tell them to cancel follow up the letter destroy the card and just keep in mind you may see a slight reduction but it'll come back these credit scores are going to move around rosanne from day to day and month to month depending on where you pull it and what's going on with your credit utilization i wouldn't think too much about that just be an on-time payer follow biblical principles of managing your money and the rest will take care of itself rosanne thank you very much i'm glad we were able to squeeze you in today we wish you the best thanks very much and with that rob we're going to have to wrap it up for today but we'll come back tomorrow and and we'll do an even better job tomorrow than we did today okay we will certainly try steve thanks you know we talked a lot about the importance of getting out of develop getting out of debt developing a spending plan a budget having an emergency fund living within your means but just because we talk about it doesn't necessarily mean that it's easy to do and to enact in your life uh fortunately we know some people who will help you in fact they're committed to helping you they're called money wise coaches a group of volunteers especially trained to provide personalized help to help get you started and your entire family to avoid any snags along the way once you make this kind of commitment and if you'd like to connect with the coach just go to our website as i mentioned earlier moneywiselive.org and then click connect with the coach it's about halfway down the page moneywiselive.org money wise live is a partnership between moody radio and money wise media thanks to judy amy aaron and jim henry for their technical stuff today you have a great remainder of your day and join us again tomorrow