It's no surprise that online shopping has increased dramatically during the COVID crisis and right along with it there's been a surge in buy now pay later deals.
And if you've been letting your mouse do the shopping you've probably seen those deals but is buy now pay later really a good deal? Well today, Kingdom Advisors President Rob West reveals the perils involved. Then it's your calls and questions on anything financial at 800-525-7000.
800-525-7000. I'm Steve Moore. Buy now, pay a bunch later. That's next on MoneyWise Live. Okay Rob, so why should we be a bit skeptical about these online offers that allow us to delay payments and interest charges? Is there something fishy about that? A little bit because as they say, the devil's always in the details.
How so? Well the offers to buy now and not make any principal interest payments until some date in the future are legitimate and usually they're in big bold letters but the fine print tells the whole story and usually you have to scroll down or click a link to find it. Well I've lost my glasses so what would that fine print say? Usually you'll find a statement in legalese that you might have to read a couple of times to understand but let me translate.
It would go something like this. By the way, while you're not making payments until June of 2021 or whenever, we're adding as much interest as the law allows to your balance but you won't see that until your first bill comes in. Ooh okay, ouch. You know that means you haven't saved anything and now you owe not only the balance but all those delayed interest charges as well? That's not much of a deal. Right, but in fairness you could take the offer, get the merchandise, enjoy it and then pay off the entire balance before the grace period ends and depending on the contract you'll probably pay little or nothing in interest or fees. But here's the thing, are you really going to do that? Do you have the money to pay off the complete balance in your savings or checking and if you do why didn't you just pay for it in the first place?
Or will you be able to put it in there during that grace period because of course the clock is ticking. My guess is that most people doing the buy now pay later deal will not pay off the balance in time and they'll end up paying more in interest than the item cost in the first place and that's certainly what the finance company is counting on. So for example let's say you buy a couch for $3,000 and yes people do that, that's how much many couches go for these days. It's a buy now pay later deal but you don't pay it off in time so you begin making the monthly payments and at 20% interest you end up paying $4,800 in interest alone. So in the end the couch really cost you almost 8 grand Steve.
Wow and that's one expensive couch. So how can we avoid the temptation of buy now pay later because those online offers really can be attractive? Well there are two ways. One practical, one spiritual.
First the practical. Let's say you really do need a couch because you're tired of using folding chairs, that doesn't mean you have to buy a new one at all. Instead go to the Salvation Army, Goodwill or some other thrift store and buy a decent used couch for maybe a few hundred dollars or less.
You can look at online classified ads as well. Alright now you've got your couch and it'll be fine for a while but you still want something a little nicer, maybe the used one doesn't quite match your decor. That's okay so start saving for the couch you really want. Discipline yourself to put that money away every month perhaps with an automatic transfer from your checking account and once you have the money saved you can pay cash for the couch of your dreams and not pay a nickel in interest.
Okay alright well good idea. Alright now that's the spiritual way or what's the rather the spiritual way to avoid this buy now pay later scenario? Well I would just say search your heart for why you feel discontent. If you're willing to get caught up in a buy now pay later scheme odds are deep down you're not content with God's provision and you feel you should have more. So I would just pray that the Holy Spirit will give you discernment and the peace that comes with truly trusting God to provide for your needs. Pray that your will would become his will. Mark 11 assures us of this Steve it reads therefore I tell you whatever you ask in prayer believe that you have received it and it will be yours.
Okay any more advice for avoiding buy now pay later offers online or anywhere else? Well you know Steve when it comes to these lifestyle decisions we've got to start on our knees. We've got to purpose ourselves to say we will not live outside of God's provision. We will not take on debt to fund our lifestyle. We will instead be content with what we have trusting in God's promises and we will order our financial lives so we can experience his best.
Rob West taking your calls today on MoneyWise Live 800-525-7000. Get pleasure and eternal rewards of the Treasure Principle and once you discover it life will never look the same. The Treasure Principle is 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.
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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. Hey, it's a blessing and an honor to have you with us today if you have a question for Rob West, a financial question of any kind. Now's a great time to call because we have three or four open lines as I look at the screen.
Three or four opportunities for you to get in at 800-525-7000. We were chatting for just a couple of minutes about the pros and cons of buy now, pay later opportunities. They can be helpful at times but many people find that in spite of their best approaches to this and best motives, often they end up paying more in interest than they ever planned on and just buying stuff with debt in general is not always a great thing. So be prayerful about that. You know Rob, another principle I've noticed, whenever you and I talk about the high cost of couches, which I think you broached the topic, I jumped in, silly me, I noticed that that night my dinner is going to be served cold.
Now I don't know why exactly but it just seems like it's a principle that works. Maybe Marsha listens to the program, is that part of it? I keep taking the batteries out of the back of the transistor radio we have but I think her online approach to life has got the better of me.
Well that's because she listens in the car while she's going from couch store to couch store. We better shift gears real quick. Green Bay, Wisconsin. Hey Fred, nice to have you with us today sir, how can we help you? Hi, thank you Rob and Steve, we appreciate you taking my call. Thank you for your ministry, it's especially relevant in times like these.
Thank you, thank you buddy. My question today is I'm a small business owner, I have 15 employees. We've received the first round of the paycheck protection program, the PPP, and we're eligible for a second round and the first round was forgiven. But I just wanted to get your thoughts on, you know, we weren't an essential business so we haven't shut down. I think, you know, we've had things disrupted like any other business has but we've been profitable this past year and I'd just like to get your thoughts on that program and whether we should participate in a second round. Yeah, it's a great question and I appreciate why you're asking it Fred, I mean clearly you want to be found faithful with the use of these resources, recognizing the intent and purpose behind it is to keep companies going who employ people so we can keep our economy strong, keep people employed and continue to operate economically as a nation and, you know, if you've – you know, first of all, if you're eligible then there's no legal reason not to take it. I think consider that your business in the black is a huge blessing to your employees by ensuring they'll continue to receive a paycheck.
But I think beyond just are you legally entitled to it, I think the heart behind your question is, you know, is it something that I should take? And that becomes very personal as a steward of your business and of God's money and so I might just pray about whether you really need it. Has your business in fact suffered due to the pandemic?
Do you anticipate that it might? And if not, someone else's business may need the help more. But at the end of the day, I think as long as you are legally eligible and you pray through it and you think there's a legitimate need or potential need for it, that's what it's there for. And, you know, you're not helping the nation economically by not ensuring that your business survives because you have 15 people counting on you that it will. And so that's why you're going to operate it to the best of your ability. And during a really difficult time, a national global pandemic, the government has said we want to come alongside you and help to ensure that that is in fact the case. And if that's a real possibility or in fact the reality of the situation, I'd say go for it. I think the question comes in when you feel like based on everything you know today, your business is going to do just fine. And then I think you have to ask yourself the question, is this something I should accept at that point?
Does that make sense? Thank you. I appreciate that.
Yeah, yeah. Well, I'll just trust that the Lord will give you some real wisdom, Fred, as you pray and think through that. And I appreciate, you know, your approach on this. I'm confident at the end of the day the Lord will honor the heart behind the question, which is you want to be found faithful. You want to hear, well done, good and faithful servant.
And that's clearly the direction we should all be pursuing. Fred, thank you very much. And good luck up there in Green Bay. I'm referring to football now, not general good luck, but we appreciate your call. Thank you very much.
Green Bay. What do you think? Our researcher, Jim Henry, he's from that area. He gets testy this time of year. He's not testy, but just touchy.
I think touchy is the better term. Yeah, I'll tell you that. Those of us who are Cleveland Browns fans, we've had the weekend to get over that.
Right, that was a tough game for sure. Speaking of Youngstown, Ohio, hello, Lisa. Welcome to MoneyWise Live.
Hi, thank you. We're actually in between the Steelers and the Browns in this area. You know, I saw a story done, a news story done in a diner, like right there splitting the middle. And they were talking to people of both sides. And yeah, I'm sure that's an interesting place to live.
Well, it's always fun talking football, but yeah, finances would be a better approach here. I appreciate it. We were thinking of gifting money to our nieces and nephews and then maybe even putting some in the will. But one niece is like, you know, high functioning along the autism spectrum. So I know and I think she might she's 24 and I think is on SSI. So I know there's some criteria or parameters with that.
How should we look about giving, providing for something for her in the future? Yeah. You know, there's something called an ABLE account. A B L E. Are you familiar with that, Lisa? Oh, no.
OK. I would check that out. It's similar to a 529 that we would typically talk about for college. But the ABLE account, which was actually established under President Obama's, stands for achieving a better life experience. And basically it offers a tax free investment account as long as the funds are used for qualified expenses. And so in addition for you know, in addition to education costs with the ABLE fund, it's for qualified disability expenses.
So these would include job training and support, health care and financial management. They can be used to pay for summer camps for children with special needs and equestrian therapy, you know, for individuals with autism, as you've mentioned. So, you know, they're available as long as you were diagnosed with a disability before age 26.
And the condition is expected to last at least 12 consecutive months and you're receiving benefits under, you know, SSI or SSDI. Contributions are limited to fifteen thousand a year, but they still allow you to qualify for the government assistance while you have the funds in the account. So that might be a good way to go, just given that there may be some ongoing needs down the road and you want to be able to have those funds set aside. You know, a more complex and more expensive approach to this could be a special needs trust. If you felt like that was warranted where money can be set aside and only dispersed under certain conditions. And there are obviously some benefits to having that type of account as well. But the ABLE account is much simpler to set up, less costly and can provide some of those same benefits where the funds are set aside and available, again, growing tax free. But as long as they're used for certain expenses related to a disability. So I would check that out, you know, with the nieces and nephews that don't have the physical challenges. I think looking at a perhaps a 529 plan, as long as you want to earmark the funds for college could be a great option there just to give them that nest egg that when they're ready to go off to school, they have those funds available. And if someone got a scholarship, the money can come out on a pro rata basis equal to the scholarship or can be transferred to another child.
So those are two of my favorite tools in these situations. Lisa, we're glad you called today and we hope that information helps you. You sound like a very generous person leading something not only to your own children, but to nieces and nephews. We wish you and your the rest of your family the very best. Thanks. You're listening to Money Wise Live with Rob West. We're taking your calls today at 800-525-7000, regardless of what team you root for, 800-525-7000.
We'll be back to say hi to Angie after this. Siri, I need some help. What's up? Well, sometimes I feel like I can't get a handle on my money. I mean, where does it all go?
Hmm. It sounds like you need the Money Wise app. It's a free app that will help you plan your budget and track your spending, like the $3 you spend every morning on coffee.
Well, not every morning. You'll also get access to free biblical financial advice. Sounds awesome. Let's do it.
Okay. Searching for Money Wise on the App Store. Learn more at app.moneywise.org. Do you feel like your hands are tied with debt, preventing you from serving God? If you have credit card debt, Christian Credit Counselors can help. Through our debt management program, we can get you out of credit card debt about 80% faster while honoring your debt in full. For more information on how Christian Credit Counselors can help, visit christiancreditcounselors.org.
That's christiancreditcounselors.org, or call 800-557-1985, 800-557-1985. 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. Go with me to Zechariah. Zechariah, so look for your Z-E-C-H and go to chapter 14. This particular chapter, chapter 14, is about the return of Christ and the setting up of the kingdom of Christ on this earth.
I want you to just say, I wish we could really pull back and go through it, but we can't. I just want you to see something in terms of the name of God, Jehovah Meccadishchem, that we are studying today. Verse 20, Zechariah 14, verse 20. On that day, holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord's house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty. All who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them, and on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty. It's saying everything that is set apart as a vessel to me all the way down to the spoon that will be used in my house will have upon it holy to the Lord. In the Old Testament, the Old Testament priests wore turbans. Aaron and his sons would have worn turbans as they served before their God that would have had a plate on it right on the forehead.
So the turban would have had a band around it just like this, and on that turban were the words written holy to the Lord. You've been listening to Beth Moore with a quick word. Beth is excited to announce, now that faith has come, a study of Galatians is available as an online experience or as a printed workbook edition. Grab your copy today at BethMoore.org. Keep listening for another quick word with Beth Moore. We're MoneyWise Live, a place where we do our best to help you understand God's word and God's principles and how they apply to your money, your finances, and if we can help you talk about those things, give us a call right now. We have three outstanding lines or three open lines, maybe a better way to put it, and that means there's lots of space for you. Call right now, 800-525-7000.
Rome, Georgia. Hello, David. What's on your heart? Hey, how y'all doing, guys? Wonderful, thanks.
Thank y'all so much for taking my call. Me and my wife are trying to be good stewards with our money. We inherited a home that is actually my home place that I grew up in from my mom, and we didn't have a mortgage or anything on it, but we wanted to renovate it. So we did a total renovation on the inside and took out a HELOC to do that. The HELOC is at 7% with a three-year, I guess a must-keep or whatever it is they call it, with a ten-year maturity on it. Is it wise to continue to pay that and just pay that off, or should we flip it over into just getting a regular mortgage at a lower interest rate, like a two or a three, where they stand now? Yeah, so there's no first mortgage on the property currently, David, is that right?
No, sir, there's not. Okay, so only the HELOC, and what's the balance on it? $90,000. All right, and how quickly do you anticipate paying that off?
Our goal was to pay that thing off within like a year or two, but it looks like it's probably going to be three or four, maybe five. Okay, and what is the interest rate currently? 7%. 7%, okay. And is it fixed at seven, or is it, well, it's a HELOC, so it would be floating. And when is the payments right now are based on what kind of payoff? Are you paying interest only, or are you paying an amount with a term on it? It's interest only right now, but we throw a little bit extra in there along the way, but it's not like knocking a big dent in it. It still bounces around.
When we started out at 90, they went up to 92 for us, and then we're down to like 89 now. Yeah, yeah. Okay, well given... We've had it for a year. Yeah, given that you think this could extend as much as five years, I mean, that's a really high interest rate, obviously. I like the idea of you going ahead and getting the first mortgage to pay that off, which you could do right now on a, for instance, you could get a 15-year payoff or a 10-year payoff, but go ahead and base your payments amortized to that five-year payoff, so you don't have to send them only the minimum each month based on the 10-year term. And if you could go ahead and get that 7% down to 2.5 or 2.6, something like that, you will, even with the cost of getting that mortgage, you're going to save some money. I mean, you're going to want to look at that and make sure that that's in fact the case, but I think as long as you can save a good bit of money, that'll make a lot of sense. The thing you're going to want to be on your guard about, though, David, is often once we get that mortgage, it's really easy to kind of slip into that minimum payment each month, based on that 10- or 15-year payoff, and just let this thing continue to grow and not make the hard choices to live within your means, cut back expenses, create some margins so you can send extra on a monthly basis so you're looking at more of a three-, four-, five-year payoff. So you just have to make sure you're disciplined enough to do that, even though you're looking at it and say, well, it's only 2.5% interest, we'll just pay the minimum and we've got other uses for this money. So if you really want to become debt-free, then you need to stay focused on that and really prioritize it.
But I think even with the cost of getting that $90,000 mortgage, if you can cut that interest rate down to a third of what it is today, you're going to save a bunch of money in the long run. Okay. David? All right. How's that, sir? All right. Well, thank you all very much. I appreciate it. You're welcome. Thanks for calling. Thanks, Dave. God bless.
800-525-7000, St. Petersburg, Florida. Angie, we know you've been holding a bit. Thank you for that. And what's your question? Hi. Yes, thank you. I recently inherited a very large sum of money from my mother's passing, and I've always been pretty poor myself, so I'm a little very old. So I'm wondering, first of all, if you all have recommended PAs, because I have inherited – part of it has been an inherited IRA, which I'm trying to figure out how to take just distributions and years and how that will affect me and with the taxes.
Yeah, very good. Was the account holder, which I believe you said was your mom, was she under 70-and-a-half when she passed or over? She was over, and this was last year in January. Okay.
All right. So as a non-spouse, so a family member with the account holder being over 70-and-a-half, you've got a couple of options that the IRS offers, and I do recommend heavily that you get a CPA involved. We're talking about a lot of money.
You don't want to get this wrong. You want to set it up and do it exactly the way you should so you don't pay any penalties or extra taxes. But there's what's called the life expectancy method, where you would transfer it into an inherited IRA held in your name if it hasn't already been done, and then your annual distributions are spread over what's called your single life expectancy, determined by your age and the calendar year following the year of death, and then reevaluated every year, and you don't incur the early withdrawal penalty. The required minimum distributions are mandatory, and there will be a schedule on how you take it out. The second is a lump sum distribution, and they're all distributed to you.
It's all at once. You'll pay income taxes. You won't incur the 10% early withdrawal penalty there. So we do have CPAs. MoneyWiseLive.org. Click Connect with a CKA, and somebody would be happy to help you. Or actually it says Find a CKA.
And if there's no tax professionals in your area, just contact one of those CKs and ask for a referral to a CPA. Christian Healthcare Ministries enables believers to meet their healthcare costs affordably, biblically, and compassionately. It's not insurance, but a voluntary cost-sharing ministry based on the biblical example of Christians sharing each other's needs.
And members aren't fined under the law for not having health insurance. Christian Healthcare Ministries might be your health cost solution. Call 800-791-6225 or visit chministries.org. How should we as Christians think about investing? What if we could invest our money in a way that aligns with what we believe? At Eventide, we believe it is possible to love God and love our neighbor in the very practice of investing. We design investments for performance and a better world so you can invest for the future with a sense of wholeness and purpose. We call this investing that makes the world rejoice.
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We often see the gospel as the starting point of the Christian life rather than the main point of all life. How to Grow, a new book by Daryl Dash, available at moodypublishers.org. That's moodypublishers.org. Buying a home is the largest, most nerve-wracking purchase most of us ever make. It doesn't help that you're entering a maze of unfamiliar words and confusing options that can leave you intimidated, frustrated, and afraid you've been taken advantage of. Navigating the Mortgage Maze by Dale Vermilion helps you clear up the confusion, unrack your nerves, and make the best mortgage decisions possible with confidence.
Navigating the Mortgage Maze, available when you click the store button at MoneyWise Live. With SRN News, I'm Jason Walker. President Trump has delivered a farewell message to the nation. He's also been consulting with his advisors on 11th hour pardons and grants of clemency. Mr. Trump plans to leave Washington tomorrow morning from Joint Air Base Andrews in a ceremony that he himself helped to plan. Mitch McConnell is blasting President Trump. The Kentucky lawmaker claims the president helped to spur the attack on the Capitol two weeks ago. Twelve Army National Guard members have been removed from the presidential inauguration security detail after they were found to have ties with militia groups. The Army does not say which fringe group the Guard members belong to or to what unit the soldiers were serving in.
Monroe County, Pennsylvania, late yesterday, four people shot and wounded, no suspect arrested. This is SRN News. Welcome back to MoneyWise Live. So far today, let me think. We've talked about the high cost of buying a couch. We've talked about the frustrations of actually being a football fan and having all your teams lose on the same weekend. And let's say hi to Jim now in St. Louis. Jim, what are you frustrated about, sir? How can we help you? Well, sometime back on one of your shows, you mentioned that the government had pushed back the mandatory minimum wage to distribute from an IRA to what, 70 and a half, something like that?
From 70 and a half to 72. Yes. OK. Suppose I don't want to take it out there. Suppose I want to leave it in.
Is there any other device that I can use to roll over to do something that doesn't penalize me for doing that? Unfortunately, no, Jim. So there's a couple of dynamics at play now back in 2020. That was a long time ago, wasn't it? The RMDs were temporarily suspended under the CARES Act, but that's not the case for this year.
So they're back in play. So in 2021, you have to take an RMD unless there's further legislation indicating otherwise, but no indication of that currently. So as of today, you've got to take that RMD for 2021. If you were 70 and a half or older on December 31st, 2019, you would take it. If you were born at any time in 1949 or earlier, this means you'd be at least age 72 on December 31st, 2021.
So there's that kind of change there where it went from 70 and a half to 72. Now, in terms of how much you need to take out, obviously you'd follow the IRS's table on that. The only device that I could tell you about that would allow you to perhaps not realize that requirement of distribution that sounds like you don't need would be something called a qualified charitable distribution, which basically just allows you to give money out of your IRA to charity, ministry, your church and satisfy your RMD. The benefit is you don't recognize it as income and they get the full amount of what was received without having anybody paying any income tax. So your your contribution is larger, therefore a larger deduction. And again, you're satisfying the RMD at the same time. And what you could do is offset that gift through the qualified charitable distribution with cash you would have given otherwise, which would allow you to hang on to more of your money. So that would just be one option.
But apart from that, there's not other some other type of account you could put it in that would cause you to miss having to take out at least that RMD for 2021. I appreciate it. That gives me my ideas. Thank you. OK, thanks very much, Jim. Thank you, Jim. All right. Indianapolis WGNR FM Richard, welcome to the program today, sir. And what's your financial question?
I'm not very familiar with MoneyWise. Can you hear me OK? Yes, sir.
Go right ahead. OK. I would like to know how I and I are kind of struggling with budgeting at the House and didn't know if there was coaches that we could talk to, like on a weekly basis to catch up on track.
Well, I'm glad you asked, Richard. We do, in fact, have just that. They're called MoneyWise coaches. And these are volunteers, men and women who really have been trained and have committed to walk alongside folks who want to understand God's way of handling money and get on a spending plan. And so they'll work with you virtually over the telephone or probably a video chat on a computer with you and your wife. They'll get you set up on the plan, teach you a few biblical principles along the way, meet periodically, probably every other week, give you some homework in between meetings. And the great thing is there's no cost for that coaching.
They will ask you to spend twenty nine dollars to buy the electronic workbook that will be used. But all the time that they will give is our gift to you. They're volunteers. They love what they do. And what we hear from the folks that are coming out of that coaching experience is that it's fabulous because they have the accountability. They have somebody with the know-how. They have somebody who's walking with them, helping them deal with their specific questions and spending plan. And so we'd love to help you with that. Here's how you take advantage of it. Just go to our website, MoneyWiseLive.org, click on Connect with a Coach, and that will put you in line typically within two to three weeks.
We'll have a coach freed up and ready to get started. And Rob, as you and I both know, these aren't just well-meaning people and nothing wrong with being well-meaning. But not only do they have a heart for ministry, but they are well trained. Many of them have been doing this for quite a while. They are trained well.
And that's not any sort of haphazard thing. And it really, again, as you've pointed out, what we've heard back is that lots and lots of people, thousands of people are blessed on an annual basis due to the wonderful ministry these men and women do directly from their homes, but online using lots of technical gear and equipment and very high-tech, right? That's right. All right. Richard, again, we're glad you called today.
Thanks very much. Randall, welcome to the program, sir. What's your question for Rob West?
Yes, that was a two-part. One was how much one should say percentage-wise for extended care facility if one needs it? I see, yeah. So you're talking about the annual cost of the long-term care. What type of – are you talking about in-home care? Are you thinking about assisted living? Give me a sense of what you'd like to try to anticipate. Yeah, we have longevity in our family, so really I'm not sure what it may entail, either one. Yeah, yeah.
Okay. Well, you know, I mean obviously it varies greatly depending on what type of long-term care you're talking about. You know, it can run anywhere from $150 today upwards of $300 a day, you know, depending on whether you want in-home care, assisted living, skilled care.
You know, then there's semi-private rooms, those types of things. So, you know, it can obviously get very, very expensive. You know, the average person will need this type of care.
If somebody does require long-term care assistance, it will typically last for 18 months to three years. And I think, you know, you can do the math. I mean, if we're talking $150 a day, you know, that's $54,000 a year. And if it runs up to $300 a day, it can be over $100,000 a year. And then you kind of run that out for, you know, 18 months to three years on average, which is why we are proponents, if it fits into the budget of somebody considering long-term care insurance, you know, premium for a typical 60-year-old couple is around $3,400. By age 65, that could increase significantly, you know, beyond that to $5,000 to $7,000 a year. But obviously, that's going to offset a pretty major potential financial risk if you're having to, you know, then step in with an annual cost of, you know, $60,000 to $100,000 a year or more.
So, you know, I think that's what you've got to consider as you think about this. There's some wonderful resources out there on the web that you could explore just to get the cost, not only in your state, but of the type of care you're looking for. And like I say, a couple of years is the average length of time someone 65 years and older will need care. So you could just take that daily amount, multiply it out by, you know, two years, and you'll get your number. So, Rob, that's, again, I think what you were saying there is that even though most people think that most people will need long-term care, the numbers don't really show that. No, actually, the majority of people do need long-term care assistance. At some point?
At some point in their life, and it'll last on average two years. All right, got you. Okay, you're listening to MoneyWise Live.
He's Rob West. I'm Steve Moore. We're going to come back. We're going to take a brief break, and we'll come back and take some more calls, maybe even get to an email. Stick around. We'll be right back.
This is Barry McGuire. I'm a car guy here to help you understand God's purpose for your life through the eyes of a layman. I've been leading people to Jesus Christ for over 40 years, and I can say without a doubt it's the most fun I've ever had. The more we share our faith, the more we want to share our faith.
But starting's the hardest part, not because it's hard, but because you think it's hard when it isn't. Jesus said people will know that you're his disciple not by your knowledge, but by your love. And loving on people doesn't require any training. It only requires loving.
Anyone can do it, and the results are always the same. Relationships are built, people begin to invite you into their lives, and conversations about God follow naturally. Your job is to ignite revival outside the walls of your church by moving everyone every day closer to Jesus.
For help doing that, go to ROTW.com. Americans seem wealthier, but not happier. Loneliness and depression are on the rise, and wealth is doing nothing to make us feel whole. In their newest book, Becoming Whole, authors Brian Fickert and Kelly M. Capik argue that we've Christianized the American dream and it's tearing us apart. This captivating book, Becoming Whole, demonstrates what it means to be whole, revealing how we project our own brokenness onto the people we're trying to help. Get your copy of Becoming Whole at moodypublishers.com. It's been lingering in your mind for the past few months.
Is it time to move on from my current job? Maybe you're feeling drawn to ministry. Here's a thought. How about investing in the mission of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago? Moody is all about teaching students the Word of God and preparing them for service. But that mission also involves Moody's sister ministries like broadcasting and publishing. Help make an impact in ministry at Moody. Check out all of the career opportunities at moodyjobs.org.
That's moodyjobs.org. If you have a chance, be sure to check out our website when you get a chance. There are lots of resources there that will help you as you work through your budgets, your investing, biblical principles, past radio archives of this radio program and others.
All of that available when you visit moneywiselive.org. Hey Steve, let me mention, oh, you give the phone number and then I want to mention one thing. Okay, 800-525-7000. That's the phone number to chat with us here today.
800-525-7000. Sir? Well, you know, today, and it's not every day this happens, well, I had lunch with a guy that walked on the moon. Come on, give me a break.
I'm serious. So I had the chance, the privilege and the honor to dine today with Charlie Duke, who's an American former astronaut. He was the tenth man to walk on the moon, the youngest still today at 36 years old. And he is a phenomenal man who loves the Lord. He and his wife have spent the last number of years when he's not consulting with NASA, which he did just a couple of weeks ago, traveling the world, sharing their faith. And just an incredible man. And I got to spend a little time with him today.
That's amazing. And even today, he's still a young man at 36. No, no, no, he's not 36 today. He became the tenth and youngest person to walk on the moon at 36.
At 36, okay. Yes, which was in 1972. Now, because he was in space, and you know, that's all, it's fraught with confusion, did he come back younger than when he took off? I mean, is there something that happens there?
That wasn't on my list of questions, but if I get a chance to meet him again, I'll ask. You know, I consult regularly with NASA. Do you? Yeah. And they keep asking me to, please don't bother us anymore.
They say, please don't call us anymore. So, all right, well. Anyway, it was a blessing.
Yeah, very cool. And he's a brother in Christ. We can't say a lot, but we can say that, right? Absolutely, we can. Amen, amen to that. All right.
Cleveland, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Patty, how are you today? I'm great. Thank you so much for taking my call.
Sure, happy to. I've been listening back in the old days with Larry Brickette for just decades and decades. Another NASA guy, by the way. Did you know that, Patty? That Larry worked for NASA before, yeah, he started Christian Financial Concepts.
And that's where I began my inroads to NASA, through Larry. And they've never looked back. Yeah, they say, don't call us anymore.
Hi, Patty, what's your question today? My husband and I have one daughter who's 30 and still lives with us. And she's our only heir. And we do have a will. And we had asked our attorney at the time, we most recently updated our will, if we needed a trust.
And he just kind of waved it off and said, no, you don't. And another friend said, oh, you should get a trust because that's going to save you from going to probate court. Then another friend said, oh, my lawyer told me, don't waste your money on a trust. The only thing it provides is privacy in publishing, in not publishing your estate at the time of your death. It's a waste of money. So just asking for advice, please.
Yeah, yeah. Well, Patty, I'm not an attorney, but I will give you my thoughts just generally on a will versus a trust. And I will say there, you know, everything I've heard, I agree with in the sense that, yes, it does provide privacy in terms of it being out of the public record. But that's not all it provides. Another person mentioned that you will allow your estate to pass outside of probate. That's true. Anything in the trust would pass outside of probate.
You might think about it this way. If any of these is true, number one, you know, you have a net worth of at least $100,000. You have substantial amount of assets in real estate.
You have specific instructions on how and when you want your estate to be distributed to your heirs. Any of those could cause you to at least want to consider a trust. You know, they're good for minimizing estate taxes.
If that's going to be a factor for most people, it's not. Protecting your estate from lawsuits and creditors. They do allow you to avoid the probate court.
But they are, you know, somewhat complex. I mean, each type of trust has its advantages and disadvantages. And they certainly are going to be a little more expensive than just a simple will.
So I think depending on your situation, depending on whether you are trying to, you know, have specific instructions on how and when you want things distributed. Whether or not it's important to you to have that privacy. Whether or not you want to, in fact, be out of the probate court. I think those are considerations that I would talk through with a godly estate planning attorney. But if your situation is fairly simple, there's nothing a will can't do in terms of making sure your wishes are carried out. With regard to how, you know, God's resources entrusted to you are passed to the next steward at your death. Let me just use this time to mention, in addition to a will, be sure you look at other things like a durable power of attorney, a health care surrogate. Even a living will to make sure, you know, and a health care directive to make sure that your end of life decisions and health care decisions and even legal affairs can be handled by people you designate in the event you are incapacitated or unable to make those decisions. So dealing with all that at once is a great idea when you visit with a godly estate planning attorney.
If you don't have one, Patty, connect with a CKA there in Cleveland on our website, MoneyWiseLive.org, and ask for a referral to an estate planning attorney. Patty, God bless you. Thanks for listening. Really, thanks for listening all these decades.
God bless you. Indiana, Norberto, how can we help you, sir? What's on your mind?
Yes, so here's the thing. So I have some debts like that I'm trying to pay, but now I'm also trying to raise up my credit. Will a credit card help me or will it affect me, though? Yeah, what are the debts you're currently trying to pay off, Norberto? Well, to be honest, there are some hospital bills and I got two wireless accounts. Yeah, okay.
And are those showing up on your credit report as past due? Is that one of the reasons you're trying to raise your credit score? Right, yeah. Yeah, that's actually been affected a lot.
Yeah. Well, you know, having a good credit, meaning credit that indicates you're an on-time payer as agreed, on your report is certainly going to help you as you move toward re-establishing your credit. At the same time, you want to get those paid in full. So it's not, you know, that information that says at one point you were delinquent or those were in collections, that's not going to go away for seven years because it's true. If it was inaccurate, you could dispute it and it could be deleted.
But if it's accurate, it's not going anywhere. But what you can do is by paying it off, you can get it to where it shows a zero balance and either paid or settled in full. That's going to help. But you also want some good, timely credit being reported that indicates you're paying as agreed. You may have trouble giving your current state of affairs in getting an unsecured card.
And if you have trouble managing your finances and you might be tempted to go back further into debt by getting an unsecured credit card, I would recommend you don't do that. But an alternative to that is what's called a secured credit card that you could get at your local bank or any number of banks in your area where you'd put an amount on deposit, let's say $200. Then you would set up a recurring small budgeted charge every month to hit that account, something you're already expecting to do. It's already been planned for in your budget and you can set it up to hit that secured credit card every month. It might be a $5 or $10 charge.
That's okay. You pay it off every month and then that on-time payment is reported to the credit bureaus each month as being on time and that's going to begin to establish some good credit. The bank isn't taking a risk on you because you've put the money on deposit that's equal to the limit that you can charge up to and I think that would be a good thing for you as you move forward. So hopefully that's helpful to you and I think you'll be glad you went in that direction. Thank you, sir, very much. We appreciate that call today. I think we have time for Mike calling from Fort Payne, Alabama and what's the situation, Mike?
Let's see if we can squeeze you in here, all right? Yeah, thanks for taking my call. I maintain a community cemetery. A lady that passed away left a lump sum payment for the maintenance. I was wondering what would be the best way to invest that so we're only taking interest out for maintenance and not touching the principal if we can have it. Yeah, what is the amount that you have available, Mike? It's a six-figure amount.
I'm not exactly sure what the number is but it's over a hundred. Okay, let's say it was $125,000 and you were to try to pull 4% a year, that would be basically $5,000 a year. Is it going to cost more than that to maintain it? You're looking at probably 16 cuts a year at $800 a cut.
Okay. That'll get you a good round figure. Yeah, so you're thinking about maybe $13,000 so that's going to be a little bit more than I would like but the bottom line is you want to try to generate a reasonable conservative rate of return that's going to allow this money to continue into perpetuity where what you're pulling out is just coming out of the principal. I don't think you'll be able to do that on the amount of money we're talking about.
Even if it was $128,000, you'd have to take 10% a year just to generate that $12,800 a year that it would take to cover it. That's going to be more aggressive than you're going to want to be on an account that you're just trying to generate income on but the bottom line is I would look for an investment professional in your area. Look for a certified kingdom advisor there in Fort Payne. Mike, so just go to our website, MoneyWiseLive.org, click on find a CKA and then put in your zip code and any competent investment professional could take these assets, understand what the purpose is and deploy an investment strategy that will accomplish your objectives to the best of their ability.
And I think as long as you can either cut that back or realize you're going to have to dip in slightly to the principal each year, you should be able to accomplish your objectives. Mike, thanks for calling. We'd love to help you with that. Thank you very much.
MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. Thanks so much for being with us today. My thanks to our technical crew behind the scenes, Amy, Dan, Clara and of course Jim Henry is here. Jim's our financial researcher and also changes the oil on the MoneyWise Lunar Lander. Thanks so much for listening. Tell a friend about the program and come back and join us again tomorrow when we discuss the nuts and bolts of saving.
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