Have You Cosigned a Loan?

Uncle Ryan is going to talk about how hot, hot, hot cash out refinances are. That sounds fun.

I sound like a broken record. I've been doing this for 18 years. I have never seen a market like this in my life. Home values have generally been skyrocketing the last couple of years.

And with interest rates being some low, I've actually seen refinances where people are able to cash out that newly found equity in their homes, do home improvements, whatever it may be, and still save money per month compared to what their prior mortgage payment was. So it's worth a shot just to give us a phone call. And one thing I can promise at United Faith Mortgage is we will not be pushy.

It's one of my biggest pet peeves. I can promise you we will not be that way. I like to see it as my job is to present you with a few different options.

I step back, I let you decide, and I'll let you call me when you want to move forward. We are United Faith Mortgage. It's difficult to say what the most regrettable financial decision might be. Buying a timeshare comes to mind. But high on the list is co-signing a loan for someone else.

Hi, I'm Rob West. Getting stuck paying off a loan is bad enough, but worse, it's often for a close relative or friend. I'll talk about that first today with some options for folks who have co-signed. Then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. It's always sad when someone calls or emails to say, I've co-signed on a car loan for my nephew and he's not making the payments. What can I do? Or variations on that theme.

If that's you, get a pencil and paper because you do have options, though none of them are especially good. Obviously, the best advice about co-signing is never do it. One of Ben Franklin's famous quotes is, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. He wasn't referring to co-signing at the time, but the general principle applies. By the way, he may have borrowed that ounce of prevention idea from Proverbs 22.30, the prudency danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. The Bible also gets quite specific about co-signing, and for good reason. Christians are often confused by it. God's word tells us to care for our family and neighbors to help those who can't help themselves.

Shouldn't that include co-signing? The Bible says no and leaves no room for misinterpretation. It warns us again and again not to do it. Proverbs 11.15 says not to pledge surety for another. That's another way of saying don't co-sign a loan for another who doesn't qualify on his or her own. And Proverbs 17.18, one who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor. And again in Proverbs 22.26 and 27, be not one of those who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts.

If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you? The danger of co-signing is the same today as it was 2,500 years ago. One study showed that four out of ten people who co-sign end up paying off the loan. Nearly a third suffer damage to their credit, and a quarter say the experience damaged their relationship with the primary signer, again usually a relative or friend.

No wonder Proverbs is included in the wisdom books. Okay, but what if the horse has already left the barn? You've already co-signed for someone. What can you do about it? As I said, none of these suggestions are perfect.

They all have varying degrees of pain. The thing you have to remember is that as a co-signer, you're just as responsible for the loan as the primary signer. If that person can't or won't make the payments, there's no way you can walk away from it without severely damaging your credit. The loan must be satisfied. But here are some ways you may be able to do that without having to pay off the entirety of the loan.

First, try refinancing. Your legal responsibility to repay the loan goes away if the other person refinances without you. If you or the other person has been making payments for some time, the outstanding balance should now be lower than the original amount. That could make it easier for the primary signer to qualify without you. Of course, if the loan is for say a new automobile, depreciation could delay the primary signer qualifying without you, but it's worth checking into. If refinancing isn't an option though, you can try speeding up the loan payments by offering an incentive to the primary signer. Offer to match any payments he or she makes. You might still end up paying half the loan, but that's better than getting stuck with the whole loan.

This would keep the account in good standing, get it paid off quicker, and most important for you, preserve your credit rating. Now let's say the primary signer can't or won't keep up the payments. Refinancing isn't an option and the incentive idea isn't working either. I mentioned car loans earlier. Half of all co-signed loans are for automobiles. If that's what you co-signed for, you can ask the other person to sign the title over to you so you can take possession. Then you'll at least have use of the vehicle while you're paying it off. You could then also sell it at some point and recoup part of your loss.

Finally, there's one more possibility and this is something you can do anytime. It's a very long-term solution though. Try doing a credit makeover on the primary signer. Help that person understand the importance of improving their own credit score, paying their bills on time, and paying off old debts.

Obviously that takes time, but it's worth doing because it treats the cause not the symptom and eventually might enable the other person to refinance or not need a co-signer in the first place. So those are the options if you've already co-signed a loan and we hope you find them helpful. Your calls are next 800-525-7000. Stay with us. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live.

I'm Rob Laster, host. Delighted to have you along with us where we apply God's word to your financial decisions, whatever's on your mind. In just a moment we'll begin with our phone calls today, but let me let you know there's room for you at the moment.

We've got about four lines open. Here's the number 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. By the way, if you haven't checked out our brand new website, we'd love to have you visit MoneyWiseLive.org. It's a great place to check out all of our content from the Leading Voices and Christian Finance podcasts, videos, articles. You can post a question in the MoneyWise community and get answers from other stewards on the journey, as well as our MoneyWise coaches.

You can find a certified kingdom advisor, listen to broadcast archives. You can even find out how to download the MoneyWise app. It's all there at MoneyWiseLive.org and we'd love for you to visit it today. All right, let's head to the phones today.

We're going to begin today in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Edie, we're so delighted you've called. How can I help you? Hi, thank you for taking my call. I would like you to explain what the Medicare shutoff is. Yeah, you know, that's not a term that I'm familiar with, but I suspect what you're referring to is the open enrollment period for Medicare.

You know, this is an annual event in the fall. Do you think that could be what you're referring to? No, I don't know what it is at all, but my guess is that it's maybe somewhat related to long-term care.

Yeah, I'm not familiar. I could have my team look into it, but, you know, typically when you hear somebody talk about a shutoff or a deadline for Medicare, they're specifically referring to that open enrollment. This year it's October 15th to December 7th, and that's the only time where you can change your provider or make changes to your current Medicare plan coverage, and then those go into effect January the 1st. So in the weeks before the open season begins, that's when the health insurance companies release their information about their plan benefits for the following year, and that would of course include premiums or changes in prescription drug coverage, that type of thing.

But I'm not familiar with specifically the word shutoff as it relates to Medicare, and I'm not aware of anything that would relate to long-term care. So we'll look into it, and if we find something else that perhaps I'm not aware of, we can mention it on a future broadcast. But I suspect it's not really something you need to worry about unless you're looking to make a change during this open enrollment period that again ends on December 7th. So we appreciate we appreciate you checking in with the CD.

I'm sorry I don't have more specific information on what you're referring to, but if we find something, we will certainly let you know. Let's head south to West Palm Beach, Florida. Maria, thank you for calling today. How can I help? Hi, yes, thank you so much for taking my call. So my question is, during the pandemic I was just explaining to the person on the phone that I was tithing to like different, you know, I was tithing to Moody Radio, different pastors from Moody Radio, and not to the church because I wasn't going to church, but I knew that, you know, I wanted to give my 10% at least. So now that I'm going back to church, you know, I kind of stay with that habit where I want to like spread my money in different areas, but then I'm wondering if that's not something I should be doing and just giving the whole 10% to the church and then do an offering to whoever I want to send it to or like, or is it okay since Moody Radio is doing so much around the world and the pastors that I'm giving it to are doing a lot of work around the world. You know what I'm saying? Like how can I spread the money or should I just bring it to where I'm going to, my church?

Yeah. Well, it's a great question, Maria, and I appreciate your heart, and that is that you want to be found faithful in honoring the Lord in your giving, and clearly we should be givers. You know, we see the references to the tithe in the Old Testament actually preceding the law of Moses with Melchizedek and Abraham, and then there was essentially three different tithes that totaled about 23% for the Jews under the Mosaic law. Of course, that was replaced when Christ died on the cross, and we now have the law of Christ, and we're under grace. So many of those laws no longer apply, but in just about every case Jesus raises the bar, and I think that applies to our giving as well that we should give sacrificially. For those who have seen what he's done for us on the cross, we should be givers, taking a portion of what he's entrusted to us, remembering that it's all his, and returning it to him for his work. And I would say when we think about his work, that starts with the local church.

You know, that was God's plan A for how he would meet the needs of the body and take the gospel to the ends of the earth, that we are disciples, but we should be connected in the fellowship of believers for instruction and training and community, but also to reach out to the lost and to meet the needs of those in our surrounding communities. So I think applying the principle of the tithe, Maria, here we are under the law of Christ, and we should do that in a way that allows us to be generous with a glad heart and do so cheerfully. In terms of how you do that, what is the percentage that you give systematically, and where that goes, I think that's ultimately between you and the Lord. But I would say that the tithe is a great beginning point. And so to say, I want to do my first giving to the local church and give out of my increase on a systematic basis, I think that's a great idea and a great starting place for believers.

And then beyond that, to those who are doing incredible work literally around the globe, like Moody Radio and so many other ministries doing great work in the name of Christ, I think finding a place to give beyond your giving to the local church to those, which we would clearly say is the place for that type of giving here at Moody Radio after you give to your local church, that's great as well. And as you experience the joy of participating in what your local church is doing, and then beyond that to other ministries, I believe over time, we'll try to find ways to reorder our finances so we can do even more. And perhaps you say, I'm going to give systematically to my church, and then as God provides, I'm going to begin to increase that. And at some point, you may even give sacrificially as the Lord leads. But I think ultimately, I guess in conclusion, I would say, start on your knees, ask the Lord to give you wisdom, I would affirm the idea that you should start with your local church given that that was God's plan for us as believers. And then as you are able, give beyond that to the work that God is really impressing upon your hearts that aligns with your passions, and where he is doing great things for the cause of Christ.

So I like this idea, but I would say it does come after the giving to your local church. Does that make sense? Yes, sir. I just wanted to get that cleared up. Okay. Well, thank you for calling, Maria. I appreciate your generous heart, and I hope that was helpful to you today. Let's head to Albany, New York. Barbara, thank you for calling. How can I help?

Hi. So I'm calling because I want to purchase a home, another home, and I was wondering if I should use my savings or I should, you know, take a loan. I have some money that I've been saving for over the years, you know, towards retirement and stuff like that. So I don't know if I should invest it into the home or I should get a loan from the bank. What's your advice, please?

Yeah, very good. Well, I like the idea of buying a home, but only when you're ready. And when we talk about being ready for a purchase like that, which for most people is the largest purchase they'll ever make, we want to make sure that there's a few pieces in place first that shore up your financial foundation. That would begin with having an emergency fund. I'd love for you to have beyond the money you'd put toward this down payment on a home. I'd love for you to have at least three months worth of expenses in a liquid savings account. In addition to that, I'd love for you to have pretty much all of your consumer debt paid off.

At the very least, make sure you don't have any credit card debt. If you have a car payment, other types of installment loans that are built into the budget, that would be okay, but I certainly wouldn't want you to have any ongoing high interest debt like credit cards. And then beyond that, I'd love for you to have at least 20% going into that home purchase, again, separate from the emergency fund, which tells me you have the ability to go in in such a way that you'd have immediate equity. You would never find yourself in a situation where you were upside down if housing prices took a decline because you'd start off with a 20% down payment, and it would ensure that as long as you didn't buy too much house, that the payment is something you could build into your budget, which would be the last piece.

I'd love for that resulting mortgage payment after the 20% down to be no more than 25% of your take-home pay so that you have room for all the other priorities of life, the needs that you have, but also the savings goals that you have. So talk to me in terms of your readiness if you were to line up these priorities I just mentioned with where you find yourself today. So for readiness, I have some savings.

You did say about three months' supply if you're out of work. I think I could do that. I know I could do that. I was thinking about if I could take probably like $20,000 from what I have already to put towards this house. And how much would you be looking to spend on the home purchase? $110,000. Okay, so you've been out. You've seen some properties that would allow you to buy something that fits what you're looking for for around $110,000?

Yes. Okay, and $20,000 sounds like a good town payment, though, but what would you have left over in your savings after the $20,000 down payment? Probably $40,000. Okay, all right. Well, that sounds good to me. So I think the next step is to make sure that you understand what would that mortgage payment be and how would that fit into your budget.

And as long as you've done the budget, you've counted the cost, you've understood what the mortgage payment would be, and the utilities, then I think you're on the right track here. If you want further confirmation, though, connect with one of our MoneyWise coaches at moneywiselive.org. But I like this plan, Barbara. Thank you for your call today. Stay with us, folks.

More to come. We'll be right back. We're delighted to have you with us today on MoneyWise Live on Moody Radio. I'm Rob West, your host. Taking your calls and questions today on MoneyWise Live.

Rob West, your host. Taking your calls and questions today on anything financial, applying the truth of God's Word to what's going on in your financial life. We've got some lines open. Here's the number 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. As the month of August comes to a close, I'd love to invite you to become a financial partner of ours here at MoneyWise. We rely on your listener support in order to do what we do here on the radio every day, on the web, in our MoneyWise app with our coaches. It's all as a result of your generous support. Would you consider being a one-time or a monthly partner? We'd certainly be grateful.

It's quick and easy to give. Just head over to our website, moneywiselive.org, and click the donate button, and we'd be grateful. Let's head back to the phone. Chicago, Illinois, WMBI. Bob, thank you for calling today, sir.

How can I help? Hi, thank you. Yes, I have a relative, and he's recently come into a bit of money, and he would like to, he's in his 80s, he would like to invest it such that it would be safe, but also generate a little bit of income. Yes, would you mind me asking roughly how much he received? About $100,000.

Okay, very good. And do you feel like he's wanting to delegate this to a professional, an investment advisor, to make these decisions, of course, with his goals and objectives in mind, or do you think he's wanting to be a little more directly involved? Yeah, I think he's open to both options. I don't see paying a professional investment advisor if it's a relatively simple thing to do. If it's more complicated, then, yeah, an advisor is definitely worth it. Yeah, well, obviously, it's a significant sum of money, and I think having an investment professional who could bring, of course, professional expertise to the table in constructing the portfolio, given his age and what you're describing as his objectives, I could see a fairly conservative portfolio with perhaps an objective of 4% per year, it would be a mix of largely fixed income type investments, but with some stock exposure to provide a growth component over time, such that, you know, it would hopefully lift the overall performance, you know, especially while interest rates are lower. And at the same time, if we were to get into a recession, or we were to see a significant decline over a period of time in the equity portion of the portfolio, those could be left alone.

And, you know, they would continue to earn income in the bond and fixed income side of the investments while, you know, the stocks were recovering, even if that took a couple of years. And that type of portfolio can be constructed. And it's something that professional advisors do every day.

And one of the benefits of that, Bob, in addition to the expertise is just the fact that it's arm's length. And, you know, there's not emotional decisions, you know, oftentimes, if you're managing your own portfolio, and we were to, you know, hit a speed bump here, and the market were to decline over a period of time, and we were to enter a full blown recession, it's easy to react emotionally and begin selling equity positions at a loss. And then as the market recovers, you miss it, and you jump in too late.

And it's just, you know, it doesn't work out very well. And so having that trusted advisor that's got, again, a track record and really an understanding of how to invest for somebody in his situation, I think is really worthwhile. To explore that option, I would connect with a couple of Certified Kingdom Advisors there in Chicago, you can go to our website, MoneyWiseLive.org, click Find a CKA, and search by city state or zip code, and then interview with him, if he'd like a couple of advisors, two or three, and find the one that's the best fit. Apart from that, if he wanted to be a little more directly involved, another option would be to check out our friends at SoundMindInvesting.org. Their mutual fund strategy through their Sound Mind Investing newsletter is a wonderful option, where he could build a portfolio, again, based on his goals and objectives, staying as conservative as he wants to, but with no-load mutual funds, giving good diversification with a mix of bonds and stocks. And that could all be done, again, through our friends at SoundMindInvesting.org.

So I'd refer him to both options and let him pray through it and make the best decision. We appreciate your call today. More to come, folks, on MoneyWise Live just around the corner, 800-525-7000. This is biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.

We'll be right back. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live. I'm Rob West, your host, taking your calls and questions.

Here's the number 800-525-7000. A little later in the broadcast, in our final segment today, our friend Bob Dahl is going to join us from Crossmark Global Investments. Bob's the chief investment officer. He's widely known on Wall Street as an analyst and market advisor. But Bob shares his insights with us each normally Monday this week, joining us on Tuesday to really help us understand what's happening in our economy and in our markets today. That's coming up in just a bit. Let's head back to the phones.

Downers Grove, Illinois. Hi, Steve. How can I help? Hi, Rob. Firstly, thank you very much for the show.

It's been fantastic. So my question is, my son is separated from his wife. They're soon to be divorced. And in the meantime, they are co-owners on a credit card that she is autonomously ringing up a large debt, for instance, going on a great vacation without even telling him, just charging the credit card. And I'm afraid that when they do get divorced, he's going to be saddled with this debt that he had nothing to do with.

Yeah, yeah. Well, obviously, he's going to want to try to close the account as quickly as possible. Both of them will be equally liable for the balance to be paid. But I realize the primary concern that you're expressing is new debt that will be added, given where this is headed.

And I'm certainly sorry to hear that. You know, there's, you know, a couple of approaches here. The first step would be to see if the credit card issuer will allow him to close the account. So no further charges can be made as a joint holder. You know, there's, depending on the card, it may require consent from both parties to actually close the account.

Depending on who the card is with, I would at least attempt or have him attempt to close the account as one of the joint holders. And if they come back and say it's going to need consent from both parties, then obviously it complicates things a bit further. And he would have to engage her in that conversation. He would certainly want to give her notice that that's what's happening as a, you know, as a courtesy, because she, you know, doesn't want to find out as she's going to, you know, pay for her dinner that she no longer has access to this account, if they're going to allow him to do it, but that would be the simplest way to go. Clearly, as if this were to proceed into divorce, and as the judge makes decisions about who's responsible for what, you know, some of these activities could be taken into account. The fact that, you know, she perhaps is running up large amounts of debt as they're nearing divorce.

Of course, that would ultimately be up to the judge as to how this is going to transpire. But I think right now, he at the very least needs to try to get that account closed, whether that's going to be able to be done himself or with her, and then let her go qualify for her own credit card account moving forward. So has he attempted to close the account or address this in any way?

He has not as of yet. Assuming that she will not agree to close the account, is it worth him like recording some sort of evidence or just documentation so when they actually do get divorced? Is that kept in account when the lawyers are bantering back and forth trying to, you know, cut up the debt? Yeah, you know, ultimately that's a legal question, Steve, and so I would have him talk to his attorney about that, but I think you can never go wrong with documenting the communication. I think, you know, if he's able to close the account, that makes it pretty simple. If they're requiring consent from both parties, then he's going to need her consent, which she may not be willing to give. And so at that point, at least documenting that he's requesting these accounts be closed, he's requesting that no additional charges be made on this joint account since they're both liable for it and he's no longer a part of the decision making, I think clearly would be taken into consideration. But ultimately, how that would affect the outcome of the legal proceedings would be something for a lawyer to weigh in on. So I would at least, again, have him take these steps to do everything he can, document all of those communications along the way in writing.

And let's just pray that first the Lord would restore the marriage, but if it heads in the direction you're describing, at least, you know, hopefully we will allow him to get out from under this without incurring significant debt moving forward. And I know that's your heart's desire. So we appreciate your call today. Thank you for your kind words about the program.

And we'll certainly pray that the Lord would be in the midst of this as he navigates a difficult situation. Let's head to Pompano Beach, Florida. Bonita, thank you for calling. Hi.

Yes. Good afternoon. Thank you for this space. I appreciate your show. I just wanted to find out.

You're welcome. I just wanted to find out with regards to the timeshare that we have with Westgate. I'm just wondering, when we initially did a contract with them, it was for 10 years, it seemed like it was something that would be okay. Because at the end of the year, you know, we have to still pay taxes on it. But my husband gets the end of the year bonus, and it's enough to cover it. And so we thought that, you know, okay, well, we can afford it, you know. But you know, since the pandemic, I mean, we haven't defaulted or anything, but isn't really worth it.

We still have about seven years to go. And I'm just wondering, is there a legal way to exit out of it? Because we're not even traveling as much anymore. And I'm just like, it's in Orlando.

It's definitely one of our favorite hotspots. But it's more of a hardship right now. Yes. No, I can completely understand.

And unfortunately, Benita, there's many, many folks out there, I'm sure, that are even listening today that are thinking the same thing. You know, and that's why I'm not a big fan of timeshares. Because something that sounds good at the time, unfortunately, as life progresses and gets more complicated, as you, you know, change your traveling habits, or the family dynamics changes, you have more kids and grandkids, you might find yourself, you know, pursuing vacations that don't align with the timeshare, not to mention just the financial requirements ongoing that many folks are left with that they don't want to incur. And so as a result of that, Benita, there's just far more people looking to unload these than there are people looking to acquire them, which creates a challenge for you to get out from under them. There are several organizations out there that will say they can help you legally unwind these. I've never found one that I was particularly thrilled with in terms of their success rate and just the reviews that they get online.

So I'm not able to recommend any of them. I think your best option would be to start with the timeshare company to see if they have any ways that you could resell this, they're probably going to say no, because their primary objective is selling new timeshare engagements and not helping you to create a secondary market for existing ones. The second option would be to try to market it locally. You could use a newspaper there in the area.

You can also use social media to try to market it. The timeshare users group is a forum for folks looking to buy and sell timeshares. You could check out that as well. You'll find that online at tug2.com. That's T-U-G and the number two.com.

That stands for timeshare users group and that would be a way that you could list a classified ad to try to unload this. But I know it's not easy and I'm sorry that I didn't have better news about how you can unwind this, but I would at least pursue those options as you try to get rid of this and we appreciate your call today very much. Folks, stay with us. A lot more to come still on Money Wise Live. I'm Rob West, your host, and we'll be right back. Welcome back to Money Wise Live.

So delighted to have you along with us today. Before we go back to the phones, we're going to take a moment to check in with our good friend Bob Dahl. Bob is Chief Investment Officer at Crossmark Global Investments, where investments and values intersect.

You can find out more about Bob and his work and the complete lineup of funds at crossmarkglobal.com. Mr. Dahl, good afternoon. And to you, sir.

Good to have you here. Hey Bob, what's going on this week? Tell us what you're watching and seeing in the markets.

Well, let's start with that. We just ended another month. It is the seventh month in a row, Rob, where the S&P 500 has closed higher. Seven in a row. That's pretty amazing.

It doesn't happen that often. It says, despite all the things we worry about and there's always a wall of worry, the path of least resistance is still to the upside. Hmm, interesting. And given everything that's going on around us, Bob, we've talked at length about what the Fed's doing and what's happening there with the Fed to begin tapering. We've talked about global supply chains as a result of the pandemic, interest rates on the rise, not to mention inflation. Are you surprised by the market action at this point? Surprised at how fast the market has gone up, Rob. We're up roughly 20% here. In fact, the S&P crossed 20%.

It is just hard to fathom after the unbelievable return off the bottom last year. And of course, what's powered that is an incredible economic growth rate here in the US and even a more impressive earnings growth. And that's what moves stocks. We have how long years we said earnings move stocks, and they do. And earnings have been fantastic. And that's why the stock market's done so well. Yeah. Talk about the international investment opportunities at this point.

I know you believe they're fairly attractive at this point, right? Yeah, we do. The condition necessary is for economic growth globally to broaden. The US has led the way, as we often do. But as things improve overseas because of the aggressive policy, and of course, we need to blow COVID away a little bit more in those non-US parts, we expect non-US markets to do a bit better.

They're a lot cheaper than the US. Some of that's warranted because we have higher growth short term and long term. But I wouldn't ignore non-US markets. If you've done that for the last decade, God bless you, because you've had a fantastic return because the US has led the way. But that won't last forever. It's sort of like, I'm only going to invest in stocks that start with the first half of the letters of the alphabet and more the other half.

Why would you do that? But that's what you're doing globally if you ignore the rest of the world. Yeah, very good. Bob, as we wrap up here today, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the US dollar and what's happening there as the reserve currency and just where you see it headed from here. So the dollar has done amazingly well this year. It is up, not a lot, but many of us thought that it would continue the decline we witnessed part of last year. When countries like the US run current account and trade deficits the size of ours, generally the currency is under pressure. So I think intermediate term, meaning the next one to three years, the path of least resistance to the dollar will be to the downside. But we've had this rally the same reason we said a minute ago.

Economies and earnings in the US have done so well that money has come from overseas to the US, which helps push the dollar up. I'm not sure that lasts. We don't see a huge decline, but a steady erosion. Yeah, very good. All right, Bob, we appreciate it. Yet another reason to pay attention to international markets.

Yes, yes, very good. Well, I know you're remaining what you call mildly positive in terms of investment positioning. We've got peak growth levels of stocks and obviously, the virus isn't going away quite yet, despite our prayers. So we'll just continue to watch and look forward to hearing from you next week. Keep praying. Thanks, Rob.

Yes. All right, Bob. Bless you. Crossmarkglobal.com is where you'll find more about Bob Dahl, our good friend who checks in with us each week. Let's head back to the phones.

McHenry, Illinois. Wally, thank you for your patience, sir. How can I help you? Rob, I'm going to be retiring the end of this year. And between my Social Security and everything pension, I will be able to save about $1,500 a month. But by the time I retire, I will be inheriting or getting money because of retiring like 50 to $60,000. I already have about 10,000 in a savings for emergency funds. And I was just wondering what to do with the funds.

And what to do with the 50,000 for investing. Yeah, very good, Wally. Well, excited for you as you head into this next season of your life. I'm glad to hear you have some liquid savings. Are you debt free at this point? I will be debt free except for a car payment, which is about two more years.

Very good. Well, congratulations on that. Wally, do you believe based on your retirement budget, what it will take to fund your lifestyle, your expenses on a monthly basis that you'll have enough income without tapping the 60,000? I think so. Because like I said, I can save $1,500 out of the money I will be getting and save it after all of my bills are paid each month, including putting money for property taxes and things of that nature. Okay. And so you'll be able to save that $1,500 a month even after you retire? Yes. Okay, great.

Yeah, that's a good sign. Because that gives you plenty of margin to continue to build up your savings, have a little bit more flexibility if you were to have some needs down the road, in particular medical or something else that might come out of left field, which also puts you in a great spot, Wally, to actually deploy this money, as you said, put it to work. Because if you have good health and the Lord tarries, this money, you know, could need the last 20 years or more.

And so we want to make sure there's a growth component to it, but that you're not overly aggressive. I think given the amount of money we're talking about, our friends at soundmindinvesting.org could be a great resource for you. The Soundmind Investing newsletter could really help you build an investment portfolio using no-load or no-commission mutual funds. The benefit of mutual funds, Wally, would be you have broad diversification, and you can be as conservative or aggressive as you want to be. You can open an account with any of the brokerage firms that you like, a Vanguard or Schwab or a TD Ameritrade, and then begin to pick the mutual funds that they suggest based on the strategy that aligns with your goals and objectives. And then you would change a few of those out over time.

It's very simple to do. And you're probably just under an amount, if we're talking about $60,000 in investable assets, you're probably just under what you would need to hire an investment advisor to handle this for you. But again, this approach, I think, would give you everything you need, make it very simple, and allow you to build the portfolio that's consistent with what you're trying to accomplish. So head over to soundmindinvesting.org and check that out. If you have any questions along the way, let us know. And you hold the line and I'll get a copy of the Sound Mind Investing Handbook out to you, which is going to give you a real thorough understanding of investing from a biblical perspective that I think will be a blessing to you. So stay on the line. My producer, Amy, will get your information. We'll get that book right out to you. And we appreciate your call today.

Wichita, Kansas. Mary, thank you for your patience. How can I help? Thank you. Thank you very much for your program and for taking my question. I am aware of a young couple who unfortunately is heading for divorce, I believe, but they are in the middle of trying to refinance their house, which would also help them get rid of a significant amount of debt. I'm just asking if that's right, wrong, wise, or prudent. Have any thoughts?

Well, I do. Yeah, you know, if that's the direction they're headed, clearly we would pray that the Lord would intervene there and restore that marriage. But if that's where they end up going, you know, refinancing is not going to be the way to go, first and foremost, because it's expensive. I mean, you are looking at probably two to three percent in costs based on the value of that mortgage.

So if it's a $200,000 mortgage, we're talking about potentially $6,000 of expense to refinance, pay this debt off. And the question is, you know, whose home is it going to be? Are they going to, is one of them going to keep the home? Does it, can they afford it?

And does it fit into their budget? So making a major decision like this when money is in motion and there's a lot of potential transition coming is usually not a wise move, unless a lot of that has been clarified. But at this point, clearly, because they are not divorced, they don't even know who's going to be responsible for what.

So I would say, push the pause button. Let's focus on the marriage. And if it does head in this direction, decisions like that can be made by whoever ultimately is going to have the home if they decide to stay there.

But making that decision now, incurring the expense that goes along with it, when there could be a lot of changes on the horizon, just typically is not a wise move. Does that make sense, though? Yes, very, very much. That's just what I was, I was wondering. Okay.

And in talking with them, that's what the one was wondering also. So, thank you. Very good. You're very welcome, Mary, and I'm delighted to hear you're walking with them to give them some counsel along the way. We're going to quickly go with just a few seconds left to Chicago. Antoinette, I don't have a whole lot of time, but how can I help?

Yes, I just have a question. I have some assets in real estate that, even as I'm in moderation, hello? Even in moderation, we'll pay everything off and still have like at least $400,000. And I'm planning to retire in three years. And also we'll have maybe $4,000 a month of pension and social security.

So, after the three years before I retire, should I sell all their property and just keep that $4,000 in the savings or just still keep investing? Yeah. Well, it's a great question. I'd love for you to stay on the line. We'll talk a bit more off the air because it sounds like a complicated situation.

I think the key is you need to do what's right given the tax consequences and the upkeep and responsibility you want to have moving into this next season of life. But we'll explore that a bit more off the air, so you hold the line. Folks, thanks for joining us today. MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. Thank you to Dan, Amy, and Robert today, as well as Eric Tidwell. We're so glad you were here. Come back and join us tomorrow, will you? We'll be here, Lord willing, for another edition of MoneyWise Live. In the meantime, may the Lord bless you.