Planning Your Generosity for 2022

Isaiah 32.8 reads, But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands.

Hi, I'm Rob West. Being generous to those in need is certainly a noble thing, perhaps second only to sharing the Gospel. But our giving is more effective when we plan for it. I'll talk about that with Sharon Epps today, then it's on to your calls. Call us at 800-525-7000.

Call us at 800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, Sharon Epps is the Chief Operating Officer at Kingdom Advisors, the parent organization of MoneyWise Media. In a nutshell, that means she knows how to get things done around here and keep our team working in the right direction. Sharon, it's a delight to have you back.

Thank you. Sharon, last month, you were in the month, as you know, you shared with us some great information about the huge role women play in generosity. And today you're here to talk about how planning for generosity can make it more effective for all of us.

So why don't we begin there? Why is it important to plan our giving? And Proverbs 11 25 tells us a generous person will prosper, whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. And I find that to be a great motivation to not only plan for being generous, but to do it as well, because I love the thought of being refreshed.

I do too. The idea of refreshment is something we all can use. Well, Sharon, we're still in the first month of the year. So it's not too late to be thinking about this for 2022, is it?

It's really not. I know many of us have made eating plans. I certainly have exercise plans, you'll have to count me in on that one, too, and even spending plans. But how many of us have actually created a giving plan?

Hmm, that's a great question. Because we know that whatever we do with intentionality, whatever we plan for, well, we're going to be far more effective at accomplishing it. But let's talk about a giving plan because that may be a new idea for some of our listeners. Sharon, how is a giving plan different from a spending plan? Wouldn't you typically include your giving in your spending plan? Well, you definitely would include a giving amount in your spending plan. But there's so much more in a giving plan than just a number.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Well, I know you have an acronym that can actually help us plan for our giving and whatever that might entail. So why don't you share it with us, then unpack it a bit? Well, I certainly won't take credit for originating it. I've heard that Campus Crusade or CREW started it. I've heard it shared by the Chapman's at Generous Giving. But it's an acronym that's easy to remember. It's L.I.F.E. And it stands for the different types of giving that we do. I think when we think of giving, we most often think of financial giving or monetary giving.

And there's really more ways to give than we think about. So L.I.F.E. stands for Labor, Influence, Finances, and Expertise. Hmm. Okay. So say those one more time, the acronym L.I.F.E. And again, they stand for? Labor, Influence, Finances, and Expertise.

Okay, yeah. So that's perhaps a different way to think about our giving as we expand the definition a bit broader than just finances. But the bottom line is the Lord has given us a lot more to give away to people. That's so true.

And you know, I think especially if you're in a season where the financial part is tight, you feel like, well, I don't have anything to be generous with. And that's not true. Anyone can be a generous person. Well, that's exactly right. And I'm looking forward to really diving into these, unpacking them a bit, if you will, just beyond the break as we begin to explain what this might look like for you in each of these areas and sharing this big idea of planning. I know as we think about and our friend Ron Blue has taught for a long time, if there's a barrier to generosity, one of the key ones is the lack of a plan to give. That's so true.

Yeah. So we're going to continue to unpack this just around the corner. Generosity is one of the hallmarks of the life of a faithful steward, because when we recognize that God owns it all and that we're a steward, which then makes money a tool, the natural byproduct of that is that we hold it loosely and we see it as a means to an end, not an end in and of itself, a means to accomplish God's purposes, which certainly part of that is to meet the needs of those around us. So we're going to look at what it means to use your labor and your influence, your finances and your expertise. Joining me today, Sharon Epps, chief operating officer of Kingdom Advisors, financial teacher and author. Much more to come just around the corner. This is MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.

We'll be right back. Welcome back to MoneyWise Live. Today, we're talking about planning for your generosity so you can be far more effective in your giving. I'm Rob West, your host. Joining me today, Sharon Epps, chief operating officer of Kingdom Advisors, financial teacher and author, and Sharon, I know this is one of your favorite topics to teach on, isn't it?

I love to, yes. You just shared an acronym with us before the break that perhaps can expand our vision for our giving. You use the word life as an acronym and remind us again what that stands for. The life is your labor, your influence, your finances and your expertise. I love that, and I'd love to begin to dig down into each of these as folks perhaps develop a vision for their giving a bit differently, maybe broader than they have previously. So let's start with this first area of your labor. What I would like to do is give you a question to consider as you think about, well, how would I give labor away? And the question is, what skills do I have that others might benefit from? What skills do I have that I could share with others?

And let me just give you a very personal example. My father was in construction all of his career, and he can build things. He is just a master craftsman. And for years at church, he felt like he really didn't have a place to serve because his skill was being a master craftsman. And they were asking for greeters and for parking lot attendants and children's ministry, and he just didn't fit in that little square peg. However, one day the building manager realized that my dad had skills to offer that the church actually needed. And what ended up evolving was 20 years of serving, helping out, keeping the building up to date. So that's a great example of he had a unique skill that didn't fit just in a program, but was very needed at the church. Well, I love that because perhaps he felt like, as you said, he didn't have much to offer. And now he's got a completely different vision for how he can give and be in service to the Lord through the local church.

In my life, Sharon, that's my father-in-law. He can build a house from scratch. I'm not so handy, but he's helpful to help around in more ways than one. Maybe you need him to volunteer his labor for you. Exactly.

And he does frequently. Yeah. All right. I love the questions. So why don't you carry those through to the other aspects of the acronym? OK, so for influence, I think one of the best questions is what relationships do I have that might benefit others? And I think this might be one of the most overlooked generosity opportunities. I know, for example, someone who's been highly effective in creating a family retreat for his grown children to pass along the family values. I also have friends who keep talking about, wow, I wish I could do something with my grown children.

I don't know what to do. So I'm being generous when I introduce my friends to the family retreat expert. Yes, absolutely. And you're able to be a connector and in your influence, share those strategic relationships. That's great. All right. Labor influence next would be finances.

OK, so we we hear about this a lot, but I maybe want to twist it a little bit from what we typically hear. So I think instead of asking this question, how much can I give this year? What if we ask the question, how much should I keep? Wow.

Yeah. And I think the big idea here is if I'm a steward and God has given me these funds, I need to ask him what they're for. And many of the funds are for our provision and for our family and those needs.

But I'm wondering sometimes if he entrusts us with funds that are for others and we maybe aren't asking the right question. And here I would just encourage you that you might find it useful this year in your plan to just set a progressive target for your giving, to ask the Lord to give you the ability to potentially increase your giving one percent. And if you are giving five percent now, it might mean that you would move to six percent next year.

Or you may be giving 15 percent now and you might make it a goal to give 16 percent next year. Yeah, that's excellent. And again, this goes back to the planning and the intentionality in our giving. All right. The final area is expertise.

What's the question to ask there? It's what knowledge or subject matter expertise has God given me that I can share with others? And I love this story.

I've gotten to be a part of watching it unfold. But I have a friend who is a pastor, but also he is a chef. He is a wonderful chef because of some training he had in his background. And he has a real concern for the people in his neighborhood. And so rather than going to invite them just to church and they know he's the pastor, he actually has created what he calls around the table. And he invites two or three neighbors to come over and he cooks a four course meal for them. And he uses that chef expertise in order to draw people to the Lord in the conversations that ensue are wonderful.

And believe it or not, friendships start forming in the neighborhood and then it's just a natural to invite them to church. Yeah. And I can just really see I'm already thinking about in my own life things perhaps I can be generous with. And I haven't thought about in that way previously.

This is fabulous. All right. So we've asked these questions around the acronym LIFE and our giving plan is starting to unfold. But it seems like we might need to memorialize this. So how would we begin to create a written giving plan if that needs to be a part of this? Well, I think there's a couple of things that you need to think about. One is just what are the answers to the questions that we just discussed? But I think they need to be guided by your values and beliefs. What's important to us as a family?

So that's another piece of it as well. I also want to have you think about not just this year, but what about my lifetime? What would I like to do in my lifetime? Is there a lifetime financial amount that I would love to give? Is there a lifetime of hours of volunteering? So if we set that long term, coming back to this year helps us think in terms of what we'd like to accomplish this year.

Yeah. And so one of those, as you said, might be a volunteering goal. And if I think about using my labor in that way, it might be serving food to the homeless or teaching a children's class at church, both very needed and essential.

But what do you do if you excel at other things? Well, I think the conversation about my father's one part of it, but I think part of it is being sure that you know what you have to offer. And so I know for myself that one of the things that I love to do is work with organizations and help them come up with their strategic plan or their annual plan.

And so finding a place to do that sometimes takes a little bit of work, because it's not just the norm or necessarily what people advertise for. And so we want your giving plan to be the place to start. And then as you identify those areas of labor and influence and expertise that you have to offer, ask God how you might connect what you have with what people need, because the Lord equips us in order to be able to serve. He's got a spot for us to serve. I know I've been the beneficiary along with our team here at Kingdom Advisors of your gift of strategic planning. So thank you for using that so well. Sharon, wrap this up for us.

We've got just about 45 seconds. All right. So I think the thing is, let me give you three things that you might do quickly in order to get connected with those needs. I would recommend check with your pastor or your church leaders to find out if they have some needs or if they've heard of needs that haven't been made public. Secondly, contact the executive director of some nonprofits that you financially support.

Talk to them about your skills and see if there's a match with some needs that they have. And then finally, and this actually is first, you need to pray. Ask the Lord to do what we just talked about.

Connect the needs with what he's given you, and it's amazing how he'll open doors. It's incredible information. Sharon, thanks for stopping by. Thank you.

That's Sharon Apps, chief operating officer at Kingdom Advisors, and you can tell God has placed a burden for generosity on her heart. Your calls are next. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial journey.

Stay with us. See if we can apply God's wisdom to your financial decisions and choices and help you move forward with confidence. Again, 800-525-7000.

Before we begin today with our first caller, let me just give you a quick update. Earlier this week, we heard from a young lady named Nova, who called into the program, and she was 25, grew up in foster care, didn't have a family support system, and was finding herself in a really difficult spot financially. She uses a gig app to find work, cleaning hospitals when she's able, but the problem is she's got severe back pain. And as a result of that and some upcoming surgery, she's not able to work very much. And during her recovery, which will be several months from the surgery that will be paid for by the government, she'll be completely out of work.

And as you might imagine, just really in a difficult spot. So many of you responded and said, we want to help Nova. So we have a way to do that through our friends at Helping Hands. A caseworker that works directly with our team here at MoneyWise verifies each need, which has already been done this week. And Nova has been approved to accept financial assistance through MoneyWise Media. And so all of you who've been giving, we're able to pass that on in an appropriate way to help her deal with the financial challenges she's having right now, especially as she gets through this surgery over the next couple of months. But if you heard Nova's story and you'd like to give as well, just shoot us an email info at moneywise.org.

That's info at moneywise.org. We'll be sure to send you the appropriate link to make a tax-deductible gift to our MoneyWise Helping Hands fund. And then we'll make sure that our team gets the assistance again in an appropriate way to help offset Nova's expenses. And we're delighted at the generosity and the outpouring of the MoneyWise community to that story. And whenever we can do this, we love to do it.

So again, info at moneywise.org if you'd like to be a part of helping Nova during this difficult time. All right, let's head back to the phones today. It's a Friday afternoon. We'll get through as many calls as we can.

800-525-7000 will begin today in Tampa, Florida. Hi, Emma. How can I help you? Hi.

I have a question in regards. I have a house that the market says it's worth $414,000. I only owe $114,000.

Okay. My question is, is it better to sell it because the market is good now? Or is it better to refinance and get cash out or lower my interest? I have four point interest and they offered me three, so I don't know if it's better to sell it or refinance.

Sorry for my spanglish. Very good. Let's talk about whether or not to sell or hold it first, and then we'll deal with the refinancing question separate.

You're right. The housing market has increased dramatically. We've seen an increase that is beyond our typical rates of increase, primarily driven by a lack of inventory.

It's a combination of the global pandemic. On top of that, we've got folks that are moving out of downtown areas and small apartments that are now working remotely as that trend continues to accelerate. They're moving to single-family homes. We've got millennials that are buying homes because they're having kids now needing a little bit more space. All of that has led to an inventory shortage of homes and has caused housing prices to be elevated. And unfortunately, rental prices have gone with it. So, you know, folks who are renting or experiencing it and those who own are benefiting from the rise in their home price. But when you sell, you're going to pay top dollar for that next home that you buy. Now, you might be able to downsize if perhaps you have more home than you need, and that would be one way to, you know, perhaps lower your overall costs.

But you're going to be getting top dollar when you sell, and if you buy something, you're going to be paying top dollar or the same premium, all things being equal. So talk to me about your plan. If you were to sell, Emma, what would you do? Would you be looking to buy something smaller? Would you be looking to rent? What are your thoughts?

Yeah, I would try to get something very small. Okay. All right. Have you done any of the legwork on that? Have you gone out to look at the area you'd like to live?

Have you looked at some of the homes you'd like to buy that are smaller and really looked at what they're selling for today? Yeah, I've been looking around by internet. Okay.

All right. And that's a good start. There's a lot of information that's readily available today that will give you a good beginning point. I would just want to make sure that before you decided to sell, that you understand what it's actually going to take for you to buy what you believe you'd like to have, even though it's smaller, so that there's not a discrepancy between what you think you're going to come out with and what it's going to take to get into that next home.

So I would be looking at that very closely. In fact, I'd probably go beyond just internet research, and before you make a decision, I would find a competent real estate professional in your area, perhaps one that is a believer who specializes in the area of town you're looking at there in Tampa, who could take you around and actually help you find some properties that would be, if not the ones you would buy, similar to what you would buy to make sure you understand exactly what it would take for you to purchase these and make sure that it accomplishes what you're trying to accomplish. Are you looking to just reduce your overall costs? Are you looking to reduce the upkeep of the home?

What is it you're trying to accomplish? I was trying to lower my payments and lower my interest because they're low now. If I sell the house, I will rent a small place because this is not a good time for buying. It's a good time for selling. That's the other thing. Yeah, the challenge is rents are very high right now because of what's happening in the housing market. So let's do this.

You do a little bit more research, find out what it would take for you to buy the home that you're looking for that's smaller, find out what the rents would be if you were to rent a place to make sure that fits in your budget, and let's look at all of that. And then we'll evaluate that alongside a refi option, which as long as you're going to stay in the home and you can save at least a percentage point and you don't increase the term, that could be another way to solve this. So do a bit more research and then give us a call back. This is MoneyWise Live. We'll be right back.

Stay with us. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. I'm Rob West, your host, taking your calls and questions today. We've got some lines open.

We'd love to hear from you. Give us a call right now. Whatever's on your mind financially speaking, the number 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Let's head back to the phone, Chicago, Illinois. Hi, Tina. How can I help you? Hi, Rob. Thank you so much for taking my call.

I have a quick question for you. I have about 90 grand in loans, federal loans that I've accrued over the years from going to school and since COVID and all beforehand, I've accrued about a little bit over 5000 for interest. And now my question was that I have a fixed rate from the federal loans program for about 6.0 of the interest rate. And I was wondering, would you suggest or kind of guide me here? I'm not very familiar in how to deal very much with money, but to get a lower interest rate would be a better option for me as far as if I can find like a third party service that can offer a lower interest on my loans for payback. Because currently I'm on a 6.0 rate and with the federal loans company, and now it's all switched over to, you know, a third party service because the federal loans are not having everyone pay through the federal loans department. They're all kind of going to third party services that you'd pay back for the loans. So I'm just I'm looking for a little bit of guidance. I'm sorry.

And it's probably a vague or broad question. No, it's not at all, Tina. Yeah, I think the challenge is even if you could get a lower interest rate by refinancing with a private company, you're giving up a lot. Yes, you might save a bit in interest by going with a private lender, assuming you can qualify. You've got the credit score and the income for them to do it. The challenge is you're giving up a lot of the safeguards that the federal loans offer the ability to reduce your payment with an income driven repayment, the ability to postpone payments with the mandatory forbearance, the ability to receive subsidized interest during deferments, and the ability to qualify for loan given us through the public service loan forgiveness program and others as well. All of that goes away when you refinance with a private lender, which is why I'm really hesitant to ever recommend that because if you got yourself into a really difficult financial spot, the income driven and flexible repayment plans and the other benefits offered by the federal loan program are really important and could be really helpful to you in a time like that. Does that make sense?

Yes, yes, it makes sense. Okay, so the thing to do then, and I agree, I don't love you paying 6% interest, that's more than I'd like, but I think with those benefits, it's probably worth sticking with what you've got. I think the key would just be try to keep your lifestyle as lean as possible, really focus in on your spending plan, look to cut or eliminate any unnecessary spending so you can free up margin and send as much as you can toward getting those loans paid down even quicker than the scheduled repayment.

So that you can get out from under them, but I think if you ever got into a real tight spot, you'd be glad you had the federal loans because that's going to ensure that you have some of these flexibilities. Okay, yes, thank you for your advice and suggestions. You're welcome.

I just wasn't sure, again, in the finance department. I listen to your calls all the time or your radio stations. I really do appreciate you taking my call today.

Well, I'm happy to do it, Tina. I know this is a lot of money and it's probably kind of lingering there, and you feel the pressure of getting out from under it as quick as you can, and I can certainly appreciate that. I think the key for you right now is just to maximize that education, see if you can continue to get your income to increase.

Don't let your lifestyle creep with your income increases that come over time, and you'll get this going in the right direction before too long. So all the best to you in the days ahead. Thank you for calling and listening. We appreciate it.

800-525-7000 is the number to call. We've got some lines open. Let's head south. Florida, Carlos, thank you for holding, sir. How can I help you?

Yes, thank you very much for taking my call. I'm a retired guy. I'm 68 years old. I have some money in the bank.

I have a young wife and a six-year-old boy. I don't know if it would be. I'm trying to figure out if putting $100,000 that I have in a real estate property, in a real estate, buying a house to gain some rent or something, or put it in the bank, which I'm doubting doing that because I had no time to try to leave that money for a long time to gain interest. I had no time for that.

So what would be your advice in my particular position? Yes. So let me ask, Carlos, do you have any debt? No, I don't have any debt, but I'm renting. I don't have a house.

I lose everything from my previous marriage. Okay. And are you putting anything into investments? Do you have a retirement plan at work or anything like that?

No, I just pulled everything out from some stocks that I had and I put every dollar in one single account to have access because I was thinking very quickly buying a house. Okay. Talk to me about your employment. Do you self-employed or are you a W-2 employee? No, I'm an employee.

I'm getting very decent money and I'm still active full-time working. Okay. And do you have access to a retirement plan at work?

Yes, I have a retirement plan, but I don't think I have too much there. Okay. Are you actively putting anything in?

Yes. Okay. What percent of your income is going into your retirement plan, do you think? I'm not putting that for me.

I think it's five percent or something. Okay. But you're not adding anything to it above that? No, I'm not. Okay. All right.

Well, here's my thoughts. As you look at your situation, I'm glad that you're debt-free, but you're paying probably a lot of rent right now because rental prices are elevated. I realize you've got everything in the bank, but if you leave it there, you're going to be losing purchasing power, especially with inflation where it is today being elevated. Every month, there's less purchasing power with that $100,000. So I think what would be best, rather than in this really high housing market right now, you taking on a big mortgage and trying to become a landlord and renting it out and having to service the debt, especially with where the housing market is right now, I would be more inclined, unless you had some real experience, you've done that before, you've been a landlord, I'd be more inclined to say, let's take up this $100,000, six months expenses, and keep it in savings, and then let's start to move the rest of it into the stock market with a properly diversified stock and bond portfolio that can be growing for the future.

And then let's systematically continue investing through work. Now, I realize you're approaching 70 years old, and so you're going to be at some point looking for income, and if perhaps a few years down the road you wanted to look at buying another piece of real estate and using that to generate income, that would be fine. But I just am wondering, though, with you continuing to have to pay renting prices, rental prices, and without any experience as a landlord, I'd hate to see you take on a big mortgage. And then what happens if you don't have a renter, we go through a recession of some kind, maybe you're having to service the debt, now you don't own a home, and you're looking for somebody to come in to pay your rent and you have trouble finding someone. It just could put you in a really difficult spot financially given where you're at.

So I think I'd take this other approach and use stock investments to build your wealth and just keep your lifestyle as lean as possible. I hope that helps you, Carlos, and all the best to you in the days ahead. This is MoneyWise Live. We'll be right back. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.

We've got a couple of lines open between now and the end of the program. We'd love to hear from you, see if we can help you with whatever you're wrestling with financially. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. Kim is in North Royalton, Ohio. Kim, thank you for calling.

How can I help you? My husband recently passed away, and I'm applying for the death benefits of his life insurance as the sole beneficiary. And what I want to know is, will I have to pay taxes on the life insurance? No, generally not. Life insurance proceeds are not taxable with respect to income tax, so long as the proceeds are paid out entirely as a lump sum one time, which would be generally the case. So as a beneficiary, due to the death of an insured person, they are not included in your gross income, and you don't have to report them.

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's passing. Do you feel like you have a good handle on where everything's at from an asset standpoint, the income that you have, and kind of where you need to go from here? Yes. Okay, good, good, good. Well, that's something you will not have to worry about from a tax standpoint if that's the case, but I think just make sure as you move forward, you have good folks that you can rely on to help you make decisions along the way. And hopefully this is good news for you as you think about the implications of receiving this money. Kim, we appreciate your call today. All the best to you.

Kissimmee, Florida. Hi, Jessica. Thanks for holding.

How can I help you? Hi, thank you for taking my call. I just wanted your opinion on if you ever think it's a good idea to sell a house that is completely paid off for, basically to put a down payment on a bigger house, which in case would have a mortgage.

Okay, so let me make sure I understand. So your house that you live in today is free and clear, is that right? Well, actually, it's a rental property, yes. Okay, so you own a rental property free and clear. Where do you live?

In Kissimmee, Florida. Okay, but do you own a home as well, or are you renting? I live with my mother.

Okay. So my mother has a mortgage. We were thinking of selling her house also put together as a pool to put a down payment on a bigger house. I see. So you all are planning to continue to live together, and then you would buy with the proceeds of the sale of the rental and your mom's home, you'd pool your money together to buy a new home that you would live in or that you would rent out? We would live in.

Okay, all right. Yeah, I don't think that's a bad idea at all. I mean, obviously, you've done some things right here, Jessica, in the sense that you have a home that currently you're not occupying, you're renting, and that's great. You own it free and clear, which means you've disciplined yourself to save and put that money toward debt repayment, and you're obviously living within your means in order to do that. And living with mom, and that's great, and if you all plan to continue to do that and you need some more space, being able to pool your funds together to do that I think makes some sense. You just need to talk through how you're going to approach that, who's going to own the home, and what assets are coming in, who's going to put what into the home, and then if you end up moving out someday and she wants to stay there, how does that work? So I think just having some real open and honest communication about how all that's going to be put together so you can anticipate either one of you moving on to something else at some point if you wanted to do that.

But in terms of just the financial side of it, taking and selling that property and using that equity to buy something else, I think makes a lot of sense as long as you have really talked through both how you're going to approach the purchase of this new property and then how you would handle the home if either one of you were to decide to move out at some point in the future. Does that make sense? Yes, yes.

That was actually stuff I didn't think about towards the end. But yes, that definitely makes sense. Good. Okay. Well, listen. Hey, all the best to you.

I know real estate has been wild there in Florida, among other places around the country. So all the best to you as you navigate the home sale and the purchase of this next place. But it sounds like you're doing a lot of things right, Jessica. We appreciate you listening and calling today. Thanks very much.

Let's head to Tennessee. Sadie, thank you for calling. How can I help you? Thank you for taking my call. Just to let you know, right off the bat, I'm not as educated as most of your callers, so I don't understand a lot of what you're saying.

But my husband brings home approximately $462 a week. Let me just pause for one second, Sadie. I heard the first part. You're breaking up just a little bit. So if you had the ability to move maybe to a place where you'd have a little bit stronger signal, that would be great, because I don't want to miss anything you've said. But again, I've heard everything you've said so far, so let's just keep going from there.

All right, I apologize. We live in a hollow here in Tennessee. Anyhow, I was saying, my husband works full-time, but he brings home about $462 a week. We did live in Florida, but we had a fire and we lost the house and everything. And quick story, my so-called friends said, come to Tennessee. You can stay with us for six months, not have to pay for anything. Well, they're not such good friends, because they took us for every penny that we had saved up, literally, and then kicked us out on my birthday last month. But we found a 22-foot camper that we're renting, which I'm grateful for, but it leaks like a sieve when it rains and has holes in the floor and no bathroom. But, you know, anyway, the question is, is with what my husband makes, because I'm disabled, I have very severe health issues.

I have neuro palsy and cancer and a whole lot of things. So I'm in the appeals process for my Social Security. But my main question is, with the $462 that he brings home a week with what we pay for our rent and car and stuff like that, how can I start trying to save up? Because eventually we're going to have to find something better to live in. But how can we do that? Because like today he brought home his $462, but with the $200 car payment that we have to make, plus food, because we don't qualify for food stamps for whatever reason.

But how can we start saving up trying to get out of this 22-foot camper into something that's humanly livable? Yes, yes. No, I completely understand. And obviously, Sadie, this is going to be just a week at a time, just trying to manage through all of this. What I'd like to do is have one of our coaches contact you. So when we're done here today, I'm going to ask you to stay on the line. We're going to get your information. I'm going to have one of our trained Money Wise coaches call you. And at a time that works for you, over the phone, work through your budget and just help you capture what it takes.

And most of this you'll probably know. There may be some things that they can just help you think through that maybe you don't get a bill for every month or that happen, perhaps not every month. But we want to capture all of your expenses. And we want to develop a plan to say, how do we take that $462 a week and literally allocate that by week to the various expenses that you have? To keep food on the table, to keep the rent paid, to keep the car paid, keep gas in the car and the electricity on, on your rental plot there. And then be able to have a little bit of margin so you can first start to build up an emergency savings of a few hundred dollars with a goal of let's say $1,000 or $1,500.

So that when you have an unexpected expense and they will come, you don't have to rely on a credit card or anything like that. But then once that emergency fund is funded, the next goal is just to save every penny you can, and I realize there'll be some months you can't, to be able to save up for a down payment or to upgrade your living situation. I realize you're in a tough spot in terms of your own health. Is there any way your husband could perhaps look for another job along the way to increase his income or add a second job? I think those would be things you need to be looking at because there's only so much we can do on the expense side. At some point, we need to try to increase the income along the way and, Lord willing, if you can get the things situated with the Social Security Administration, hopefully that will provide some additional assistance for you.

That could be combined obviously with your husband's income to give you just a bit more margin and perhaps 100% of that could go towards savings if that is ironed out for a new home when you're ready to make that move. So I think when the coach helps you and if we can get the SSA resolved, then hopefully things will start to look a little bit better and I think you'll feel better when you have a bit in savings that you know you can fall back on and you're working toward a goal of being able to improve your living situation. I know it's difficult times, Sadie. I appreciate your calling and I think if we can walk with you, encourage you, pray for you, and our coach can navigate this with you, I think perhaps you'll feel a lot better.

So I want you to hold the line. We're going to get your information and we're going to have somebody reach out to you and I want to finish today by just praying for you. Father, we just want to lift Sadie and her husband up to you.

Lord, they've been through some difficult times, losing their home in the fire with friends that perhaps took advantage of them. And yet, Lord, in spite of all of that, your promises are true. You said you'll never leave us or forsake us. Thank you for your son Jesus that saves us from our sins. We know that in and of that and nothing more, we have an abundance, Lord. But with their financial provision, we ask that you would just intervene and provide, even miraculously, that you'd provide additional income for them, that you'd help Sadie navigate this conversation with Social Security.

And, Lord, you just give them wisdom as they try to be found faithful with what passes through their hands to be able to spend it in a way that allows them to meet their needs and ultimately move to a situation where they have a bit more and can have a more secure home situation, Lord. We know you love them and as their Creator, Lord, and provider, you're there and thank you that we can trust you. And we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Sadie, thank you for calling.

God bless you. Hold the line. We'll get your information and we'll get somebody to reach right out to you. Well, folks, that's going to do it for us today.

MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. I want to say thank you to my team today. Producing today, Amy Rios, Engineering, Dan Anderson, helping with research, our executive producer, Jim Henry. Thank you for being here as well. So thankful for you tuning in each afternoon. I hope you have a great weekend and come back and join us on Monday. I'll be here. We'll see you there. Bye-bye.