We work, we earn, we save.
But is that all there is? The Book of Ecclesiastes gives us an entirely new perspective on money that impacts our day-to-day lives. FaithFi's newest study, Wisdom Over Wealth, unpacks life-changing biblical truths about wealth, work, and contentment. This resource will help you grow in how you handle wealth by deepening your trust in God. Get your copy when you become a FaithFi partner with a gift of $35 a month or $400 a year at faithfi.com partner. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
Luke 16 11. Hi, I'm Rob West. What if managing money is about more than just numbers and budgets?
What if it's a window into something eternal? Afton Phillips joins us today as we explore the mission behind the message you hear every day on this program and how you can be a part of it. And then it's onto your calls at 800-525-7000.
That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, we're thrilled to have Afton Phillips with us on the program today. Afton serves as our head of content here at FaithFi, shaping the direction and strategy behind everything from this radio broadcast to our app, website, magazine, and Bible studies.
Really, just about all the content we create. It's a big role and we're grateful for her leadership. Afton, great to have you in the studio today. Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here. It's the first time. I'm so excited about it.
It's so fun. Now, you came on board in January, so when people ask you what you do for us here, how do you describe FaithFi and the mission of this organization? Yeah, well, something that's always been really important to me is amplifying messages that matter, things that make an impact personally, generationally, and globally. And there are few topics that feel as personal and maybe as triggering as money. Something you say on the show all the time, Rob, is that money issues are heart issues.
And it sounds simple, but it's really this like paradigm shifting truth. And when you feel anxiety about a purchase or you're frustrated with your spouse or you feel boxed in by a budget, those are all opportunities to take a beat and evaluate your heart. And I think that's really what I've learned from just being here in a short time, is really to think about what really matters and it will reshape your perspective because really we're already living in abundance because we're living with the love of Christ. Boy, that is so well said.
And I think that captures the essence of the heart behind everything we do here. Now, what do you see as some of the biggest challenges Christians face when it comes to managing money faithfully? Well, certainly anxiety about money is an issue.
We did a study, look at the Sparrows, and it was just so wildly popular. And I think it's because a lot of times we have this scarcity mindset or we have a fear of loss or this idea of keeping up with the Joneses. And there's all these competing impulses when it comes to how we handle our finances. But the concepts we talk about on the show or in the magazine or in our studies, they're all these intentional opportunities for a reset to draw biblical wisdom and help us see the emptiness of accumulation and really the peace and fulfillment that comes from trust in Christ. Wow. Yeah, that's powerful. And I love that idea of an opportunity for reset as we just step back and perhaps change our perspective and lean into all that God's Word has on this topic. Now, Afton, for those who might not be familiar with all that FaithFi offers, I'd love to just take an opportunity for you to describe some of the resources we've created to help believers grow as faithful stewards.
Absolutely. Well, this show is a huge part of what we do every single day. But we also create an incredibly helpful app that really takes a lot of these principles and practices and just makes it easy for you to implement into your everyday life. And one of the other things that we started recently creating is our Faithful Steward magazine, which I personally just love. It's the most beautifully designed resource with just these quick mindful articles about these principles and these insights. And then we've also recently begun publishing devotionals and studies, and those allow us to do a real deep dive into scripture and what it has to say about our heart posture towards money, like our most recent one, Wisdom Over Wealth.
Yeah, exactly right. And so wherever you're at on this journey, there's a place for you to step in and explore all that God's Word has to say about this, but in a way that's engaging and I think really relevant to your life. Now, there's a lot in our audience who just, they love the program, they love the resources, they want to take a next step in supporting or getting involved in our mission.
How do you recommend they do that? Let me just say I'm so thankful for those of you who support our ministry because it really just allows us to do things like this show to bring this message to so many people who are struggling and honestly suffering, and they need this financial relief that only Christ can provide. And we've got a goal to get 50 more partners by the end of this month, and we'd be so grateful for your partnership and your generosity. Just go to faithfi.com slash give. That's faithfi.com slash give. When you give a gift of $35 a month or $400 a year, that will qualify you for our partner program, and we'll send you as a thank you our quarterly magazine, Faithful Steward and two print devotionals a year plus pro access to the Faithfi app. Afton, thanks for being here today. Thanks for having me. Again, that website, faithfi.com slash give. We're looking for 50 partners before the end of the month.
We'll be right back. Request your copy of the Wisdom Over Wealth study with your gift of $35 or more by going to faithfi.com slash give. Are you feeling overwhelmed by credit card debt?
As followers of Christ, we are called to be good stewards of what God has given us. That's why our trusted partner, Christian Credit Counselors is here to help. Their debt management program can help you pay off your debt 80% faster while honoring your commitments in full. Take the first step toward financial freedom today. Visit christiancreditcounselors.org or call 800-557-1985. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. I'm sure you've got some questions today.
I'd love to hear them. If there's anything on your mind financially speaking, now's the time to call. We've got lines open, but they will fill quickly. So call right now, 800-525-7000 with your financial questions today. Again, that number 800-525-7000.
Our team is standing by. We're going to begin in St. Louis today. Hi, Michael. Go ahead, sir.
Thank you. So kind of a two-part question on mortgages. The first one, what exactly should you try and look at to compare mortgages besides the annual percentage rate? And then is there an average cost for origination fees and for closing costs? How do you judge what is right with that? Yeah, that's a great question. So first of all, you know, beyond the rates, and obviously that would be key, you'd want to check those origination and closing costs.
That would be a second big one. The APR is going to include the total cost, and so that will be an important consideration. You can look at the APR or you can look directly at those costs and determine what percent they are of the mortgage. You'll of course want to consider the various loan terms, the lender's reputation.
I would just do a quick search on them on a site like Bankrate. You'd want to consider the various loan options, of course, and incentives like cash back. I would say always get three bids. You know, the average person for this, what is the largest transaction for most people in their lives, often will just go with one lender in terms of quoting it. I would say getting three to compare, you know, would be key.
So those would be the primary issues. You'd be looking at fees, APR, loan terms, lender reputation, and then, you know, consider the various loan options. In terms of the average cost, I would say, you know, expect somewhere between a half a percent and one percent for origination.
So that's $1,500 to $3,000 on a $300,000 loan, and that would roll into what would often be three to five percent in terms of total closing costs. So those would be kind of the general ranges. If you're kind of way outside of that on either of those, then I would say that would be a red flag. Is that helpful, though? Yeah. So you're saying five total, including the origination fees? That's right, yeah. Okay, okay. Exactly right. Yep.
So you're talking about a $300,000 loan, you know, you're looking at it could run you upwards of $15,000. Okay. Now, I'm getting bids this time around, and so I was trying to make sure I'm comparing and looking for, you know, who is close to being where they need to be versus they're way out of range. So yeah, it's very helpful.
Absolutely. Our friends at Movement Mortgage could be a great option for you, at least one in the mix. You could just go to movement.com slash faith to learn more. They're a top 10 lender owned and run by believers.
Top 10 meaning in the top 10 largest in the United States and cover the entire country. But glad to hear you're doing your homework on this, Michael, that'll pay off. And hopefully that's given you a few things to think about today. Thanks for being on the program, sir. May the Lord bless you. Let's go to Kentucky. Hi, Tracy. Go ahead.
Thank you for your show, Rob. And my question is, my husband and I tied. We have always, because we believe everything we have is God's. But we just really struggle with where we're at in church, with some of their financial decisions. And we feel like we're the only two. We sit in business meetings, and we think, are we the only two that disagree with this?
Yeah. And so writing out that type check, it's just really difficult when we really don't agree with what they're investing money in. We pray, are we wrong?
Is the church wrong? God, everything we have is yours. We don't want to withhold. We don't use it as an excuse not to give. But we just feel like the money could be spent in much better ways.
Yeah, yeah. Well, it's a great question, Tracy. And I think the big idea here, number one is that we absolutely need to be involved in and you guys are so I'm not saying you're not, but we need to be involved in and active in the local church. You know, that's God's plan A. You know, we need to be there serving and growing in a community of believers in a Bible believing church.
That's number one. I think this matter of the tithe is kind of a secondary issue in the sense that we need to decide first where has God planted you. And if you then have concerns about any part of what's going on at the church, I think you take those concerns to the elders or the governing body of your church, because you want to be able to talk it through and pray for wisdom and discernment in that conversation. And is it possible that this is just a disagreement that reasonable people may have?
Or is there something else there? You know, I think you could also raise the issue of your church as a membership meeting. I wouldn't in any way gossip about the issue or cast dispersion, but I think in a way that's respectful and in the channels that are that already exist, I would I would raise the issue and ask for further clarification. Perhaps you want to consider serving on your church finance committee if there is one. I've done that in the past and that's a way not for you to just kind of impose your desires necessarily, but for somebody who's willing to say, listen, I want to get in the boat with you and help provide, you know, some of that wisdom and leadership and, you know, seeking the Lord through prayer for discernment around how the church should conduct its finances. But ultimately, I think if you feel your leadership refuses to practice faithful stewardship with the church finances, then ultimately you'd have a bigger question, not necessarily about your tithe, but really, is that the right church for you? And because you have to be a faithful steward of the resources God has given you, have you ever raised these concerns with anybody on the church leadership?
No, no we haven't. Okay, and it could be that if you were to do that, you know, you could get some clarification that might, you know, help you understand why decisions are being made the way they are. It's often difficult kind of sitting in the pews to understand the full perspective of why things are being done.
I'm not saying everything necessarily is being done exactly the way it should. They may or may not be, but apart from you asking some questions, again in the right heart posture with the right approach to say, listen, I love this church and, you know, we're here and we're committed and we're faithful givers, but just from where I sit, there are some questions I have that I'd love to be able to dig a little deeper on and see if somebody can help walk you through that. I would imagine they would welcome that conversation. I know I always did when I was the chairman of the finance committee at the churches I've been a part of in the past, because otherwise you don't have an opportunity to explain the rationale and the decision making that's going on. So I would encourage you, perhaps as a next step, to maybe take a few a few days for you and your husband just to kind of pray through it.
Lord, give us wisdom as to how we should approach this, and if you legitimately have some questions or concerns, you know, take that, you know, to the elders or, you know, perhaps you, you know, ask your pastor what's the best channel to explore this and see where that goes. Does that make sense? Yeah, it does.
Yes, thank you. Okay, absolutely. But listen, I appreciate you raising this question, because, you know, we should be givers, and I believe that should start with our local church. I think that's very clear in Scripture, and yet there are going to be from time to time questions or concerns.
Now at the end of the day, if this is where God has planted you and you feel like, you know, this is your church home, I think there's some element of just saying, hey, we're going to trust the the authorities that God has put in place, but that doesn't mean we can't ask some questions along the way. God bless you. Well folks, we're headed to our next break. We've got room for a few more questions today, so there's something on your mind financially you'd love to make that decision with some wise counsel rooted in God's Word, not because it comes from me, but because we look to Scripture to pull these principles out. Well, this is the place for you. We'd love for you to call right now at 800-525-7000. We've got room for a few more questions in our final segment today.
Again, that's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions, back with much more just around the corner. Stick around. If you love what you hear on this program, there's even more waiting for you at faithfi.com. Explore podcasts, videos, articles, Bible studies, and devotionals, all designed to help you see God as your ultimate treasure and money as a tool to advance His kingdom. Pursue wisdom, practice generosity, and steward God's resources in a community with others who share your faith. Visit faithfi.com to take the next step in your faith and financial journey today.
That's faithfi.com. We are grateful for support from Praxis Investment Management. Since 1994, Praxis has offered investment products designed to meet practical needs for everyday investors seeking to steward their assets consistent with their desire to promote positive social and environmental impact. Praxis aims to bring a faith-based approach to ETFs, mutual funds, multi-fund portfolio solutions, and money market accounts reflecting their 500-year-old Anabaptist Christian faith tradition.
More information is available at praxisinvest.com. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. We're going to tackle a couple of emails. We receive emails all the time, and maybe this is the Lord's way of encouraging me to get to some of those emails we've been collecting, which I'm delighted to do.
It often slips my mind. Here's what David wrote. I contributed to an IRA thinking it was a smart move, but now in retirement I'm facing a higher tax rate than when I earned the income. Are there any strategies to help mitigate the tax impact for those of us in this situation?
You know, unfortunately, David, you're right. Many retirees contributed to IRAs, traditional that is, expecting lower tax rates later, only to find that they end up in higher brackets due to required minimum distributions, maybe income they weren't counting on, among other things that could drive that. So here are a few ways to your question that can mitigate that increased tax liability.
Number one, and this is one of my favorites, you probably heard me talk about it, but if not, this could be a game changer. It's the qualified charitable distribution, the QCD. If you're 70 and a half or older, it will go directly from your IRA to a charity. It doesn't count as income and can satisfy your required minimum. So that would allow you to get the money out, satisfy the minimum, and not have anything added to your taxable income. You could do some incremental Roth conversions. So you'll pay the tax now, but growth and withdrawals from the Roth are of course tax free. You could delay social security. If you wait till age 70, it could boost your benefit and give you more time to do Roth conversions. And then I would just say plan ahead to make strategic withdrawals. So pulling from your IRA before RMDs start can help to spread out taxes over time and keep you in a lower bracket. I would also say just this underscores the opportunity to work with an advisor. We recommend connecting with a certified kingdom advisor to help you do tax planning that minimizes what you have to give to Uncle Sam. You always obviously can look at other ways to reduce taxable income that would be more typical where you might increase your charitable contributions. Those kinds of things can be very helpful as well.
So hopefully that gives you a few things to think about. This comes from Cecilia. She writes, when helping a first time home buyer child, is it more cost effective to co-sign on the mortgage or take out a home equity loan and pay off the mortgage directly, allowing the child to repay the parents?
The goal is to save closing costs and fees. Let me just say Cecilia, it's generous to want to help your child buy a home. But when it comes to co-signing, the Bible is crystal clear. Don't do it. Proverbs 22, 26, and 27 says, do not be one who strikes or shakes hands and pledge or puts up security for debts. If you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.
It doesn't mince any words there. Co-signing ties your credit and financial future to someone else's behavior. Even if your child is responsible, life happens. There's job losses and illness and divorce, and if they can't pay, the lender will come after you. And this could not only jeopardize your financial stability, it could also jeopardize your relationship, depending upon kind of how this ends up playing out.
So here's what I would do. I would just say, if you have a desire to help the kids, you know, the best way I've found to do this is to let them qualify for the mortgage they can qualify for, and one that fits their budget. And to do that in a way that allows them to be responsible, to exercise some discipline, but then perhaps you come in after the fact and prepay the mortgage and help them pay it down quicker. Maybe even say, listen, we'll match every dollar you send beyond the scheduled mortgage payment. Now you may say, well, that's just going to end up with a higher mortgage and a higher payment, and that's unnecessary. But if they can get into the house, they really can afford on the front end, then they shouldn't have any problem paying that mortgage payment. And by you paying it down, reducing that principle, you're going to save them a bundle in interest and ensure that they continue to pay at that level just to pay that off even quicker. Now, the other way would be you make the gift that becomes the down payment.
You know, that's the other way to do it, but I would avoid that co-signing. I hope that helps Cecilia. This one's from Cindy. She writes, I've been hearing more about a deed fraud. What steps can homeowners take to protect themselves against it? You can check Cindy with your county deeds or record office to see if they offer an alert option. If anyone tries to do anything with your deed, many counties do now offer that service in response to all the talk about deed fraud. Most allow you to check online yourself to see the status of the deed.
So since you can do these things on your own, we don't recommend that you pay a monthly fee for someone to do it for you. A lot of times this is referred to as, you know, title lock insurance. The problem is the word insurance is a misnomer. See if somebody fraudulently transfers your deed into their name, and typically they would do that for the purpose of taking a loan against it that you're responsible for inadvertently, and then not repaying it. And then ultimately you figure it out when the home has tried, you know, they attempt to foreclose it.
Nobody can protect you against that. It was fraudulent to begin with. Really, what they're trying to do is just alert you, you know, to any kind of fraudulent transfer. So in that case, I would just say, you know, let's not add unnecessary expense. Now, if you can afford it and it gives you added peace of mind, go for it.
But for the typical person, I would say, let's not add this kind of lock insurance or a title lock subscription. Let's first check with our county deeds and records office and see if they will put an electronic alert on there for you so that you can essentially do this yourself. I hope that helps. Hey, I'm glad we were able to tackle some questions for you today.
Those come in by email, and if you want to send one along, you can send it to askrob at faithfi.com. Let's go to Chattanooga. Hi, Christy, go right ahead. Yeah. Hi.
I hope you can clarify something for me. Someone told me that I can collect on my husband's social security. I am 68. He's 61 working, and my benefits are really low.
I was a stay-at-home mom, didn't have a lot of work experience out of the home. So is that true? Well, you can get up to 50 percent of your husband's benefit by claiming spousal benefits, but he must already be taking benefits for you to be eligible. So if you think about this in terms of, you know, one of our go-to guys on this explains it like, he's got to walk through the door before you can, and so you're not eligible until he begins taking benefits. So we both would be getting benefits at the same time?
Yes. So he starts taking benefits on his record, and then once he does, that makes you eligible for benefits as a spouse. But the benefits, the max you can get is 50 percent of his, and that's only if you're full retirement age. If you're under that, then you're going to be reduced below 50 percent. But yes, you would be collecting your spousal benefit, he would be collecting his full retirement benefit, and you would get both of them.
And the amount depends on your age at which you begin taking it. I hope that helps. Thanks, Christine. Big thanks to my team today, Sandy, Jim, Devin, everybody here at Faithfi. Couldn't do it without them. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye. Faith and Finance is provided by Faithfi and listeners like you.
