Imagine having biblical financial wisdom delivered to your inbox every week, helping you integrate your faith and financial decisions for the glory of God. At faithfi.com, you can join a community of over 70,000 people who are already receiving our weekly wisdom email, filled with articles, videos, podcasts, and exclusive offers on resources that will deepen your understanding of biblical stewardship. Start your journey today by creating your FaithFi account at faithfi.com. Just click sign up.
Now, let's dive into the podcast. Getting fit takes willpower. Earning a degree takes determination. Reaching your career goals takes hard work. In short, success takes commitment.
Hi, I'm Rob West, and the same is true when it comes to your finances. Today we'll explore what changes when you commit to managing money God's way. Then we'll tackle your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7,000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Well, you've heard the saying: things worth doing are worth doing well. And when it comes to your finances, there are certainly some things worth doing, like saving for the future, creating a spending plan, paying down debt, giving generously, and living with honesty and integrity.
Now, if you want to see real results in any area of life, it's going to take effort, sometimes a lot of it. And that's true for your financial life, too. Following biblical principles takes determination, planning, patience, and even sacrifice.
So, why is it worth the effort? Because while commitment requires something of us, it also gives something to us. When we live with faith and integrity in our finances, we experience peace, contentment, and even joy. It's not just about doing the right thing, it's about being transformed more and more into who God wants us to be. When you honor Him with your finances, you join in His work, bringing mercy and blessing to others.
And as you experience His provision, Personally, your faith deepens and your story becomes a testimony to encourage others. The Bible is filled with examples of faithful commitment. Hebrews chapter 11 is sometimes called the hall of faith because it highlights men and women who trusted God even when they couldn't see the outcome. Abraham, Moses, Rahab, they placed their hope in God's promises before Christ even came. But the ultimate example of commitment is Jesus Himself.
Hebrews 12:2 says, For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. A Savior who gave everything to redeem us is more than worthy of our full devotion in return. Faith lies at the heart of that kind of commitment, especially when it comes to money. Hebrews 11.1 defines faith as confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. That means trusting God's promises, even when circumstances feel uncertain.
So committing to manage money God's way starts with faith, but it also requires surrender. That means asking, who's really in charge, me or the Lord? In Matthew 6, 24, Jesus says, no one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
That's a heavy reminder for all of us. We can't be fully committed to both God and money. One will always take priority, and when it's not the Lord, we will feel that tension. Here are a few honest questions to consider: Do financial worries consume your thoughts? Do you find yourself chasing more and more money, more stuff, more status?
Is your sense of security wrapped up in your job or investments? If you answered yes to any of those, you're not alone. Many of us wrestle with divided hearts. It's easy to lean on what we can see, especially when life feels uncertain. But money, career, or comfort can never offer the lasting peace only God provides.
Choosing to follow God's financial principles takes daily trust and perseverance. Galatians 6:9 offers this encouragement. Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will all reap if we do not give up. Another gift of commitment is the encouragement we receive from God's people. We weren't meant to follow Jesus or manage your finances on your own.
Colossians 3:12 through 15 paints a powerful picture of Christian community. As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since, as members of one body, you were called to peace. If you've ever felt like giving up on your budget or putting off your giving goals, you're not alone. We all face struggles.
But if everything were easy, we'd never grow stronger. That's why we're here at FaithFi to walk alongside you. Whether you're just starting out or have walked this path for a long time, we want to offer help rooted in grace, wisdom, and truth. Most of all, we want you to experience the joy of following Jesus with every part of your life, including your finances. Because true freedom doesn't come from having more, it comes from trusting the one who gave everything for you.
You can check out more when you visit our website at faithfi.com. That's faithfi.com. All right, your calls are next. The number 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West, and this is Faith in Finance.
Imagine having biblical financial wisdom delivered to your inbox every week, helping you integrate your faith and financial decisions for the glory of God. At faithfi.com, you can join a community of over 70,000 people who are already receiving our weekly wisdom email, filled with articles, videos, podcasts, and exclusive offers on resources that will deepen your understanding of biblical stewardship. Start your journey today by creating your FaithFi account at faithfi.com. Just click sign up.
We are grateful for support from Eventide Investments on the Faith and Finance program. Eventide's approach to values-based investing is grounded in the belief that humankind was created in the image of God, with intrinsic dignity, value, and worth. Eventide calls this investing that makes the world rejoice. More information is available at Eventideinvestments.com. That's EventideInvestments.com.
Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. We realize you have very specific questions, things going on in your financial life as you navigate your own stewardship journey. And that's why we're here to just lean into God's word, to share one another's burdens, but to also share our stories. And so we'd love for you to be a part of the broadcast today, whether you're wrestling with some debt you can't seem to shake hold of, or maybe it's saving for the future, perhaps you have uncertainty around how to navigate your investments, or maybe it's your spending plan, wanting to give wisely. What does that look like?
Well, with any of those questions today, we've got lines open. We're ready for you.
So you can call right now, 800-525-7000. The lines will fill up, but now's the time to get in. You won't have to wait. Our team is standing by.
So call right now with your financial questions of any nature: 800-525-7000. Thousand. We'll look forward to getting you on the air quickly, and we'll be headed to those phones here in just a moment. In the news today, buying a home is harder than ever, and nearly half of homeowners regret their purchase. According to a bank raid survey, 45% of homeowners cite frustrations with ongoing costs.
We're talking about maintenance and hidden fees. The average homeowner spends over $18,000 a year on non-mortgage expenses. In places like California and Hawaii, that number jumps to nearly $29,000.
Now, these costs, we're talking about property taxes, internet, repairs, and more, they often get overlooked during the buying process, especially by those who are stretching their budget. They're trying to get into a house and they really can't afford that house, and they certainly aren't factoring in those non-payment expenses, things beyond the mortgage payment.
So, to guard against surprise expenses, experts recommend a thorough home inspection. This goes without saying. Zillow notes that while some issues may be minor, others, like well, a foundation crack, I've been there, could require specialist follow-ups. Inspections can also help buyers negotiate repairs as a part of the sale. Still, regular upkeep is essential.
Instead of waiting for things to break, schedule seasonal maintenance like gutter cleanings. I actually need to do that on my house, which can prevent significant issues down the line. Another one would be tuning up that AC unit. Yeah, it's an expense we'd all love to keep in our pockets, and yet it can save much more costly repairs down the road. I would also say don't rush into buying.
There's no shame in renting. Take time to evaluate your long-term financial goals and readiness for the responsibilities of home ownership. Consult a financial advisor that can help you determine a realistic, sustainable home buying budget. Don't be concerned about delaying that purchase and not getting ahead of your. yourself.
A couple of rules of thumb. And by the way, still some lines open.
So if you've got a question today, we'll begin taking those here in just a moment. 800-525-7,000. Two rules of thumb here when you're thinking about buying a home. Number one is that down payment. We've talked about this a good bit.
No more than, or you want to save up 20% that you can put down. That's going to give you a bit extra in the way of not only savings for private mortgage insurance, which is an unnecessary expense, not going to do anything for you. And by the way, it's about 1% of the mortgage value. It's also going to ensure that you go in with some equity so that you don't ever find yourself upside down. If we were to get into a recession, and although home prices don't dip often, they do go down.
And so we certainly wouldn't want to get you upside down on that. I think the other big idea here is that, you know, there are three primary budget busters. If we were to just kind of take a look at what are those things that typically derail us with regard to our spending. Plan. Number one would be, and this is easier to fix, food.
Food tends to be that area that can get out of control quickly, and that's certainly true now with food prices where they are. I don't know if you've been able to eat out recently, but food costs are on the rise, no doubt. That one, you can make some changes and rectify that situation. Second one, a little harder to get out of, and that would be transportation costs. You know, unwinding a purchase of a car that was beyond what you can afford obviously is problematic, but you can do it.
The third one, though, is that house. You know, that is the budget buster that is the most difficult to unwind. And not only because it just takes time and significant effort to sell a home, but it's costly. You know, buying and selling real estate, our most expensive purchase for most of us is not without significant costs in terms of realtor fees and taxes, and not to mention moving and all the other things that come with buying and selling homes.
So I will say, let's just try not to put ourselves in that position to begin with. And the key there is just to avoid buying that house we really can't afford. And so we can't shop with our eyes and even the neighborhood or the features. We've got to start with the family budget. What is that amount of house we can really afford?
And as a result of that, you know, back into, okay, what do I need to save? And then what do I then need to take on as a mortgage? And at Traday's prevail. Rates, which is higher than we have become accustomed to over the last couple of decades, even though it's closer to the long-term averages. What is that mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance?
Now, the other thing that really has gotten people as of late is that property insurance, or excuse me, property taxes. Yeah, homeowners' insurance is going up too. But property taxes have become very problematic just because with home values on the rise, even though you're not realizing that and you won't until you sell, that property value is climbing, which means those property taxes are climbing. And, you know, we've got a lot of folks in our listening audience who have seen over the last, let's say, three years, as much as 30% or more in an increase in their property taxes.
Well, that's, you know, that can be really problematic if we didn't have the ability to absorb that in our budget.
So, all that to say, homeownership is challenging right now. Higher interest rates, high housing prices. Don't stretch to buy a house you can't afford, and don't neglect. Those other expenses beyond the mortgage payment, which can add up quickly. All right, I hope that helps.
Pittsburgh PA. Hi, Sue. Go ahead. Sure. Hi, thanks so much.
My question is just Clarity around being Medicare eligible versus Medicare enrolled. My plan is: I turned 65 in March. I am Medicare eligible and need to make a decision here. But my plan is to continue to work, Lord willing, continue with employment sponsored insurance, which is also an HSA that they contribute to, and I do as well.
So I've heard some conflicting information, and I just wanted to see where I stand, if I even have a thing to be able to continue to not enroll at this time. Yeah, the nice thing is, and the key here is whether or not you're still employed and covered by an employer-sponsored insurance plan. If that's true, then you do not have to enroll in Medicare at age 65.
Now, when you are no longer covered by that insurance, you have eight months starting the month after your coverage ends to enroll in Medicare without a penalty. If you fail to enroll in Medicare Part B during that eight-month period, you have a permanent penalty. It's 10% of your Part B premiums for each 12-month period you were eligible but didn't enroll. And then there's a smaller penalty for Part D. But if you have employer-sponsored insurance, you absolutely can wait.
And the H S A piece of it? Yeah, that does also qualify as long as you've got an employer-sponsored plan, even though it's a high-deductible health plan.
Okay, okay. And they can continue to contribute as long as I'm not enrolled in Medicare. It's all okay, yeah, correct. Yeah, they absolutely can continue to contribute to that for sure.
Okay, thanks so much, appreciate it. All righty, thanks for your call today. 800-525-7000. Stay with us. FaithFi is grateful for support from One Ascent.
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It doesn't have to be. If you don't love how your health insurance works, maybe it's time to leave traditional health insurance behind. Take charge of your healthcare with Christian Healthcare Ministries. CHM offers you flexibility. Enroll anytime, choose your own provider, and select the program that fits your needs and budget.
CHM is The original faith-based way of taking care of your medical bill costs. Learn more at chministries.org/slash faithfi. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. Here in our final segment today, we'll get to as many calls as we can. Let's go right back to the phones.
Old Hickory, Tennessee, is where Michael is. Go ahead, sir. Yeah, hello, Rob. Thank you. Rob, I just wanted to know what you would do.
in my situation. I am 73 years old. been retired since twenty seventeen. I'm a widower. When I retired, I rolled my four hundred one K into an IRA.
The money is currently in Fidelity money market. Interest is about four percent. I know the interest rates are going to be going down over time. I do have an emergency phone with about 50K in it. I don't want to put it in stock market, and I definitely do not want to put it in So I'm sorry that I forgot what you call it now.
Annuity or bonds or annuity, yeah, the annuity. I I don't want to go into that. And so I just wondered what would Rob do if With all of your knowledge, if he were in the same position, follow this in the thanks. Yeah, yeah, very good. What did you say?
And maybe you didn't, Michael, if you're willing to share, how much investable assets are we talking? Oh, it's over seven hundred.
Okay. Yeah. Got it. And are you pulling out an income stream from it? Not only the RMD.
Okay, yeah, very good.
So, this is surplus money you don't need, at least now. I mean, you may in the future if you needed long-term care or something like that, but your main plan is either to give it away or allow it to be an inheritance of some kind. That's right.
Okay, yeah. You know, I think, I mean, given that you've kind of taken off the table, and certainly, you know, if you're uncomfortable, no reason not to, if you're taking stocks off the table, you know, and you don't want to go into an annuity, which those aren't my first choice either, then we're talking fixed income investment.
So I'd probably build a portfolio of treasuries, U.S. Treasuries, bills, bonds, and notes, certificates of deposit, and then high-quality bond funds. You know, those are all going to offer safety and steady income, especially if interest rates are decent and you can see some increase in the underlying price of the bond funds as rates fall. I'd probably, you know, in terms of the type of bond fund, I'd probably think in terms of a medium-term bond fund right now. And, you know, they balance income with interest rate sensitivity.
And so it's kind of a solid middle ground with moderate risk. And I think that could serve you pretty well. You could either manage that yourself and buy the treasuries and the bonds, or you could get an advisor. I would probably, and if you didn't take stocks off the table, I'd probably say that you ought to look at somewhere around 30% in some high-quality stocks that are dividend paying just to give you a growth component, especially since you don't need the money, at least right now, and you could have a long time horizon because you need to think in terms of this money lasting 20 or 30 more years, you know, until the Lord calls you home. And that would allow you to have a little extra growth kicker in there alongside these other fixed income type offerings.
And then the only other thing would be what you're already doing, which is having plenty in money market or short-term instruments. And I already mentioned CDs, but that'll give you the liquidity you're looking for.
So how does that sound though? Yeah. Sounds good. It's pretty much what I've in my research, that's about all I've come up with, although you did talk about the bonds and I haven't considered those. But can I do all these things within my IRA that is with Fidelity?
Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah, you could buy the individual bonds. You could buy the bond fund, which then you're just buying the manager and the manager is picking the bond fund and you would select the strategy.
So you could buy a medium-term bond fund, but that spreads your risk.
So you could do that. You could buy the individual bonds. You could buy the brokered CDs inside that, IRA at Fidelity, and you could buy Treasuries as well.
Okay. Rob, thank you so very much and God bless you, sir. All right. Thank you, sir. We appreciate your call.
Thanks for your kind remarks about the program. 800-525-7000. Oh, we're about out of time. Let's see. Let's try to get one more in.
Minneapolis is where Ernest is. Go ahead. Hi, uh Rob Man Labisher. Um my question today is um I'm a new immigrant to the country. I uh travel out of the country to my my family was out of the country.
For a long time, so I travel a lot and I have large gaps in my employment as a result of that. I've got an excellent credit score. but I cannot seem to get a rental or a Uh loan. to get a place to stay because people want to see months employment, face jobs, or whatever, and I have now got These large gaps. Is there some way around this?
Yeah. So you've tried and you've been denied. Is that right? You've tried multiple lenders? I've I've tried lenders in the past and they did hard credit Check and then I didn't comply and all the data has hurt my credit score.
And recently I've only tried uh rentals and the rental forms, as you're filling them in, everybody wants the last six months face-to-face of which I've only come back into the country recently with my family eventually. And rarely need a place to stay and the hotels are very expensive. Yeah. I understand that, Ernest. I'm so sorry.
Yeah, you know, even with a green card and good credit and steady employment now, those lenders often want a consistent income history, usually two years with pay stubs or tax returns.
So I think your next options would be some lenders offer a non-qualified mortgage, loans that use 12 to 24 months of bank statements to show income instead of pay stubs.
Now, the rates are going to be higher on those, but they're designed for people with non-traditional income history. If you have the ability, you could put in more of a down payment.
So some lenders may be flexible if you get above 20% and if you don't have as much on the income documentation. You may want to try a credit union or a community bank. They have often more personal underwriting and would be willing to work with recent immigrants or unique income situations.
So those would be probably the best options. Are you self-employed now? Yeah. I'm W2. I'm a commercial trucker.
Yeah, okay. Got it. Yeah, so really what you're looking for is a lender that'll offer that non-QM loan. I'd probably check with our friends at Movement Mortgage. They're just an incredible organization run by believers, and I know they have some flexible programs.
Go to movement.com/slash faith to learn more. But hopefully, that gives you a few ideas. Movement.com/slash faith. God bless you, Ernest. Let us know how that turns out.
Well, folks, that's why we do what we do because this is a really important calling we each have on our lives to be stewards, to be money managers of the King of Kings resources. Wow, that's a big deal. And one day we will give an account for how we've managed his money. We want to help you be that wise and faithful steward that we know you want to be. What does that mean?
It means providing, it means enjoying. It means giving generously. I think it also means deploying God's capital into investments that align with our values, that are solving problems and meeting needs and loving. Our neighbor and yep, seeking a return at the same time. We put all that together.
It can seem confusing and difficult, but that's why we go back to God's word and pull out these principles. Hey, big thanks to my team today: Sandy, Jim, Devin, couldn't do it without them, and everybody else here at Faith Phi. Folks, we could use your support as a listener-supported ministry to support faith and finance. Go to faithphy.com and click give. Faithfi.com, click give at the top of the page.
And we'll see you next week. Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
