This Faith and Finance podcast is underwritten in part by Christian Healthcare Ministries. Is health insurance eating up your budget for 2026? If you're looking for ways to better steward your finances, consider this. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a health insurance alternative at half the cost. While insurance companies tell you when to join, what to pay, and where to go, CHM is different.
As a ministry, CHM allows you to share the burden of medical bills with other Christians. You can enroll, switch programs, or leave at any time. That's a world of difference. CHM has four flexible programs. You can pick any certified doctor, surgeon, or hospital that you want for eligible care.
Make the switch and take your paycheck back from health insurance this year. Join CHM today by visiting chministries.org slash faithfi. That's chministries.org slash faithfi. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Psalm 127, 3.
I am Rob West. Children certainly are a precious gift from God, a reward and heritage to be cherished and valued. And along with that joy comes responsibility. Parents with a new baby could certainly use a financial checklist, and I've got one today. And then it's onto your calls at 800-525-7000.
This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
So, what goes on a new baby financial checklist?
Well, there are more things than you might imagine, but let's start with adding the newborn to your health insurance. You have a lot going on with 2 a.m. feedings and diaper changes, but don't let updating your health insurance slip through the cracks. Many plans allow a 30-day window after birth to add your baby to your policy. While you're at it, double-check that your plan covers pediatric care, vaccines, and heaven forbid, surprise hospital visits.
Thankfully, welcoming a new baby qualifies as a life event, allowing you to make necessary adjustments to your plan.
Next on your new baby financial checklist is another important insurance consideration, life insurance. Not for the baby, but for you. Ensure you have a term life policy with a death benefit of at least 10 times the primary breadwinner's salary. And don't overlook the caregiving spouse. Life insurance is just as crucial given the significant cost of childcare.
Next up on your new baby checklist is updating your budget. You can add a whole new category called baby when deciding how much to put in that category. Think diapers, baby wipes, onesies that become too small overnight, and of course, endless amounts of baby food. And I remember feeling that weight myself when we welcomed twins. The joy and the expenses doubled overnight.
You may have to pull money from other budget categories to stay in the black, and you can make adjustments as time goes on. But a little planning now will go a long way toward easing your stress later.
Next on the list is creating or updating your will. A will isn't just about distributing assets, it's also where you designate a guardian for your child in the event that both parents pass away. This can be a difficult decision, which is why many couples delay it. But it's essential to have a plan in place. No guardian will be perfect, but after prayerful consideration, choose the person you and your spouse believe would provide the best care if the unthinkable happens.
Then be sure to finalize your will. And remember, you can change it later. The rest of your will outlines how your assets will be distributed, which can help prevent unnecessary family conflicts. Typically, assets pass to your spouse first and then to your child or children. Proverbs 13:22 reminds us: a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, and that legacy is far more than money or possessions.
Financial assets may fade, but a godly legacy can anchor generations in hope and obedience to the Lord.
Next up, start building your emergency fund if you don't already have one. You'll need three to six months' worth of living expenses in the bank. Use your budget to determine how much that is. If you had this in place before the baby, you'll probably need to increase the amount because your monthly expenses are likely to increase. With a new baby, you'll be investing in essentials, some of which, like strollers, come with surprisingly high price tags.
Covering these costs becomes much harder if you face job loss or an unexpected medical situation. That's why it's wise to strengthen your emergency fund now.
Next up on your new baby financial checklist, update your taxes. When your baby arrives, you can claim the child as a dependent on your tax return, which could get you a tax credit of up to $2,200 per child. You'll also need to update your W4 form at work so that your withholding aligns with your new situation. You may not need to have quite as much withheld since you now have another dependent.
Next on your financial checklist is education savings. A 529 plan is a versatile choice that covers private K-12 education, vocational training, and college nationwide. You can open a plan in any state enjoying tax-free investment growth for qualified expenses. And starting this July, families will also have access to the new Trump accounts, government-seated investment vehicles offering tax-deferred growth and flexibility for kids later on for costs related to home ownership, business startups, or education. Best of all, they allow employers, family members, and friends to contribute without needing earned income.
With these expanding options, now is a great time to consider which approach or combination best fits your goals. Finally, consider placing a credit freeze on your child's file with the major bureaus to help protect against identity theft. Your calls are next. We'll be right back. What we do is very special and it's very unique.
This is Bethany. She is a Certified Kingdom Advisor. I became a CKA because we're not building bigger barns and we're not trying to figure out how can we just amass more and more and more. We're figuring out how much do you really need? What are your priorities?
What has God called you to? And then how can we give it away? How can we be more generous? You can find an advisor like Bethany at findaceka.com. Is health insurance eating up your budget for 2026?
If you're looking for ways to better steward your finances, consider this. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a health insurance alternative at half the cost. As a ministry, CHM allows you to share the burden of medical bills with other believers while also saving you money. Join CHM today and ditch traditional health insurance by visiting chministries.org/slash faithfi. That's chministries.org slash faithfi.
Ah! Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. All right, let's dive into your phone calls today. The lines are filling up, but we've still got a few at the moment.
So, if you have a financial question today, a call right now, 800-525-7,000. Again, that's 800-525-7000. We're going to begin in North Carolina today. Rusty, go right ahead. Yes, thank you for taking my call.
I'm asking for maybe a website or information on how to evaluate whether a particular Christian organization would be a good investment. I'm particularly interested in right now. I get letters from Far East broadcasting company who claims to be wanting to set up radio. waves going into North Korea And but I just don't know You know, is this is this something that's that's promising. I don't know anything about that organization, and I'd like to be able to maybe even in other with other organizations, A way to check out give me the information I would need to know to be a good steward of resources.
Yeah.
Well, first of all, let me just say that the ministry that you mentioned, the Far East Broadcasting Company, is a legitimate Christian ministry. It's certainly not a scam of any kind. It's been around for a long time, going all the way back to the forties. And it really operates a global Christian radio and media ministry to share the gospel in many what are considered closed countries. In terms of their financial integrity and visibility, you know, there's two things I would look to.
Number one would be that they're a member of ECFA, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and they are. And then the other thing you can look at is their rating from a ministry called Charity Navigator. You could just do an internet search for Charity Navigator and then find their website and then type in Far East Broadcasting Company to read all the details. But they have the four-star rating, which is an excellent rating, which just simply means that in all the measurements that Charity Navigator tracks in terms of financial accountability and transparency, they're in the highest category. And so that's a good sign.
And, you know, they do great work. They have a massive operation, specifically transmitting from South Korea into North Korea and China.
Now, the thing you might want to be careful of is if somebody's impersonating a known charity to steal payment information.
So I wouldn't respond to an unsolicited cold call or a text or an email asking for gifts. But as long as. You learn about it, you decide it's something you want to participate in, then I would either contact them directly or navigate on your own to their website to make the gift, as opposed to responding to something that is inbound to you that was unsolicited. I like the idea of you really thinking about being a good steward, not only in how you manage God's money, but also how you give. You know, God gave us a head and a heart.
He didn't say pick one. And so I think asking what kind of kingdom outcomes do I want to see, stewardship is about impact.
So, what kind of impact is occurring there? I think as we evaluate ministries to really say, you know, what are those ministries we should be giving to? What should we be looking for? I don't think it's a problem for you to engage with them and ask what problem they're trying to solve. And, you know, what do they think is the, you know, really the best strategy?
Look for fruit, measurable outcomes that demonstrate effectiveness and life change. I think you can review the leadership stability. You can ask about, you know, donor retention. I think transparency and accountability are key. And I like what I'm seeing here from Charity Navigator and ECFA, that they really line up there.
So I would say a strong ministry welcomes questions and really sees accountability as a part of discipleship.
So, I think leaning in, if this is something that piques your interest to learn more, is a good thing. But is that helpful, Rusty? Oh, yes, thank you so much. What I received is a couple of at least two letters. from them explaining their ministry.
And I think that would be reliable for me to respond to. Yeah.
Yeah.
I think that's right, especially if, you know, your gift involves you navigating to their website directly and then making a gift that way or reaching out to them.
So I appreciate you checking. It's a great reminder that we need to be thoughtful about how and when we give. You know, we're really strategic about our investments often, but we give more haphazardly, I think, in many cases. And I think your question is a great reminder about using the same level of intentionality and scrutiny as we give God's money to ministries claiming to do work in the name of Jesus. Rusty, thanks for your call today, sir.
To Louisiana. Hi, Judy. Go ahead. Hello. Hi.
How can I serve you? I had some questions. I'm trying to decide how to invest the monies that I have. I'm seventy. My husband is seventy five, and we made some bad, bad financial decisions in our early years.
Making a lot of money, didn't invest right. And then my husband ended up with prostate cancer, and I ended up losing my job.
So we went through a very, very difficult time. And we have like 15 grandkids. And at this point in life, we're trying to at least get back on track. He's still going through a dilemma. But I have about, I say, about $30,000 that I want to invest into something that if something happened, you know, maybe I will have something for my kids or, you know, a safety nest for my family.
And I'm not. Into investing. I don't know what to do with it. I have a little bit of money in Fidelity stocks, and I just put it there and I I left it there. I think I have about twenty thousand dollars in there, which I don't know if I have it in I have it in diversified funds, I think.
And just want some advice what to do at this stage in life that if something happened, I would at least have something left for my grandkids. Yes, I can certainly understand that. Judy, do you have separate from this money what I call an emergency fund, which is liquid reserves? Yeah.
Okay, great. Yeah.
So this is, it's a little challenging in the sense that, you know, when you've got $30,000 or $40,000 to invest, you kind of have to make those decisions yourself because most investment advisors are going to require a minimum of $100,000. That's just the way their businesses are set up.
So I think, you know, your options are you could use what's called a robo-advisor, but you'd have to be comfortable using the internet. But the Schwab intelligent portfolios would be one. You could use another one called Betterment, and they take a lot of the guesswork out because you could put that money in, you'd answer a series of questions, and then it would allocate the money based on the answers to your questions. And it would use kind of the broad market indexes to determine how much to put in stocks and how much to put in bonds.
So again, if you're comfortable on the internet, you could go to sound, excuse me, the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. Another option would be to visit with our friends at soundmindinvesting.org.
Soundmindinvesting.org. They could help you give you some recommendations on some mutual funds to put it into. But that would allow you to move the money into an account, let's say at Fidelity or Schwab, and then you could buy some really high-quality, low-cost mutual funds and then just kind of forget about it. Let it grow. And it's going to go up and down with the market, but over time it should increase.
And then you might have, you know, a nice little nest egg that you could pass on at your death. And you'd want to assign beneficiaries to that account so that it's split amongst your children or grandchildren, however, you want to do that.
So those two options, soundmindinvesting.org or the Schwab Intelligent Planning. portfolios. I think both of those could suffice. For a $30,000 to $40,000 investment and take a lot of the guesswork out of deciding which investments to choose. Judy, I hope that's helpful to you.
We'll be right back here on Faith and Finance with our final segment just around the corner. Stay with us. Money touches nearly every part of our lives, but scripture tells us it also reveals our hearts. Hi, I'm Rob West. In my 21-day devotional Our Ultimate Treasure, I invite you on a journey of scripture, reflection, and prayer to rediscover what faithful stewardship really looks like, not just in your finances, but in your heart.
You can get your copy of Our Ultimate Treasure at faithfi.com slash shop. That's faithfi.com/slash shop. We are grateful for support from Timothy Plan. Since 1994, Timothy Plan has shared good news with investors and advisors by offering faith-honoring mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. More information is at TimothyPlan.com.
The investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses are contained in the prospectus and summary prospectus available at timothyplan.com. Mutual funds distributed by Timothy Partners Limited and ETFs distributed by Foreside Funds Services LLC. Investing involves risks, including possible loss of principal. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. Here in our final segment today, we're going to get to as many calls as we can.
We have some great questions lined up here. Let's go to Illinois. Bill, thanks for your patience. Go ahead. Thank you for taking my call.
All right, I'm going to get right to it. On January 27th of 2025, I started taking my Social Security I'm sixty seven now. I waited until I was sixty six years and eight months, and that was my full retirement age. But I I have not quit my job. I'm still working full time.
I'm earning around eighty five thousand a year as a truck driver. but I'm supposed to be seeing an increase on my earnings. And so when I filed my taxes in 2025, I hadn't even filed my twenty twenty four taxes yet. And so there I'm supposed to be seeing this increase.
Well, anyway, I've called Probably 20 times to the Social Security office. And I've literally had at least one person tell me it wasn't worth her time. for her to recalculate my earnings. Oh, wow.
So I guess my question is, is there an organization or am I going to have to hire an attorney to look into this matter because now they're going to be two years behind because it's there's it's called AERO. That's right. Automatic earnings, reappraisal, operation. And my earnings is still the same as it was when I first took it out. and january twenty seventh of twenty five, before I even filed my twenty four taxes, And I'm s so now I'm still at $2,870 a month, and I'm still getting that same amount.
Yeah.
Well, I suspect this is basically a lag due to the administrative function of this.
So you're exactly right. This is supposed to happen automatically, typically does. It's referred to as that automatic earnings recalculation operation. But the most likely reason you haven't seen that increase is that they typically run the automated recalculation process in October or November of the following year.
So, for example, if you've worked in 2025 and you replaced one of those high 35 earnings years because your Social Security benefits are based on your highest 35 years of earnings, and you replaced one of those, the system generally will not process those earnings until October or November of 2026. which would be this year.
So once it runs, then if an increase is due, they pay you a lump sum retroactively dating back to January of that year. That's often how that will work. Would that sync up with the timing of what you're talking about, or would that still mean, given that timeline, that you're missing something? There, I'm still missing because they haven't even refigured 2024's taxes, and now we're already into 2026.
Okay, yeah, so this was 24. Yeah, normally that would have been done in late 2025.
Now, the next question is: are you sure that you exceeded one of those high 35? Oh, yeah. I went back 35 years and something ought to be dropping off and something ought to be increasing. Yeah.
Have you gone in, this would be the next step I would take, which doesn't involve you getting on the phone and waiting on hold again. Have you gone to SSA.gov and looked at your earnings history to see if it's accurate and that your most recent wages are posted? Yes, they're there.
Okay. Yeah.
Well, you're doing all the right things. I mean, normally what you would do is you would go and you'd verify that the earnings history is accurate, make sure the recent wages are posted, and then if nothing changed, you know, by the end of the following year of the earnings that we're talking about, you'd call Social Security and say, do my current earnings replace any of my lowest 35? And has Arrow been applied yet? And, you know, that would get very specific. And, you know, if the earnings qualify, it should happen automatically.
And, you know, normally it's fairly modest, maybe less than you think. But, you know, it is an automated calculation that happens for everybody across the board.
So I think, you know, perhaps it just hasn't kicked in yet. I mean, maybe, you know, with the shutdown that happened last year, maybe they're just running behind. I haven't heard that for sure. But I would suspect before you start hiring attorneys, I would just kind of sit tight and see if that doesn't solve itself here in the first quarter of 2026. Does that make sense?
Okay. All right. Yeah, so that makes a lot of sense. Thank you, Rob. All right.
God bless you, my friend. Thanks for your call.
Sorry about your frustration there. Quickly to Arkansas. Shawna, how can I help? Hi, how are you? Doing great.
Thanks for your call.
Thank you for taking my call. to the point real quickly, I know you're going to run out of time. My husband and I just downsized. When we sold our big house and bought this smaller house, we paid off all of our debt. We've got a pretty nice nest egg.
I'm sixty this year. He's sixty seven. And I hope to never retire, but if I do, I'm multiple years down the line.
So my question ultimately is, is should we pay extra on the principal and try and get our house paid off. Really, really quickly, or just keep paying the house payment. It's under $1,000. It's an easy, manageable payment. Less than $120,000 on it.
Yeah.
What is the interest rate on that, Shauna? 6.125. And what would you do with the money, or what is the money doing that you would put toward the house if you didn't try to accelerate that payoff? Just to continue to save it or to travel, enjoy life. Yeah.
Well, I would say, I mean, I like the idea of you all enjoying what God has provided. I don't think there's ever anything wrong with paying off debt. That's a good thing. And if you could get out from under this mortgage payment, that would just even give you a stronger foundation because even though it's manageable, dropping that largest monthly expense would probably help quite a bit in terms of just giving you even more margin to save and give and enjoy. You know, it's really at the end of the day, it comes down to the math gap between your mortgage interest rate and your savings yield, if that's where this money is going to stay.
And there's no way you're going to get anywhere near, you know, a guaranteed six-plus percent rate of return on your savings or anything close to it. Even if you invest it, there's no guarantee you're going to get six and a half percent.
So, from a math equation standpoint, it's going to be better for you all to accelerate the home payoff in terms of the total dollars. That you realize from that.
Now, if you all want to enjoy some of this and this is that season of life where you've got, you know, your health and you've got the physical ability to travel and enjoy that, I like that a lot. And I would say, you know, do that, you know, as you think through your overall plan and what you have available. And, you know, if you, you know, putting 100% of your surplus toward this home payoff means it's going to require you to pull back a little bit on some of those things you'd like to enjoy within reason. You know, I'd probably opt for taking that trip once a year and then maybe sending a few extra payments, you know, less directly toward principal. Maybe you split the difference.
But I would say, apart from you enjoying it, at the end of the day, the best financial move is going to be paying down that mortgage.
So I would just find the balance between the two. Does that make sense?
It surely does, and that's where we work. This confirms what we were talking about, so I appreciate you. Thank you. Absolutely, Sean. The Lord bless you.
Folks, thanks for being along with us today. Thank you to Patty, Devin, Taylor, and everybody here at FaithFi. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by Faith By and listeners like you.
