What matters most to you when selecting a financial advisor?
Someone who shares your biblical values? How about someone who will take the time to explain your financial options clearly? Certified kingdom advisors meet high standards of competence, integrity, and biblical training, equipping them to offer financial advice grounded in God's Word. No more wondering if your advisor truly understands what's important to you. Find a certified kingdom advisor near you at findaceka.com.
That's findacaka.com. Every day we make decisions about money, but not every decision is made on purpose. Hi, I'm Rob West. When it comes to generosity, most of us struggle with where to give, how much to give, and whether it really makes a difference. Today we'll explore why intentional giving isn't just another financial habit.
It's an act of discipleship that connects our resources to God's redemptive work in the world. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. There are endless needs around us: local churches, global missions, ministries serving the poor, organizations strengthening families and sharing the gospel. Faced with so many opportunities, it's easy to feel overwhelmed or to default to reactive giving when a need appears in front of us.
But Scripture invites us into something deeper. Ephesians 2.10 reminds us, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. That means generosity isn't random. It's part of the purpose God has written into our lives. We're not just managing money, we're participating in His mission.
Intentional giving begins when we realize that our work and income aren't just about survival or success. They're about joining God in meeting needs and restoring the lives of others. And when we give this way, generosity becomes one of the most exciting things we do with our money. The Apostle Paul writes in First Timothy six, eighteen and nineteen, that believers are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up treasure that leads to that which is truly life. generosity connects what we have now to what lasts forever.
Every intentional gift, every dollar aligned with God's heart is a present-tense glimpse of His kingdom breaking into this world.
So how do we practice intentional giving? First, we start with our local church. God designed the church to reach communities, equip believers, and advance the gospel. Supporting it isn't just tradition, it's participation in His ongoing work. From there, we look for additional opportunities to care for the vulnerable around us.
Proverbs 19, 17 says, whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord. Whether through local outreaches, relief efforts, or helping a neighbor in need, these gifts reflect God's compassion in practical ways. We can also invest further in spreading the gospel. Romans ten fifteen reminds us how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. every gift that helps someone hear about the hope of Christ carries eternal impact.
When we give in this way, generosity becomes a testimony. Our finances begin to tell a story about what we love, what we value, and whom we trust. And here's what makes intentional giving so powerful: it flows from grace, not guilt. Scripture reminds us that giving isn't something we do to earn God's favor. It's a response to the favor we've already received.
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, for God loves a cheerful giver. When grace takes root, open hands follow. In other words, we don't give to become generous people. We give because God has already been generous to us. Jesus Himself modeled this.
Though rich, he became poor so that we might share in His riches. That's the foundation of all generosity, the gospel. Intentional giving simply asks, Where is God inviting me to participate? Who has he placed in my path? What opportunities has he prepared for me in advance?
Because you've been uniquely positioned with your experiences, your relationships, and your resources to make a difference in ways no one else can. When generosity becomes intentional, it reshapes how we see our money. It's no longer just income or savings. It becomes a tool for kingdom impact. It reminds us of something profound.
Giving isn't just about changing someone else's life, it changes ours. It loosens our grip on money, strengthens our trust in God, and aligns our hearts with His purposes. In fact, this is a major theme I explore in my new devotional, Our Ultimate Treasure, a 21-day journey to faithful stewardship. One of the days is devoted entirely to intentional giving, helping you see how your generosity fits into God's bigger story and how your finances can reflect his grace and purpose. If you want to grow in that mindset, seeing every dollar as an opportunity to participate in God's work, I'd encourage you to pick up a copy.
It's designed to help you align your heart, your habits, and your money with what matters most. You can purchase your copy or place a bulk order for your church or small group at faithfy.com slash shop. That's faithfi.com slash shop. 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. FaithFi's preferred banking partner is Christian Community Credit Union, now joined with Adelphi, a division of CCCU, bringing you the best in Christian banking for Greater Kingdom Impact.
With high-yield checking, savings, VisaCash back cards, and a new competitive high-yield money market account, your everyday banking helps advance the gospel. Visit faithfy.com slash banking and use the code FaithFi. Membership eligibility required. Accounts are privately insured up to $250,000. This institution is not federally insured.
Uh Yeah. Hey, great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. All right, we're going to dive into your questions today. We've got a few lines open, so anything on your mind today financially, we'd love to tackle it. The number 800-525-7,000.
That's 800-525-7,000. Let's begin in Cleveland today. Kathy, go ahead. Hi, thank you so much. I do have a financial advisor that I found through my job, and he's been helping me with my four hundred one and both half of it's a Roth and half it's traditional.
And now I'm getting ready to retire in two months. And I just I'm in the middle of selling my house.
So it's under contract and it's closing in like twenty days. And this advisor is advising me to take the two hundred fifty thousand from my house sale and put it into a multiyear guaranteed annuity. And it's a 10-year annuity. And he showed me a table where, like, year two, it's making 5% interest, and year three, 5.2. And he's saying that if I do this, the interest off this annuity will be enough to pay my rent because I don't want the responsibility of a house anymore.
I'm now living in an apartment. But I feel a little fearful committing this money. for ten years and then when I started reading the brochure, I started reading that after one year, you're allowed to take out small amounts without a fee, which makes me think just to deduct any of this is going to cause me problems.
So I'm not sure which direction to go right now. Yeah.
Well, I think it's wise what you're describing here. And, you know, first is to understand what this is. A multi-year guaranteed annuity is basically a fixed rate contract where your money is locked up for a set period, like a CD, but with an insurance company.
So there's a guaranteed interest rate, typically no market risk. You're transferring that risk to the insurance company. And so as long as the insurance company is sound, then you have limited risk. But you also have limited access. access with surrender charges.
And so I think what you're starting with is really one of the key ideas. Your concern is valid in that if you're uncomfortable tying up your money for 10 years, that matters. An annuity with a long surrender period limits your flexibility. It's going to have penalties if you need the money, and it's hard to unwind once you're in. But it doesn't mean it's necessarily the bad thing in that depends on what your goals are.
So I think we've got to start by clarifying the goal for the $250,000 before choosing any investment strategy or product. I think you need to ask: is this for income now or later? Do you need access to this money? And is your priority growth, income, or safety?
So let's start with that and just talk about how you're seeing this money, when you think you might need access to it, what you're looking for in the way of income, either now or in the future, and what is your priority? Is it growth, income or safety? And maybe it's all three, but which would be the priority? I think I'm just wanting that safety net to know Now that I don't have a house that's my house, I will at least have an income monthly that's going to pay for shelter.
So I'm looking for that consistent income monthly that's going to pay for my apartment. And then I will live off of my 401k, my Roth 401k, and my savings account for my my daily needs, but my housing will be covered. I got it. Yeah.
Yeah.
So I think from that standpoint, then the multi-guaranteed annuity might be the right thing. Just because what I'm hearing in terms of a priority is consistent, reliable income to cover the rent. That's a good goal. We need to match the right tool to it. Is the multi-year guaranteed annuity designed for that?
Not really, not by itself. I mean, it provides a guaranteed interest rate, but it doesn't automatically produce monthly income.
So you would need to withdraw the interest and possibly the principal and manage the timing yourself. And so I think the one size fits all $250,000 into a 10-year multi-year guaranteed annuity is going to be too restrictive. It doesn't fully solve the monthly rent need because that's going to start right away, and it limits the adaptability as things change. And so we need to match the tool to the job. And the answer is probably a combination of these tools.
One tool would be what's called a single premium immediate annuity, which you would put in, in this case, $250,000, and you'd immediately start getting an income, and that would last for the rest of your life. That would solve for the safety and the predictable income. The lump sum would not be accessible any longer, but you could count on that income. And as long as it met your need and there was an inflation rider in there, then you would know that you have at least that portion covered. The most flexible would probably be a treasury and CD ladder, U.S.
treasuries from the U.S. government alongside CDs, laddering them up, maybe 6,000, 12, 18 months, and then just kind of stacking them. And that way, you have a portion coming due all the time, but you've got enough in the way of interest to be able to pay your rent. And then, you know, the stability piece is going to come from the longer-term guaranteed rate with the multi-year guaranteed annuity, but maybe a portion of it.
So, like, one option could be $100,000 in a treasury CD ladder, which gives you the flexibility and liquidity, maybe $75,000 in a shorter-term multi-year. Your guaranteed annuity, maybe three to five years, not 10, and then maybe $75,000 and a single premium immediate annuity with guaranteed monthly rent income. And maybe the combination of those three gives you the sweet spot of safety, immediate income, but also some liquidity in case things change down the road.
So that's the kind of thing that I'd love for you perhaps to walk through with either this advisor or with a second opinion, perhaps a certified kingdom advisor there in Cleveland. But give me your thoughts on all that. I like that. I've never been a person that likes to put all my eggs in one basket.
So having it, having it between two or three different options, knowing that if something is lacking in one area, hopefully the other two will make it up. Plus, I like being able to have access to some of that money because I don't know what's coming in the future. And there could be, I mean, I could end up in assistant living and actually need those funds. That's right. That's right.
Yeah.
So you don't want to lock that up.
Well, I think you've got a couple of options here. Perhaps you go back to this advisor and say, I'm uncomfortable with the 10-year lockup. And here's why. I want more flexibility. I know I can get to a portion of this after the first year and maybe a certain percentage each year without having surrender charges.
But what if I need the whole thing? I just don't know what the future holds.
So I'm uncomfortable with that. And what if we consider or could you design a plan that uses a combination of a multi-year guaranteed annuity alongside maybe a single premium? Immediate annuity, and maybe the CD treasury ladder that I described. I think the second is you get a second opinion, which is never a bad idea, especially with a decision this large, and talk through another approach with a certified kingdom advisor there in Ohio. And you could find one at findaca.com.
There's some wonderful certified kingdom advisors in the area that could serve you really well.
Okay, thank you for your help. I appreciate it. All right, Kathy, Lord bless you. Quickly to Chicago, Donna. How can I help?
just want you to confirm for me if it's true that you have to pay interest in the end to the federal government if you open up a high yielding savings account. Yes, interest is taxable for a savings account, for sure. And so you would pay that at tax time when you file your taxes. They would send you the necessary documentation to tell you exactly how much interest you earned for the year, and then you would include that on your 1040. Thank you.
I appreciate it. All right. That's all I needed.
Well, very good. That was a quick one. Thank you for being on the program today. Lord bless you. All right, a quick break.
Back with our final segment. Your questions on anything financial today: 800-525-7000. Call right now. We'll be right back. We are grateful for support from Praxis Investment Management.
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Text the word faith to 98656 or visit faithfund.com/slash Lebanon. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. We are taking your calls and questions today at 800-525-7000. Let's head back to the phones: Canton, Georgia. Beth, go ahead.
Hi, I'm a longtime listener way back to Larry Burquette. He was, yeah, started all this, and God bless him. And God bless you too for hanging in there and picking up where. Um everybody has left off. Thank you, Beth.
I agree. Yeah.
My question today is, I know that you can contribute to a retirement account. Up until april fifteenth to count for last year's taxes. Um And that's what I'm going to do, but also, I would like to do a conversion from 401k into. A raw. Can I do that and still have it count for twenty twenty five?
No, a Roth conversion does not follow the April 15th rule. It's taxed in the calendar year the conversion happens, not the filing year.
So, you know, the contributions can count for the prior year up until April 15th. Roth conversions count only in the year that you do them, unfortunately. Yeah, unfortunately. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
I get to know. All right, and thank you for mentioning the late Larry Briquette, Beth. I couldn't agree more. The impact that Larry had continues to this day, and we certainly are delighted to continue in his footsteps and encouraging God's people to live as stewards.
So thanks for your call today. Let's go to Brookfield, Illinois. Kathy, go ahead. Yes, I've been wanting to know. I'm a widow and I've lived in the house over fifty years.
And If I sell my house My husband died about four years ago.
So I know you can deduct about $250,000 or something like that in the sale of the house. And if my husband is alive, I could get $250,000. But I didn't know if. Since I've lived in the house fifty years and he lived in the house really over fifty years. would I still be able to write off my husband's portion?
Mm. Yeah.
Well, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's passing. A couple of things here, and you probably are going to need to talk to a professional, a CPA, to calculate the cost basis. But let me talk you through this here.
So, what you're referring to is the capital gains exclusion on a primary residence. And you get up to $250,000 in gains that can be excluded from capital gains if you're a single filer, half a million dollars in gains, not the selling price, but the gain. Half a million dollars can be excluded for a married couple.
Now since your husband passed away four years ago, the $500,000 exclusion only applies for two years after your spouse's death. After that, it reverts to the two hundred fifty thousand exclusion as a single filer.
So yes, you can still exclude up to two hundred fifty thousand of gain.
Now Um what there may be though, if you need more than that, there may be a step up in basis at the time of his death for his portion, and that's really going to come down to your state. and just the laws with regard to how the property was held. Do you believe you'll have more than two hundred fifty thousand in gain, the difference between the selling price and what you originally paid for it? Yeah, there would be more.
Okay. Yeah, so I think you're going to want to get with a CPA to understand what is the true basis. and the gain. Um because you're going to no doubt get the 250,000 exclusion, but what you want to know is, is there any portion of this that could be stepped up? Based on your husband's passing for his portion or not?
And the answer may be no, but if there is an opportunity there, and then you want to be able to take full advantage of that. Does that make sense?
Now if I buy another property and invest some of that money? W would there be any No, that would only apply to a rental or investment property. If you had a rental or investment property that you were selling, as long as you identify that next rental or investment property in 90 days and close on it in 180 days, you can push the capital gain forward through something called a 1031 exchange. But when we're talking about a primary residence, there is no effect on what you do with the money after the sale.
So the capital gain is either you either have one or you don't based on whether you have more gain than the exclusion. And what you do with that money, whether you put it into another property that you're going to move into or you spend it or you save it or you invest it, has no bearing on the capital gain tax that's owed.
Okay, I just wasn't sure and I mean, I still have a lot of things I need to do with the house, which I haven't done a lot of the stuff already, which whoever get it ready for sale. I mean, if I I know if I pass away, my kids can inherit and they don't have to worry about this. That's exactly right, because they would, as inheritors, have a step-up in basis. uh that would make the the basis The market value as of the date of your death, and if they turn around and sold that home relatively soon, they would have no taxes because there would be no gain. Whereas in your case, you're having to go back to your original purchase price.
Now, again, Your husband's share in the state of Illinois may allow his share of the home to receive the step up to the fair market value as of his date of death four years ago. That's what you'd need to check with your CPA to see whether that's the case. If so, that would help. You know, because potentially, let's say I'm just going to, for example, you purchased it for $100,000. It was worth $300,000 at his passing, his half.
You know, it could be stepped up to, you know, $150,000, which would put the new basis at $200,000, in my example.
So, you know, that's why you're going to want to understand that. You automatically get the $250,000 in exclusion. We just want to know whether there's any step-up in basis for his portion, since you're beyond the two-year window where you could still take advantage of the half-million-dollar exclusion that comes to married couples, if that makes sense. Thank you. I've been wondering about that, and I just didn't know if The fact that I've been in the house for 50 years and he was alive, everything but four years.
Yeah, I wish that was the case. Unfortunately, two years beyond his passing, you now are able to enjoy the single filer exclusion, which is $250,000. and no more. But let's check on whether or not the basis was adjusted based on the market values at the date of his death, and that's where your CPA will be helpful.
So, in either case, it's going to dramatically decrease the amount that you owe because, if it nothing else, at least the first $250,000 in gains will be excluded. Kathy, thanks for your call today. We appreciate you being on the program. Lord bless you. Well, folks, that's going to do it for us today.
Big thanks to my team today, the amazing Josh, Omar, Taylor, and Tahira, plus everybody here at Faith Fi. Listen, if you love the program, one of the things you could do to help us reach more people as a listener supported ministry is become a FaithFi partner. When you support us at $35 a month or $400 a year, we'll send you great resources. Learn more at faithfy.com slash partner. Come back and join us next time.
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