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Weekly and monthly reviews help you stay on track, gain clarity and celebrate how God is shaping your financial story over time. The new Faith Phi Pro adds powerful automation, smart categorization, personalized insights and budgets tailored to your real life spending, so you can spend less time managing money and more time living with clarity, contentment and purpose. Over seventy thousand believers already use Faith Phi to steward God's resources wisely. Start your free thirty day trial and get twenty five percent off at faithphy.com/slash app. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded now lives in you also.
Hi, I'm Rob West. Sunday is Mother's Day, and this verse from 2 Timothy 1 reminds us how deeply a mother's faith can shape generations. Moms have a quiet way of shaping our hearts, our values, and even our view of God.
So today we're celebrating the impact of faithful mothers. And then we'll take your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Okay, so most of the time when we think about the value of moms, it's about things you just can't put a price on, like love and tenderness, guidance and wisdom that moms naturally pour out for their families. But what if we did put a monetary value on what a typical mother does for her family day in and day out? What would her paycheck look like if that were a, quote, paying job? Salary.com has attempted just that. Their latest salary survey breaks down the roles a typical mom plays throughout the week, and the findings are eye-opening.
Working moms, on top of their professional responsibilities, put in an average of 54 hours a week running their households, caring for children, managing schedules, keeping things on track. And for stay-at-home moms, the data suggests they're putting in the equivalent of 15-hour days, seven days a week. That includes everything from chef, teacher, and nurse to event planner, financial manager, counselor, chauffeur, and sometimes even conflict negotiator. For all that, the annual base salary of your typical mom should be, are you ready for this? $206,000, given all the jobs she does on a regular basis.
basis.
Now, that does not include pay premiums that companies may offer to retain excellent employees, such as bonuses, overtime, and hazard pay. Factor in those perks, and your average stay-at-home mom could earn more than $250,000 a year. And I think we can all agree they're worth every penny. Of course, no paycheck could ever reflect what moms are truly worth. Their value can't be measured in dollars because what they give is deeply personal and profoundly spiritual, and that's why Scripture calls us to honor them.
So, how can we honor our mothers this Sunday? Proverbs 31:28 gives us a beautiful picture of a virtuous woman's family. Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her. In this picture, her family doesn't just feel grateful. They express it.
They speak words of blessing over her life. This is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to honor your mother. Tell her how much she means to you. Thank her for the sacrifices she's made, the love she's poured out, and the ways she's reflected God's character. But honoring your mother goes beyond words.
As she grows older, honor takes on a new shape. It begins to look like care, practical, intentional care. This isn't just a nice idea, it's a biblical mandate. Jesus addressed this directly in Mark 7:10 through 13. He confronted the Pharisees for avoiding their responsibility to care for their aging parents.
They claimed their financial resources were Corbin, meaning set apart for God, and therefore unavailable for family needs. But Jesus saw through the facade. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. In other words, their so-called devotion to God was a cover for selfishness. True devotion to God is never divorced from loving people, especially those in our own households.
In God's economy, honoring your mother means more than a holiday. It means living a life of gratitude, service, and responsibility. Whether that means offering encouragement, financial help, or simply your time and presence, it's an act of obedience and love.
So this Mother's Day let your words be full of praise. But don't stop there. Look for ways to serve Her, bless her, and care for Her in tangible ways. In doing so, you reflect the heart of Christ, and fulfill one of the most foundational commands in Scripture. Honor your father and your mother.
So, this Sunday, take time to thank the mom in your life, your mother, your wife, your grandmother, or even a spiritual mother who's walked with you in faith. Let her know she's seen. Let her know she's loved. And let her know that her work, though sometimes unnoticed, is never in vain. Because when a mother faithfully serves her family, prays over her children, and passes on her faith, she's not just shaping a home, she's shaping eternity.
I hope that's an encouragement to you today and a reminder to bless and love and serve the moms in your life as we celebrate this wonderful day, Mother's Day. We'll be right back. If budgeting feels like a second job, the new Faith Phi Pro was built just for you. It learns your spending patterns, categorizes your transactions, and helps you build a budget based on your real life. Plus, scripture readings and biblical devotionals help you manage God's money God's way.
Try Faith Phi Pro free for 30 days and lock in 25% off a pro subscription. Download the Faith5 app from your app store or at faith5.com/slash app. That's faithfi.com/slash app. Faith in Finance is grateful for support from Sound Mind Investing. If you have money in an investment account, you know sometimes the stock market can seem like a roller coaster.
But it's possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind as a do-it-yourself investor, no matter what's happening in the market. A short video webinar about that is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Financial Wisdom for Living Well.
Soundmindinvesting.org. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. We're taking your calls and questions today. We've got plenty of room for you, still some lines open.
So if something you're wrestling with in your financial life, call right now, 800-525-7000. Again, that number, 800-525-7000. Let's head to Oklahoma and welcome Ted to the broadcast. Go ahead. Thank you for taking my call.
I have a question. My wife and I are both seventy, both retired school teachers. Um I'm retired military. Uh through Army Reserve. Um Through the years, we've invested a lot into agriculture, farm property and that sort of thing.
My question is, we still have a desire to invest, but at age seventy And all of our retirement is not tied into the stock market. It's tied into a fixed retirement system. What advice would you give on that? Yeah. It's a great question.
I love the idea of diversification.
So, as you think about kind of what your sources of income are in the future, the good news is that, you know, as retired teachers plus a military retirement, that likely means steady, reliable income, which could give you some flexibility in how you'd invest. But let me walk through each piece of this. And I think the first step is to really talk about your foundation, if you will.
So, before investing anything new, let me just ask: are your pensions covering your living expenses? A well and beyond.
Okay. And uh are you drawing Social Security? We are, yes. And do you already have an emergency fund of six to twelve months? Yeah.
Okay, great. And no debt? Um Credit card, but we pay that off each month. Got it.
Okay. So actually, no debt. Yeah, excellent.
So that's great because that means that investing can become about growth, inflation protection, legacy, And extra lifestyle flexibility. I think it's important, though, for you to define, if you haven't already, how much is enough. With regard to your lifestyle, and you may have already had that discussion and prayerful consideration. But once you define enough for your lifestyle, then it's really not that hard to say, okay, how much would we need beyond what we're currently bringing in in terms of guaranteed income to support that lifestyle now and into the future, given some of the unknowns, which would largely be medically related. And once you define enough, not only for your lifestyle, but then for your ultimate accumulation, now you're freed up to begin to give even more than you already are because you know what your finish line is.
Let's talk about where the money is right now.
So the money beyond what you're just bringing in on a guaranteed basis each month that you have right now, is that largely sitting in a bank account? Do you have a thrift savings plan? Do you have CDs or brokerage accounts? What do you have currently? Currently, of course, while we were still actively working, we contributed to a four, four hundred fifty seven B.
And so we have Quite a bit of money. Tied up in that, which has a fixed rate income on it. And then we do also have. uh C D s at our local bank.
Okay. And because we're agriculture related, you know, we're still. Income generating, I guess, because we're in the cattle business.
So we're.
So it's Yeah. Yeah. I love that. And so, as you think about investing, are you thinking about maybe changing the investment strategy with the 403B or 457? Or are you talking about leaving that at a fixed rate and just putting the surplus you have on a monthly basis to work or both?
At some point, whenever the required distribution is required, perhaps rolling that over into a different type of investment. Yeah, but mainly the excess right now. Got it.
Yeah. So one thought on that is at any point you could roll the 403b and 457, as long as you've separated from service, to an IRA, which at 70 and a half gives you the option, and I realize you're both there. That gives you the option to do what are called qualified charitable distributions, so that as you begin at 73 to require to have required minimums, and you could start that even now if you wanted to, you're able to satisfy those required minimums by giving direct to 501c3 charities from your IRA. And that is never added to your taxable income. It's the only way to get that money out of these 403Bs and 457s without ever paying any tax because you got the deduction when it went in.
And if it goes straight to charity coming out through a qualified charitable distribution, you never pay any tax. And again, starting at 73, any money that's. You know, it comes out by way of a qualified charitable distribution would also count toward your required minimum.
So just keep that in mind. That's a phenomenal strategy. With regard to the surplus you have now, I think just getting this working for you in maybe a 50-50 type split. I mean, normally at age 70, we would think maybe 40 in stock, 60 in bonds. You would have the ability to do something a little more aggressive because you've got your base covered, if you will, and you have so much that you've already accumulated.
And so if you wanted to go 50-50, you could. But the idea would be to get into some high-quality, broadly diversified mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. And at a high level, you'd want somewhere around 40 to 50 in a stock orientation, somewhere between 50 and 60 in a bond-type orientation. And the idea would be that that would, over time, provide some inflation protection, some growth. And give you the ability with appreciation to either hang on to that as a blessing to your heirs or again as fuel for continued giving.
Does that make sense? It does.
Okay, okay, very helpful. All right, thank you, Ted. Appreciate you very, very much. We'll continue to pray for your ministry. Thank you, sir.
It means a lot. And call anytime. Let's see. Indiana is where we're headed next. Hi, Karen.
Go right ahead. I just have a question on guidance for health insurance. Where you can go if Is affordable and unlimited income. If you've had a past health history, I'm afraid I'll be penalized for. Because I've been sick for, I don't know, about a year ago, I went through some major health issues and We're running out of our resources.
My husband's retired. I'm on a limited income now. Is there anywhere you could direct me to and someone to talk to on this? Yeah, I mean, you've got a couple of options. You could go to the federal marketplace where you can compare plans and see if you qualify for subsidies.
So that's healthcare.gov. Healthcare.gov. It's free, it's trustworthy, and you can look for a plan that fits your needs and budgets. You know, the top private health insurance comparison sites are eHealth Insurance. Another one would be health markets.
And then I'll give you a third one: health Sherpa, S-H-E-R-P-A. Any of those could be an alternative to healthcare.gov. And what you're looking for is the plan type. coverage breadth, the support level, any subsidy access if you qualify for it.
So those would be the what I would be looking at in terms of the various options.
Okay, all right, thank you very much. All right, we appreciate your call today.
Well, folks, uh, we're up against our next break here. We come back, we've got some great questions coming up. We do have some lines open, we'd love to hear from you. That number 800-525-7000. You can call right now.
By the way, if you count on this broadcast, it's been an encouragement to you. Maybe you've learned something along the way. We'd invite you to be a Faith Phi partner. All the details on supporting our ministry at faithphi.com/slash give. You can check that out today.
We'll be right back. We're grateful for support from Guidestone, whose diversified suite of investment solutions align with Christian values to create positive change in the world. More information is available at guidestonefunds.com/slash faith. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of Guidestone Funds before investing.
They're distributed by Four Side Funds Distributors LLC, which is not an advisory affiliate, a registered investment advisor, nor do they provide investment advice. 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 faithby.com slash CCC or call 800-557-1985. Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance, for taking your calls and questions today. The number to call, 800-525-7,000. That's 800-525-7,000.
Our goal in this program every day is to reverently approach God's Word, understanding that we are charged with a high calling, and that is to be stewards or managers of the King of Kings resources. We want to do that in a way that's wise, that is infused by God's word, that's hopeful. to encourage you in your role as a steward and lead you toward faithfulness.
Well, we do that every day as we tackle your financial questions and hear your testimonies. And don't miss that. We love to hear when God is at work in your financial life and you have a story to share where that you've applied these principles and you've seen God at work and faithfully providing for you over the years. Share those with us as well. The number to call to be a part of the program today is 8.50.
800-525-7,000. That's 800-525-7,000. All right, let's head back to the phones. Let's go to Minnesota. Kevin, go ahead.
Hi, how are you guys today? Good, thank you. But a quick question. Four years ago, my mother passed and left a very small inheritance to my daughter, who is now 18. And at the time, I'm not going to say the financial institution, but it's local and they are.
Very well recognized place, but they said that they would just put it in their general fund. and it has not done anything for her since then.
So she's eighteen now. I would like some advice on. Where can we move this to? How do we move it without penalties from them? Or into something that would be Beneficial for her because she wants to start contributing now, she's working full-time and.
and also going to a secondary school.
So Got it.
Okay. Yeah, so I think the first question is always: what is the goal? Because at 18, this is the perfect age to start building long-term wealth. But we've got to really clarify the purpose for this money. It could be used for college expenses.
It could be used for a first car. This could be her emergency savings, or this could be the beginning of long-term investments or even retirement. As long as she has earned income, she could put this money in a Roth IRA. And that would be incredibly powerful if it grew for the next 50 years tax-free. I could only imagine what that could grow to.
But she may have other more pressing needs for this that's going to help her to start strong and avoid interest to have to be paid on something like a college loan or a car loan.
So I think that's really the first question here. Do you have some thoughts on that? Yes.
So what I would like to see her do that I wasn't successful in doing is to invest for the long term and for a retirement for her. I don't think she's going to incur a whole lot of debt. She will some, but I you know, and the amount that she has to use right now is. We we put I believe it was twenty two thousand nine hundred and eighty two dollars in there. four years ago or three years ago actually, and it's gained a whole lot on one hundred and fifty eight bucks.
Yeah. Yeah. Sorry.
So it's time to get it somewhere else and do something with this. And I'm not having anybody manage it. They the person I knew personally that works there. They're like, oh, yeah, just put it in here and we can work something with you later. And I'm like, yeah, okay.
Does she have a part-time job or is she planning to work? Yes, yes, she is.
So she's going to be going to A tech school and working at the same time.
So the work will be part-time, but she wants to start giving to that. Great. Yeah, I mean, so the best thing to do because she has earned income would be to open a Roth IRA. She could move the money out. You'd have to call them and find out if there's any penalties or lockups or anything like that.
Hopefully not. I'd open that Roth IRA at Fidelity or Schwab and then either withdraw the money from what it's in now or just transfer it over, make that her contribution for the year. And then she could add more to it. You're just going to have to help her think about how to distinguish between, in terms of new contributions moving forward, what is truly for the long term that's going into her long-term retirement plan that she's not going to touch until after 59 and a half, and what she needs to start putting aside in emergency funds or money for spending expenses, lifestyle spending while she's in college or a college. Or an apartment when she gets out.
So you're going to have to help her decide how much goes in each of those buckets. But for the portion that's for the long term, the Roth is the ideal place for that. And once you open that account and fund it with the initial contribution and new contributions moving forward, in terms of how to invest it, I'll give you two options. One would be a robo-advisor at Schwab called the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. It's very low cost.
And it'll basically just automatically invest it for her using low-cost ETFs.
So she'd own a broad kind of swath of the market, largely stock-oriented because of her age. And as a part of the opening of the account, she'll indicate, or you'll help her indicate this is for retirement 50 years from now. The other option, if you want more of a hands-on approach, would be to go to our friends at soundmindinvesting.org, subscribe to the Soundmind Investing newsletter, and then they'll give you in the print and/or the digital Soundmind Investing newsletter, they'll give you the funds to invest in their strategy called Just the Basics. And that would give you everything you need. And either one of those could work well.
One is more of a kind of a robo smartphone app automated solution, and the other is just a little more hands-on, but would still take all the guesswork out. And that's where we would roll this into. Is either Soundmind investing?
Well, no, that would be Soundmind Investing would be where you get the funds to invest in through their newsletter. But in either case, you'd want to open the account at Fidelity or Schwab, the Roth IRA. If you wanted to use the RoboAdvisor, I'd use Schwab, and then you'd use the Schwab intelligent portfolios to actually do the investments for you. Or for her. All right.
And she needs a minimum of how much to start an account with one of them?
Well, uh there's basically no minimum. Um so she just needs to make sure she has at least as much earned income as the total amount she puts into the Roth for the year up to the the contribution limit. Correct.
Okay, all right, good. Good. That's very helpful. Yeah, so I guess all I have to do is. figure out what we can do.
Uh which Where it's at right now. Yeah, and just give them a call. They'll be able to tell you if there's any issues with you moving that out. And by the way, the contribution limit for this year is $7,500, so that'd be the max you can put in. Hey, Kevin, you sound like a great dad.
Let me do this. Stay on the line. I'm gonna send you something that I think will be a blessing to her. It's called Open Hands Finance. It's a workbook with a podcast that goes with it that will walk her through kind of all the key building block ideas from a biblical perspective on how to manage money God's way.
And I think she'll love it. It's built for somebody exactly her age, and we'll send it to you as our gift, okay? I appreciate it. She's a numbers girl, so this will be wonderful for her. Awesome.
It's called Open Hands Finance. It's coming your way. Hang on the line. Our team will get your information. Thanks for your call.
Well, that's going to do it for us today. Big thanks to my team today.
So thankful for our call screener today, as well as Dan and Amy and Jim. Couldn't do them without them. Hope you'll come back and join us next time, and we'll do it all over again. Until then, God bless you. Bye-bye.
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