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Well, it's hard to believe, but soon the kids will be headed back to school. Hi, I'm Rob West. Are you ready to get the new school year started on the right foot? Could you use a few tips while you're in for a treat? Crystal Payne joins us today with some great advice to make your back-to-school experience easier.
Then it's onto your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Well, many of you already know Crystal Payne, the creator of MoneySavingMom.com. For years, she's helped busy moms and dads save tons of money and keep their lives organized and on track. Crystal, great to have you back with us. Thanks so much for having me.
So we're talking about getting the kids ready to return to the classroom in a few weeks. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is how expensive that will be this year, especially with inflation.
So why don't we start there, Crystal? How can folks stay on budget as they buy everything from clothes to crayons and maybe even a computer here and there? I would really say to start with the essentials. There's so much that you could buy, but what do you really have to buy and what is in your budget? And if your kids are older, I really challenge you to involve them in the process.
We actually give our teens a back-to-school budget for clothes, and it's their responsibility to figure out what they want and need, and then to stick with the budget. And sometimes they end up spending some of their own money to buy something else. And this has just been really helpful for them. I also say to look into whether your school offers a package deal with all the back-to-school products you need.
Sometimes it's actually less expensive to just buy that, and then you don't even have to worry about going to the different stores to get what you need. And it will save you a lot of time. And then also follow money savingmom.com. We are sharing all the best deals on school supplies, back-to-school clothes, uniforms, backpacks, lunch boxes, and even those laptop computers. Excellent.
MoneysavingMom.com is where to go. All right. What about tax-free weekends? Most states have them now.
So, how can we make the most of them? I would check right now to see if your state offers it, when it's going to be, and what is covered under it, because different states have different rules, what will be tax-free and what won't. And then look at your budget to see what you have to spend and then decide whether you want to purchase some other extra items, like maybe you could replace a laptop if electronics are included, or buying extra groceries if groceries are included. It's a great opportunity to save money on things you are already planning to buy, even if it's not even something for back to school. Yeah, that's great advice.
Now, I thought getting the kids involved, to your earlier point, made a lot of sense. What about taking them with you when you actually do the back-to-school shopping? You know, I would say it depends upon whether you've practiced self-discipline and sticking with a budget. If they are the kind of kids that they're going to go to the store with you and want all of these things, then probably leave them home. But I would challenge you that you need to start working with them on this.
You need to start prioritizing this in little ways. We start when our kids are three and four years old, giving them opportunities to earn money by doing extra chores. And then they take that money to the store and they get to pick out what they want to buy and then they check out. And it's just teaching them how to handle money on the small level, teaching them the value of money so that as they grow older, they're going to understand it. And hopefully, it's going to save them some bigger mistakes.
That's great. All right. Let's talk about routines and rhythms. What do you have for us there as we return to school? One of the things we like to do is we don't wait until the night before school to be like, oh, we need a new routine.
Really start planning it, talking about it, thinking through what's realistic for your family, for each person in your home a few weeks before, and then start practicing it. Start waking up at the time you need to wake up. Start pretending like you have to get out the door by 6:30 or 7 and get into the rhythm early. That is going to make it so much easier when you actually have to make that transition. And also, I talk about in my book, The Time Saving Mom, that a successful morning begins the night before.
So, do as much as you can the night before to set up the next day for success. Laying out clothes, packing lunches and backpacks, prepping and planning breakfast. It's going to give you a huge head start on the next day. Crystal, that is so good. All right, in the midst of the busyness, how do we stay spiritually balanced?
I think the biggest thing: start your day with prayer. Remember that God has everything you need to do everything. Everything he's called you to.
So rely upon him. Release your worries and your stresses to him. Start from that framework. Oh, that is so good. Crystal, that was short.
We're going to have to have you back, but it was really powerful. And I think it will set our listeners up for success as they head back to school. Thanks for stopping by. Thanks so much for having me.
She's Crystal Payne. For more great ideas on how to save money, go to moneysavingmom.com.
Well, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll be tackling your financial questions today on any financial topic. 800-525-7000. 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. Every day thousands of women face an unexpected pregnancy, scared, alone, and unsure where to turn.
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Um Yeah. Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. We're so glad you're along with us today. We're taking your calls and questions today.
We've got a few lines open: 800-525-7000. You can call right now, 800-525-7000. We'd love to hear from you. It's Arkansas. Hi, Raymond.
How can I help you? I'm here in Arkansas, and my kids are in California out there in San Diego. And of course, they've told me right out there they're not ever coming to Arkansas. I got these houses that I paid for, and I've got them fixed up in good shape, got them rented out, and they give me a good income. But I know.
I just know what's going to happen if I kill over dead, they're going to auction them houses off. And I've been to a lot of house auctions here, and they go real cheap. They don't bring near what they're worth because people don't even come and look at them. They don't clean them up. They just auction them off.
And you can pick up a home for anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 that's worth $120,000 to $100,000.
So, I don't want that to happen to me. And I was just wanting your advice. Should I sell those houses, put that money in a trust for my grandkids to go to school? Or what should I do with that? Yeah, it's a great question.
I mean, listen, you know, you typically folks will have a will at the very least, and you would name an executor of the estate. And the executor named in the will is tasked with managing your estate, and their duties include administering the state, even selling that home. And so there's no reason that this home would be sold in an auction and kind of a fire sale. I mean, if the executor is doing his or her job, they're properly marketing and selling these properties to get the market proceeds, whatever the prevailing selling price is, based on the market conditions. And then that would be a part of your estate after all debts and obligations are settled.
Then it would be distributed.
Now, should you put these into a trust? What would be the benefit of that?
Well, you certainly could. The benefits would be: number one, that it would pass outside of probate. You would name, similarly to an executor, you'd name a trustee who would be tasked with managing the property, including the sale of the property. And so, you know, I think that would be a nice option for. For you.
And the other benefit of it passing outside of probate would be that, you know, if you wanted the proceeds of the house, the houses, once they're sold, to be distributed to your heirs over time, you didn't want it all to happen at once. Perhaps you wanted to wait and distribute it to the grandkids when they reach a certain age or when they graduate from college. All of that could be done inside a trust, a revocable trust, whereas that would not be able to be done with a will. The will gets settled immediately. But even with a basic will, going back to your original point, there's no reason these houses should be auctioned off.
You know, that executor, if they're doing their job, they're going to get the prevailing market value for the property when it's sold. Does that make sense? Yes, sir, it sure does. And I do have an executor, my younger sister, and I've told her what my wishes are. And that's exactly what I'm going to do is as the kids reach age for college, help them with some college money.
And then when they graduate, they can get a lump sum there too to help them get started in my business or buy a home or something.
Okay.
So given what you just said there, Raymond, and I'm not an attorney, but I'll just tell you generally, I think you do want a trust, a revocable trust, because you see, the will has to be settled in its entirety, which means who's eating the money is getting it at, you know, around the time of death. Whereas a trust. Your sister, if she's the trustee, could leave the assets or a portion of the assets in the trust and then distribute them over time based on certain triggering events.
So it sounds like, given the desires you have and the control you want over the proceeds, you want a trust.
So I'd encourage you to go find a godly estate attorney and put that in place. You could get a referral from a CKA on our website, faithfy.com. Tampa Bay is where we're headed next. Christina, go right ahead. Hello.
How are you, Rob? Thanks for taking my call. Absolutely. Thank you.
So my question today is, I'm probably on the opposite spectrum from a lot of people that call you. I'm 47. I just started my career after being a stay-at-home mom. That was my number one job, and I'm grateful to God that I was able to do that. Got my dream job, went back to school, got my bachelor's degree.
I'm making okay money. They offer at my job, they offer a 403B for retirement. I don't have any retirement, never have had retirement. because I didn't have a career, didn't have a job. My question is this.
They will start matching 3%. They have two options. One is like a pre-tax and the other one is a Roth. I think that's post-tax. They will match up to 3% after one year.
Should I start putting money into that right now? Or should I wait until they start matching? I'm not sure what to do. And I'm not exactly sure how much I should start putting in that account. We're still trying to get out of debt and stuff and catch up.
Okay, yeah, very good.
Well, first of all, you did have a job and an amazing one at that.
So I'm delighted to hear that. But now that you're transitioning to this next chapter and you've got a different type of work that you're excited about, I'm thrilled for you in that as well. And yeah, this is a great opportunity for you to start putting some money away. I'm not terribly concerned about the fact that there's not matching for the first year, especially with it.
Sounds like your company gives you the option of a Roth 403B. That's great. That means you can put in the after-tax money and then it'll grow tax-free. And then you'll get that bonus, that kicker in 12 months where they're going to start to match it. But I think the key for you right now is to get something going into retirement savings.
And the Roth 401k is a great option, and you have a lot more room to put in more money than you do with the IRA. And you wouldn't get any matching on that either.
So you might as well just keep it in the 403B. I think the only question is, based on what you said right there at the tail end, if you have high interest consumer debt, I would wait until that's paid off before you start putting money into the 403B because that's probably at a much higher interest rate than you would expect to earn reasonably on this 403b account.
So, what type of debt are you all still working on? Is it credit cards or something else? Yeah, we have credit card debt. We still have our mortgage, and we have.
Some used cars, we didn't wanna buy brand new after dealing with some stuff and doing, having just really bad luck with deals. We have very small car payments with lower, I mean, They're not super low, but our balances are not extraordinarily high like they would be with a brand new car.
So, the goal is to try to pay those off and get out of some of that debt. And then, of course, the credit card debt. It's not astronomical, but it's enough where we probably should. Pay that stuff off first. Yeah, I would totally agree with that.
Not necessarily the cars. I mean, if you have a conviction about that, go ahead. But a lot of times, you know, as long as you didn't buy too much car and it sounds like you guys were really thoughtful about what you did there, I just work that into your spending plan. And I would take advantage of this opportunity and get that compounding working for you in that 403b. But I would prioritize the credit card debt first because if that's at an interest rate north of 20%, we want to get rid of that as quickly as we can.
So if you delaying the 403B contributions means you can get out from under that credit card debt quicker, great, let's do it. The second thing is, I'd love for you to have at least one month's worth of emergency funds in there before you start the 403B. And then let's start the 403B contributions.
So long as you've got at least something going into that emergency fund every month.
So even if it's slow, we're getting on our way to the three to six months expenses you really want. Ultimately, I'd love for you to be putting 10 to 15% of your pay. In that 403B, but if you need to delay that because you're still working on the credit cards or because you're still working on the emergency fund, then that's fine. But as soon as you can, I get that money going in the 403B even before the matching kicks in. Awesome.
Thank you so much, Rob. I appreciate it. Absolutely. Thanks for your call today. Back after this.
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So, if something you're wrestling with in your financial life, call right now, 800-525-7000. Again, that number 800-525-7000. Before we head back to the phones, in the news today, money is a common source of stress for couples. I don't need to tell you that. Whether it's debt, housing costs, or children, child care related, many expect financial conversations to be tense or unproductive.
Research shows the opposite, though. A new study of more than 1,600 married individuals found that couples consistently felt closer and more aligned after discussing money than they had anticipated. This disconnect often comes from underestimating how much agreement they'll reach. You know, people tend to avoid these talks. Because money is, of course, deeply personal.
It's tied to values like security, freedom, and trust. It intersects with our faith journey as well. Fear of judgment, though, and past conflicts can heighten anxiety.
So you need to understand that avoiding the conversation can harm relationships.
However, open, respectful dialogue helps couples understand each other's perspectives, find compromise, and even build a stronger unity financially. Approaching the discussion with curiosity, not a desire to win, and sharing personal money experiences can lead to greater connection, satisfaction, even long-term stability. At its best, marriage reflects a deeper spiritual reality. The oneness of Christ and his church. We see that in Ephesians 5.
When couples steward finances together with humility and shared purpose, their unity in money can become a tangible expression of that gospel picture. Rather than dividing, finances can draw them closer as they pursue faithfulness and generosity and trust in God as their ultimate provider. You know, in one of the early editions of our Faithful Steward magazine, we actually had an article by our good friend Dr. Shane Enad at Biola University with money dates. The idea was to create a date that was fun, that might involve staying at home and cooking, or going out to a closeby museum or art gallery, or just getting out in nature, but with a particular money assignment for the couple, making it a money date, having some fun, but open and honest dialogue about some key money topics.
The idea is we need to foster oneness. We need to open those links of dialogue. Long because communication is key in terms of every aspect of marriage, but certainly that's true about money as well. We also need understanding. We need to understand all the way back to how was money handled growing up for your spouse and recognize that that shapes largely how they view and handle money today.
The third thing the data says is really key in having a healthy money relationship in marriage is margin. It's really not how much money you make. It's the fact that whatever you make, you're living below it. That cushion or margin is key to being able to have productive conversations around money, to remove the stress levels and be able to get to a place where you can talk about your values and how that can reflect where God is taking you as one flesh and how money can support those goals and objectives.
So think about dialing back your spending, putting a budget in place, building in some cushion, and then having a regular, healthy, ongoing conversation about money and marriage. It will be a game changer, no doubt about it. All right, let's head back to the phones. Let's go to Tennessee. Mary, how can I help you?
Yes, I just had a question about how I could incorporate Um giving, saving and um spending into my uh spending plan 'cause I'm Living paycheck to paycheck as it were where my income right now is less than a thousand a month, so I'm really on a tight budget. Oh, I totally get it. Yeah. You know, incorporating generosity into your financial plan starts with. A shift in perspective, and I'm talking to all of us, myself included.
You know, we got to make giving not an afterthought, but an act of worship. And so, we've got to start by prayerfully deciding what portion of our income we feel led to give.
Now, you may not be able to give just practically, given what we're talking about here, everything you'd like to be able to give, but let's start there. Many begin with a tithe, a tenth. The goal is not a number, but a heart shaped by grace. We see that in 2 Corinthians 9:7. Then, we need to treat giving as a priority in our budget.
We set it aside first, just as you would any essential expense, whether supporting your local church or any other giving. Consistency builds faithfulness, and trying to automate that to reinforce that rhythm is a good thing. But I realize, given what you're talking about with income of less than $1,000, I mean, that money is all allocated and then some before that check even comes in.
So, it means we may not be able to do everything you want in terms of your giving, but you can do something. And I think that's the key: as long as we've got that perspective right, that God Don't need our money. He owns it all. It all belongs to him. The cattle on a thousand hills.
What he wants is our heart posture that's an act of worship. And he knows that part of your generosity may come in other means. You know, you're being there to support somebody in need and maybe, you know, watching somebody's kids who's in a difficult situation or being there, you know, in a hospitality situation to serve somebody. I mean, it may come an investment of your time. But I think giving something financially, you remember the widow, she's the most famous giver in the New Testament.
We don't know her name, but we know that Jesus celebrated her heart posture as she gave in complete trust to God. She gave out of her poverty. And it wasn't about the amount. It was really about the position and the perspective. And I think that's the most important thing.
So maybe it starts with you saying, God, I'm going to give the first $5 every month to you. And that's all I can do right now. And Lord willing, as you provide, Lord, my heart's desire is that that number goes up. But I'm going to do it cheerfully and with an act of worship, not out of compulsion or because I feel like I have to. It's more of a get-to kind of thing.
And I wouldn't be so focused on the amount. You can only do what you can do. And the Lord needs you to honor your other obligations, keeping food on the table and a roof over your head and the utilities on and those kinds of things.
So let's just start somewhere, make it an every month thing, even if it's far less than you would like to do if you had more means. But I think if you do it with the right heart posture, that's something that pleases the Lord. Does that make sense? Yes, and I'm also kind of wondering how to put myself in the budget too as far as like doing something for myself once in a while. Yeah, I get that.
And I think that the budget is really the key. And it's the roadmap, it's giving every dollar a job. And we do that in advance because without a plan, that money just kind of slips through our fingers and finds its way to something else. And so I realize this is challenging because we've got to start with the bare essentials, but absolutely getting giving in there on a recurring basis, whatever that amount is, and then getting something new in there, even if it's just $20, where you can just enjoy something. That is a delight to you.
I believe part of why God entrusts to us what He does is so we can enjoy it. And I realize that's hard living on a fixed income, but I would say absolutely: once the essentials are in there, let's build in some flexibility for you over time. And at the end of the day, trust God is your provider. Stay on the line. I'm going to send you my Devo.
Well, folks, thanks for being along with us today. Big thanks to my team today. We're grateful for Sandy and Jim and Devin. Couldn't do it without them. Have a wonderful weekend, and we'll see you next week.
Lord bless you. Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
