Do you feel weighted down by financial stress? You're not alone. Money worries touch all of us. But Jesus tells us we don't have to carry that burden. That's why we at Faith By have written Look at the Sparrows, a 21-day devotional from Faith By.
Each day, you'll find scripture, reflection, and prayer to guide you through your journey toward peace. Visit faithfy.com slash sparrows and start finding freedom from financial anxiety today with Look at the Sparrows. That's faithfy.com/slash sparrows. Yeah. The birds don't gather into barns, and the lilies don't spend their own clothing.
Yet, Jesus says both of them have something to teach us about trust. Hi, I'm Rob West. Financial fear often begins when we realize how much we cannot control. We can plan wisely, save diligently, and prepare carefully, but tomorrow still belongs to God. Today we'll look at Jesus' words in Matthew 6 and the deep comfort they offer for anxious hearts.
And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. In Matthew 6, Jesus says, Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. And later he says, Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Now, if you've ever struggled with financial fear, those words can land heavily. You might think, I know I shouldn't worry, but I do. You worry about the bills. You worry about your job. You worry about the market.
You worry about retirement or your children. You worry about what happens if the car breaks down, the medical bill comes in, the paycheck doesn't stretch, or the future doesn't unfold the way you hoped. And then, on top of the worry, you may feel guilt for worry. But Jesus isn't standing over anxious people saying, stop it. Instead, he's drawing near to us and saying, look.
Look at the birds of the air. Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the world I made. The world that does not revolve around your control, your striving, your spreadsheets, or even your ability to predict every outcome. Jesus is inviting us to see reality differently.
The birds do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. The lilies do not toil or spin, and yet not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. You see, Jesus is not saying planning is wrong, but he is exposing the illusion that we're in control. Because anxiety often grows in the gap between what we can manage and what we cannot guarantee. We can make a budget, but we can't control tomorrow.
We can save wisely, but we can't control the economy. We can work faithfully, but we can't control every outcome. And when we begin to believe that everything depends on us, financial stewardship becomes a crushing burden. Planning turns into panic. Saving turns into hoarding.
Responsibility turns into fear. That's why Jesus tells us to look beyond ourselves. The birds are a sermon in the sky. The flowers are a testimony right there in the field. Creation itself is preaching the care of God.
And Jesus' point is not merely don't worry. His point is: your father knows. Your father knows what you need. Your father sees what burdens you. Your father understands the bills, the uncertainty, the decisions, the pressure, and the fear that wakes you up at night.
And if he feeds the birds, creatures that do not bear his image, how much more will he care for you, his beloved child? That doesn't mean every financial difficulty disappears. Jesus never promises a life without trouble. In fact, he says, sufficient for the day is its own trouble. There are real burdens in this life.
There are real needs. There are real moments of uncertainty. But Jesus invites us to face today's trouble with today's grace. That's why do not be anxious about tomorrow is not a cold command, it's a tender invitation. It's Jesus reminding us that we don't have to live as though the future rests on our shoulders.
We don't have to secure our own universe. We don't even have to hold everything together. Our Father is already there.
So what do we do with financial anxiety? We bring it honestly to God. We name the fears we're carrying. We ask for wisdom where action is needed. We seek wise counsel where decisions feel too heavy.
And then with open hands, we release what we cannot control. We do the next faithful thing today. And as we do, remember, our security is not ultimately in our income, it's not in our investments, our plans, it's not in our ability to foresee tomorrow. Our security is in God. Who knows what we need, who invites us to look at the sparrows, and who gives us the grace to trust him one day at a time.
Now, if these worries are weighing on your heart, we'd love to help you explore them more deeply. And you can do that through our 21-day devotional Look at the Sparrows on financial fear and anxiety. It's there for you, and you can order your copy today at faithfi.com/slash shop. That's faithfi.com/slash shop. And if you'd like to go through it with your church or small group, you can place a bulk order and get a bulk discount.
Again, that website, faithfi.com/slash shop. All right, we're going to come back right after this break with your questions. The number 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West, and we'll be right back. Don't go anywhere.
Are you overwhelmed by financial fear and anxiety? You're not alone. At Faith Vibe, we hear it every day. People weighed down by worries related to wealth and money. But financial anxiety isn't about the size of your bank account.
It's about the condition of your heart. That's why we've created Look at the Sparrows, a 21-day devotional that'll help you find peace through Jesus' teachings. Replace your financial anxiety with peace today. Visit faithbuy.com slash sparrows and start your journey today. Faith in Finance is thankful for support from The Good Investor, a book by Robin John.
In his book, Robin shares his journey from an immigrant child struggling in school to co-founder and CEO of Eventide Asset Management, a faith-based investment firm. This Faith and Work memoir seeks to inspire readers to view their work and investments as opportunities to honor God and bring blessing to the world. More information is available at goodinvestor.com. That's goodinvestor.com. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance.
All right, the lines are open. I'm ready for your calls and questions today. Let's talk managing God's money. 800-525-7,000. That's 800-525-7,000.
Let's dive in today. We're going to begin in New Mexico. Anthony, you'll be our first caller. Go ahead, sir. Hi, Rob.
Thank you in advance for all that you do. I have uh failed to file my tax returns for a few years. And I want to do the right thing and settle my tax situation.
So I've heard of a phrase called the Fresh Start program, but my question is, do I use a tax relief company? Hire a CPA or just work with the IRS at our local office. Yeah, great question. And I love that you want to get current on this, and there is a way to do it. And despite what many will think or say about the IRS, they are willing to work with you in these situations.
And there's a path forward, whether that's an offer and compromise or a payment plan. There are a number of things you can do to get back into compliance, which is really key. The reason you wouldn't want to jump to what's commonly referred to as a tax relief company is they advertise heavily, but often charge really high upfront fees.
Some promise results they can't guarantee. Many cases they handle are things you can do yourself.
So there are reputable firms. They're not all scams by any means, but you don't need one just to get started. You know, often what I will tell people is the first step is to get back in compliance. And if you have multiple years, often getting the current year filed will demonstrate to the IRS that you're serious about getting back in compliance. And then you can start tackling those prior years beyond that.
You know, I realize it can be in a stressful position and you want to get current. You know, if you owe less than $50,000, your best first step is usually to contact the IRS directly. They do have some pretty streamlined installment agreements you can get on without paying any professional fees. I like, though, as a second step, if you want somebody to journey alongside you, especially Somebody who understands how to navigate the various options that the IRS makes available to you and represents you, that you use a CPA or an enrolled agent, Anthony, who really specializes in this. They've got quite a bit of experience in representing taxpayers before the IRS in a situation like yours.
And that can be really helpful. And again, you don't get involved with a company that perhaps is promising something they can't deliver or, you know, charging you high fees. There's a gentleman that we work with that I've known for decades who is a Christ follower. He's really committed to stewardship ministry, but also owns and has run a CPA practice for many years. And this is his area of expertise.
And so I'd be happy to connect you with him as one option. But beyond that, I think you've got to decide: do I just kind of gather all the necessary information, contact the IRS and try to work directly because I've got a reasonable amount that I owe, and an installment plan would do the trick, or do I want a qualified professional? But I think in either case, that's the best path forward. Does that make sense? It does.
Thank you so much. Yeah, you're welcome.
So let's do this. You hang on the line, Anthony. Our team will give you the information for the gentleman I was referring to. You could at least start with him. He could give you some counsel on if you go it alone, here's what you might need to know, or here's the program that might best fit your situation.
And, you know, if you want a professional to walk alongside you, he may be an option. You may want to look for somebody locally as well. But I think the key is they're a CPA or an enrolled agent and they've got some expertise in this area. Thanks for being on the program today. We appreciate you joining us.
Let's go to Kentucky. Hi, Ann. Go ahead. Hi, I have a question about our overall portfolio, whether it is conservative enough. My husband's 66, I'm 64.
We own our own business, which is kind of winding down. And we have about between nine hundred thousand and a million dollars in property between our house and the building that we own for our business and another piece of property And I was wondering in the overall portfolio, is property considered aggressive or conservative? Like how would that work into our mix up? Yeah, I would say it's on the conserve more conservative end, depending on the property. And assuming it's a residential property, it's certainly more conservative.
When you get into commercial, you know, there's just been a little bit more pressure on the commercial market just because the change post-pandemic on how people are working. And so depending on what part of the country it is and the locale, it certainly can be a bit more aggressive. But, you know, given that they tend to have a pretty steady appreciation, real estate does over time and their income generating, I would say I'd put it in the more conservative end. The two things that raise the risk, apart from just the changes in the commercial real estate market, are number one, the ill liquidity, just meaning that, you know, with stocks and bonds, you can sell them as long as the market's open and get your cash. It's not that way with real estate.
It's more time consuming and costly. I would say the other thing is just the lack of diversification. Is one of the challenges that slightly raises the risk because typically when we own stocks and bonds, we might own hundreds of companies through an ETF or a mutual fund. Whereas with real estate, you know, you have three holdings. And so, if there was something that adversely affected one of these properties, you know, you're just more highly concentrated.
So, that would be the other risk that you have. But a lot of people have built a lot of wealth in real estate. And I think, you know, the idea that you would continue to let these properties appreciate. And then, when you're ready to exit this business and/or liquidate some of these other properties that perhaps have been income generators, then taking that and deploying that in a fairly conservative, you know, largely bond, but with some stock exposure portfolio that's a little more liquid, can generate some income, get you more properly diversified, I think can be a very effective strategy for you as you head toward retirement. Is that helpful though?
So It is. We do have, I don't know, probably about $700,000 in stocks.
So how should the stocks be allocated? Like how aggressive? How you know?
Well, there's not a right or wrong there. I mean, it ultimately comes down to what has God entrusted to you? What lifestyle do you feel like he's called you to? How much income do you need? And how much risk do you need to take to achieve your goals?
You know, we don't want to take unnecessary risk, especially in this season of life. And it sounds like you've got a good bit in the way of assets. How would you break down the mix of that, what you call the stock portfolio between stocks and bonds? Is it all stocks or is there some fixed income in there? There are some bonds.
I've just heard you say like 60, 40 when you're in your 60s or something like that. And you're some bonds and there are some stocks. I'm not clear on all that. We do have an advisor.
Okay. I think this would be a good conversation to have with your advisor. I mean, I will tell you just a rule of thumb, and that's all it is. We used to use the number one hundred minus your age, and that would be the amount that you would typically have in stocks and then the rest in bonds. Because people are living longer, a lot of times we'll use one hundred ten minus your age.
So for instance, what is your age right now? I'm sixty four and my husband is sixty-six.
Okay, so let's call it 65.
So that would be essentially if we took 110 minus 65, that'd be 45% in stocks, 55% in bonds. Let's say we were to pull 5% from either side for maybe some gold allocation. That'd be a 60-40 portfolio, bonds to stocks. And then as you all age, you would, you know, move more from stocks to bonds. The stocks gives you the growth component.
The bonds gives you the income. And overall, it's a more stable portfolio.
So it might be good to have that conversation with your advisor to check your current allocation against that rule of thumb. Stay on the line. We'll finish off the air. We'll be right back. Managing money isn't just a financial decision.
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Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. Hey, we've got some lines open, which just simply means if you've got a financial question, we've got answers. Here's our promise. To always give you wisdom that we find rooted in God's Word. Doesn't mean we'll always get it right because we're certainly not perfect, but we do know God's Word is the source.
And so we want to derive our perspective and our worldview about money and the principles we apply to today's decisions in scripture. And we do that each day as we gather together.
So if you've got a question, call right now: 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Let's head back to the phones. Rick is in Texas. Go ahead.
Yeah, this is Rick. I was just wanting to ask, I'm sixty-four. I'm wanting to get a a trust made. to keep Stuff from going through probate court. And my question is, should I just put the stuff that has titles on it in the trust?
Or should I put on my investment accounts also? Because I heard something about. If you put your investment accounts in there and it gets retitled under a different name, you may get hit with a tax bill like you sold it or cashed it in.
So I'm just wanting to know what I should put in the trust. Yeah, good question. It's a really common point of confusion with regard to taxes.
So, first of all, and I know you're talking specifically about the investments, but let me just say generally, putting assets into a revocable trust doesn't create a tax problem. First, If it's a revocable living trust, you still control the assets. It uses your social security numbers, so the IRS treats it as you, not a separate entity. And so that's really important. In terms of what would go into a trust, it's things with titles.
So it's real estate, home, rental property, bank accounts, You know, things that you want to avoid probate. Generally, what folks will do is with retirement accounts. Like a 401k or an IRA, you don't put those in the trust. They stay outside because they have a beneficiary on them. And so it's unnecessary and it would pass direct to the beneficiary.
Retirement accounts have different and special tax rules.
So putting them into a trust could trigger taxes and create complications.
So I think the simple rule of thumb is titled assets in the trust, retirement accounts keep outside and update beneficiaries along the way. And you could even make the trust itself the beneficiary at death so that those assets flow into the trust and then the trust would govern the distribution at that point. Does that make sense? Yeah. Now, does it matter whether the house is paid off or not?
No, it doesn't. It can have a mortgage.
Okay. And then I can leave instructions that the house would be paid off out of certain funds. Yeah, it really depends on how you structure it. If you just want whatever's left after everything is paid, you know, to be available to heirs or to go to ministry, that could be in there. If you want the home kept and you would specify what funds are then set aside to maintain the home, you could do that.
I mean, you basically have unlimited options. You would just work with your state attorney to set up the trust in a way that reflects your wishes with regard to what you want done, either when you're incapacitated or after death, and then how you want the funds or the assets to be distributed and over what period of time.
Well, I'm trying to decide whether to do that or whether to take out a mortgage insurance plan of some sort or an IUL or uh some sort of insurance plan that would pay it off and and not touch the assets. And it's going to ask you which route do you think is best for that.
So what are you you're wanting the family to be able to keep your home in the family after death? Yeah, but I only owe like a hundred and fifteen thousand on it.
Okay. Yeah. And do you believe they want to hang on to it? And who's going to maintain it and so forth?
Well, one of my one of my kids wants to move in. with his kids and so That that was my thought, but I was just wondering, is it best to allocate funds that I have? Or is it best to go ahead and get some sort of you know, insurance That would pay it off. Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, I think you've got a number of approaches here. This is a family and a stewardship decision, not just a financial one. And so I would imagine you're trying to balance, and not that everything has to be equal, but a lot of times people will think about fairness and relationships and practicality.
So before talking numbers, you want to ask: do we want to keep this property in the family long term, or is that just one person's preference? And if one child is going to receive the property and live in it and take advantage of it, then how does that relate to the overall estate distribution? Do you have more than one child? Yeah, I have two, but uh one one is going to Get more. I hate to say that, but he's got kids that I'm.
That's why I'm trying to set it up that my grandkids would have a home to live in. If something happens to me.
Okay. Yeah. So, you know, and Ron Blue says in his book, Splitting Ears: you know, if you love your kids equally, you will treat them uniquely. And his point there is not that everybody needs to treat everybody uniquely. You may decide to split it evenly.
But as you evaluate each child and what their needs are and, you know, how much income they have and assets, not only that, but their family situation, kids, no kids, you know, you may decide to leave differing amounts. And that's what you're getting at. I'm just affirming that.
So, should you use insurance to pay off the loan if your goal is for him not to have to take out a mortgage in order, and that could create a burden? Yes, you certainly could get a policy where that is specifically for that purpose, or you could direct assets from the trust to be used specifically to be paid off, to pay off the home and then leave the home through the trust to the child. The key is just what makes the most sense financially. If there's enough assets. There's no reason to pay for an expensive policy.
If there's not, then yeah, that may be the way to go.
Okay. Well, I'm the funds are there to pay the house off. I mean, I could pay the house off now, but I'm kind of in a at a point wondering whether to keep, you know I don't want to deplete a, you know, a good portion of my own retirement, so And I don't necessarily know that you know, paying the house off is the s the smartest financial decision.
So Yeah, yeah.
Well, that makes sense.
Well, I think given that you're comfortable with one child getting more, and the funds are there to pay the house off, I think. If you've got a low mortgage interest rate right now and you want to just hang on to it, I think that's okay. And so, you know, what you would do is you would just direct the trust. to pay off the home and then leave it to that child, communicate that ahead of time just so there's clarity, the heart behind the decision, and why you're doing what you're doing. But I don't know that you need at this point, just based on what I'm hearing, for you to pay for an expensive policy.
You've got the assets, it's just a matter of structuring it properly inside the trust. All right.
Well, I appreciate it. Absolutely, Rick. Thanks for your call today. We appreciate it.
Well, folks, that's going to do it for us today. A big thanks to my team today, Mr. Jim Henry, Devin Patrick, and Robert Youngblood, and for everybody here at Faith By, thanks for tuning in. May the Lord bless you, and we'll see you tomorrow. Bye-bye.
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