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Okay. A $124 trillion transfer of wealth is coming, and women are poised to inherit more than men. Hi, I'm Rob West. Over the coming decades, an extraordinary amount of wealth will change hands, placing women at the center of one of the largest wealth transfers in history. Sharon Epps joins us today to talk about what that means and how women can prepare to steward it well.
And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance: biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Well, it's always a treat to have Sharon Epps back in the studio. She is president of Kingdom Advisors, our parent ministry, which equips Christian financial professionals to integrate biblical wisdom into the advice and guidance they provide. Sharon, great to have you back. It's good to be here. Sharon, you have an insightful article in our new special edition of Faithful Stewart magazine, which we're really excited about.
It's called, Are Women Ready for the Great Wealth Transfer? And we hear that phrase all the time, great wealth transfer. What exactly does it mean? And why are women expected to play such a significant role?
Well, you mentioned the dollar amount, one and a quarter trillion dollars will pass from baby boomers to their heirs by 2048. And economists have talked about this for years, but now it's getting closer and closer and it's already starting. And women are at the center of this inheritance because they tend to live longer than men. And they're poised to inherit more than men because they get the intra-generational transfer between generations. And the intergenerational transfers as well.
Yeah, well, that makes sense. I want to back up for a moment and go back to God's word because women, of course, have been playing significant roles in financial stewardship going back to biblical times, right?
Well, we find in Luke 8:1 through 3 that women were actually the primary funders of Jesus' ministry.
So it's right at the core. Paul calls Phoebe his benefactor. She actually underwrote his work. And in a deeply patriarchal culture, these women still use their means to push God's mission forward. I love that.
And scripture, of course, calls each of us to faithful stewardship.
So, talk to us about what that might look like specifically for women today. This is really important, I think, for women to understand that 1 Corinthians 4.2 says, moreover it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. And with women particularly, faithfulness shifts with every season in our life. And it's important that we stay informed, equipped, and engaged with money. Yeah, it is so important, really a critical idea for us as managers of what God entrusts to us.
Now, whether a woman inherits wealth or earns an income or manages the household finances, let's talk about those unique opportunities she has to steward those resources. That's the thing. We often are all of those things. We're inheritors. We can be earners.
And we're certainly managers of money. Research tells us that we're involved in 94% of the household decisions. Wow. And each of those roles, we get a chance to use money as a tool for God's purposes. And by stewarding well, we actually can help others see God's heart and calling for women.
Yeah, that's right. You know, we've talked about this special edition of our Faithful Steward magazine that's all about women and wealth. We're so thrilled about it. And I'd love for you to share just a bit about your hope and prayer for both women and men in terms of takeaways from this.
Well, one of the big things is whether you love handling money or you don't do numbers, you are a part of God's adventure of using money as a tool to love people. And I think that's the missing link with many women that, quote, don't do money. And so, what we've done in this issue is we've taken the stages of life and the roles in life. That women play, and we've tied the money to it. And our goal is that you're able to see that money can actually be something that accelerates your purpose and it accelerates those things that you're passionate about in God's kingdom.
It will also spark conversations between other women, between kids, and hopefully even between spouses. Yeah, that's exactly right.
Well, we can't wait to put it in your hands. And folks, we want you to know that as wealth changes hands, women have an extraordinary opportunity to steward it faithfully for God's purposes. And Sharon, I really appreciate you shedding some light on this today. Always a pleasure. Thanks, Rob.
Folks, that's Sharon Epps, president of Kingdom Advisors.
Well, this month, as we've said, we're releasing our first ever special edition of Faithful Steward magazine. It's entirely focused on women stewarding wealth. For this month only, when you become a FaithFi partner, we'll send you this special issue as our way of saying thanks. Just head to faith5.com/slash give. Faithfi.com slash give.
We'll be right back. Don't go anywhere. I was in ministry full-time, and I was always looking for a way to integrate my faith with this new industry around money and finances. This is Mark. He is a certified kingdom advisor.
As a CKA, one of the best things I offer my clients is trust in knowing that they're working with a professional that understands their values. And I think in all of the different challenges that clients go through, if we can go back to trusting in God, then He'll make the path straight. You can find an advisor like Mark at findacka.com. Faith in Finance is grateful for support from Eventide Investments, a faith-based asset manager pursuing investing that makes the world rejoice. Eventide invests from a biblical worldview, helping values-aligned investors pursue integrity, impact, and performance through their portfolios.
More information is available about how you can align your faith with your investments at faith5.com/slash Eventide. That's faithfi.com slash Eventide. Helping you apply God's wisdom to your financial decisions. This is Faith and Finance.
Well, our lines are open, so this would be a great time for you to call. The number is 800-525-7000. Why would you call?
Well, we're here to tackle your financial questions today, help you think about how you would manage money in light of biblical wisdom. Again, that number to call: 800-525-7000. We're going to dive into those questions here in just a moment, but go ahead and get your call in the queue: 800-525-7000. In the news today, buy now pay later loans are increasingly being used for necessities, not just discretionary purchases, as households face higher living costs. Buy Now Pay Later providers issued an estimated $157 billion in consumer credit in 2025.
That was up $116 billion from 2024. Lending Tree reports that 44% of Americans expect to use Buy Now Pay Later within six months.
Some consumers turn to these loans after exhausting their credit cards. Surveys show others are using the loans for groceries, rent, utilities, medical care, car repairs. I'm even seeing them for a food delivery. Can you imagine? The convenience can carry serious risks.
Nearly half of these buy now pay later users reported making a late payment in the last year. While many plans charge no interest, many do include interest, financing charges, repeated late payments and fees. Borrowers may find that several small payments quickly become difficult to manage. That creates an ongoing cycle of debt. Be on your guard.
Guard here. This is becoming normal, unfortunately. And listen, if you're needing to use Buy Now, Pay Later to make the purchase, it's a telltale sign that you need to slow down, stop, wait, save, and buy with cash. Be careful, this is becoming all too common. All right, let's dive into your questions today.
Here's the number: 800-525-7000. You can call right now. Let's go to Alabama. Gene, how can I help? I wonder how I could get the name of a debt consolidation company, a good Christian company, or a way to reduce a large payment I'd be happy to help with that, Gene.
And the one I'm going to give you actually has Christian in the name. It's Christian Credit Counselors. We've been partnered with Christian Credit Counselors for more than a decade now. They've worked with thousands of our listeners. They're wonderful people.
In fact, I talked to Neely Simon, who is on the executive team there at Christian Credit Counselors just earlier today. And they're working, unfortunately, I'll say, with more and more people. Just credit card debt seems to be running rampant now as costs are up and it's just creating a real problem.
However, they really feel that they've been called to this moment. And these are wonderful folks that want to come alongside God's people. And the reason that this is my preferred way to pay off debt is it doesn't require a new loan to roll up the debt with a new lender. It stays right where it is, but you enjoy two things. Number one is a level monthly payment, usually slightly lower than what you're paying right now on a minimum payment, but with a reduced interest rate.
Rate.
So, whereas the average interest rate is sitting today around 23%, the typical between in credit counseling is between 0 and 10%.
Now, it's ultimately going to depend on which creditors you're with. In terms of which interest rate you get, but your first step is to head to faithfi.com/slash CCC. That's faithfi.com/slash CCC. And you can get an appointment virtually to connect over the phone. They'll walk you through all the details.
And on average, you'll pay it off 80% faster with this approach. Does that help, though, Gene? Yes. Do you have a phone number for them? I do, yes.
I'd be happy to help with that because I know it's often a lot easier just to pick up the phone and call. And that number is 800. five five seven eight hundred five five seven nineteen eighty five.
Okay, that sounds great. Thank you.
Okay, you're welcome, Gene. Call anytime. Lord bless you. Let's go to Spring Hill, Florida, and welcome Rich to the broadcast. Go ahead, sir.
Hi, Rob. Thanks for taking my call. Yes, absolutely. My my question is. Um About to turn 69, and I'm trying to hold out till I'm 70 to collect my Social Security so that I get the maximum Social Security.
If I'm able to. I might continue to work because I'm a little worried about being bored after I retired.
So if I continue to work, Does that mean that my Social Security will gradually increase or do I stop paying Social Security? After seventy. Yeah, you don't ever stop paying into Social Security. If you're working, you're going to have those FICA taxes, regardless of your age, just the way the system works. And there is no reason to continue to delay beyond age 70 because that 8% increase that you're going to get every year beyond full retirement age stops accruing once you reach age 70.
So you're just leaving money on the table if you don't start collecting.
So you would not want to wait past age 70 to collect. But if you continue to work, and I love what you're saying about, listen, I love working and I'm not sure I would want to stop unless God redirects me to something else that allows me to be productive in a different way, you are still going to pay the FICA taxes.
Okay, so if I continue to work after if but I do collect my Social Security at seventy. The money that I contribute after I turn 70 and continue to work, does that make my Social Security increase a little bit more? Maybe. And here's the way that would happen. If you earn in any given year at any time, including beyond age 70, more earnings in that year than any of your high 35.
So remember, you've got to have 40 quarters or 10 years of paying into the system to qualify. And your check is based on your highest 35 years of earnings. And so if by continuing to work the total wages you had in any given year, if it replaced any of your high 35, then that would result in them recalculating your benefit and it would increase. And then the cost of living adjustments are going to happen regardless of whether you're working or not.
So that would be the only way you would get a larger check as a result of working is if you knock off one of the lower years. Great. And a real quick second question. Yeah. Who do I need to contact or to see to help me create a budget?
Because I must be overspending because every couple months I have to withdraw some money out of my savings to make my checking even, to put it black. Yeah, very good. Yeah, we have a team of what are called certified Christian financial counselors here, Rich, at FaithFi. And I'd be happy to provide one of those to you to work with you on a couple of sessions. If you decide you want to continue beyond that and you need some ongoing assistance, you would then work out what those payments would be for each session.
It would be fairly nominal, but at least for those first couple of sessions, just to get you pointed in the right direction, help you understand the mechanics of setting up a spending plan, whether it's a paper system or in the FaithFi app, they're trained to do that. And we'd be happy to provide that complimentary. Does that sound good? That sounds great. Thank you.
Okay, absolutely, Rich. Hang on the line. The team will get your information and we'll get somebody in touch with you. Thanks for calling today. 800-525-7000 is the number to call.
We're taking your calls and questions today on anything financial. We're going to take a quick break here, our last break, and then we'll be back with our final segment. We'll get to as many calls as we can. We've got room for perhaps two more questions. If you've got a financial question today, go ahead and call right now.
That number 800-525-7000. Here's our goal in this program each day: to help you live as a wise and faithful steward, applying God's wisdom to your financial decisions, seeing God as your ultimate treasure and money a tool to accomplish God's purposes. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. A quick break and back with much more. Stay with us.
Managing money isn't just a financial decision, it's a discipleship journey. And the FaithFi app is the only app built to guide both your money and your heart. With meaningful check-ins, automated budgeting, personalized insights, and biblical wisdom woven into every step, FaithFi helps you build habits that last. Join more than 70,000 believers pursuing clarity and peace as faithful stewards. Start your 30-day free trial today at faithfy.com/slash app.
Are you a financial professional looking to grow your practice while offering advice that aligns with your Christian values? By becoming a certified kingdom advisor, you'll gain the biblical wisdom and professional credibility to serve clients who are seeking faith-based financial guidance. Each year, more than 75,000 people search for a certified kingdom advisor. Join our community and share your expertise with clients looking for someone who shares their faith and values. Start your journey today by going to kingdomadvisors.com/slash get certified.
Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. We're taking your calls at 800-525-7000. Let's go to Indiana. David, how can I help? Hey, how you doing?
Good, thanks for calling. Yeah, thanks for uh taking my call. Yeah, I just got a real quick question.
So my wife and I, I mean, we make decent money, but it seems like we're paying taxes every year. And what I did was uh basically uh increase my four hundred one K to hopefully kind of put that money towards The savings as opposed to paying more income taxes? Is that possible? Or should I? figure something else out as far as Taking more money.
And uh putting it aside. At the end of the year, or the income taxes also offer an option to. just take out additional funds. What what is your best advice? Yeah, yeah, it's a great question.
You know, in terms of the strategies here, I mean, the 401k, increasing your 401k contributions is one of the best ways to reduce your current taxable income. If you're already contributing to a traditional 401k. And I think secondly, the goal is to be withholding enough throughout the year so you don't get hit with any penalties. In terms of how much to have withheld, do you have everything coming from W-2 income or are you self-employed? Yeah, W two.
Okay. Yeah. So ideally, you want enough withheld so you don't have any balance, but you don't receive unnecessarily a large refund either.
So the ideal state is to satisfy, you know, the IRS, what's called safe harbor rules, so you don't get hit with underpayment penalties. And then if you have bonuses or rental income or investments or anything like that, you know, then you do additional withholding or the quarterly estimated payments. You know, again, the 401k, you know, those contributions reduce your taxable income, which then, as you know, lowers that federal and then potentially state income tax as well. Other ways would be, you know, if you could contribute to a health savings account, that probably doesn't apply if it doesn't already. You could open a traditional IRA alongside your traditional 401k.
So those would be the most common that you would have. But I think the key is just to make sure that you have enough being withheld. And if you're consistently getting hit at the end of the year with additional. tax is being owed, then you probably need to increase your withholding.
So shouldn't my job or both yeah, shouldn't my job take out the necessary taxes during each pay period. Because it seems like they're not taking out enough. I mean, I and I File zero, right? Married. File zero and they should take out plenty of taxes, I would think, but it seems like They're only taking out like two and three hundred dollars per period.
So I was just. Curious, I don't think that's adequate. Yeah, you know, I mean, typically, if all you have is W-2 income and you don't have, you know, multiple jobs or bonuses and commissions or other income, you know, generally what the employer is taking, especially if you're not, you know, if you're filling out that W-4 and following the worksheet the way it's provided, you should generally have enough federal and state income taxes withheld, as well as the Social Security and Medicare. But again, that W-4, and they've updated that kind of worksheet, if you will, recently. It's a little different than it used to be.
So you may want to go back through that process. But if you don't have a lot of other income coming, you should be all set there.
So it may just be worth looking at. You know, ultimately, it's up to you in terms of how you fill that out. And based on the information you provide in the IRS withholding table, that's ultimately what's going to determine how much is withheld. Withheld.
So I'd probably just go back through that process. You can use the IRS tax withholding estimator at irs.gov, or you can ask your payroll department to withhold an additional fixed amount from each paycheck just based on what you owed in the past.
So if you owed $3,600 last year, for example, you could have an extra $150 withheld from each bi-weekly paycheck just to avoid another surprise if everything is basically the same.
So I would either go to the IRS and use one of their calculators just to do an estimator, or just take last year's additional taxes that you owed and just ask them to take out that additional amount. Either could accomplish what you need. Got it. All right. Thanks a lot.
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for your call today. We appreciate it. Let's finish up today in Austin, Texas. Paul, go ahead.
Yes, I'm sixty five. I'm going to continue to work, Lord willing, as long as I can. Um I've got approximately twenty thousand in savings and I want to see what you would recommend to grow that towards retirement. Yeah. So the 20,000, is that the extent of your savings, or do you have other buckets of money in addition to that?
And that's pretty much it.
Okay. And what are you spending on a monthly basis, typically? Uh let's see. I would guesstimate probably about Okay. Yeah.
So, I mean, I would really love for you to have six months' worth of expenses, which that 20,000 is not quite that.
So, I would say, as much as I want, agree with you, it'd be great to get something into a retirement account that could be growing for the future. You know, I just wouldn't want you to get that invested and then all of a sudden you need it for something unexpected. And so, I would kind of call this your emergency fund, almost a fully funded emergency fund, and move it into a high-yield savings account or a money market account and try to get as much yield as you can where it's stable, it's liquid, but it is going to give you a decent rate of return. And then I would say, beyond that, whatever you can carve out each month, you know, beyond your living expenses, and maybe it's time to re-look at the budget and just see what you can do to cut back so you've got more margin on a monthly basis. That's what I would be looking to systematically invest.
Into a retirement account. And I'd probably do, you know, it really depends on whether you'd benefit more from the current deduction now. And if so, I'd use a traditional IRA. And if not, you know, you're not in the higher brackets and you want to go ahead and put in a Roth IRA, I think that would be fine too. What is your age?
Yeah. Okay, yeah, so you have the ability to do the catch-up for, you know, if you're over 50 years old.
So that would allow you to put away a full $8,000 for 2025, which you can do all the way up until you file your 2025 return early next year. And then you could immediately start funding 2026.
Okay. So you recommend a traditional IRA or a money market?
Well, I would use the money market or high yield savings for the 20,000 and leave that there. I would not invest that because we're going to consider that your emergency fund. And then I would put new contributions. over in that traditional IRA. starting right now if you can, if you have a little bit left over at the end of the month.
and just fund that systematically every month. You'll be able to do up to 8,000 for this year, and then next year you can put in a total of 8,600 being somebody who's over 50 years old. All right. Thanks for your call. Yep, Lord bless you.
Big thanks to my team today: Taylor, Tahira, Omar, and everybody here at Faith By. We'll see you tomorrow. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
