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dot org. Homeowners now have an average of nearly $300,000 in home equity, and the nationwide total is staggering at 16 trillion. I am Rob West. Home equity is undoubtedly one of our largest assets. So how did the biblical principles of stewardship apply to it? Harlan Akkala joins us today to discuss this and then we'll take your calls at 800-525-7000.
That's 800-525-7000. This is faith and finance biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Harlan, welcome back.
Glad to be here. Thank you, Rob. All right, before we get into the topic, the stewardship of home equity, maybe we should explain the joke I just made. Harlan, explain how today's reverse mortgages are not the same product that gave the name such a negative reputation in the past.
I kind of think that this is the same as the debt that created a problem with 2008 and the subprime crash and that it's like credit card debt when that's not the case. And the second thing is, is that widows are now protected with all the new laws. And so if I pass away, my wife can stay in the house for as long as she wishes. And things were not always like that. And the third thing is, is that the old reverse mortgages really weren't mortgages. That was kind of the sale of part or all of the house and you lost ownership and the kids lost the inheritance.
That's not the case anymore. The only ones that movement does allows things to be passed to the children. Yeah, that's really helpful and I think important for those listening to understand.
All right, let's get into our topic then. Harlan, give us an idea of how home equity represents God's providence. Well, you know, we got such a gift with home equity because of especially the last several years of the huge increase. But if we take a look over the baby boomers lifetime of which I'm one of those, if you bought a house in 1967 for $100,000, it's now worth a million in 2024. Very few things have increased as much as our homes and we have to live someplace anyway. And over 80% of us baby boomers have homes. So especially as Christian baby boomers, we control an incredible amount of wealth that no other generation has ever been responsible for.
Yeah, that's well said. You know, Harlan, we've all heard the saying home is where the heart is. And of course, Jesus words in Matthew 621, where your treasure is there your heart will be also.
Can we connect those two ideas? Well, we should because sometimes our heart is too closely connected to any possession, but especially our home. And in reality, we should be a steward of the money in our home, just like we are steward of our savings account or our retirement funds. We should strategically plan how we spend it, give it, manage it, preserve it, grow it, just like we do with any other asset. And we can sometimes create liquidity with a reverse mortgage, maybe we should sell it, maybe we should downsize or upsize, but look at it completely as how do I manage this wonderful asset that I've been gifted with?
Yeah, that's helpful. We would of course never encourage someone who feels strongly led to be debt free to leverage their home equity for any reason, really. However, we also recognize that it can be a powerful tool for accomplishing many things in this season of life. I think what listeners are wondering Harlan is how can stewardship and utilizing home equity go together?
I'd love for you to finish by explaining that. I think we should just look at housing wealth no differently than we look at other things that we've been gifted with and entrusted with. After all, if we received a big inheritance, we'd have to figure out how to use it.
And we kind of have, how do we use it in the best interest of our family in the best interest of the kingdom. And that is something that can be done with reverse mortgages, or simply what we do in buying and selling our home for retirement. Yeah, and it's important just to revisit this point, and I think very few people realize this, that the government actually guarantees these mortgages, right? That is exactly correct. It's not something that we have to worry about getting kicked out of our house if we get too old or if the value of the house goes down.
That guarantee is always there, which makes it different than any other housing debt, any other debt period, quite frankly. Wow, that is great information. We're going to have to leave it there for today, Harlan, but how can folks find out more? Just come visit us at movement.com front slash faith.
You can just simply leave your information there and we'll be in touch. Very good. Harlan, great to have you. Thanks for stopping by. Thanks.
Great to be here. That's Harlan Akula with Movement Mortgage, a national underwriter of this program. Again, to learn more, go to movement.com slash faith. That's movement.com slash faith. Your calls are next, 800-525-7000.
We'll be right back. We're grateful for support from Movement Mortgage, who provides residential home loans in all 50 states. Guided by a mission to love and value people and a goal to redefine the mortgage process, Movement seeks to help others achieve their financial goals.
You can find out more at movement.com slash faith. Movement Mortgage LLC supports equal housing opportunity. NMLS number 39179.
For licensing information, please visit NMLS consumer access dot org. Well, I'm so glad you joined us today for faith and finance. If you're looking for somebody to journey with you and your financial decision making, we have two different groups of professionals that can do that. Both of them are accessible to you and you go to faith five dot com and click find a professional. But if you're looking for professional financial advice and that would be in the areas of legal financial planning, investment management, also insurance. Well, that would be a certified kingdom advisor. When you click find a professional at faith five dot com and you choose one of those categories, planning, investing, accounting and attorneys, also insurance, you will be presented within a search to put in your zip code and you'll get a list of certified kingdom advisors. If you choose, however, two other categories, including budgeting and debt, that will instead present you with a list of certified Christian financial counselors. So the search engine kind of helps get you pointed to either a certified kingdom advisor, if that's what your need is, or in the area of budgeting and debt, that's going to be a certified Christian financial counselor.
All of that is accomplished in one place just to make it really easy for you. Again, faith five dot com. Click find a professional at the top of the page. All right, we're going to begin to take your phone calls here in just a few moments. We've got lines open today.
We'd love to hear from you. The number to call to be a part of the program is 800-525-7000. Again, that's 800-525-7000. Lynn is our call screener today and she'll be taking those calls. We'll get to as many of them as we can between now and the end of the broadcast.
Again, that number 800-525-7000. We also want to be able to dive into an email or two today as well. We know you're sending those regularly to us.
We enjoy taking those as well. In the news today, we're seeing some interesting data around the great wealth transfer that's coming. I know you've been hearing a lot about it. Well, the number is according to this study, and there's obviously a lot of different numbers floating around out there, but this one is estimating the great wealth transfer to be at 68 trillion dollars with a significant portion going to Millennials and Gen Z. This unprecedented transfer will have broad implications for the global economy and of course the financial industry. Younger investors, particularly those between 21 and 42, are less likely to believe that traditional stocks and bonds alone can yield above average returns. Many of them are exploring digital assets, sustainable investments. I saw a study the other day that said nearly 18% of all investable assets in the U.S. are now in what are called sustainable or ethical investments. Now, Millennials, having weathered the storm of the 2008 financial crisis, have actually demonstrated some remarkable financial resilience and adaptability. They tend to prioritize experiences over material possessions, and they're quick to embrace fintech solutions with smartphones being such a significant portion of their lives. This generational difference in outlook is not just reshaping, but it's literally revolutionizing how financial services are provided.
That's going to be interesting to watch in the days ahead. I will also say that effective estate planning is a crucial step in preserving and transferring this massive wealth transfer that's going to take place. And it's important to note that many baby boomers may see their savings diminished by healthcare costs later in life, which could limit the amount passed to the next generation. But either way, the key question in this season of life is determining whether the next steward is chosen and prepared. And that would be my counsel to you if you're thinking about this season of life as somebody who's going to transfer wealth.
Have you made those decisions? Have you selected the ministries that are going to benefit from your estate? Are you preparing the next generation to receive the wealth? Keep in mind, it's bigger than just the financial capital, and that inheritance is going to take whatever that life trajectory is for that heir and propel it even further, which is concerning if they're headed in the wrong direction, at least in this season of life. So give a lot of prayerful consideration to the amount that's transferred and the preparedness of those heirs that will be receiving it because obviously their spiritual results or implications are far more important than the financial.
So just keep that in mind. All right, we're going to dive into your questions today. We know lines are filling up quickly, but we'll get to as many of those as we can.
I've got a few open though at 800-525-7000. Let's go to Georgia. Hi, Chris, how can I help? Hello, Rob. I was wondering, is it better to invest in gold now or CDs?
That's what we call a binary trap, Chris. Should I do this or that? Well, what about the 18 other alternatives that are there? But I understand your question, and let's kind of talk through that. I think it always comes down when we look at investment decisions, do I do this or that or something else, to what are my goals, what is my time horizon, and what is my overall financial situation? So describe the money that you're talking about putting in either gold, silver, or CDs, and how does that fit with the rest of your assets? Well, I have several CDs coming due in the next couple of months. One is a $20,000 CD, and the increased pay, the interest of the CDs, or if it were to be gold, the increased pay of the gold is going to my charities, and I want to maximize it for my charity's sake. At your death, Chris? Is that what you're talking about, or before your death?
Within the next year. Okay, you're planning to give this money away to your charity or your church in the next year? The interest, or the increased pay of the gold, yes. Okay. So you said you had a $20,000 CD coming due.
Is there more that you're talking about here, or is that the extent of it? No, there's a couple of more CDs that less are value coming due. Okay, what do you think is the total of all the CDs together? About $35,000. About $35,000.
Alright, now, forgetting this for a second, set that aside. What other assets do you have in savings or stocks or other investments? I have in my raw power a $360,000. I just bought $10,000 out of my savings account for silver and gold.
Silver 60%, gold 40%. Alright, with a $10,000 savings? Yes, sir. Okay, very good. Given that you've got, and that's the, let me just ask, that's the extent of the assets that you have that are liquid? Yes.
Okay, great. So given what you just described, $360,000 of Roth and then $10,000 split between gold and silver, I think given that you've got this $35,000 roughly coming due and multiple CDs, I wouldn't put that back in the precious metals. Number one, you're trying to give the interest away and precious metals don't generate interest. I realize you said you could give the gain, but depending on how you buy that, that's going to be difficult to do. If you buy the physical metal, you're going to have the markup every time you buy or sell. If you buy the tracking stock, you could do that, but that's going to be a bit more challenging and you're highly concentrated. So what I would probably do, given that you already have a good bit in gold and silver and given your desire to give this away, I'd probably just put it in a high yield savings or put it into a new CD for maybe one or two years.
And then you could give the interest away as it comes due, but I probably wouldn't go the precious metals route with this particular portion of your investable assets given your desire to give. So I hope that helps, Chris. We appreciate your call today. God bless you. We'll be right back on Faith and Finance.
Stay with us. Stay on track with your finances. We have three money management options to choose from.
So find an option that fits your unique needs. It's available on desktop or mobile. Simply go to faithfi.com and click app to get started. We are grateful for support from Soundmind Investing in the Faith and Finance program. For more than 30 years, they've been helping Christians reach their financial goals with step-by-step guidance for investors at every stage, from those just getting started to those getting ready for retirement. To scriptural principles and practical suggestions, SMI offers financial wisdom for living well.
More information, including the short video webinar on profit and peace of mind, no matter what's happening in the market, is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. Taking your calls and questions today. Let's head right to the phones. To North Carolina. Hi, Renee.
How can I help? My question is I'm drawing forward Social Security. I'm 68 years old.
My second wife, we were married 26 years. She's 63, but not drawing Social Security. If I were to die, does she receive part of my Social Security or all of it because she's never remarried?
Yes. The answer to that is she may if she meets certain criteria here based on your work record. As long as the marriage lasted for at least 10 years, she is unmarried at the time of applying for benefits. She's at least 62.
It would be based on your record being higher than what she might get from her own. Is this an ex-wife of yours right now? Yes. Okay.
Yeah. So as long as those conditions are met that I mentioned, your ex-wife would be able to receive benefits equal to 50% of the amount you would receive at your full retirement age, even if you've not yet applied for benefits yourself, and also may be eligible for the survivor's benefit as well. So I think the key is she would just need to check with the Social Security Administration.
But if she's unmarried at the time, and the marriage lasted for 10 years, and she's at least 62, then yes, she could take that spousal benefit. Okay. Wow.
That's interesting. You mentioned that our Social Security was more than mine. She could not draw it or she could still draw it? No. What I'm saying is she can collect the higher of either her spousal benefit, which is up to 50% of yours, or her own benefit if she worked long enough to have a work record that allows her to get her own benefit. Oh, yes.
She's worked a long time. Okay. Great. Thank you very much. All right. You're welcome. Thanks for your call today. We appreciate it. Let's see. Let's head to Kansas. Carol, you'll be next up on the program.
How can I help? Yes. I want to know about annuities. I have some money to put, to roll over into an IRA is what I want to do. And I want to put it into a type of, I mean, I'm thinking about putting it into a type of annuity, but I've been told to be aware of that several times. Annuities that they call an annuity at Farm Bureau. And I put some in there a long time, a long time ago, and it was a guaranteed 4% going. And they say I can put more into that now because, and I can draw from it at any time I would want.
Okay. And it'd be a queuing that for, I guess that's what I'm wondering there. I guess there's different annuities, but there are, and there's actually far better rates than that available today. I mean, you can get, you know, anywhere from five all the way up to 7% as a guaranteed fixed annuity, depending upon how long it is.
So you're, they're not all created equal. So where is this money today? It's in an annuity currently, and you're looking at moving it to another annuity or somewhere else? It's with Fidelity on a 401k. Oh, I see. They have to change it.
They just want to change it. Yeah, it's one I had when I quit working. TSA retirement plan. Okay. Yep. Got it. Okay.
Yeah. So you absolutely could do that. You'd roll it to an IRA annuity. And so it'd stay in a tax deferred environment. And then you could use a guaranteed product. What I would probably do, Carol, is connect with an advisor in your area that could kind of walk you through all this and help you evaluate what is the best annuity option for you.
And then ultimately, you know, determine whether you go with another fixed annuity, which rates are better now than what you got previously on that 4% guaranteed annuity. You can certainly do better than that. But you want an advisor who can help you kind of explore all of that. Well, I've kind of sort of tried to do that.
And I haven't found any that would be better. I guess I can keep looking a little bit. Yeah. And that's where an advisor would, I think, be helpful to you as you, you know, consider your options.
Somebody who could look, especially somebody who's not going to stand to benefit and earn a commission from the product, who can really take an objective look on all of this. Okay. All right. But there are different annuities. Oh, yes.
Yeah. There's not only are there different types of annuities, you've got the fixed annuity like you've had previously with a guaranteed return. And then you've got the variable annuity where there's underlying investments inside the annuity. And although they may provide a floor on the investments where you can't lose money, they're going to give you a portion of the upside.
But there's those. And then among those two categories of annuities, there's all the different, you know, insurance companies and the various ways that, you know, they, you know, offer those annuities in terms of the rate and the premium and all the different features. And so it can get quite complicated. And that's why I think having somebody that can help you look over all this and make a decision, you know, could be really helpful. All right, thank you much. All right, Carol, thank you for calling today. We appreciate you being on the program. Hey, let's finish up with our calls today in Mississippi. Rick, you will be our last caller today.
Go ahead, sir. Yes, I've got about a year and a half before I retire. And I'm raising a grandchild. And everybody's telling me to go ahead and draw on his social security too. Is there any repercussions of that? Will it short him on his or can I do that or what?
It would not affect his ultimate ability to collect anything long term. Social Security Administration does provide benefits to grandchildren if certain requirements are met. You've got to be the legal guardian or have legally adopted. It's not just physical custody.
Living arrangements are a key factor. They have to have begun living with you, the grandparent before age 18 and must be dependent on you. Generally, that means you're providing at least half of their support. And then typically, both of the child's biological or legal parents must either be disabled or deceased or the grandparent, again, must have legally adopted the child. And then ultimately, you know, the grandparent has to be eligible to receive Social Security retirement or disability benefits. But if all that is met, then, you know, the grandchild may qualify to receive benefits as a dependent on your earnings record.
And that can continue until age 18 or 19 if they're attending high school full time. And then obviously there's different factors if they're disabled. So what I would probably do, Rick, is contact the Social Security Administration either by phone or just go to SSA.gov. And there's a list of online services there. You can also schedule an in-person meeting and just kind of go over your specific situation and they'll tell you exactly what you need to know. But the bottom line is, yes, if certain conditions are met, there can be some assistance there.
Specifically, when you are the guardian or have adopted a grandchild who's under 18. Thanks for calling, sir. And thanks for taking care of that precious child.
I know that's something that's on the heart of God for sure. Well, folks, that's going to do it for us today. Let me say a big thanks to my team today.
I certainly couldn't do this without them. Adam Suddath, our producer today, helping us take our phone calls today. Phone screening was Dr. Robert Sutherland providing me with great research and assistance here today as Taylor Standrich. For those gentlemen and the rest of the team here at Faith Buy, a big thanks to you for being a part of the broadcast today. And we'll hope you come back and join us tomorrow. We'll do it all over again. Until then, may the Lord bless you. Bye bye. Faith and Finance is provided by Faith Buy and listeners like you.
