Have you heard about the change happening across the U.S.? Learn more at JoinChristianCommunity.com membership eligibility required. Each account is insured up to $250,000. This institution is not federally insured.
It was not arrayed like one of these. Well, it's always a pleasure to have my friend John Putnam back with us. John's a certified financial planner, a certified kingdom advisor, and founder of Smarter Stewardship, a marketplace ministry. John, great to have you back with us. Always good to hang with the cool people at FaithFi.
How do you counsel folks who've fallen into that trap? When I coach and I lead church workshops, I always want to remind believers about God's provision to us and the way these flowers grow to minimize worry and how the Heavenly Father feeds them. I love the scripture you shared. You can't be anxious and add a single hour to your life and just think about the flowers and how they grow. What I love about this picture and this scripture is that these flowers and these birds that Scripture is talking about, they are not striving. I think of striving as being distracted by the moment that you are trying to create. And I think about flowers and birds that are thriving. I think about thriving as being present in the moment that God created.
I love that. So if that's our heart's desire that we want to replace the struggle of striving, John, what does that look like? I think it's just about the testimony of being present, just being in that financial moment that God gives you. I mean, so often a theme that is counter to this is getting into debt.
Debt accelerates our provision for ourselves. Yet at the same time, it delays God's provision that he has planned for us. So just be present and then be patient. That testimony of being patient, you know, guys in the hustle and bustle of life. I love the idea of this picture that Jesus, he wasn't ever in a hurry, but he was always intentional to minister to those around him. So this idea of being patient and then finally, just this testimony of being generous. There is no better way to combat the struggle of striving and worldly worrying with the thriving by centering your attention on the needs of others. It's exactly what Jesus did. That's so good, John. You know, as we think about this, it's really critical that we understand our role as stewards, isn't it? No question about it. I mean, as stewards, you know, we get to enjoy the peacefulness that everything we have is provided by God. His money, his time, his opportunities, not ours. Now look, we've got a part to play, Rob, you know that, but we've got to leave room for God to show up in only the ways that he can and do his part in our money and in our life.
And you may just be amazed. I love that, John. We're about out of time. Sum this up for us.
I would just say replacing worry and striving with thriving, focus on this holistic overall provision of where God has you and what God has given you because God is too good and life is too special to let money hold you back. Wow, that is powerful and something we all need to do. I'm talking to myself. It's great advice, John, and really appreciate you stopping by today, buddy.
Always a blessing. That's Certified Kingdom Advisor and Certified Financial Planner, John Putnam. He's also founder of Smarter Stewardship. Now, folks, I want you to check it out today. You'll be blessed and encouraged and find a lot of practical help. smarterstewardship.com.
That's smarterstewardship.com. All right, your calls are next. The number, 800-525-7000.
That's 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West and a quick break and then back with much more just around the corner. Stick around. How about someone who will take the time to explain your options? Certified Kingdom Advisors are professionals who meet high standards in competence and integrity and have been trained to offer biblical financial advice.
To find a Certified Kingdom Advisor in your area, visit faithfi.com and click Find a CKA. We are grateful for support from One Ascent Investments on the Faith and Finance Program. They manage a comprehensive suite of value-based investment strategies designed to help Christian investors live aligned with what they value most. One Ascent believes that if your values inspire the way you live, they should also inspire the way you invest.
This can be a unique form of worship. More information is available at investments.oneascent.com. That web address is investments.oneascent.com. I'm so glad you've joined us today on Faith and Finance. We're taking your calls and questions today on anything financial. We've got some lines open.
We're ready for you. 800-525-7000. Again, that's 800-525-7000. Whether you want to talk about your spending plan, your long-term investments, maybe it's your debt repayment, how you get that credit score up, or giving wisely, and anything in between. The number is 800-525-7000.
We'd love to tackle it with you together. When it comes to managing God's money, this idea that God owns it all, which is absolutely true, we see that clearly in Scripture, is really the central idea that should govern all of our financial decision-making. It helps us to put money in its proper perspective and allows us to focus on our true role, and that is money manager for the Lord.
In order to reflect the heart of the Master, we have to go back to the Scriptures and see what's on God's heart. Clearly, money is talked about in the Old and New Testaments, so we pull out those big ideas of contentment and generosity and trust in the Lord, our dependence on Him as our provider, providing for our needs. We see clearly in Scripture that God's creation is something to be improved and that we're to be productive in taking what God has given us and using it for His glory, including our money management as we provide and as we give and as we enjoy what God has entrusted to us. The question is, how do we find the right balance and how do we guard against getting caught up in the messages of this world, which will clearly tell us that we need more all the time, that it brings greater satisfaction and fulfillment in the things of this world. And yet, we know experientially that that's just simply not true, and so we point back to God as our ultimate delight and treasure.
And when we do that, money becomes a tool to accomplish His purposes. We want to help you do that with the practical decisions and choices you're making every day. So what's on your mind today? We've got a few lines open. The calls are coming in quick, but we'd love to hear from you.
800-525-7000. You can call right now. All right, let's dive in. We're going to begin in Indiana. Jim, you'll be our first caller, sir.
Go ahead. Thank you for taking my call. I bought a used vehicle and they're offering me an extended warranty. I was wondering what your opinion is on extended warranty. Yeah, well, you know, it's a tough one in the sense that, you know, it all comes down to the actual automobile you're going to own and the fine print of the extended warranty that you would purchase and whether or not you'll actually get the coverage you need. I mean, the benefit is they can cover costly repairs and, you know, cars these days are more and more technology, which is more expensive to repair. You know, the dealer can take care of the paperwork and although, you know, they are expensive and the key is they don't cover all the repairs. There's also in some cases limited access to approved repair providers. So for that reason, you know, we generally advise against it for most drivers, you know, for a commercial vehicle like a semi, they might be, you know, that would be a different story. But for the average driver who's just using it for personal uses, you know, oftentimes taking that same amount and just sticking it in a high yield savings account and reserving it for, you know, maintenance is often the better way to go just in terms of how often they're used and whether or not you can actually get the repairs that you need done. So I would just consider your situation, the car you're looking to cover and the cost, do some research online.
You know, what you will find is that Consumer Reports generally recommends against it because again, you know, just on the average folks will find these are expensive policies and some of the limitations and fine print just often render them not quite as effective as they're expected to be. Does that make sense? Yes.
And I kind of thought you're going to answer that way just to kind of put the money in the savings account. So yes, it makes a lot of sense. All right. Very good. Well, you're very welcome. We appreciate your call today. May the Lord bless you. 800-525-7000. Let's go to Memphis. Hi, Teresa.
Go right ahead. Hi, again, my name is Teresa Collins from Memphis and I have a question regarding a pension plan. My former company has, they're offering a buyout. They're terminating the plan. So they're giving me the option for a buyout or just take the money immediately, like on a monthly basis or to wait until I'm sick until retirement or 65. So it's enough to pay my house off. So I'm trying to decide, should I take the money and pay my house off or should I just wait until I'm 65 to take it?
Yeah, very good. So, you know, this is often a decision that's complex enough and important enough, Teresa, to get an advisor to weigh in, to actually look at not only the specific offers that are being made and whether or not the lump sum versus the monthly payment makes sense, but also the timing of that, which, as you're pointing out, makes a difference in terms of how much you'll actually receive. But beyond that, even looking at how this fits into your overall retirement plan, just to help you consider all of the income sources you'll have and the assets so that you can be really thoughtful about when to tap the various income sources and the tax implications associated with them. So there's just a lot of moving pieces, but let's just talk at a high level about the specific decision that you would be making. And so is the plan simply to take the monthly payout versus the lump sum or is there also a timing decision here as well?
Well, I only have until Friday to make the decision and that's my procrastination that I didn't go ahead and get everything done, but I really, I think I need to wait until I actually retire because I will get more, you know, and it'll be for a lifetime as opposed to taking a lump sum now, but the money. Yeah, so what is the option given to you right now for the lump sum? When you say that, I don't mean they'll... What is the amount they'd be willing to give you today?
Do you know? It is about 62,000. All right. And then if you wait until 65, would you also have a lump sum option then or at that point would it just be a monthly check?
It'll be a monthly check. All right. And when is that? How far down the road? I'm 58 now, so... Okay, seven years.
Okay. And what would they be paying you at that point? How much per month? 600 and something. 600, I don't know the exact thing. 620, something like that.
Okay. So 620 a month is, you know, $7,500 a year and that's, you know, a lot more than you'd be getting obviously off of the 60,000. You know, if you had the same 62,000 now, it's going to have a chance to grow for the next seven years. But at 62,000, you know, we would probably only encourage you to take about a third of that 2,500 a month. And you're talking about getting a full 7,500 if you wait.
It just seems at face value. I'd probably wait this out if you have the ability to do so because you got quite a bit more coming down the road. And it's guaranteed, I would imagine, for the rest of your life.
So that's a pretty significant amount increase if you wait until 65. Thanks for your call today, Teresa. We appreciate you checking with us. Thank you. Welcome back to Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. This is the program where the 2,300 verses on money and possessions found in God's word intersect with today's financial decisions and choices. The number to get in on the conversation, 800-525-7000.
That's 800-525-7000. Let's head to Georgia. Hi, Sharon. Go ahead. Hi.
I listen to you guys all the time. I'm really grateful for your advice. We're transitioning from a newer vehicles to the older vehicles. And I want to know when's the best time to take off full coverage or have liability.
Yes, ma'am. What's your opinion on that? Yeah, I mean, so the rule of thumb that you'll see on that is when if you total up all the annual premiums for that comprehensive and collision and the total of the annual premiums is more than half the car's value, that's when you may want to think about dropping that particular coverage that's not necessary. Prior to that, though, I think it's a good idea for you to hang on to that. So when you say moving to an older car, is this still an automobile? I mean, used cars are still fairly expensive these days. Do you have any idea, Sharon, what the value of this automobile we're talking about is worth? My neon center is worth, I paid $12 for it, it's worth $20 now. I've had, I've got a 78 truck and it ain't painted yet and these people stop every day to ask for it. Really? And my husband's got a 4x4 tow to tender and everybody stops by and asks about it every day.
Yes, ma'am. Well, you know, you may want to consider that. What it would probably be helpful is for you to check the value of these cars and you can do that if you're comfortable going online, you could go to edmunds.com, that's E-D-M-U-N-D-S, edmunds.com, or KBB, and that stands for Kelly Blue Book, KBB.com. And you could put in the make and the model and the condition of the car and so forth and find out what these trucks are worth. But I'd be careful not to drop that extra, the collision and the comprehensive too soon just because if you were, if you did have these in an accident of some sort, they could be costly repairs. But that's the rule of thumb to look at.
When the total of the premiums on that portion of your coverage is more than half the car's value, the general consensus is that's the point where you may want to consider dropping it. Well, thank you so much. God bless you. And you too, Sharon. Thank you for being on the program today.
Let's head to Schomburg, Illinois. Hi, Terry. Go ahead, sir. Mr. West, how are you?
I'm doing great. Thanks. Awesome. Great show. I love it.
Hey, listen, I'll try to keep it short. I've got a 2010-2000 Honda Accord, had a recall on it for oil consumption. I took it back to the dealership under the recall. Supposedly they fixed it. But, you know, this many years later, I'm finding out that they really didn't fix it.
They only passed it. My question to you is the car has 200,000 miles on it. It would make when they did the repair, they didn't replace the tensioners. So I hear them sounds like cans rattling an engine. So I took it to Christian Brothers on a motor. They said I should fix it because if those go, the engine's done.
So it's going to cost me $1,300 for them just to fix the tensioners and not the original oil consumption issue. Yeah. Yeah. That's my first question. So I start a new job on the 30th of this month. I'm living on borrowed time. I'm driving a company car right now, which I don't have to worry about insurance. I've dropped the insurance on the car that's sitting in the driveway with the 200,000 miles on it.
So I haven't been paying insurance on the car, but I will be moving into a new apartment. I'm going to have to soon. Right now I'm living with my mom. She's got some health issues, so that's kind of worked out for me.
I didn't renew my lease, so she's just like, stay here. You can help me out. But eventually I'm going to run my own space. Yeah. Yeah. Very good. And have you gotten the value of this car online?
I have not. Okay. Yeah, I think that would be your next step. I mean, I realize this could be costly, and yet if you've got a car in good condition, I mean, used cars are still selling at top dollar right now, even though they've come down in terms of the amount of appreciation we're seeing. They've gotten more reasonable as the inventories have built back up on the new cars. You want to be able to maximize the value on that. And if you can truly fix it with somebody who's reputable that you trust, and that could help you get the full value of this out of it on the sale, then that makes a lot of sense to me.
I think the question is, at some point you will be putting more into it than it's worth. But at this point, if it looks great and it's in good shape and it doesn't have a significant amount of miles on it, then it's probably worth continuing to keep it maintained. Yeah, I think your next step is to determine what is the value of this car. And you could do that at Edmunds or KBB and just figure out basically what is it going to take for you to get out of this vehicle and maximize the value. And it could be that going ahead and doing these repairs are what's going to allow you to realize the true value of this car. But you also may find that it's just not worth enough to justify it.
And I think that's really the next step. In terms of the housing situation, tell me about the second part of the question. Well, if I buy a new car, and I don't mean new, it would be certified pre-owned or something like that. But if I get into a new car, I'm going to have a car payment and a housing payment. So I didn't want to have that new car payment thing over my head because I paid it off, and I just don't want to deal with another car payment right now because that's going to bring also insurance. And that's also going to bring registration.
And it doesn't happen every day. And you're living with a family member currently? Yes. Okay, yeah. Well, I think there's some sort of happy middle here. I mean, obviously, it's got to all come back to your budget. The challenge is you may decide just to keep it so you don't have this car payment, but it's going to get to the place where these ongoing repairs are eventually going to be more than the car payment itself once this thing is beyond its useful life. So I think, number one, you've got to figure out what can I get out of this car? Number two, can I truly fix it with this next repair? Or is this just the beginning of more and more expensive repairs down the road? And then factor the housing into your budget as well. It could be that this is the season to stay put and just focus on getting that car up to par. We appreciate your call, Terry.
It sounds like you've got a few decisions to make here. Thanks for being on the program. Well, that does it for us today. I'm Rob West. Thanks to our amazing production team and to you for listening. I hope you'll join us again next time right here on Faith and Finance. Faith and Finance is provided by Faith Buy and listeners like you.
