This faith and finance podcast is underwritten in part by Heart for Lebanon. The country of Lebanon is no stranger to crisis. Decades of war, natural disasters and political corruption have destroyed much of the country's infrastructure.
An epic economic collapse is driving most families below the poverty line. And now there are more refugees per capita than any place in the world, creating both a crisis and an opportunity. Heart for Lebanon comes alongside families living in despair by helping meet physical needs, providing access to education and building authentic relationships that allow them to introduce these families to the hope found only in Jesus Christ.
And right now, you can help. Your investment of $116 brings to a struggling family food, emergency supplies and the good news of the gospel. Give now at faithbuy.com slash Lebanon or call 888-201-5577.
That's 888-201-5577. The war in the Middle East isn't confined to Israel and Gaza. The people of Lebanon are also suffering. Hi, I'm Rob West.
Thousands in Lebanon have been displaced by the fighting between Israel and the terror group Hezbollah. Jack Hibber joins us today to talk about a way you can help and share the love of Christ. 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 decisions. Well, it's a pleasure to welcome my friend Jack Hibber to the program today. Jack is with Heart for Lebanon, a ministry that's giving under resourced children and their families the essentials they need to survive in Lebanon.
But more importantly, the chance to encounter God and grow spiritually. And their work is especially needed right now. And we're delighted to shine a light on it. Jack, great to have you with us.
Well, it's great to be with you, Rob. And I'm really excited about this partnership between Heart for Lebanon and faith and finance, you know, especially in this critical time, everything that's happening in the Middle East, and really excited about the opportunity that we have to connect listeners to where God is working. Yeah, and that's our heart as well. And we love generosity. And so being able to connect our listeners to really meaningful work that's being done in the name of Jesus is so important. And Jack, with everything going on in Israel right now, why is it important to funnel resources to Lebanon in particular?
Well, that's a logical question, especially when you look at everything that we see on the news each night. I would say because the level of despair in the country of Lebanon right now is at a historic high. And because God's working there like never before. We've got an urgent situation, honestly, Rob, two and a half million refugees in a country of only four million people. There are more refugees, more displaced people in the country of Lebanon per square mile than in any other place in the world.
We don't hear a lot about that, but that's a fact. And then, of course, you've got the crisis of economy there, which is almost beyond description. The World Bank has called it the worst economic collapse in the last one hundred and fifty years of our existence. Eighty five percent of everybody living there right now in the country of Lebanon needs some kind of aid. And ninety nine percent of every refugee family is just looking for their next meal. Yeah.
So the need is incredible. Now, despite the despair, I know I've heard you say hope is rising. I know you've made a number of trips there personally. How have you seen God working in the hearts and lives of the people there? Well, just in some amazing ways, really, Rob, but I will say this, I'll never forget one of the first trips I ever made to Lebanon. I met a family there in a farmer's field who shared with me the horrific story that they had endured in really their journey into the country of Lebanon as a refugee.
They were impacted by the Syrian war, like so many of the people that we serve. And this man said he got a knock on the door in the middle of the night, opened that door and saw the Syrian army officer there. The guy said to him, look, you have 15 minutes. That father of that family looked at him and said, 15 minutes for what? He said, well, in 15 minutes, we're going to take this house.
This is our house in 15 minutes. That's exactly what happened, Rob. Fifteen minutes later, guns started firing. He grabbed his wife, his children, whatever they could carry. And they made a five day journey into the country of Lebanon. Well, I met this family in the back of this banana field.
They were living in this irrigation hut. And a couple of things hit me right away. Number one, I looked at the children and I thought, man, you know, these kids have a look on their face.
They've been through a lot. You could see almost the trauma on their faces. But the man who was sharing the story just had such joy.
It was incredible. And as he's sharing this really unbelievable story, he said something in the middle of that story. And I looked at the interpreter and I said, hold on just a second.
I think you got that wrong. Make him say that again. And he said, this is the best thing that has ever happened to us.
Now, Rob, I'm sitting in what they consider their living room with water basically running through their living room. I looked around. They had basically nothing. And he said, yes, we lived in Syria. We had heard about Jesus. But it wasn't until Heart for Lebanon met us here in this farmer's field, started providing for us just the things that we needed to get by. And then shared with us that we could know Jesus as our savior. It wasn't until then that we realized who Jesus really was. He said, I've come to know him as my personal savior. My wife has. And so have my children.
And I've seen that story repeated time and time again. It's really foundational to who Heart for Lebanon is. Yes, we meet people in their need. There are so many in Lebanon right now that desperately need relief.
But if you stop there, all you have is a transaction for Heart for Lebanon. We knew if we were going to make an impact for Christ, we'd have to have a relationship just like we have had with that family in that banana field. Jack, it's a powerful story.
How can our listeners get involved? By going to faithfi.com slash Lebanon, where we've set up a toll free number to learn more. 888-201-5577. Jack, thanks for stopping by, my friend. Great to be with you, Rob. Faithfi.com slash Lebanon.
We'll be right back. 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. Every day, Faithfi is working to meet people right where they are. Through our national radio program, app, and website, we're helping people put their faith in God and not in money and possessions.
And we're encouraging and equipping Christians to have a passionate pursuit for sacrificially living and giving the money entrusted to them. If you believe in and have benefited from Faithfi, would you consider becoming a monthly Faithfi patron? Learn more about the Faithfi patrons membership at faithfi.com and click Give. Welcome back to Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. This is the program where the 2300 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 dive in. We'll begin in Chicago, Illinois. Hi, Sharon. Go right ahead.
Yes. Hi, my name is Sharon, and I was calling next year, Lord's will, in July of 2024, I will be finished paying on my home mortgage. So I just want to know, like, what are some of the things that I should be expecting or have to do at the end of my payments? Well, you need to start now planning for the party that you're going to throw when you make that last payment, Sharon.
That's really exciting. Congratulations on being that close to having that mortgage paid off. You know, there really isn't much that you need to do with regard to your mortgage. You know, once it's done, you want to you know, they'll send you a satisfied lien indicating that that mortgage has been paid in full. And you'll want to hang on to that documentation showing that that balance is now zero. And then at that point, I think the key is because you're now going to have this, you know, extra mortgage payment that you were sending to the mortgage that now you don't have to just start thinking about kind of how you want to use that money.
What's the priority? You'd want to try to avoid automatically increasing your lifestyle and see if there's another goal that you have. I mean, clearly, one of your goals was to be completely debt free. And now that you're accomplishing that, what's next? If you have kids, you're thinking about college or your emergency fund is not fully funded.
I mean, I think those are the kinds of things I'd be praying about thinking about. But in terms of, you know, anything else you need to do, there really isn't a whole lot other than you'll now be sending the payments directly to your property for your property taxes to the county and your homeowners insurance because you'll no longer be escrowing. And so those bills will come directly to you and you'll pay them whereas you probably were paying them through your mortgage company's escrow account previously. So not a whole lot to think about there, Sharon. Do you have any other questions, though?
No, that's good. I just wanted to know because I know I have to pay for my own property taxes and homeowners insurance, but I just didn't know what to look forward to after the end of the mortgage. Yeah, there really isn't anything else other than you're now responsible for those directly. And so just make sure you're setting that money aside on a monthly basis so that you've got it in savings when the bill comes and it doesn't catch you by surprise.
But really, the only other thing is just make sure you get that satisfaction of lien and make sure you're really thoughtful about how to redirect that money moving forward. Thanks for being on the program today. We appreciate it. God bless you. 800-525-7000 is the number to call.
Let's head to New Jersey. Hi, Marie. Go ahead. Hi, thank you for taking my call. My question is, or my predicament is, and I've been praying about it, is that I have a pension that I received. I left my job and it actually was something that I didn't even really realize that I had. The Lord provided this for me.
It was really unknown to me until five years ago that I had this. But anyway, I received the money, I paid the federal taxes on it, and I received the lump sum because over the past few months prior to my retirement, I noticed that we were losing money in our retirement fund. So I decided to take the lump sum and pay the taxes, and I did my tithe, and now I have money that I didn't pay state taxes because I wasn't sure how much I had to pay and couldn't figure it out online. So I just wanted to know if I should buy silver, buy some silver, or buy some gold.
I investigated it. I was told that silver was more valuable than gold because they would be using it later on. Maybe down the road, they would need the silver. Or if I should do the five, or if I should do the CVs, like the six months, right now they're offering like 5%, and I just don't know. I don't want, this is God's money, and I know that, and I just don't want to be like the person that buried the money, buried the talents.
You know what I mean? And I just want to be obedient to God, but I haven't really gotten direction from the Lord yet, and I've had this money since February of this year. What I'm using it for right now is I'm just paying my mortgage. I don't owe that much on my home, and we're almost debt-free. Our automobiles will be paid off next year, and I am 68, my husband is 72. Okay, yeah.
Very good. So what are your income sources now in retirement? We have Social Security. We're still working. I'm a nurse. Okay, you are still working. Okay, great. So you are taking Social Security currently, or no?
Yes, I am. Okay. And so how long do you all plan to continue to work? Hopefully, Lord willing, I'll be able to work at least three more years, maybe four. Okay. And my husband probably maybe two more years.
Okay. And what, other than Social Security, once you all are redirected away from paid work to whatever God has for you next, what income sources will you have? Apart from perhaps this pension money, if we were to start pulling money from that, what else do you have? Nothing, but right now my home is worth a lot more than I owe, and you know, I'm not sure. But I'm just wondering how you're going to cover your bills in retirement.
Will Social Security be enough? Yes. Okay. All right. At least for 15 years, I think. Okay.
What do you mean by that? I'm maxed out, unless our food bill runs to $2,500 a month, you know what I mean? So let me just make sure I'm clear here.
So you are not retired, you're perhaps three years away, you're currently taking Social Security, and when your income stops from paid work, both you and your husband, when you're fully retired, based on your bills today, you would be able to cover your monthly expenses from Social Security alone, correct? Correct. All right. All right.
And the other assets that you'll have in retirement is only this pension money, your husband doesn't have a retirement plan, there's nothing else? No, unfortunately no. Okay. All right.
You got sick. That's okay. Yeah, no problem. I just want to make sure I'm clear. And the pension money, just to make sure I'm clear here, you already paid the taxes on it. You didn't roll it to an IRA, you took a withdrawal, correct?
That's right. All right. And what do you have left after the taxes are paid? I understand you haven't paid state taxes, but what do you have left before the state taxes, but after the federal? $170,000.
$170,000. Okay. And do you have that earmarked for anything other than just to continue to grow for the future? No, I don't. Okay. And do you all plan to sell the house and downsize, or do you think you'll stay there through retirement?
Actually, right now it's cheaper for me to live on that. Okay. All right.
Very good. Yeah. So then the question is what to do with the $170,000.
Let me just ask one last question, and then on the other side of the break, I'll give you my thoughts. Do you have an emergency fund other than the $170,000, like a liquid savings account? Yeah, we're building it. Yeah. Okay.
Do you have at least a few months expenses in there? Yeah. Okay, great. All right, let's do this. If you stay right there, Marie, this was really helpful background. We have to take a quick break, but when we come back, I'll give you my thoughts on where you go from here. Thanks for your call. We'll be right back with you. Jeff, coming your way as well.
Stay tuned. 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 and MLS number 39179.
For licensing information, please visit nmlsconsumeraccess.org. We're grateful for support from Eventide Investments on the faith and finance program. Eventide's approach to values-based investing is grounded in the belief that humankind was created in the image of God with intrinsic dignity, value, and worth. Eventide calls this investing that makes the world rejoice. More information is available at eventideinvestments.com.
That's eventideinvestments.com. Welcome back to faith and finance. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions. I've got a few lines open, 800-525-7000.
Let's head back to the phones. We were talking to Marie in New Jersey before the break. She and her husband are still working, close to retirement, three years out perhaps.
They are living on or can live on Social Security alone even though they have some other income coming in while they're still working. She took a pension out because she wasn't comfortable with the direction of what was going on with the 401k. She actually didn't roll it to an IRA, which Marie would have been my recommendation because then we keep it in that tax-deferred environment. But that's okay.
That's already done. So it's now in a taxable environment, but you've already paid the taxes. So you're left with 170,000 minus what you'll owe on some state taxes, and that's the extent of your retirement assets. But the good news is you're living modestly.
So as you said, once that income goes away, you should be in a great spot to be able to live on Social Security alone. I think for the next three years, let's try to sock away as much as you can because I would imagine you've got plenty of surplus given that you're still working. Now, what to do with the 170? You asked about gold.
We'll get to that in a second. I mean, typically when somebody's, let's say 65, I don't remember if you told me your exact age, I would say you probably want as much as 40% in stocks, maybe 5 to 10% in precious metals, but no more than that of your investable assets, and then maybe 50% in bonds. And I would recommend you get an advisor to help you with that. This is a big nest egg that you've spent a lot of time accumulating.
So I'd find a certified kingdom advisor there in New Jersey, maybe interview two or three, and find one that could take over and manage this, not based on their objectives, but yours. So they'd spend a lot of time getting to know you and your husband, what are your goals and objectives, and what does this next season look like for you all, how much income do you need, and then they would manage a portfolio accordingly so that you would have the peace of mind to know somebody's waking up every day thinking about how this should be managed. Now, for that 5 to 10%, and again, that's the most I would put in to the precious metals, I would recommend you do gold over silver, primarily because with gold, it's a reliable store of value, it's a good diversification, it is a hedge against inflation, and with silver, there's higher risk. So it offers the higher potential for return, but silver has higher volatility than gold. And it's linked to industrial demand, which, when we're heading into a recession, is often difficult for silver. So if there's a lack in silver's industrial demand, it can work against you as an investor, whereas you don't really have that with the gold. So I think, given all of that, that's where I would head from here with this portfolio, but you're the steward, so give me your thoughts on what I've shared and whether that fits.
Well, I honestly did think about doing that. I'm just afraid that the economy is going to crash, and when it crashes, what happens? I mean, we go through bear markets, we go through market corrections and significant downturns where we lose 20% plus on the market.
That happens every decade or every few decades, and it comes back. We're still the strongest economy in the world. Yes, we have some major headwinds, major budget deficits in this country.
Our interest expense will be our largest federal expenditure here in the not-too-distant future. We have rising debt levels, we've got inflation right now. But you have to put that against the fact that, again, we are the largest and strongest economy in the world. The U.S. dollar has no rival today that's anywhere close.
90% of transactions, trades globally take place in U.S. dollars. The fact that we could default on our debt or have some major economic event, I think, is way down the road. It's important that we elect the right people who understand God's design for economics and wealth creation. Yes, we need to show up and vote for folks who understand that. But there's no, in my mind, imminent collapse or crash that is coming. If we got into a recession, could the market sell off 30%? Yeah, but you don't need this money next year or the year after.
You're looking way down the road, and if you bury it under the mattress or you put it all in gold, number one, you're going to have more volatility in gold, and number two, you're just going to continue to erode your purchasing power. Just take that for what it's worth and pray about it, and then perhaps interview two or three certified kingdom advisors to see if one really resonates with you and your husband where you'd like, you know what, this is a great fit. He or she understands us, we understand him or her, and I think they could be really wise counsel for us moving forward. To find some CKAs to interview, just head to our website, faithfi.com.
That's faithfi.com, and click Find a CKA. All right, let's jump back to the phones here and get to hopefully a couple more questions quickly to Idaho. Cora, go right ahead.
Yes, thank you for calling my call. We have savings from Capital One, and at the time they have at least three, I think 3.75% annual percentage yield, but now it's 0.08%. My question is, can we transfer that to a different that is more higher?
Yeah, absolutely. Now, what I would do is probably, if you're looking for the bank that's just paying the highest interest rate, I would go to bankrate.com, that's bankrate.com, and you could do a search there, and they're constantly updating their list of who has the best high-yield savings accounts with FDIC insurance. Now, I know Capital One actually still today on what they call their Capital One 360 performance, so you may want to look at that just because you're already there, and there's no fees on that, no minimum. Again, it's called the Capital One 360. But if you want to do a search to see who offers the highest rate, that's where you'd go to bankrate.com.
And if you want a bank or credit union that shares your values, you could also check out joinchristiancommunity.com. Quickly to Ohio. Laura, we're going to finish with you. I have just 30 seconds. Go ahead.
Hi. I am a grandma of six grandsons, four of which are under the age of six, and I was just wondering what my best course of action would be to start savings for them that is not a 529, just in case one of them decide not to go to college. Sure, yeah. And do you want it in savings or investments? I wasn't sure what was the best course of action. I mean, I think as you're just getting started, savings would be fine, and I'd do the same thing I just told Cora. Go to bankrate.com, find who has the best high-yield savings. It's going to be an online bank with no fees or minimums.
Open one for each child in your name, but earmarked for them, and then just set up an automatic transfer into that account. I think that's the best way to get started. God bless you. Just before we go, I want to remind you, send in your donation of any amount, and we'll send you the book Leverage Using Temporal Wealth for Eternal Gain. Send us your donation today. Simply go to faithfi.com. Thanks for joining us today. I'll look forward to talking with you again next time on Faith and Finance. Faith and Finance is provided by Faith Buy and listeners like you.
