Is Your Bank Unbiblical, Pt. 2 With Aaron Caid

Have you heard about the change happening across the U.S.? Learn more at JoinChristianCommunity.com. That's JoinChristianCommunity.com. Membership eligibility required. Each account is insured up to $250,000.

This institution is not federally insured. It's 2023. Do you know what your bank is doing these days? A lot of people don't. Hi, I'm Rob West. Many of the nation's big banks are supporting abortion and other ungodly practices, and many Christians are saying they've had enough. Today, part two of our discussion with Aaron Cade about a very revealing survey on the topic. 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, we're pleased to have Aaron Cade back with us. He's the chief marketing officer at Christian Community Credit Union, an underwriter of this program. And Aaron, we're always delighted when you visit. Thank you, Rob. It's great to be with you and your listeners. Now, as I said, this is part two of our discussion, but I think perhaps you should give us a brief recap of what your survey revealed and how folks feel about banks that don't share their values.

Yeah, sure, I'll do that, Rob. We recently surveyed over 1300 Christians across the country, and what we learned was illuminating. But it in fact supports what we've been hearing anecdotally for more than a year from new members, and that is Christians are just fed up with their secular banks and how they use their money. Over 30% have considered switching banks in the last 12 months.

And among the top three reasons was misalignment with their Christian values. 60% said that they care deeply about managing their finances biblically. And over 50% said it's more important now, more than ever, that their bank aligns with and supports their Christian values.

Yeah, that's really good. So what would you encourage Christians, Aaron, to consider when they're thinking about where they bank? I think you can ask yourself, how does my bank use the money I put on deposit with them? Is it used to maximize profits for shareholders or to help build churches? Does my bank help advance the gospel or try to silence it? What does my bank do with the profits? Do they give to immoral causes or to ministries that help spread the gospel, combat human trafficking, and protect vulnerable children? If you find that the answers to any of those questions to be in conflict with your faith, there is a Christian alternative, and that's Christian Community Credit Union.

Yeah, that's really exciting. All right, now, I know a lot of folks are saying, but really, Aaron, switch banks? It just feels like so much effort.

So what would you tell that person? I would say it just comes down to this. It's a small time investment. Think of switching like adopting a new spiritual practice. Just as you might spend time journaling after your daily devotional or spend time establishing a new spiritual habit, take a few minutes to align your finances with your faith and make the switch to Christian Community Credit Union.

Yeah, and the great thing is that you actually have that option today, whereas maybe you'd never considered this in the past. So let's do some compare and contrast here. Will you just break down the primary difference between Christian Community Credit Union and the big banks?

Sure. At Christian Community Credit Union, you get the quality financial products you expect and the robust digital tools you need to manage them anywhere you are across the country. At CCCU, you'll get great rates and low fees, sure, but you also get the satisfaction knowing that your money is put to work expanding God's kingdom. It's helping build new churches. It's helping ministries expand and grow. And it's also supporting Christian charities that are at the hands and feet of Jesus across the globe. At CCCU, we view financial management through the lens of Scripture. We seek to honor God with every transaction. Scripture is our primary authority, and that's something the big secular banks just can't say.

That's great. You know, there's more competition than ever, especially in light of these higher interest rates. So what are some of the compelling offerings you all have at CCCU today? Well, we recently launched the Harvest High Yield Checking Account, and it pays 4% APY on the first $5,000 in deposits. So you can really make your money go a lot further, putting it with Christian Community Credit Union. We also have a welcome CD that pays 5% APY, and you can invest up to $250,000 in that. And it's fully insured, $250,000 per account.

So, for example, if you were a ministry with a million dollars in savings that you wanted to hold onto for a rainy day, you could break that up into four accounts, and all $1 million would be fully insured. And then we also have a cash rewards card, which lets you earn 1.5% cash back and also gives to Christian charities with every swipe. I love it.

Well, folks, there's an option out there if you want to align your values with your banking partner. Aaron, always great to have you stop by, my friend. Thank you, Rob.

It was great to be with you. If you want to get more information, head to JoinChristianCommunity.com. That's JoinChristianCommunity.com. All right, your calls are next. The number, 800-525-7000. Those lines are open 24-7, 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West, and this is Faith and Finance.

We'll be right back. membership eligibility required. Each account is insured up to $250,000.

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Grow in wisdom and knowledge by connecting with a community of thousands of Christians driving to be good and faithful stewards at FaithFi.com or by downloading the FaithFi app. Welcome back to Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West.

To Chicago we go, hi, Kathy, go right ahead. Hi, thank you, Rob. I have a question about retirement investments and fees. I have about $370,000 that I just moved from Tia and Fidelity to Edward Jones. And tomorrow I have a meeting with the new financial advisor to set up my portfolio. I requested information about fees, and I've been trying to understand what was provided to me. It appears to me like on the one hand, there's an IRA brokerage account option where the financial advisor will receive commissions. And then on the other hand, there's what might be the only type of account, but the fees don't look small. I wonder if you have any thoughts on these different types of things and how I could go about better understanding which is best for me. Sure.

Yeah, I'd be happy to. I generally like with this size portfolio and actively managed approach, and that would typically be an annual fee, which is a percentage based on the assets under management. And at $370,000 in investable assets, which is not an insignificant amount, that's a substantial portfolio, I would expect somewhere between one and one and a half percent a year, probably one and a quarter percent a year would be average. And for that $375,000, that'd be about $4,600 a year, which is a lot of money.

And yet that would be normal and customary. And for that, the advisor would take discretion, which basically means he or she would develop the investment strategy as they spend a lot of time with you doing discovery, getting to know you and your goals and objectives, what your income needs are in retirement from this portfolio, how this relates to other assets that you have, what your risk tolerance is, and then he or she would deploy that portfolio and then actively manage it, not necessarily making day training or anything like that, but making changes as appropriate over time. And it would be under their responsibility. And for that, you'd pay an ongoing percentage of the assets under management. I think that's a better approach than them selling you a product that earns a commission, and then they have to buy another investment product in order to generate another commission. I think the active management assets under management percentage is a better model. Does it say if they were to do that fee-only approach that you described what that management fee would be? If I'm recalling, it's one and a half percent, and then there are a few other fees as well.

Okay. And that would be typical, although they should be very small. I mean, it might be a transaction fee every time something's purchased. If they're buying mutual funds, there may be a fee inside of that, but it shouldn't amount to a whole lot. Now, how did you find this advisor? Is this somebody that's personally known to you?

I met her in a Bible study at church. I don't know her super well, but I made a very impulsive move and then started worrying about fees. You know, my money's been slipping for years with Tia and Fidelity, and I'm still working, so I have an account.

I'm still saving for retirement, but in a completely different account in power. So I just moved to the two. I'd always thought, well, I need to combine these. I need to put them together. I thought it might be nice to have somebody to meet with and talk to, you know, about it.

And so, you know, I did it. And then after the fact, I started worrying about fees. Yeah, I wouldn't be terribly concerned about it. I mean, I think what I'm hearing from you is perfectly in line with industry norms, so it's not like she's charging you more than you would expect. I think the biggest thing is, do you find a good rapport with this person as you, you know, spend time with her? Is she really spending time getting to know you and kind of what your needs and desires and goals are?

Is there ample discovery there? How is she going to communicate with you? And does that fit with what you're comfortable with in terms of the frequency and the mode of communication? How do you fit among her other clients? Are you on kind of the smaller end of the range of the investment portfolios she manages? Is she going to hand this off to another advisor in the office? Or are you going to be one of her core clients?

I mean, I would want to explore all of these kinds of things and make sure you feel like you have a really good comfort level. I also don't think it would be inappropriate for you to interview one or two other advisors and find the one that you feel like is the best fit. And if you wanted to entertain some other advisors, I would reach out to some certified kingdom advisors there in Chicago.

There's plenty of them and you could do that search on our website at faithfi.com. But to the point about the fees, I would do the fee only option if it were me. And I think what you're describing is perfectly in line with industry norms. Okay. Thank you so much.

I appreciate your insight. Absolutely, Kathy. Thanks for your call.

Let us know if you have any questions and we can help you after you have that meeting. Let's head to Indianapolis. Hey, Matthew, go right ahead.

Hey, Rob. I recently got married and my wife has a loan on her car. And I know you typically say the cheapest car is the one you have currently.

But I was just trying to maybe throw it by you and ask what your opinion was, maybe trying to sell it. It's worth more than what she owes on it. And so I was thinking maybe if we could get a cheaper car. Yeah. It's a 2017 Honda Fit.

We owe, I believe, $9,000 and it's worth probably about $15,000 or $14,000. So I was thinking if we could get the $5,000 and buy a $5,000 car. Yeah.

And who would be driving this car? She would. This is hers. Okay. Yeah.

And do you all have kids or is it just the two of you? No. Not yet. All right. And is she working or is she at home? At the moment she's at home, yeah. Okay.

Yeah. I mean, the only thing I would say is, sure, if you're looking to downsize, especially if this is kind of outside of what works with your budget, I think it's worth considering. The challenge is a $5,000 automobile is going to be pretty high mileage and it may require some repairs. If this is your wife's car and she's out and about and all of a sudden she's breaking down on the side of the road.

I mean, it's not like you're saying, Rob, we've got a $60,000 automobile with a $40,000 note on it. And so I think you would just need to really spend some time before you do this doing some research on what might you replace it with and what is the age and mileage on that car that you'd be able to get with that budget and are you comfortable with that just in terms of reliability. Not only that, but just the ongoing maintenance, especially since it would be probably a high mileage car and those would have been miles that were driven by somebody else. So you don't know how it was maintained and cared for.

Obviously, you could get a review. You could have an independent mechanic take a look at it and give you an honest assessment. But I'd just be slow, especially with used car prices still elevated right now. Obviously, you're going to benefit from that on the sale, but you're going to pay top dollar for the next car you're going into as you try to replace it. And for your wife to be the one driving that high mileage older car that's less reliable, I would just have some concerns about that in terms of her getting stuck somewhere. So I guess my answer to you was let's start with the budget, figure out what you guys can afford, and then secondly, before you sell this thing, do a lot of research and make sure you're comfortable with it.

Otherwise, I might stick with what you got. Thanks for your call. We'll be right back. 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, your host. Here in our final segment, we have room for maybe one more question, 800-525-7000.

Back to the phones we go to Maywood, Illinois. Ricardo, go right ahead. Hello. How are you doing, Chris? Good. This is Rob West. How can I help you?

Oh, Rob West. I'm sorry. That's okay.

I've talked to you a few times in the last couple of years. My wife and I, I'm 75, she's 72, and I'm in investment real estate, and I have a pretty substantial commission coming. It may take a while to get it, but it's going to be six, seven figures at any rate. I have a little over half a million dollars in equity in my two buildings that I own. I have no debt on them.

And I'm wondering about selling them, because one of them I inherited. I won't have to pay any tax on that one, but putting most of it on the other money I got coming into a new day. I know I've heard you say many times you're not too favorable for annuities, but I know that right now my bank, Huntington, they're giving like five and a quarter percent on the annuity they have, and that's pretty decent. It's not great, but there's no risk.

Yes. And I thought about taking the buildings and putting them in my sister's name, because I don't know if we'll ever have to go into a nursing home or assisted living or independent living situation, but I do know that if you have over $4,800 in assets, you won't qualify. The law is five years now. If I were to do this today, they would prorate it if it was two years, three years, whatever, but after five years, and then it just totally relies on my Medicare and then Medicaid, they won't touch any of my assets that I moved.

So I don't know exactly what to do. Well, to your point, there are assets that are non-countable or exempt from Medicaid, and that would include your personal belongings, household furnishings, an automobile, irrevocable burial trusts, your primary income, and then IRAs and 401Ks are exempt if they're in a payout status. I'm not a fan of what you're talking about. I think you're attempting to kind of find a loophole here, and I realize there's only a five-year look back on the rules and regs, but at the same time, these really are not assets you're actually giving away. You're just kind of transferring them to get around that. What I would prefer to see you do, Ricardo, in this situation is take out a long-term care insurance policy so that if you needed assistance, you needed long-term care, and 70% of Americans 55 and older will for some period of time, usually on average a couple of years, you would have a policy that would kick in if you weren't able to do a certain number of those activities of daily living and pay out a daily benefit, and you could have an inflation rider on that and so forth. It sounds like you have the assets to be able to pay for a policy like that, and that way you could keep everything in your name but have this to kick in and cover those expenses in this season of life if you need them.

Does that make sense? Yeah, it does, and we've investigated the long-term care insurance. It's not cheap. It's going to cost us about, right now, per month. It's a little over $500, so close to $600 each per month. That's what it would cost us. Yeah, and that's just because you're up in age, and so I get that.

It's obviously more expensive. Typically, you buy it between ages 55 and 65, and at 55 you might spend $1,500 a year as a 55-year-old man and $2,000 a year as a 55-year-old woman. In this case, you're 75 years old. It's just me and my own convictions, and that's all I can share with you. Ultimately, you need to pray through this and make your own decision.

I wouldn't be looking to move assets purely for the purpose of having them to be excluded or not counted toward Medicaid eligibility, even if you're able to get beyond that five-year look back. I just wouldn't feel comfortable with that. I understand. I'm a Christian, and I've talked to my pastor about it. He said, yeah, you're right. The Lord said, render unto what is Caesar, and what is God is God.

So I get it. Well, the good news is the Lord has blessed you, Ricardo. It sounds like you're sitting on quite a bit of assets. I think you've obviously got this massive commission check coming on probably a commercial real estate sale that you were involved in. So the Lord has blessed you, and I think at this point it's just a matter of being a good steward of what you have, managing it wisely, reducing debt, living within your means, saving appropriately for the future, and trusting the Lord for the rest, because ultimately he's our provider, no one else.

And he can be trusted. Right. If I take this money and park about $400,000 or $500,000 in an annuity, that gives me $25,000, $40,000, $30,000 a year. I could definitely, I don't spend that much in a year, but that would help me if I would have to go into a home, I guess.

It would, absolutely. And if that gives you the peace of mind to know that that's guaranteed, you certainly could do that. I guess my only caveat to that would just be to say if you're willing to entrust it to an advisor that you have a good fit with who can generate the same kind of income for you, but allow you to maintain the principal so you could get to the money if you needed it for a major medical expense out of the lump sum principle. If you outlive it, it doesn't go away like it would with the insurance product.

You could actually leave the principal as an inheritance or give it to a ministry or charity. That would be the only thing to consider. But I do understand what you're saying about you would be taking some risk. And you like the idea of knowing that you're transferring that risk to an insurance company in exchange for a very reasonable and appropriate rate of return.

And I can't fault you for that. The downside is just you lose access to the money without penalties and surrender charges, and ultimately you don't have the same asset to pass on. So I would just pray through it. Ultimately, you're the steward, Ricardo, so it's between you and the Lord.

And if you'd feel most comfortable having an annuity that would provide a guaranteed income stream for the rest of your life that would cover these costs, then I'd say go for it. Otherwise, you may want to connect with an advisor on our website, faithfi.com. God bless you, my friend. Thanks for calling today.

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