This faith and finance podcast is underwritten in part by Christian Healthcare Ministries. Are you finding it increasingly challenging to find affordable healthcare? Christian Healthcare Ministries is a budget-friendly, biblical, and compassionate healthcare cost-sharing alternative that aligns with your Christian values. And it's available in all 50 states and around the world.
Learn more at chministries.org slash faithbuy. If you think there's only one way to pay for healthcare, maybe it's time to think outside the box of health insurance. Hi, I'm Rob West. Health insurance, of course, is a great thing to have, but isn't necessarily the best way to pay for your healthcare costs. Lauren Gydeck joins us today to talk about medical cost sharing and how it just might be a better way to go. 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 decisions.
Well, I've said this before, but it certainly bears repeating. If you want to know about an innovative way to cover healthcare expenses, you never want to miss it when Lauren Gydeck is here. Lauren is the vice president of communications and radio at Christian Healthcare Ministries, an underwriter of this program. And Lauren, it's always a pleasure to have you with us.
Yes, thank you so much for having me back. Lauren, you hear from many folks who are looking for something different from what traditional health insurance typically provides. What exactly are they looking for?
Sure. Well, the things we hear the most is people are looking for flexibility and freedom to choose their healthcare providers. They want to go get treatment with the ones that they know and trust. We also hear that people want a solution for their healthcare that really aligns with their Christian values. And that can be difficult to find in today's world. And then, of course, we also hear, you know, folks who are looking for that all-important lower cost.
Yeah, no question about that. And I'm thrilled that CHM meets all of those needs, the freedom and flexibility to choose your providers, faith-aligned solutions, as well as the lower cost. Let's talk about the providers for a moment.
Why aren't CHM members limited to a certain network? Yes, it's our philosophy that, you know, people should have a choice, you know, where they want to go to seek treatment. And if you think about it, a lot of the time, you might be in an emergency situation.
And, you know, the last thing you want to have to deal with is trying to figure out if the doctor or if you're on vacation, if the hospital in your area is in your network. And we do actually come alongside our members and help them. If they're going to have a surgical procedure, we can help them select a provider. And that does lead to significant cost savings for both CHM and the member. But at the end of the day, it's always their choice where to get their treatment.
That's helpful. How does medical cost sharing, Lauren, allow members then to make more of their healthcare decisions? Well, the decision is made by the doctor and the patient. So there's no pre-approvals like what you might see with an insurance company. You know, as long as the treatment falls within the CHM guidelines, then it's eligible for sharing through CHM.
Okay. And how is a medical cost sharing organization like Christian Healthcare Ministries able to meet the needs of its members for what is typically far less than traditional health insurance? Yeah, I'd say there's a couple of different things. So it's the way our patients act and also what our staff does kind of behind the scenes. So our members can ask for and receive self-pay discounts, which greatly lowers the cost of medical care because CHM is not an insurance company. We're a nonprofit ministry. And then also our staff is working to build relationships with providers. And, you know, because we have a long history of over 40 years and a lot of members at CHM, we're able to build those relationships and make arrangements with providers kind of on the back end of things.
Yeah. How important is it, Lauren, that CHM is wholly a Christian organization with staff and members all sharing one another's burdens? We like to say at CHM that there are no sacred cows except for one. And that is we are a ministry first and foremost. And that's reflected in our mission statement. You know, our mission is to glorify God, to show Christian love and to experience God's presence as Christians share each other's medical bills.
So that's the main thing is our biblical foundation. Well, that's so helpful. And Lauren, we always appreciate your insights. Thanks for stopping by. Thank you so much.
Have a good one. Folks, there is no question that CHM is an innovative way for believers to pay for their medical bills. And if you want to learn more about medical cost sharing, just go to CHMinistries.org slash Faithfi. That's CHMinistries.org slash Faithfi.
All right. Your calls are next. The number, 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West and this is Faith and Finance.
We'll be right back. 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. Paying too much for health insurance? Frustrated by high deductibles and increasing premiums?
There's a better way. Christian Healthcare Ministries. CHM is a Christian community delivering a faith-based solution to the high costs of healthcare.
Take control over your healthcare costs with a program from CHM that could save you up to 40%. Learn more and enroll today at CHMinistries.org slash Faithfi. That's CHMinistries.org slash Faithfi. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today. The number, 800-525-7000.
Again, that's 800-525-7000. We'd love to hear from you today and tackle whatever is on your mind financially. In fact, let's do that right now.
We'll head to Chicago and welcome Bernie to the broadcast. Go right ahead. Thanks. I love your show. Your advice has been always right on and I'm calling back again for some more. Well, great.
Happy to help. My question is, I have a two-flat apartment building that's worth 700,000 that we were offered and we're looking at another apartment building in another area for 625,000. I wanted to know what it's going to cost me if I sell mine for seven and I buy that one for 625,000. What do I need to pay other than real estate or tax or hidden things? I've never sold a building before, so I don't know what to expect.
Yeah, that's a good question. When we're talking about the fees for the sale outside of the real estate commission, which can run five to six percent, we're looking at it could be anywhere between two and five percent additionally. It could go up from there in terms of the total fees. What we're talking about there beyond the real estate commission would be, we're talking about transfer taxes, escrow fees. You would have potentially recording fees.
You certainly might have capital gains taxes. You're going to have to factor in. Those would be the typical fees. And then on the sale, it would be very similar. You're going to look at outside of real estate commissions for a buyer, again, between two and five percent. And that's going to include a loan origination fee, if you have one. Let me ask though, would you be borrowing or would you buy with cash? Well, we were trying to, we talked about a contingency, like they're going to sell ours and then we were going to buy that one. Yeah, but would you have enough equity coming out where you'd be able to buy with cash or are you getting a loan on the new one? Well, if we get seven for the one we have, the one we're buying is only $625,000. So I was hoping that we'd have something left over. That's why I was calling, because I'm not sure what we'll end up with if we sell ours for $700,000 and we buy that one for $625,000.
We're just wondering what would be left there. Right. And I guess I was just wondering, is there a current note on the existing property and therefore would you need to get a new note? No, no, it's paid in full. Okay, great.
Yeah. So you should have enough left. And I think, you know, you're going to have to look at, because it's a commercial property, you know, I think that's where the real estate professional could be really helpful. Because yes, you're going to have to pay them and, you know, that can run four to 8%, you know, when it comes to commercial property, but they can help you evaluate what the costs are going to be, you know, typically an appraisal fee for a commercial property could run you two to 10,000, you may have an environmental assessment fee that could run you, you know, probably two to 5000, you're gonna have the property inspection, you'll have the title insurance, the legal fees, you know, escrow fees, recording fees, transfer taxes. So, you know, it adds up and then you may or may not have any kind of zoning and permitting fees as well.
So I would say, again, if you just kind of factor in, you know, that two to 5% for the transaction, not counting the real estate commissions, that would at least give you a ballpark on what you might be able to net out of this so that you could sell one and buy the other but don't forget the the capital gains unless you can roll it in through a 1031 exchange, which you certainly should consider because it sounds like you're rolling it into a similar type of property. So yeah, it was left to my brother and I, from my mom and my aunt. So we kind of like inherited it when they passed away.
And that was like 15 years ago. So we're talking about the capital gains that would be from that point on or? Yeah, so when you inherited it, you and your brother, that cost basis was reset, in all likelihood to the market value as of the date of death.
But it's undoubtedly had some appreciation in the last 15 years. But a 1031 exchange would allow you to roll that capital gain as long as you meet the requirements of identifying it within 45 days and closing on the next similar property within 180 days, then you could kind of kick that can down the road and at least you wouldn't have to think about the capital gain. So at that point, you'd be looking at the real estate commission.
And then again, somewhere between two and 5% when you bundle all the rest of those fees together. Oh, I see. Yeah, thank you very much. I appreciate your help. All right, Bernie, thanks for your call, sir.
God bless you. Let's tackle an email. This comes to us from Steven, and he writes, our son is struggling to pay the bills for his business. And he's taken out several payday loans to make ends meet. He needs to connect with someone who can give him some business financial guidance or possibly look into debt consolidation.
Do you have any suggestions? And I would say, yes, we absolutely need to get him to break that cycle of that payday loan borrowing. I would say if he has credit card debt, a great place to start would be with Christian credit counselors. Our friends there at CCC have worked with hundreds, if not thousands of our listeners, they could get him on a spending plan, which is going to be key to breaking this cycle of the payday loan borrowing.
We need to get him moving toward paying this debt off once and for all. Then they can do that through reduced interest rates and a level monthly payment. You know, these payday loans, while often marketed as a quick solution for an immediate financial need, have major problems, starting with the interest rates. I mean, understand that a payday loan typically carries with it an annual percentage rate if you run it out over a year, often exceeding 400%.
I mean, these are just atrocious. You've got that on top of a cycle of debt. So the structure of the payday loans usually leads to a cycle where borrowers can't afford to pay off the loan without taking another. And this means you pay far more in fees than the original amount borrowed on top of this astronomical interest rate. So you end up getting trapped in debt, put that on top of predatory lending practices. So many of these payday loan lenders operate with practices that are considered predatory. They're targeting individuals who are in a desperate financial situation. Often this includes, you know, not properly assessing their ability to repay. It could lead to a loan that borrowers can't realistically pay back. It has major impact on their credit. It gets them into overdraft and other bank fees. You've got that on top of the fact that there's significant emotional and psychological stress here. And then there's just the community impact. You know, on a broader scale, the prevalence of payday loan outlets in lower income neighborhoods really often exacerbates the poverty as these communities become disproportionately reliant on these high cost credit options, draining money that could be used for community development or personal savings.
So it's really just the scourge, I think, of many of these communities where they exist. I would stay far from them and let's look for healthy ways to lean into financial challenges. Get assistance, perhaps with the body of Christ, somebody who can come alongside you to provide some financial assistance using an organization like Christian Credit Counselors to actually put you on a plan to pay the debt off once and for all, not just get you trapped in a cycle of debt, is obviously key.
So Steven, I know that's a long answer to a short question, but hopefully that helps you and gives you some further incentive to get your son out of this cycle once and for all. Thanks for writing to us. By the way, if you have a question you'd like to send along in addition to calling, just send that to askrob at faithfi.com. We're going to take a quick break, folks, back with more after this. Looks like we have two lines open, 800-525-7000, encouraging you, taking you back to God's word and helping you make financial decisions in light of biblical wisdom. That's what we do on this program each day. I'm Rob West. Stick around.
A lot more to come just around the corner. Have you ever wondered where your money goes when you deposit it in a bank? Christian Community Credit Union believes in helping advance God's kingdom through everyday financial transactions. For over 67 years, they have provided values-aligned banking solutions to thousands of Christians and ministries. Consider Christian Community Credit Union as your banking institution by visiting joinchristiancommunity.com. Membership eligibility required. Each account is insured up to $250,000.
This institution is not federally insured. Faith and Finance is grateful for support from Sound Mind Investing. For more than 30 years, they've offered financial wisdom for living well.
SMI provides step-by-step guidance for do-it-yourself investors, from those just getting started to those getting ready for retirement. More information, including a short video webinar on profit and peace of mind, no matter what's happening in the market, is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Welcome back to Faith and Finance. Here in our final segment today, we're going to get to as many calls as we can. We've had some great questions to ask. I so appreciate you inviting us into your stories each day and allowing us to take part in what God's doing in your financial life. As you can tell, we love doing it to the team here, everybody here at FaithFi, and the team that makes this radio broadcast happen every day. We're just so thankful for the chance you give us to be a part of what God's doing, and we want to be an encouragement to you, point you back to Scripture, and hopefully help you be that wise and faithful steward that you want to be. So let's do that right now. We're going to head to Ohio and welcome Holly to the broadcast. Go ahead.
Hi, how are you? I love your program. Thank you. I just wanted to see what I needed to do.
This is all new for me. My husband passed. I wanted, I'm selling a home, and I would like to know, you know, where to start with everything. I know I need an emergency fund. I know I want to help the children.
I want to put money into another home that I'm going into, that type of thing. Okay. Yeah, Holly, do you have somebody who's walking alongside you in this process? Are you kind of doing all this yourself, or do you have some wise counsel?
I don't. Okay. Do you, I mean, in just in terms of kind of the basics, are you in a place where you've got plenty of income to cover your expenses, and you have a surplus, or are you, do you have some questions just about where, you know, you're gonna, what you're gonna use to pay the bills, and whether you have enough?
Where do you find yourself? I'm okay right now. I do have, you know, income to pay for bills. Okay. Per month from survivorship. Okay.
After that, after that, this is all this for me. Yeah, no, I get that. So what are your income sources right now? Just the survivorship. Okay.
So Social Security survivor benefits? Correct. Okay.
So that will continue indefinitely. So what is your age right now? I've just turned 60. Okay. All right.
So are you working or not? No. Okay. Just helping taking care of my mom. Okay. All right.
Very good. Well, you know, here's what I'd love to do. I'd love to get you connected with one of our certified Christian financial counselors, just as to be a blessing to you, we'd love to cover the cost of that. And just let you meet with somebody over a series of meetings, maybe every couple of weeks for a few months, just to help you get your spending plan in place, get a list of assets and liabilities, you know, get a system to manage the flow of money coming in and out, you know, just so you have some more peace of mind about where you're going from here. I mean, in terms of, you know, how to prioritize, I think you mentioned the emergency fund, that's important. When you say you're selling a home, and what to do with the proceeds, tell me where you're headed next in terms of your living situation, going to another home that I partly own, Ohio, and then I want to put money into that home as well because it needs it. And just see if I can, you know, give to someone to help.
Sure. What do you expect in the way of proceeds from this home you're selling? $160,000. $160,000.
And what do you think you would need to put into the one you're moving into? At least between $30,000 and $40,000. $30,000 and $50,000.
All right. Let's say it's $50,000. So now we've got $110,000 left. And what are you spending on a monthly basis, roughly? I would say about $1,500.
Okay. So let's say with everything, gifts for the kids at Christmas and friends and eating out, and you might take a trip every now and then. I mean, let's say it's $2,500 a month. I mean, you'd want at least $15,000 if not a full year would be $30,000. I think somewhere between $15,000 and $30,000 just in liquid savings would be good.
So if we have $110,000 left after you put $50,000 into this new property, then that pulls us down to let's say $80,000 or $90,000. And then what would you be, you said, beyond this home you're moving into that needs improvements, where are you headed after that? I'm not sure. That's probably where it would be greatly appreciated. Yeah. Okay.
Yeah. And so I think that's going to come down to your budget. And so I think that's where somebody could help you just kind of work through putting a spending plan together so that we're not guessing. And I'm not saying you don't know what your expenses are. You probably have a great handle on it. But looking at, okay, if you were to buy something else, how much would you have available from this new property you're moving into?
If that were to be sold, although you said it's shared ownership, so you may not be able to. And then what could you afford to buy after that? I think the key for you right now is probably not to make a lot of big moves. Doing a lot of giving, unless the Lord leads you that way, I'd probably hang on to what you have, get it into a safe place, like a high yield savings account until it becomes clear from the Lord where you're headed and what you can afford. Starting with the big ticket items, which is, you know, most significantly, the big three are housing, transportation and food.
I mean, that's where typically we spend most of our money in terms of the month to month. And so I think getting that budget in place, getting a long term plan and comparing that to the resources you have available is probably pretty important as a next step. So let's do this. I'm going to do two things.
One is hold the line. We're going to get your information. We're going to send you a great book called Wise Women Managing Money that a good friend of ours wrote when her husband passed away. I think it'll be an encouragement to you. Second, we're going to get a certified Christian financial counselor in touch with you to help you work up that budget and specifically address what do I do with the money after the home sale?
And how do I think about a long term situation for housing and what I can spend if I were to buy something else or rent, and then all the rest of the budget will get that in place at the same time and they can kind of walk with you and making those decisions. Does that sound good? Yes, I really appreciate it. Hey, absolutely happy to do it. I'm so sorry to hear of your husband's passing, but hopefully this will be a blessing to you, Holly.
And we're going to cover all the costs of that so you won't have any expenses related to it. Hang on the line. We'll get your information quickly to Chicago. Hi, May. Thanks for holding. Go ahead.
Thank you for having me. I've been told that there is a way to get a free credit report. I understand the government requires it.
The government does provide a website that allows you to get that free report. Yes. Are you comfortable using the Internet? No, but my kids are. Okay. Yeah, that'd be great. So next time you have a date with the kids and they come over to the house, tell them that you've got a project for them. My mom usually has at least a couple.
Whenever I come to visit, I'm always happy to do them. You'll want to go to write this down. Three words, annualcreditreport.com, annualcreditreport.com, and they will be able to access May all three credit bureau reports for you on that website free of charge. And they can get them from and you don't need to write this down, but TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax are the three. They can get all three and then you can look through them. And what you want to look for is anything you don't recognize, and they can help you do that. But that's where you want to send them, annualcreditreport.com, no cost. Okay?
Okay. I heard that you're supposed to request one at a time, every three, every four months? You could certainly do that. I believe they give them more frequently now, but yeah, I think if you did that, if you got one of them every three months, I think that would be great. Maybe you start by getting all three and then you settle into the one every three months after this, just so you can find out if there's anything there. And then you kind of do a maintenance mode after that.
But I think that would be a good plan. Hey, Lord bless you, May. Thanks for calling. Folks, thanks for being along with us today. We'll see you tomorrow. Have a great rest of your day. Bye-bye. Faith and Finance is provided by Faith Buy and listeners like you.
