Don’t Make a Home Shopping Flub

From All Your Fears. I'm Steve Moore. Don't make a home shopping flub. That's next on MoneyWise Live. All right, Rob.

Computers and smartphones have really become lethal weapons for the budget, haven't they? Yes, I'm still trying to get over the fact that you've said both jammies and flub here in the beginning of this show, and we're not even two minutes in yet. It's going to be a good day, I'm thinking.

I'm out of my jammies. That's a plus. That's a plus. It's a plus.

You're right, though. Computers and smartphones have become lethal weapons for the budget, and it's really because they're an actual computer with a telephone app. You know, you can do just about anything these days, and that includes getting you into trouble by overspending. It's just too easy, Steve, to see something you like, push a button, and the next day there it is on your doorstep. So it's a great temptation. It sure is. Hey, did you see a telephone app just a moment ago?

Did you see a telephone app? Okay, I just wanted to be sure about that. Okay, that's down the road a bit. All right. Well, this is scary, but how did we get here anyway? Well, obviously, technology has made it easy, but I think boredom is another factor. If you don't get out of the house and do active things, you look for passive ways to occupy yourself, and usually that means going online.

Listen to this. Americans have racked up $1.1 trillion in credit card debt, and a recent survey showed that we're spending nearly $150 a week more than we've budgeted. Almost half of those responding said that online shopping was a major budget buster, hence today's program. So more time online, in many cases, means more time shopping online, and this is especially true if you were already an impulsive shopper. Well, credit cards have always been a problem for impulsive shoppers. We know that, but the internet just makes it more of a temptation, right?

Oh, I would say that for sure, Steve. In the same way that using credit cards rather than cash can make you spend more at the grocery store, the mall shopping online has made it so much easier to overspend. Everything is just one click away, and in many cases, the site already has your payment information, making it even easier. You know, we're living in a world where money has become invisible in so many cases. The ease at which we can now spend it online has become a real challenge.

Wow. You know, I never thought of it that way, but yes, you're right. Money has become almost invisible. The bills, however, have not, but the money itself, that's kind of invisible. All right, so what do we do about it?

Well, the good news is there are actually several things you can do about it, and we want to give a hat tip or to our inestimable engineer and occasional co-host, Rich Rozell, for suggesting them. First is establishing a layer of accountability to your online shopping, and of course, this is much easier if you're married. Have shared accounts so you and your spouse, or perhaps another family member, can see what each other is buying. Now, wait a minute, we've spent many years recommending people not have shared accounts, I mean, at least in some areas, but you're saying in this case, it's accountability, huh? Oh, absolutely, and I would absolutely recommend shared accounts for husband and wife.

Definitely have them. All right, okay, all right. So having someone look over your shoulder can be a good thing. What's next? Well, this one is an extension of the first. Make it a house rule that when you want to buy something online, the other person, your accountability partner, has to click the purchase button. That will often lead to a discussion about whether the purchase is really necessary or you just want something because you're bored. Well, let's hope that discussion itself doesn't become too spirited. This might be also a good time to pray together about the purchase, as Howard Dayton often says, it's impossible to argue with someone when you're praying together. So, all right, good information. What's another way to curb some overspending online?

Yeah, this is an oldie but goodie. Obviously, you don't want to buy things you haven't planned for in your budget, but a powerful tool to avoid these impulse purchases is what we call the 30-day rule. Don't buy anything online until it's been in your want list for at least a month.

And I would say the other one is perhaps don't fall for the one time only offers. That great price that may never come around again has probably already come around somewhere else, maybe even several times. If you and God wants you to have it, then it'll be at the right price at the right time.

All right, great information. Taking your calls at 800-525-7000. Your family and your money are two very important subjects. That's why in this month's Money Wise e-magazine, we're giving your family tips and tools to grow closer to God, closer together, and closer to true financial freedom.

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Profit and peace of mind no matter what's happening in the market at soundmindinvesting.org. All that glitters isn't gold. Scams are nothing new. In days gone by, con men would cover a brass ring with a thin layer of gold. He'd then go into a crowd, drop it where it might be seen, and when someone saw it and went to pick it up, the con artist would reach for it too.

I saw it first. He'd then suggest, We could split the ring between us unless you want to keep it just by my arm. It seemed like great value for a gold ring, but the ring was actually a phony, where we probably get the word phony. A lot of people today are reaching for something that will give them a sense of security, and they're not necessarily bad things. But when they seem to have everything, they can actually feel a bit taken because all that glitters isn't gold. Jesus said he came so that you could have life the way God intended.

Total forgiveness, lasting peace, satisfaction, and life forever in heaven. Find out more. Call 888-NEEDHIM. That's 888-NEEDHIM.

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That's christiancreditcounselors.org, or call 800-557-1985. Hey, great to have you along today. I'm MoneyWise Live with Rob West. I'm Steve Moore, and you're out there just getting ready to dial, but you've forgotten the number.

Well, no worries. It's 800-525-7000. We're taking your calls and comments, questions, suggestions today on anything financial. We have open lines, so this is a great time to call 800-525-7000. Just before the break, we were talking about avoiding online compulsive shopping.

Any other recommendations, Rob? And we don't want to make light of this because, you know, maybe you or I would buy, you know, a book we didn't really need or, I don't know, a pair of shoes, let's say. But there are some people that really tend to overbuy, and sometimes it really can get in the way with their budgets and with their spouses.

And the last thing we want to do is split up the family or put ourselves in a terrible position financially because we're overbuying and we can't stop it. Well, that's right, and I would even take it one step higher than that, Steve, and say as stewards managing God's money, we have a responsibility to be found faithful. Now, that doesn't mean we're not able to enjoy what God has entrusted to us. I think clearly in Scripture we are, but it's within the context of contentment, it's within the context of God's priorities, our values aligned with Scripture and the goals that come out of that, and being aware that we may have the propensity to buy things to perhaps appease ourselves, or if we're not having a good day, we may react and buy something just to make ourselves feel better. Well, those aren't the right reasons to be buying, and, you know, here's the challenge.

We were talking about this just before the break. The internet has made that, in many cases, a real temptation because you no longer have to get in the car and drive to the mall. You just pull up the browser and you can go shopping. So, yeah, we said have an accountability partner, put the 30-day rule in place, perhaps don't fall for the one-time-only quote-unquote offers. Another one would be, you know, as you really think about things, I want you to really consider whether it's a need or a want, and really just think about this idea that you may want to, instead of buying certain things, put that money in a personal benevolence fund that you can use to help somebody in need outside of your household. That would be a great way for you to say, you know what, each time I'm going to make a purchase, I just consider whether this is something I really need, and perhaps this is something that would allow me to be more generous.

So, give it some careful consideration, pray through it, and see if it doesn't change your spending habits. Yeah, so if you know your FedEx delivery man by first name, and you bake him cookies, and he comes by and tells you what's going on with the fam, or you can't get out the front door because that wall of boxes, that's, you know, all those things are just tell-tale signs. Hey, we have some big news, really big news coming up. It's been eight months in the works. Do we want to reveal it now, or should we hold off a little bit? You know, let's keep them in suspense just a little bit longer, maybe take one call and then come back to it.

What do you think? Yeah, okay, good, one call. Only if that call is from, let's set some parameters, only if that call is from Coos Bay, Oregon, let's say, just for, let's just say, and then if it is, then we'll do this, the other thing. Okay, let's say hi to Michael. Where are you calling from, sir?

Coos Bay, Oregon. Son of a gun. There you go. Hey, Mike, sorry, we're just kidding around with you here. How can we help you?

Nice to have you with us. Well, okay, I'm getting a settlement from the military. It's a little over, it's about $400,000, it's in change. My wife and I have been talking about buying a house. Well, my father and different people I've talked to told me not to buy cash. You know, I have the money to buy cash, just pay cash for it. I'll have some left over that I can put in the account, but I mean, I don't know what you guys, I mean, should I pay like half down and keep payments or something? Yeah, yeah.

Well, Michael, here's the thing. I mean, there's the financial side, and then there's the emotional, and I would even say spiritual side. And, you know, we recognize there are clear warnings in Scripture about the use of debt, but I wouldn't say by any means that having debt is a sin. I think we need to follow certain rules. We would tend to say, you know, I'm going to pay half down, but I'm going to pay half down.

So, you know, we need to follow certain rules. We would tend to say, number one, if you're married, you and your spouse should be in complete agreement before you borrow. Number two, we should only borrow if there's no other way to pay for it. Number three, we should have an absolute commitment to repay. Number four, the economic cost should be less than the economic gain that we stand to benefit from when we buy it, meaning we don't have to pay a lot of times.

So I think there are some rules that can keep us, you know, in check. And, of course, we want to make sure that it fits into our budget so that if we're going to have to provide debt service, meaning payments like a mortgage payment, you know, does that fit into your budget? And is it going to provide some strain and stress on your budget at such a point where it's going to prevent you from achieving your other God-given goals, meaning you're not going to pay for it. It's going to prevent you from saving for other short and longer term goals.

So I think you've got to put all that into the equation. Now, one of the things that you'll hear when folks say, you don't want to pay off your house because it's a low interest rate, number one. Number two, you know, it's deductible if it's your primary residence and you're itemizing.

Number three, you can do a lot better with that money other places if you see what's happening in the stock and all of that is true. On paper, you could make a case that it makes a lot of sense for you to have a home mortgage because of the things you can do with that money. But what I think that discounts is either a real conviction either on your part or if you're married on the part of husband and wife to be debt free.

And if you have that conviction, I wouldn't dismiss that. I think the other thing that that financial equation discounts is just the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you own your home and being completely unencumbered and being able to just go wherever the Lord leads without having this hanging over you and being able to sleep at night. Steven and I have been doing this for a long time and I will tell you, we've never had anybody call that said, I paid off my house last year and I just haven't been sleeping well because I've really regretted it.

We just don't get that call. And so I think you need to really pray through it. And if you feel like you want to just pay it off, I think that's a great thing.

I wouldn't hesitate to do that. Do you follow that? What I'm saying? Right. Well, like right now, my wife and I are debt free.

We don't have it yet. Just monthly things, you know? Sure. There are advantages to I mean, I'm a disabled veteran, so I mean, there's the veteran loan, so it's a low interest loan. Yep. But like if I pay it off, I mean, I don't have to pay taxes, property tax. Okay. Here on Tuesday, I'm not, I don't have to pay property tax on my primary house because a disabled veteran, the thing they have here. That's great. It would just be, it would just be the only financial thing we'd have if I pay, just bought a house would be the insurance.

Yeah. And of course the electric and water. Well, and that just allows you to live very modestly and hopefully allows you to have a good bit of margin, which you could do some additional giving with. You could obviously save, you can invest. So I love the idea of you being debt free. Now, if you said, Rob, we don't have any problem carrying a mortgage for a portion of what it's going to take to buy this house. It's not something we feel really strongly about. We'd like to own it at some point, but we're okay taking that money and doing something else with it right now.

I wouldn't argue with that. But if you have the least bit of conviction and desire to remain debt-free like you are today, which is a really good feeling, I'd say, go for it, Michael, and don't look back. Thank you very much. All right, Michael. God bless.

Appreciate your call. You know, I think maybe part of the issue there is just because the amount of money seems to be so much, you know, with a couple of hundred thousand dollars. I mean, do I really want to plunk it all down?

It just seems a little foreign. It does, you know, and having access to that cash, being able to know that it's there if you need it and it becomes somewhat illiquid as soon as you pay it against the house, because now I either got to refinance it or I got to sell it. That takes time and money. I get it. But I think there's also something, especially someone in his situation, where he's already debt-free.

There's something about being debt-free that a lot of people are just really excited about, and I don't blame them. Yeah, me neither. Well, okay. Listen, we're going to pause here, take a break, and then we'll come back. We'll take Roger's call, Andrea's call. Stacy's been holding patiently. We'll get to all these good folks.

And we have some big news we're going to share with you right after this break. So don't hang up. If you're driving, be careful about it. You might even want to pull over.

I don't know. But stick around. This is MoneyWise Live with Rob West, 800-525-7000.

We'll be right back. Many people are experiencing financial challenges such as credit card debt, downsizing, dead-end jobs, and depleted savings. In fact, more than half of all divorces are the result of financial pressures at home. But there's hope in Your Money Counts. Biblical financial expert Howard Dayton shows that the Bible is a veritable blueprint for managing your finances, and you'll discover the profound impact it has on your relationship with God.

Your Money Counts is available when you click the Store button at MoneyWiseLive.org. Hebrews 4-12 says, For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Here's Beth Moore with a quick word. Matthew chapter 18. This is a heavy one, and it's one that is of such importance to me personally. Matthew 18, verse 7. Woe to the world because of offenses. I think the NIV says, of such things that come.

Whatever the terminology is right there, that word is scandalon in the original Greek language. Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. What Christ is saying is this, because of the way the world system was set up, offenses like what I went through, and like so many other testimonies that may differ in type, but it was just as devastating. The things that many of us have been through, the things that we read about in the newspaper, by virtue of the world system we live in, with a very, very dangerous hate-filled enemy, and principalities and powers of the air abroad and at work. In the kind of world we live in, such things will happen.

But he said, you listen carefully to me. Woe be unto the one through whom they happen. That's freeing to me. And when I began to really let that settle in me, I started praying for God's mercy over my perpetrator, because I realized that's heavy duty.

That's heavy duty. You've been listening to A Quick Word with Beth Moore. There are two ways to experience a study of Galatians. You can join Beth for the online experience releasing September 15th at BethMoore.org, or you can join us in January 2021 for the release of the printed workbook edition. Many people adopt an attitude toward marriage and finances that it'll all work out somehow, but sadly, it often doesn't. Financial woes can devastate a marriage, but there is a better way. God's Way. Money and Marriage God's Way by Howard Dayton will help you discover God's approach to growing your finances, strengthening your relationship with your mate, and cultivating Godly joy. Money and Marriage God's Way is available when you click the store button at MoneyWiseLive.org. Nice to have you joining us today. Thank you very much.

It's MoneyWise Live at 800-525-7000. Okay, Rob, let's cut to the chase here. You and a number of members of the Kingdom Advisors staff have been working on something feverishly for the last eight months. You're excited. I'm excited. Why should we be excited? Well, Steve, today is the official launch of the brand new MoneyWise app. Wow.

And here's why that's such a big deal. And we have been working on it. The team led by Chad Clark and a couple of wonderful, godly, and very talented developers since January have been working on the app.

Now, you might say, Rob, why did it take until September? Well, this is just not your average app. This is your digital envelope system connected to all of your banks and institutions using the latest in security and technology to automatically download all of your transactions, put it into your custom budget. This is the place where you can go to listen to all of our broadcast archives to stream this program on Moody Radio MoneyWise Live every day whenever you're ready to do that. Wow. There's even a brand new community section where you can go in and post questions and engage with the MoneyWise community.

You can search for a certified Kingdom Advisor. And did I mention that I think, and I'm serious about this, that it's the best digital envelope system I've ever used. Here's one of the main reasons we developed it. I've been out there using digital envelope apps for a long time, as you might imagine, and the work that I do.

I've tested them all and every one of them, although there's some great ones out there, every one of them had something that was missing, at least as far as I was concerned, to be able to track my spending plan and download my transactions and custom categories and being able to tie it back to my funding accounts, whether it's savings or checking or both. And so we said, you know what, I think we've got to build our own. And so we found world class developers to develop the spending plan app that I think rivals no other. And so I want you to go get it. I want you to check it out. I want you to engage in the community and listen to the show and use the envelope system. And there's a lot more coming.

The team has so much planned in the months and years ahead. So this is only the beginning, but it's a great start. So here's what you do, whether you're in the Google ecosystem and you go to the Google Play Store or you're in the Apple ecosystem and you go to the Apple App Store, just search for MoneyWise. You'll see it as MoneyWise biblical finance. Download the app. There's no charge. There is a pro subscription if you want to download your transactions automatically, but you can use it manually.

You can engage in the community. You can listen to the broadcast archives. There's no charge for any of that. So download it today. Go search in whatever app store you use for MoneyWise biblical finance and let us know what you think.

And you heard it right here from Rob West's own lips. This is not your average app. This is an above average app.

Far above. Is it in color? There are lots of colors.

There are lots of colors. Is it digital? Fully digital? Fully digital. Now you do need a computer though. Do you need a computer? A smartphone or a tablet? And there's even a web app coming in the next couple of weeks.

So you'll be able to pull it up in your browser. But right now, whether you use a smartphone or a tablet, an iPad, you can download it. You can start tracking your budget today.

And I'm telling you, you are going to love it. Can you buy stuff with it? You know, we were talking about purchasing stuff. There is nothing being sold inside the app.

No, you're not going to. Is this one of those, you know, I'm not right on the cutting edge of this stuff. Is this one of those dating apps, like those Christian dates? I can find a date.

If Marsha says it's okay, I could do that with this app. No, no, no, no one. It's so many levels. No.

How do people look at it today? When this program is over, how do they find it? Where do they go? You need to go to your app store. So if you're in the Google Play or the Apple App Store, and then you just type in the word money wise, you'll see it there.

Money wise, biblical finance, and you can listen. You can even turn off your radio and live stream this program right now if you wanted to. But make sure you turn it back on a little bit later. But yeah, it's all there. But I am so excited about the digital envelope system, Steve. You'll see your transactions come in. You can automatically have them filed into your giving categories and your tithe and your eating out and your groceries.

I mean, it goes right in there. It brings the logos of the vendors that you're spending at. You can even have savings accounts if you're saving for a car or you're saving for a child's education. You want to link your savings account. You tell the app that it's a funding account.

You can put it into an envelope and see how much you've saved. It's all there and it's incredible. We're running out of time here. Okay. All right.

We can move on, but I'm excited. My goodness. Okay. Remember from right from Rob West who says it is not your average app.

Orlando, Florida. Hello, Roger. Thanks for holding on. And what's your question, sir?

Thank you. I'm 66, just turned 66. I've been an IT contract professional all my life. So income has been up and down, nothing consistent.

And COVID basically ate my field. I do not see being able to go back to work between, I'd like, I would have liked to work until 70 and, you know, make the max on my social, but I do not honestly being able to go back. So I'm thinking, should I go ahead and apply for social security now?

Forget the extra 8% that gets coming in now. It's scary. Yeah.

Oh boy, Roger. I can certainly appreciate that. And I would say, absolutely. You know, that's why it's there. It's there to be a support to you. You know, it was only intended to cover about 40%, but the good news is hopefully your lifestyle is less than you know, moving forward than it was when you're in your working years. And you know, it would be great to get that extra 8%, but there's a couple of factors that really make that viable for most people. Number one, that you're in good health and you expect to be able to take advantage of that higher payout for a long period of time.

And number two, that you don't need the income right now. And you do. And so unless you have another plan to solve for that, I would say, go ahead and take that and know that it's there and it's part of God's provision. And let me just pray for you real quick. Father, we just lift Roger up to you. You are his provider and sustainer. Bring provision, bring comfort and walk alongside him during these difficult days. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Roger, hang in there, buddy. We're glad you called. We'll ask our listeners to keep you in their prayers as well. This is MoneyWise Live.

We'll be right back. Investing is more than just returns. It's an expression of who you are and what you value. Does the way you invest your money reflect your identity as a Christian? At Eventide, we design investments for performance and a better world so you can invest with the confidence to reach your financial goals while remaining true to your Christian values and commitments. We call this investing that makes the world rejoice. More is available at investeventide.com.

That's investeventide.com. Christian Healthcare Ministries enables believers to show love for one another by sharing each other's health costs. Through CHM's voluntary health cost sharing programs, members uplift each other spiritually and financially. CHM is an eligible option of the Affordable Care Act and a Better Business Bureau accredited charity.

Interested? Learn more by calling 800-791-6225 or online at chministries.org. Hi, my name is Lyle and I'm a worship and media arts major at the Moody Bible Institute. The Moody Radio Verse of the Week is found in Psalm 127 verses one through two. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest for he gives to his beloved sleep. And that is Psalm 127 verses one through two, the Moody Radio Verse of the Week.

That's 800-801-2171. Many people adopt an attitude toward marriage and finances that it'll all work out somehow. But sadly, it often doesn't. Financial woes can devastate a marriage, but there is a better way. God's Way. Money and Marriage God's Way by Howard Dayton will help you discover God's approach to growing your finances, strengthening your relationship with your mate and cultivating Godly joy.

Money and Marriage God's Way is available when you click the store button at MoneyWiseLive.org. With SRN News, I'm John Scott. President Trump visiting Kenosha, Wisconsin today. The president toured a recent riot zone and visited two businesses in Kenosha that had burned down during the riots and made a commitment for funding to rebuild those businesses and support local law enforcement. The Pentagon says China is increasing the number of capabilities of its nuclear missile force, which is much smaller than the U.S.'s in a new report to Congress. The Pentagon says it expects China over the next 10 years to double its stockpile in nuclear warheads.

A federal appeals court has blocked a New York prosecutor from obtaining President Trump's tax returns, while the president's lawyers continue to fight a subpoena seeking the records. And Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announcing he will lift the state's ban on visiting nursing homes. Stocks closing higher. The Dow up 248 points.

The Nasdaq was ahead 164. This is SRN News. Here's a great reminder. It comes from the book of Matthew. Matthew 621. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

We want our treasure to be in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because obviously that's where we want our heart to follow and remain. Let's continue on today by going to Wellington, Ohio. Andrea, what's your question for Rob? Hi.

My question is this. I had a house in South Carolina. I lived in South Carolina and I paid my mobile home off.

And then my friend who lived in Ohio introduced me to who is my current husband. And now we're living here in Ohio and I have to sell my mobile home. And as you know, it's not easy to sell mobile homes and they decrease in value and I have to I have to sell it at a loss. So when I sell my mobile home at a loss, do I still have to pay income tax on it? Yeah, Andrea, first of all, congratulations on your new marriage. That's very exciting. You know, generally speaking, and by the way, I'm not a CPA, so I would always check with a tax preparer, a tax professional for your specific situation to make sure everything is done properly.

But just let me talk generally how this works. You know, the loss on the sale of a personal residence is considered a non-deductible personal expense. You can only deduct losses on the sale of property that's used for business or investment purposes. So what you could explore, and there are some nuances to this, and again, you'd want to check with the tax professional, but you could only obtain a deduction for a loss if you sell this home, but you convert it to a rental property before you sell it. Now, your deductible loss will be limited because when you convert from personal use to rental use, you can only use either the lesser of the property's fair market value or the property's tax basis. But there will be some nuances to that because this is a mobile home, which, you know, is slightly different.

So bottom line is, generally speaking, no, but if you're really interested, depending on the loss and what the potential tax savings is, you could talk to a tax professional about the possibility of converting this to an investment property prior to the sale, and then you would just want to understand fully the implications of what that means and what the potential deduction is based on the calculation of the basis, which is really what's going to determine the loss that you would have to deduct in the first place. So check that out if you have a tax preparer grade. If you don't, they're in Ohio or perhaps where the mobile home is located. Search for a Certified Kingdom Advisor in the tax area by going to our website, MoneyWiseLive.org.

Just click on Find CKA. So she could turn things around a little bit if she made a rental property out of this. Do you happen to know what amount of time it would have to be a rental property? Yes, she's going to need to check with a tax professional just to get all of those details and make sure that this even makes sense. And it's possible in her situation.

She may just find that it makes more sense to sell it outright, be done with it, go ahead and take the loss and move on. But that's something that they can work on together. All right, Andrea, we wish you the best with that. Thank you for asking.

Let's continue speaking of Ohio where Andrea now lives, Akron, Ohio. Hello, Stacey. Welcome to MoneyWise Live.

Hello, and thanks for taking my call. I want to pay my house off. And I called my mortgage company. And they told me for the last thing, I've been having my payments taken out automatically. And they told me for the last payment, I would have to get some kind of wire transfer from my bank to their establishment. But I would have to call and get a payoff quote. And I know that they charge your fee for the payoff quote, because I did that I got tricked once before with them on that one. But I don't want to pay that payoff quote fee.

So what do you think about me making an overage pay, a little bit over, and they have to send you the check back? Hmm. Stacey, what is the fee they're quoting you for this? $20. Yeah, yeah. You know, I know it seems silly. It is $19.99.

Okay. You know, a lot of times it's $50 or more. This actually is fairly common. So two pieces to what you said, it's actually fairly common that for your last mortgage payment, you have to send in a certified check. And it's often the case that they're going to ask you to send it to a different address than what you've been using.

It could be because it's a different division of the mortgage company, or even a third party firm that's going to go through the process of releasing the lien from the house, which would also explain why you can use the online payments system that you have been using. So, and with that usually comes a fee. So, you know, I want this to be done right. I want the release of lien to be done right.

I want you to get the proper documentation. So if it were me, Stacey, I just, even though I totally understand what you're saying, I'd probably just go with it, send it where they're telling you to send it, send the certified check, send that $19.99. And let's just be thrilled that this has paid off.

You can get the release of lien, have all the documentation in order. If you just really have a hang up with it, I can certainly appreciate that. Perhaps you can call and just tell them what you're trying to do and see if there's any other way. But what I will tell you is what you're describing here is fairly common. And the last thing I will say is congratulations for paying off your home. Yeah, we wish you the best with that, Stacey. We understand where you're coming from, but this is kind of typical. And I suppose you could go down to the bank and, you know, create a bit of a scene, maybe pay that $19.99 in nickels or something, but I'm not sure that'd be a great witness.

Definitely not. Hey, Stacey, all kidding aside, thanks very much. We wish you the best with that.

The bank is in business to make money, and this is just part of it. St. Louis, Missouri. Darien, just a couple of minutes here. What's in your mind? So really quick, I'm a young father just now really entering into the workforce, now making more money than I've ever made. And so I have debt. I also have, you know, current, you know, day-to-day bills. And so my question is, how do I maintain and handle that correctly and get that taken care of while still save money and, you know, and be able to enjoy life, you know?

Totally get it. And I've got the answer, but let me ask you a couple of questions first. You mentioned you have some debt.

What do you have? Is it credit card debt? No, more so like a couple car loans, school debt, things like that. Probably a little over $50,000 worth. All totaled up. Yep. All right. And do you have an emergency savings account?

No, not actually. I do have money saved up. I have about $4,000 saved. Like I said, I haven't paid any debt towards that.

If I did, I probably wouldn't have that $4,000. Yeah, yeah. Very good. All right.

But you don't have credit cards and do you have a little bit left over typically at the end of the month? Yes, sir. Usually, yes, sir. Okay. All right. So here's what we need to do. Number one, we want to start learning God's way of handling money. So when we're done here today, I want you to stay on the line. And Amy Rios is going to send you a copy of Howard Dayton's book, Your Money Counts. I want you to read through that and begin to digest these biblical principles. Number two, you've got to have a spending plan.

And boy, do I have an answer for that, Darian. We just today released our brand new Money Wise app. Go download it in the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store and set up your budget because that's the way you make sure that you're spending money that reflects your values and your priorities. We want to keep your lifestyle as lean as possible so you can focus on additional savings. We want three to six months expenses and paying off that debt. By the way, our Money Wise coaches would be happy to help at MoneyWiseLive.org. Darian, you stay on the line. We'll get that book right up to you.

Thanks very much. Do you know if you have enough? Enough money? Enough house?

Do you know how much is enough? If not, Ron Blue can help with his book, Master Your Money, a step-by-step plan for experiencing financial contentment. Learn how to save, invest and give wisely. How to create a long-term financial plan and how to get out of debt. You'll find it all in Master Your Money by Ron Blue.

Available when you click the store button at MoneyWiseLive.org. Hi, I'm Barry McGuire. I'm here to help you understand how urgent and how fun it is to share your faith at every opportunity through the eyes of a layman. Sharing your faith as an adventure requires no talent because it's not about you. It's about the people God brings to you and God wanting to reveal himself to them through you. And he, not you, knows exactly what they need to hear to believe and accept his son Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

When you get in the way of what he wants to tell them, the conversation goes sideways. You don't have to prepare or worry about what you're going to say. The Holy Spirit does that for you and the words that come out of your mouth will surprise even you.

You'll wonder where did that come from and laugh. Great faith sharing is the exact opposite of being uptight. It's fun trusting God and allowing his Holy Spirit to flow through you and change the life in front of you. There is nothing more exciting than knowing God is using you to move people closer to him.

Join us at IgniteAmerica.com. Meriwether Lewis, leader of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition, had a dream to follow the winding Missouri River to its source and drink from it. And he got his dream if only it had satisfied his thirst. After reaching the pinnacle of his life, Lewis wrote these words, I feel all that restlessness that proceeds from that void in our hearts. I never felt less like a hero than at the present moment. Soon afterwards, Meriwether Lewis died of a suicide. You drink the sweet water of success and conquest, you get what you wanted, and you still have that void in your heart.

Why? In the Bible, your Creator says you were created by him and for him, but we've all lived for ourselves instead. So we're missing him and the love we were made for. Jesus died to pay for every wrong thing you've ever done so you could finally come home to his love, void filled.

If you come to him and say, Jesus, I'm yours, if you want to begin your relationship with him, call 888-NEED-HIM, 888-NEED-HIM, and experience what it means to be thirsty no more. God cares a great deal more about our money than most of us imagine. In fact, Jesus says more about our use of money and possessions than about anything else, including both heaven and hell. In Managing God's Money, author Randy Alcorn breaks it all down in a simple, easy-to-follow format that makes it the perfect reference tool if you're interested in gaining a solid biblical understanding of money, possessions, and eternity.

Managing God's Money is available when you click the Store button at MoneyWiseLive.org. Hey, we hope you're having a great day wherever you are. We're on hundreds of stations, coast to coast, and wherever you are today, I hope the sun is shining and you're having a great day in the Lord. We want to thank you for being there. We want to thank you for calling in.

The number again is 800-525-7000. And Rob Alfred texted us a few minutes ago and he says, Are you aware of any mutual funds that invest only in countries that are democracies and are open to Christianity, avoiding countries like China that persecute Christians? You know, it's interesting that you asked that, Alfred. There's some exciting developments going on in the faith-based investing space, whether it's being able to choose your investments based on companies you want to avoid, other companies you may want to embrace, even in the area of engagement where you, corporate engagement, you vote proxies and perhaps send emails to the leadership through the investor relations department.

You know, there's more world-class investment solutions that allow you to reflect your values as a believer than ever. And one of those, I think, really centers in, Alfred, on what you're talking about. You often hear Jerry Boyer on this program. We like to call him our resident economist. Jerry's a good friend. He's just a phenomenal economist, but he also is a student of God's Word and really knows the scriptures.

And Jerry joins us at least monthly. Jerry's a part of Vidant Financial, and what they do is they use an investment decision framework that basically takes all of the principles that you find in God's Word around sound economies, including valuing human life and using human productivity, which is at the core of God's design for economies. And they basically look at every country, every nation of the world, in light of whether they adhere to those biblical principles or they violate them.

And then the investment framework either rewards or doesn't invest in those countries based on how they do. And so it's a timeless principles, rules-based investment solution. So check that out.

I think that might be something you'd be interested in learning more about. There's a lot of articles there that you can read at No Charge. VidantFunds.com. And thank you very much. We appreciate that email. If you'd like to send an email to Rob, the address to use is questions at MoneyWise.org, questions at MoneyWise.org.

Brook Park, Ohio. Hello, Michael. Thanks for hanging or holding or waiting, but how can we help you?

Hi, thanks for getting to me. So I recently got on disability and I had actually forgotten to pay my taxes when I switched over to my own business. I had a bunch of forgetfulness stuff. Like I just, I was forgetting everything and I got finally, I got on disability and I'll have some back pay coming, but I also owe taxes. And I haven't gotten like a garnishment letter or anything like that yet. And I had an attorney from before that my grandpa had helped me with. And the attorney recommended that we escrow the back pay, but I didn't have a piece about that. And there was some advertisements for South Coast tax on the same radio station that I hear you guys on. And I had a piece about letting them handle it, but how would you guys handle that situation with a back pay that potentially could be consumed by back taxes? I just, I haven't gotten the letter about it yet or anything.

Yeah. Well, I would have that same check, Michael, about, you know, whether what you're trying to accomplish is in line with the spirit of the law and what's owed, we certainly want to render to all what is due to them, tax to whom tax is due, custom to whom custom is due. And that's what Paul writes about in Romans 13. And so I think, you know, in light of the spirit of the law there, we just want to make sure that we're not trying to avoid paying back taxes that we fairly owe. Now, if there is a provision, which I know the Social Security Administration says that a claimant may deposit money into a trust or an escrow account with a representative, but it doesn't happen directly.

You've got to receive the money first and then put it in, which means it could be frozen in your account. Again, I would always default back to what was the spirit of the law, what's actually owed, and are we trying to kind of get around that? And I certainly wouldn't feel good about doing that.

And I sense from your question, you don't either. And so you just want to make sure if there's obviously a lawful and fair way, you know, to handle this, you want to do it because we don't want to pay anything more than we owe. But if it's really to get around tax that's owed anyway, then I would say you need to go ahead and pay it. So I would connect with a godly tax professional who can advise you through this, just to make sure everything's done appropriately. And if you have somebody great, if you don't, you could there in Ohio, look for a certified kingdom advisor in the tax area.

This would be somebody who shares your values and understands biblical principles, but also has significant experience and competency in the tax and accounting area. Thanks, Mike. We appreciate excuse me, we appreciate that. Travis is in Indianapolis, Rob, he has a question about 529 plans for his kids. Very good, Travis, you're on MoneyWise Live. Go ahead.

Hi, thanks. Yeah, well, it'd be potentially for either me or my wife or any of our two kids. I just learned that they're transferable. So is there a benefit to having individual ones? Or would it be any benefit to have a single account that's transferable between the four of us?

Yeah, it's a good question. You know, one of the reasons why you might want to have separate 529s for each of the kids is often the investment strategies will be based on the graduation date. And so you know, some of the most simple investment solutions inside many of these 529s are those target date type investments. So if you've got that pegged toward the graduation date, you can be more aggressive with one account and get more and more conservative as you approach graduation and the other account, even if you don't use the target date funds, and you just pick from the various funds in the account. Again, with a younger child, you're going to be more aggressive than you are with the older child.

And so you may miss out on some of the upside, because all of the money is getting more conservative at a point in time when it doesn't need to for younger children. And so I think for that reason, even though there's a nice feature in there where you can move it around among the beneficiaries, if you don't need it, I still like having those separate accounts for the investment strategy purposes, if that makes sense to you. It does, we might get one for each kid and then one for the parents. So yeah, I appreciate it. Very good. Let me also just mention one other thing, you can change beneficiaries, but you can only have one at a time.

So if you have two kids in school, at the same time, that could be a problem as well. So yeah, I think you're on the right track with these multiple accounts. But anyway, appreciate your call today. Thanks for listening, sir.

Thanks very much. See, let's do Dayton, Tennessee next. Hi, Judy. What's on your mind today? Well, I sold a house that I had been renting. I did it to make extra money for my retirement.

And part of it was inherited, but I purchased, you know, I purchased the rest from my siblings. But anyway, I'm going to pay all my credit cards off. And is it best to pay them all off and close them off? I mean, you know, close what I don't want out, or just gradually do it. Also, I need to invest some into something and I know if I buy property, I might not have to pay at this time extra income tax on it. But if I don't, I want to do something to bring in extra off of it if I can. Sure, sure.

Well, a couple of things there. In terms of the capital gains that you potentially owe, if you have an appreciation on this rental property, if you want to look at something like a 1031 exchange, you have 45 days to select the replacement property and then a total of 180 days from the closing to acquire that replacement property, which would allow you to essentially push the capital gains tax forward. And you wouldn't realize it until eventually you sold the next property and you didn't replace it with another like kind property. So just keep those time frames in mind. I love the idea of you becoming debt free and I wouldn't wait another day. I'd go ahead and pay that credit card debt off because you've got a guaranteed return equal to the interest you're paying and you're not going to get that anywhere, the real estate market or the stock market. So I'd go ahead and pay those off. Don't think twice about anything else and get yourself in a position where you're completely debt free. With the rest of it, if you didn't decide to roll it into a new property, you certainly could invest it or do some giving.

If you want to do some investments, I'd connect with a certified kingdom advisor there in Dayton, Tennessee, and have somebody who understands God's word and who's also a professional advise you on how you could invest this in line with your goals and objectives. But congratulations on this sale and I think you're on the right track. Hmm. Judy, God bless you. Thanks so much, Rob. We had a caller who couldn't stay on the line for us.

It's Kiel from Chicago. She says, my husband switched jobs a year ago. We received a check from his previous employer's 401k. Should we put that into a new retirement plan or roll it into the current employer's 401k? Yeah, you could do either one.

I would say if you, whatever you do, if you receive the check, you want to get it into a tax deferred account within 60 days. Now, the benefit of going into the 401k is all the money's in one place and you can invest it in a strategy that makes sense. But I like rolling it to an IRA as well. And then you have complete control over the fee structure and the investment. So either one would be fine. Just make sure you don't go past 60 days.

And Steve, before I let you go, let me just mention one more time. Today's the day, right? So download the MoneyWise app. It's in the Google play store, the Apple app store. Just click on the search bar, type in MoneyWise biblical finance and have some fun. And is it, what's the official name or title for this app?

It's called MoneyWise colon biblical finance. Okay. And if one were to peruse the app in depth, would one find your picture, your photo, your visage? Uh, no. Well, that's because it's not about me. This is their app for their digital envelopes and for the radio program and the community and questions.

And yeah, it's not there. He is. You've met the man. It's not about me now. That's not what he says to me when we're off the air. But here on the program, he says to me, Steve, you know, it's not about me, but it is about Rob West taking your calls Monday through Friday at 800-525-7000. I'm Steve Moore, always a distinct pleasure to have you joining us today. MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody radio and MoneyWise media. Tell a friend about us. Have a great remainder of your day. Join us again tomorrow for a brand new edition of MoneyWise Live.