True Risks and Rewards of Investing

Most people understand that investing involves the potential for both risk and reward. There's the risk of losing our money and the potential reward of growing it. But is that all there is to it? Are there other risks more important than money?

And are the rewards greater than just a healthy bottom line? Today our host, Rob West, talks with Jason Meyer to find out. Then it's your calls at 800-525-7000.

800-525-7000. I'm Steve Moore, the true risks and rewards of investing. That's next, right here on MoneyWise Live. Rob, Jason Meyer is Managing Partner and Director of Advocacy at Eventide, a Boston-based investment company practicing faith-based investing and a financial underwriter of MoneyWise as well. Jason's passion is telling folks about the importance of considering our values whenever we invest. Well, and that's a topic that so many people are interested in and I'm delighted we can explore it today. Jason, delighted to have you back with us on MoneyWise Live. Thanks, Rob.

It's great to be here. Jason, oftentimes when we talk about the risks and rewards of investing, we speak in terms of money, but you want us to appreciate that there are greater risks and rewards to investing than just losing or making money. So that's what we want to explore today. So let's begin by talking about the risks.

Sure. And, you know, I think I could express it best to you if I used someone's real situation, someone's real story with investing. Let me tell you the story of Blake Schwartz and his family. So Blake Schwartz is a Presbyterian minister who lives in Dallas, Texas.

He's married to Julia and they have three children, Margaret, Alice, Arthur, and Nathaniel. The story of investing begins at a young age. When he was just in the third grade, his grandmother passed away after a battle with lung cancer as a result of tobacco smoking. Before she passed, she established a trust fund investment account that Blake was to receive when he turned 18 years old.

And when that day came, he received the account. When he looked at the financial statements, he was much dismayed to discover that 80% of the holdings in this investment account were invested in a company called the Altria Group, which is a tobacco company. In fact, it's the very tobacco company that his grandmother was a customer of that ultimately ended up taking her life. And when Blake discovered this, he recounted to me that he told his parents, hey, this is the company that killed grandma.

Blake's story, I think, illustrates something very important that I want us to really consider today. And that's this. Investing is company ownership. When we invest, we'll become the owners of companies.

And any of the profits and growth we receive will flow from the activities of business. And as we saw in the case of Blake, this can be good. It can also be bad.

Well, that's exactly right. And it's a sobering story, Jason, that I think really does identify and present the inherent risks of investing if we look at it in that way. So define that for us. How would you define that in light of Blake's story, the true risks of investing? Yeah, so there's certainly the risk we often talk about, which is the risk of losing our money. That comes with any investment. But as Blake's example pointedly shows, there's also the risk of losing something of life's intended wholeness and integrity when we profit from business activities that go against our beliefs and values. And this can be true even in the case when we make money.

Blake told me that the trust fund had made enough money that he was able to pay for college, a down payment on his first home, an engagement ring to his wife, Julia. And yet he was deeply sorrowful for it. Hmm. Yeah, interesting. And I suspect many of our listeners have really never considered what companies they own in their investment accounts. And to the extent they have a particular conviction and want their holdings or the profits from those companies to line up with their values, this may really be a hidden problem. Would you agree with that?

Yeah, I absolutely agree with that. For most investors, investing looks like account statements and ticker symbols, some news program reporting on the market, charts with zigzagging lines, Wall Street, et cetera, et cetera. And we're not often thinking about companies and company ownership and the profits that flow from that.

The problem is really one of not knowing. And one of my favorite analogies for investing that's been given here is that of being married to a crime boss. So if you're the wife of a crime boss, you enjoy great profits. And this affords a very luxurious life, the diamonds, the furs, the expensive home, et cetera. But she has no idea where the money's coming from.

And she just doesn't ask the hard questions about what's happening on the other side of the door. Well, there's a solution and it's called faith-based investing. And we'll unpack that just around the corner. That's right.

Jason Meyer with us today of Eventide. And we'll be back to continue this conversation right after this. 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. For thirty years, Soundmind Investing has been helping Christians reach their financial goals, with step-by-step guidance for investors at every stage, from those just getting started to those getting ready for retirement. Through Scriptural principles and practical suggestions, SMI offers financial wisdom for living well.

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. Are you ever tempted? We're going to start this day of worship the right way. Now be quiet! Tempted to say things you might not usually say? Did you see that idiot?

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Maybe you want to do things you normally wouldn't do? Hey, there's that slowpoke again! This ought to remind you how to drive, buddy! Honey, aren't you getting a little too close?

Yeah, Dad! Leave him in the dust! That ought to teach him a lesson. You didn't have to cut him off. Satan tries to attack us when our defenses are down.

When you feel weakened by temptations, remember to ask yourself, what would Jesus do? I can't believe we made it in one piece. Good morning, Todd. Oh, hey! I want to introduce you to a family that's visiting us. These are the Conleys. Hey, Dad! Isn't that the idiot you cut off?

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That's ChristianCreditCounselors.org, or call 800-557-1985. Good to have you with us today on MoneyWise Live today. The pros and cons, the upside and the downside of investing with Jason Meyer of InvestEvenTied.com. Well, Jason, just before the break, you told us really the sobering story of this gentleman who inherited a trust fund from his grandmother that passed away while he was at a young age.

She passed away as a result of lung cancer from smoking. He comes to find out that 80% of the holdings in that trust fund are invested in a company that is a tobacco company. In fact, it's the very company that his grandmother was a customer of that ultimately took her life. And that story, I think, really illustrates, frankly, the opportunity and what you point out as the risk of investing in a way that doesn't align with our values. The exciting part of that is, though, that there is a whole new segment of the investing world dedicated to faith-based investing, making sure that if you so choose, you have the ability to hold companies and investments as an owner in a way that aligns with your values and priorities. So I'd love for you to unpack that a bit for us, Jason, in terms of how do investors do that, that is aligning their investments with their faith, values, beliefs, and commitments?

Yeah, absolutely. So the concept of faith-based investing is very simple. It's to bring your faith to the kinds of companies that you invest in. And there's a whole host of faith-based investing products on the market, things like mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Faith-based investing really involves two things. First, avoiding some of these problem areas, like the tobacco example we saw. And in some cases, taking a next step, which is to positively seek out and embrace companies whose activities and profits flow from things that we feel like are well aligned with God's heart and is designed for business.

Well, and that's really a critical distinction about Eventide. You're not just helping investors avoid the problem areas, but to invest in the positives. Companies whose stories we can be excited about and proud to be a part of. So I'd love for you to share, if you will, Jason, a positive example with us so we can see how that plays out. Yeah, definitely.

And this is what really gets me excited because the positive side is where the true rewards, I think, of investing lie. So let me go back to the story of Blake Schwartz and family because there's a positive side to their story as well. So Blake and Julia have their first child, Britton, a boy. Britton was born with a tragic inherited disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1, or SMA. SMA is commonly referred to as floppy baby syndrome because babies are born limp and floppy at birth. It's a genetic disorder in which the motor neurons of the cells are not able to make a needed protein called survival motor neuron. And what happens without the ability to produce this protein is the motor neurons will die and it will lead the muscles to progressively atrophy to the point that even breathing becomes an impossibility. Of course, they were heartbroken to receive this diagnosis and they sought the world over for any treatment that would save Britton's life.

There were no such treatments. At the time of Britton's birth, the chance of making it to age two was just 20% with virtually a 0% chance of making it to adulthood. And Britton ended up passing away when he was just eight months old. Oh, that's heartbreaking.

Yeah. Well, fortunately their story doesn't end there. Four years later, they had their third child, Alice Arthur, a girl. Unimaginably, she was diagnosed with the very same disorder, Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

But this time the story was different. In just four short years, there were now not just one, but two treatments for SMA, including a gene therapy, which Alice Arthur received. So gene therapy is a new breakthrough in biotechnology that enables a healthy copy of the gene to be delivered to the cells that need it.

And in the case of SMA, it delivers the gene that codes for that needed protein, survival motor neuron, which enables the cells to function in a normal way with normal development and survival. And it worked. Alice Arthur is today a healthy four-year-old girl who's learning to read. That's incredible.

What an amazing story. Yeah. You know, when I spoke with Blake about faith-based investing, he said this, which I think really captures the rewards. He says, as my eyes have been opened to God's redemptive purposes in the world and what he's doing, I've seen how investing can change people's lives.

It certainly changed theirs. Oh, I love it. You're exactly right. And, you know, faith-based investing can really join in God's work through business and help make these stories possible. Would you agree with that? Yes. Yeah, absolutely. So I think Blake's comment points to a positive vision for business.

And we talked about some of the problems that we can come into investing, and certainly there are risks there. But business, from God's perspective, is intended to be something wholly positive. And because of common grace and the image of God on humanity, I think there are many companies that exemplify this. You know, just to comment on God's vision for business, if we go back to the garden, what do we see? We see God creating the whole world, the heavens and the earth, and he declares that creation to be good. That's the product of his work. He gives humanity work that we might further God's good work through the creation of our own good works.

In fact, I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but the reason we call the products of business goods and services is because they were intended to be both good and a service to humanity. And so the reason that there were two treatments for Alice Arthur is because of investors who had both the heart and the capital to see it accomplished. And I think faith-based investing is making a way for investors to capitalize such important efforts. You know, if you ask Blake about the true rewards of investing, he will speak to you about it in terms of joy. And isn't that much more rewarding than just making a profit?

Well, that's exactly right. And why we're so excited about this growth in faith-based investing. I would encourage you as our listeners to read more at investeventide.com. You can read about the great work that's being done there and all of the articles and insights on that website.

Jason, where do we go from here? You know, as a listener who has an investment advisor perhaps that they work with, do you think it's helpful if they begin the conversation just to say, I want to know more. Are you working in this area? Tell me how we can pursue these types of investments.

Where do our listeners go from here? Yeah, absolutely. So this is an area where I think it's helpful to speak with a financial advisor who has some training on some of these products, these faith-based investments. And I know the Kingdom Advisor Network, which MoneyWise is connected to, is a great place to start because Kingdom Advisors really helps to educate and train their network of Christian financial advisors to understand the nuances of the problems that we can come into, as well as the potential to invest in a way that expresses our faith by investing in some of these positive stories. So that conversation with financial advisors is a great place to start. And Jason, the great news as well is that we see clearly in Scripture, one of the reasons we're to invest is to get a return, and we don't necessarily have to sacrifice return in order to invest this way, do we?

I don't believe so. I think God's wisdom is useful, not only in the life to come, but in this life as well. That's great. Well, we appreciate you being with us today. We always learn and grow and love the stories that you share because they really allow us to see this manifested in someone's life.

And today, that was certainly the case. Jason, thanks for being with us, my friend. My pleasure. Jason Meyer of Eventide has been our guest today.

You can learn more about putting your faith to work in investing at investeventide.com, investeventide.com. You're listening to MoneyWise Live. Your call is next at 800-525-7000. Also remember that our question line is open 24-7. Even when we're not on the air, leave your question, and we'll see if we can line you up for a future program, 800-525-7000.

Stay tuned. This is MoneyWise Live. Many people adopt an attitude toward marriage and finances that it'll all work out somehow, but sadly, it often doesn't. Unbelievable 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. Hebrews 4-12 says, For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

That's more with a quick word. And out of Galatians 4-4, I want you to listen to this. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. When the time had fully come, when the time had fully come, you and I think continually in terms of time going. I think that every single time I have my roots done. Time is going.

I think that sometimes when I look in the mirror, I think, you know what I'm saying? Like, whoa, time is going. It's fleeting. In God's economy, time is always coming. It's always coming. It's not going, it's coming. It's always working toward... We just think time is fleeting, it's going away.

No, no. It's always working toward its fullness. It's not about what has happened behind us, that we just move further and further from what's happening, what's happened behind us.

The cross is still even yet to see its complete work until every single person who will come to know Christ has come to know Christ, and we are face to face with the Father. You've been listening to Beth Moore with today's quick word. Beth would love for you to tune in each Tuesday night for Bible study. Class begins at 9.30 p.m. Eastern, 8.30 Central on TBN.

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You can watch the latest episode of her television program and more. Again, that's BethMoore.org. 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. Really great to have you with us today. He's Rob West. I'm Steve Moore. This is MoneyWise, MoneyWise Live, which means we need to hear from you, otherwise we just have to put a bow on the program for the day and put it to bed because it's a call-in program.

So here's how it works with a call-in program. We sit here behind the microphone. You pick up your phone, whether it's the old-fashioned kind with the rotary dial at home in the kitchen more than likely, or perhaps it's a cell phone, and you know how to make that work, ask Siri or dial it up yourself, and then give us a call at 800-525-7000, 800-525-7000, if you like to talk about anything financial.

Now maybe it's a debt situation, maybe it's even worse, maybe it's a bankruptcy situation, or you're just trying to do a better job saving, giving, being generous, putting your child through college, maybe it's paying off your student loans. Well let's talk about those things or anything related to those things, 800-525-7000. Rob you ready to jump in? I say we jump in. Let's do it. Chicago and let's see, someone, I don't, wait a minute, let me, I might have the wrong button pushed here. Hang on a second here.

That's the other part of this program. No I don't have a name on this call. So Chicago if you can hear me, I don't have your name on my screen, would you mind introducing yourself? Hi my name is Joel. Joel! Good to hear from you. We've been waiting to hear from you Joel.

How can we help you sir? Well my mom passed away a couple years ago, me and my siblings sold her house and I've got $69,000 and I don't know whether to invest it or to pay down my mortgage. Everybody I work with is telling me I can get a 6% return on my money and that's more than if I paid down my mortgage, I'd have a better return. Yeah, ask them and will they guarantee that for you Joel? No they will not. Oh okay, alright.

Well if they were, that was going to change everything. Of course I'm kidding with you. Talk to me about your financial situation Joel, just in terms of what you have in place, do you have any debt currently, do you have an emergency fund in place and where are you at with your retirement savings? Okay the only debt I have is my mortgage, I refinance my mortgage to pay my daughter's college and for my new truck, so it's $137,000. I have $29,000 in the bank for my emergency fund. I've got a job where I have a defined contribution retirement and when I retire at 65, so nine years from now, I should be getting around $5,000 a month and we also have an annuity which they pay into and right now that annuity has $73,000 in it.

Okay very good. Have you run the numbers Joel just to see when you retire that $5,000 a month plus social security let's say the house is paid off at that point, is that going to cover your lifestyle? I totally think so, yeah right now our lifestyle is like $3,000 a month.

Yeah okay very good. So here's the thing, you're nine years out of retirement which means we can still take some risk here, allow this money to be working for you. You're going to want to get more conservative as you get closer to retirement so when you hit that five year mark, we're going to be increasing the exposure to hopefully fixed income type investments, decreasing the exposure to stocks, not eliminating it right because even though you're in retirement, if the Lord tarries and you have good health, you're going to need this money to last for decades and so you know we want to keep a growth component to it. Now how do you decide whether or not to pay off the house? Well on paper of course there's a benefit if the average historical return in the S&P 500, something north of 8% a year as long as we're looking over the long term, you know after taxes and so forth if you're not you know if you're fully funding your retirement account so this would be in a taxable account, could you do better than your probably low interest rate mortgage? Yeah on paper you can but I think that also discounts the fact that I'd really love for you to be completely debt-free in nine years when you reach retirement so that you can reduce that total need that you have in terms of your expenses. I'd love for you also to have the peace of mind, you know we've been doing this a long time Steve a lot longer than I have, no we've been doing this a long time, here's the thing Joel we've never gotten the call from somebody that says I paid off my mortgage last week and I'm just regretting it, I haven't been able to sleep, you know they just don't say that and so the flexibility, the peace of mind, the security and usually one spouse is a little more prone to that than the other, you know that comes from knowing your unencumbered debt-free, free to follow the Lord in whatever he leads in, there's just something to that that I don't think you can set aside, you've got to look at the financial side and kind of the emotional and spiritual side as well. So I would do a couple of things, number one is I would make sure that you're on track to at least pay it off in syncing that up with your retirement date. Now if you wanted to just go ahead and put it all against the mortgage right now I would say that's great and I'd pray through that you and your wife and develop a conviction around that, if though you all said you know what we're on track to pay off the mortgage and we'd like to take this money and we're willing you know just to pay down this $137,000 systematically over the next nine years and we'd feel better knowing we have some additional money working for us in the stock market, there's no way I would tell you that's a bad decision so unfortunately I'm not giving you a definitive answer but I do want to affirm this idea that you accelerating that mortgage in preparation for being completely debt-free in retirement is directionally where I want you to go. Now how you get there as to whether or not you drop this lump sum on it today or you invest part of it and then just continue to accelerate your debt reduction between now and retirement I think eventually you know that's just a decision you're going to have to make.

Does that make sense? Thank you very much I really appreciate that. Yeah you're welcome we appreciate your call bud God bless you.

Thanks very much for that sir. Again our phone number 800-525-7000 800-525-7000 we have some open lines which means we have time for you 800-525-7000. Rob how about an email question we haven't taken one in a bit this one submitted by a member of the new MoneyWise app community and I'll tell you what this question is longer than what we normally get and it has to do with moving back in with your parents which is something that's really exploding these days primarily because of student loans and and COVID and that's a real issue and we'll come back and chat some more about that the cooking is better too as well when you move back in it's much better and if you're lucky mom will even do your laundry this is MoneyWise Live we don't do laundry but we will 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 a 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 invest eventide.com that's invest eventide.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 under 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 William a communications major at Moody Bible Institute the Moody Radio Verse of the Week is found in Proverbs 10 4 through 5 a slack hand causes poverty but the hand of the diligent makes rich he who gathers in summer is a prudent son but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame that's Proverbs 10 4 through 5 the Moody Radio Verse of the Week. Things are always happening at Moody Radio God is at work and listeners all around the world our monthly online newsletter uplift has changed in order to bring you more listener stories more program updates and more listening resources be among the first to know about Moody Radio's ongoing outreach check out the all-new free e-newsletter uplift subscribe right now go to my moody radio dot o-r-g my moody radio dot org. Money and life run on the same track but unfortunately sometimes it seems like your money is heading in a different direction from your goals in never enough three keys to financial contentment author Ron Blue helps you to break down all your financial options to a basic four and then shows you how to keep it all chugging along in the right direction on the same track never enough three keys to financial contentment available when you click the store button at money wise live dot org.

With SRN News I'm John Scott federal authorities have arrested two men on terror charges for allegedly plotting to bomb or shoot up sites including the White House and Trump Tower in New York City in attacks inspired by the Islamic State group Jalen Christopher Molina of Texas and Christopher Shawn Matthews of South Carolina taken into custody Google's parent company has reached a three hundred ten million dollar settlement and a shareholder lawsuit over its treatment of allegations of sexual misconduct by executives Governor Ron DeSantis has lifted all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses in Florida and a move to reopen that state's economy stocks closing with solid gains today the latest shift in a recent stretch of turbulence for the market the Dow picked up three hundred fifty eight points the Nasdaq ahead two hundred forty one and the S&P gained fifty one this is SRN News. We hope you're having a great day wherever you are regardless of what the weather might be raining sun shining God is still on his throne and a pleasure to have you with us today as we talk about money and finances from God's perspective. Rob we mentioned that we had an email so let's get back to that one this one came in from the MoneyWise app community we don't have a name but the MoneyWise app is so new that we're excited that we're starting to actually hear from people who are using the app huh? Well we are it's a digital envelope system where you can connect to your institutions and build your spending plan and automatically have your transactions downloaded and then they automatically go into your envelope so you know how much is left but not only can you listen to the MoneyWise radio programs but you can join the MoneyWise community and basically that's just a place where people gather to ask questions and encourage each other you might see a scripture passage in there or a question or a comment from us and I've been known to stop by every couple of days and provide some input there as well so we'd love to have you download the app you can go to your app store Google Play Apple just type in MoneyWise biblical finance you can download it free or you can go to app.moneywise.org now let's get to this question Steve okay and what do they have for us? It says I'll be moving in with my parents and they will not allow me to pay rent which is kind of nice the agreement is that I'll set that amount aside into an account to buy their home when they pass away or another home I don't plan to make that purchase for ten years or more what type of account should I put this money in?

Yeah so I love this idea because you know as you think about being able to build up wealth and set money aside your parents are putting you in a position where you have the ability to save and so you've got reduced costs because they're allowing you to live rent free and so you take that amount and set it aside so what I would say is if you're on track with retirement meaning you have you know a systematic amount going in hopefully ten to fifteen percent and this is extra money and you have a ten year time horizon and I'm seeing here you're thinking that purchase is not going to happen for ten years or more then I would do one of two things I would either put it into a taxable account probably like Betterment or Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios where every month you're making the same contribution by the way I'd set that up as an automatic transfer from your checking account so you don't forget to do it and then invest it based on the algorithms in there and the questions that you answer in a low cost diversified ETF portfolio again Betterment or Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios however if you still have money that needs to go into retirement one option would be to put it into a Roth IRA and here's why you can get back your original contributions at any time so if you were to put in seven thousand this year or well six thousand if you're under age fifty and six thousand next year or whatever the limit is and you do that every year and that money grows then when you're ready to buy the house you can actually take up to your original contributions back not the gains but the original contributions and then use that to buy the home the rest would then continue to grow for your retirement so I think either one would be great but I love this idea. I like it thank you Rob and if you have a brief question that you'd like to email to Rob the address is questions at moneywise.org questions at moneywise.org St. Paul Minnesota Eric you've been a very patient man thank you for that what's on your mind? Thanks for having me on I have a quick question here about a deficiency balance that I had on a vehicle loan about two two and a half years ago I was involved in a total loss collision and there's a deficiency balance of seventeen thousand dollars that I currently have sitting out there they haven't pursued me for it I had thought about going down the bankruptcy road and I have changed my mind and that is the only thing and it's a very large amount to have out there and I'm not exactly sure if I should how to tackle it.

Yeah well Eric you know I like the idea of you covering this I'm so sorry to hear about the collision that you had and the fact that you didn't have any gap insurance obviously it's a it's a debt that's out there and regardless of whether or not they're trying to collect it it's an amount that's owed and so you know I think just from a biblical standpoint in terms of an obligation as well as just peace of mind knowing that you don't have any outstanding obligations that are hanging out there that could at some point result in a judgment or something like that I think just moving toward cleaning this up either by calling and negotiating a settlement or getting on a payment plan not only is that going to help you feel really good about making progress toward ultimately getting that satisfied and paid in full but it's also going to repair your credit because it'll show you not in a delinquency status but you know perhaps making some progress toward paying it off and even if it's you know not showing appropriately on the credit report I'd still like for that to be shown as an on-time payment and eventually show a zero balance and then either settled or paid in full so I'd lean into that when you're ready to either negotiate a monthly payment or a settlement in full I'd give them a call I'd make sure you get whatever offer you're planning to accept in writing and then begin making some progress by building that right into your spending plan. Eric thank you hope that helps I'm sure it does. Andrew in northwest Indiana what's your question for Rob? Hi thanks for taking my call and I appreciate you having me on my I'm currently a school teacher here in northeast Indiana I'm working on my masters in school administration and I feel the Lord leading me to begin a Christian vocational high school and was wondering about how to open up a corporation or an LLC or how to get the ball rolling on actually starting the school you know in the school they don't teach you how to start a school they just teach you how to administer one so yeah I'm just very good well I love the vision Andrew and I think it's really cool to think about what you might be doing down the road make sure you find somebody who's been down this road ahead of you who you can learn from perhaps a mentor somebody that you can walk alongside I think also finding a really competent CPA or accountant somebody who could help you put all of the paperwork together you know to form the corporation you know perhaps an attorney but also somebody who can help you set up your books is going to be really really key so you have somebody to walk alongside you essentially you're going to choose a business name you're going to check on the availability with your state's office of business and corporations you can register what's called a DBA name if you plan on using a name other than the legal one which is essentially doing business as then you'll appoint a board of directors you'll file your articles of incorporation with your state secretary of state office you'll have to write some company bylaws and again this is where somebody who helps you form the corporation can give you some templates so you know you're not having to create all this from scratch this is all been done many many many times and folks can help you with the nuances of it you'll have an initial board meeting which sounds more formal than it is but you will have to have that meeting and have record of it and then you'll of course obtain the business licenses and permits register with the IRS and the state and then you'll want to open the corporate bank account so there are a series of steps you're going to need some professionals to help you get it set up right both legally and from a tax standpoint now the main difference between an LLC and a corporation is that an LLC is owned by one or more individuals and then the corporation is owned by its shareholders both offer those significant benefits for both taxes and legal protection so you're not operating as a sole proprietor and playing paying the self employment taxes plus you can also pay yourself a dividend which is treated differently from a tax perspective and it provides that corporate shield if you will that legal protection that's there for a corporation both with an LLC and a C Corp for instance so you know you're going to want to look into this to see you know based on where you're headed what's going to be the best legal form for you and then you'll want to get those folks to help you get those things in order but all the best to you really excited about this journey you're on sounds very exciting Andrew we're glad that you called today keep us abreast of how this all works out for you we'll be right back with more after this 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 money wise live.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 as bad as COVID is and it's bad far more lives are being lost and destroyed by government edicts and violence leaving everyone asking if life will ever be the same again and probably won't behind the scenes Satan is manipulating power brokers and power hungry politicians and evildoers of all types and descriptions to lead us down the path of destruction for America and the world but here's the good news Satan's filled the entire world with fear and confusion which are the two highest motivators for prompting people to see God's help and protection this is an incredible moment of opportunity to let your light shine almost everyone is desperate to know God like you know him and the worse it gets the easier it will be to tell them and God will flood your life with joy regardless of what's going on around you there is nothing more exciting than knowing God is using you to move people closer to him join us at igniteamerica.com kick your feet and move your arms like a windmill no like a windmill is that guy out there drowning yeah shouldn't you save him I'm trying to but he's not listening to my swimming instructions windmill all that any religion can offer you is swimming instructions on how to swim their way to God wait a minute hang on oh there he is are you listening to me at all I think he needs more help yeah something simpler dog paddle if you're drowning all the swimming instructions in the world won't save you only a savior can do that look a man swam out and is bringing a man well I thought the dog paddle suggestion helped we are all drowning in our sin only Jesus did the dying required to get rid of our sin it's only through him that we can have a relationship with God are you willing to accept his help to learn more call 888 need him or chat with us live at needhim.org the financial wealth you leave behind could be the best thing that ever happened to your loved ones or the worst in splitting heirs giving your money and things to your children without ruining their lives ron blue explains why it's important to make these decisions now instead of forcing your heirs to do it later splitting heirs will foster a real appreciation for the precious resources that God has entrusted to you and it's available when you click the store button at money wise live.org money wise live is a place where God's direction for your money your life your marriage and your career all meet together with your phone calls nice to have you out there today let's go back to our phone lines Ringgold Georgia Johnny thank you so much for calling in and how can we help and thank you for taking my call sure I am calling to ask my husband and I are trying to decide whether we should pay off our mortgage or continue our investment route that we've been on for years considering the insecurity of the economy and the pandemic along with us approaching retirement yeah Johnny if you were to stay on your current track maintain the investments that you have and continue the track that you're on with your mortgage pay down whether that's just sending the minimum each month or whether you've been systematically sending something over and above that when would you have that paid off would you have it paid in full for instance by the time you retire or would it be sometime after that well actually okay so we have about we owe about fifty thousand we have about forty eight thousand in the bank right now so we were thinking of going to take the money like next month and just dropping it off and paying it off but I know our mortgage the interest rate is very low it's like two point something and so it makes more sense to continue investing except the insecurity of the economy my husband's also self-employed so just those fears yeah what type of account is this in yeah what type of account is the investment all different types I'm a teacher so we have teacher retirement the 401 the equivalent to the 401k for teachers and then we have a portfolio that we have a financial manager that kind of takes care of it for us so what is the total of your investable assets do you know I believe it's like I don't remember right now I wasn't even planning to call until I heard that you didn't have any callers I don't remember but it's a healthy amount yeah okay well yeah here here's the bottom line I'd love for you to have that mortgage paid off by the time you retire so if you guys are thinking you're five years out I would say you know develop a plan so that you paid off by then if just based on the current track you're on you you know you're going to be paid off by then with a low interest rate environment you know you've got a current low rate on your mortgage and you'd like to keep that money working for you especially since it's in a tax deferred vehicle then I'd probably just stay the course and have it paid off by then the only exception of that would be is if you say you know we just have a real conviction that we want to be debt free and we want to be completely out of debt we want to do it as soon as possible and I'd say go for it but if you're comfortable hanging on to it especially given that it's a low rate and this is in tax deferred accounts I'd probably just stay the course and if you're not scheduled to have this paid off by the time you retire perhaps you just add an extra payment or two a year or whatever it's going to take so that when you retire in five to seven years you and your husband you know that that mortgage is paid off and good thing is you have a fairly low balance right now so unless you have a real conviction I'd probably say just let that money keep working for you Johnny thank you very much we appreciate your call and for holding in the line so long today thanks again Sarasota Florida hello Pat what's your question today for Rob well first of all I'd like to thank you for taking my call and tell you what a blessing your program is for me and I know for many others I have learned so much from you thank you thank you Pat I'm a retired school teacher I don't have a mortgage on my home I have adequate pension to cover you know all my expenses and travel and helping you know with the grandchildren and that type of thing and an emergency fund I'm trying to make an informed decision about something I will be having some larger expenses I have a pool that needs to be resurfaced I have an adult child who will be having some medical bills that I'm going to help with because her insurance doesn't cover everything so what I am debating about is which avenue to take I received a home equity line of credit information brochure from my bank that I had my mortgage with when I had one they're offering a line of credit at two point nine nine that's prime minus two point or point two six no closing costs no prepayment penalties no minimum draw the only expenses are doc stamps and intangible tax so that's one avenue the other avenue would be to draw from my IRA which I probably have I know I have three hundred thousand plus in it and of course I will have to take my required minimum out but I was thinking would it be wise to instead of taking more than the required minimum to have this home equity line of credit let me ask you a couple of questions Pat I appreciate that background number one would be how much total do you think you would need I'm thinking probably fifteen thousand for the immediate ones okay and are you going to need more than that fairly soon no probably not no okay all right very good and are you living on the three hundred thousand is are you drawing an income to supplement Social Security or other income sources no I don't draw well hundred dollars a month okay so very low all right and if you were to take the home equity line of credit or a home equity loan which I would actually prefer would you expect that you'd be able to pay it off in a fairly short period of time do you have a surplus or some other way you'd be paying this down I do I do have some part of a surplus it says you can draw on it for ten years sure so surely at the end of ten years I'd you know be ready to pay it back what do you think roughly per month you'd be able to apply toward debt reduction so maybe two hundred two hundred dollars okay you know I kind of like the idea of you you know taking this from the IRA as opposed to taking on this debt you're probably not you know very aggressively invested with the IRA doesn't sound like you're using the money right now of course you want to preserve it for your future but you're probably have it fairly conservatively invested and with a HELOC you know that's going to be a variable rate or even a home equity loan it's going to be above the typical low rates we'd see for a first mortgage you know a conventional mortgage so given that the rates going to be higher given that you only have roughly two hundred a month to put toward it so you're going to end up keeping this around for quite a while and given that you know we're talking about even though fifteen thousands a lot of money considering that you've got three hundred thousand put away that you're really not using I'd probably you know go ahead and pull it out of the IRA take as little as you can obviously you know if you can save between now and when you actually need to incur these expenses then that's just a little bit less than you have to pull from the IRA but rather than taking on a new debt with either a variable or a fixed rate but again higher than than a conventional mortgage rate I'd probably just go ahead and pull it out pay the bills and be done with it and then let the rest of it continue to grow and make that up over time.

Pat we're glad that you got through today thank you very much hope you have a great weekend one more quick one Wallhalla South Carolina Mary what's your question today? Hi thank you for taking my call I just a quick thing you've mentioned many times about this website and that website about credit checking or about investment like betterment and things like that. Now I just have a question that when they I go to that website they ask for a real information like social security and things is it safe to put in the real name and real social security is it safe to do so? Yeah you know what you're getting at here Mary is just the general safety of doing business financial transactions online whether that's opening an investment account or online banking through your local bank you know getting in there and transacting business even purchasing various things you know obviously you're at risk there. What I would say is you're never going to be a hundred percent protected just like somebody could come by your mailbox and grab something out of the mailbox and you know take account numbers or information you know that way and do it fraudulently.

There are significant safety and security features that are put in place by these larger organizations betterment would be one any major bank even the online banks in other financial institutions that you would encounter. I think the key is that you operate in a way that really recognizes the safeguards that you need. Don't do business with these websites while you're on public Wi-Fi.

Do it in the safety and security of your home. You look at encryption options. You use a long password string so you're not using short passwords but using upper and lower case and you're updating them regularly perhaps even with a password manager. You're never clicking on a link in an email, you're monitoring your credit report, things like that. I think we've moved to an age where more and more business has been done, will be done online and so as long as you put these safeguards in place then I don't have any problem with you transacting business over the internet as long as you go directly to the website not clicking emails or URLs in emails and you stay with the more reputable larger institutions. Could your information be compromised? Sure, nobody is completely out of the woods there.

Even the US government can be hacked but I think as long as we're smart and safe about it then at the end of the day there's not a real problem. And Mary with that we're going to have to bid you adieu. We are out of time but we do appreciate your phone call today and your interest. Thanks so much. Indeed, I hear music in the background which means they're shoving me out the door.

MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. My thanks to our technical crew, Amy, Danny, Aaron and of course the inestimable Jim Henry in charge of all digital research and biblical exegesis. For Rob West, I'm Steve Moore. Have a great weekend. Be generous. Be nice to someone. Join us again next time.