State of the Plate Update

As the COVID crisis and social distancing drag on, most churches are still seeing a marked drop in attendance and some have yet to open their doors. So what impact has that had on giving?

Well, we don't have to guess. Today host Rob West welcomes Brian Cluth of the National Association of Evangelicals to give us the numbers, good and bad. Then we open the phone lines for your calls and questions on anything at 800-525-7000. I'm Steve Moore. A state of the plate update, that's next right here on MoneyWise Live. Well Rob, Pastor Brian Cluth is a noted speaker and author on church giving and currently serves as director of the NAE's Multiple Year Initiative to address the economic needs of pastors. Well that's right Steve, and that means Brian has his finger on the pulse of church giving and how the ongoing pandemic is affecting it. Brian, you were with us in May to talk about this. We're delighted to have you back.

It's great to be back with you and your listeners. We have good news to report today, so hopefully they'll listen and be encouraged. I'm so delighted to hear that because things looked pretty bleak a few months ago as far as church attendance and giving are concerned.

So give us that praise report. Yeah, well the good thing is churches and pocketbooks have been reopening, slowly but surely, but they have been reopening, so we've got good news to report. Oh that's great. Give us a sense of what the data is saying as you compare it now versus what we were seeing just a few months ago. Yeah, we were able to survey back in April over a thousand churches and then we followed up and here in August we did another thousand churches, all 50 states, churches of all sizes across America. And we're seeing that there's really been a flip and things are beginning to really improve by way of finances for churches, but also churches are opening up much more than we would have expected. I will talk about some of those numbers in a moment, but it's been encouraging to see churches and pocketbooks reopening. Oh that's great.

I'm delighted to hear that. Brian, one of the key factors determining church income is obviously the personal income of members. How has that changed since last April? Yeah, that's actually been fairly steady, but the big thing to point out is 75% of people have seen no change in their household income.

And then 4% saw it go up and then 21% did see a decrease. So we are seeing in America that there's a growing number of people that churches need to be aware of in their congregation and in their community that are probably going to need some help in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Yes, well that's a great opportunity for church members to be the hands and feet of Jesus and for churches to be aware of that as well as they minister to the needs in the local body. Brian, given what you just said about income, and that's encouraging, how has all of this affected giving specifically over the last few months? Yeah, what we saw in the spring and April following COVID was two-thirds, 65% of churches saw giving go down. It was really a pretty hard shock to the church world when they had to close their doors and many of them were not prepared for online giving and how to even do services. And that has kind of flipped during this time. So in April there were 65% of churches saw giving declines and now we see 36% have giving declines and 64% have now either stabilized or their giving has increased.

But that's still a hard number. That still means a third of churches in America are struggling financially. They've seen their giving go down and they're grappling with that.

They're facing challenges with that. And so there's still a lot of work to be done and a lot of encouragement to be given, but churches have been adjusting and we also are seeing a lot of churches have now done online giving, digital giving is becoming more regular part. And then people are just stepping up and being more faithful to their church as they realize those that have the enough resources or excess or extra are being even more faithful and more generous to their church, which is really important. Yeah, that's so encouraging.

Well, we've got to hit a break here. When we come back, I want to talk about this idea of churches having cash reserves. Obviously, a season like this has highlighted the need for churches to follow the same biblical principles around reserves as the rest of us, as God's people. We'll also talk specifically about church attendance and how we can even come alongside our churches in a difficult time. That and much more around the corner.

That's right. Joining us today is our special guest, author, teacher and church giving expert Brian Cluth with a State of the Plate update. This is Money Wise Live.

We'll be right back with more. Stick around. 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.

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Pleased to have you with us today on Money Wise Live. We're talking about church giving a vital concept, obviously, for the body of Christ nationwide, particularly during this covid crisis. Brian Cluth joining us to bring us up to speed.

Well, Brian, just a few months ago, when you joined us, it was a pretty bleak picture. The work you were doing and the studies you were conducting out of the National Association of Evangelicals related to the state of the plate was discouraging just related to the number of churches that were really seeing a significant downturn in receipts. The number of people giving on a regular basis, all brought on by the covid 19 pandemic. And you shared just before the break some encouraging trends of a reversal of sorts, although some churches still struggling. We're certainly seeing a pickup in both generosity as well as the what churches are seeing coming in. Let's talk for a moment just about the need for reserves. You know, we get this question often from church lay leaders and even pastors, Brian, wondering whether they should have reserves. And where is that tension and balance between taking what comes into the church and getting it out in the form of ministry and keeping some reserves beyond restricted funds and maybe mortgage reserves that are required? How much would you counsel a church to have on hand as they think about perhaps building that up in the days and months ahead? Our church looked when I was a pastor for 10 years, we looked at always trying to have about three months of reserve on hand just because things come up in this world.

And so that was kind of a practice we instituted while I was a pastor and it served us well. You know, the Bible says a fool spends all he has. And so it's not wise to just spend everything. But for many churches, the challenge is they're very limited. The average church budget in America is $125,000. And so that doesn't go very far from giving and the pastor salary and pay for the buildings and the programs and then try to save. So for many churches, finances are a real struggle. And my goal and the work I do is to help pastors and church boards and leaders really come to grips with those things. And we have a lot of programs to help them with the NAE Financial Health Initiative.

Yes. Well, I know you've been a real blessing to so many churches literally around the country. Brian, obviously social distancing forced many church leaders to rethink their services, made significant adjustments, obviously moving online in large numbers.

How has that affected overall attendance? Yeah, well, there's kind of some exciting news in that this spring, right about half the churches in America that we surveyed saw two to five times more people online than they ever saw in a service. So there was more word going forth and ministry happening as people were stuck at home and looking for hope and looking for help than really ever before in our lifetime. So we saw a huge surge as churches grappled with this issue of providing online services. And so that's, you know, so that's a good thing. And I think that's going to continue into the future.

I just think this COVID is, you know, there's going to be some people are not going to be comfortable in larger groups. So churches are going to have to do both onsite and online. And right now, 92 percent of churches are providing online services. And that's encouraging. And we're really surprised or I was really surprised that nearly nine out of 10 churches have returned to a service, you know, live service. They are doing services, often social distancing, people wearing masks usually when they come in and so forth.

And and so that was much higher than we're hearing in the news. But nine out of 10 churches are back meeting. But in those meetings, it's usually half or less of your people are back with you.

Yes. So you're a church of 200. Normally, you know, there's less than 100 showing up. You're a church of a thousand.

There's less than 500 showing up. And so, you know, so you need to really so churches need to be doing both onsite and online. So just kind of where we're at. So, Brian, do you think that church budgets going forward will have to allow some additional funds to maybe upgrade their technical approach to things?

Oh, yeah. You know, they really had to grapple with that this whole year because, you know, they they needed to do that. But even, you know, I'm proud of churches. They did, you know, women's groups, men's groups, Bible study groups, Sunday school classes, all learn to get online, even pastoral counseling, you know, because you couldn't go see people. So they had to learn to pick up the phone or do a video call in our church. All the elders and staff called every single family to see how they were doing. So there's things that are happening from a ministry perspective that we're being forced into in a really good way, because we're forced to connect with our people to see how they're doing and to love them well during these times. You know, we're called the shepherd, the flock that God has given us. And that's true for every everybody listening in their in their congregation. And for elderly members of the church that really may not be comfortable with technology, I suppose the local church should really make an effort to contact those people by phone or even personal visits to keep them up to speed and to let them know that you're still a major part of our church. We love you. If you need some technical help, we can provide that. If not, we'll find some other ways just to let you know that you're a member of the body and you're valued. Right.

Yeah, absolutely. And what's been kind of fun is a lot of people that are older have learned to use technology to talk to their family. So so they are people are more online than they've ever been. My wife reconnected with all of her high school friends.

She hadn't talked to him in 30 years. And now they have a monthly meeting. So it's a crazy world.

Yes, there's no question about it. Brian, I want to spend the remaining time together talking about this incredible campaign that you're doing with the NAE called Bless Your Pastor. You know, God's people need to step up in the months ahead in their giving, but also in their encouragement.

COVID has placed incredible stress, as you well know, on pastors. So tell us about the Bless Your Pastor campaign. Yeah, the Bless Your Pastor campaign fits perfectly into October Pastor Appreciation Month. And the great news is we have a two hundred and fifty dollar gift card for people's pastor. And what the people need to do is just go to blessyourpastor.org, blessyourpastor.org, and we have a free flyer. It's called 50 Ways to Bless Your Pastor.

And so we ask churches to get that free flyer and distribute it to their congregation by email or hand it out, whatever they want to do or mail. And then we encourage an appreciation offering be taken. And when churches give out that free 50 Ways to Bless Your Pastor and take up the offering and let us know, we will send their pastor a two hundred and fifty dollar Amazon gift card. And we have grant funds to do that. So we would love to bless your pastor, especially with October Pastor Appreciation Month right in front of us. So hopefully a lot of people will be able to utilize those free materials at blessyourpastor.org. I love that.

We've got just about 30 seconds left, Brian. This is really practical and helpful, this resource. Give us just a couple of the ideas from the 50 Ways You Can Bless Your Pastor so folks have a sense of what you're providing. Yeah, one of the things we do is how to pray for your pastor. We have a list of things to pray for. We encourage you to do things like give a gift card or if you're a barber, cut their hair. If you're a mechanic, take care of their car. If you've got a vacation home, share it. Just anything you can personally do to be an encouragement or a blessing to your pastor and church staff, that's what the blessyourpastor.org materials provides for every Christian and for every church to distribute.

Yeah. So Steve, this would be a great opportunity for you to take that mountain home that you have and let your pastor borrow it. Well, I'm more interested in having Brian coming to my house to cut my hair or something like that. What about Bless Your Co-host? There you go. We'll start a new program, Bless Your Radio Host. I love it.

I love it. Brian, thanks for being with us. Always a joy to have you, my friend. Hey, great to be with you and your listeners and we just trust that they'll go get the blessyourpastor.org free materials and love on their pastor for October Pastor Appreciation Month. God bless you, Brian. It's always a pleasure to have you with us.

Again, it's thestateoftheplate.info or blessyourpastor.org. Your call is next right here on MoneyWise Live. Do you know if you have enough? Enough money? Enough house?

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You'll find it all in Master Your Money by Ron Blue, available when you click the store button at moneywiselive.org. Heblues412 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. Says in Matthew 16 verse 15, But you, he asked them, who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And Jesus responded, Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven. Actually, the intent of the Greek is already telling us that whatever it is, it's already been bound or loosed.

In other words, that's already been partitioned. It's already there for us. But when we begin to walk by faith, when we begin to believe God for that, we begin to walk in obedience to that, then what God has already loosed for us in heaven, or bound for us in heaven, then becomes part of our practical experience.

We see it happen on earth. So what he's saying is, it's stuff that's already been, how can we say, approved by him. That does not upset me, it thrills me that God in his sovereignty has already determined what we're not just going to ask and get when he's going, You know what, right now you have a little temporary insanity. I think I won't give you that one, but please try again later. You know, help me Lord. Beth would love for you to tune in each Tuesday night for Bible study. Classes begin at 930 p.m. Eastern, 830 Central on TBN.

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So if you hear a mention of the phone number, please don't call us, but you can find us online at MoneyWiseLive.org. And welcome back to MoneyWise Live. Happy to have you with us today.

It's a real honor and a pleasure to serve you. MoneyWise Live is a place where timeless wisdom meets today's financial choices and decision. And when we say timeless wisdom, obviously, Rob, we're talking about God's timeless word and his wisdom.

And it's amazing that the Bible has over 2,000 verses that have to do with money and possessions, and that's what we choose from. Let's begin by going to Tampa, Florida. Hello, Mary. Thanks for calling us today. And what's on your mind? Hello, and thank you for taking my call.

Pleasure. Years ago, I had a living will and a living trust drawn up, but my husband was deceased then. Now my son is deceased, so I need to have it revised. I have two living daughters and I have grandchildren.

I was wondering what price range your trust start at. OK. Yeah. Well, let me just clarify a couple of things. Number one, let me just encourage you. This is the good direction you're headed because we do need to update wills and trusts over time as our situation changes. Certainly yours has.

And so this is a great time to do it. So I don't we don't provide any services here, financial services or investment advice or legal help. But we do recommend what's called the Certified Kingdom Advisor designation for those looking for competent professionals in estate planning, which is what you need, as well as financial planning, investments, insurance and tax and accounting.

But it's a designation that professionals earn to build on a base of competency and really specialize in bringing God's word to bear in their financial advice. But each attorney, each financial advisor would determine their own fees. So I think what I would do, Mary, because you don't have access to don't know who the attorney was that drew it up initially, if that's not on the document itself, I would encourage you to find a competent, godly estate attorney for this. You can make amendments to a living trust and have them notarized and then kept with a legal document. But I really would go see a competent professional who could really help you do that. Review it. Look at the laws of your state, help you talk through your current family situation and, of course, give you a price.

And then if you agree, ultimately proceed with making the amendments. I'd visit with a couple, maybe two or three estate planning attorneys. And if you'd like to find one there in Tampa, you can go to MoneyWiseLive.org. Just click on Find a CKA. And when you call, you could ask what that would cost and they would readily tell you what an amendment like that would cost.

As an alternate approach, you could call your local church there in Tampa and just ask for a referral to a godly estate planning attorney. But I think that's the next direction I would go. So you make sure it's done properly. It's in force.

And there's no reason why you can't ask what those costs are and make that one of your decision making criteria as you decide who to proceed with. Does that make sense, Mary? Yes. OK. We appreciate your call today and would encourage you to go ahead and get that done. God bless you and Merry Christmas. God bless you. Thank you for your time. Alrighty. God bless. Rob, how about an email? Let's do one of those today, OK?

OK. Let's do it. This is from Sam. He says, Dear Rob, I've been employed with my company for 12 years. Is it OK to buy a life insurance policy through my employer's plan? The premium costs less than buying from other places.

Are there any pros and cons that I should know about? Ah, yeah. Well, first of all, many employers offer free life insurance as a benefit. It's known as group life as opposed to individual life. All you have to do is sign up. In some cases, it's even automatic.

Don't miss that. If that's a benefit provided to you by your company, take full advantage of it. Now, why would you want to buy group life insurance through your employer? Mainly because of convenience. It's there.

Maybe you haven't done it yet. Oftentimes, it is a good deal. And because it's group life, there's typically not a medical exam required.

So if you have a significant medical condition, it may be the most cost effective insurance you can find. So what are the disadvantages? There probably are some.

Yeah, there are. First of all, most of us are not likely to stay at the same place throughout our career. And you may not be able to convert it to an individual life policy. If you are, the costs would likely go way up. Secondly, your next employer may not offer group life. And thirdly, it's more expensive as you age. So if you're going to buy, for instance, term insurance and buy enough of it so you're properly covered, you're going to want to buy that as young as you can and probably for 20 or 30 years. Well, if you get into a group policy and then you leave that employer and now you're 5 years older or 10 years older, it's going to be more expensive when you go out to buy a new individual life policy. So how do you sum all this up? Well, I would just simply say take advantage of free group life insurance.

Don't miss that. Number two, compare the cost of supplemental group life insurance through your work with an individual life insurance policy you could get on your own. If it's the same or even just slightly higher for the individual policy, I'd get that because that's going to transcend where you currently work. And then number three, get enough coverage.

Term life insurance is cheap, relatively speaking, and I don't like seeing people underinsured because they don't have enough money to really provide what's needed in the event of their death. So get enough coverage. All right. We hope that helps you, Sam. And if you have an email question for Rob West, you can send it to questions at moneywise.org, questions at moneywise.org. Thanks for being tuned in today. This is MoneyWise Live. It's a real honor and blessing to have you with us.

And with that, well, we're going to have to put a bow on it for this segment. Oh, except for the MoneyWise e-magazine. We have a new e-magazine. It's a quarterly publication. It contains special podcasts and articles and inspiring stories, and you should check it out today. Your free subscription, you sign up for that when you visit our website, moneywise.org, moneywise.org. Hey, you're listening to MoneyWise Live with Rob West. Today's broadcast is prerecorded, so we won't be taking any calls. But we have some calls lined up and some great information coming your way that I think you'll find usable at the very, very least. This is MoneyWise Live. I'm Steve Moore.

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Hi, my name is Rose. I'm a communications major at Moody Bible Institute. The Moody Radio Verse of the Week is found in Deuteronomy 6, 6-7. These commandments that I give to you today are to be on your hearts, impress them on your children, talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lay down and when you get up. That's Deuteronomy 6, 6-7, the Moody Radio Verse of the Week.

MyMoodyRadio.org. 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. With SRN News, I'm John Scott. The lone Kentucky detective charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor has pleaded not guilty. Brett Hankinson's plea comes five days after a grand jury indicted him on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into the home of Taylor's neighbors. Northern California's wine country is on fire again as strong winds are fanning flames, prompting evacuation orders involving more than 50,000 people. Fires coming on the third anniversary of deadly wildfires that erupted in 2017, including one of those fires that killed 22 people. President Trump expected to announce the shipment of millions of rapid coronavirus tests to states this week.

He plans to urge governors to use them to reopen schools. Wall Street rallied today. The Dow gained 410 points. The Nasdaq up 203. The S&P 500 ahead 53. This is SRN News.

Matthew 2540 reminds us, and the king will answer them, Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it unto me. Sandra's in Miami, and how can we help you, Sandra? Yes, hi. I am recently retired two weeks ago. And I'm just trying to see how to spend my, what I'm getting from Social Security well. Do I still pay tithes and debt?

Yeah, Sandra, that's a great question. And in terms of a tithing on Social Security, you know, let's back up. Here's my approach just to giving in general. First of all, why do we give?

Well, you're a manager, just like I am, and we all are, of whatever God has entrusted to us. And so we look at money through a biblical lens, and we say money is a tool to accomplish God's purposes. He gives us principles on how to manage it, and we should attach money to meaning. And as we set goals for our life, we should look at how God wants us to use that in terms of providing, and which is clearly laid out in Scripture, we're to provide for our families. 1 Timothy is very clear about that. God says we should enjoy what he's entrusted to us, and so it's for enjoyment. We should also live with contentment.

All of those ideas are supported in Scripture. And then he gives us principles as to how we should live. He doesn't tell us what our lifestyle should look like. He doesn't say you should live on and spend 68.2% of your income.

He leaves that up to you to decide, and I would make that a matter of prayer. And that should be reflected in your spending plan or your budget. Now, where does giving enter into that? Well, I think clearly throughout the Old and New Testament, we're affirmed in this idea that we should be generous. We should be givers, because giving breaks the power of money in our lives. It calibrates our hearts to God's heart. It's an act of worship. It should be done without compulsion.

It should be done cheerfully. And we get to participate in God's activity through our giving. Now, how do we give? Well, the Bible says we see the principle of the tithe, which is the first 10% supporting the work of the local church, the storehouse. We also see in the New Testament talk about giving proportionately, as God has provided to us.

And so I think systematic giving is a great place to start. In fact, I would apply the principle of the tithe, the first fruits right off the top. Now, that's where we get to this question of, OK, should I tithe on Social Security? Because in a sense, I've been paying into the Social Security system. And once I reach retirement now, I'm in a sense getting back a portion of what I put in. And so that's where some people would say, really, I've already tithed on that money.

I take a little bit of a different approach. I would say whatever comes into your hand is God's provision, however it got to you. And so I would say as a way to honor the Lord, if you want to apply the principle of the tithe, I do that on everything that comes into your hand. And then we use that as a starting point, not an ending point. And we say, Lord, what would you have me to do?

And as you're able and as He entrusts money to you, I would look for ways to even give beyond that, even sacrificially. Now, at the end of the day, this is not about legalism. This is not about checking a box. This is about a relationship with a living God who is your creator.

And so I think I would be on my knees saying, Lord, what would you have me to do? Now, I realize, Sandra, that was a long answer to a short question. So I would just suffice it to say it's between you and the Lord. But I would say if we're going to apply the principle of the tithe, the first 10 percent to the local church, the storehouse, for me, I would do that on Social Security, just like I would do that on disability or any other form of income, including your wages, right off the top, and then see what God does with that. But it all needs to be done in the context of a well-defined spending plan, and it needs to be done prayerfully.

Is that helpful? That has defined a little bit, because I thought that since I was leaning towards giving offering, but not necessarily the full tithe, because now it's very tight. But the way you put it is trusting God with what you have. So that's food for thought and prayer.

I'm so glad you approached it that way, and I think that's exactly what it is. It's really about trusting God, not our things. We ultimately trust God. He is our provider, not the government, not our employer, not anybody. And one of the ways we demonstrate that trust is through obedience and giving, holding everything loosely with an open hand.

But obviously, Sandra, as Rob's mentioned, in this situation, this is something that you and if you're married, your spouse should talk about, pray about, and do what you believe God is speaking to your heart about. That's not good grammar, sorry about that, but I think you get the gist of it, and we wish you the best. Thank you for having an open heart about this. Hollywood, Florida, David, what's your question today? Thank you for taking my call. Blessings to you both.

Thank you, David. Question, you pretty much answered a lot of the doubts I have regarding the tithing. But with my teenage son the other night, now that he's starting to work a couple more hours at a part-time job, I told him that he needed to give 10%, you know, the tithing thing. And his reply was, oh, do I have to pay God enough to receive blessing? And it kind of caught me off guard a little bit in the sense that I didn't want to quote scripture, or let's go to the Bible, look it up, because he's struggling right now, whether he goes, you know, to church or not. He's in that teenage bracket now where, you know, God is love and I don't have to go to church or anything like that. So how would you explain a teenage 17-year-old about tithing, even though I heard just some of the points met with Sandra?

It's ironic, she's only 20 miles away from me because I'm just between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Yes, sir. But in the electronic age that we're living in, is tithing still considered biblical if you do it on an app, online, and while you're doing it, would you say a prayer of your tithing?

Or some people are saying, oh, you should be doing it as a check. It's crazy, but how would you approach that? Well, David, in the same way we were talking with the previous caller, you know, I think the important part here is to recognize this is not about a cosmic vending machine in the sky. This is a relationship with a living God who sent his son to die for you and for me and for your son and all of us to pay the penalty for our sins.

And he's our provider. Everything that we have comes from his hand, our next breath, and that includes the resources that we have. The Bible says even the power to make wealth comes from God himself.

And so as we recognize that, it puts us in a completely different position. Your son is not making money and 100 percent or 90 percent is his, and he's then required to give 10 percent back to God. No, 100 percent is God's. The Psalm 24 one says the earth is the Lord's and everything in it.

It's all his. And so God entrusts that to us. And part of being a faithful steward is recognizing the relationship we have to our money. Our money is a tool to accomplish God's purposes in our lives. And we should enjoy it and we should live with contentment and we should also use it to provide for ourselves and those that are dependent upon us. And here's what we find is the secret to really understanding this is by holding it loosely, by being generous. You know, we can see money as an end and of itself, that our self-worth equals our net worth, and that we're not going to experience significance until we have a healthy bank account, and that ultimately success is defined by the number of zeros at the end of our portfolio.

What we realize is none of that's true. We just have to look to those who have great wealth in Hollywood and professional sports, not all of them, but certainly some serve as great examples that money does not fulfill us. God is the only thing that fulfills us.

That's where our trust should be. And as we give, we realize the blessing that comes with it, the joy that comes from it, the ability to participate in God's activity, all of it comes through generosity. Then when we answer the question how to give, we give systematically and applying the principle of the tithe, the first fruits back to the local church as a starting point, is just that.

It's a beginning point on the how of giving, but the why is everything I just said. David, stay on the line. We'll talk you off here. We have something we'd like to send you. This is MoneyWise Live. We'll be right back after this. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .