Debt Collection Rule Changes

If you're behind on your bills, the last thing you want is to see a collection notice in the mail or get a call from a collector. But now they have even more ways to ruin your day. That's right, recent rule changes now allow collection agencies to text and email you. And the new regs have consumer rights groups all riled up. Financial planner and teacher Rob West has the details and will take your calls and questions on anything financial at 800-525-7000.

800-525-7000. I'm Steve Moore. Debt collection rule changes next right here on MoneyWise Live. Alright Rob, let's start out with a disclaimer. We're not saying you shouldn't have to pay your bills, bills that you rightfully owe, correct?

No, we're definitely not, Steve. Proverbs 3.27 says plainly, Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due what is in your power to do it. So as believers we have to always pay our debts, if not immediately, as soon as we possibly can. But at the same time, debt collectors have a long history of harassing people for payment with constant phone calls and bogus threats about legal and even criminal action if they don't pay. So rules were put in place to prevent that type of harassment. An example would be calling you at work or even late at night.

Yeah, okay. And for the most part, those protections have been effective, right? They have been, but those restrictions were put in place in 1977, which email and texting were only science fiction then. So for over a year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been grappling with how to incorporate modern communication into the regs that govern collection agencies. Well, the grappling is over and the CFPB has simply decided to allow collectors to use not just email and texting, but also social media and voice messaging, even though a recent survey showed that 70% of Americans are against it.

Wow. And as you might expect, this has caused a great deal of controversy, no doubt. Yes, it has. The CFPB's position is that by providing collectors with these new means to contact people, it will reduce the number of phone calls and snail mail messages they receive so they won't feel like they're being harassed as much. Okay, but these changes just provide some new ways to hound people in addition to the old, right? Well, that's what consumer groups are saying. And not only that, they contend the changes will open up people to fraud and identity theft.

Why would that be? Well, collection agencies, by definition, are third parties. That means your creditor has sold your debt to an outside entity and that agency now has the right to contact you for payment.

But you've probably never heard of them. And scammers already take advantage of that situation by conning people into thinking they may have forgotten about some long-lost debt. Well, with these rule changes, Steve, a person could get emails with links from unknown third parties that might be legitimate and might not be. Unfamiliar emails with links are often phishing attempts.

We talk about that often. And this could simply download malware to your computer. And on top of that, the FCC is now warning people about, get this, smishing attempts. These are harmful links in text messages. So there's a lot to be concerned about with these new rules. You know, I think if I'm not mistaken, we've had phishing and scamming and smashing and now it's smishing. Okay.

I'll try to keep these straight here. Anything you can do if you're constantly getting emails and texts from collectors when this starts up? Well, I will say there's one bright spot in the new regs. The language specifically gives you the right to opt out of receiving those types of messages, but you have to make your request in writing by snail mail, which is somewhat ironic. And a collection agency must provide you with simple instructions for opting out of receiving any more emails or text messages. Now that's good, but how can you tell if a message you receive is legitimate or scam?

Right. Well, fortunately, those rules haven't changed. Collectors are legally required to give you their name, the name of the original creditor, the amount owed and provide verification if you dispute the claim. They can't pressure you to pay using a wire transfer or a prepaid credit card like a lot of scammers do. And they can't make a demand that you make immediate payment. And they can't ask you to provide your banking information or Social Security number. Legitimate collectors don't need that information. Finally, they can't threaten to inform other parties like your employer, family or friends about your debt. And if you're contacted by anyone breaking those rules, it's either a con artist or a collection agency operating outside of the law.

In either case, you should report it to the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov. And by all means, Steve, if they tell you to use a gift card, run for the hills. We'll do OK. Hey, your calls next. Eight hundred five to five. Seven thousand. This is Money Wise Live eight hundred five to five. Seven thousand. Siri, I need some advice.

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He's Rob West. I'm Steve Moore. We'd love to hear from you today. Please place that call anytime you'd like at 800-525-7000.

Here's our Facebook question of the day. How do you feel about debt collectors calling and emailing? Danielle says working in debt collection paid for college, but it was a horrible calling. It was horrible calling people daily when we both knew their situation hadn't changed since yesterday, and they knew that they were losing their house and didn't need us reminding them. And that must have been tough indeed. Bob says they have a job to do, but this is one industry where it's not unusual to see abuse.

I feel for those going through it, it's hard to climb out sometimes. That's certainly a situation we're seeing these days, Rob. Well, that's exactly right. You know, Janet gets frustrated when folks are misinformed about a debt, and she says that these collectors can be abusive in their tactics.

That's certainly true. And Kim has talked about receiving harassing calls for other people's debt problems, and she's frustrated while they'll sometimes even call friends and family trying to get anyone to pay. By the way, I will say under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, to Kim's note, it is in fact illegal to call or talk to family and friends about someone else's debt. So if someone is doing that, make sure you let them know that you're aware of the fact that they are operating outside of the law, and then report them.

FTC.gov, they take this very seriously. And our own, interestingly, our own Jim Henry responded to our question today. Jim says I love it when they call, I get lonely sometimes, and you guys never call me anymore.

So I wish he would have just come directly to us instead of posting it. He is shaking his head as we speak. I think we're not going to get a Christmas card this year.

You're not, at least. 800-525-7000. Speaking of Jim, well, here's another one. But this Jim is in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Hey, Jim, nice to have you there, my friend.

How can we help you? Well, I've been receiving some debt collection letters. Actually, I didn't get to that point, but I had phone service with. And long story short, I canceled my service several months ago and then started receiving, actually paid everything, made sure of that, and then we started receiving a letter for a specific amount. And it was really odd. It was like a month had gone by. The cancellation had already taken place, and I was on with my new company. And I would say two months even, and then I got a letter that said that I owed something.

And it was a surprise to me. But anyway, every time I call about the letter to try to figure it out, they tell me that they don't have any record of it. And no matter who I get passed from, one department to the next. And nobody seems to know what's going on or be able to tell me or unwilling to. And I just don't know what to do. They tell me that I don't have any outstanding bill, but I keep receiving the letters.

So what do I do? Jim, on this communication you're receiving in the mail, is there an account number on there or something official? Yes, there is an account number, and that's the weird thing about it.

Ever since I was with this company for 20-some years, actually. And then cancel them just for better service, in my opinion. So anyway, that account number that is associated with this amount, they always have a hard time. They can never pull up information, and it's always like pulling teeth whenever I've had to speak with them about my account. But at the same time, it's still my account number, and it's never not been that same account number for that service.

Yeah, very good. Okay, well, I'd do a couple of things. Number one is I would go directly to the institution's website and pull their customer service number, toll-free number, off their website and call them directly as opposed to using anything you'd get in this snail mail. Let's assume for a second it's a scam of some sort.

It might not be, but let's assume it is. So go directly to their website, get the customer service number, call in, give them the account number and ask that they send you a statement showing the current balance, which hopefully is zero. The second thing I would do is I'd pull a copy of your credit report from each of the three bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can do that, Jim, at no cost at this website, annualcreditreport.com.

Annualcreditreport.com. And then let's look for this particular account on that and any others while you're at it and just verify that there is a zero balance. If it's showing zero balance paid in full on the credit report, I'd probably just disregard it altogether.

But if there's an amount outstanding showing on the credit report and or if you get a statement directly from the company showing there's a balance, then obviously you're going to have to take this further, try to move it up the chain of command and see if you can get some answers. So I think those would be my next steps here. And if you have further questions after you do that, give us a call back. Yeah, really sorry to hear about that, Jim. Hope that works out for you. Thanks very much.

Des Plaines, Illinois. Hello, Debbie, what's your debt collector situation here? Debbie, we're having trouble hearing you, I think.

Well, that's because I'm sick, so I'm shouting right now. Sorry to hear that. Thank you. My neighbor has a debt and his debt collecting company called me to try and get me to help them to pay his debt. Yeah, they called me and I said, well, where are you from? And they told me the name of the place and I strung them along talking. And while they're talking, I'm looking up the place that he said and it turns out to be a debt collector. And then I had people for him ringing my doorbell saying they've got court papers and this and that. And I don't know if this is legal, but it's outlandish.

Yes, yes. Well, I would report it because this is not legal, what's happening here. You know, as we said before, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says debt collectors can't harass, oppress, abuse anyone they contact and they can't call folks that are not directly connected to the account that is owed. So you can contact ftc.gov or you can go to consumerfinance.gov. In either case, you can report this information.

And unfortunately, you're describing one of the tactics we hear about that at the end of the day is abuse and illegal. And so I would certainly let somebody know what's going on here. We appreciate you reporting in though, Debbie. It's unfortunate and yet it does happen. Yeah, and Debbie, again, that's ftc.gov.

That's the Federal Trade Commission. And we hope that you're feeling better. Thanks very much. Time for one more, Lake Worth, Florida.

Marie, how can we help you? I think last week on your show I heard something about that it's a person buying a first-time home can take money out of a 401K, like a one-time event for the down payment of the home. Is that correct? And can you give me more details on that?

Sure. So what you're talking about there is a first-time home purchase, and it does allow for removal from a 401K in order to do that in terms of being able to miss the one-time penalty or the 10% early withdrawal penalty that can be happening there. It's only $10,000, though, that you can take out for that purpose. But if it is for a first-time home purchase or that's also defined as within a home that you haven't had as a primary residence in the last two years, you still would owe the tax on that withdrawal, but you can be exempt from the penalty that would normally take place if somebody is less than $59.5.

So you have heard correctly. I don't advise it, though. It's still, Marie, expensive money that you would be accessing in the sense that, A, you would still owe the tax on it, so let's say that's 20% right off the top, and then, B, that's money that's no longer available for your future retirement and the like, which you had put it there for in the first place. It's also not going to be growing on a tax-deferred basis.

But it is an option up to that $10,000 amount per person under the age of 59.5 if, in fact, it is for a first-time home purchase. Marie, we wish you the best with that. Thank you very much, and we appreciate you trying to get through. I know we've missed you a couple of times in the last week or so.

So, again, thank you very much, and Merry Christmas to you. When we come back, Wayne has some questions about some stock. The company now seems to be out of business. Alex wants to know about considering the gig economy. We'll come back and chat some about that, and take your calls too at 800-525-7000. Welcome to MoneyWise Live. You probably have a strategy for your finances, your career, even your retirement. But do you have a strategy for your giving? At the National Christian Foundation, we can help you create a giving strategy to inspire your family, maximize your resources, and leave a lasting legacy of faith.

To learn how, visit moneywise.org slash ncf. 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. 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. Under Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians overtook the southern kingdom of Judah. This is God's people. They absorbed them into their own empire and they destroyed Jerusalem. Where this gets interesting is in the symbolic context of Babylonia. Traditionally, the site of the Tower of Babel was right here in Babylon in the city state that we're talking about, 50 miles south of Baghdad. That is what is believed to be where the Tower of Babel was. You can obviously see it's all coming from the same root word, Babel and Babylon. Now, you know of that being the place where, if you're familiar with the story, Genesis 11, where the people said, we're going to gather together after they had been told, you scatter across the earth and multiply.

No, we're going to gather together. We're going to see if we can build a tower to heaven and we're going to make a name for ourselves. And see, God's deal was, let me tell you something, you'll have more identity under my name. You can completely get lost in me under my great name and have more identity than anybody that does everything they can to make a name for themselves. So this was the epitome of arrogance and this became the foundation that was poured for what you and I know symbolically as Babylon.

So it's pouring the foundation for Babylon's representation of the arrogance of man in defiance of God. You've been listening to Beth Moore with a quick word. Beth would love for you to tune in each Tuesday night for Bible study. Classes begin at 9.30 PM Eastern, 8.30 Central on TBN.

Maybe you had to miss a Tuesday. No problem. Go to BethMoore.org. That's BethMoore.org. You can watch the latest episode of our television program and more. Nice to have you there today.

It's MoneyWise Live taking your calls and questions on anything financial at 800-525-7000. Let's continue. We mentioned Wayne. So let's say hi to Wayne. And what's your scenario there today, sir?

How can we help? Hi, Steve and Rob. I have a stock that I purchased in 1999. It's called Alert and it's a medical device company.

It has to do with a diabetes solution. And it hasn't gone anywhere. I didn't buy very many pure stocks. I work for a small company. We have a 401K. And now I'm retired and I've kept this stock for all these years. And since I have an IRA, not a pure pension like some people do, I'd like to write off the loss, which is probably about $700. I think I bought it for about $707. It actually has gone up in the last few months.

It has a value of six or seven cents right now, 1,000 shares. I went back to the money manager that I picked for the company that I worked for, you know, 30 employees. And they were nice enough to try to help me.

They said, no, it shouldn't be any problem at all. And we went to Charles Schwab and they said it didn't reach the threshold to be able to sell it for me. So I have it. Can I send it back to the company? I have their address. They are still in business. I heard Steve say that they're not in business. They are in business and they're still trading, but it's still worth very little. That's seven cents, six cents.

Yeah. Well, it's going to be challenging here, Wayne, for you to liquidate this, unfortunately. What you need to try to find is a custodian that will take a penny stock or what's often called an over-the-counter stock, and they don't actually sound...

They're not actually as they sound where they have to cost a penny, but the idea is that anything trading for less than $5 a share is generally considered a penny stock, and it trades outside of the major indexes, of course. So I would check with a number of the brokerages to see if you can find someone that would allow you to open an account in the same title as the stock is owned, then deposit the shares, and then you could sell the position, assuming there's a market there for it. Do you know what the volume is on any given day of this particular stock? I'm sure I could find that out, but I do not know right now. Okay.

Well, that would be one question. I might look at Robinhood. They've gotten a lot of press lately as a fintech startup.

They've made a lot of press around free trades, but they may be... I know they work with penny stocks, and that would be one option. You could look at Interactive Brokers.

You could look at Zacks Trade. Some of those that might be willing to take penny stocks... I know NerdWallet, the website nerdwallet.com, has an article on the best brokers for penny stock trading, so you may want to start there and see if you can find a brokerage firm that, again, would allow you to open an account, deposit the shares, and then liquidate them. I think the other option would be, as you said, contact the investor relations department, which every publicly traded company has to have an investor relations department. Contact the investor relations at the company and ask for any recommendations on how you might liquidate this position. But I think between those two options, finding a broker that will take it or contacting the company for a recommendation might be your best next step.

And then if you are able to unload this position, then certainly if you work with a CPA, make he or she aware of the sale so that you can, in fact, take advantage of it on your tax return. Wayne, thank you very much. Hope that gives you a place to pursue this, and we wish you the best with that. Thank you very much. We have a quick email before the break.

It's from Patty. She says, I want to do a home renovation. I have enough of my emergency savings to pay for it, but it would pull my balance down to two months expenses. So should I borrow and preserve my savings?

Yeah, that's a good question. You know, I would just simply say, if you feel confident in the stability of your income, of course, none of us know, right, what the future holds. But if there's nothing on the horizon that would cause you to believe there'd be a major disruption in your income, and you are able to preserve after the renovation two months expenses, and then you could, with intentionality, build that back up to three to six months expenses, I'd love for you to fund this out of savings and miss the cost of borrowing altogether, not only the cost of the interest, but the closing costs and the other charges that would be related to it.

So I'd say, yeah, if you have stable income and you're living on a spending plan and you've got good margin and you're only pulling it down to two months expenses, go for it, but then be really diligent about building that back up. Okay, and we're glad that you contacted us, Patty. If you have a brief e-mail question for Rob, you can send it along to questions at moneywise.org, questions at moneywise.org. Much more coming up right around the corner, 800-525-7000. on that topic at soundmindinvesting.org. Since 1990, Sound Mind Investing has sought to offer financial wisdom for living well.

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Home School Bravely is available now at moodypublishers.com. What you reading, Josh? Oh, Today in the Weeds. Helps me, uh, grow weeds. But weeds grow by themselves.

I suppose. What are you reading? Today in the Word.

Because Christians don't grow by ourselves. I mean, we need the Word of God daily. Maybe I should get out of the weeds and into the Word. A fresh passage of Scripture and a devotional that helps you live it out. Best Today in the Word in print, podcast, or email.

Bring it todayintheword.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 MoneyWise Live. For SRN News, I'm John Scott. British regulators have warned that people who have a history of serious allergic reactions shouldn't receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as they investigate two adverse reactions that occurred on the first day of the country's mass vaccination program. U.S. health regulators have posted a positive review of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.

They're nearing a decision on whether to allow the use of the shot, a decision to authorize the vaccine expected very quickly. Commercial flights with Boeing 737 MAX jet lighters have resumed for the first time since they were grounded worldwide, following two deadly accidents nearly two years ago. Brazil's Gol Airlines became the first in the world to return the planes to its active fleet. Stocks closing broadly lower on Wall Street. The Dow dropped 105 points.

The Nasdaq was off 243, and the S&P down 29. This is SRN News. Hey, you should check us out if you get a chance. You'll find us at MoneyWiseLive.org. That's our primary website. Lots of great information there.

Much of it free for the taking, if you will. Also some resources that you're able to purchase if you want to go just a little bit deeper. And, of course, archives to past radio programs and quick and easy ways to find a kingdom advisor to help you get there.

And also ways to connect with a budget coach. So check it all out when you visit MoneyWiseLive.org. Alex is in Indiana, Rob. And, Alex, you want to make some extra money to finance a home? That's a good thing.

And you're considering something like Instacart. Tell us what that's all about. Hi. Hi, guys. I just want to say thank you for being here. It's a pleasure to be here. Hi, guys. I just want to say thank you for answering my call.

You guys and Janet Parshall are two of my favorite shows on Moody Radio. Me and my wife are in the process of financing our first home. And we realize that it's going to be difficult for a little bit because we're wanting to move closer to our church, to be closer to our church family. And we're also kind of hoping that God will provide work out there.

Our jobs are currently an hour away from where we're going to be moving. So we know it's going to be a bit of a struggle for the first little bit. And we're wanting to know if there's, you know, trying to find different ways of earning money on the side to kind of supplement the income. Sure. So what are you thinking, Alex? What ideas have you come up with so far?

I'm thinking of apps like Zikar, Uber, Uber Eats, stuff like that. Yeah, yeah. You know, that could certainly be an option.

And I can understand why you'd want to move closer to your church home and certainly make this a matter of prayer and ask the Lord to provide something that's going to be closer because I realize the wear and tear on the car and you, not to mention time away from your wife and family and friends is not fun in terms of a long commute on a daily basis. And there are some great options out there to supplement your income. I think the key I would want for you is before you make a decision to buy something beyond what you can afford, I'd want you to prove out this additional income for a period of time and even build up a little bit of an additional reserve so that you have some history and you really can see that this additional income is going to materialize. I know you mentioned Instacart and it's like so many of these shopping services.

They can be really good. In fact, Jim Henry who's doing our research today was just saying that Instacart generally gets positive reviews according to Indeed which is one of the largest job sites in the world. You can make on average about $14.50 an hour including tips. So you would do the grocery shopping for someone else and in our gig economy this is one of the new ways on the side assuming you have the time to dedicate to it that you could add some income. But that would require that you have some flexibility with your other job and if you're doing all this commuting that may limit the time you have available. So you're going to have to really crunch the numbers and make sure you understand the added cost of the fuel to get back and forth to your current day job, the additional wear and tear on the car, but then also the time you might have available to do something else on the side. But I could understand why you would want to do this and I would say make it an exercise of faith.

Ask the Lord to provide something and let's see what he does because I like the idea behind why you would want to make this move. So we appreciate your encouragement today and thanks for listening very much. Thanks, Alex. We love people that are willing to go the extra mile and work. If you're in your 20s or your 30s in particular, I mean you've got lots of energy you may not think you do, but when you're my age you'll realize that you did. So we love guys that are working extra hard to make it happen.

Just make sure that you and your wife are on the same wavelength here and that she understands how much energy and time it will take. But if it's God's will for you, we trust that that will happen and that you'll be able to pull that housing situation together. And God bless you.

Thanks so much. Let's see. Akron, Ohio. Hello, Will. What's your question for Rob West? Hi. First of all, I'd like to thank you guys for the service you do. It really has had a tremendous impact on our life going back to Larry Burkett. And we're in a very good place in our life. My wife and I are in the process of redoing our trust and our will. And we have seven children, and one of them is very much estranged from the family, has done a lot of hurtful things towards the family. And we're struggling with whether we include our daughter that basically has walked away from the family and even hurt the family.

Yeah. Well, Will, I know this is a really difficult situation. I've talked to and counseled enough families to know how really challenging this can be in terms of just navigating this relationally and obviously dealing with estate planning issues like you're describing here. A couple of thoughts.

Number one is I'd like to send you a book that I think is really the best resource out there in terms of navigating all of these issues from a godly perspective. So when we're done here today, I want you to hold on the line. We're going to send you a copy of it. It's called Splitting Heirs, kind of a funny name. Not Splitting Heirs, but Splitting Heirs. And it's by our good friend Ron Blue.

It's been out for some time, and it really is kind of the read in this area. I think it'll help you really establish some principles and some guidelines around how you'll make this decision. Ron will encourage you to ask the question, what's the worst thing that can happen? Because remember, we've got a couple of objectives here. Primarily, we want to make sure that we put you in a position where you can have a witness for Christ in all that you do.

Remember, it's not about the money at the end of the day. We want this estranged child to come back to the Lord. So the question is, what's the worst thing that can happen in either case? Well, one thing that could happen if you write this child out of the will is it could damage further the relationship, which then creates a barrier and prevents you from being able to share Christ. Doesn't mean the Lord and the Holy Spirit couldn't get a hold of this child's heart some other way. The Lord can do anything he wants. All I'm saying is we want to think about the implications of that and really pray through that. Ask the Lord for wisdom, James 1-5, right?

If we lack wisdom, we should ask. The Lord will give it to us and say, you know, is that a possible outcome? That if we write this child out of the will, then it's really going to harm the ability to eventually reconcile the relationship and hopefully win this child back to Christ.

That's one consideration. Another consideration of not doing it would be could these funds, based on the lifestyle that this child is living, actually cause harm in the sense that if a significant amount of money or some amount of money is given to a child that has a lifestyle that is damaging, participating in things not only that are ungodly but harmful to this child, then obviously that would be a real consideration and the last thing you'd want to do is add money to a volatile situation that could actually make matters worse. So therein, I think, lies the real crux of this that you're just going to have to ask the Lord for real wisdom on. So I think as you think through that, what's the worst thing that could happen if we write this child out of the will, if we keep the child in the will, both with regard to your witness for Christ and adding money to the lifestyle of this child, perhaps the answer will become clear at that point. So we're going to ask the MoneyWise Live community to be praying for you as you make this decision, you and your wife, as you navigate this, and you hold on the line, we'll get your information, get this book right out to you. God bless you, Will, and your other children and your wife as you work through this, especially at the Christmas season. God bless you, sir.

We'll be right back. If the heavy burden of debt is robbing you of freedom and peace of mind, Christian credit counselors can help. We're a nationwide nonprofit credit counseling organization that has helped over 300,000 individuals in the last 27 years get out of credit card debt 80% faster while honoring that debt in full. To learn how Christian credit counselors can help you, visit christiancreditcounselors.org.

That's christiancreditcounselors.org, or call 800-557-1985. 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. This is Barry McGuire. I'm a car guy here to help you understand God's purpose for your life through the eyes of a layman. Almost 260 million of the 325 million people who live in the United States seldom, if ever, go to church.

You know what that means? It means that you are the church to 80% of the people you encounter on a daily basis. However they perceive God may be largely based on you, because everything you do and say leads people closer or further away from God, whether you like it or not.

That's why God calls you a city set on a hill. Most of us are waiting on politics and pulpists to turn America back to God. Well, God's waiting for us to do it. We have 260 million people desperately needing to know there's a God who loves them, and how are they going to know unless someone tells them, unless the 35 million of us who know the truth tell them? Your job is to ignite revival outside the walls of your church by moving everyone every day closer to Jesus.

For help doing that, go to ROTW.com. If you're feeling that it's time to make a change in where you work, maybe you should investigate the possibility of a position with Moody Bible Institute. Moody Bible Institute is looking to fill a number of full and part-time positions in education at Moody Publishers and Moody Radio. You'll find positions in management, clerical, professional and non-skilled labor. It may be worth your time to take a look at the more than 40 position openings available now. You'll find each job description online at moodyjobs.org. That's moodyjobs.org.

All right, here's the good news. We have a couple of open lines, so if you're thinking about a question or a topic you'd like to have Rob address, we might be able to squeeze you in today. 800-525-7000, toll-free, obviously.

800-525-7000. Mike's in Oklahoma, and Mike, you've got a Camry, and you're kind of wondering what to do with it, huh? What's the scenario here? Yeah, well, I kind of got a unique story. I just got out of prison just a little over a year ago. I spent 32 years in there, so I had zero credit.

I've got a really good job driving over the road, and I pull in anywhere from $600 to $1,200 a week. I'm paying on this Camry $390 a month for 70 months, but because I had zero credit, I didn't have bad credit, I just didn't have any credit because I never had a credit card or got anything on credit. So they're getting me for 19.5% interest on it, and my question is, what I was thinking about doing is driving it for a year, a year and a half, and going in and trading it in and try to renegotiate, build my credit up over that year, a year and a half, or just go ahead and pay it off. I'm just paying the basic monthly payment right now. I can actually pay more on it, which I think I'm going to start doing. But, yeah, my question is, how would be the best way to get that 19.5% down? Yeah.

Well, that's a great question, Mike, and you're exactly right. Having a lack of credit can be just as bad as having bad credit because it's going to pull your score way down, which is going to push your interest rates way up. So a couple of things. Number one is, assuming you have an emergency fund already set up, do you have some savings that you've been able to build up in this short period of time?

Not really. I'm trying to build my life. I'm living in my truck, so I don't have any rent or anything like that. So I'm trying to build the savings. I think I got like $3,000, $3,500 in savings right now.

Yeah. Well, I would typically say even $1,500 would be good. And then if we had credit card debt, which let's treat this like a credit card because at 19% interest, this is higher than some credit cards folks have, we'd want to try to get this paid off as quick as we can. So you might even want to consider pulling $1,000 out of that savings account to add to it because while you're rebuilding your credit, clearly any amount you can pay down on this to try to get this paid off as quick as possible, either by paying it in full or refinancing it, is going to be key because that's an astronomical interest rate. So I like the idea while we're waiting of you adding to the payment or even sending a lump sum of $500 or $1,000, you know what's on the horizon.

And so you may feel better hanging on to that $3,000, but I'm glad to hear you have something. In terms of how you go about reestablishing credit, there's a couple of thoughts. Number one is you could open what's called a secured credit card if you can find a bank that will do it. Essentially where you put an amount on deposit, let's say $200, they'll issue you a credit card against that. You can charge up to $200. They won't pull any money away from the balance, but the balance that you have on deposit is security for what you're borrowing. So assuming you charge it up and then pay it off and charge it up and pay it off, they're never going to touch the amount on deposit.

The key would be if you could establish a recurring charge for a budgeted item. And the objective there with the secured card is that that would be reported to your credit report every month as an on-time payment, which is going to be key to you really establishing a good working credit score. So between you being an on-time payer with your Camry plus this secured credit card, I think in a matter of time you'll start to see that score rise as you develop some history here.

And then there will be a point at which you could go in and try to refinance that Camry at a much better rate. So that's probably the direction I'd head here, Mike. I'm delighted to hear you're rebuilding your life. And I would just say get into a Bible-believing church. Make sure you've surrendered your life to Christ, because that's the most important thing all of us need to do. And get connected to a local fellowship. Even though you're on the road, I'd love for you to find a home base where you've got a Bible-believing church that you're attached to. And, Mike, in addition to that, you probably don't have a pencil, and I know you're living and sleeping in your truck, but there are three truck stop ministries that I'm aware of. truckstopministries.org, roadangeltruckers.com, and thetruckersreport.com. They're all outreach Christian ministries out there on the road.

We've heard from lots of their members in the past. I'm sure if you Google trucker ministries you can find them, and perhaps that'll help you as you're out there putting the, what do they call that, Rob? Putting the metal down. No, I'm, what am I doing?

Help! Pedal to the metal. Mike, help me here, buddy. Pedal to the metal. Is that right? Yeah. Yeah, hammer lane.

Hammer lane. There you go. All right.

Mike, got to let you go. Is that Camry white or red? Hey, it's black. This is a black one. It only had 21,000 miles on it. You know, I only drive it about two days every six weeks, so it's got low miles on it. It's going to keep low miles.

Well, the black ones are the fast ones. You be careful out there, my friend, and God bless you. We're nice to, we're glad to hear that you've turned your life around. Thanks very much.

Tampa, Florida. Hello, Alex. What's your question for Rob?

Hey, how you doing? Thank you for taking my call. Yes, sir.

Go right ahead. Yes, I got a question. So I own several stocks with different companies.

I'm using E3 as my platform. At the same time, my wife works for one of the largest financial institutions in the country. So when we start buying stocks, we know that, you know, because she works for that company, we've got to follow some regulation for employees and spouses. So the bottom line is when I start buying stocks, they never give me some issues.

So right now I'm trying to sell some of the stocks because I already triple or quadruple my money. They don't allow me to do it. They deny me every time I'm doing a request. So one time I did it on my own.

My wife got a warning because I did it without asking permission. So I'm wondering is there any way I can bypass these rules they impose to me. They don't allow me to sell my stocks. No, and unfortunately, Alex, that is a reality, and it comes from FINRA, which is the Financial Regulatory Authority in the United States. They do put restrictions on investment accounts for folks who work for various financial institutions.

So you just have to get permission to even open an account at another institution, and then you're going to need to get clarity as to the rules around when you can buy and sell and what disclosures are necessary. I would have your wife check with the chief compliance officer at the institution where she works to determine what is the process that they want you to follow with regard to trades, and it could be that you just have to get permission any time you want to buy or sell. But the key is you don't want to put her in a spot where it's going to cause her a problem because the last thing you'd want to do is for her to inadvertently not follow the regulations because you're married, and that impact her job. She could lose her job over you all not following this properly. So the key is disclosure and open communication. Make sure you understand how she needs to go about this and you, and that's going to come from the compliance department at the firm. But this is a reality. There's no way around it.

So I would lean into it and make sure you understand what needs to be done so you don't get her in trouble. Alex, thank you very much. Tyler, Texas, Janie, you're our last caller today. What's your question for Rob today? My husband has reached the full retirement age of 66 and he's still working, but he wants to start drawing his Social Security. He plans on retiring like a year from now, and I kind of think that maybe he should wait to draw so that it will be more money when he does start to draw and he retires. What do you all think? Yeah, what is the reason, Janie, that he's wanting to go ahead and start taking it now even though he's still working?

Because he just wants it. Yeah, I understand. Well, you know, here's the thing. I mean, it's just a math equation at the end of the day. So every year he waits beyond full retirement age up to age 70. It's going to add 8% to the check for the rest of his life, and that's a real benefit in the sense that if he doesn't need the money and he's in good health, he might as well see that check increase from my standpoint because he's continuing to work.

I suspect that money that you all are just going to be able to park and you're not going to get an 8% guaranteed return. Now, if the Lord comes back, you know, next week or next year, you know, you didn't get the benefit, but we're far better off at that point, right? Or if something, you know, happens to him, none of us knows when the Lord's going to call us home. So, you know, that's the scenario you're in.

Keep in mind, when you reach age 65, life expectancy, this is just an average, but life expectancy for 65-year-olds increases to 82 and 83 years old respectively for men and women. So time is going to be on his side, and if he doesn't need the money, I'd wait just because I'd rather you all have that higher check for the rest of your life. But ultimately, you know, he may say, I don't have any confidence this money's going to be there down the road or, you know, I don't know what might happen, and so I'd just rather go ahead and start collecting, and that's a decision you all are going to have to make prayerfully. But if it were me and I didn't need the money, I would wait. Janie, thank you very much. We wish you the best as you discuss this with your husband. We like waiting for as long as possible, if possible. Thanks again for your call. Rob, Joanne called us. We don't have time to speak with her, but she's wanting your opinion on charitable gift annuities.

Can you give us a quickie here? Well, yeah, you know, it's an arrangement between a donor and a nonprofit where the donor receives a regular payment for life based on the value of assets transferred to the institution. There's some tax benefits, you get this income stream that may miss part of the taxes, and it can be a real benefit to a charity.

But I would look at other options first. Contact our friends at the National Christian Foundation, ncfgiving.com, before you make this decision. And let me just mention quickly, for those who love this radio program and listen daily, we appreciate you. We want you to know that a generous donor is matching every dollar given between now and the end of the year. It'd be a real blessing to us if you'd consider a gift. Just go to moneywiselive.org and click donate. moneywiselive.org And Money Wise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and Money Wise Media. Thanks so much for joining us today. We'll see you again tomorrow.