More Money, Less Joy?

The 18th century Irish statesman Edmund Burke once, if we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed. So how often have you thought, if I just had a little bit more money, it would solve this or that problem?

Well, trouble is, it rarely does. Today, Kingdom Advisors President Rob West explores the role money plays in our happiness or doesn't. Then it's your calls at 800-525-7000. 800-525-7000. Call now. I'm Steve Moore. More money, less joy.

That's next on MoneyWise Live. Well, Rob, we don't get to quote many 18th century politicians on this program, so I just couldn't resist. We don't really know how much Edmund Burke studied the Bible. He was, however, a staunch defender of Christianity in his day, but it seems that this quote is based on a familiar biblical principle, doesn't it?

I think so, Steve. Generally on the idea that money can't buy happiness and may even make matters worse if you're not careful. First Timothy 6-10 reads, For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some, by longing for it, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Now, expecting that more money will always make your life better is a recipe for disappointment or even worse. That's for certain, and we'll dive into that further. But first, a tip of the hat to the Ronald Blue Trust for their article on this topic based on Ron's book, Generous Living, and we'll put a link for it in today's show notes. So where do we start here?

Well, Steve, first by recognizing that there's a disconnect between what the world says and what the world does. You often hear the phrase that money can't buy happiness, but then everything around us tries to convince us that it can. TV commercials are notorious for conveying the message that buying the latest car, clothes, or even gadgets will make your life better.

Of course, you need money to buy those things, so what is the commercial really saying? That more money will make your life more enjoyable. But often, the reverse is true. More money can actually lead to less joy in your life. The greater your wealth, the greater a burden it puts on your life when things begin to own you instead of the other way around. Indeed, a bold statement.

But how do we know it's really true? Well, we can simply look at some of the rich folks quoted in the article. John D. Rockefeller, who earned about $420 billion through the Standard Oil Company, said plainly, I've made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness. Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company, and at his death in 1947, he was worth around $200 billion in today's dollars. What did he say about having vast wealth?

He said, and I quote, I was happier when I was doing a mechanic's job, end quote. And we'll throw in one of our own from King Solomon, from whom the Bible tells us was the richest man who ever lived. In Ecclesiastes 5.10, Solomon writes, He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income.

This also is vanity. So those, Steve, are all the people who experienced great wealth, but none of the joy that we expect to come with it. In the book you referenced a moment ago, Generous Living, Ron Blue says this is based on two wrong assumptions. First, that more money will give you more freedom and satisfaction, and that more money will take away your fear of not having enough. In reality, more money often just creates new problems, in my opinion.

And how is that? Well, Ron put it like this, he says, and I quote, Since there are always unlimited ways to spend limited dollars, it doesn't matter whether you make $20,000 or $200,000 a year, you will always have choices to make. More money simply means more choices, and more choices means more complexity, more confusion, more time spent mulling over options taken together. All of these things add up to less freedom, end quote. You know, instead of reducing fear, Steve, having more assets can actually increase it, in my view. There's the more you have in your home or investment accounts, the more you have to lose potentially.

And we see that panic every time the stock market takes a dive. Boy, that that's for certain. All right. So what's the solution, Rob? Well, it's what we say time and time again. The only way to get rid of your financial fears is to acknowledge that it's not your money. When you fully take on your correct role as steward of the resources he entrusts to you, well, you begin to put your trust in God, not money. You see, the Lord will always provide for your needs. But what he expects in return is that you honor him with the way you use it. And that includes managing it wisely and being generous to the less fortunate.

Okay. Thanks, Rob. Again, we'll have a link to the article Wealth Paradox in today's show notes. Your call straight ahead on MoneyWise Live. 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 MoneyWiseLive.org. If you're investing for retirement or any other goal, you may be wondering if it's possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind no matter what's happening in the market. Soundmind Investing has a short video webinar on that topic at SoundmindInvesting.org. SMI has helped tens of thousands of Christians learn to be wise and faithful stewards in the area of investing.

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It's not a pep talk or a try harder speech. Parents Rising offers real help for real problems that every parent faces. Parents Rising, check it out at Moody publishers.com. Siri, I need some advice.

What's up? I have questions about planning for retirement, long term care insurance. I don't know where to start. It sounds like you need the Money Wise app. It's a free app that will help you find those answers and more.

Really? Sure thing. You can ask your questions within the app and access helpful articles and Money Wise podcasts. Sounds great. Siri, download the Money Wise app. Okay. Searching for Money Wise on the App Store.

Learn more at app.moneywise.org. Really glad that you're out there today and that you're listening. We know you have many options on your, what do they call those things, Rob? Radio. Yeah. I mean, if you're looking for the heavy metal station, this ain't it.

But as long as you're there, you might as well keep listening. Rob West taking your calls today. I'm Steve Moore.

It's Money Wise Live and Rob, why don't we just jump in and take a call, okay? That sounds great. All right.

Livingston, Texas. Hey, Michael. Good to have you with us today. You're caller number one. How can we help you?

Hey, Rob and Steve. Thank you so much. I appreciate your program and thank you for taking my call. My call is about mortgage refi. And basically, I just went through a construction loan process with my bank and that rolled into a mortgage at a 4.25% interest rate.

And that was in December of last year. So now I've gone through the construction process and just started paying the mortgage in September and October. So I paid just a couple of payments, but because of where the interest rate is, I want to go ahead and lower that and refinance.

And I've been talking to Quicken Loans. And so the options they're giving me, it's a 30 year or 20 year. And the 30 year is six, the payment is 6.25%. It's a 2.75% interest.

Okay. And then the 20 year is the payment is 647. So it's just a little bit more at a 2.87% interest. The question I have is the person mortgage banker is basically telling me that with the 30 year mortgage that I'm going to pay because of the interest rate and the amortization that I'm going to pay less in the long run and that the actual mortgage won't run the full 30 year term because of the amortization and percentage rate. And I don't understand amortization and percentage rate, but I just wanted to find out if that's true. Do you not have to pay a 30 year mortgage out over that entire 30 years? Well, you have the ability, Michael, to accelerate the payoff, but a 30 year mortgage is amortized to 30 years. And so the interest is going to be spread over that 30 year period. Now, the interest is set, meaning you know exactly what you're going to pay an interest over the life of the loan. And as long as you pay it based on the schedule that's presented to you, which would be a 30 year payback on a 30 year fixed rate term, then you'll pay that set amount. The way you reduce that is by adding principal reduction, meaning paying above your monthly payment to accelerate the payoff of the mortgage. Because as you pay toward principal, that's principal that you're no longer going to pay interest on for the remaining years on the term. But that's going to require that you send something over and above the scheduled monthly payment. Now, did I hear you say that the interest rate is actually lower on what's being quoted to you for the 30 year versus the 20 year? That's correct.

The 30 year is a 2.75% interest rate and the 20 year is a 2.87%. Yeah, that doesn't make sense to me. That number should be lower. Have you only gotten one quote from one mortgage lender? That's the only one so far, yes. Yeah, okay.

I get a couple more. This is the largest financial transaction you'll ever make. Most folks actually only bid this one time and that's just not in your best interest because even if the rate was where it should be, and I would really only want you to do a 20 year mortgage if you're being incented for that in the form of a lower rate, but even if those rates were exactly where we wanted them to be, we want to be able to compare the closing costs because not all loans are created equal with regard to origination costs and whether or not they're including discount points, the appraisal, other fees that again can vary from loan to loan. In addition to this loan from Quicken, and they get a lot of business because they do a lot of advertising under the name of Rocket Mortgage, I would also love for you to go to Bankrate.com and look for the lenders, perhaps some online banks that have the most competitive loan rates right now and it does vary based on how much they have to lend and how aggressive they're being with their rates.

You could also check with your local brick and mortar bank if you wanted to put that in the mix. The good news is any inquiries that you initiate for a lender to pull your credit within a two week period for the same type of transaction are going to be seen as one and so there's not any disadvantage to you shopping this around just to get some good faith estimates so you can lock in on the one that's the best rate. In terms of what to go with, I'd prefer you to go with the 20 year payback because you're going to save a boatload in interest because of that shorter term and what should be coupled with that a lower interest rate as long as the payment fits well within your budget and as a guideline for that I typically use at least 25% or less for principal interest taxes and insurance, 25% or less of your take home pay just to make sure you have enough left for all of your other obligations. So if it were me, I'd shop this around a bit more and then shorter is always better.

One other thing Michael, just make sure and I assume this is true since you just built the home but make sure you're going to plan to stay in the home for at least five to seven years if not longer to recoup the cost of that refi so that you can actually enjoy the benefit of that lower rate for a long period of time. Michael, we're glad that you got through today. We wish you guys the best.

Thank you so much. Let's move along. Bonners Ferry, Idaho. KMBI are stationed there and oh, I think we, oh yeah, she, hi Debbie. Are you there? I am here. Okay. I'm sorry.

I thought we lost you there for a second, but thanks for calling in. How can we help you? Well, I'm the treasurer of our small church up here and we recently came into about $55,000 from the state because our land fronts the highway that they want to widen and we want to maximize, we want to get some, some interest from that. So I always hear you talk about Ally and Marcus and Capital 360, but it turns out they don't, well at least Ally doesn't service nonprofits or organizations.

Do you know of a, some more people with this money that we get the maximum amount of interest? Yeah, it's a great question Debbie and you, you are going to need to shop around because you're right. The typical online bank that we talk about is going to be for consumer accounts only. It, those are typically not available for corporate accounts including nonprofits. But there are some banks out there that are online that do offer business accounts. I know Chase is one of them, although Chase has brick and mortar operations, but a few that you probably haven't heard of as Lowe's one Axos.

So I would do a search online. I could encourage you to start at bankrate.com but then do some other searches as long as you find online banks that have FDIC insurance. That's going to be the key for you to be able to maximize the interest rate that's attached to it. You could also look at some credit unions in particular.

You might want to check the Thrivent Credit Union and the ECCU, that's the Evangelical Christian Credit Union. I think either of those could be great options and just see who has the most attractive rates but specifically to your point that also includes corporations. So you have to do a bit more digging. I wish I had a few just to send you off the cuff but it will vary from what we typically recommend on the consumer side. Were you able to jot those down Debbie?

I was. I wasn't sure how to spell as low but I got those and I appreciate this information so much. Yeah it's A-Z-L-O and then Axos Blue Line A-X-O-S but then also check Chase because they typically have some more competitive rates on the business side as well. Debbie, thank you very much.

Great question and we trust that you and your church will find the right thing to do with that greater amount of money. God bless you, thanks so much. Rob, just before we hit a break here, I've got a brief email from a gentleman named Bob. He says, Dear Rob, I'm interested in becoming one of your... No, I'm sorry, I'm reading the wrong one Rob.

It's this one from Alex. He says, How do I know if my money advisor is good or not? How can I tell if he's looking out for my best interest or just charging me a bunch of fees to make money off of me? Yeah, I think the key there when we're talking about financial advisors is you want to make sure you have a lengthy interview, you understand their experience, their competencies, you want to know how they're going to get paid and I'd encourage you to search out for someone that has a CKA designation. You can do that on our website MoneyWiseLive.org. Okay, this is MoneyWise Live and we'll be right back after this. Buying a home is the largest, most nerve-wracking purchase most of us ever make.

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That's ChristianCreditCounselors.org or call 800-557-1985. 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. We will pass through waters. We will pass through rivers. We will walk through fires. But he said the flame will not set you ablaze. See, he says the same God that is on you and all over you when you are wigged out over here says that in that sanctity, I'm also the one who says because I am with you, waters will try to sweep over you, but they will be unable. Fires will try to take you in and set you ablaze, but they cannot because I am the Lord your God, and I am holy, and I am the one who is with you.

I want you to look further with me now into point three. Jehovah Mecodeshken conveys holiness both in position and practice. In other words, because God is holy, he says we are holy.

That has two sides to it. We are absolutely holy in Christ by position. But then there is the practice of that holiness. I asked Melissa this morning on the way to church, how would you define sanctification? She said learning to live like who we are. That was an incredible definition because that's exactly what sanctification is trying to teach us.

So there's the position. You are holy because he is holy. Then there is the practice of that holiness lived out in our lives. You've been listening to A Quick Word with Beth Moore. Beth is excited to announce now that faith has come, study of Galatians is now available as an online experience or as a printed workbook edition.

Get your copy today at BethMoore.org. And thanks for listening to A Quick Word with Beth Moore. Hey don't forget you can find us and even like us if you feel so inclined when you visit Facebook.

Also Twitter and Instagram and all the rest, all the main social media sites you'll find us there under Money Wise Live or Money Wise Media. Back to our phones 800-525-7000 and Ron in St. Louis. Good to have you there buddy. What's on your mind today?

Yes, good afternoon. I'm 60 years old and the good news is that I'm an empty nester, the education, the weddings are all paid for and my two girls are God-fearing independent people. Thank God.

So that's the good news. The other news is that I only have 300,000 and I hope that doesn't come across the wrong way because Lord knows I'm thankful I have that. I had 200,000 in 401k and it was in more than one 401k because I'd worked at different jobs but I don't even understand all the reasons why but I was in a situation where the one 401k that I actually had a hundred thousand in said you know you have to move this you got to this date move it. So I didn't really have time to research it and manage it so I moved it into a Schwab account that you know kept it in the 401k bucket where there was no penalty that type of thing.

And of course in the Dow was about 25-26,000 at that time and I'm thinking man you know and I put it in T-bills and I think that when the year was up and it just came up I think I got 2.4% return. Now you know I look at this money like I can't afford to lose this money and my oldest daughter we have to be a CPA I ran it by her and she said it doesn't sound that crazy to me. But anyway so now I have this hundred thousand that is sitting in this 401k and you know it just I want to do something with it but I don't know what so that's my question. Rich Okay so let me get a better understanding of the breakdown here. Did I hear you say you have 300,000 total in retirement savings is that right?

Mark Yes. Rich Okay and how does that break down give me the different account types and amounts? Mark So I have one bucket I would just call it it's a hundred thousand and you know typical 401k and I have it in an account where you know it's based on my age when I think I'm going to retire and my adversity to risk. The other hundred thousand is in that Schwab you know account that I just put it into T-bills because you know I was I had to do something and then I have 50,000 that's you know in a C-D then say the other hundred thousand is in C-D. Rich Okay great so yeah that makes sense and you said you're about five years out from retirement or more? Mark Well I'll tell you Lord willing man I worked till I was 70 you know type thing but you know I think that that's what I'm using right now in my arithmetic that I'm five years out to retire. Rich Okay so five to ten years and have you run a budget Ron just to say okay when I get to that point regardless of what the Lord is going to redirect you to be doing with your time and energy and service to him what would your budget look like you know given whether or not you'll be completely debt-free at that point given what kind of lifestyle you're living and where you're going to you know whether you're going to move and downsize I mean all of those things do you have a sense of what that budget will look like and do you know how much you'll need to draw from this 300,000 and whatever it grows to over the next five years to supplement whatever guaranteed income sources you have?

Ron Just at a real high level I've done that and I think that I've come up with like you know four thousand you know at least four to five thousand a month to maintain the lifestyle that we live you know right now. Rich Okay all right and how much would you be bringing in from Social Security and any other guaranteed income sources before you start to draw from this this retirement savings? Ron Just Social Security I don't have any type of a pension so I guess it would be but of course you know I hope to stay gainfully employed and keep working as you know. Rich Well I think that will be the key because if I say okay this 300,000 is going to grow to 400,000 let's say and we look at a four percent rate of return which would be a conservative kind of income generating portfolio where the goal would be over time not to impact the principal and just draw off the yield or the dividends and so forth you know that would throw off about 16,000 a year which would be about 1,300 a month before you pay any taxes or tithe or anything like that. So you know that's going to be tight given probably what you're expecting for from Social Security if you're looking for four to five thousand so I think what that says is a couple of things yeah number one is let's try to stay you know working as long as you can so you can delay first of all having to draw from the retirement assets number two so it can continue to grow over a longer period of time and if you can avoid taking Social Security every year you wait past full retirement age that monthly check will increase eight percent and so that obviously would be helpful too to get that number up as high as you can before you start drawing it and obviously staying employed will help with that.

In terms of what you need to do for the investment mix I think you know because we're talking five to ten years and keep in mind even then we're still going to need some sort of growth component for this if the Lord tarries and you have good health for perhaps decades right so at that point I think you need an equity mix at age 60 it would be somewhere between 40 to 50 percent in equities for the average person somewhere between 50 and 60 percent in bonds that's probably what your target date fund has right now and that's what I'd suggest for the Schwab account you could either hire an investment advisor to do that you'll find a CKA at MoneyWiseLive.org or you could use the Schwab intelligent portfolios to build a similar target date fund using ETFs. Ron sounds like you're doing a great job God bless you thanks for calling this is Money Wise Live with Rob West. 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.

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some help what's up well sometimes I feel like I can't get a handle on my money I mean where does it all go it sounds like you need the money wise app it's a free app that will help you plan your budget and track your spending like the three dollars you spend every morning on coffee well not every morning you'll also get access to free biblical financial advice sounds awesome let's do it okay searching for money wise on the app store with SRN News I'm John Scott Georgia election officials say voting is going smoothly across the state the outcome of the election will determine whether democrats or republicans control the senate an Illinois teenager who fatally shot two people and wounded a third of its sometimes violent summer protest in the streets of Kenosha Wisconsin has pleaded not guilty to charges including intentional homicide 18 year old Kyle Rittenhouse entered the plea in a brief hearing conducted by teleconference meanwhile a Wisconsin prosecutor has announced that he will not file criminal charges against a white police officer who shot a black man in the back in Kenosha last summer leaving him paralyzed and setting off the sometimes violent protest in the city on Wall Street the Dow gained 167 points today the Nasdaq was up 120 this is SRN News if you have a question today something financial that you've been wondering about thinking about maybe something you're just trying to wade through you're not quite sure which way is the best way to go maybe we can help you with that Rob West taking your calls today and questions on anything 800-525-7000 Akron Ohio Ellen thanks for your patience what's on your mind hi thanks I wanted to ask about your opinion or advice on opening closing different credit cards that would give you maybe miles or you know a money bonus if you spend so much within a few months yeah well Ellen I'm not against credit cards you know credit cards aren't the problem it's the way we use them now I realize there's a temptation there so we need to know ourselves we need to know our propensity how we handle money you know have we gotten into trouble with spending beyond our means and certainly having access to ready credit to spend beyond what God has provided for unbudgeted items can be problematic for some and if that's the case you got to get rid of them but apart from that I'm okay with using a credit card to buy and sell assuming it's for budgeted items we pay it off every month now there are some very tempting new cards that come along with all kinds of perks whether it's cash back or if you're a traveler giving you certain bonuses there and some that have you know as they're coming out new kind of entry level bonuses that tend to be higher at the outset and then over time they kind of get back in line with everybody else they're trying to attract a lot of business in the early stages and I realize that can be tempting I would refrain from trying to do that too often for a couple of reasons number one every time you go out and seek approval for a new card that's going to put another hard inquiry on your credit report which over time is going to drag your score down number two that's more credit that's available and you just have the temptation to use it number three it's one more card that's now susceptible for fraud or to be compromised in some way and so it's one more account you've got to keep track of even if you're not actively using it you still need to monitor it to make sure there's not any unauthorized transactions so you know I think perhaps once a year evaluating your situation if you use one primary card and another one comes along that makes some sense and there's no annual fee and you can improve your situation and again you're using cards responsibly sure you could go ahead and switch to another and there's some great websites out there to find those deals nerdwallet.com would be one bankrate.com would be another but to go ahead and make it a practice of trying new cards regularly and moving from one to another frequently I think is just going to be counterproductive for the reasons I mentioned so I would do that in great moderation Ellen if you do it at all. All right very good thanks very much. Okay thanks for listening and for calling today we appreciate it. Thank you. Out to Chandler Oklahoma and Jeff what's your question today for Rob? Hi guys thanks for taking my phone call.

Sure. I've got two older vehicles both paid off but I was wondering if there was a generalized rule of thumb about how much money to put in it for maintenance versus buying another vehicle where that line is. Yeah that's a great question and you know that's when you're driving older cars and we certainly recommend that. Our last car we drove until it had 250,000 miles on it we got a lot of great mileage out of it but there does come that point where you've got to decide between a fairly expensive repair or series of repairs that when you put them all together are getting expensive and parting with that car and buying another reliable vehicle. You know if you look at the rules of thumb from sites like Edmunds or even Consumer Reports some will tell you that when the repair or a series of repairs together exceeds half of the car's value that's time to start thinking about parting with your car. I know Consumer Reports has said if you total up one year's worth of car payments on a replacement although I'd rather you buy for cash if the repair is going to be more than that the one year of car payments then that would be the time to do it. You know typically you know we have always said I know Larry Burkett said Steve the cheapest car you'll own is the car you own right now. So sticking with one and continuing to repair makes sense in many cases perhaps in many cases beyond what we might think but there does come that breaking point and I think that's when we need to look at over the last 12 months what have we spent and are we getting to the place where we're beginning to exceed the car's value because it's just not worth very much and we need to move on.

Steve anything you might want to add there? No I think you really hit all the high points you know I would say if your car has ever left you stranded more than once that might be a sign that it's time to start thinking about you know moving into something else. If your mechanic suggests to you that maybe the upcoming repair isn't worth it or if you have an upcoming motor or transmission repair that's very expensive and the car has over 100-150,000 miles on it that might be a time to take a real hard look at what you're driving but you know I really like that basic rule of thumb if the repair is going to cost you more than half the value of the car it's probably time to start giving serious consideration to your budget and buying something else for cash. How old are these cars Jeff? One is an 05 and the other is an 06. Wow they are older cars. Wow we're impressed you must change your own are you the kind of guy who changes your own oil? Oh yes I work on my cars myself oil smart plugs the whole nine yards. Yeah how about the air conditioning how's the air conditioning system in both those older cars?

The air conditioning is fine one of them has a problem blowing out the feet and the heater but the heater does work as far as coming out of the dash or whatever but that's the only issue I've got. Yeah that can be expensive too. Yeah I've kind of left it alone. Well that's I think we've given you our best thoughts in that regard and by now they must both be over 150k huh?

I'm pushing 194 on one and almost 350 on the other. Wow. Jeff are you married?

Yes. What is your wife is your wife saying Jeff Jeff I'm your wife. We've got grandchildren why are we driving around in these rattle traps?

Actually she's perfectly happy with the vehicle as long as I keep it running. No Jeff I don't believe a word you're saying in fact your name isn't probably isn't even Jeff is it? All right buddy hey listen we wish you the best with that and I love a guy like you that keeps them running I'm impressed.

Well thank you thank you thank you for the information. God bless Jeff thanks very much you know I love that I grew up Rob and I'm a bit older than you are when a car if a car made it to a hundred thousand miles people got a little crazy I mean a hundred thousand miles was like a neon red sign saying this car is going to explode any moment sell it sell it give it away you know something like that well those days are long gone and these days if a car doesn't make it to a hundred thousand miles there's there's some issue so if don't let the hundred thousand mile sticker on your on your car make that mandatory to replace it but your best option as we always say is to save as soon as you buy that for that new car so that ten years down the road twelve fifteen years down the road you can pay cash for the next one and that's probably our best advice that's exactly right Steve boy I'll tell you not having that monthly payment is wonderful amen to that hey we have to pause here for a brief break so grab a cup of coffee and maybe a bagel and warm it up and then come back and join us again for the final segment of today's money wise 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 money wise dot org slash NCF 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 and 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 money wise live dot 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 when I ask people what their ministry is most people name some worthwhile organization they support or tasks they perform with the church or a volunteer project of some sort that's meaningful to them and thank God that they're supporting ministries performing tasks their church but here's the bigger question what's God's purpose for your life when you're not supporting that ministry or performing that task which represents about 95% of your productive life when I ask that question I usually get a blank stare if that's you right now you're missing out on 95% of your Christian experience the fun stuff that makes every day an adventure miracles start happening and the blessings start flowing when you seize every opportunity God gives you to lead people closer to him this will revolutionize your life 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 most of us have certain bills that require us to pay them off in order to keep using the service there's another debt you owe but this one you cannot pay yourself it's called sin and the Bible teaches it separates us from God fortunately the gospel says Jesus loves you and paid that debt for you it doesn't matter what you've done you're offered this gift and can receive forgiveness if you'd like to talk with someone to find out how Jesus can pay the debt of sin in your life call us at 888-need-him or go to chataboutjesus.com authors Robert and Nancy Walgamuth have heard many life stories they all point to the same God whose hand we see in everything so we can trust him to write the story it's encouragement you need to give God the control and he's wanting our lives to be a written living demonstration for our good and for his glory you can trust God to write your story by Robert and Nancy Walgamuth order your copy today at moodypublishers.com hey thanks so much for tuning in and thanks for your prayers and your financial support as well this radio program is part of a ministry and without without your involvement we just wouldn't be able to come to you each day if you'd like to make a gift of any size we would appreciate that and you can do it quickly easily and safely when you visit moneywiselive.org just click the donate tab at the top of the page and again for Rob West I'm Steve Moore and we want to thank you for your partnership and everything you do to make this program possible Ocala Florida hello Sue how can we help yes I'd like to know how much interest you have to make to pay taxes I'm sorry I didn't follow you sue try one more time what is your question I'd say how much money you have to make interest to pay tax to make that I see oh okay so I think the key there is what you have to recognize sue is that you don't pay taxes until you make money so you know whether it's paying income tax you don't pay any income tax unless you have income to report in the same way you wouldn't pay tax on your investments either as a long-term or a short-term capital gain until you realize that gain and it is going to vary based on whether or not you've held the investment for a year or whether you've held it longer than a year but depending upon what kind of investment you're talking about whether it's interest income or dividends or it's actually the sale of an appreciated stock or piece of real estate you that will determine what type of gain you have and then what the corresponding tax rate is that you will have to pay and it's going to come down to the type of investment that you had the type of income that you got or appreciation and then ultimately how long you held on to the asset do you have a CPA or an accountant that could help you with that no I don't I don't even know I have a new in these and I get like 15 covers in a year okay and are you setting aside for the taxes on that right now excuse me are you setting aside some of what you're taking out for taxes no okay I think you just need to understand what type of annuity is is it was the did the money go in pre-tax and therefore you're going to pay the tax as it comes out are you paying tax on just the gain and are you paying in the appropriate amount so I'd recommend there in Ocala you find a certified kingdom advisor who's in the tax and accounting area you can go to our website if you use the internet MoneyWiseLive.org just click find a CKA and you probably just want to run by this professional what exactly it is you're doing and make sure that the taxes are being handled appropriately and we appreciate so much your call today if you have any other questions at any point give us a call back. And Sue if you're struggling a bit and maybe you have someone in your church that can help you walk through this process in part if you have some issues finding a CKA in the area but we wish you the best thank you very much for calling in today let's go to Missouri next Rob and say hi to Jacob. Jacob we're so glad you called today how can we help you sir? All right I was calling about buying a home today I'm in a situation where my mother is disabled and she's going to need a place to stay here very soon and there's a house that I have an agreement with somebody with that I can buy it but I have to do it now and my credit is fair it's around 620 to 640 dependent on where I look and I need to also do some work on the home I would I'm trying to use my DA loan and they told me that I cannot because the home is in needs repair.

So let's do this Jacob we're going to have to hit a break here but you know we'd love to actually we've got a bit more time than I thought I'm looking at the clock wrong so you go right ahead my apologies. All right well yeah I'm trying to figure out how to buy this house and I received counsel from a few people and some people suggested hey have you thought about taking out a private loan or trying to to cover the repair costs and then using your VA loan to buy the home yeah and I'm just really not sure where to go with this. Yeah well because you have the VA option it is something you certainly need to consider there's also something called an FHA 203k loan it's a government issued loan it's geared toward borrowers who want to do just what you want to do and that is begin renovations right after closing on a home so it combines the cost of the mortgage with the renovation funds the funds for the home purchase and the renovation are separated out and the renovation funds are put into an escrow account and then the contractors are paid directly from that account as the renovation proceeds which prevents any kind of you know financial or contractual mishaps and makes it ideal for people who are doing a fixer-upper situation it allows you to put down a lot less although I don't recommend that but you have to complete the renovations in a six-month timeline typically are you have you heard about that type of loan? I have I've actually got an architect and a general contractor in preparation for that but then I was cautioned that the amount of money that I need to get the home where it needs to be may not be available through 203k as well as credit issues yeah which I'm really failing to understand the home is the purchase price is 25k and its value as is is sitting somewhere around 50. The homes in the area after market research are showing that if we plan on putting the extra bathroom in and doing the work that it should be in the mid to high twos for value on the home so I was hoping that it's a really good turnaround for equity I just I don't know how to quite get there. Yeah have you checked with some lenders on whether you might qualify because you know the credit score is going to require at least a 620 depending on the lender there will some there's some that will go down that low on the 203k you've got to have a maximum debt to income ratio of I think around 41 to 45 percent the down payment requirements are very low so you may in fact qualify given your situation but just keep in mind not all lenders are going to have the same guidelines so you may benefit Jacob from having a mortgage broker who can actually shop this with them you know multiple lenders to get you the right program that's going to fit your needs and situation so if you don't have a mortgage broker you're working with I'd probably if you have a realtor friend in the area someone you know ask for a recommendation you could also call your local church and just say can you recommend a couple of mortgage brokers that are in the church that I could give a call to you can also check with the CKA there in Missouri and ask for a referral as well but I think you can find what you're looking for I think you're on the right track you just got to keep keep looking.

God bless Jacob you sound like a great son and we trust that the Lord will help work this out for you thank you very much and I think we have time for Shannon's call she's in Chicago and what's on your mind today Shannon? Hi thanks for taking my call so I am working on repairing my credit after a bankruptcy that was paid off a couple of years ago and a couple of things showed up that I'm working on so I'm taking the smaller debt paying it down but I'm noticing that once it's paid off my credit score is not increasing so wanted to know if there's I utilize one of the credit sites that you get your free credit report once a year whatever and I utilize that in the court according to their verbiage like if you pay off the collection your score is supposed to go up like 25 points but I'm not seeing that so is that is there like a hard rule on that? You know there is not it's really going to be first of all you know the information is still going to remain on the report for seven years the further it gets in the past the better that's going to impact your score the fact that you have paid it in full does help but it's not automatic that you'll see a certain increase in the number of points just simply because there's so many different credit scoring models out there there's literally dozens of them and depending upon which one you use and which bureau you're pulling from it is going to vary slightly and so you really can't take those as science I think the key is just to continue to do the right thing in terms of paying down that debt systematically continue being an on-time payer with anything you have currently do you have any open accounts that you're using for budgeted items that you're paying on time every month that's building positive credit right now Shannon? Yes I do I took out a personal loan that will be paid off within like another month or so and that's been a positive it's had a positive effect on my score. Okay well you probably also want to have either a secured or unsecured credit card where you're just have a small monthly recurring charge on there of course a budgeted item that you can pay off in full every month that's just showing some active positive credit that's replacing that older negative credit you know with something that is going to reflect positively toward your score. In terms of where to go to check that score and stay on top of it I'd recommend in addition to annual credit report dot com which you can pull once a year I'd look at Credit Karma or Nerd Wallet they both offer free credit score checks as does TransUnion so any of those could allow you to stay on top of that but you just continue following these biblical principles doing what you're doing and you'll see that score begin you to begin to tick up over time. Shannon God bless you thank you very much for calling in today Rob we've had a lot of calls and questions today about a credit and credit scores in particular as a believer how should we see credit scores it seems like some people it's high on their list other people seldom ever even look at their scores so what's the best approach? Well we're in the world certainly not of it but because we are in the world we need to recognize be wise about how we manage God's money the good news is if we follow these principles we'll be rewarded over time with a good credit score the only potential negative to following biblical principles in terms of your credit score is unless you have active accounts meaning you owe some money you know you're not building credit so that's why we would say either get a secured card if you have challenges using credit or an unsecured card and have a budgeted recurring item so you can build some positive credit otherwise let's just stay focused on getting out of debt being generous givers and living well within our means and let the rest take care of itself. All right thanks Rob this program Money Wise Money Wise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and Money Wise Media thanks to Amy Deb Courtney and Jim for their technical expertise and thanks to you for tuning in and for listening for Rob West I'm Steve Moore join us again next time.