The Trouble with Home Warranties

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Not licensed in Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah. If you're looking to buy peace of mind with a home warranty to cover appliance and system repairs, well, consumer experts say you may be disappointed, and that's almost always a guarantee. Turn on the radio or TV and you won't have to wait long to hear a commercial about home warranties, but do they deliver on their promises? We'll find out today. Hi, I'm Rob West, president of Kingdom Advisors.

Steve Moore is off today. A bit later, we'll take your calls. Here's the number 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. The trouble with home warranties. That's next right here on MoneyWise Live. Well, it's a question we get a lot here, especially from new home buyers, and that is, are home warranties worth the money? I wouldn't say that a home warranty has never come in handy for someone who needed their heating system repaired or a washing machine replaced, or in the case of the West household last week, the microwave goes out. But home warranty companies do have their satisfied customers. However, there are so many more dissatisfied customer reviews that I don't think they're worth the time personally or worth the trouble or expense. You know, if you just Google the question, are home warranties worth it?

You'll see what I mean pretty quickly. In fact, the Washington Post has reported that the nation's largest home warranty company was hit with nearly, listen to this, 11,000 complaints to the Better Business Bureau in the last three years. And that's just one warranty company. So let me give you some of the specific reasons today why I wouldn't recommend getting a home warranty and then you make the decision for yourself.

You know, I think the biggest one is that you probably just don't need one. These warranties usually cost between $300 and $600 a year. That's a lot of money and it does add up. You're better off putting that money in liquid savings so that you can cover the cost of any needed repairs or replacement yourself. You know, one of the biggest selling points for a warranty is peace of mind.

Well, you also get peace of mind by having an adequate emergency reserve. Then there are the limitations. You know, customers tend to think they're buying a blanket form of insurance that covers just about anything that breaks in the home, but that's just simply not the case. Typically, these contracts are quite specific, covering major appliances and heating and cooling systems and not much else. But a lot of things can go bad in a house, so the list of things not covered by the typical home warranty is long indeed. Alarm systems and telephone wiring and plumbing lines outside of the foundation that are damaged, let's say by roots or a collapse all on their own.

That would be very expensive and here's the thing, that's not covered. Add to that window air conditioners, fireplaces and water pellet heating units, also freestanding freezers, garage door assemblies, hot tubs and piping for wells, none of which are covered by the typical home warranty. But there are other reasons that I would put forward that consumer experts often advise against buying a home warranty and that would be a very common complaint, which is that even when the company agrees to repair an item, they will often require you to use their technicians and the work is often not what you might expect. So I would encourage you to read the complaints online and you might see that a homeowner was required to pay an additional 50 or 75 dollars to the contractor just for showing up and then the problem doesn't even get fixed. Or if an item is replaced, it's often with the least expensive appliance available. Consumer expert Clark Howard right here in Atlanta where I am, he posted a few of these horror stories recently.

Let me mention a few. One man wrote that he had a leak at the base of a toilet that was seeping under the vinyl floor. Now, he calls for repairs and when the technician shows up, he refused to do any work because the leak, get this, wasn't visible on top of the floor. But he still charged $100 for the service call.

Then there was another story Clark mentioned. A customer bought a condo and not long after, the water heater failed. She says the warranty company replaced it with an inferior product and she was still charged $600 for various aspects of the installation that weren't covered by the warranty.

Safe to say she didn't renew when the term expired. So again, I'm not saying that it's impossible to have a good result with a home warranty, but the preponderance of evidence suggests that you probably won't. And the bottom line is this, you can ensure yourself by having an adequate emergency fund saved up.

You'll have the peace of mind that comes with it and you'll probably be money ahead in the long run. I hope this is helpful. Hey, your calls are right around the corner. 800-525-7000.

800-525-7000. I'm Rob West. We're delighted to have you on Money Wise Live and we'll look forward to talking to you in just a moment. Well, we're so glad to have you back with us today on Money Wise Live. I'm Rob West.

Steve Moore has the day off today. We're looking forward to taking your calls and questions. Here's the number 800-525-7000. Each day on Money Wise Live, we dive deep into God's word to uncover his truths about how you can manage his money with the decisions that you face each and every day. So a wide range of topics is on the table. Whatever's on your heart and mind today, we'd love to tackle it.

Whether that's giving, saving, investing, whatever it might be, we'll search God's word and see if we can give you some practical help. Again, the number with a few lines open 800-525-7000. We go first today to Wisconsin and welcome Candy to the broadcast. Hi, Candy. Hi, how are you? Very well, thank you for calling.

How can we help? I have been paying for years for accidental life insurance. I was a field representative for many years and so I did a lot of driving and so I purchased, it's $24.05 a month. But I'm wondering if I should keep it. I do have to travel quite a distance to visit with my mom once a month and, you know, just in case something happens, at least my family will be taken care of. But I don't know if it's worth keeping it or not.

Yeah, yeah. Well, I realize that accidental death insurance can be inexpensive and what you're describing certainly is. I think that the real challenge with these types of policies, which often exist as riders to other policies, is that they can be quite limited in what they cover. So there's a very specific list of exclusions and stipulations as to how the benefits, the death benefit would be paid out or the policy would be paid out based on triggering events, which oftentimes make them, you know, just not effective, really not worth having as an additional insurance. For example, if you're injured in an accident but then passed away weeks or months later, there would be need to be proof that you died as a result of the injuries of the accident.

And again, a long list of other stipulations. So I think the first question, Candy, when we're talking about life insurance is, first of all, do you need insurance? Is there somebody counting on you for provisions? Such that if you were to pass away, there would be a hardship created for someone else because they're depending upon your income or they're depending upon your support in the case of a lifelong dependent, usually when we have a special needs situation, something like that. So tell me a bit more about your situation and whether life insurance is necessary and if so, for what purpose? Well, recently I had to retire early because of injuries I've sustained over the years.

I broke my back twice and had a heart attack in January. But like I said, I've been driving a lot and I still volunteered driving for other people. So that's why I was taking on that insurance, that accidental life. What it is, is it would be a hundred thousand for myself, fifty thousand for my husband if he was also in the vehicle or whatever. But if we were like, let's say, on a plane, a train or a bus and we died in an accident or if we lost limbs or lost an eye and an arm or whatever the case may be, then it would be, they would pay for that. And it would be five hundred thousand for me and two hundred and fifty thousand for my husband if we were on one of those public things. Sure.

Yeah. Well, again, so it gets very specific as to where the benefit is paid out. And I think the first question is, do you have the proper amount of just pure life insurance? And I realize that may be a bit more costly because of the health issues that you've had in the past. But it's still something I would look into if you don't have a base life insurance policy.

I would tend to recommend term insurance, which is pure insurance. You're paying just for the death benefit. The idea is that you don't ever collect on it, but you're paying for that mortality expense so long as you're continuing to work and save. The idea being that you get to a place in your life where you no longer need it because you and your husband, as you work and save and live well within your means and pay down debt, eventually will get to the place where God redirects you in a retirement season of life to his next calling, which may or may not include income. And you would be living off of Social Security, other income sources and your savings. So you no longer need insurance. So I would look first before some sort of accidental death and dismemberment policy first to do I have the right amount of life insurance. So if the Lord calls me home and my income goes away, my husband has what he needs to continue to get through those working years to save and pay off the house and do all the things that you would be doing. And then if you have some extra funds on top of that, you could certainly add some of these other riders, like this policy you're describing for very specific situations or something that covers a cancer policy or some of those other kind of add ons that just give you added peace of mind. So I'd start there. And it sounds like any you could really benefit from a session with a financial planner just to look over your total financial life, make sure you do have all of your appropriate risks offset to the best of your ability as a steward of God's money.

And you could find someone there in Wisconsin, a certified kingdom advisor to help you do that. But generally speaking, that would be my advice related to the insurance and we appreciate your call very, very much. Let's take one more call before our break. We head now down south to Alabama and welcome Charlotte.

Welcome to MoneyWise Live. Hi there. Thanks for taking my call. Yes, ma'am. I wanted to weigh in on the home warranty. Okay.

That you were talking about. Yeah, I am a real estate broker. And often I will buy a home warranty as a clothing gift for new homeowners. And a word to the wise, there are good companies and there are bad companies. And even those that are the biggest ones, it doesn't mean that they're the best. And there are those warranties that you can purchase that will allow you to select the workman, the company.

You can select your own. And I have found that for that first year for a new home buyer, that warranty is wonderful. And especially if something major like the heating and cooling unit goes out, that's money that they don't necessarily have budgeted in that first year. So the first year of new home ownership, that $500, $600 cost can be well worth it if you read the fine print.

Okay, very good. And so what you're choosing the companies you use on is reputation, but also the flexibility, Charlotte, to be able to choose your contractor. Is that really the primary driver in the policies you're choosing for your customers? It is because we're a very rural area and it's not possible to find the name brand service companies necessarily.

So yes, the flexibility factor is the main thing that causes me to purchase home warranty from the company that I use. I love it. Well, I think that's a great counsel. I appreciate so much you calling in with your suggestion today.

And I think, as you said, you got to do your homework. You want to go in with your eyes wide open, knowing not only what are the reviews on this, but can I use my own contractors? And that'll make a big, big difference. Hey, have you checked out the Money Wise app yet? If not, check it out in your app store today. Search for Money Wise Biblical Finance. We're back with more of your questions right after this. Stay with us. Welcome back to Money Wise Live. I'm Rob West, your host. Steve Moore has the day off today. We're looking forward to hearing from more of you as we take your calls and questions from all across the country.

800-525-7000 is the number to call. Have you thought about the fact that God owns it all? Yeah, that's right. We're stewards or managers of God's money. And here's the implication of that. We have a high calling. God has entrusted us with a significant responsibility. You and I are caretaker of the creator of the world's resources, which changes everything about how we approach his money and really should lead us to the question, Lord, what would you have me to do as I manage your money? Well, that's the question we're going to be asking and answering today as we take your calls here on Money Wise Live, looking to God's word for answers about today's financial decision. And with one of those questions or comments, we go right down into Miami, Florida, just south of where I grew up in Fort Lauderdale. Welcome, Michael, to the broadcast.

You're on Money Wise Live. Hey, how are you guys doing? Very good. Thanks.

Thanks for calling. Yes. I was basically feeling like, you know, sometimes when it comes to the warranty people or even the example you gave earlier about the service providers, these people sometimes, either way you look at it, sometimes people try to cut corners or get money and be lazy, whether it's in any industry, the doctors, lawyers, whatever. Sometimes you find someone who just went to school just for the money and they don't care about the people. So I'm glad they have Better Business Bureau and Google reviews and stuff like that to make people accountable. Accountability is a good thing. Right now, when you see it, even in Washington or in the churches, a lot of people don't care about accountability when it comes to certain things. Well, there's certainly a lot more transparency now, Michael, and I think that's a good thing. Do you have a question or was it just that comment today?

Yeah, I mean, it started off as a question, but it would have been a trick question because I was downloaded with the answer. I kind of figured out the answer myself. And it's just accountability, you know, like I was going to ask, like, how can you prevent or prevent other people and yourself from going through those things? And they have these mechanisms for you.

Yeah, well, that's a great point. You know, I think you bring up a great idea, and that is the Better Business Bureau's one, although they were caught in a scandal in recent years for not calling out businesses that were paying dues to the organization. It certainly can't hurt if you are not treated properly by a contractor or anybody in a service or another profession to be able to file a complaint.

Certainly can't hurt. I think a lot of folks are finding that social media can be more effective in giving honest and legitimate reviews of a company and even getting a response to your complaint, which companies are more and more apt to do these days, and then writing a review on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor can be effective as well at letting other folks know about negative experiences that you've had. As believers, we always want to be honest and above board, not in any way manipulate people, but obviously let them know if we're not satisfied with their service so they can respond and do something about it. But Michael, we appreciate your call today. Hey, we have just a couple of lines open. So if you'd like to get in on the conversation today, we'd love to hear from you on MoneyWise Live, the number 800-525-7000.

Let's go to Glenn in Valparaiso, Indiana. Go right ahead, sir. Hello. Thanks for taking my call.

Yes, sir. I'm a retired Navy a while back and I'm coming like feeling like the end of my second career. And my second career with US Steel offers a buyout or a pension. And we were thinking of relocating and my wife has her eye on an upgrade on our house if we relocate. And I was wondering, is there any way to take a substantial buyout like $350,000 and without a big tax cut out of it, but still be able to use it for a better house?

Yeah. You know, there really isn't because if you're drawing money out of a retirement account at work, Glenn, it is going to be treated as taxable income. And if you're not yet 59 and a half, there'll be a penalty, I should say, 10% penalty associated with that.

So that's going to be fairly expensive money for you to be able to access, which is why we would tend to recommend that you leave that alone. There'll be a time and a place for taking that out either as a lump sum or as an income stream for life, depending upon what other income sources you have and how it can be a best be positioned. As somebody who's been in service to your country through the military, you've got obviously a great retirement program there with wonderful benefits that will be there for you as well. So it sounds like you'll be in a really great spot.

I think as you look to this next season of life, if you feel like the Lord is leading you and your wife to relocate, I would look at upgrading that home out of current cash flow, keeping your lifestyle at a minimum, trying to save for additional money toward the home in addition to the proceeds from your current residence, and then just make sure any resulting mortgage that you have fits well within the budget. So I try to avoid pulling out large amounts of money from retirement because of the reasons that I mentioned. But we appreciate your service to our country, sir. We appreciate your call on the broadcast today.

Thank you very, very much. You know, let me say how thankful I am for each of you that call into this program each and every day. You invite us into your stories, into your life, into your situation, and we're grateful and we get to celebrate with you.

And I think that is so key. When we think about how we're using God's money, we want to celebrate God's faithfulness and his activity in our lives. So often we think, you know, we're working hard. We're the reason that we're generating this income. And remember, the Bible says it's the Lord that gives us the power to make wealth. And so as we work with our hands as unto the Lord and he provides provision, well, we celebrate that.

We look to give back to him and honor him in all that we say and do. Hey, just after this break, we'll be back with many more of your calls and questions on MoneyWise Live. Stay with us. You're listening to MoneyWise Live.

I'm Rob West. Steve Moore has the day off today. We're glad you've joined us. Looking forward to talking to Bernie and David and Wendy in just a few moments. You know, today we've already covered home warranties. We've talked about retirement. We've talked about how we handle God's money in a variety of situations. Next up, let's talk about co-signing in debt. And to do that, we're going to go to Illinois and welcome Martha to the broadcast. Martha, you're on MoneyWise Live.

Good afternoon. Thank you very much. I am planning to sell my condo here in Illinois and moving to Iowa, and I'm looking to buy a residence of some sort there. I have co-signed on a student loan for one of my grand. It's $10,000. I'm hoping to be able to just pay for this residence that I move into in Iowa, but if I don't or if I can't, will this student loan get in the way of a good loan for myself? Yeah. Well, the answer, Martha, is it may, but it also may not.

Let me explain. You know, it's not the act of co-signing itself in the case of a student loan or any other debt that can affect your credit. It's the amount of the loan and then the payment history that follows that will really have the score or have the impact on the credit score. So you're taking on the debt just as much as the primary sign or in this case, the student, and that can impact what's called your revolving utilization. So a student loan is a revolving type of debt.

And, you know, with this type of utilization, we're looking at anything that's above 30 percent would impact you. And if there's ever a missed payment, of course, that negative payment history would affect you as well. So you just need to make sure that the payments are on time.

Otherwise, that will hurt your credit score, which payment history makes up the largest percentage of your credit score at 35 percent. You know, I think the bigger issue, Martha, is just understanding what you're committing to. You know, the reason the Bible is pretty clear on not co-signing is because, you know, we see the relational and financial damage that just often occurs following the best of intentions for people going in to a co-signing situation. The Bible says in Proverbs 17, one who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.

Proverbs 11, King Solomon again, whoever puts up security for a stranger will suffer harm. Now, does that mean that was the wrong decision? No, I think it's just a warning to say, let's be careful before we go into this. You know, the Federal Trade Commission says that 50 percent of the time when we co-sign on another's behalf, because they can't qualify themselves, the party that's co-signing will have to step in and either make the payments or suffer the consequences from the negative credit when the payment is missed. So I think you need to understand that, be ready, willing and able to step in if your child at the appropriate time when they have to start making payments, even outside of their control, are unable or is unable to make that monthly payment. And then secondly, just recognize that the debt that was taken on is going to be factored into the overall ratios that the lender will look at on your behalf as they're evaluating your credit worthiness going into this loan. So perhaps a next step would be to talk to a mortgage broker or your bank. You don't necessarily have to let them pull a credit report until you're ready.

But just to get pre-qualified, you know, to understand based on your current situation, this new debt that you're taking on in the form of a student loan, what impact might that have on your ability to qualify with the most attractive terms, interest rate, the best loan programs out there, which clearly you're going to want to have. So I do that as a next step. And then if you have any other questions along the way, don't hesitate to give us a call. We appreciate you weighing in today. Let's go now to Chicago, Illinois, the Windy City and welcome Bernie to the broadcast.

Hello, sir. Thank you. You guys are great. You have the best show on. And I learned so much from you guys in the past.

I just wanted to say thank God for bringing you guys together and bringing this show out. My question real quick was if you have like these home improvement store credit cards and there's zero balance and there's no fee or anything, but you just don't use it for a long time. What happens? Does that hurt your credit or does it close itself out? Yeah, a couple of things there regarding the second part. First, could it be closed because of inactivity?

And the answer is absolutely yes. And so if you're wondering whether it might be closed based on inactivity, you'd want to either check the documents, the fine print, if you will, that you received when you open the account or request that. Or you could simply place a call to customer service to find out how your card handles that because each one is slightly different as to whether or not it'll affect your credit. Obviously, it's not having a negative impact on you to the extent that there's not a payment that's being missed because you don't have a balance. As long as it's a zero balance, that piece of it is fine. It's not affecting your credit utilization because there's a certain amount of credit that's been extended to you on the card. And as long as you're not using any of it, that's causing your credit utilization to go down. Perhaps the only negative to keeping it open if you don't intend to use it and with those store cards, I'd recommend you don't because the interest rate is typically very, very high. The only negative is just that it's one more account you need to stay on top of every month because even if you're not using it, in the event it was compromised and used fraudulently, you would want to identify that by seeing that on the monthly statement so that A, it doesn't create problems with your credit report because you're then not paying back a charge that you didn't know about because you didn't charge it. And B, you just don't want to be responsible for that amount at the end of the day.

And so I think from that standpoint, it's a bit of a hassle just to stay on top of it. So from that standpoint, I'd probably go ahead and close it out. Make sure you call them first, then send a letter and then you're going to want to get confirmation that it was in fact closed. I'd then pull a credit report at annual creditreport.com at least 30 to 60 days after to make sure that that was updated on your credit report and we appreciate your call. One more call before the break. We head down south to West Palm Beach, Florida and welcome David to the broadcast. Go right ahead.

Hi, thank you for taking my call. So we have some savings and if we scrape up, we'd be able to pay off the home. The thing is that we have a kid that is finishing college and another one that's about to start college and we would have to reduce our emergency funds from like four months to about two months in order to pay off the home.

I'm not sure if that's worth the stretch or if we should hold off. Yeah. Are you living within your means, including perhaps the added cost that you will take on with the cost of college? Do you have that covered in the monthly budget? More or less, but if we pay off the home, then we're going to be a little bit more comfortable to pay off.

Right. Well, as long as, David, you don't see anything on the horizon that's going to cause a disruption in your income and I realize none of us know for sure. We have our income and our provision based on God's providence in our life and his provision because that's his role as provider. But to the best of your knowledge, if you don't see any disruptions coming, you're not in self-employed in an industry that's been impacted by COVID or you have the risk of hours being cut. I mean, if all of that seems secure and you're telling me I'm going to go from four months of reserves to two months of reserves, but I'm going to be able to completely pay off my mortgage in the process. And then I'm going to take that mortgage payment every month and not do a thing with it, apart from build that emergency fund back up to where it was and perhaps even higher to six months over time.

If all those things were true, David, I'd say you go for it and live with the peace of mind to know that you have the flexibility of being unencumbered to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to have more margin in your life. I guarantee you, I'm not going to get a call from you next week or next year saying, I wish I didn't pay off my mortgage and pay off that house. You and your wife are going to be thrilled. Hey, thanks for your call today. We're going to take a short break when we come back, more of your questions and comments right here on MoneyWise Live. Welcome back to MoneyWise Live. I'm Rob West.

Steve Moore has the day off today. Have you thought about the idea that one of God's big ideas, as it relates to his money that we have the privilege of managing, is this idea of contentment? You know, we see it at least five times in the Bible that we're to be content with what God has provided. That means we're learning, as the apostle Paul says, because we're not born with this naturally. We're learning to live within God's provision to say, Lord, what you provided for me today is enough and I'm going to live well within that.

And thank you that you've given me 2,300 verses on money and possessions, all of these principles in God's word that I can apply to my financial life so that I can be a faithful steward of what you've entrusted to me. And it's not always going to be easy. And sometimes I wish I had a little bit more, but I'm willing to accept your provision and live within that. And that's called contentment. And it's a journey for all of us.

But that's our desire and prayer for you is that you would be able to experience that. And that's part of what we're after here on MoneyWise Live each day. Hey, we have room for one or two more phone calls today with a couple of lines open.

The number 800-525-7000. Let's go to Canton, Ohio, and welcome Wendy to the broadcast. Wendy, you're on MoneyWise Live. Hey, Rob, I love you and Steve so much. And we live by the rituals of God's love that he owns it all. And you guys are so awesome. And that's a big blessing to me and my boyfriend. And you also saved us a ton of money.

We're plastic free. And the question I have two of them is what is Credit Amnesty? Credit Amnesty.

Yeah, basically, Wendy, and thank you for your kind remarks. Some lenders, especially those in the auto industry, may offer what's called a Credit Amnesty program for potential buyers with low credit scores. So amnesty in this case would refer to essentially a pardon from a poor credit score since amnesty means pardon in the formal sense. So credit amnesty means certain lenders are just willing to look past your poor credit and approve a loan.

Now, why would they do that? Well, in exchange for doing that they get to sell their product, in this case, maybe move a car on the lot. But you are going to pay the price for that because if they're offering Credit Amnesty, they're often going to charge you the highest interest rates and extend the term longer than they would with other borrowers. And that means you'll be paying a lot more in interest than you would if you had a high credit score. So I would say if you're taking a Credit Amnesty program, I would ask why you need to and if it's because you have poor credit, what do you need to do to shore up your financial life, perhaps save a bit more before you make this purchase, perhaps pass on this and live with what you have and continue, in the case of a car, repairing it, and it may not be a car, but I'm just using that as an example, so that you don't put yourself in a situation where you're paying an exorbitant interest rate over a long term and therefore going to pay a lot more in overall interest throughout the life of the loan. By the way, with an Credit Amnesty program, you'll often have to provide personal references and some other stipulations there as well. So I hope that's helpful to you, Wendy. What was the second part of your question? The second part of my question, Rob, is we have an electric company, we deal with American Electric Power here in Canton and AEP and they're sending the other competitors our name and we want to know how that can be stopped because you got to up down all these companies if once a year is getting real annoying.

Yeah, no, I totally get that. Well, I think, you know, one thing you can do, although there's going to be mixed responses on what folks say as to the effectiveness of this, but you could certainly add your name to the National Do Not Call Registry. I think that'd be something that could be fairly helpful in a situation like this. On the web, you'd go to DoNotCall.gov or you can go to 888-382-1222.

That's 888-382-1222. You can also write a letter to the company. You might even want to address it to the president or the CEO. Who knows what could get someone's attention. You could also leave some information on social media and see if they're active on social media. They may respond and be willing to do something about it because they don't want others to think that they're not being responsive to your request to stop soliciting you.

So I'd give those a chance and see if they can't work for you. And Wendy, you've been very gracious and kind in your remarks today. We appreciate you listening, and thanks for calling today as well. Back to Illinois. Barb, you're on Money Wise Live. Go ahead.

Hi, thank you. I'm trying to frame my question in a way where maybe you could give me some general Christian principles, but I'm trying to not get too much into specifics because I think it would get complicated. My question is, my husband and I are in our early 60s, and we have some adult children that we did our best to, you know, raise in the ways of the Lord. And early on, we gave them these little banks that were divided up into sharing, saving, and spending. In other words, we taught them to tithe, and then also save, and then also, you know, have some for spending. Anyway, we honestly try to do the right thing.

They're now of an adult age, and we still had to help them out from time to time. In all honesty, I think sometimes there's been misfortunes that were not of their doing, not of their blame, but at other times I think there's been some, there have been some foolish and unwise decisions that have even, you know, gone against their advice. And they're to the point where they're actually starting to quibble over well, wanting, especially ironically, the believer, the one who's a believer is starting to demand that everything be equal. In other words, everything that we've done for one needs to be done for her. And my one statement that I asked an advisor, financial advisor about, he used this phrase that I'm wondering if you're familiar with. He said, love your children equally, but treat them uniquely. And so what he was trying to say is, you don't necessarily, to the penny, you know, have to spend the exact same amount if you and your parental and godly wisdom, you know, God's hearing wisdom, feel that.

So can you comment on that? Well, I can, and I suspect you were talking to a certified kingdom advisor because that phrase that you just said was originated in Ron Blue's book, Splitting Heirs, not splitting hairs, but splitting heirs. And it's the best book out there, Barb, from a biblical perspective on how you establish principles on wealth transfer from God's word. And by the way, when we're done here today, I want you to stay on the line.

My producer, Deb, is going to get your information. We're going to send you a copy of that book, Splitting Heirs, that I think will be a real blessing to you as you try to navigate these issues. But yes, I think that's exactly right. That principle from Ron Blue that if you love your children equally, you will treat them uniquely. And that often runs counter to what we believe as maybe I'll say Americans, because we just don't feel like that's fair. And yet if you think about it, your last stewardship decision is to decide is the next steward chosen and prepared.

And those two things are very important, you know, in and of themselves. And we recognize that our kids are at different places financially, different places spiritually. And even though the idea of inheritance is affirmed in scripture, Proverbs 13 22, a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, the idea that we would think intentionally about how is this money going to affect first of all, their relationship with the Lord, and a child who is making poor decisions, perhaps living a reckless lifestyle, or maybe it's not that bad. Maybe they're just not quite money savvy yet. Dropping a lot of money in their lap could be the worst thing to do in terms of their ultimate relationship with the Father and just the decisions that they're making, especially in the case of children that are making poor choices regarding drugs and alcohol and, and things like that. And so I think we have to approach each one separately to say, how do we want to handle the money that God has entrusted to us?

Who is the next steward? And remember, there's only three possibilities, the government, ministry or charity and your heirs, right, your children or others that you would want to leave the money to. And so I think deciding in advance how you want to approach that based on what you know today about where they're at, and that will change over time, as should your estate plan change over time, being prayerful about that. And then as you make those decisions, communicating that clearly, so that's not a surprise, so they understand it. But I also think there are certain cases where you would want to not cut a child out of the will.

Maybe they're not living a reckless lifestyle, but they just haven't come to the Lord yet. And you pulling them out may, in fact, drive a wedge that would make it perhaps more difficult for them to accept the claims of Christ. So I just think you've got to be really thoughtful, ask the Lord for wisdom, James 1-5, if we lack wisdom, we should ask the Lord, He'll give it to us. And then communicate very clearly and then recognize your estate plans need to change over time. So I want you to read this book, Splitting Errors, that we're going to send to you. And then if you have further questions, I want you to call us back and we can talk about it. And hey, one more thought.

One great thing would be to take a portion of that money that God has entrusted to you that's beyond what you need to live on and put it into a donor-advised fund and get the boys, the kids, to start helping you give it away now so you can model and teach how we should handle God's money. I hope that's helpful to you, Barb. We appreciate you calling today and may the Lord bless you in the days ahead. You stay on the line. And folks, that's going to do it for us today as we begin to wrap up. Let me just say thank you for being a part of the broadcast today.

Thank you for your calls. You know, as we think about the responsibility we have as stewards of God's resources, it's a big one. And we want to be found faithful.

We want to handle God's money wisely. We want to do it in a way that honors Him. And we want to be grateful. You know, and I think gratitude is so key. If you've not started a gratitude journal, perhaps that's your next step. Maybe just take a few moments each day to just jot down what it is you're thankful for and recognize all that you have.

Not what you don't have, but what you have, starting with God's love story to you, which is the fact that He sent His Son Jesus to die for you. And then come back and join us tomorrow. We'll be back. Steve will be back with another edition of MoneyWise Live. MoneyWise is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. See you tomorrow.