Teaching Children About Money

This is Doug Hastings, Vice President of Moody Radio, and we're thankful for support from our listeners and businesses like United Faith Mortgage. Heading into spring, I've been spending a lot of time pondering, analyzing, and debating something extremely important to men, and even many women. And that's whether a new driver would improve my golf game. I would say I'm somewhere between embarrassing and appalling at golf.

But man, do I love it. And all my buddies show up with these epic flash, big maverick birther drivers, and I can't help but feel like they've got this massive advantage on me and my persimmons. It's Ryan, and our Faith and Family Mortgage team, we're proud to have a pretty special advantage ourselves, and one that can be a big deal for you. Our team is an arm of a bigger company who is a direct lender, which means our company uses its own money and makes its own decisions within its own walls. There's no middleman, and this advantage often allows us to get you a better rate, saving monthly and lifelong money on a refinance or new home purchase. We're much better at mortgages than I am at golf.

We are United Faith Mortgage. With virtual learning becoming ever more popular these days, kids are spending a lot more time at home. Well, that provides a great opportunity to teach them God's ways for managing money. Hi, I'm Rob West.

With so many adults today ill-equipped to handle money wisely, how can we expect them to teach those principles to their children? Well, our guest today, Howard Dayton of Compass, says it's easier than you think. We'll talk about that when it's on to your calls and questions. 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, where God's word guides our financial decisions. So, as its former host, Howard Dayton is certainly no stranger to this program. He's also the founder of Compass, Finance is God's Way, author of many books on God's financial principles, and a great friend. Howard, welcome back. Thanks so much, Rob.

Just wonderful to be with you. Howard, many parents find the task, as you know, of teaching their children wise money management practices to be daunting, especially if they weren't taught that by their parents. So that's a big hurdle to overcome, isn't it?

It sure can be, Rob. And yet the Lord knows just how important it is for parents to do it. Proverbs 22, 6 tells us, Train up a child in the way he should go.

And then I love this promise, Even when he is old, he will not depart from it. And I want to assure parents that despite what they may think, it really isn't that difficult to teach God's financial principles to their children, because first of all, the principles themselves are easy to understand. And second, most of the principles that apply to their kids are the same ones that God established for the parents. Yeah, that's such a key point. And you know, we're going to get into these key principles that need to be taught and really a model for even how to think about that.

But let's just camp out for a second on how important this is. You know, Howard, as I've counseled hundreds and hundreds of families over the years, I know you have as well. You realize that the way money was handled by your parents when you were a child has a significant impact on how you eventually handle money. Is that your experience?

That is exactly right. And unfortunately, Christian parents would often handle their money in a biblical way, but they never communicated verbally what they were doing or why they were doing it or was based on God's Word. So it really takes more than just doing it, although that's really crucial. It also requires communication on the part of the parents. Well, that's very true, Howard. All right, let's dive in with the big picture. Where do we start?

Well, Rob, here's the big picture. The most effective way to train our children to handle money God's way is to become what I like to call MVP parents. The M stands for modeling. In other words, the parents should apply these principles themselves because when you think about it, there's nothing more effective because kids soak up where they see their parents do like a sponge soaks up water. Next, the V in MVP stands for verbally communicating why they're handling money from a biblical point of view.

And the P stands for practical opportunities. Parents really need to give their kids opportunities to actually manage money God's way. And what I like to do is to focus on the basic financial principles that apply, frankly, to any age. And the first one, Rob, is really the most important principle, one that I've heard you teach on many, many times and that everybody needs to grasp, is that God owns it all. 1 Chronicles 29 tells us everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord. And I love what Psalm 24 says. It adds to it, the earth is the Lord's and everything in it.

And understanding this truth certainly radically changed me all for the better. So we have to teach this truth by example. Let your children see that you pray for God's provision of needs, that you're content with whatever He provides, and that you really model understanding that God is the owner of everything you have. It's also really important to show your children that you give faithfully from your income. I love what Proverbs 3, verse 9 tells us, honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops. In other words, every time you have a stream of income come your way, joyfully give out of that income. Yeah.

Well, those are so key. And starting with God owning it all really is the basis for everything. We're going to continue to unpack this just around the corner, talking with Howard Dayton, founder of Compass. Finance is God's way. Stay with us.

More to come just around the corner. Welcome back to MoneyWise Live. Today, our guest Howard Dayton, author, founder of Compass Finances God's Way and former host of this program. Today, we're talking about a really important topic. How do we train up our children to manage money God's way? Yes, that includes financial literacy.

But even more important than that is understanding God's truth as it relates to how they manage money, seeing the fact that God owns it all and they're stewards and that money is a tool. These things don't just happen. As Howard said, we need to be MVP parents. We need to model it. We need to communicate it verbally. And then we need to look for practical opportunities to share it. And Howard, just before the break, you were sharing the most foundational principle that underscores everything, and that is that God owns everything. We need to communicate to our kids that He is our provider.

And you went on to say that we need to communicate. We have the privilege of giving part of our income to honor the Lord. And if they only took that away, they'd be so far ahead, wouldn't they?

Absolutely, because that's not what the world's telling us. For sure, Rob, it's so important to recognize the ownership of the Lord and to honor Him by giving whenever we receive an income. Yes, I love that.

All right, one down. What is the second principle we need to teach our children? I think it's really important to teach self-control.

And listen to this. You can't ground your children in financial self-control if you're not disciplined yourself. Proverbs 25, 28 reads, A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. So at an early age, share some of the family budget with your children. Now, if you're not living on a budget, you're really teaching your children that they don't have to either.

That's the key. And that should be all the incentive you really need to draw up a spending plan. Then show children how to set money aside for necessary expenses. They may want to buy a toy. They may want to buy clothes for high school, whatever it might be that they're responsible for. Show them how to set that money aside on a consistent basis. And of course, discourage them from using debt. I would meet with my daughter every month to show her how we were making progress on getting out of debt. I'll never forget. I thought I was beating my head against the wall when it came to communicating with Matthew how important it was to stay out of debt.

But I remember walking down the hall and hearing him in his room talking to one of his buddies. And he said, you know, we just don't believe in debt as a family. We stay out of debt. I'm going to stay out of debt. And I just went, yes.

It was getting through. That's right. And so I would just say to parents, don't be discouraged if you have a Matthew in your house who is not really grasping or interested in what God says about money. But just keep on and the Lord can speak to their hearts and give them the desire to live a biblically based financial life.

I love that. All right. Well, that's the second principle, demonstrating that you have self-control and that you've set aside personal wants and desires, at least until all necessary spending is covered. And of course, you want to stay out of debt. All right, Howard, what's the third key principle to teach our kids? Yeah, the third would be, Rob, it is so important to actually have your children use a budget and stick to it, no matter what their income, no matter what your income. It's really wise to live it on budget. And the simplest way to help them, especially when they're young, is to divide their income into three parts, give, save and spend. Young children can use three jars for this. They can see how much money is in each of the categories. And teaching your children to live on a budget is one of the greatest financial gifts that you could ever give them.

Because as the verse said earlier, even when they're old, they won't depart from it. So teaching them to be consistent, to give, to save and then to spend and in that priority is really key. I love that. Howard, we had your friend and mine, David Wills, on the program recently with the National Christian Foundation. And David shared something that he and his wife have been really intentional to build into their kids. Three big ideas. One is that we should work hard. The second is that we should live simply.

And the third is we should give generously. And I know those are so key and they've been a part of your teaching for a long time. Why is hard work so important? Why is that such a key idea to teach to our kids?

Well, first of all, it's biblical. The Lord encourages time and time again diligence, hard work, not overworking, but hard work. And I think in part because it's a great tool to develop our own character. Because if we have the character to hard work, couple that with living simply, not getting out of control on lifestyle and whatnot really takes you a long way toward being financially stable. And in a position where you can give more, save more and spend more wisely. So work is a huge issue.

The scripture tells us you see a man who's faithful in his work, he's going to stand before kings. And it's really important to as much as possible to communicate to your children, give them the opportunity around the house. When they're old enough, encourage them to work for others. I'll never forget the summer that I worked at a cement block plant in Florida. I mean, it gave me a real appreciation for people who are hard workers and encouraged me to continue with my education, frankly, because that was hard work.

Yes. Howard, let's get real practical on that side of things for a moment. How do you encourage parents to think about allowances versus paying for various jobs around the house? I think it's all right to give an allowance.

It's a personal issue. The parents may choose to do so and they may choose not to do so. The key is for the parents to teach the children that there are certain routine jobs around the house that it's part of the responsibility of every family member. I don't get paid for taking out the garbage and guess what, son? Neither are you going to get paid for taking out the garbage. But then there are opportunities for children as they're beginning to grow where they can have additional duties. They can wash the car, they can be taken out the trash, they can mow the lawn, whatever it might be where they can earn additional income for doing those things. And that's really important because you only learn to manage money when you have a stream of income. So I think it's a fabulous idea for parents not only to have the non-paid routine jobs that children do but also compensate them so that they can really learn how to handle money. And that's what work is all about.

You work hard because you're hopeful that you're going to receive an income and you can begin to model that at home at a pretty early age. That's right. Howard, just a few seconds left. Wrap this up for us. What would you leave us with on this topic?

Well, God's Word, as you know, Rob, we've found out that it's got 2,350 verses dealing with money and possessions. And we have the opportunity, the priceless opportunity as parents, even grandparents, to influence our children and grandchildren in this area that will be a blessing for the rest of their lives. I love it. Howard, thanks for stopping by, my friend. Oh, my pleasure. God bless you, Rob.

Howard Dayton, founder of Compass, finances God's way. Your call is next, 800-525-7000. Stay with us. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live. So glad to have you along with us. In just a moment, we'll be taking your calls and questions on anything financial, applying God's Word to where you find yourself today, whether it's giving or debt, saving, lifestyle, or related to our opening topic of raising money-smart kids.

Whatever's on your mind today, we'd love to hear from you. Here's the number, 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000.

Lines are open and we'll take your calls in just a moment. Before we do, it's a great opportunity for me to mention the MoneyWise app. If you haven't downloaded it yet, I'd love for you to do that. More than 11,000 of you have, and that's really exciting, because in the app is a host of resources that we think will be really meaningful to you, beginning with the ability to access all of our content, whether that's this broadcast, the archives, and the daily episodes that you can take with you on your smartphone or tablet, wherever you go, but also from our content partners, the best voices in Christian finance, the best content, all aggregated in one place on really any topic that you could imagine. It's all there in our Discover tab. In the Community tab, you'll find the MoneyWise community sharing ideas, asking questions, helping each other in their own stewardship journeys, as well as our coaches jumping in there and responding to your questions as well.

And then the third component is our digital envelope system, a best of class digital envelope system where you can connect securely to up to 11,000 institutions, download your transactions, automatically categorize them into your envelope system, and then manage your money wisely on a monthly basis so you can stay on track. And when we talk about modeling the right kinds of behaviors to our kids, it's really key that we lead. In order to model, we have to do it first. And so by demonstrating to our kids that we live on a budget, that we recognize there's limited resources, and that we have a plan, and we stick to that using the tried and true envelope system, I think is really key to driving this point home of the importance of living well within our means, which is so critical. We can't do that without a spending plan. So rather than saying to little Susie or Johnny, you know what, we just can't afford that. How about saying, you know what, we live on a plan and we have limited resources. And in each of these categories, we've prayed through where we believe God would have us allocate His money. And here's what's available in that category. And you know what, there's just not the funds available today. You can even have some fun with it. You know, Julie and I have turned over portions of our spending plan to the kids for the month just to see what they would do with it, help them to experience the trade offs that they have to understand, being able to choose some things in a particular week.

And that may lead to not something else the following week, because again, there's only so much to go around. So I would encourage you to download the MoneyWise app today. You'll find it in your app store, whether that's the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Just search for MoneyWise Biblical Finance. It's a free download. If you want to upgrade to a pro subscription for automatic downloads, you can do that. But most of what I just described is available at no cost.

Again, search for MoneyWise Biblical Finance. All right, we're going to be taking your calls here in just a second. Here's the number. We do still have several lines open. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Today we're going to start in Princeton, Indiana.

And Pablo, we're so glad to have you. What's on your mind, sir? What is the max of retirement I can put out myself? I think my company, at 40 years of age, you can put up to 6%. They match up to 6%.

Okay. I'm adding my 6% will be 12. How much can I add in my part, the max? Yeah, it really comes down to a max dollar contribution, Pablo, in terms of what you can put into that account.

So at the very minimum, I would take full advantage of that match. That's free money that you're not going to want to give up. So definitely take that. But in terms of what you can put in addition to that, it's up to $19,500 in your 401k. And if you're over the age of 50, you get an extra $6,500 to go along with that. So under the age of 50, up to $19,500. And that's the total amount that can be contributed, both your portion as well as your employer, and that's through salary deferral. So you would have to tell them what percent of your pay you want to be allocated into the 401k, whatever matching they're making available would be added to it. And again, the total of that over a tax year for this year 2021 is $19,500. Now, you know, as a general rule of thumb, what we would typically say is that assuming you're giving systematically and assuming you have an emergency fund of three to six months expenses, you're living on a budget, you've got some margin, you don't have any credit card debt, you are paying down with a plan to pay off your consumer debt quickly. You know, then I would start to think about your retirement savings, again, starting with the matching portion, but the goal would be ultimately to get those contributions up to 10 to 15% of your income.

If you get 10 to 15% going into retirement, over a long period of time with compounding, you're going to be well on your way to being able to cover your lifestyle in retirement, when hopefully your expenses are lower and there should be, you know, at least some social security to help offset that. Does that make sense though? Yes. Very good. Well, I hope that's helpful to you. We appreciate you listening and calling, sir. May the Lord bless you. Phone line is open 800-525-7000. Carol, so glad to have you with us today in Cleveland. How can we help you?

Hi, my name is Cheryl and my mom just passed away and she had some IRAs and some Roths and I really don't know what to do with them and I'm trying to seek out to get a financial planner to help me with that. Very good. Well, I'm so sorry to hear about that. You know, in terms of you handling this, I think it's great to get wise counsel. There's a very clear process for how this gets transferred to you. But the key is the management of the funds in it. Now that you are the steward of these resources, Cheryl, being able to make sure that those are managed in a way that's consistent with your goals and objectives, what God's doing in your life. I'd recommend you connect with a certified kingdom advisor in Cleveland.

Just go to MoneyWiseLive.org and click find a CKA. I'd interview two or three and find the one that's the best fit. We can talk a bit more off the air. Stay with us.

More to come after this. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWiseLive. I'm Rob West.

Glad you're along with us today. We began the program today talking about Raising Money Smart Kids. How do we impart these biblical truths around money? 2300 verses in God's word dealing with money and possessions. How do we impart those to our kids? You know, if they're going to graduate and leave our homes with financial literacy, and that's a big if because often that's not being taught.

But let's say it is. In most cases, they're not going to understand God's perspective of managing money, that God owns it all and that we're a steward and that money is a tool and that we need to hold it loosely and live simply and give generously. I mean, these big ideas and that money, the love of money is the root of all evil.

And, you know, if something's going to dethrone God from first position in our lives, it's often going to be money or the things that money can buy. I mean, these are big truths that our kids need to understand so they can carry that with them into adulthood. And I think this idea that God owns it all is really the starting point. I mean, it's so foundational.

It changes everything. And so what we need to be intentional about is imparting that to our kids. What are the implications of God owning it all?

Well, it's that we've been given a huge assignment. We're the manager of the creator of the universe's resources. Talk about that, that we're a trustee, that every spending decision is a spiritual decision. Does that mean we shouldn't enjoy what God's given us?

No. First Timothy says, in fact, we should, but we should also be asking the question, Lord, what would you have me to do as I allocate your money? Well, talk about that with your kids. And, you know, this other idea that the way we handle money reveals what we value, you know, what's most important to us and that our heart actually follows our money. I mean, these are key foundational principles that we need to be teaching to our kids. So as you model it, as you live it out personally, as you practically talk about it and then demonstrate it through application and give them ways to handle their own money and begin to exercise that giving muscle and understand limited resources and begin in the context of your home to work hard and care about their output. You know, did they do a good job at something? If they're going to wash the car, let's make sure they do it really well. You know, these are things that I think we need to be intentional about and if we do them, we will set our children up for success.

So I hope that was an encouragement to you today. It's so, so important. All right, back to the phones.

We've got some lines open. 800-525-7000. Rosa Lynn is in Elgin, Illinois, and I understand you have a question about your credit cards. Is that right?

Yes. I have seven credit cards. They have zero balance except for one, and that's only like $200 or something. But I don't plan on using them anymore.

I don't know how to break them down. I don't want to get rid of all of them, but it's seven of them and I just don't want them all. I'm not going to use them.

Yeah, well, you're on the right track here, Rosa Lynn, because you don't want those accounts open, that many of them. Let me ask you, the one that you use, do you pay it off every month? Well, I have $200 balance on it. Okay.

All right, very good. Well, here's what I would encourage you to do. Number one, use it for budgeted items, and let's try to pay that off every month. And when I say use it for budgeted items, I mean let's develop a spending plan if you don't already have one, and let's try to use that card only for things on that spending plan where we have the money for it and we could go ahead and pay it off right away.

The benefit of that is we're never going to incur any debt. You're not going to pay any interest, but secondly, that's going to help your credit score because you're going to be reported as an on-time payer every month, and that's really the key to having a good, solid credit score. Now, those other six cards that you have at a zero balance, you're not using them, I'd begin to systematically close those. I'd prioritize the newer cards, so the cards that you had the longest, I wouldn't close those right away. I'd close the ones that perhaps you've gotten more recently, maybe in the last year, where you're not using them. And the reason we want to close them is, A, when we have an open account, even if we're not using it, we still need to monitor it every month because if somebody compromises that account, gets access to it, and uses it for fraudulent purchases, you need to report that on a timely basis so that you're not responsible for it. And that means you're going to have to watch these accounts, even though they're, in a sense for you, dormant because they're really still active. So that's really a primary reason.

And then just for simplicity's sake, you don't want to get those statements in the mail or in your email. But the reason we want to close the newer ones is that history is actually working to your advantage from your credit score standpoint. The other thing is we want to close them slowly. We don't want to close all six at once.

I'd probably say in the next three to six months, let's focus on closing three of them. And then six months after that, let's close the rest until you have probably one credit card, one debit card, and then again, only use them for budgeted items. Did you follow all that? Yeah, but the newest one is the one I'm using because the rest are my store cards and the newest one is from my bank. Okay. And that's fine. And I actually like that you're using the bank card because, you know, the type of credit that it is, whether it comes from a bank or a finance company, is also factored into this formula. So even though it's newer, the one that you're actively using, just continue to use it. But as you prioritize those other six, let's close the first three and let's close the ones that you've opened more recently than the other three.

And then we can revisit this after six months. I hope that helps you. We appreciate your call today very, very much.

Nashville, Tennessee. Byron, what's on your mind today? Well, I've got a couple of rental houses that I'm using for my retirement. I'm 73 years old and I do all the maintenance on them and it's been very nice. The income has been very nice along with Social Security, but there's times I get a little tired of fooling with them.

And I am going to call one of your kingdom advisors. But I thought I'd ask you today, is there another route that could be just as rewarding that I wouldn't have to be every month keeping an eye on? You know, if it's working for you, Byron, I love real estate, especially when it's cash flowing well. You know, there may come a time where you say, I just don't want the hassle and the upkeep of being a landlord. You know, getting a call in the middle of the night that, you know, there's a maintenance problem and, you know, when somebody leaves unexpectedly and there's damage to the property, I mean, you know, any number of things, you know, can go wrong. And there may come a time where you said, I just don't want to spend that much time overseeing it.

I think that would be the reason. But if you've got good solid properties, you've got low debt, if perhaps no debt, you've got good cash flow that's supplementing your income coming in and that's working for you. There's no problem with that. That's a great asset class to have as a part of your portfolio to generate income. I mean, the other option would be kind of a stock and bond portfolio that as a 73 year old retiree is focused on income generation.

So probably high quality dividend paying stocks, maybe some preferred stocks, maybe some master limited partnerships, maybe some exposure to bonds, maybe a smaller portion that's focused on growth in stocks that's going to provide some of that growth engine over the long haul. You know, that would be the other option and the advisor that you contact could talk you through that. But I don't have any problem with you continuing with the real estate by any means if it's working for you until such time as you say, you know what, I just want to perhaps spend a little less time overseeing all of this. Does that make sense to you?

It makes a lot of sense. I was planning on waiting till I was 80, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't making a bad decision just because I settled in it at this time. Yeah, no, not at all. But I do encourage you to connect with the CK there in Nashville. We appreciate you listening and calling. God bless you, sir. We're going to pause when we come back. More of your questions.

Phone lines open 800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, where God's word informs every financial decision. Stay with us. More to come just around the corner. So glad to have you with us today on MoneyWise Live.

I'm Rob West. This is where God's word intersects with your financial life. And hey, let me take an opportunity to encourage you to consider a gift to MoneyWise Media. We do what we do every day, bringing you this broadcast. Our team of MoneyWise coaches, our app developers, our content writers and creators, all of that is as a direct result of your generous support. And first, let me say thanks to so many of you who support us on a regular basis. If you haven't considered supporting MoneyWise Media and you consider yourself a part of the MoneyWise family, I just ask that you prayerfully consider it.

This may not be the right season. We certainly want you to give to your local church first. But if you would prayerfully consider a gift, we'd certainly appreciate it, especially as we head into the summer months.

Here's how you can give securely and quickly. Just head over to our website, MoneyWiseLive.org. Click the donate button. Again, MoneyWiseLive.org and click donate. Back to the phones to Parrish, Florida. Sean, how can we help you today?

Hi, I have two related questions. First of all, I understand there's a new law affecting beneficiary IRAs. My dad passed away in 2015 and I inherited an IRA from him and I don't know if I need to liquidate that. I've heard something about that. Secondly, we do tithe on the RMD that we take out from that each year, but we haven't tithed on the whole amount that we inherited. So I just wanted to see if you had any biblical red flags there.

Yeah, very good. Well, first of all, in terms of what you're describing with the change on inherited IRAs, it was as a result of the SECURE Act and it replaced what was called the stretch IRA, where you could stretch out those distributions over a long, long time, over your lifetime. And it replaced it with a 10-year payment rule. So that rule requires the entire IRA to be paid out by the 10th anniversary of the IRA owner's death. And just about everyone is subject to that. There are some exceptions. Certainly a spouse would be one of the exceptions and then minor children and a few others.

But certainly, that would be the new rule that's in place. And so you're going to want to get some counsel from your CPA or accountant just to make sure, based on your dad's date of death, kind of what applies to you. And therefore, how you need to schedule pulling that out as to not create any unnecessary tax burden. And you can be well planned in that. In terms of how you approach a tithe on that, I mean, I love systematic giving. I think the principle of the tithe that we see clearly taught in the Old Testament referenced in the New Testament is a great starting point, giving systematically based on our increase. The word tithe means a tenth.

And so, as Randy Alcorn says, that's the training wheels of giving. I think we should start there and we should give the tithe to the local church. Now, how do we account for whatever comes into our home in terms of applying the tithe?

Well, I would say your increase is really that, any provision that God brings to you. So I love the idea that you would see this as a part of your increase and say, Lord, we want to give out of this IRA as perhaps we realize some of these withdrawals. One of the ways you could do that, once you are subject to a required minimum distribution, is through a qualified charitable distribution.

So you may want to look at that down the road. But in the meantime, I would just look at what was that increase and then just develop a plan to say, we want to honor the Lord with that. Now, it's between you and him as to the timing on that and how you want to go about that, given that this is an asset that was received that is in a tax deferred environment and there's investments in there. And so, I would say just pray through that and come to a conviction as to what the amount is you want to give and then the timing. And then I think once you determine that, then looking for the best tools, whether that's a qualified charitable distribution down the road or using a donor advised fund. You know, there's a number of tools for wise giving that you could consider. But I think the starting point is just to pray through kind of how much and, you know, in what timing you want to make that happen. And I'm confident, Sean, that the Lord will honor your desire to be found faithful and giving as a result of that increase that he's brought your way. And we appreciate your call today. Let's head to Anderson, Indiana. Bradley, you're next on the program. How can we help you? Hi, how are you doing? Thanks for taking my call.

Absolutely. My mother died in 2005. And she left the property, a house to me and my brother and sister.

I was only 17 when she passed away. So I didn't know a lot about property tax or anything about houses. The house was since tore down after that.

And, you know, life went on today in my life. I own a couple of things in that property is kind of hindering me and my credit from doing things. Me and my wife have tried to make payments to the city for it. But it's so far, many thousands gone, if you know what I mean. It's not even like tax exemptions that I can file for it.

My question is, what can I do to get my mother's land back? And maybe for, you know, maybe to help stop hindering my credit so I can start my new business and move forward. Yeah, yeah. No, I certainly understand that.

Have you contacted them to try to work something out with regard to a payment plan of some kind? Yeah. And what they did was they the house in the way was not a house anymore.

It's just technically grass. It's in the estate of Pearl Windham to Bradley McCain, if that makes sense or not. And I don't know how to get it out of her state.

She had no will. I don't know how to get out of her state. And if I could, you know, file for tax exemptions, there are something to get that balance paid off. I would love to get her land back. I really would. So you're not looking to sell it. Is that right? I mean, if I could get it back for my mom, I really would.

But if I could sell it from hindering my credit even more, that would be OK, too. Yeah. Well, I think the key for you. Have you contacted the the probate court that handled the estate? Yeah. And they had a court date about it before it got tore down. I think I was about 22 when that happened. They deemed the house, you know, like unsafe or something like some foundation was messed up. So they tore it down when I was 23. And the property tax has just been following me every year for my life. Nobody ever buys it because it's just a big piece of land. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, I think you're going to need to get some legal counsel, somebody to help you go back to the probate court, see how this property is titled, you know, who is in the county office, who is the actually has the deed to it. And then, you know, move toward getting it sold, because if the property could be sold, then obviously the proceeds could be used to take care of that balance. But to the extent that that has not all been finalized or recorded properly, then obviously that's going to need to be done. I would contact an estate planning attorney in your area if you don't have one or a real estate attorney.

You could contact a certified kingdom adviser there in Anderson and ask for a referral, Bradley. But I would start there because the if we can get this, you know, ensure that it's been recorded and deeded to you as a result of her death and through the probate courts, that obviously you could move toward selling it and in getting this taken care of. I think that is the next step. Keep us informed on how that goes. I know this is frustrating and clearly you don't you want to get it settled. You also want to improve your credit so you can move on and manage your business. And I think getting this sold is probably the best option so that you can satisfy those the amount that's owed in terms of back taxes. So appreciate your call today.

Connect with the CKA there in Indiana. You can find one on our website, MoneyWiseLive.org. Before we talk to Sally, let me just mention, Sean asked about a beneficiary IRA, and he said his dad died in 2015. That's going to be key, Sean, because despite what many beneficiaries are being told, that 10 year rule that came from the SECURE Act only applies when the original owner of the IRA passed away after 2019. Beneficiaries who inherited the IRA before that are grandfathered in.

So I would check with your tax preparer or CPA, but it should be that you won't be subject to that new 10 year rule that is coming into effect with the SECURE Act because of the date of death. So I'd look into that a bit further. You certainly don't want to get caught off guard, but it sounds like you should be not subject to that. Let's quickly go to Sally in Chicago. We have just a minute or so left.

How can I help you? Sure. So two questions. One is how much money is the maximum that you can get from Social Security if you retire at 65 or 70? Well, if you retire at 70, the absolute maximum is just under $4,000, like $3,895 a month. But that would assume that you for your high 35, those 35 periods where you're paying into Social Security, where they look at the highest throughout your working years to determine your benefit, you would have to be at the top end of the range for 2021. It's $142,800 and it's been being adjusted or indexed to inflation along the way. You'd have to be at the top end of that amount every year for those high 35 to get up to that amount. So the vast majority of people earn a lot less than that amount, but that would be the max.

Okay. And the other question is, if I want to gift something to the church and or a family member, how much can I gift that I can deduct on my taxes? Yeah, well, you'd have to talk to your tax preparer in terms of the how much you can deduct on your own taxes, it would really depend upon the amount that you're giving, whether you itemize and then it's going to be subject to an AGI, adjusted gross income cap in terms of the amount that is deductible for your situation. And that would be where it's going to a 501c3, which would certainly include your church. So I'd check with your tax preparer on that. A gift to your family is not going to be deductible.

You can give up to $15,000 in 2021 without having to file a federal gift return, but there's not a deduction for that like there would be when you make the gift to a charity. Well, I appreciate your call today, Sally. Thanks for listening very, very much. Well, that's going to do it for us today on MoneyWise Live. Thanks for listening.

MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. Let me say thank you to my team today, Amy Rios, Deb Solomon, Gabby T, and Jim Henry doing great work to help me serve you as we apply God's word to your financial life. Come back and join us tomorrow. We'll be back at the same time. We'll look for you then. May God bless you. Bye-bye.