Does One Flesh Mean One Bank Account?

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. In Mark 10-7, Jesus tells us, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. But if you're of one flesh, why have separate bank accounts?

I am Rob West. It's a question we get here a lot. Should husband and wife have separate checking accounts, maybe entirely separate finances, or should all of their money be merged? I'll talk about that first today, then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.

800-525-7000, this is MoneyWise Live, where all of our financial decisions are based on God's principles. Regular listeners know this is an oft-repeated question here on the program, and it's especially important for couples when they first get married. Usually they just set up joint checking and savings accounts, and it's not really an issue, but not always. Sometimes older folks may be getting married for the second time, want to keep their accounts separate, or one spouse might enter into the marriage with a lot of debt or a bad credit rating. They think that by keeping separate accounts, one spouse's bad history won't affect the other. That's because they've heard that when two people marry, their credit histories are automatically merged into one by the credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

But that's not the case. In fact, each spouse's credit history is tied only to that person's Social Security number. If one of them applies for credit in his or her name only, only that person's credit history is taken into account.

Here's an example. Newlyweds decide to buy a new car with a loan. Usually not a good idea, but that's another issue. Now say one of the spouses has good credit, the other doesn't. If they take out the loan only in the name of the spouse with a good score, only that person's credit history comes into play. So you see that having joint or separate bank accounts has no effect on getting that loan.

But let's look at another situation. Many couples take a huge financial step within a few years of marriage and that's buying a house. Now the odds are, because the payments will be so much more, that they'll have to put both names on the loan application in order to meet the income qualifications. And of course, that's when the other spouse's credit history will be taken into consideration.

If that spouse has a bad credit history, it will have a negative impact on getting the mortgage approved. Well, now that that's cleared up, let's go back to the question of separate or joint bank accounts. You know, the Bible doesn't tell us explicitly that spouses should share one account because people didn't have bank accounts back then.

So we have to look at the bigger picture. As Jesus said in Mark 10, marriage is about two people becoming one. Obviously, they both remain individuals, but marriage is a partnership that requires trust, openness and communication. That's especially true when it comes to finances. Joint checking and savings accounts promote transparency and communication between spouses. It prevents spouses from developing a mine and yours mentality. It also promotes trust by ensuring that neither is making hidden purchases. There are some other practical considerations as well. A joint account simplifies bookkeeping and tracking your spending.

Think about it. Many couples have problems balancing a single checking account. Why double the problem with two accounts? Having separate accounts can also create a cash flow problem. Are there enough available funds in one account to meet obligations?

If not, money has to be transferred from the other account. With a single checking account, you don't have to worry about not having enough money to pay a bill or trying to track down the other checkbook. Now, one argument that's often made for keeping accounts separate is that one spouse is only interested in, say, the grocery category in the budget and leaves everything else to the other spouse to be handled with a separate account. But that, of course, would leave the one spouse fairly clueless about the family finances if something should happen to the other.

Not a good idea. Keeping open the lines of communication about money and making spending decisions together solves that problem, eliminating the need for separate accounts. You know, God's Word contains the solution to every problem married couples face, including finances. In Colossians 3, we read, wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. And in 1 Corinthians, it says in the Lord, woman is not independent of man nor man of woman. Safe to say that in most cases, that would apply to their checking account as well.

I hope this helps to clear that up and it fosters great communication in your marriage. Hey, your calls are next, 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West and this is MoneyWise Live, where all of our financial decisions are based on God's principles.

Stay with us. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live. I'm Rob West. Phone lines are open, 800-525-7000. In just a moment, we'll be taking your calls and questions on anything financial. You know, we're charged to be found faithful with what passes through our hands, to be stewards of God's resources, whether we have a lot or a little. And we talk to folks here on the program who run the gamut of that spectrum. And we all find ourselves in different places. The apostle Paul said, I've learned to be content in times of plenty and in times of need.

And it's about being found faithful and content with where God has us right now. And perhaps you're in a really desperate financial spot. You're struggling just to make ends meet.

Maybe your job has been eliminated or hours reduced because of the COVID pandemic. Perhaps you're just in a really tight financial position and wondering where God's provision is for you. Well, we'd love to talk to you. Again, it's about being found faithful with what God has entrusted to us right now and for those that have more than they need, sharing with others in need.

That's how the body of Christ works. And by the way, generosity is what unlocks the grip that money can have over our lives. Well, we want to tackle whatever place you find yourself at today.

Again, here's the number, 800-525-7000. Just a moment ago, we were talking in our opening segment about two becoming one, including the area of finances. We can't join everything together except that. Clearly, we need to bring our finances under the Lordship of Christ. A question, though, that I often get is, but what if one spouse is not on the same page? How do we move forward, whether it's the husband or the wife? And I would just simply say, start by praying. Ask God to enter that equation and walk with you. Second, after you pray, I would approach your spouse and say, you know, can we schedule a money date, a time where we talk about our finances and perhaps develop a joint vision for where God is taking us?

Because before we get to the dollars and cents, the budget, we really need to approach it from a values standpoint. What's most important to us? What is God doing in our lives? Where is he taking us?

What lifestyle has he called us to? What are we saving for? How much are we giving? What are we trying to do in terms of the values we're instilling in our kids? As you begin to unpack all of that, then the money becomes a tool to accomplish God's purposes. And by the way, there should be some flexibility in that spending plan for husband and wife to each be themselves, to have their own hobbies and interests. But the big picture of how money is being handled is driving toward the values. What's most important to us and how can money as a tool be used to accomplish God's purposes in your marriage, in your family? As you reframe that conversation, then it's no longer, you can't spend this and I can't spend that. It's about sacrificing in the short term, both of you, so you can accomplish God's bigger vision.

Pray about it and approach that conversation that way and see if it doesn't make a difference. All right, let's take your calls and questions. Lines are open. 800-525-7000.

Any topic is fair game as long as it's related to finances. 800-525-7000. We're going to start today out west in Richland, Washington. John, you're first on the program. How can we help you, sir?

Hello. Yes, I've been fortunate in my work life. I'm an engineer. I'm 59 and I have almost seven or a thousand dollars in my 401k. It's all been, it all is, has been and is in aggressive type funds and I'm just wondering when I should start to think about maybe putting some of that in more conservative type funds.

Sure. Well, obviously, God has blessed you with an abundance. You're trying to be found faithful in managing those funds. We've been, you know, in the midst of a significant bull market. It was just we were talking to Bob Doll, our resident market expert on Monday, and he said, jury's still out on whether this is the tail end of the bull market we've seen for quite some time or perhaps we had a little mini recession last year and this is somewhat of a new bull market. We don't know.

The bottom line is we won't know. And so we need to allocate God's money in our investments as long as it's got the right time horizon of at least 10 years. And I would say if this is retirement savings, it's 10 years plus plus for you, because even when you reach retirement, if the Lord tarries, you have good health. This money needs to last perhaps several decades. So what is the right allocation for those investments?

Well, you know, you could do some finer planning where you'd begin to look at, okay, what is your lifestyle need? How far out do you project retirement to be? What income sources will you have? And will those be enough? Or will you have to convert this 700,000 and whatever it grows to between now and retirement? Will that become a primary source of income?

And if so, when is that? And, you know, you could begin to then through the eyes of a professional and with a professional money manager, investment advisor, begin to build that portfolio, you know, kind of a general rule of thumb, john would be at the age of 50. You know, a lot of folks will say take 100 minus your age will because we're living longer, you take 110 minus your age, and that would be your stock position. So 110 minus your age would say, you know, perhaps you'd want 60% in stocks and 40% and other types of more conservative investments. You may say that's, you know, too conservative. And so I want to go 7030.

You know, whatever it is, I think the idea is, you know, if you're 100% invested in stocks right now at the age of 50, especially on the more aggressive end of the stock spectrum, in a we were to hit a recession here, and your portfolio was all of a sudden, you know, down 35%. And that wouldn't be unreasonable. You know, you could open a statement in that 700 is worth for 50.

Now, that would be a paper loss. And as long as you wouldn't, weren't going to react emotionally, and you would let that recover. Again, if time is on your side, it should and historically, it has. But you may not want to find yourself in that position. And therefore, you need to kind of take some money off the table, at least move it out of the the stock positions, certainly the aggressive stock positions. Does that make sense to you? Yes, I kind of had the same sense. Oh, yes, it does. And I appreciate it.

Yeah. So I think a couple of approaches. One is, if you've been managing this yourself, and you're comfortable doing that, you could just begin to systematically move into more balanced type investments, where you have a larger allocation, you know, to more conservative stocks, perhaps dividend paying stocks, preferred stocks, even some bond exposure, those types of investments, or you could connect with an investment provider, you know, if you're in a situation where you're in a situation where you're in a situation where you're in a situation where you're in a situation where you're in a situation where you're not about putting some money. I lost my husband two years ago and one of his accounts was in his name only so it's gone through probate and now the question is should I put that into my account or should I put it into a trust and I guess what I'm curious is what is the advantage of a trust or is it taxed at a higher rate? Yeah it's really not a tax issue unless you have a large estate. For most folks the reason they would have a trust is just to be able to designate a trustee that would take over in management of your assets you know if you are incapacitated so a trust can go into effect prior to death if with certain triggering events where a trustee either an individual or a corporation could begin to manage what you have for your benefit and then based on the instructions of the trust distribute at various points the assets of the trust to various beneficiaries. It can also happen outside of probate which makes it a little more efficient it can be not a part of the public record it doesn't go through the probate courts so those are the main reasons why you'd want to do that. Is it necessary for everyone? Absolutely not and so once you know the everything is finished through probate and everything is entirely in your name you could just handle it through a simple will that would basically you know govern how the probate court would handle the distribution of your assets at your death and then you'd want to make sure you also have other documents up to date and enforce like a durable power of attorney or a health care surrogate or a living will you know where some of those end-of-life decisions could be made in advance for your loved ones so they don't have to do that themselves but you don't necessarily need a trust I would encourage you just because of what's happened I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's passing I believe this is a good time Mary Ann for you to visit with a godly estate planning attorney it doesn't have to be a drawn-out process or terribly expensive but just somebody who can look over your will make any updates and changes talk to you about you know how things should be structured and make sure everything is current and in force and you could find someone there in a Chattanooga by perhaps asking for a recommendation from your church or maybe you connect with a certified Kingdom advisor and ask for a referral to a godly estate planning attorney but that would be time well spent for you to get everything in order and that'll give you a lot of peace of mind as well just that you know how things will be handled you've got somebody asking the right questions so you can come up with the right answers and then the legal documents kind of come behind all of that just to make sure that your wishes are carried out the way that you want them and you'll find that you don't necessarily need a trust by any means we appreciate your call stay with us we'll be right back thanks for being with us today on money wise live where God's weren't under sex with your financial life we're taking your calls and questions we want to hear from you what's going on in your financial life is it wrestling with a giving decision perhaps you're in the position that many of our listeners are related to our opening topic you're just struggling to figure out the path forward as husband and wife as you manage your finances together recognizing you both come to the table the marriage relationship with a different past money was handled differently growing up that's led to you forming your own habits and disciplines related to money your views on handling money that perhaps are different from one another well how do we form a path together in that and create a marriage that brings the finances under the Lordship of Christ as well if you're struggling with that we'd love to hear from you maybe it's your spending plan or your debt repayment whatever's on your mind today we'd love to hear from you here's the number eight hundred five two five seven thousand we've got some lines open eight hundred five two five seven thousand to Tennessee Judy thank you for your patience how can we help you hi I've been listening to you program for a few months now and I think it's wonderful and I have taken the money that the government has given me and I put it into Charles Schwab but I would like to know who I should talk to to invest this money for me I don't trust people that aren't Christians because they're doing it to make money for themselves and I understand that and you know right now I'm in a real financial bind because I just went through a divorce and my husband is a con artist he stole all my IDs and everything and I'm having problems with that and I can't do anything online because if I do you know he he can go in there and he has the knowledge to do all this stuff you can change everything so I you know I just feel it God has told me to call you sure and for help here yeah Judy well I'm so sorry to hear about the situation you've gone through and are you find yourself in today I think there's a couple of things number one is the divorce already been completed yes it is okay all right and so I think the next step is based on what you're describing with what's your husband your ex-husband has done or is actively doing related to your finances just to make sure that you are taking steps to protect yourself and the resources you do have perhaps opening new accounts in your name only I would freeze your credit reports that's going to prevent any new loans from being taken out in your name without your authorization it's free to do you'll just go to each of the credit bureaus experience Equifax and TransUnion and tell them you want to put a credit freeze you'll assign a PIN number and nobody will be able to access your credit without that PIN number that only you would know that's going to prevent again any accounts being opened in your name without your knowledge because if they can't access your credit file no lender is going to extend credit to anyone whether they're you or somebody claiming to be you beyond that you're gonna want to check your credit report and follow through on anything you don't recognize because if it's not yours and it's being reported you're gonna want to get that cleaned up I think the key for you right now is not investing the key is to get on a solid financial footing and what I mean by that is establishing a spending plan in a checking account that is in your name alone perhaps again a new one establishing that spending plan in such a way that it balances the income minus the expenses and you know you have a little bit of margin left we want to look at getting out of any credit card debt that you have and if you've got some let's use that margin to pay that down we want you to get an emergency fund set up of three to six months expenses that's more important than long-term investments right now because if you don't have an emergency fund Judy if something unexpected comes and for all of us the unexpected does come then you need something to fall back on so you don't have to borrow for that that money should not be in stocks that money should be in a savings account with FDIC insurance that's liquid and available we don't need to worry about the return on that money we just need to worry about the safety of that money so we can access it you can if you need it and that would be really important as a next step we can think about investing a bit further down the road the other thing I want you to do is go to the FTC's website at FTC.gov that's the Federal Trade Commission they have some great helpful information on identity theft that I'd like for you to read and then lastly I'd like for you to connect with one of our MoneyWise coaches at MoneyWiseLive.org at no cost they'll walk with you to get that spending plan set up and talk to you about the things that I just mentioned again it's the MoneyWise coaches at MoneyWiseLive.org we'll ask the MoneyWiseLive community to be praying for you and we appreciate your call today folks more to come just around the corner our number 800-525-7000 thanks for joining us today on MoneyWiseLive where we apply God's wisdom to your financial life no matter where you find yourself perhaps you have an abundance you're wondering how to be found faithful and what God has entrusted to you right now perhaps it's an opportunity to be more generous and look to meet the needs of others around you or maybe you're really struggling just to make ends meet and wondering what that path forward is no matter where you find yourself today God has a plan and here's the good news God's Word has 2,300 verses dealing with money and possessions in the Bible and as we begin to understand God's heart related to our money meaning he owns it we're the manager that he is our provider he will never abdicate that responsibility to anyone else and that money is a tool to accomplish his purposes and there's principles we can apply that are transcendent they transcend markets and tax codes and economies and they're always right and relevant and when we apply those to our situation I think we can move forward with boldness and confidence knowing we've put ourselves in a position to experience God's best now he's not a cosmic vending machine that means we're always going to be flush with financial resources but it does say at least we've been found faithful with what he is he is entrusted to us and we can trust him for the rest well we want to apply that thinking to whatever is going on in your life today we do have a couple of lines open eight hundred five two five seven thousand just a moment we're gonna be talking about long-term care is that a good investment that's gonna be with Priscilla also Sally has gotten remarried and wondering how to handle the distribution of assets in her new marriage but first let's head to Florida Susanna I understand you have a Florida retirement system plan that you have questions about hi thank you so much for your ministry I certainly appreciate listening in and I'm sure thank you guys so much yeah I am considering I haven't made the definite decision just yet but my husband will be retiring in about seven years and we have about eleven years between us so he gets to that before I do so I'm considering retiring with him the house will be paid off I have veterans health insurance that'll keep me until I reach Medicare and and so forth and we should be pretty debt free at that point my question is the Florida State retirement that I won't be able to access it's an investment it's not the pension plan I won't be able to access that and Tom 59 what happens between now and then or between the age of 50 and 59 with my investment in 403b yes well you would just assuming you're vested in that investment plan do you know have you been there long enough I believe it was six years if you're you were enrolled prior to July 1 of 2011 yes I I have been okay great so if you're fully vested and you're in the FRS investment plan you would likely just leave that balance there and it would remain invested and you've got a number of investments to choose from inside the plan you could continue to make changes and then you would be able to access that money after the age of fifty nine and a half at that point you could what most folks do would roll that balance out to an individual retirement account what you would need to check on is whether you could do that prior to that age I don't believe you can but in either case you could still keep that money invested it would just be frozen nothing else would be added to it but you know you would be able to choose from among the investments inside the plan so the idea would be that it would continue to grow until such time as you could begin to draw it out does that make sense oh absolutely no that's a great and and of course if I wanted to contribute to it if I you know did a small business or anything of that you know thought process I could you know contribute myself right well no I don't believe so once you separate from service you would want to open then a different retirement account to be able to contribute you know ongoing so you would want to look to an IRA or you could use a SEP IRA something else that you know would you would use in the interim to continue to accumulate retirement savings okay great well hey thanks a bunch I appreciate that all right Suzanne I'm excited for this upcoming new chapter of your life for you and your husband and all that God have what God will have for you then and we appreciate you listening and calling today god bless you now let's head to Wisconsin Priscilla I understand you want to know about long-term care insurance how can I help you hi yeah I'm helping my mom with that on her side as she's needing to use it and my husband's 56 I'm 48 second marriage 21 years of marriage and started looking at getting some quotes but we're told some companies stop selling long-term care because they were losing money and just wondering if there's still good companies to get policies with if we should join long-term care policy or separate ones yes yeah I think the the key is you're right there are some companies that exited this space over the last number of years you know as health care costs have been rising you know when this you know 20 years ago was a fairly new product folks were still learning how to price it and you know they were very difficult and some of the insurance companies said you know this is just not a space we want to be in and they've kind of gotten out of it but there are some really committed carriers to long-term care insurance and that's why I think it's important Priscilla as you look at this to make sure that you have an independent agent to perhaps as a long-term care insurance specialist that knows the various companies that are the key players in this space has an understanding of your health status you and your husband so he or she can shop it and find the company that would be the best fit for you all in terms of meeting the needs that you have but also giving you the most beneficial pricing based on you know any health considerations you know if something is going to erode your assets during the retirement season of life it's most often going to be the need for long-term care and so it can be set up to pay for long-term care medical services these are you know could include all a whole range of services but also it can range from you know in-home care to nursing home or assisted living it'll pay a daily amount for services based on those costs and there are a number of triggering events that you know qualify you for the payout to begin you know we say you typically want to look at securing this between 55 and 65 where your kids are off the payroll hopefully and you know frees up some of your cash flow it's the most effective time to get it from a cost standpoint and you know it's not cheap I mean premiums can be several thousand dollars a year and they can change over time they can increase so the key is you want to buy something that fits well within your your your budget so you don't have to drop it down the road you know I say typically if someone has net a net worth not income but a net worth between you know three hundred thousand and three million is probably the range where you'd want to look at this at least consider it you know below that you would rely on government assistance above three million you could self-insure you want to probably have an inflation rider so it's going to increase over time you'll want to look for you know a three to five year benefit period with a six month waiting period that's going to keep the cost down but I think the key is to make sure that you have that independent agent who understands it can help explain all the different you know types of long-term care insurance whether it's coupled within life insurance or whether it's standalone and then all these riders that are out there you know that you may or may not need and all add cost so I would connect with somebody in your area if you don't know someone there in your area you could connect with a certified Kingdom advisor and ask for a referral to an independent insurance agent who specializes in long-term care insurance and I think you'll find exactly what you need all the best to you well folks this is MoneyWise Live where God's Word is applied to your financial situation we're gonna pause when we come back we have some great questions lined up we'll continue to unpack God's truth related to their financial situation stay with us we'll be right back welcome back to MoneyWise Live thanks for being along with us today hey have you checked out the new MoneyWise app we'd love for you to download it it's available as a free download in your App Store whether that's the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store just search for MoneyWise biblical finance you'll find archives of all of our broadcasts you'll find our discover tab with all the best content blogs and podcasts in biblical finance all in one place our community where you can post a question and get responses from others in the MoneyWise community as well as our MoneyWise coaches and then our digital envelope system where you can manage your spending on a monthly basis connecting to all your institutions automatically downloading your transactions and using the tried-and-true envelope system in a beautiful digital interface to manage God's money well and stay on the same page same page with your spouse it's all found in the MoneyWise app again in your App Store just search for MoneyWise biblical finance and you can download it today all right hey before we go back to the phones let me mention periodically I have the chance to stay after the broadcast and just answer some additional questions today is one of those days if you have a question you haven't gotten through yet and you'd still like to we've got a few lines open I'd love to hear from you 800-525-7000 to Cleveland Ohio Sally how can I assist you hi I'm recently newlywed on and we are in our 60s it's my second marriage it's his third marriage and I'm struggling with the part about putting your husband first with the finances I do have children he does not but he has you know he has other family and I the money that I have is in a trust for me but there's money that I get off of that to support us and put aside and I how I have set it up is that if something happens to me first he'll it'll go into a trust and the same with his money it'll go into a trust and we are allowed to use that money you know with the discretion of you know the bank and somebody else has to approve it but I'm feeling like I should just leave something directly to my kids but at the same time I felt horn because I feel like your maid is supposed to come first not your children yeah well you know I can certainly appreciate where you're coming from and this is a challenging situation you obviously want to honor your spouse and God's Word and yet we recognize that when wealth was created in a prior marriage especially where there's children from a prior marriage that you know we can approach that differently as long as there's a shared vision for why and how that's being done it's not for a lack of trust it's not for a lack of unity but it's just a recognition that with the assets that were created prior to the marriage relationship and especially with children that you know the children are going to be taken care of out of that and you know I think it's perfectly appropriate again in the context of an open and honest communication and a shared vision as husband and wife to design the estate that way so that the inheritance is passed appropriately after both of your needs are met throughout this life that you know when both of you pass that money could be absolutely directed to one set of children or another based on you know the wealth that was created prior to the marriage I would say perhaps what you know happens from this point forward I think as husband and wife you would give careful consideration to how to handle that perhaps separately from what you had coming into the marriage but I think all of that needs to be done in the right way and in a God-honoring way I want to send you a book Sally that I think will help with this our friend Ron deal at family life blended is one of the foremost experts on this from a godly perspective he's written a book called the smart step family guide to financial planning money management before and after you blend a family he's written it with his good friend Greg Pettis who's a financial advisor and we have Ron on the program periodically but I think this will help you kind of process through this he talks about something in the book that he calls a togetherness agreement where you do just what I'm describing you really build relational trust you develop a shared vision for how you care for all family members throughout your life but recognizing that the way you do that is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all and there's room for you to build a plan that takes into account when the resources were created and what your desired outcome is for various portions of what God has entrusted to you and then that togetherness agreement is actually just the document whether it's legal drafted by an attorney or not that just defines all of that and of course you know much of that would require legal instruments to actually carry out but it's the process that I think is really important so you don't you know in any way erode trust but you actually you know come together I think in in a really unified and powerful way in even drafting it does all that make sense though it does I just actually the money that is there it was created after we were together we had a couple of numbers of my family passed away that left me money so I don't know if that makes a difference or not well you know slightly but I think again you know just the fact that there are children from a prior marriage you know is is part of the equation and I think the key is you know where is your husband at in all of this and can you all talk openly and honestly about the path forward together and come to one mind and heart about that in a way that brings you together but you know reflects the fact that you may handle inheritances differently you know for each of your children and that's not a bad thing again as long as it's done in the right way so let me send you a copy of this book I want you to read through it perhaps you guys read through it together or you could do it yourself and then pray through that conversation that you all can have about how your estate planning should be constructed so you stay on the line we'll get your information and get that right out to you Sally and I'm confident the Lord will give you some wisdom as you move forward let's head south to Florida Marvie thank you for your patience today how can I assist you hi I'm enjoying you show all right I'm a senior I am divorced of many years and I have two sons they're doing fine now I'm concerned about how the money that the government is issuing out and I do have a 401k from the original then I have one that I transferred over to an IRA and then I have savings and I have some property my question though is that I have maybe $10,000 that I could just free up and it wouldn't bother me and I was wondering should I take should I invest in gold what do you think gold versus what I've always heard gold is pretty secure so you give me your your thoughts now yeah I'd be happy to Marvie you know I'm not a big fan of concentrated positions in gold and for most folks I would say don't take physical possession if you want to have a gold allocation in your portfolio do that through a fund a mutual fund or an exchange traded fund that would be a tracker investment that tracks the price of gold you don't want to buy the refiners or you know the some of the other companies involved in the process of manufacturing the gold or mining it because you know they're based on their own quarters and how they do as a company that's going to affect the price of the stock and what you're looking to do is is take the you know follow the price of gold per ounce now the truth is gold is usually less of an investment it's more speculative in my view it trades on fear and so as far as a hedge against inflation in some cases it's worked in other cases is it hasn't four out of the past nine decades it's kept up with inflation the 30s 70s the 2000s and 2010s but it didn't keep up with inflation in six of the past nine and I think because yes it's a store of value so you actually don't want it to go up because in a sense when it is that means there's a lot that's going wrong around us but even then I think just based on the volatility and the overall long-term performance the the data is just not on its side saying that it's it's makes sense for you to put a highly concentrated position a large percentage of your investments in gold just because of the overall performance so what I would do is stick to the five to ten percent rule meaning no more than five to ten percent of your investable assets in gold and again I wouldn't buy physical gold if it were me I would buy it through an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of gold so that's just my perspective and I think you know that will serve you well over time just based on historical data we appreciate your call today now we're gonna finish today in Florida by the way we do have a couple of lines open I'll be staying after to take a few calls 800-525-7000 Eddie how can we help you I am mr. West okay I have a couple of questions one of them is that I just sold a rental property and the proceeding I will there's another there's another property being sold maybe next month so I was going to you know to buy am you know to reinvest it but my question is how how much time do we have years ago used to be like you had it 18 months to time the train vest before you know be subject to you know capital gains yes okay very good unfortunately we're short on time let me give you my thoughts on that you can do something Eddie called a 1031 exchange as long as it's a like property a similar property meaning you go from investment property to investment property even though you know you may go from single-family to multifamily or something like that as long as it remains an investment you can do a 1031 exchange that's going to push the capital gains tax out here's the rule on that you have to nominate the potential replacement property within 45 days of the closing and then from within a hundred and eighty days of closing you have to acquire the replacement property so I'd connect with your tax preparer just to make sure you do that properly because you don't want to get caught off guard we appreciate your call folks thanks for being with us today we're so grateful that you joined us MoneyWiseLive as a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media let me say thank you to my producer today Deb Solomon engineer Amy Rios Gabby T has been answering phones for us today and Rich Roswell providing research thank you for being here come back and join us again tomorrow as we apply God's truth to your financial life we'll see you then God bless you