Discover Your Giving Passions

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Not licensed in Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah. In Matthew 621, Jesus says, Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. That leaves us with the decision to make. Where do we put our treasure? Hi, I'm Rob West. Christians are to be generous towards God's Kingdom, but deciding exactly where and how to do that can be a challenge. Tim McDonald with the National Christian Foundation joins us today to talk about how we can do that. Then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, where God's word guides our financial decisions. Well, Tim McDonald is vice president of NCF's new Southwest office based in Phoenix.

The office is new, but Tim isn't. He has many years' experience helping God's people create giving strategies in a way that allows them to not only maximize their resources, but also to discover their giving passions. And that's what I want to talk about today. Tim, great to have you with us on the program. Thanks, Rob. Great to be with you. Tim, I don't want to assume that everyone is familiar with NCF, the National Christian Foundation, so I'd like to ask you to start today by giving us an overview and perhaps just a bit of the details on how it works.

Be happy to, Rob. NCF, as you well know, was founded by mutual friends, Ron Blue, Larry Burkett, and Terry Parker, and they had a passion to share with folks how to give strategically and effectively through the course of their Christian walk. And so NCF as an organization, we've been around for about 40 years, and we have about 30 offices around the country. And our passion is to serve givers within those communities on a local level. And you know that many people have a financial strategy, but they don't necessarily have a giving strategy.

Many times they're like, what is that? So we get the opportunity to come alongside them and help them create a giving strategy so that they can be wise stewards of all they have, but then experience a greater joy of generosity. And so that's what we have a great opportunity to do. Well, it's a phenomenal organization, and if you want to give wisely and give to the maximum of your ability, I would say NCF is a vital tool in your tool belt, and folks like Tim McDonald and others literally all over the country in these local offices and nationally can walk alongside and serve you in that.

So be sure to check out ncfgiving.com. Well, Tim, as you know, folks understand that they're to tie to their local church first, but beyond that, they often need clarity about where to give. That's my experience. They may even have ongoing requests or commitments with a variety of causes. Do you hear this concern a lot?

Yeah, we hear that concern just about every single day. And folks just wondering how to do giving well, oftentimes feeling scattered, needing some help, creating some clarity in what they're doing, because not just what they're doing, but God has entrusted them to do. And many times they don't know where to give. And so we have an opportunity to come alongside and help them find out what their passions are and find what those passions mean to them, their spouse, their family, and help set up the strategy that would best suit what they're doing and how God has called them to do that. And as we were thinking about some things to share today, a quote from Henry Blackaby just stood out and it was been resonating on this for the last little while. And he said, we don't choose what we will do for God.

He invites us to join him where he wants to involve us. And that's just a spectacular part, our understanding of how God calls us into his story. And speaking of stories, let me just share one with you, a giver that we have come alongside, introduced by a certified kingdom advisor and who we've worked with for decades.

And they were talking through, she is recently a widow, and so they were talking through what her passions are and how to go about figuring those out as she looks through to the next half of her life and where her giving is going to continue to go. I'll look forward to sharing more about that. I can't wait.

You know, that's where the rubber meets the road and where so many of our listeners are today wanting to know how do they unlock their giving opportunities aligned with their passions. We'll talk about that when we return. Tim McDonald, VP of NCF's new Southwest office with us today. Stay with us.

Much more to come. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live. With us for this segment, Tim McDonald, VP of NCF's new Southwest office. National Christian Foundation is an underwriter and a key partner of ours at MoneyWise. And Tim, just before the break, you were talking about this idea of really aligning our passions with our giving.

And that's such a foundational thought. What's the first step you take when you're talking to folks about their giving passions? So we have a tool on our website that folks can download and utilize just about every day. And that has to do with their causes and their passions. So what we're just talking about, you can find it at our website, ncfgiving.com forward slash causes. And on that PDF are a number of grant making causes that you can use your giving fund to grant to. And we will take the time to sit down with our clients and talk through what passions do they have. Anti-slavery? Is there a passion for church planting?

Maybe arts in the theater, humanities? Is there an addiction issue or a passion to help those with addiction? Many, many causes that people can walk through, talk through. Understand what resonates with their heart and then jot those down. Keep top. Keep track of those that not just resonate, but you have given resources to in the past.

And by the term resources, I don't just mean money, but also your time and your talent or your skill set. And then what other similarities are there with any other causes? And then we sort of put that in the pot and start having it boil down. And as we have it boiling down, we break out where this aligns with your heart. What brings you most joy? And most importantly, where do you feel God is drawing you in?

And I've gone through this exercise a number of times. And the place where I find that I really want to focus my energy is where God is drawing me in. And my wife and I have walked through this passions exercise. And as we refine where we feel God is drawing us in, we do feel that sense of greater generosity.

There is a joy that enters our giving. And we are just we're excited to do that and see that come alive in folks as they many times then have a freedom to say no, because each one of us is getting asked to give to all sorts of organizations that are doing some great work. But unfortunately, because we haven't created that strategy, we feel like we have to say yes to everybody.

Well, with this with this strategy, it will allow you the opportunity to say no and know that you are doing what God's called you to do. Yeah, I think strategy is the key word there. You know, Tim, we have a strategy for our investing. We take great attention and time to make sure we're investing in the right places when it comes to putting God's money to work in stocks and bonds and real estate. But are we giving that same level of attention and intentionality to our giving? And I would say for most of us, the answer is no. And I think that's why this is such a great example of how the work of NCF can assist givers in being much more intentional. And this resource you mentioned at ncfgiving.com slash causes can unlock that because for so many of us, we've really not thought about it at that level. But having a tool like this can perhaps open our eyes to causes that break our heart that perhaps we've never really given that much thought to. Has that been your experience as you've walked alongside people?

Yes. So well said. That's not only been our experience as we've walked alongside people, we've also experienced that ourselves. And Laney and I have just had an opportunity to walk through this passions exercise yet again, just a couple of weeks ago.

And in that, there was two or three causes that really we both felt God was calling us to participate in, but neither had given our time or energy or talent to previously. And so our circumstances have changed. And so because of that, we are seeing some doors open to serve elsewhere.

And and I mean serve with time and serve with our resources from our giving fund. And so, yes, we've had a great opportunity to doing that. And it's for me, it's incredibly personal. As we walk through this exercise, we respect how personal that is. This is a very open time for conversation and an opening up of our hearts to each other and to our Savior.

Yeah. Well, it's such an important point. And I love that this is so practical. Tim, after walking through that exercise, any other things that you would share about the impact this has on givers and the organizations they give to?

Absolutely, Rob. One of the great things that we have the opportunity to do is once our clients get an understanding of what this clarity looks like, we suggest that they write down their big dreams. What would this look like for them if they were to be able to accomplish what they feel God's putting on their heart? And I shared a little bit of a story earlier about a widow we were working with who had been introduced to a philanthropic advisor. And in the conversation, her great dream was to fund some work with one of her great passions, but not certain on the organization or to what level she could go about doing so. And the dream was that she'd be able to do some form of a building and an ongoing program.

Well, that was a big dream to her because she felt it was not possible. After talking with the advisor, them doing their research, it's now become clear that that is, in fact, an opportunity for her and to see God work through every step of that way. And then for her to bring in the remaining of her family, her grandchildren and others into this conversation and into the experience has just been a joy to watch. NCF, we're here to guide you along that generosity journey, and we just love doing so. Well, and I know you think it's really critical that you meet with somebody personally.

A lot of that's being done on Zoom these days. But why is that so important to actually have an advisor to walk with you? I believe giving passionately very often is done in a local community. Yeah.

It's not done on a one off kind of scenario. And where we want passions to ignite and align with others, we want to help foster that community locally. And that's what our 30 offices do around the country. And if you're not within a local proximity of one of those offices, feel free to reach out to our national office, which is located in Atlanta. And we are happy to connect you with someone who can come alongside and help you talk through your passion and help clarify what you're giving strategy may look like.

Tim, we're about out of time today. I want to finish by giving you an opportunity to talk about what I think is one of the most powerful giving tools there is. And that's an NCF giving fund. Who is that for and how is it useful?

Yeah, Rob, I've heard you explain this previously. It's like your charitable bank account. That's what a giving fund is. And what's it for? It's for funding organizations that you have a passion for that we've talked about. And who can utilize that?

Anyone can with no minimum balance. We are so excited to serve a broad base of the community. Very good.

Well, we've covered a lot of ground. Tim, it's been a delight to talk to you today. Thanks for stopping by. My pleasure, Rob. Thank you. To learn more, you can visit ncfgiving.com slash causes to download the PDF Tim mentioned or their generosity library at ncfgiving.com slash library.

All right. Your calls are next. Here's the number, 800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, where God's Word informs every financial decision. We'll be right back. Delighted you've joined us today for MoneyWise Live.

I'm Rob West. In just a moment, we'll be taking your calls and questions. Here's the number, 800-525-7000. 800-525-7000.

It's a holiday weekend, which means you should be able to get right through today when you call. We have plenty of lines open and we'll look forward to hearing from you. You know, in that previous segment, we were talking with Tim McDonald of the National Christian Foundation. I really want to encourage you, you know, if you want to be more intentional, more thoughtful and even more effective in your giving as a steward of God's resources, NCF, the National Christian Foundation, is an indispensable resource, whether it's opening a giving fund to use as a tool for your giving, to give anonymously or just to have all of your gifts come out of one account so you just get one tax receipt at the end of the year or because it can hold other assets. I mean, there's so many benefits to using a donor-advised fund, what NCF calls a giving fund, that I really would love for you to check it out.

Secondly, your giving strategy. As Tim said, somebody to come alongside you, help you uncover your passions, not only the how much of giving but the where and really help you align your passions with your giving dollars. And then finally, I think one of the other huge opportunities with NCF is complex gifts, non-cash giving. They can help you with all kinds of planning and tools and gift planning attorneys that can handle everything from appreciated stock gifts to real estate to business interests.

I mean, you name it, there are some really tax-efficient strategies that get incredible resources into God's kingdom through generosity, and NCF can help you take advantage of that. So check them out today, ncfgiving.com on the web, and I know you'll be glad you did. All right, before we take our phone calls, and let me just mention again we have some lines open, we'll be diving into your calls in just a moment. Here's the number 800-525-7000. Let's quickly take an email.

This comes from Riley and Pat, and they're in Arkansas. They wrote into questions at moneywise.org and just said, is it time for us to move out of stocks and buy gold? And I appreciate that question. You know, this was talked about much more perhaps in the last six months than even today, just because we've seen some of the uncertainties related to the pandemic kind of work their way through the system. We see the economy reopening, but there's still a lot of talk about gold, particularly because of inflation. So typically, in order to preserve power, excuse me, purchasing power, you would buy gold as an inflation hedge. The biggest problem with gold is you don't want it to go up in value because it probably means everything else is going down. You know, gold and hard assets have a place in a portfolio, Riley and Pat, but you know, from my perspective, they shouldn't be the driver of our investments. It should be the last investment because you should have other priorities. And I would generally look to this, to the precious metals to be 5% of your portfolio, certainly no more than 10%. You know, it tends to be more attractive to investors when there's a considerably high fear factor out there. But you know, I don't like it because it doesn't produce any income while you hold it, the longer term performance is lower than stocks, and the volatility is higher in just about every time period you look at. So I really would see it as a place in your portfolio, but certainly not the driving dominant position. So take that for what it's worth. I would pray through it, certainly, but I would not overweight in the precious metals.

That's just me. We appreciate your question today. If you want to send us an email and have it right on the air, just send it over to questions at moneywise.org. All right, we're going to start taking your phone calls here in just a moment.

We'll be in Holland, Michigan, but we're going to begin in Elgin with John. How can I help you, sir? Hi, thank you for your ministry. I'm going to pay off a credit card, which I have, and my question is, my interest rate in this credit card is 29%. And my question is, what would be the top three companies you'd recommend to get a good credit card in terms of no annual fee, in terms of interest rate, in terms of getting money back, any positive characteristics?

Yes. Well, that's a great question, John, and I love the fact that you're paying off this credit card. I would make sure that you're living on a balanced budget, meaning you've really taken a deep dive into your expenses on a monthly basis so you understand where the money's going, not just the things you get a bill for, but what I'll call the discretionary expenses that tend to build up over time without us realizing it, and those non-recurring expenses that perhaps don't come every month.

But having that reduced to paper, or better yet, in the palm of your hand through the MoneyWise app, would be a great way to just dial in your spending, and then you need a system to control the flow of money in and out, whether that's just tracking or you use the tried-and-true envelope system. But that's going to be the key to you not getting back into debt, because if you're going to use credit cards moving forward and you've been in a place where you've been paying high interest, I would prefer you just cut it up and use a debit card before I'd like to see you go back into debt. But if you feel like you've resolved whatever got you into that place and your budget balances and you've got some margin, and clearly you do because you're paying this off in full, then I think as long as you can handle it responsibly, there's nothing wrong with using a credit card in my opinion.

When it comes to choosing the card, Jon, I heard a couple of key things that I really like. Number one is you said no fees, and absolutely these days there's no reason to be paying any fees. You mentioned a low interest rate, and most credit cards, they're all high interest. I mean, some are better than others, but the bottom line is if we're only using it for budgeted items, it doesn't really matter what the interest rate is.

But yeah, we should be checking that out. And then there's the rewards, and I think you've got to decide now that the economy is opening back up, if you're a traveler or you'd like to be able to travel more, are you looking for travel rewards or are you looking for cash back? I'll mention one credit card, and then I'll mention two websites. The credit card that I use now is the Fidelity Cash Rewards, 2% back on everything, but they deposit it to a Fidelity brokerage account. I have it put into our kids' 529.

But 2% on everything is very uncommon, not just certain categories. But check out nerdwallet.com and creditcards.com because they're constantly updating their list of the best credit cards. And we appreciate your call. We'll be right back. to your financial decisions today, whether it's saving or giving lifestyle, perhaps it's paying down some debt, whatever's on your mind today, we'd love to hear from you. We have some lines open and I'll be staying after for a few minutes today to take some additional calls. So we have plenty of availability for you. Here's the number 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Let's go to Youngstown, Ohio. Lynn, thank you for your call today. How can I help you?

Thanks. I'm part of a group, a partnership where we own the building and also as a separate real estate company and kind of paid it down and then refinancing it so that loan money, we get some of that. So is that even though there's debt now, is that money considered an increase and that we should tithe on that? Yeah, so help me understand exactly what's happening. So you own a piece of property as a part of a group.

So there's multiple owners, you're refinancing the property and you're pulling some cash out as a part of that? Yes. Okay.

And then there's going to be a distribution of that on a pro rata basis to each person? Yes. Okay. And is it, yeah, I mean, I think the only issue there is because it's debt, it's really not an increase because it has to be paid back.

Am I missing something there? It's paid back by a separate company that pays the rent. Okay. Right. So you have income. So, you know, the way I would look at it is, you know, the property is an asset. It has obviously a value associated with it, a market value. And then you've got debt on that property. And that's going to rise and fall based on, you know, whether you've paid it down or in this case, you're increasing the debt by cashing out. But in either case, there's debt service involved. Really, the income that's coming into the business for the group is to maintain the property, service the debt, market it, you know, all of the things that go into it. And then there should be distributions that come out in the form of income over time to the investors. And then upon the sale, obviously, you'd have, you know, any profits would be coming back to you on a pro rata basis as well. So I think you should be looking at really two pieces.

Is there distributions or income coming into you as an owner on an annual basis or some period of time that you'd want to evaluate it because it's cash flowing beyond what it takes to run the property? That's clearly your increase. And then I think when there's a sale, anything that is the profit, you know, the amount which you get back that's above what you put into it initially, obviously would be your profit. And that's also your increase. So I think really those are the two key pieces you're looking for as you evaluate, OK, I want to be giving on this, but I don't want to give it necessarily. You can't outgive God. So you can give as much as you want. But if you're trying to give based on the increase, you wouldn't want to give off of something that isn't truly increased because essentially it's it's either working capital for the business or, you know, it's it's debt that is going to have to be paid back.

So I'd be focusing on the profit and the income or the distributions as the number that you're looking for in your CPA perhaps could even help you calculate that each year or some period of time that you want to evaluate it. So I hope that's helpful to you. I appreciate your generosity and your desire to be found faithful and giving to the Lord. And we appreciate your call today as well. Let's head to Indianapolis, Indiana. Melody, thank you for calling today. How can I help you?

Hello. Thanks for taking my phone call. I am wondering if I should move. I have a 30 year mortgage. I've been in the home since 2016 and I am wanting to go to a 15 year mortgage. But I'm wondering if it would be smart because I'm at a three point seven five right now. I want to go through my credit union there.

I haven't talked with them yet. But I that I see online that it says I get a two point five or a two point six to interest rate. But then, however, the closing cost looks like it could cost me eighteen hundred. OK. And how much what's the value of the mortgage today? I I the value of the mortgage. What do you owe on it? Fifty nine.

Fifty nine thousand. OK. Yeah. Because when I bought it in 2016, I had already you know, I paid half ahead of time.

OK. All right. Well, you're going to have to look at that just because what they're showing online may not be available with that size mortgage. You're kind of right there on the edge.

A lot of times when you get below seventy five thousand, certainly below fifty thousand, which I realize you're you're not there, you're higher than that. You know, they don't like to give you the best terms or in some cases they may not even refinance it just because the balance is too low. So the starting point is just to compare what you're seeing as well as perhaps I'd go to bankrate.com and look at a few other lenders. I'd get three bids to see based on your credit score, the equity that you have, the income you can verify, but also the balance of the mortgage. What rates are they going to offer you and at what fee? You mentioned about eighteen hundred dollars, which would be about three percent. I'd like for you to be around two percent, which would be more like twelve hundred dollars. Now, you're probably going to have to pay a little bit more if you do this just because of the size of the mortgage being smaller.

It tends to push it up a little bit, but I'd say somewhere between twelve and fifteen hundred max. The key would be, Melody, I love the idea that you're going to shorten the term. I think the fifteen year is great as long as it fits into the budget. And if you can save at least a point on the interest rate and you're planning to stay in this home for at least five to seven years, then this will make some sense.

If you can really get that rate and we can get those fees down a little bit, I'd say less than fifteen hundred dollars and you're going to stay put. Does that make sense? It does make sense. Yeah, I just didn't want to do it. And, you know, I was thinking all wrong, but I was thinking if I couldn't get more than a point, I mean, I'm sorry. Yeah, if I couldn't get a point or more and then the charges of the closing, then to me, it sounds like it would kind of be stupid. But I didn't think about the mortgage not being so high anyway, whether they'd even really give me a good deal with it only being fifty nine thousand.

Yeah. So you're going to need to check on that. I mean, going fifteen year with these interest rates, there's a good chance you could, in fact, get a point of reduction, which would be, you know, two seven five. But shop it around, see what you can do. Any lenders you check with in a two week period is considered one inquiry as far as your credit score is concerned. So I'd check with at least three, but do it all within a two week period.

And then I think you'll have the information you need to make your decision. We appreciate your call today. Well, we've covered some ground here today and we still have a lot more to cover. We've got some phone lines open. And as I mentioned, I'm going to be staying around today for a little bit extra time just to answer as many questions as I can. So if you have a question, we'd love to hear from you today. Here's the number eight hundred five two five seven thousand.

That's eight hundred five two five seven thousand. Hey, let me just take a moment and mention our Money Wise coaches. These are men and women who have been especially trained to provide as a ministry to you assistance with building a spending plan, understanding God's principles of managing money, even looking at your debt and answering any specific questions you have.

They'll walk with you for six weeks or more, and there's no cost other than a small charge for a digital workbook that we'll use to guide our time together. If you'd like to take advantage of that ministry, go to our Web site, MoneyWiseLive.org, click Connect with a Coach. More to come after this. Stay with us.

We're delighted to have you along with us today on Money Wise Live biblical wisdom for your financial journey. I'm Rob West and so glad you've decided to tune in today. We've got lines full, so we're going to take as many calls as we can. Let's go right back to the phones.

Chicago, Illinois. Kim, thank you for calling today. What's on your mind? Hi, thank you for taking my call. After my dad passed, my mom had put money into annuities that must have been 18 years ago. Wednesday, she said to my brother and I, I want to give you this money.

I want you to use it now. Take care of it. And we have no idea what that means. She doesn't want to be bothered with it.

One is about $200,000 and one is $39,000. We don't know what to do. Do you know if this is a qualified annuity, meaning it's on a pre-tax basis or a non-qualified? Do you know? I have no clue and she really doesn't want to deal with it. And we are waiting for a call back from the broker, but we're not getting that either. So we just don't know how to proceed. We're not even sure how it would work.

Sure, sure. Well, this is a life insurance contract and it's based on your mom's life, meaning, you know, there's an insurance component to it and then there was money that she put in as either a lump sum or she paid in over time. Perhaps she's still paying in. And so it's accumulated both a death benefit as well as a cash value that can be pulled out. The question is based on whether it's qualified, pre-tax or non-qualified. You know, there may be some tax due on a portion, all or a portion of this as it comes out. And so what you're likely going to do is just find out what the surrender value is so that you all could take the money out of the annuities and then divide it on a pro rata basis based on, you know, the share that each of you is entitled to. You know, another option you could look at would be you can the owner of the contract can be changed, not the annuitant. So your mom is the annuitant.

Her life is still the life that would trigger the benefits and determine the amount. But then new owner can start receiving the payments, you know, as a monthly annuitization, which is just a monthly payout or change beneficiaries or even cash out the policy. Or she could do that and then just give you the money. But it sounds like she wants just to kind of transfer it over to you. So you become the owner or owners and then you all would then decide how you want to proceed. The key is you're going to need to get a lot more information because these are complex. There's typically a good bit of fees associated with you pulling the money out. So you just need to make sure what are you giving up by pulling it out versus leaving it there. You're also going to want to know about the tax implications so that doesn't catch you by surprise.

And these contracts are complex and not always easy to understand. So I think starting with the broker, getting as much information as you can based on what your mom has told you as to what he feels like is the next steps, assuming you guys want to just cash the money out. And then I would take that and run it by a CPA or accountant just to make sure you fully understand what the tax consequences are of what you're talking about here. So sounds like this is going to be a real blessing to you. And I like the fact that you're seeking some wise counsel to get some assistance here.

In addition to talking to the broker, Kim, which he or she may not have a whole lot of incentive to follow up with you. I'm not saying he's not going to do a good job, but this person has probably already received the compensation they're going to receive. So not really any benefit personally to them providing you excellent service, even though they still may. But the reason I mentioned that is you may also want to seek out your own investment or financial professional to just evaluate this policy, look over what's there and help you make a decision.

Because if you do take the money out and you've got $100,000, you may want to have somebody invest that for you as well. And that individual could handle that. So I'd encourage you to head to our website for a second opinion on evaluating what you have here and just search for a CKA. There's a bunch of them, Certified Kingdom Advisors there in Chicago, and any of them would be happy to walk alongside you in this process. And we appreciate your call. To Indiana, Joshua, thank you for calling, sir. How can I help you?

Yeah, love the show. Thanks for taking my call. Thank you. A couple of weeks ago, you had talked about Social Security basically starting to run out of money. I'm a 32 year old guy. I've been investing the full matching amount, I think, six percent with the company I currently work for for the last seven years. And then I have some other savings and investments.

Is there anything that I at my stage in life should be doing differently knowing that that's coming? You know, well, when you say, you know, it's coming specifically changes to Social Security. Yeah. Yeah. No, I don't think so. I mean, keep in mind, Social Security was only intended to cover 40 percent of your retirement income, even at its outset.

And I realized, you know, it's got some problems. And when we say that, what we're talking about is the latest data says that the the trust fund will run out by 2035. Does that mean the benefits go away? No, it just means that if if changes aren't made and changes are going to be made between now and then.

But if changes aren't made just based on the receipts coming in every year and the amount that needs to be paid out, benefits only about 75 percent of benefits would be able to be paid because they wouldn't be able to pull additional funds from the trust fund to pay 100 percent. So it would mean a reduction. But I think, you know, this is a pretty important political football, if you will, that is going to have to be addressed because it's so significant to our country.

So I think it will be. But I think the bottom line is it's just a good reminder that you need to be doing your part. And it sounds like you are. I think, you know, if you set a goal to get up to 10 to 15 percent of your take home pay going into a retirement account, then, you know, that's you're you're doing your part there. And then I'd be focused on living well within your means, reducing debt over time.

So that when you enter retirement, you're debt free, which means your lifestyle is as low as it can possibly be. And if you're doing all of that, then I think, you know, you're putting yourself in a position to be able to continue to fund your lifestyle in that season of life. Does that make sense, though?

Yeah, it does. I appreciate it. OK. Appreciate your call, Joshua. Lord bless you and have a great Fourth of July. On to Spokane, Washington. Brenda, thank you for your call. How can I help you?

Hi, Rob. I live in Washington State, as you know, and they are implementing a new long term care tax that starts in November. And if we don't have our own before then, they automatically enroll us.

So I'm wondering if we should go ahead and get our own. I'm only 50. My husband's 52. And I've heard that we, you know, could wait until, you know, 59 or something.

I don't know. What is the best age? Yeah. You know, the typical, you know, for most folks between 55 and 65, that is going to be where you'll get the most effective rate. Because prior to that, prior to 55, you know, you're going to be paying for it for longer than you need to. And that's going to erode. Well, it's just going to add up over time. You're going to end up spending more.

And then beyond that, 65, it just tends to get really expensive. You know, I have heard some things about what's going on in Washington state related to long term care and, you know, some of these changes that are coming in November. But I have to tell you, I am not fully versed on it. So let's do this. I'd like to get up to speed with a bit more about what's going on out there before I weigh in on that. So I'll ask our team to look into that and we'll do an opening topic on it or at least address it in a future broadcast. I just don't know enough about what's the changes that are coming to be able to weigh in.

But I would say I'm a fan of it. You know, when you reach age 65, the data says 70 percent of Americans 65 and older will need long term care, typically for around two years. And it's expensive depending on what type of care you need.

It could be eight, nine thousand a month. So it's something that could erode your assets in a hurry. So if you can afford it, buying a policy at the right time in that window between 55 and 65 with a daily benefit that matches what your need is, or at least offsets the potential cost of it with an inflation rider that increases that over time. And, you know, you're going to have to address what's called the waiting period, how long before it kicks in.

You know, there's a whole host of issues that you'll need to look at. But if you can afford it and it fits into your budget, I think it's well worth the cost. I think the key, Brenda, and this I think would be important, especially there in Washington, is to find a life insurance, excuse me, a long term care insurance agent who specializes in that area, who can answer all of your questions. Tell you which companies are most committed to this space based on your health, can tell you which company is going to price it most effectively and then help you find the right policy for you if one makes sense.

And it's certainly not for everyone. So I would find a long term care insurance agent and look into it further. And we'll do some digging as well on some of those changes that are coming down the pike that I know are happening.

But again, we just don't have all the details. And I appreciate your call today very, very much. Quickly to Fort Lauderdale. Tim, I've got just about 60 seconds. How can I help you?

Hey, I appreciate your show and using your blessings to bless all the people that hear your voice. My quick question is that I got about 10,000 in savings and investments and I got a 720 to 30 credit score based on credit karma. Do you think it'd be wise to start looking at buying a house over the next year or do you think I should just keep saving and try to have more of a down payment? Yeah, I do. Is that 10,000 the extent of your savings? So would that be considered your emergency fund as well? Yes, sir.

Yeah. Yeah, I would hold off for a couple reasons. Number one is I'd like for you to have at least three months expenses in a liquid savings account that is not going to be used for that down payment.

Just is there so that if the unexpected comes, you've got something to fall back on. You don't have to look to credit cards. If you put that into a home, it's now illiquid and you don't have any reserves. So I want you to get that to three months worth of expenses and then let's start saving for that house. And I'd like for you to target 20%. So I realize it's probably going to take a while, but that's okay. I don't want you to get in a position where you're buying too early, especially, Tim, with housing prices the way they are in Fort Lauderdale. They are sky high right now. So I think waiting for the market to cool off a bit with some better inventory is going to be in your favor. We appreciate your call today.

Well, folks, MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. Thank you to Deb Solomon, Amy Rios, Sarah Tidwell, Jim Henry, and thank you for being here. I hope you have a great Fourth of July weekend and then come back and join us next week. I'll be here. We'll look forward to it. God bless you. Bye bye.