Finding Lost Money

This is Jamin Baxter and I serve as Business Development Director for Moody Radio. The only reason we're able to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ on the radio is because of financial support from listeners like you. We also have businesses support us too, like United Faith Mortgage.

Faith and family is at their core. It's why they choose to be such a close partner with our station. It's why they specifically advertise on Christian radio stations across the country.

It's why father and son John and Ryan still lead the company to this day. Check out United Faith Mortgage and their direct lender advantage at unitedfaithmortgage.com. Thanks to you and to United Faith Mortgage for supporting Moody Radio. United Faith Mortgage is a DBA of United Mortgage Corp. 25 Melville Park Road, Melville, New York. Licensed mortgage banker. For all licensing information, go to nmlsconsumeraccess.org, corporate NMLS number 1330, equal housing lender.

Not licensed in Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah. This is Jamin Baxter and I serve as Business Development Director for Moody Radio. The only reason we're able to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ on the radio is because of financial support from listeners like you. We also have businesses support us too, like United Faith Mortgage.

Faith and family is at their core. It's why they choose to be such a close partner with our station. It's why they specifically advertise on Christian radio stations across the country.

It's why father and son John and Ryan still lead the company to this day. Check out United Faith Mortgage and their direct lender advantage at unitedfaithmortgage.com. Thanks to you and to United Faith Mortgage for supporting Moody Radio. United Faith Mortgage is a DBA of United Mortgage Corp. 25 Melville Park Road, Melville, New York. Licensed mortgage banker. For all licensing information, go to nmlsconsumeraccess.org, corporate NMLS number 1330, equal housing lender.

Not licensed in Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah. Losing your car keys is frustrating, but losing an insurance policy or an inheritance can be financially devastating. Hi, I'm Rob West. We all lose stuff. Most of the time it's things like a wallet, eyeglasses, or the TV remote. But would you believe that each year assets totaling millions of dollars go missing? I'll talk about how to find them first today, then it's onto your calls at 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. The Bible tells us to know the condition of our herds and flocks. Today, we'd say that means keeping track of our assets. So let's start with life insurance policies. They're lost more often than you think. Survivors may not be aware that a policy exists. Paperwork can be lost.

Last week, we talked about the mountains of paper that can accumulate if you don't have an efficient filing system. Insurance papers can easily be accidentally thrown out. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or NAIC, says that each year millions of dollars in insurance benefits go unclaimed. So how do you find out if you're the beneficiary of a lost insurance policy? Well, the NAIC has a tool called the Life Insurance Policy Locator Service. It lets you search nationwide for policies and annuities by inputting the names of deceased family members and friends. You'll first need a death certificate.

You then put in some basic information, the deceased's social security number, full legal name, date of birth, and date of death. If there's a match, the insurance company holding the policy will contact you within 90 days, provided you're a designated beneficiary or legal representative of the deceased. In just five years, the policy locator service has processed over 200,000 claims and matched a billion dollars in benefits to folks who should get them.

Now, all insurance is regulated at the state level. Several states have their own lost policy locator services, so check directly with the deceased state's insurance commissioner to see if that's the case. Life insurance companies have access to databases that alert them when a policyholder dies. If you're a designated beneficiary on a policy but they can't find you, they're required to turn those funds over to the unclaimed property office in the state where the deceased lived.

That office is generally located in the state's Treasury Department. We can't list them all, but a quick online search may give you another way to search for lost insurance policies or other assets. Now, if you're a policy holder, you can save your loved ones a lot of grief by taking some preventative steps. Keep your beneficiary designations up to date and make sure the insurer has their latest contact information. Let the beneficiaries know they're named in your policy and give them contact info for your insurer and agent. And always keep the latest copy of your policy with your estate papers. Put it in a safe place and preferably a fireproof safe. Okay, now let's say there's unclaimed money out there with your name on it, insurance benefits or otherwise.

You may not even know about it. This could be almost any type of unclaimed funds like pension plans, 401ks, bank accounts, even IRS refunds and savings bonds. There might be uncashed checks, CDs, trust funds, utility deposits, stock and bond certificates, wages and even the contents of safe deposit boxes.

There are two great resources for tracking down those assets. People move around a lot and it's possible to have assets in several states, so a good place to start is at missingmoney.com. It's sponsored by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators and allows you to search more than one state at a time. When there's a match in any state, missingmoney.com gives you the information and links to official websites where you can file a claim. The catch is not every state participates in missingmoney.com. If you think you might have unclaimed funds in a state that's stuck in the 90s, well there's a sister site called unclaimed.org. It will put you in touch with non-participating state unclaimed property offices. And let me mention just one more resource. The federal government also has a tool for tracking down unclaimed money that Uncle Sam or anyone else might owe you.

This includes tax refunds, benefits from VA life insurance policies, court settlements, bankruptcies, and more. And we'll put a link to that site and all the others we've mentioned in today's show notes. By the way, you can check out our show notes when you visit our website at MoneyWiseLive.org.

Not only will you find broadcast archives, you can post a question in our Money Wise community, connect with a certified kingdom advisor, and find great articles and resources. Again, MoneyWiseLive.org. Your calls are next, 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West and we'll be right back. Thanks for joining us today on Money Wise Live. I'm Rob West, your host.

So glad you're along with us today. We're going to be taking your calls and questions in just a moment. Here's the number, 800-525-7000. We've got some lines open. The team is ready to receive you and we'll get you on the air quickly in line with the rest of the folks, but we've got some room for you right now. 800-525-7000. Hey, before we take our first call today, let me just remind you that Money Wise Media is listener supported.

That's right. We can only do what we do each day on the air and with our coaches and in the app and on the web with our certified kingdom advisors as a result of your generous support. So I would just ask that you'd prayerfully consider giving to support the ministry, whether it's one time or monthly. I would encourage you to make it beyond that which you're giving systematically to your local church. But if you decide you'd like to partner with us, we'd invite you to do that at moneywiselive.org. Just click the donate button.

You can give quickly and securely and we'll thank you in advance. Let's head back to the phones or let's begin today with our phone calls. 800-525-7000. Bill is in Syracuse, New York. Hello, Bill. How can I help you, sir? Good afternoon. Thank you for taking my call, Rob.

Sorry for the vehicle in the background. My question is should you lend money to a relative that spends their money on cigarettes and lottery tickets even though they're willing to lend you money if you need be? Yeah, that's a tough one, Bill. And, you know, first of all, I appreciate your desire to be generous. Let me clarify a couple of things, though, if you don't mind. You asked about lending money. So are you talking about money that you expect to have repaid or are you actually giving them a gift? Well, it would be lending money if they ask to borrow money. Okay, yeah. And have you done this before and was it repaid?

Yes, I have lent money before and it was repaid. Okay, all right. Well, you know, I think, I mean, to begin at the end of the day, you need to use your discernment. You need to ask the Lord to give you some wisdom and discernment as you make those decisions. You know, there are times where I think the Holy Spirit prompts us to give and, you know, whether it's somebody that we just encounter on the street or somebody that is a need that's made known to us, we're not always going to know how those funds were used. And at some point, we just want to give because it's just an act of generosity and it's an extension of God's love.

And we just need to trust that the outcome will be productive. But in other cases, we have actual knowledge of what's going on with those funds, whether it's a loan or a gift. And certainly, we want to be careful not to fund bad behavior in the sense that if somebody, and often what this happens with adult children or family members where they're making poor financial choices, they know you have means, so they keep coming back and back. And your assistance is actually leading them in the direction of not resolving the issues that are leading to the poor choices in the first place. Because what they need to do is get on a spending plan. They need to begin to cut out excess spending and rein in their spending, not to mention the lifestyle choices that are poor choices and costly at the same time. And you could be enabling them to continue that through your generosity.

And clearly, that's not something you want to do. At the same time, there might be times where God just prompts you to give lavishly and to do that just out of the goodness of your heart to help a family member. But I think when possible, Bill, we want to be careful. And we want to try to help in a way that's going to be productive.

What do I mean by that? Well, perhaps there's a need there that you could give directly to that need. So you want to help provide assistance to get some debt paid off or you want to help them put a down payment on a car or get into an apartment.

I mean, these are things that can be done directly and you know that it's going to that, number one. The other thing you could do would be to make a condition in their best interest, a condition that your gift or your loan is predicated on them sitting down with a third party, like one of our MoneyWise coaches, to go over their finances, to work up a budget, to be willing to address wasteful spending. And as a result of completing that process, you'd be happy to make the gift. And that's not done to control the situation. It's really done in their best interest to say, you know, I want to help, but I also want to make sure that you're moving in a direction that is going to promote your financial well-being and really allow you to lean into correcting some of the things that got you into this place. And as a result of that, I'd like to ask you to do this or that. And it's not that you want to be involved in it. Again, you could stay out of it, but I think you always want to be thinking, number one, what is the Lord leading me to do and do I have a piece about helping in this way? And genuinely pray through that.

And then number two, is there a way that I can do it that's actually going to help them move in their best interest? It's actually going to help them move in the direction that God wants them to go according to biblical wisdom of managing money. And I think that's where we might want to get creative in our giving in terms of the how, but also in kind of the parameters around the gift or the loan, because you have actual knowledge that, you know, there is wasteful spending going on and that it's more than just wasteful spending.

It's actually leading to poor lifestyle choices. So does that make sense? And does that give you any ideas?

Yes, it sure does. And I always go to the Lord with everything I can. And I do give freely. I do give freely. I give freely to people I don't even know. If I see someone, I just even think that they can use it. I give it to them and I don't care. And I've done it when I've known that that person, I could see that they were afflicted with some type of disease, whether it be alcoholism or drug abuse.

And I could see that they were in need of money. And I would just give them, I'd say, here, here, here, just take and have that and have a blessed day. Yes.

Yeah. And who knows how the Lord will use that generosity, right? And even though, you know, there's probably clearly some underlying lifestyle choices that are poor and leading them down a path that's not taking them in the right direction, who knows how the Lord might use your generosity to grab hold of their heart and just open their eyes to somebody who cares about them. And perhaps that's going to lead then to somebody else who might share the gospel, you know, if that's not you. So I think there are times where we just need to follow the prompting of the Lord. And there are other times, especially with family members and friends, where we see a pattern that we need to be careful and just be wise about how we help and do it in a way that's going to be productive and lead them in the right direction.

I'm confident the Lord will help you discern the right approach for your friend. And we appreciate your call today, Bill. Thanks for your comments and question.

On to Reading, Pennsylvania. By the way, we've got some lines open, 800-525-7000. Hi, June.

How can I help? Hello. Hello.

Thank you for taking my call. And my question is in regards to Social Security. I have read at different times that Social Security is going to be bankrupt around 20, 30, two or three or whatever. And so my question is, how does that affect those of us like myself who rely on Social Security solely? And I think I heard that it would be cut by 30 some percent or whatever. And for those who are already on Social Security, does that apply? Or is it just for those who are just starting Social Security? Does that make sense? It does.

Absolutely. And this has been in the news recently because the date the trust fund is projected to run dry was moved up by a year from 20, 35 to 20, 34 as a result of COVID. But let me correct something. It's not it's actually a myth to say the Social Security is going bankrupt and won't be there for folks retiring at that time or who have already you know, began began collecting benefits because the trust fund is projected to run out in 20, 34. The program isn't going away.

The second part of your comment was correct. They would only be able if no changes are made. Social Security would be able to pay only about 70% of the current benefits.

Now, no one wants to take a 30% reduction. So what's going to happen? Well, that's the worst case scenario that benefits are reduced.

Again, there's nobody talking about them being eliminated. But that's not likely to happen. You know, Congress is famous for delaying important decisions. But there will come a time very soon that lawmakers will have to address Social Security's looming shortfall, because they don't want to face the wrath of millions of Social Security recipients who vote. And they will likely do a couple of things. They will likely increase payroll taxes, and they will likely extend the full retirement age at which somebody can begin to collect full benefits. You know, that will not obviously extending that full retirement age won't affect those who have already begun collecting. And as a result of that additional income through payroll taxes and pushing retirement age out, which means they don't have to pay as soon, pay as soon, that will be a temporary fix. You know, the population changes are what's working against them right now.

And but you know, I think when our backs are against the wall, we tend to make the hard choices. And I think we'll do that here. So June, I think you can be confident that this program isn't going away. Could there be a reduction? Yes. But I think that's a worst case scenario. I think they will address it other ways. Does that make sense to you, though?

Yes, not completely reassuring. And, you know, even any percentage is going to really affect seniors. So yeah, and they're well aware of that. And they are going to take that into account. Because again, those seniors are voters as well.

And they don't want to have to face them. So I suspect the changes they make will allow them to preserve the full benefits. That's just my opinion. Thanks for your call today. We'll be back with much more on MoneyWise Live.

Stay with us. resources, our articles from 14 different content providers, our broadcast archives. By the way, if you have a question, you can certainly call us here at 800-525-7000. But the other way to get answers to your questions from a biblical perspective is to post in our MoneyWise community. So when you head over to MoneyWiseLive.org, click the community button, and you can post away.

Our coaches would be delighted to weigh in on your questions. You can also share comments with other MoneyWise listeners right there in the community. We'd love for you to check it out.

Again, MoneyWiseLive.org, and you can check it out today. Back to the phones, 800-525-7000. In just a moment, we'll be in Chicago and Idaho, Brooks and Rogers.

But first, Greg's in Maslin, Ohio, WCRF. Hi, Greg. How can I help you, sir?

Hello. I'm 67 years old. I have a mortgage of $100,000. I'm wondering, what would Mr. West do if, in my position, would he throw money at the principal or throw money into a secure, safe two, two and a half percent account? Yeah, well, I don't know what my dad would do. No, I'm just kidding.

I'd be happy to weigh in on that. You asked about Mr. West. You know, you mentioned a two and a half percent guaranteed account. So are you looking at an insurance product, Greg?

It's not necessarily an insurance account. It's, I'm not really sure, sir. It's asset. It's premier. Well, I don't know if I should give the name.

401k, IRA, rollovers and asset preservation. I don't know too much about it. My uncle was in it.

He did very well. And now my parents are in it because they got his money in a windfall through a death. And now I'm kind of in the same boat wondering, you know, I'm not sure which way to go with that. You know what I mean?

All right. Well, anytime I hear the word guarantee, my antenna goes up. So I'm just a little suspect about what this might be, especially if this isn't an annuity contract. I'm a little hesitant about you going into something where they're going to guarantee you two and a half percent just because there's really not anything out there these days guaranteeing that level.

But let's set that aside for a second. What is the interest rate on the mortgage? 2.875. Okay. And how much do you have remaining on that mortgage? 100.

Okay. And talk to me about what you have in the way of investable assets, retirement accounts and non-retirement accounts. Probably I'd be willing to go 50,000. Like you, I say keep some money back for a rainy day type thing.

And I'd be safe going 50,000, I believe. All right. Well, I'd love to know though what you have in total in investable assets. So let's start with retirement accounts. Do you have a 401k or an IRA, anything like that? No, sir. I had a pension, one of the few pensions left. Okay.

And are you collecting on that now? Yes, sir. Okay.

So the pension plus social security is covering your lifestyle? Yes, sir. Okay, great.

Great. So you've got that guaranteed income stream and then savings and other investable assets that are liquid right now, not just what you're willing to put into the market or pay off the mortgage with, but the total that you have, what do you have? Is it 100 all in? No, it may be 61,000. Okay. 61,000.

So you've got the pension, you've got social security, and you've got 61,000. And that's pretty much it in terms of the assets that you have that are liquid. Yes. Yes. Okay.

All right. And then you've got $100,000 mortgage. Now, you're able to cover that mortgage every month with the pension and the social security if you were not to pay it off. That's correct? Yes, sir. I live off both. Yes, I live off both and I'm able to meet all my requirements month to month. Yeah.

Yeah. I would probably not pay off the mortgage. If you were to say to me, I can completely pay it off and free up that mortgage payment and still have enough for my emergency fund, then I'd seriously consider it because I'd love for you to be debt-free. But taking the only liquid asset that you have, the 61,000, and putting that against your home and still having another 50,000 that you'd owe, I'm hesitant because now all of a sudden you don't have any margin and you can always pay that down.

So I'd be looking for something that's going to give you a stable return, especially since you can cover the mortgage payment out of your current cashflow. Stay on the line. We'll talk a bit more off the air and more to come just around the corner on MoneyWise Live.

800-525-7000. Thanks for tuning in to MoneyWise Live. Rob West, your host, taking your calls and questions today. We've got some lines open.

We'd love to hear from you. What's on your mind today? Wanting to know how to save more money? Perhaps you want to be more generous, want to know where that should come from in your spending plan.

Maybe that spending plan is tripping you up and there's always more month than money. We can talk about that or anything else that you have going on. 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. You know, we begin on this program with the idea that God owns it all. That's the ultimate foundation for our money management, because then every spending decision becomes a spiritual decision.

You know, think about that. You know, if you're the manager, the money manager of the king's resources, then you want to know what the owner has to say. Well, that's why we go to his Word and really uncover God's heart through not only the individual passages, but the stories we read and really the understanding from Jesus himself about how we approach money and the fact that money can't be, well, it can't take the place of God in our lives.

We can't allow it to occupy first position. And he said, you've got to choose. And when he put two things next to each other, God and something else, it was money. Because my experience is that money is the chief competitor to lordship. Well, we want to break that down. And one of the key ways we do that is by holding it loosely, living simply, living with contentment.

The Apostle Paul talked about that quite a bit, and living generously. Well, let's try to do that together. 800-525-7000 to Rogers, Arkansas. Hello, Brooke, how can I help you, sir? Oh, thank you for taking my call. Right now, I am I'm retired, recently retired. And I have approximately $450,000 in my 401, which I have not rolled over yet. And my wife is very ill. So I'm looking at the possibility of long term care.

Is there a way to protect my assets? So I will be able to at least face my retirement years in relative comfort? Yeah, a couple of questions.

First, Brooke, and I'm sorry to hear about your wife's health. Have you done a retirement budget and talk to me about how you're going to cover your expenses in retirement? Is it Social Security alone? Are you going to draw an income from this roughly $450,000? Or what is your plan? Well, I haven't committed it yet.

I've talked to several people. One of them is that they, I have to commit to a five year plan where it builds after the five years. I'm 63 now. And then that would give me an income of $40,000 a year for life at with that. Are you talking about if you roll this 401k into an annuity contract? Correct. Okay. And so and I do have some assets. I'm sorry, go ahead.

Well, it would have an accumulation period and then you'd annuitize and it would throw off once you annuitize $40,000 a year. And that's, that's what you're saying. Right. Right.

Okay. What would you do during those five years? Are you going to continue to work? Well, you know, of course, I've got the Social Security part. And I've also, they would take 80% of that. So I would have roughly $90,000 to live on as best I could until that kicked in.

Yeah, interesting. Well, I'd love for you to get a second or a third opinion on that, Brooke. I mean, you know, there is something to say about using an insurance contract, an annuity to provide a guaranteed income source that makes up a shortfall in your budget and therefore gives you peace of mind to know that, you know, at least your bills are covered. Now, that's your current bills. And you said, you know, with a wife who's ill and perhaps needing long-term care, you know, maybe right now in home and, you know, perhaps more advanced down the road, that's obviously, you know, could be quite expensive. And so I think having access to your capital is going to be important. And the problem with an annuity is you tie up your money. And so although you'd be exchanging it for an accumulation period over time, and then ultimately an income stream for the rest of your life, and you didn't mention survivor's benefits, but I'd want to make sure that if she outlives you, there's something there for her, you know, there's something to be said about that. But, you know, that's, again, tying up your funds and you not having access to them where you might need to, just based on her health and medical bills and the care that's going to need to be provided.

So I would be hesitant to just kind of rush into that. So what I would probably do, Brooke, is visit with a couple of certified Kingdom advisors to get some other opinions about how this could be managed now into the future. To protect it wouldn't be guaranteed if it's not, you know, given to an insurance company, but to protect it with a focus on capital preservation, but then also a focus on income and then some amount of growth that would, you know, keep this outpacing inflation and get you the kind of income that you need on a monthly basis as soon as you need it.

So that approach would keep the money available to you if you were to need to draw from it at any point, especially for her care. So I would just recommend that you make that appointment and visit with a couple of professionals who could perhaps weigh in, who don't have necessarily any incentive for you to, you know, buy this annuity because, you know, those are very lucrative in terms of commissions that they generate for the people that sell them. And so I'd love for you to have some other folks just kind of weighing in on this situation before you ultimately make your decision. And you may decide that there's a great opportunity for you to do that. So I would say there's a great annuity product out there that you understand, that gives you what you need, and will give you the peace of mind to know that your expenses are going to be covered moving forward. So head over to our website, MoneyWiseLive.org, and just click Find a CKA.

And I'd interview a couple of them, share with them what you've been exposed to through this other option, and then make your best decision from that point forward. We appreciate your call today. Margate, Florida. Maria, how can I help you? Hello? Hi there, go right ahead. Hi, thank you for taking my call.

I have a question. I have a mortgage that I owe like $35,000, and I need to, eventually I'm going to sell, I'm planning to sell my place and move to another county. So, but right now the properties are, the prices that I can afford, what I can afford is, you know, I cannot afford to buy even the one-bedroom condo now because it's too much money. So, but eventually I'd probably move out, like, sell my place in two more years. And I wonder if it's worth it to pay it off now or just wait until I, until I sell it and then move.

Yeah. Well, if you were to pay it off, where would those funds come from? Just savings or something else? Well, I have a savings, but I only have like $85,000. Okay. And then I have, well, I have another, I have an IRA. Okay. And is the $85,000 just in cash, like in a savings account? Yes, a savings account, uh-huh. Okay.

Yeah. So you're not earning a whole lot on that. If, you know, if you're not going to invest that money and that's money that is ultimately going to be put into this new property, I'd probably go ahead and pay it off. At least you're guaranteed the return equal to the interest rate. And then when you sell it, you're going to get all that money back and you can move on into the next property. Also keep in mind that prices are sky high there in South Florida, but you're going to get top dollar on the sale of your existing property. So just make sure you understand how much you're going to get out of your current place that could be applied to the new one.

That may allow you to do this a little bit quicker. Thanks for your call, Maria. MoneyWise Live will be right back. Stay with us.

MoneyWise Live is biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Thank you for joining us and tuning in on a Friday afternoon. Glad to have you. Let's head right back to the phones. Michael is in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Michael, how can I help you, sir? Yeah.

Hi, Rob. A question I have is we're getting ready to retire here and wondering what kind of, right now we have some investments in property. Not sure, you know, what, if maybe to liquidate some of that and move it into other areas and just real concerned about what's going on with our economy, some of the some of the things that appear to be on the horizon here and even globally. And so I wanted to get kind of your sense of that and maybe some direction that you would feel.

Yeah. Well, you know, as you approach retirement, Michael, I think the first thing you need to do is really just ask the Lord what he has for you in this season and get a real clear picture of how you're going to use your time, what he's calling you to if he's redirecting you in a season where you have incredible experience and wisdom to offer in service to the Lord and develop a vision, you and your wife, about, you know, what you are going to do together and what that season is going to look like. And as a part of that money being a tool, how will money fund that vision? And therefore, what does your budget look like? And go ahead and put that on paper and the income that you're going to have and the expenses. And, you know, look at your various income sources, whether that's Social Security or other sources, including these investible assets, whether they're in investments like stocks and bonds or real estate, and determine how much you're going to need to pull out of that, if anything, to be able to supplement other income sources to fund your retirement. And as a part of that, I think you want to look at what is the minimum we need to receive by way of return to be able to cover that income so we can take as little risk as possible. And I think you also need to consider, you know, just how much time it's going to take you for an active investment like real estate versus a passive investment like stocks and bonds, where you could delegate to an advisor who's going to deploy an investment strategy consistent with your goals and objectives. Again, taking as little risk as possible in your situation to generate the income you need, where you're not having to think about renting something out and keeping it occupied and maintaining it and all those things. But, you know, for some folks in retirement they love that and say, I have plenty of energy and time and I'm getting a good return on it. And the diversification that comes with being not only in the stock and bond market but in the real estate market, you know, I think is quite helpful.

So I think that's kind of the next step, whether you do that on your own or you seek out a financial professional to kind of help you put that whole picture together, who's going to do a lot of discovery with you about where God is leading, and then help you put all of these pieces and parts together financially to support that. With regard to the economy, you know, I mean, we can go back 100 years and look at every decade has its own problems. And some of them were a big deal. And, you know, we certainly have our share of issues going on today. But I think, you know, the bottom line is this is the strongest economy in the world here in the United States.

We do have some headwinds. I think the market's going to be, you know, it's certainly not, in my opinion, going to go straight up from here, given the run we've had over the last couple of years and, you know, 10 years even before that coming off of 2009. But I think there's a good base case that says, you know, if we can tackle some of these issues moving forward, like the national debt and begin to, you know, make some hard choices down the road, you know, we're not gonna have a debt crisis or anything like that.

I don't see any kind of house of cards where the economy's coming crumbling down. I think, you know, we go toward what we feel like is the safest investment for God's money, and we do it in a prudent way that means we take a long view and we're properly diversified. And at the end of the day, if we follow biblical principles with what passes through our hands, knowing that that's all we can control, we trust the rest to the Lord.

And we don't stick it under our mattress in fear. I think, you know, we make the best decisions we can, and I think the best decision would be diversified, conservative, long-term in nature, using stocks and bonds, and perhaps real estate, depending upon how actively you want to be involved in that moving forward. But there's a lot to what I just said, so give me your thoughts, and if you have any specific follow-up questions. Well, you know, Rob, he has been a couple decades ago anyway. Larry Burchette wrote the book, Becoming an Economic Earthquake, that he was looking at the trajectory of our economic and governmental policies and seeing that, really, we were on a dead-end collision here somewhere in the future.

And of course, he thought that would come much, you know, before now, and hasn't. But I look at this exploding national debt that we cannot continue to sustain, this borrowing and spending and printing of money. I look at the massive numbers of people coming into our country illegally that are going to be going on government entitlement programs, this growing medical crisis with insurance costs, and so forth. And even globally, you know, we're looking at what's coming out of the World Economic Forum. It's a great reset and so forth, and there's really what seems to be a race towards a global government mindset now. And I look at all of this and, you know, I say this, you know, somewhere there is a crash coming.

It cannot just keep going. I know, you know, historically, traditionally, the stock market bonds and so forth have been the best place to be invested in, but to try to project that into the future in light of all these developments that we see unfolding, I'm real uneasy with that. And, you know, I know from time to time, you'll mention about the full faith and credit of our government, and yet, you know, our government has bankrupted Social Security, and Medicare is rapidly coming to a crisis financially. And so I just don't know at this point, really, what was the best direction to turn with it as far as planning for the future financially. Yeah, and I think that's one of the challenges, you know, if you play that scenario out that it, you know, it's all going to come crumbling down, well, then where do you put it? And, you know, if we go to that scenario, then I think we're left with, well, should we just kind of bury it in the backyard or put it under the mattress? And then what? And, you know, what's left of our economy, you know, to even do business?

And are we bartering and those kinds of things. So I think, you know, at this point, I think we have to look out and say, yeah, there's some clear challenges we have down the road. And you just look at the charts on what's happened with the national debt in the last even three or four years.

And it just blows away anything prior to that. So, you know, it's going to come down to policy decisions. It's going to come down to the, you know, how we vote and who is making those decisions moving forward and whether we're not we're willing to address those those real issues. And I think we will. I don't think, you know, the people that I trust that we have on this program regularly don't see a debt crisis on the horizon. But if we continue on this trajectory, we could have one.

And we know based on history, you know, what that would look like and how we would work our way through that. And it doesn't mean that we just put on rose colored glasses and proceed. I think we have to take these issues seriously. But at the end of the day, I think we have to trust the Lord and make the very best decisions that we can. And, you know, at least at this point, I would still put my money in the real sales and earnings of the companies in the United States and elsewhere in the world as the very best place to grow wealth until I see that, you know, we're on an unsustainable, you know, footing that is going to lead to an imminent crisis.

And I just don't think we're there yet. So, you know, ultimately, at the end of the day, we're each stewards of what God has entrusted to us. And so we have to operate based on convictions that come from the Lord. And if the Lord leads you to make a decision, regardless of what that is, to do something different than what you've been doing to this point because of what you see coming, then I think you need to follow that.

And I certainly wouldn't fault you for that. I just think that, you know, what we're seeing today, I would wholeheartedly concur is problematic. And it's unsustainable over the long haul.

And some changes need to be made. We will see how we will respond as a nation. But right now, I think, you know, given where interest rates are, we can handle the debt that we have. And I think, you know, the economy is still very strong. The consumer is still very strong.

That would be the place that I would be putting my money, at least, you know, for the next decade. But if things change, then we adjust. And I think, you know, we may have to do that from time to time. But Lord willing, we won't have to. But we certainly need to proceed with our eyes wide open.

So I appreciate your honesty and transparency. And for raising the question today, and we'll continue to invite these hard conversations moving forward and invite people who can speak to them from both sides from a biblical standpoint. Because at the end of the day, what we know is that when we violate biblical principles individually, there are consequences. And we do it when we do it as a nation, there are consequences.

And we've certainly violated many of those principles. And we will see kind of what the implications are of that. And we should always weigh any decisions that we're making, I think, against Scripture as a starting point. So, Michael, appreciate your call today. I'd love for you to weigh in from time to time. Let us know what you decide moving forward. And we'll certainly continue to discuss it.

May the Lord bless you, sir. You know, folks, these are the hard questions we have to tackle, because if we're going to manage God's money, we're going to be responsible stewards. Ultimately, ultimately, we're going to stand and give an account to what we've done with what we've been entrusted. And so that means we need to seek the Father's wisdom, not mine, and certainly not anyone else's, but the Lord's.

And that's why we go back to His Word, and we evaluate what's going on around us, and we make the best decisions that we can. We'll certainly try to do that each day on this program. We appreciate you being with us.

MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. Let me say thank you to my great team, Amy Rios, Dan Anderson. I want to say thank you to Jim Henry as well. Thank you for being here. We'll come back and do it all again on Monday. Hope you'll join us. In the meantime, have a great weekend, and Lord bless you.