6 Habits for Financial Health

Proverbs 3 tells us, Well, it's always a pleasure to welcome Art Rayner back to the program. Art's a busy guy. He's VP of the college at Southeastern, and in his spare time he's written numerous books on life and finances from a biblical perspective. Joining us on the air, Art, great to have you back on the program. It's always a pleasure, and thank you so much for what you all do and your ministry. I obviously pay attention to it, and I am incredibly grateful for all that MoneyWise does.

Well, it's our privilege and grateful that we can co-labor on so many of these areas. Art, I'd love to start with your story. Before we get into the things you've observed about Wise Money Management, tell us a bit of your own money story. My money management story, my money story is actually really boring. Oftentimes, when you hear these financial money stories, they're riddled with mistakes and time when you're just in the valley.

Then you're able to make some good financial decisions and help yourself get out through God's grace, help yourself get out of that financial situation. Mine is just not that exciting. It's not that I've been perfect with my finances. I've certainly made mistakes, but there really wasn't a time when I made this massive bad money decision that led to my financial ruin.

It's just not that exciting, but I will say that I am more of the tortoise as opposed to the hare. While my story might not necessarily be exciting, I'm actually incredibly grateful for it. Of course, this is the type of story that we hope other people have as well. Through my experiences, I've learned that sound biblical money habits can actually lead to financial health. This stuff that we talk about actually works. There are ordinary folks out there just like me, and their stories might not necessarily be extraordinary, but their financial habits are. Well, that's powerful. I suspect, Art, especially knowing your dad, that this was modeled for you. Did that have something to do with your money story?

Without question. I'm one of those weird ones that when he was 16, when I was 16, opened up a Roth IRA to start saving for retirement. That's a part of my money story.

That tells you, because I didn't decide to simply just do that on my own. My dad taught me about finances. He introduced the Roth IRA to me and encouraged me to start setting aside money for retirement when I was at a very young age. I did just that. He encouraged me not to go into debt. He encouraged me to make sure that I have margin in my budget. Once again, save wisely and also to live generously, to use our resources to advance God's kingdom. I did just that. Once again, the moral of my story is that if you do these things, it actually works.

Yeah, that's exactly right. It should be an encouragement to those listening today who are parents about the impact you can have as you prepare future adults to handle money wisely and biblically, understanding what God has to say about this area of our lives, which I believe has so much to do with our spiritual journey as well. Well, Art, we're coming up on our first break, but set up these six extraordinary habits of ordinary yet financially healthy people.

We'll unpack them on the other side, but I want to hear your setup for it. Yeah, so there are, once again, habits that we often talk about, whether it's on MoneyWise or in the books that we write, that we see these just ordinary people that don't necessarily have a financial ruin story that they implement in their lives. And we ultimately see how God uses these just ordinary habits to develop financial health in their lives. Art Rayner is our guest today. We're going to help you be steady plotters on the other side of this break, developing some habits that will serve you well throughout the rest of your life. Much more to come on MoneyWise Live. Stay with us.

We'll be right back. Welcome back to MoneyWise Live. I'm Rob West. Joining me in this segment, Art Rayner, vice president of the College at Southeastern. He's a writer and teacher on biblical finance. And today we're talking about some habits that you can put in place, extraordinary habits that will help you throughout the whole of your life be financially healthy and aligned with God's word. And I want you to dive in.

I know you've got six of them, Art. So what's the first habit? So the first habit is that they give every time that they get. See, God has designed us to be givers. He's not designed us to be hoarders, but to be conduits through which his generosity flows. So generosity, according to the Bible, is essential to managing your money. And so when we give, we are aligning ourselves with God's design.

Greed is weakened in our lives and greed can lead us to make all types of poor financial decisions. Ordinary yet financially healthy people give every time that they get. So that's the first one. I love that. And you're saying we want to do that first. You and I both know so often we give out of what's left over. Talk about the importance of establishing that rhythm up front, both financially and spiritually.

Yeah. So as we look at scripture, we see a basic financial pattern develop. We are to first give generously, then save wisely, then live appropriately. And so as the scripture unpacks this idea of generosity, it tells us that we are to make giving a priority. That's Proverbs 3 9, that we are to make sure that we are giving proportionally, meaning that we give according to what God has given us. Scripture also tells us that we are to give sacrificially. You can look at 2 Samuel 24, when David is offered everything that he needs to provide a sacrifice. He says, no, I will not give to God that which cost me nothing. And then, of course, we know that scripture tells us that we are to be cheerful givers. God doesn't want a bunch of grumpy givers. And so scripture tells us how we are to be generous, what it looks like for us as believers. And so generosity becomes a foundation upon which real biblical financial health is founded. And so we see that in these ordinary financially healthy people that have decided to take on these extraordinary habits.

All right. So we want to give every time we get. What's habit number two? Second habit that I regularly see is that financially healthy people save every time that they get. And many of them do it automatically, whether it's through their payroll, or maybe they have an automatic transfer that goes from their checking account to their savings account. They have a portion of their paycheck go toward retirement and their emergency savings. Now, of course, one of the big questions, how much should I set aside? I get that question quite a bit.

My recommendation, and I'm sure you all have your recommendations as well, to set aside at least 15 percent of your gross income toward retirement and to have at least three to six months of living expenses set aside for an emergency, because it's not a matter of if a financial emergency will happen, but a matter of when. Yeah, no doubt about that. So we want to give. We want to save.

And then where do we go from here? Well, the next extraordinary habit that I see in financially healthy people is that they pay down debt every time that they get a paycheck. Of course, hopefully they're trying to avoid debt, especially credit card debt. But, you know, sometimes things happen that require debt.

You know, mortgage is a type of debt. And so if they do have debt, though, they are aggressively trying to pay it off as quickly as possible. Ordinary yet financially healthy people know that debt is very costly. It's costly to their finances. It's costly to their emotional state. You know, the Bible tells us that debt is a burden and that we have to make sure that we make that payment.

It's going to hang over us. And even though we don't want to maybe make that debt payment, we certainly have to. In fact, the scriptures tell us that those who do not pay their bills are considered wicked. And so we do not want to be grouped into that category.

Yeah. Obviously, debt is a powerful force working against our financial health. So we absolutely want to give and then we want to save.

But we want to be paying down debt as quickly as possible. And all of that art, the margin that allows us to do each of those first three is a result of our lifestyle. And I suspect we're going to see that in our next habit.

Talk to us about that. Well, that's absolutely correct. One of the other habits that I regularly see in financially healthy people is that they live on less than they make. And I know that sounds so simple, but I got to tell you, it is a massive challenge for Americans to live on less than you make. But when you do that, you create this thing called margin, the difference between your income and your expenses.

Now, how do they do that? Well, they usually maintain a budget. And so that helps them not to spend more than they make. My friend Blair Graham says that a budget is one of the most powerful stewardship tools available. And I would certainly agree with that. You see, these ordinary yet financially healthy people do not see their paycheck as something to be spent in its entirety, but as a resource to manage well for the present and the future.

Well, it sounds simple, but it's powerful in terms of what it can do for you as you navigate your financial life. OK, well, these first few have seemed basic and yet they are the foundation to everything. They're also somewhat concrete. What about some of the less tangible habits that these folks are following? Well, this is going to sound strange, but they keep their expectations low. Now, let me clarify what I mean by that. They keep their expectations low as it relates to their lifestyle expectations. They're not ones who try to keep up with the Joneses. You see, unrealistic lifestyle expectations cause people to spend more than they should.

In fact, that has now been scientifically proven. When somebody in a neighborhood wins the lottery, the amount of debt goes up in that neighborhood. The bankruptcy rate goes up in that neighborhood.

Why? Because they're trying to keep up with the lifestyle of their neighbor that just won the lottery. And so keeping up with the Joneses is a very real thing. And ordinary yet financially healthy people keep their expectations low. They don't play the game. They don't try to keep up with the Joneses. And this causes them to spend less and enjoy what they do have.

Yeah, no doubt. And social media certainly plays into that as well, as we see perhaps the best version of somebody else's life. And we want to try to achieve that. And it often causes us to spend more than we should. All right, what is our sixth and last habit of financially healthy people, Art? Well, what I have seen over and over in others' lives and in my life is that they don't procrastinate. Meaning that they start all these habits that we've just gone through right away. They don't wait to stop keeping up with the Joneses. They don't wait to avoid debt. They don't wait to save money. So they don't procrastinate. Now, once again, as I mentioned, I started saving for retirement as a teenager.

Now, I know that that's strange and abnormal. But I wish that more people could have started saving for the retirement earlier. I certainly wish that most people could have learned about retirement savings earlier. And so ordinary yet financially healthy people understand the value of time.

They know that there's no better time to start working on their financial picture than right now. Perhaps it's not what God can get you out of. It's what God can keep you from as you apply these simple habits that will lead to a healthy financial life. And, Art, we appreciate you stopping by today to share these with us, my friend. It's always a pleasure. Art Rayner has been our guest today.

You can find out more about him and his books and articles on God and money at ArtRayner.com. That's R-A-I-N-E-R. Your calls are next, 800-525-7000. Stay with us. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live.

I'm Rob West, your host. So glad you're along with us today as we explore your financial questions and decisions and do that in light of God's words, which, by the way, has a lot to say about this topic of money. More than 2300 verses, 16 of 38 parables, literally more than almost anything else Jesus talked about. He focused on this particular topic where there was a money aspect to the parables and stories he was telling.

Why is that? Well, I believe it's because not only it affects every area of our lives, but it has so much to do with our hearts. You know, money and the way we spend it reveals where we've placed our trust and what we value. It tells a story about what's most important to us. And I believe as we read the Council of Scripture, it's an area of our lives that can most often compete with God for first position. The question is, how do we put money in its proper role as a tool to accomplish God's purposes?

Not an end, but a means to an end. And here's one of the keys, folks. Generosity, giving, is one of the keys to breaking the grip of money over our lives. But as it relates to how we handle God's money, and it is his, the earth is the Lord's and everything in it, and therefore we're stewards, the key is to go back to God's word and be able to apply his principles to how we manage it in our lifestyle, and in our savings, and in our owing with debt and taxes, and even in the money that we're saving, the money that we're growing.

What does God's word have to say? Well, let's explore that together with your questions and comments today. Here's the number, 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000.

Before we take our first phone call today, let me remind you of a great special that we have going on right now. I've talked about the MoneyWise app before. It's our tool to help you use the latest technology to manage God's money well, but to do it in a way that fits your personality. And whether you're using our spending tracker, or you're in there reading all of our content, or you're participating in the MoneyWise community, it's all presented to you in the form of a mobile app that's compelling and easy to use. It's called the MoneyWise app.

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That's MoneyWise.org slash P-R-O. And we'll look forward to you jumping into the MoneyWise community through the MoneyWise app. All right, let's head to the phones today.

We'll begin in Harrisburg, PA. Hi, Paul. How can I help you? Yes, I'm in a bind here in the way, and I don't know what to do. My wife has been chronically ill for four years and finally discovered mold in our house. We're getting it remediated in a couple of weeks. And it's going to, by the time the remediation is done, they're rebuilding the walls, they're tearing out is done and all that.

And they have the new HVAC system put in. We're looking at about $50,000. And that would deplete half of my retirement savings. And the other option is we have a Christian friend that's a realtor. And he suggested that, you know, we could possibly leave the house as it is and buy another house and just put in the contract. You know, the house has mold and to show them the paperwork and let them decide what they want to do. But we feel that either way, we're in a losing situation because either we remediate a 50 grand or the people wanting to buy our house are going to tell us, well, we want you to remediate your own expense anyway.

And if we buy another house, we're going to end up probably liquidating at least 75 percent of my retirement savings, because it would take that plus the proceeds from what my current house is worth in order to do that. And it's just very unnerving. And I know I used to listen to Larry Burkett years ago before he went home to be with the Lord. And he always would say you should have emergency.

I lost you there for a second, but I think I got the gist of the situation here, Paul. Let me just first say how sorry I am that you're having to deal with this. Clearly, you need to get this remediated. This is a health issue for you.

It would be for someone else. The idea that you could disclose this, which clearly you said you would and sell prior to the remediation, I believe is problematic. You'll severely limit the number of potential candidates who would want to take on a project like that.

And I think going through the full remediation, just given the health concerns that are there and what's already demonstrated to be health issues there in your home with your wife are clearly ones that you can't ignore. I realize this is cost prohibitive at the very least. Have you already made the decision as to the company you're going to use? I mean, are we beyond a bidding situation here? They've actually already started the work. We're losing you there.

And unfortunately, I think we've lost your audio. I'm going to assume based on what I heard that we have gone beyond this. Normally, what I would say is 50,000 sounds like a lot. It's not a bill of this kind. When we're tearing out walls, you set a new HVAC system. These are costly items. But given the size and the scope of this, I would want to make sure I have at least three bids. I would also want to fully vet a homeowner's insurance opportunity. I realize many of them exclude mold.

But in some cases, if it was a problem that was covered by your policy that was the cause of the mold in the first place, there is a chance that the homeowner's policy would step in. So I would fully vet that opportunity and then I would make sure that I have at least three bids and get some reputable companies in there because this is a job that needs to be done right, given that your health is at stake. I would be looking at two options.

Before, I would be looking at pulling from the retirement account just because of the implications of that from a tax standpoint and just in terms of your ability to allow this to continue to grow so you can draw on it for the future. If this is a home you would have otherwise stayed in, and it sounds like it was because you're saying to move is going to be costly, causing you to put more of your retirement in and just the transactions costs of selling and then buying again, that's costly as well. So if you can get this back to a place where it's healthy for you to stay and assuming this would have been your plan, I guess the only other thing I would ask is, could a home equity loan be possible here where you borrow the money at a low interest rate? We're still in a very low interest rate environment. As long as that payment is one that can fit into your budget, that could be a great option. You can go in there and pay it off at any time, but you're not depleting such a large percentage of your retirement assets and creating a tax consequence at the same time.

So I think those are the steps. Make sure you've looked into homeowners insurance coverage from your existing policy. If you have time, get multiple bids and then consider a home equity loan. We'll certainly be praying that this resolves in a way that is safe for your family and least cost prohibitive. This is MoneyWise Live.

Call right now, 800-525-7000. We'll be right back. Your name and renown are the desires of our hearts. You know, when we put God first before anything else, the desires of this life take their proper place. We begin to have an attitude of stewardship, not ownership. And as it relates to our money, well, we realize that money and material things are not ends in themselves. I'd love for you to get a copy of our Weekly Wisdom email with our recommended reads.

We have an article on three social security mistakes. We have another one, 10 Ways to Trim Your Budget in Every Season, our trending podcasts, our verse of the week, and how you can quickly and easily connect with a Certified Kingdom advisor. It's a free email. It goes out each Thursday. It's called MoneyWise Weekly Wisdom and it'll be in your inbox when you create a free account at MoneyWiseLive.org.

Just head to MoneyWiseLive.org, create a free account, and we'll get it right out to you. All right, let's head back to the phones. Next, Ocala, Florida. Hi, Lori. How can I help you? Oh, yes.

I love listening to you guys. I used to live in South Florida. I want to know if right now is a good time to refinance. I'm a new homeowner and my mortgage companies work with me. I was in forbearance and I just got out of forbearance in October 2021. So I had called a different mortgage company to begin with, but it was too complicated.

I didn't understand it. So I called a lender from Flagstar Bank and he said he could work with me in January. But I was wondering if it's a good time to refinance because if my mortgage payment could be lowered, that would be a great help to me because I'm on a fixed income.

It's very hard for me financially. Yes. Well, I would say this, Lori, it might be.

So let's explore that because it might not be as well. Tell me about your current mortgage. You said you haven't been there that long.

How old is it? OK, well, I moved in on March 11, 2019. I have an FHA loan right now. The principal is $87,000, a little over $87,000. I've been paying faithfully, but I had a kind of a real hardship last year because I don't know where there was escrow towards. Anyway, I paid that off and now I file for a home-send exemption as soon as I could last year. And so now my mortgage payments are $723.

Tell me the term. Was it a 30-year mortgage, Lori? Well, no. Was it a 30-year mortgage? No, it's a 25-year. 25 years. And what is the interest rate?

It's 4.875 percent. OK. And you said you owe $87,000. What do you think the home is worth? Well, it's a manufactured home, but it's a nice one. I lived in this area. When I spoke to them then, I spoke because I've always been in touch with the mortgage companies that I had a mortgage lender.

I'm always in touch with them. And he said that the value might be $120,000. OK, very good.

Yeah, no problem. And you plan on staying in this manufactured home for the foreseeable future? For my sons. I have two adult sons. My oldest son is disabled and I also have a life insurance policy. But yes, we intend on staying here.

We like this area a lot. But I am concerned. It's been a struggle, but I'm on forbearance and I don't want to get a test. The only thing that's going to be more complicated, I don't want to get a loan modification.

But he said that he could work with me, but he says we have to wait until January because it has to be three months before they can submit it to the underwriters, whatever. Very good. Last question for you is what is your credit score? Well, my credit score, I had a three-fold. The highest one was 701. 701, OK. The one I think was 673.

Very good. And do you have documented income? Are you on disability? Or what income sources do you have?

No, no, no. My son's on SSI. I'm on Social Security. OK. I'm on Social Security and I get my extra suspension, but yeah.

Very good. Well, Lori, I think it would be worth you looking into a refinance. I wouldn't want you to go above the 25 years.

In fact, it'd be better if you went with a 20. But clearly there are interest rates significantly lower than what you're paying today at 4.875. With a 701 score and living modestly within your means with Social Security income, what I would be interested in you looking at is a new 20-year mortgage instead of 25. You've got more than 20% down, so you could go with perhaps a conventional loan that would not require PMI, private mortgage insurance, which would help to bring the monthly cost down.

That doesn't do you any good anyway. And I'd be looking for an interest rate of just above 3%. Even if you went as high as 3.5%, if you were able to get it down to a 20-year, drop the PMI and lock it in at 3.5%, you might save a little bit on your monthly payment. But even if you paid exactly the same every month with the shorter term and the lower rate, you'd end up paying less over the life of the mortgage and hopefully cut off five years. So I would check with your bank, and then I'd go to bankrate.com on the web, bankrate.com, and I'd get bids from three other online lenders. And let's see who perhaps would give you a better offer to replace this mortgage. Make sure, though, you don't spend more than 2 to 3% of the loan value, so no more than $2,000 to $3,000 at the most for the cost of the refinance. And they could roll that into the loan, but I certainly don't want you paying $4,000 or $5,000 or $6,000 for this. So check that out, bankrate.com, and let's see if we can't improve your situation, and we appreciate your call.

To Indianapolis, Indiana. Hi, Jacob. How can I help you?

Hi, thanks for taking my telephone call. So my question, I'm a critical care nurse, and I recently left the hospital that I was working at to take a contract assignment. Because I'm sure you're aware that there is some money to be made right now in healthcare, you know, if you know what you're doing in your care. It's hard work, though, these days, that's for sure.

Very trying, for sure. But the reason I mainly did this was because I would like to purchase a home, and I figured that I could probably reach that goal quicker, you know, if I was making an hourly raise. With that being said, though, I did sacrifice an employer funded with a match and a 401k. So my question is, should I be putting as much away in savings as I can to potentially purchase a home? But I'm also thinking at this point, you know, I'm 24, I am considering opening a Roth IRA, just so I can contribute something to retirement while I don't have access to that 401k option. Yeah, absolutely. I like the Roth IRA a lot.

That's a no brainer. You could put in 6000 this year and then turn around and do it right after the first of the year. So I'd be looking to open that before December 31, although with a with a Roth or a traditional, you can actually contribute for that tax year up until you file your return. So let's say you filed, you know, prior to April 15, next spring, you could go ahead and contribute for 2021 and 2022 at the same time.

But yeah, that's a very powerful tool. It's probably not as much as you would like to be putting away on an annual basis, you know, 500 a month or 6000 a year. But it's something and I love the idea that you'd have that growing on a tax deferred basis.

So you've got more money going in as opposed to, you know, the other deductible version, which is a traditional 401k or IRA. So I think that's a great option for you. And then I think with the excess that you have continue to save. So you'll be in a really strong position as you go in and buy in this house. And then when you get settled with a new employer that has a 401k, you could pivot back at least up to the matching portion, Jacob. And then I'd keep on funding that Roth IRA at the same time.

So you're growing both the tax deferred and the tax free retirement vehicles alongside one another, which will give you a great opportunity down the road. So you're off on the right track doing great work. Thank you for your service there in the medical field during these trying times. And we appreciate your call. We've got some lines open 800-525-7000.

Stay with us. Thanks for tuning in to MoneyWise Live. I'm Rob West. Hey, the MoneyWise app is the best way to manage your finances on a monthly basis. And with a pro subscription, you can automate and customize the MoneyWise app to fit your unique stewardship style. Between now and the end of the year, we have a great limited time discounted offer available to become a pro subscriber.

And you can check it out at MoneyWise.org slash pro. Let's head back to the phones today. In just a moment, we'll be in Ohio and several calls from Illinois.

Let's go to Chicago right now. Hi, Mark. How can I help you? Yes. Can you hear me? Go right ahead. Yes, sir. OK, great. I'm sorry.

I'm on the road. OK, so I'm a single father. And I've been saving money to purchase a home.

I have twelve thousand in savings. And just, you know, keep hearing it's a bad time to buy a house now. I haven't even looked for a realtor, but I'm just wondering if.

What guidance can I get as far as purchase of a home right now? Yeah. Mark, are you currently renting?

Yes. OK. And how much are you looking to spend? Have you decided what would fit into your budget based on the amount you have to put down and what size home you'd be buying?

And then the resulting mortgage payment? Well, my rent is fourteen fifty. OK. And I guess I can do sixteen hundred. That will be, you know, more or less what I can do for mortgage.

Sixteen, maybe seventeen hundred. OK. So are you looking to spend around two hundred fifty thousand more or less? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, two years ago I was thinking, you know, getting a small townhouse, two hundred.

But, you know, prices are totally different now, obviously. Yeah. Yeah. But I guess two fifty will be, you know, the. You know, I'd rather go a little lower than too high. Yes.

And how much money do you have to put down? Well, I mean, twelve thousand is everything I have on my savings, so I guess I will want to put down ten thousand so that I'm, you know, stay with my emergency savings at least two thousand dollars. Yeah. Yeah.

All right. Well, I mean, I think that the challenge is I would really love for you to do a couple of things. Number one is I'd love for you to have at least twenty percent down payment. That's going to avoid the private mortgage insurance. But that means you're going to have to get your savings up to about fifty thousand instead of, you know, ten.

So that would mean you're going to continue to rent for for the foreseeable future while you save. You know, again, the downside is not only would you be coming in with less equity than I would love for you to, but you're coming in at a time where the market is incredibly high. I mean, you know what we've seen in the last decade, not to mention just the last twenty four months with housing prices, as you know, we've had supply constraints, limited inventory. We've had a big boom and people moving to the suburbs, buying single family homes that perhaps previously were renting in urban areas. And now with covid and working remote, just a whole number of factors, not to mention the incredibly low interest rates that we've experienced for some time. Has driven housing prices up significantly. I mean, we've seen upwards of 20 percent growth over 12 months, and that's dramatically higher than what we've seen historically. So we're right now at the peak. Now, is it going to continue to rise?

Well, it sure could. Some estimates say we could see another 10 plus percent next year. But I think most consensus I was just talking to a good friend who's an industry veteran in this space. This morning, and he's saying he's expecting growth growth of about three to five percent next year.

But that said, these already elevated levels. So the question is, you know, is this the time for you to buy? It's a challenging time because you're essentially going to be buying at a very high point in the cycle of the housing market. And you're doing so with less than a desirable down payment, which is going to keep your your equity very small. And if we were to see a recession, a decline in housing prices, this would roll over.

You could find yourself in a situation where you're upside down. So I realize rental prices are not any better. But I think, you know, given the fact that you would deplete your savings down to just two thousand and you're going to have significantly less than what I would desire with a 20 percent down payment.

I would say, let's wait this out, continue to save. Now, let me just tell you, Mark, I know how hard it is from counseling literally hundreds of single parents over the years, how hard it is to manage all of this and to keep the bills paid and to take care of the kids and save for the future. I mean, it's really challenging. So I don't want to minimize that at all. And I understand that you'd like to be in your own place as soon as you can. But I think you could find yourself in a situation where you've got a payment that you're stretching to make.

You have very little to fall back on if the unexpected comes. And again, if we were to see a dip in the housing market, which is entirely possible in the next couple of years, you could find yourself all of a sudden upside down and stuck. So I think for those reasons, I would have to advise you to wait this out, continue to save, limit your lifestyle as much as you can to free up as much margin as possible and perhaps look to buy in the next couple of years. So I appreciate your call today, my friend, and don't hesitate to check back with us in the future.

Let's stay in Chicago. Hi, Phyllis, what can I do for you? Hi, I just want to say thank you so much for lending your spiritual guidance and financial expertise with all of us. My question is, I'm very confused about what should be going into a safety deposit box and what should be going into a home safe. And I've had friends say, well, if the banks were to close, then you wouldn't be able to get your will or some things that you would need, your passport. So could you please just give me some advice about should I have all in one or the other and how should I think about a safety deposit box versus a home safe?

Yeah, well, it's a great question, Phyllis, and thank you for your kind remarks there as well. You know, I don't know that there's any need for you to have a safe deposit box at the bank. I mean, I'm not concerned about you being unable to access it, but just from a practicality standpoint, I'd rather see you have it at home as long as you do, in fact, have not just a safe, but a fireproof safe at home, because that allows you to store it right there in the comfort of your own home.

You can access it whenever you want. And if you need to reference one of these documents that would go in there, you know, you don't have to make a trip down to the bank. Now, you know, I like to recommend what we call a three-drawer system. Drawer number one, which would be those things that go right into that fireproof safe, or if you felt more comfortable off-site at a safe deposit box would be, you know, family documents. We're talking about birth certificates, marriage licenses, passports, property deeds entitled, mortgage documents, personal and business contracts, insurance policies, stock certificates, you know. And then, you know, you could also do miscellaneous valuables, jewelry, antiques, collectibles, small items. You also may want to put into this your Roth IRA contribution history if you have it, because that's going to be important to establish a basis if you ever need to take a withdrawal, and you would be able to do that tax-free. The other two drawers would be the seven-year drawer for tax documents for the last seven years of tax returns, and then the third drawer is the one-year drawer where you're putting, you know, utility bills and bank statements just for the current year. Everything else goes into the shredder, but I don't think there's a real need to have the safe deposit box off-site unless you're just more comfortable with it being somewhere else, especially if there's valuables in there and you feel like that's a safety concern, you know, because somebody were to find out that you're storing, you know, these things in the house.

But apart from that, if you have that fireproof safe, I think you're all set. Does that make sense? Oh, it absolutely does. It answered all of my questions, and thank you so very much.

All right. God bless you, Phyllis. Thank you for calling.

I think she has the gift of encouragement, and I'm grateful for that today. Hey, it's a mentor, Ohio. Hi, Rick. What can I do for you, my friend?

Hi. I just got a question about tithing. Me and my wife, you know, we want to do the right thing when it comes to tithing, and so we've always tithed on what comes into our household, but when it comes to our savings and our 401K and our Roth and that, that's just money that, that's not money that comes into our household.

That's money that goes into our, that gets invested with the intentions that one day when we draw on that, that whatever we draw on that, we tithe on that. Yeah. Yeah. I would just like to hear your thoughts on that as far as, is that the proper way to go about that or not?

Yeah. Well, you know, clearly, we want to be givers, and I love the principle of the tithe as a starting point where we're giving systematically and proportionately on the increase. We don't want to be legalistic about it, trying to check a box to say we've, you know, done the right thing. It's between us and the Lord. He wants our hearts, and giving is what I think calibrates us to the Father, but I'm not minimizing the tithe. I think it's a great thing to use as a starting point, and I think the tithe should begin with our local church.

Now, how do we go about that? Well, if we want to honor the principle of the tithe, we're looking at our increase. So we have to ask, what is our increase? And so you're saying you're tithing, you're giving a tenth of everything that comes into your household on the gross amount. So that would be prior to any contributions to, you know, health insurance premium or a retirement account contribution. So you've already tithed on that money as it goes in. Now, as you're taking it out of investment accounts, there's a couple of ways you can go about it. If you want to, you could just say, you know, even though a portion of this is just what I'm taking out from my contributions, I'm just still, as I draw an income from it, I'm just going to call that God's provision and I'm going to tithe on the full amount.

You could certainly do that. Another approach would be to say, no, I've already tithed on a portion of this, so I'm just going to look at the gains and perhaps each year I'm going to tithe on the gains. Or if the money is staying in there because we're letting it grow, then yeah, you could calculate the gain portion. And as you take it out as a withdrawal, perhaps you just tithe on the portion that you're taking out each year.

That would be the portion you consider to be the gain on the account. So I think that's ultimately between you and the Lord. But I think at the end of the day, the way you're approaching it sounds just fine to me, and the Lord knows your heart. We appreciate your calling. Hey, thanks for joining us today. Thank you to my team, Eric Tidwell, Gabby T., Amy Rios, and Jim Henry. Thank you for being here as well. Come back and join us tomorrow, will you? We'll see you then. God bless you.