In God We Trust

Before you can do anything else with money, you have to earn it. Just ahead, scriptural counsel and practical advice about earning. Later, we'll go to the phones for your questions on any topic related to money and stewardship. Here's the number, 800-525-7000.

800-525-7000. I'm Rob West. Thanks for being with us today for MoneyWise Live, where we offer biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Every so often on Monday, we review the five basic things you can do with money. You can earn it, live on it, give it away, you can owe it to someone, and you can grow it for the future.

Earn, live, give, owe, and grow. Today our focus is earning. First, I want to be clear that earning money is a good and godly thing unless it is being done in some way that breaks a law or exploits other people.

Generally speaking, working a job that pays you a wage or owning a business that produces a profit is good. These are God-given means by which we support ourselves and our loved ones, have resources to give to churches and other ministries, and have money to set aside for our later years. But earning money is not simply a means to various other ends. The work we do to make our way in the world has value in and of itself. It is through our work that God does a lot of His work of molding our character, building our perseverance, and sparking the creativity He's put within us. As my friend Howard Dayton likes to say, as the carpenter builds the house, the house builds the carpenter. What we do to earn money shapes us day after day after day, and therefore it is appropriate to ask God to guide our money-making tasks and use them to His glory. Now, there are downsides to making money, both if you make a lot of it and if your earnings are modest. Let me focus first on those who make a good salary or own a profitable business.

Watch out. Never forget Deuteronomy 8 18, which reads, You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you the power to make wealth. It's so easy, when making good money, to think you've accomplished it all yourself.

If you start to feel that way, here's a suggestion. Pull a dollar bill out of your wallet, or a ten or a twenty, or whatever, and look for the place where it says these words, In God We Trust. The only reason you have that money is because the very God who is mentioned on all of your money has given you the power, the creativity, the skills, the network of contacts, and so much more, to make wealth. So humbly thank Him for your success. For those whose earnings are modest, I want you to do the same thing. Pull out a dollar or a coin and find those same words, In God We Trust.

And you can pray this prayer or something like it. Lord, it's tough making ends meet sometimes, but I'm trusting you. I believe you are the Lord of all, and you will make a way for me.

Now, I can't tell you why some godly people prosper financially and other godly people don't. That's all wrapped up in the mystery of God's providence. But I can remind you of the words of the Apostle Paul. He writes this, Rejoice in the Lord always.

I will say it again, rejoice. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And then he goes on to say this, I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.

Now, don't misunderstand. There is nothing wrong with asking God to provide a better paying job or asking Him to help your business succeed if it's struggling. But the size of a paycheck can never be the true source of joy and contentment. That source is Jesus alone. So remember, God knows your needs. He knows you need money to live on, and He will make a way. And He knows all about the inflationary environment we're in too.

His ability to provide is not hampered by the inflation rate. Now, if you're one of those people who earns a good living, ask the Lord how He wants you to make use of what He's entrusted to you. Remember, it's His money. You're a steward, a manager. Ask the Lord how to use what you earn to advance His purposes in the world. You might not hear an answer right away, but if you ask in obedient faith, God will open your eyes over time to the needs that you can help meet.

Again, whether you have modest earnings or a well-paying situation, always remember what's written on the money in God we trust. Your calls are next, 800-525-7000. We'll be right back. Great to have you with us today on MoneyWise Live. I'm Rob West, your host. We're taking your calls and questions here on anything financial. The number to call is 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Ryan Hansen, managing our phones today, and we'd be delighted to have you on the air with us. If you want to talk about what God's doing in your financial life as you manage your spending plan, your long-term savings, maybe it's paying down debt or dealing with that pesky credit score, whatever it might be.

Again, the number to call with lines open is 800-525-7000. By the way, our scripture verse of the week featured in our weekly wisdom email is from Proverbs 16-3. It reads, Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. That's good news from God's word. By the way, if you'd like to receive our weekly digest email of the latest trending financial topics from a biblical perspective, just head to our website, moneywise.org, and click the button that says Create Your Free Account to subscribe.

Again, moneywise.org, and click Create Your Free Account. All right, the lines are filling up. Let's head to the phones. 800-525-7000 will begin today in Chicago. Jim, thanks for calling.

Go right ahead. Hi, thanks, Rob. You know, I have four children, and three of them are making pretty good money over the summer. They've been caddying. They have several thousand dollars that they've wound up, you know, saving, and they don't need that money right away, but they don't need that money in super long term either.

Is there a good short-term, you know, three-year type investment thing that'll be better than your normal savings account, but good for them? Yeah. So you did say the time horizon on this is three years or less? Yes, probably in that range.

Maybe a little bit longer for one of the younger ones, maybe three to five years. Yep. Yeah.

Okay, very good. Yeah, I mean, if we're less than five years, typically would say we're not really investing this money just because we would want to be so conservative that it probably doesn't make sense. There is kind of a unique opportunity right now for you that I think, you know, normally is not present because of the liquidity beyond a year and because of the safety, and that is I bonds, these inflation bonds we've been talking quite a bit about. Have you heard us describing these?

No, I haven't. Okay, so they're inflation protected series I bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury. I standing for inflation and has a fixed component which is near zero, but the variable component which address adjust every six months is pegged to the consumer price index, and you can purchase these I bonds in a child's name, and you can buy up to $10,000 per person per year, and it would be subject to federal income taxes in most cases, but not state or local taxes. But the nice part about it is currently, Jim, these are paying 9.62%, which is phenomenal, and you've got almost no risk because these are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. So you would go to the website treasurydirect.gov, and then to buy in a kid's name, you would need their full name and social security. You'd create the account on the Treasury Direct website and log in, and then you would actually make the purchase, and then you deliver the bonds through what's called the gift box to that person's Treasury Direct account. And they've got to be held for at least 12 months, but after 12 months, you can pull them out at any time. If you do it in less than five years, you would just give up as a penalty three months' worth of interest. But given the safety and the phenomenal return, I think this would be an unusual time to take some of this money, get a good return on it, and still be able to get back to it and have it fully liquid after 12 months. Does that make sense?

Yeah, that sounds great. So what did you say the website was at first, sorry? Yeah, it's treasurydirect.gov. That's the U.S. Treasury's website where you buy electronic bonds, and it's pretty self-explanatory.

Just click on the Series I bonds, I for inflation, and you'll open the account, and it'll actually walk you through all of the process, including the process to purchase these for kids. Okay? All right, thanks so much. All right, Jim. God bless you, my friend. 800-525-7000, Carrie's in Missouri. Carrie, you go right ahead.

Hello. I'd like to ask about a home we inherited that is paid off in Florida. It's in repairs, and we would like to take out an equity loan in order to do those repairs.

Our home in Missouri is still, we owe $30,000 on it, and I'm not sure what would be the better move to make taking equity out on the one we're living in currently or the one in Florida. Yeah, yeah. Well, you certainly could look at both. Did you say the one in Florida is free and clear? Yes.

Yeah. You're likely going to get a little better rate on your domicile, your primary residence, but I like the idea of you using a home equity loan with a fixed interest rate as opposed to a home equity line of credit, which has a variable rate. As rates continue to head up, that home equity line of credit would increase, but as long as you know how much you want, you can take that loan out for the exact amount you want at closing and then use that for the purpose for which it's intended. I'd prefer you to get it on that home in Florida just so we can keep all of that there, and you can work toward getting your primary residence free and clear. But at the end of the day, with you having such a small first mortgage on your primary residence, I could go either way. I think it's really going to come down to where you can get the best rate, and that's probably going to be on your primary residence. I would get at least three bids, Kerry, for that home equity loan, try to find the one with the lowest fees, the best rate and terms. You can use bankrate.com to do that search.

You could certainly check with your local bank as well, but I'd get at least two online lenders into the mix as well. Does that make sense? It does. Can I ask you one more short thing? Sure. Yeah. Go ahead. We had thought about getting enough to pay off our Missouri if we borrow on the Florida home that's paid off.

Would that be wise, or do we need to just leave that? Probably not. Tell me about the mortgage that you have remaining on the Missouri home. How many years left? What is the interest rate?

Well, it paid off in about three years, and the interest rate is two point something, so it's low. Oh, boy. Yeah.

No, don't touch that. Because a couple of things are going to happen. Number one is the cost of that home equity loan is going to be contingent upon the amount you're borrowing. So if you borrow more, then the fees you're going to pay on that are going to be higher. It's typically a percentage of the amount you're borrowing, number one. And number two, you'd be replacing that low, low interest rate mortgage that's going to be paid off in three years at two and a half percent with something quite a bit higher, north of five and a half probably. So that doesn't make any sense.

So I'd stay on your current track to pay that off in three years, keep that low interest rate intact, and then figure out which home to put that second home equity or the second mortgage, the home equity loan, if it's the primary residence on your existing domicile. Okay. Thank you very much. You are welcome, Kerri. Thanks for your call today. Well, folks, we're just getting started here. A lot more to come on MoneyWise Live.

All the lines are full. We've got some great questions coming up, so we'll tackle those just around the corner. Also today, our good friend Bob Doll will stop by in our final segment of the broadcast to weigh in on the markets. The Dow, the S&P, and NASDAQ slumping today.

The Dow off nearly 2%, S&P and 500, and NASDAQ off more than 2%. We'll get Bob's take on what's weighing on the markets and what he's looking at this week, economically speaking. All that ahead on MoneyWise Live.

Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. I'm Rob West, your host. We're taking your calls and questions on anything financial, 500-525-7000. We have three lines open for whatever's on your mind today. Hey, are you a part of the MoneyWise community?

Do you count on this broadcast? Have you been on our website? Maybe you use the MoneyWise app or you've taken advantage of one of the coaches. Whatever it might be, we would invite you to be a financial supporter of the ministry. We're listener supported as a not-for-profit ministry, and we do what we do every day as a result of your generous support. And if you'd consider a gift, we'd certainly be grateful to help. Just head to our website, MoneyWise.org, click the Give button. That's MoneyWise.org and click Give. You can be a monthly patron or a one-time giver.

You'll find all the ways to give there online and thanks in advance. All right, back to the phones we go. Brandon, Florida. Nikki, thanks for calling. Go right ahead. Hi, how are you doing? Good afternoon.

Hi. I am calling because I am having to learn to start saving all over again from ground zero. I opened up two different kind of certificates through my bank, but they're like short-term, like for six months and then for like a year. But I have like four credit cards, two through Capital One, one through Navy Federal and one through Merrick Bank, and they're over 5,000. But I don't make enough money, so how can I be able to start bringing that down even though I'm only paying a minimum?

What can I do to try to help myself out? It's just so much. Yeah, I certainly appreciate that question. And Nikki, so many people listening today can resonate with where you're at, whether it's regretting decisions we've made in the past with finances or just wanting to be more on top of things, wishing we were out of debt and the flexibility that comes with being unencumbered. And yet, what I would tell you is that you can absolutely make that commitment today to say, I want to move forward in a way that allows me to be a faithful steward of what God has entrusted to me. And so we have to first recognize that God owns it all and we're his money managers.

That's an important shift in our thinking because it really colors everything we do. If I realize I'm the money manager of God's resources, then it causes me to make different decisions at the end of the day. And we realize then that money becomes not an end, but a means to an end, really a tool to accomplish God's purposes in your life, which includes enjoying what you have and providing for your family, but also aligned with your values, saving for goals and giving generously, all of the things that I know you would love to be able to do. But it's frustrating when we feel like that financial foundation is not there.

And so the question is, how do we move forward in a way that allows you to do that? And that's really always going to come down to once we recognize God owns it all, the spending plan. And so you really are going to need to take the time to get an accurate accounting of what it takes to operate your household on a monthly basis. And that needs to include not only the things you get a bill for, but the non-recurring expenses, those things that come up maybe semi-annually or annually, like an insurance payment or Christmas, and then also the discretionary spending, those things that you spend perhaps out and about, whether it's clothing or a coffee shop or entertainment, those things that our money finds its way into. And once you have all of that, then we've got to do the hard work of making the decision of where we're going to cut back, because the key for you is margin.

That is, after the pills are paid, something left over that allows you to pursue your God-given goals and objectives. Now, specifically with the credit cards, and we can actually kill two birds with one stone here after I tell you my solution on the credit cards, because the budget will come with it. With the credit cards, we recommend what's called debt management, which is not debt consolidation where you take out a new loan to pay off the other loans. And it's not debt settlement where you let them get delinquent and charged off and creditors and collectors are calling and then you try to negotiate a lower payoff. Debt management is a program that's already in place using a credit counseling agency. In this case, we recommend Christian Credit Counselors, and they leverage programs that are already in place with each of the creditors to get the interest rates reduced dramatically. And as a result of one level monthly payment that will fit into your budget and those lower interest rates, you should be able to pay this debt off 80% faster. I think the key though is that it happens month after month, so it's not a quick fix, but that's a good thing because we want to get that built into your budget and then I want you to do the hard work to figure out where else you can cut back so that you have some margin to build up your emergency fund and make sure you're giving and saving for the future, maybe contributing to a retirement plan, something like that. But debt management, I think, is going to be the key, Nikki, to you actually making some progress with every payment to bringing these credit cards down because of the reasons that I mentioned. But let me stop there and see what thoughts or questions you have.

So what was that again? It was Christian Counseling? Yeah, so it's christiancreditcounselors.org.

They've worked with thousands of our Money Wise listeners. You'll call them or connect with them over the internet on their website. They'll set up a time to meet with you over the phone.

They'll look at all of your credit cards, tell you exactly what the new interest rates would be with those particular creditors that you have, help you put together a spending plan, and then you'll set up one monthly payment that you'll pay through them to your creditors and with these lower interest rates get this paid off much quicker. And I think that will give you the momentum, perhaps, that you've been looking for to feel like, okay, I'm actually making some progress here and now let me go back to work on my budget and make some changes over there. And it may feel like a whole new day for you in terms of getting out of the discouragement and getting into really a hopeful situation where you can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Okay, perfect, perfect. Thank you so much. I do have one more quick question. I've got just a minute for my next break. Go right ahead. Okay, yes, sir.

So if you're in a relationship and, you know, some of the final things or finances could break up a marriage along with a whole bunch of other stuff, but how do you go into the next step of trying to get into a marriage when you know one person is making all this money and the next one's not? You know, how can we merge that together? Yeah, prior to marriage, is that your question? Yes.

Yeah, so like during the process of premarital counseling and so forth. Yeah, let's talk about that because that's a great question. So I'll take a quick break. You stay right there. We'll talk about money and marriage just around the corner, plus a testimony from Benny and much more. Stay with us on Money Wise Live. All the lines are full with some great questions, so you sit back and enjoy as we mind the scriptures and apply God's wisdom to your financial decisions. We'll be right back. Brodaby with us today on Money Wise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. I'm Rob West.

All the lines are full, so let's go right back to the phones. Nikki is in Brandon and Nikki, just before the break, you asked a follow up question about money and marriage, specifically how you bring together, preparing for marriage, the finances from two people, perhaps quite different in terms of the assets that they've accumulated and so forth. But that's the gist of it, right? This is kind of in a premarital situation.

That is correct. We both have been together for seven years, but he makes over seventy five, almost eighty thousand dollars. I don't have you know, I don't make that much.

I only bring in like thirty eight thousand. So we want to have a discussion about finances before we even get to that step. So both of us have been divorced.

Now we want to get married again and we want to do things the right way. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm glad that you're thinking about that, Nikki. That's so important. Are there kids involved here? Well, none between us other than I have my own. My youngest is 17. My oldest is 24. He has a 24 and he has a 15 year old. So it's not like we're bringing, you know, a bunch of children in right now. But I'm only bringing in my my 17 year old to be staying with me, you know, once we get to that that level.

But we're talking about it like soon, maybe next year. But I want to make sure, you know, things are lined up financially, you know, like how much you got saved. And that's always a question.

How much you got saved now? I'm like, oh, my gosh, I hate that question. Yeah. Well, a couple of thoughts, I think. Number one is communication is key. I know you all been together for seven years, but perhaps you haven't had some of these conversations about handling money in your new marriage, because when two become one, that includes finances. So I think you all need to have some very intentional discussions around number one, what is our lifestyle going to look like? What is his definition of your lifestyle moving forward?

What is yours? How was money handled growing up? How are you all wired? Is one a spender and one a saver?

It's not that one's right or wrong. We just need to recognize how God has wired each of you. Who's going to be the bookkeeper, even though you're going to have shared financial goals?

And what are some of those goals in terms of giving and saving for the future and those types of things? So having all of those conversations are really key because it's not a matter of, well, I make this and he makes this and we have separate accounts. That's going to foster not God's design for marriage, which is oneness.

You know, we need to have, I think, in my view, one account. It really doesn't matter who makes what, whether he's making more than you now, because it may change down the road. But it's really the resources that God has provided to you as one flesh, as a married couple.

Then the question is, how are we going to handle what God has provided to us or entrusted to us as stewards of that money, regardless of, you know, the conduit with which he provides it? Whether it comes through you or comes through him, the key is togetherness with regard to your planning and your decisions moving forward. I think there's also another dimension here where you have kids from prior marriages where you've got to think about, is there any aspect of this with assets that are being brought to the marriage prior to you all marrying from your former spouses where you want to separate those and give them directly to your respective kids?

I think that's perfectly appropriate, as long as it's done in a way that's productive and with open and honest communication, where all those decisions are made in advance. I want to direct you to a couple of resources that I think will help with this. Number one is a website called FamilyLifeBlended.com. Family Life Blended. This is kind of a derivative of the Family Life Ministries, but it's specifically resources for blended families from our good friend Ron Deal. He'll help with some of these things in terms of financial planning, even something called a togetherness agreement, specifically for couples marrying that had been married previously with kids.

So I want you to check that out. I'm also going to send you a book called Money and Marriage God's Way from Howard Dayton, and I think that'll help. I'd love to challenge you for you and your future husband to read through this book, a chapter at a time, and talk about it. And I think that will really set the stage for you all to do this in a God-honoring way.

Okay, Nikki? Thank you so much. I greatly appreciate it.

You're welcome. You stay on the line. We'll get your information and get that right out to you.

Betty in Crawfordsville, Indiana, thank you for calling. I understand you have a testimony. Go right ahead.

Well, I don't know what questions to ask is my problem. My husband and I have been married for 58 years. He was the bookkeeper. He was the brains of the outfit, and I was the laborer, which is okay because I love what I do.

The problem is every spouse should not let the spouse do all of that, even though we agreed, because here I'm stuck with running a business, and sometimes I just don't know what to do. And playing around with the Indiana taxes, you know, I've been in deep trouble with, you know, they haven't closed me down every time they send me something that says, I owe this, I send it right out to them. But the big part that I'm so thankful for is for this radio station and the fact that God has seen me through. I have been able to pay the bill. I have had food on my table.

And, you know, I don't have a lot of problems that a lot of people have, but I really concentrate on God. And, you know, every day it's, show me the way. I got to figure this all out.

And it hasn't happened. Yeah. Well, a couple of thoughts, Betty. You know, first of all, I'm so appreciative of your testimony of the faithfulness of the Lord in your life and the testimony to your husband and how he handled what God entrusted to you all as a married couple. And I would concur with you that so often we get so reliant on one spouse who's perhaps more inclined toward financial things. The other spouse is then left not knowing where things are, what assets are there and just how to keep the family running. It could be something as simple as a credit card that's only in their name, that when the one spouse passes away, all the cards go away and there's a temporary time where they don't know how to pay the bills. Not to mention, you know, who are the financial professionals involved?

Where are the assets? And then what decisions need to be made moving forward? So that really is key to be able to work together on that so that that awareness is there. I think for you, Betty, a couple of things. Number one is I think it would be great to have a financial advisor, a godly financial advisor walking alongside you that could be a source of wise counsel for you as you navigate what God has entrusted to you, the assets that you have, the monthly spending you have, the taxes, the insurance, just a trusted resource there that you can meet with a couple of times a year and that could really be that sounding board and to the extent you need investment management, actually managing those assets for you. We recommend certified kingdom advisors. These are men and women who've met high standards and training and competence in providing biblical financial advice with pastor references and client references and character requirements and code of ethics. It's our trusted designation for a godly financial wisdom and you could find several CKAs in your area at moneywise.org and then interview two or three. I would also direct you to a great website from Miriam Neff and Valerie Neff Hogan called widowconnection.com specifically for widows in your situation and in particular dealing with the financial side, although they deal with a lot of other aspects to this.

Widowconnection.com, they have some great resources and books. Miriam Neff is the late wife of the Robert Neff, Bob Neff from Moody Bible Institute and if you're a longtime listener, you probably recognize Bob's name as VP of radio and she has a wonderful ministry serving ladies just like you. I'd love for you to check it out. Thank you for sharing your story today and we'll be right back on MoneyWise Live. Thanks for tuning in to MoneyWise Live where we apply God's wisdom to your financial decisions. Antoinette, Karen, we're coming your way in just a moment.

Thank you for your patience, but first it's Monday. Bob Dahl joins us each Monday with his market commentary. Bob is Chief Investment Officer at Crossmark Global Investments and Bob, I understand you're fresh off the world stage back from Jakarta and the Resource Global Conference. How were your travels? They were wonderful and lots of good ministry opportunities. It's great to see young folks wanting to do life well.

Oh, that's great. Well, I bet you have an amazing time, although you didn't come back to a very productive market. You're off two percent a day across the board, huh?

Yeah, I left a bad one on Friday and showed up to a bad one on Monday. I think, look, you've heard some caution in my voice these last few weeks. I think the market said when we got that decline in inflation, well, maybe inflation's almost done and the Fed doesn't have a whole lot further to go and maybe we'll have a recession and the market just got a little too carried away.

Yeah, no doubt about it. Bob, what are you looking at this week as you look out over the next coming months? Well, I think the key is inflation and interest rates and the Fed and the economy and earnings and how long of this can I give you in one breath. We have an important, as you know, Fed meeting before too long.

And of course, they're in Jackson Hole. And on Friday, we will hear some commentary. And I think people are watching that very carefully. Will the Fed chair stay strong on fighting inflation, which is probably what he needs to do for the Fed to have credibility that they can fight inflation? They've only started, Rob. It's only been a few months now that they've been raising rates. So to think we're at the end of that line is probably very premature. Yeah. But Bob, as we continue to see rates rise, if that's in fact what happens with every rate hike, does that increase the probability of a recession?

It does. I mean, interest rates affect our economy. There are lots of parts of our economy that are very interest rate sensitive, housing, autos, among others, Rob. So, yeah, depending how far the Fed has to go, that only increases the risk.

But it'd be better to get whatever is needed, the pain out of the way, rather than stringing along for many, many months. Yeah, yeah. Very good. Bob, we've talked about obviously inflation. What about the global economic picture? Is really everybody else in just about the same situation or do you see a deteriorating global economic situation? It's actually, despite our problems, we're in better shape than most other parts of the world, at least the big parts. You know, Europe is stuck with high energy prices and worried about cold winter and the absence of supply from Russia.

That's a real concern, legitimate one. China's had more COVID, so they've had more lockdown and that's weakened their economy. And they're pretty, two pretty important blocks of economic behavior that we need to watch carefully. So if I had to put it in order at the moment on a short-term cyclical basis, the U.S. in best shape, Europe next and China in third. Yeah.

Bob, last question. You know, if we hearken back to the 1970s and we look at this, you know, secular bear market, this kind of sideways market over a long period of time, I mean, is that still a possibility given with technology how it seems like we reach the peaks and troughs a little more quickly or do you think we could enter a sustained period where the market just doesn't go anywhere? I think that the volatile sideways, you know, big rally, big pullback could last for some time. I hate to think of 1966 to 1982, that 16-year period, there were four bulls and four bears and the stock market in 16 years was flat. I don't think it'll last that long, Rob, because I don't think we'll have the inflation lasting as long or be as high as it was then, but it could be a lot more tame than what we've gotten used to over the last couple of decades where things are basically up up and away. Yeah, and as you've said, that could lend itself to a more tactical approach, a more managed approach to our investments, huh? I think that's right. It's not just buy good companies and hold them.

As tempting as that is, you got to be more opportunistic and make sure you're in the right stocks and if they get expensive, you got to let some go and go into the ones that are lagging. Yeah, that's exactly right, which is why we appreciate you joining us here each week because we need wise counsel and if folks don't have an advisor, this is probably a good time to think about getting one. Bob, always appreciate your comments and remarks. We'll look for you again next week. Have a great week. Bye. All right, bye-bye. That was Bob Doll, Chief Investment Officer at Crossmark Global Investments.

You can learn more at crossmarkglobal.com. All right, back to the phone for our final calls for the afternoon. Antoinette, you've been very patient in Chicago. How can I help?

Oh, great, great. Thank you so much for taking my call. Of course, I want to thank you so much for all the advice you give on stewardship. It's much needed, so you can imagine how happy I was when I was invited to a financial conference by someone I grew up with who is now a minister and I'm very proud of her and she's very astute. Every morning at five o'clock, there's a conference bible study and she's very, very concerned about her members and even financial considerations, which brings me to the point and the question I have for you. I was invited to a conference or financial conference and it appears it will be held inside of church. I'm not sure if it's a separate conference or counseling center that's adjoined to the church or they will be held in the main sanctuary.

This conference, it doesn't tell where tickets were sold and there will be merchandise that will be sold. My question is, is this a proper protocol for external businesses within the church? Should this be something held in a separate facility or separate from the inner sanctuary from the pulpit?

Yeah, that's a great question, Antoinette. Let me just ask a clarifying question. Is this really intended to be an educational event put on by the church but using an outside financial practitioner or is it really truly just an outside business coming in to sell product using the church building? Well, it's not facilitated at her church. It's at another facility, that is the church, and I guess there was listed people who would be there, who would be teaching. There are two ministers and there's a person who's an author of a book. So this is much like a conference or seminar type, I guess, service.

The thing is, I was told that on the interim, we would be able to shop. I don't know what that means. I don't know if that's commercial.

I don't know if that's something that is be your best self, something apart from biblical literature. I don't know. It's just that the fact that it appears that it will be in a main sanctuary and the fact that merchandise will be sold kind of merges or bridges the boundaries. I don't want to be in violation of John 2.16, making the Father's house a marketplace.

Yeah, no, I'm not concerned about what I'm hearing. Obviously, I don't know all the details. I mean, if we go to Matthew 21 and the temple where Jesus overthrew the money changers, I mean, that was a situation where people were being taken advantage of and, in effect, stolen from. And it's why Jesus, I believe, reacted the way that he did. Also, the ancient temple was quite a bit different than a modern church. You know, we serve the omnipresent God that's everywhere. This is a building, but clearly it is the house of the Lord. And so I think as long as it's being done to educate, I don't have any problem with a conference that's being put on by a church.

Even on financial topics, we need more of that. Selling tickets or even selling product, you know, you'll have bookstores in churches. I don't think that's an issue. Oftentimes, conferences will sell books during breaks, things like that. I wouldn't want an outside—if it were me and I was on a finance committee or a diaconate, I wouldn't want an outside business coming in using the church building to sell product.

But if this is really an educational event put on by the church with folks coming in to educate people on a biblical approach to money, and there's tickets sold to get into that workshop, perhaps on a weekend because there's costs involved, and there's books being sold during the breaks, things like that, I don't think that's a problem in the way I read scripture, and at least as I think about what you're describing here. So I would be okay with it, Antoinette, unless there's something that I'm missing in terms of why or how this is being put on. So I hope that's helpful to you, at least my perspective, and we appreciate your call today.

Glenview, Illinois. Karen, thanks for calling. Go right ahead.

Thank you so much for taking my call. My question is, I have a bill from a medical facility, and it's $90, and I wanted to call them to see if I could make it in payments, but my credit is over $800, so it's noted as exceptional, and I wondered if I don't pay the bill in full, will that reduce my credit score? No, it shouldn't. Most medical providers don't report to the three bureaus, and as long as you're not in collections, and if you have a repayment plan that's been acknowledged and accepted by the medical provider, that's going to have no bearing on your credit score. In fact, as of July 1st of this year, even if a medical debt goes to collections, all three bureaus will remove that item from a person's credit report once it's paid instead of keeping it for seven years.

That's a new legislation that just went into effect July 1, and that's really intended to help people struggling with medical debt, but it shouldn't even make it to the credit report in the first place if you're still in good standing, and if you have a payment plan that you've worked out with the provider, which is very common and they're very willing to do, then you're not going to be seen as in arrears or in collections, and it'll never make it to the credit report. So you can be assured that if they're willing to accept that, you go right ahead and don't think twice about it. Karen, thanks for your call today. John, I appreciate your patience. We'd love to get you on tomorrow if you call back. Perhaps we can get you in the front of the line on tomorrow's broadcast. I apologize we didn't get you on, sir. Folks, thanks for being along with us today.

MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. Thank you to Ryan Hansen, Amy Rios, Stan Anderson, and Jim Henry. Couldn't do it without them. Hope you'll come back and join us tomorrow. I'll be here, Lord willing, and we'll look for you then. Bye-bye.