Time, Treasure, and Talents

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another and then take your calls at 800-525-7000.

800-525-7000. And there by put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. And Proverbs 3, 9 and 10, honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce.

Then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine. But stewardship involves much more than our treasure. We must acknowledge that God gives us many gifts, including time and talent.

And we must give back a portion of them as well if we're to be truly faithful stewards. You have been given skills and talents that the Lord wants to use for his kingdom. Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 12, 4 through 7. It reads, Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. And again in Romans 12, 6 through 8, Paul writes, Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them in proportion to our faith.

Gift service in your serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. So let me ask you, are you giving back a portion of your talents to God's kingdom? You might not think you have many talents to contribute, but that's never the case. We all have skills and abilities that God can use. For example, if you're in the business world, you have a unique opportunity to share the gospel with those who don't yet know Christ.

You come in contact with many different people, like associates, customers, and vendors. And while doing that, you can make a strong witness for Christ by treating people with honesty and respect. It's probably not a coincidence that when Jesus called the twelve disciples, many of them owned and operated businesses as tradesmen and commercial fishermen.

It would only be reasonable to assume the disciples used their contacts and past relationships to witness for Christ. So we all have God-given talents. Are you good with children? Those skills can be put to use in the church nursery, or babysitting for a single mom or dad in your neighborhood who needs a break. Maybe you're good at repairing cars, or you're a great cook, or you like to paint, and yes, some people actually do. Or maybe you have time you can spend with an elderly shut-in down the street. Putting time and talents to work for others not only fulfills your calling for stewardship, it provides a great witnessing opportunity by reflecting the love of Christ, and a chance to invite someone to your church.

So don't think you have nothing to give. God can use just about anything to advance His kingdom. For example, the staff of Moses in Exodus 4, 3 and 4. It reads, So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it. But the Lord said to Moses, So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand.

The point is this. If God can use an ordinary object like a stick to perform miracles, imagine what He can do with you, a real, live person made in His image. God wants you to give of your time and talents, because He loves you and wants you to experience the spiritual blessings of giving. Luke 6, 38 reads, Now, how much time and talent you give back to God is between you and Him? And in 2 Corinthians 9, 6, we see the point is this. Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

If you're generous with your time and talents, as well as your treasure, you'll no doubt hear the words, one day, well done, good and faithful steward, enter into the joy of your master. All right, your calls are next. 800-525-7000. We'll be right back. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live.

I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions. We've got some lines open. So whatever you're thinking about financially, now's the time to either pull over or stop what you're doing and give us a call. The number to dial is 800-525-7000.

Our team is standing by. Calls are coming in as we speak, but we'd love to tackle your financial questions. See if we can encourage you, provide some hope, but also bring biblical wisdom to bear as it relates to your financial decisions and choices.

Again, the number to call, 800-525-7000. Hey, before we get to the phones, have you ever wanted to go to Israel? I know I have. I've not been yet. It's on my bucket list. I'd like to go as soon as I can.

I know it's expensive, though. Well, let me tell you. Moody Radio is giving away a trip for two to Israel with, get this, Dr. Michael Radelnik and special guest Dr. Joe Stoll, June 4th through the 15th. Here's the deal. We'll cover the cost of the airfare, the hotel accommodations, and more. All the details are online at moodyradio.org slash Israel. Learn more and register today. We'll try to sneak in. This trip is sold out, but Moody Radio is going to be able to send two people along on this trip and we'll pick up your costs.

Again, moodyradio.org slash Israel. Don't miss another opportunity to go ahead and sign up to see if you can get in on this trip. All right, let's head to the phones. 800-525-7000 to Memphis, Tennessee. You know, I was just down the street in Tupelo. Jean, go right ahead. How can I help you?

Thank you. I have been married twice. Both husbands are deceased. I was married to both of them, aged 14 years, and I am drawing Social Security on my first husband.

We had three children. The second husband, who has just recently passed away, and I've just always wondered why because he was self-employed. So every year at tax time, he took my W-2 and it went on what he was to pay the government. I was never allowed to see what we were getting back. I was never allowed to go to the CPA with him.

So that was 14 years of money that I paid in that I'm never going to see. So I was just wondering, is it just a rule or the law that you can't draw off of two husbands or what? Yes, that is correct, and I'm so sorry to hear, Jean, about your husband's passing. You cannot receive benefits from two deceased husbands at the same time, but here's what you can do. All of that work record is available, so you would want to contact the Social Security Administration, and here's what they're going to do. They're going to compare the records from your previous husband with those of your second husband so that you can claim the record that provides the greatest benefit to you, and you'll be able to choose the one that is going to be most beneficial to you in terms of a monthly benefit.

So you're going to absolutely want to contact the Social Security Administration, ask them to look up those records and determine which is the best for you to claim, and you'll be able to take the higher of the two. Okay, okay. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it. Yes, ma'am, very good, and again, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's passing. Thanks for calling in today, man.

God bless you, Jean. 800-525-7000. Lisa, I understand you want some help with your grandson's survivor's benefits from his father's passing. How can we help?

Yes, that's correct. Our grandson came to live with us about two years ago, and he also received survivor benefits, and we've saved up about $10,000 in funds that we didn't need to put to immediate use, and we continue to save money for him each month. And I'm just wondering what is the best, right now it's just in a savings account, and I'm wondering what is the best vehicle to make the most of his money if he goes to college later on or to buy his first car, things like that.

I wasn't sure if we should do like a 529 plan or a CD or put it in the stock market. And I'm also trying to mitigate the impact on us as far as any gains or taxes on money that really we're setting aside for him. Sure, sure.

Yeah, no question about that. Well, I appreciate that you're setting that aside and wanting to use that or be able to provide that to him down the road as his benefit. Clearly that has to be used for his financial support, but in this case it sounds like you all are covering his expenses, and you're just going to be able to provide this to him down the road.

You absolutely can invest this benefit. You could put it into a Uniform Transfer to Minors Act account that would make it, essentially it's a custodial account in his name that becomes his asset at the age of majority. So that's the only question is whether you want him to automatically have that regardless of kind of where he's at in his financial and spiritual maturity.

But that would get it out of your name. Now, from the standpoint of financial aid, it does become his asset, which is going to impact him more significantly at 20% based on the expected family contribution versus having the asset in your name, even though it's for his benefit. Have you kind of decided how you want to earmark these funds? Would you like to have them specifically available for college?

Or are you thinking more widely available? I'm hoping he'll go to college, but it's hard to anticipate. He's only seven and a half years old, so it's hard to anticipate if he would use it for college. And I know it can also be used for trade school as well. So I guess, I don't know, I could take an approach where some of it goes for college and some of it that we set aside for other purposes.

Yes, yeah. Yeah, you certainly could do that. I think that's the key is to decide kind of how you want to put this in buckets, if you will. You know, the funds that would go into a 529, you don't get the deduction on, but you get the tax-free growth as long as they're used for qualified educational expenses. And you'd have the opportunity to get that out on a pro rata basis if there was any grants or scholarship awards. A new law says that if it's in there 15 years, it can actually be rolled if it's unused into a Roth IRA, which is a benefit that's not been available. Now, that would make it money that would be focused on the very long term, obviously, but it does give you that option to get it out without having any kind of tax implications on it, and that's new coming in 2024. So that would be the money that I would earmark for college. I would use a 529 savings plan if you want it more widely available.

I think the other option, if you want to put it to work because you've got time on your side and you really don't feel like he needs it anytime soon, I mean, the market is down right now, so you could dollar-cost average it into the market in a properly diversified portfolio, and you perhaps want to consider a custodial account, what's called either a UTMA or a UGMA account, and you could open that at any brokerage firm, you know, perhaps Schwab or Fidelity, one of those. Okay. All right. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it. You're welcome, Lisa, and you're doing wonderful work there caring for your grandson. I'm delighted you called in today. May God bless you. Thanks for being a part of the program.

800-525-7000. Looks like we have one line open. Perhaps your question today, we'd love to hear from you. You know, as we think about handling God's money, here's the role of the steward. You know, God owns it all, so we're the manager or the steward or the caretaker. Well, when we accept our role as steward, our key is to understand the heart of the master.

That's the steward's job. We want to reflect the master's wishes. Well, how do we know what that is? Well, we go to God's Word and we say, what's on the heart of God as it relates to our money?

Because it's a tool to accomplish his purposes. Well, each day we want to try to encourage and help you find God's heart for the money that he's entrusted to you. We're going to take a quick break and back with much more.

Stay with us. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West, your host.

One line open, 800-525-7000. You know, here at Faithfy, we always want to keep you updated on the great things God is doing through this ministry as we partner with this broadcast, with Moody Radio. And by his favor and grace in 2022, we saw a significant growth in our radio and podcast listenership, our visits to our website, nowfaithfy.com, for people looking for biblical advice. We saw a triple in growth to our website. We've also seen a significant growth in our Faithfy app. And what we found is—it's really exciting—that users of the Faithfy app are giving five times more than the average Christian giver, which we're delighted to see as folks are coming to us wanting to be a better steward of God's resources. And I hope you're as encouraged as I am about what God's doing through this ministry and through Moody Radio. And if you would like to be a part of what we're doing here at Faith and Finance Live and you'd like to prayerfully consider a gift, this year, we'd certainly love for you to partner with us when you head to our website, again, faithfy.com. That's faith F-I, our brand new site, and just click Give at the top of the page.

Thanks in advance. Let's head back to the phones. We've got a full lineup of calls, so we'll get to as many questions as we can next to Indiana. Hi, Jennifer. How can I help you today?

Hi, how are you? Great. Okay, so my question is, I have a 529 set up for my son and he is halfway through his junior year. And I try to get the max every year put in so we get the state tax benefit. But this year it's pretty much lost everything I've put in. So I guess my question is just in the next year and a half before he needs it, should I continue to put into that or should I just put those monthly contributions in a savings account as to not lose them?

Sure, sure. Well, I think the good news is you're not going to use up all of this money at once, I wouldn't imagine. I mean, do you have enough in there where this is going to be spread even once he goes off to college over his college career? Or will it all get used up in a very short period of time? No, it'll get spread out.

Okay, yeah, that's good. So you've got enough in there, obviously, that what you contributed in a single year, when you say you lost all of that, it's because that portion versus the total amount that was invested, you still probably were down, you know, typically with the market, which I understand that's a lot of money, we don't want to lose anything. But the good news is that this should recover because he's still, you know, a couple of years away from needing this money and then probably four years beyond that.

So you've got kind of a six year window. So should you put more money in this year? The question is, is that tax benefit going to be enough to offset what might be still enough, you know, a rough year in the market? And it may or may not come out that way. And so I think, to your point, you may just decide that given how close he is to retirement, or excuse me, to college, not retirement, given how close he is to college, and given that we're expecting 60% of economists think we're headed for a recession, to some degree, that's a little bit of that's probably already priced into the market, so to speak, but it absolutely could be worse than folks are expecting.

And if so, that means another kind of down leg on this market. So I'd probably given how close he is, go with your option to maybe continue to save outside of the 529. But leave what I have invested right where it is. So you have the chance over the next year or two between now and when he heads off to college for that to recover. Once you regain what you've lost, I would be moving that to the most conservative option in the 529 plan. So that, you know, no matter what happens from that point forward, you're focused on protecting the capital that you have. And then, you know, over the balance of this year and next, perhaps, as you save in that savings account, which at least you'll get a little bit of interest in a high-yield savings account, maybe three and a half percent or something, at least you know you've got that portion and you don't have to sell any of those investments to be able to utilize that money.

The only other question I would have for you, Jennifer, is do you think there's a chance you would qualify for need-based aid through the FAFSA? No. Okay. Yeah. So then you're not concerned about whether that's, you know, whose asset it's considered.

So I think, you know, I'd go that route for this year and perhaps next year, you know, in saving in just a high-yield savings account. Okay. All right.

Perfect. Thank you so much. You're very welcome, Jennifer. Thanks for your call today.

Fort Myers. Hey, Glenn. Thanks for calling, sir. Go ahead. Hey, Ron, I really appreciate what you're doing. Yeah, thanks a lot for taking my call.

Yes, sir. I'm 70 years old. I have no debt. I retired at age 64, and I wanted to – all my 401K money I rolled over into a Vanguard portfolio in their Admiral Funds. And I wanted to wait until I was 70 to file for Social Security. So for those six years, from 64 to 70, my wife and I lived on a monthly distribution from our Vanguard portfolio, plus my part-time job that I have. And I filed recently in July at age 70, and my wife and I are – we can live on our Social Security now. And beginning in 2022, I guess my Vanguard portfolio was at about $600,000. Now, at this time, I just checked it yesterday, it's $524,000 because of the market downturn. We're no longer taking the distribution, like I said, since July from our Vanguard portfolio. We're currently allocated – the mix is 60, 40 bond stocks, and of the bonds and of the stocks, we're about 70% in domestic and 30% in international. So my question to you is, since we're not taking any money from the Vanguard portfolio anymore, should we stay with that allocation and just let it ride, ride out the storm? Yeah, very good. That's a great question. I certainly understand kind of where you're coming from here.

Thanks for that helpful background information. Let's do this. I've got to take a quick break. Glenn, if you'll stay right there, I'd love to weigh in on that and help you think through kind of where you go from here in this exciting season of life. I know the market can be challenging, and a lot of folks are thinking, do I get more conservative and go to cash, or do I ride this thing out, given the uncertainties ahead? I'll weigh in on that just around the corner. And then perhaps your question, a couple of lines open, 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.

We'll be right back. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live. Rob West, your host, we're taking your calls and questions today. 800-525-7000 is the number to call.

If you haven't checked out our brand new website, you can do that online at faithfi.com. Back to the phones, Fort Myers. Glenn, just before the break, Glenn was sharing with us that he's 70 years old. They have an investment portfolio that they're not touching right now. Their income is covered. It's in a 60-40 allocation, 60% bonds, 40% stocks. Glenn, how much did you say that that portfolio is down over the last year? Well, it started at 2022 at about 600,000. As of yesterday, it was down to 524,000. So that's what it's lost in the market downturn.

Yeah, okay. So you're down about 13%, which is, you know, better than the market. And the reason for that is because you've had such a high weighting to fixed income, which was challenged last year as well, given the rising interest rate environment. And you don't foresee needing this money unless you needed it for long-term care or something unexpected.

Is that true? Yeah, our goal is to not touch it. You know, like I said, we can live off our Social Security and I have a part-time job that even provides extra margin. So we don't plan on touching this money. Okay, it sounds like that allocation is about right.

You know, it just so happened that last year ended up being an incredibly challenging year, both for equities and for bonds, and they were just under significant pressure. So where do you go from here? Well, I think the good news is, as you said, you don't need this money. Your bills are covered. You're continuing to work.

That's great. I would absolutely let this recover the 13% that it lost. Could it go down from here even more?

Absolutely. You know, we're expecting a recession this year. How deep, how long, how severe still remains to be seen. But I think you riding this out and then on the other side of it, once it's recovered and the stock market will recover before the economy, once we see that the Fed's done raising rates and we're ready to kind of turn the corner. There's so much wealth on the sideline ready to kind of flood back in that this market will have a significant leg up. And I think at that point, then it's time to do kind of some soul searching and say, how did we feel kind of during the 2022 year?

Did that cause us some sleepless nights, some anxiousness? Are we, you know, too aggressive and maybe should we, you know, be in an 80-20 mix moving forward or 70-30 getting a little bit more conservative. But clearly, given that this portfolio, which is significant, is kind of surplus, you know, I think the ability to grow that over time so that it's there if you needed it for, you know, long-term care, which is significant and cost could be well over $100,000 a year, depending on what type of care you need. And given the effects of inflation, which is eroding the purchasing power of this money, I think all of that says that having a 60-40, 70-30, 80-20 portfolio, depending on how conservative you want to be, makes sense so that you can continue to grow this money over time.

So if it were me, I'd probably wait this out, let it recover and then decide as you take a hard look back, you know, were we a bit more aggressive than we felt comfortable with? And if so, then I think that's the time to begin to make some changes in the portfolio. Does that make sense?

Yeah, it does. So right now you're saying just stay with 60-40 and ride out the storm so we don't have to take any money from? I would, yeah, because otherwise you're going to have to realize these unrealized losses and I think, you know, if you were saying, listen, this is money I'm living on today and I, you know, can't afford, I don't have enough, you know, in cash to get me through the next year, you know, I'd say absolutely we need to make some significant changes. But I think given where you guys are at, I mean, for all intents and purposes, if you're in good health and the Lord tarries, this money needs to last potentially for a couple of decades or more. And so I think from that standpoint, time is still on your side in terms of allowing this to recover and even then moving forward, having the ability to grow from this point forward.

So that's at least my perspective at the end of the day, you're the steward, you and your spouse and you all need to think and pray through how you want to handle this. But if it were me, I wouldn't be making a lot of changes right now. Hey, Rob, we have about $40,000 in our emergency fund just in savings account with a brick and mortar bank and I was thinking about going with one of these online banks that you mentioned and get a much better interest rate. Are those safe? I mean, when I think about hooking up an online bank with my checking account, I just think of hackers in there, you know, taking my money. I just didn't know you felt these online banks were safe to do that.

I do. I mean, they have a high degree of encryption. I mean, nothing is totally safe. I mean, even a brick and mortar bank, somebody could compromise your account. Even if you never do business online, you only walk into the, you know, the online branch. They could, you know, swipe your card out of your, you know, your wallet or your wife's purse.

They could oversee you entering that in somewhere. You know, so we all need to be diligent regardless of how we do business in not clicking on, you know, links that are sent to us in emails, not giving information over the phone, not using public Wi-Fi to transact business, changing our passwords, checking our credit reports and monitoring our financial accounts. But I feel like if you're doing those things and just using wise practices as it comes to, you know, handling your affairs, even online, then you're doing everything you can do to either thwart it or when it happens. And it's happening more and more often all the time, whether you have an online savings account or not. Even with a brick and mortar bank with online access, you have the same exposure to your information being compromised or somebody hacking your financial institution and stealing your identity, your personal information. So you're still at risk, which means you need to do all of these things anyway. As to the safety of the institution, as long as it's FDIC insured and a reputable institution that's going to make you whole if your information is compromised and the government's going to step in if it fails, then I think, you know, you've done about everything you can do.

And therefore, it's worth any added risk that might exist for you to get a decent interest rate by taking advantage of one of these online banks that have high yield savings. OK, Ron, well, listen, I really appreciate it. Thanks for your help. And God bless you, brother. Thank you, Glenn. Appreciate your kind remarks and for listening today. Thanks for calling. Quickly to Tampa, Florida. Hey, Carrie, how can I help you?

Hi. So I was in a long term marriage of 26 years. Unfortunately, it did end in divorce. And I've been told that when it comes time to draw Social Security, that I have the option of tapping into his Social Security, which should be significantly more than what I've put into Social Security.

I was wondering how that works. And is that true, especially with him getting remarried now? Yeah, his marital status doesn't have anything to do with your ability to collect. So the question is going to be getting his marital benefit as long as you were married for at least 10 years and he qualifies for benefits at least 62 years of age, then you're entitled to up to 50 percent as a spousal benefit. Now, if you remarry, that goes away with a few exceptions. But if you don't remarry and he does, his remarriage has no bearing on you.

The question is going to be which is better for you. 50 percent of his benefit as a spousal benefit or your own work record benefit. And the Social Security administration can answer that question for you. Okay. So then when it comes time to be, because I'm a little clueless on this, honestly, and I just turned 60, so I kind of need to know these things.

I kind of depended on him for all of this. What age can you draw Social Security and what constitutes you being able to draw on Social Security? Yeah. So you would potentially be able to draw it as early as 62. And the question is just what is your need and is it best for you to go ahead and begin collecting then or would it be better for you to wait? You would have to have been divorced for at least two years.

But I think what is the best next step for you, Kerry, is to connect with the Social Security administration and get them to explain which benefit would be better based on your work record. They'd be happy to meet with you. We'll be right back. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live.

You know, I've been doing this a long time. I've answered literally thousands of questions here on the radio, counseled hundreds and hundreds of families. What I've come to believe is that many people experience frustration, fear and guilt in their financial lives. But I've also experienced that those that are most free from the emotional byproducts of financial decision making are those that have answered two questions.

And here they are. The first is who owns it? And the second is how much is enough? You see, when we answer the question, who owns it? And we, of course, know the answer is a resounding God owns it all. Then we put ourselves in the proper role as stewards and money becomes a tool to accomplish God's purposes. And then when we answer the second question, how much is enough? It causes us to loosen our grip and realize that that we need to be on our knees before the Lord saying, how much is enough for my lifestyle? And what about my accumulation? And how much should I be giving, Lord? Because you're inviting me to a bigger, grander story and reminding me that it's not all about me, that I can be a part of something that's much bigger than me when I join you in my generosity.

I think those are two fundamental questions that if you haven't answered and then thought about the practical implications of the answers, it will really change your perspective on money management. Give it a shot. All right. Let's go back to the phones to Florida. Beautiful Florida. Hey, Marty. Thanks for calling. Go ahead. Hi, Rob.

I'm calling to ask a question. My dad passed away in July with no will, so his property had to go through probate. My sisters and I just closed on the home in January. My question is, do we have to pay taxes on what we received from that sale? Yeah, there's no inheritance tax. So they're in the state of Florida and there's not certainly not a federal inheritance tax. So when you inherited that property as of the date of death, you and your your siblings, the what's called the basis, the cost basis for that property was stepped up from when from what it was when your dad bought it to the value of that home as of the date of death. And then when you sell it following that date of death at some point down the road, whether that's a couple of months or several years, that new cost basis will be applied to determine whether or not the selling price is at a profit or at a loss. And at that point, then you would that would be the only time the taxes would be due. So you don't have any taxes due based on the the inheritance itself. You would only have taxes based on whether you have a capital gain. But the good news is, you know, based on the date of death, if it was sometime last year, the housing market is, you know, if anything, it's down slightly.

So, you know, given that you had that stepped up basis, you probably sold it, you know, even to that cost basis, or maybe even below it, which would mean there would be no tax due. Does that make sense? I think so. Yes. I just have to find out about the difference if there is any. Okay.

Yeah. So you would have to have somebody give you like a broker's price opinion or you'd have to determine with the ability to back it up before the IRS. What is the value of the home as of the date of death?

And then you'd compare that to the selling price to determine whether you have a capital gain or a capital loss. If you owe anything, it's not going to be very much. Thanks for calling, Marty. And so sorry to hear about your dad's passing to Chicago.

Hey, Bernie, go right ahead, sir. Alright, thanks for taking my call. I was just wondering, like, what do you do with credit cards when you don't want them anymore, but they have a zero balance, but without hurting your credit?

Yeah, you put the oven on 400, put them on a cookie sheet and stick them in. And that's usually no, I'm just kidding. So here's the thing. I mean, I love the fact that, you know, if you're not using these cards, you'd systematically over time, want to pare back the number of cards that are available to you, because that's just less to keep up with one less account that could be compromised. If you're concerned about your credit score, because you're about to go qualify for a mortgage or buy a car, then you may want to give some thought to it.

And here's what you would consider. Number one, are you carrying a balance on any other cards? And if you are, then by closing this account that pulls that limit that's unused out of the mix, which makes your total credit utilization higher. If you're not carrying a balance on any cards, meaning you're paying it off every month, and that's not a factor. The second would be your credit history. So if these cards that you're no longer using are some of your older cards, and all the ones you're currently using are newer, that might slightly affect your credit score to the negative because you're pulling some of these older accounts out of the mix, which is a part of the the credit scoring formula.

So those would be the two primary factors. Any of those would be a temporary, you know, hit to your credit and it would be minor. So again, if you're not out looking for new credit, it's probably not an issue.

If you had six cards to close, I'd probably say let's do three in the next six months and then three in the following six months. But you know, that's probably my perspective on it. Does that make sense? Oh, yeah, thanks a lot. I appreciate it. You got a great show. Thank you very much. Thanks, Bernie. I appreciate that.

To Indiana. Hey, Randy, how can I help you, sir? Yes, I have 7000 I'm putting in the Roth for my Roth IRA.

I was wondering if I should put that in the Roth or should I put that in my bond with the rates being higher? Yeah, is this money that you are earmarking for retirement, Randy? Yes, yes. All right. All right. And how far off is retirement roughly for you? Oh, it could be between three years and 10 years.

Okay. Yeah, I wouldn't I wouldn't use the I bond for that. The I bond is really for money that is kind of has a time horizon of between one and five years. And even then these rates that we're experiencing right now that are elevated. I mean, at 9.6% it was really attractive.

Now it's 6.8 and whatever it'll adjust to in May is still fairly attractive. But it's temporary because the Fed is using every weapon in their tool belt to try to get this, you know, inflation down to their target of 2%. And as they do that, and they're not going to stop, even if it puts us into a pretty significant recession, in my view, as they bring inflation down, the, you know, rates on these I bonds are going to fall. So I think what we're experiencing right now is temporary, which means that it's good for money that has a short term time horizon of at least a year, but you want safety. It's not good for money that has a five plus year time horizon, you'd be much better off putting it in the Roth, getting that tax free growth and taking advantage of these attractive prices in terms of stock valuations.

Okay, great. And the second question is a Roth IRA better than a Roth 401k? They're exactly the same. So the only difference is you've got a much higher contribution limit in the 401k and it has to go in through salary deferral through your paycheck, whereas the Roth IRA exactly the same, just has a much lower limit this year, if you're over age 50, you can put in 7500, it's not going to come through salary deferral, you'll make the contribution directly into the account. The only other difference is the Roth 401k may have matching, and it's going to have a limited investment universe of stocks, bonds, mutual funds to pick from, whereas your Roth IRA can be invested in essentially anything. What's the most you can put in the 401k then? What is your age?

Above 60. Okay, yeah, so you can put in this year, let's see, 22,500 and an additional 6,500, I believe over that, so you should be able to put in $29,000. Okay, and if you're putting some into the, if you're putting some into a TSP, can you do as much into the Roth as well or not the Roth but the 401k? Yes, the TSP contribution limits are exactly the same as the 401k. So you can put in both in the same year?

No, you can't do both, but the limit is the same, so if you have a TSP at work and not a 401k, you have the same limit as somebody who's contributing to a 401k, but you can't do both at the same time. Oh, very good. All right, thank you. Okay, thanks for your call, Randy.

We're going to finish in Chicago. Gerard, you're our final caller, sir. Go ahead. Yes, thank you for taking my call. Can you hear me?

Yes, sir. I have a quick question. I have a payment plan with the IRS monthly and a payment plan with a bank for a business loan that I've taken out. But I have this money that I have in cashier's checks and I was kind of scared to put it in the bank because maybe IRS or the bank may decide to go in there and take the money. I don't know, can they do that or what should I do? Yeah, they absolutely can and they'll notify you before doing that. If you owe money to the IRS, they can garnish that right out of your bank account. They would let you know that 30 days before they did it, before they start the process.

But if you haven't received notice, then that's not imminent. I would also say if you're on a repayment plan, Gerard, then they're not going to go after your money. They're going to work with you through that repayment plan. It's really only if you either don't make good on that repayment plan or you owe money without a repayment plan and they would send you what's called a collection due process notice to let you know that they were going to pull that money out. Okay, so I have been on a repayment plan with both for years and I haven't missed a payment. So if I hear you correctly, I should not be concerned about putting this money I have in my bank account.

I would not. If you're current on your repayment plan with the IRS, they're not going to touch it. They're going to let you pay that back and they've already agreed to do that. And if you're current on that, you don't have anything to worry about.

Also with the bank because I have a repayment plan on a business loan with the bank. So both of them, I shouldn't have a problem. Okay.

That's right. You just stay current on those repayment plans, my friend, and you'll get there. Don't lose heart, okay? Thank you very much, sir. God bless you. Have a great day. And to you as well. Thanks for calling today.

You know, folks, it's so much fun each afternoon to come alongside you to hear your stories, to be able to celebrate with you. And I know some of you are going through challenging times right now and our hearts are broken for you. Here's what I also realize is that the body of Christ, we need to be on alert, keeping our eyes open, looking for people in need. And we need to hold God's money loosely because there's a lot of folks around us that are struggling right now.

If you have more than you need, perhaps this is a time to say, God, why have you entrusted me with much and what do you want me to do with it? Folks, let me say thanks to my team today, Robert Sutherland, Dan Anderson, Amy Rios. Couldn't do it without them. Plus our amazing call screeners today. It was Gabby T. Money wise and Faith and Finance are a partnership between Faith Fi and Moody Radio. Bye bye.