Recession Readiness

Ronald Reagan once said, a recession is when your neighbor loses his job.

A depression is when you lose yours. Hi, I'm Rob West. Are we headed for a recession?

The answer is always yes, but no one knows when it will come or how deep it will be. I'll talk about how you can prepare today with financial coach, John Putnam, then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance Live, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, it's a pleasure to have my friend John Putnam back in the studio today.

He's a certified financial planner, a certified kingdom advisor, the author of He Spends, She Spends, and the founder of Smarter Stewardship, a marketplace ministry offering resources, podcasts, and content to help you be a wise and faithful steward. John, good to see you, my friend. Rob, always great to be with you.

Thanks so much for the kind invitation. Absolutely. And we're talking about the recession, not whether or not it's going to happen, but how we as believers should respond. As you well know, John, a survey just recently released by economists at Bankrate found that nearly two-thirds of them, 64%, believe the U.S. will go into a recession in 2023, and the Fed's rapid increase in interest rates is probably driving that. So let's dive right in and talk about how Christians should respond in light of that. Well, first, exactly like you said, Rob, first, we should not be surprised, right? These happen. Recessions happen. Progress happens. Recession happens. And, you know, I was talking right before this about, it made me think about Ecclesiastes 3.1 that says, For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. So we know these seasons are going to happen.

Yeah. And so we can draw from God's word that reality that economic uncertainty is certain, and yet God is on the throne. So how then should believers view a recession? Well, first off, you know, we talked a while back, Rob, in early January about, you know, vision and mission and values and goals. And, you know, when you have a plan in place, it is much easier to make changes to those plans, to pivot from those plans, rather than if you had no plan at all.

Because without any plan at all, you're trying to look at everything and figure this out, and confusion and frustration can take over. But we know that God is not a God of confusion or frustration. He is a God of clarity.

He is a God of detail and a God of peace. So the first step I would recommend is spend more time in prayer. The more time you can get in prayer, the more time you can get closer to the heart and mind of God. The better prepared that we are each going to be to make the decisions that we need to make and react to what is happening outside of us. Those areas that we can control and those areas that we can't control.

So we're praying, we're renewing our mind in God's word. What about those goals that we talked about? You shared with us several weeks ago, John, that it really starts with your vision and then your mission and then your values as you set financial goals. Really any goal, but certainly financial goals are included. Do those goals need to change when we're entering into a recession?

Well, they definitely need to be considered. You know, a lot of times we'll say vision doesn't change that often. That's the point on the horizon. That's where you're headed. But the mission, the route you take to get to that point on the horizon will likely change. It's no different than if you're taking a trip and you're driving, you know, 10 hours across the country and you get to a place and you see road closed. We need to take a detour.

Happened to me on the way down here yesterday and we take that detour. My point on the horizon hasn't changed, but my route has changed. And what happens is in the time of a recession, your vision can get blurry, your mission will be challenged and your values, they will be tested. So that's why prayer and scripture and leaning more on the body of Christ around you becomes even more important in the time of a recession. And it's why that goal setting process, starting with your vision and then your mission and your values is so critical because these really aren't just written in the sand. We've really thought deeply about where God is leading us.

Absolutely. And once you have a direction where you're headed, it's much easier for God to move us when we are moving. You know, if you're planning for a recession, if we have one later this year, does that show a lack of faith?

What are the steps you need to take? And what about job security? We're talking with our friend John Putnam today, founder of Smarter Stewardship, Certified Kingdom Advisor and Certified Financial Planner. Much more just around the corner, including your questions.

800-525-7000. Stay with us. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance Live. Joining me in the studio today, my friend John Putnam, Certified Kingdom Advisor, author and founder of Smarter Stewardship, a marketplace ministry offering resources, podcasts and content to help you be a wise and faithful person.

You can learn more at smarterstewardship.com. We're talking today about a recession, not whether or not we'll have one. 64% of economists, based on a recent survey, think we will have some form of a recession in 2023.

Our friend Bob Doll shares with us each week his analysis of the market. He believes we'll have at least a mild recession. The question today is how do we respond as believers? We were talking before the break about really a biblical perspective, this idea that there are seasons. We see that clearly in Scripture. We also know we should lean in with prayer and study of God's word when there's uncertainty and that our goals shouldn't change. If we have them based on our vision and our mission and our values. But John, when we talk about preparing for a recession, some might say that shows a lack of faith. What's your perspective on that?

No, not at all. Again, back to Ecclesiastes 1, that for everything there's a season, a time for every matter under heaven. We know there are seasons and we know that we are called to plan. One of my favorite verses of Proverbs 16, 9, that says the mind of man makes his plans, but God directs our steps. So we are called to plan, but we want to leave room for God to move us the way we need to move, which is why staying close to him is so important. So I don't think it shows a lack of faith at all.

As a matter of fact, it's the exact opposite of that. I think that it roots our faith even more deeply when we understand that this is a season. There are mountaintops and there are valleys. And one thing I want to make sure that I share with our listeners today, Rob, is that, guys, remember, we are built for the valleys, right? We may be a little out of shape coming off one of the biggest booms in history since 2009.

We may be a little out of shape. We may have forgotten that we are warriors, but we are warriors and God has given us. He has equipped us with what we need. So do not be afraid of this, but do take it seriously.

Yeah, I love that. You were about to start to preach there. You know, John, when we think about this idea of recession readiness, what strikes me is that preparation allows us to be ready to continue to provide and be there to support our families. But there's also readiness to be able to respond to those in need around us through our giving, right? Amen.

So let's talk about that just for a second. So, look, this is a tough time for many people. There are people that are listening that are dealing with the challenges around scarcity, and there are people that are listening that are dealing with the opportunities around abundance. And one of the areas that I would just want to encourage is that if you need help, ask for help. If you're dealing with the challenges of scarcity, ask for help. Lean in on the body in times like this. And at the same time, conversely, if you're operating in a place of abundance, if you're blessed at this time to have a steady job, to have the abundance, look for ways to increase your ability to help look around, increase your visibility of what is needing around you, and then be able to take even a deeper perspective in your giving, in your generosity time like this.

I love that, and that's so true. Jon, let's talk about the financial steps we should take to prepare for a recession and how they conform to Scripture. What ideas would you share with our audience?

Well, one, let me just a big picture before we get into the detail. The first one is understand that a recession coming in or any real crisis or a challenging time that we are in, it does have its challenges, Rob, but it also has its opportunities. So it's not all just negative. There are positives here. If we look for them, if we only look for the negative, we'll only find the negative. But if we also look for the positives, the opportunities at this time as well, we will find those too. And I love to talk about just one in particular before we get into the financial piece, because opportunities are going to increase, especially from a relational standpoint.

This is a topic that your family, your friends, your co-workers, your community is going to be talking about. And they are going to be watching us as believers, our countenance, our attitudes, the way we think, the way we operate, not pretending it's not there, but keeping the joy and the peace and the focus in the midst of it, even with the financial challenges that we might be having. So with relational opportunities also comes ministry opportunities.

Yeah. Oh, that's such a good word, John. And that really is one of these differentiators as the body of Christ that we should have as a hallmark of our lives.

And in these times of uncertainty and valley that you described earlier, what an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. All right, what about some of those practical financial steps? Absolutely. So look, some of the core missional steps that we all take, spend less, avoid debt, keep cash, be generous, set goals. Guys, those are as in style in a time of crisis and recession as in a time of progress and economic boom.

So leverage onto these. So for example, let's take spend less, but one of the topics that comes up a lot is do we think about decreasing our expenses, increasing our income? Those are two levers that we can pull and people that lose a job.

Is there another opportunity out there? But what I will tell you is on the spending side, think about where you can immediately reduce your spending. Yeah. So I've got a resource on the website, smarter stewardship.com that lets you look at your budget in a unique way that immediately identifies what are some spending categories you can immediately take to zero. So if you're dealing with scarcity, taking it to zero increases cash flow. If you're dealing with abundance, taking those optional expenditures to zero allows you to increase your ability to help others.

That's a very tactical one. Immediately you can take advantage of it. I love that smarter stewardship.com. Check out that resource because your budget, your spending, your ability to rein in your expenses during a time like this is so critical.

John, we're getting short on time. Quickly, job security is always a concern when recession strikes. What's your advice for folks concerned about that? Well, I would just say be aware of what's happening with your employer.

Again, remembering there are areas that you can control, areas you can't control. There are economic pressures on businesses these days. Businesses are having very difficult decisions that involves, you know, hiring freezes.

It involves reducing workforces. And I would just say be aware of what's happening out there. But what you can control is stay focused in the work that you are doing, that we can only control what we have availability to control. But if you do feel there's opportunities there, you know, you could start putting the word out, putting feelers out, what might be a plan B if that does happen. And if it never happens to you, maybe your plan B that you've identified could be a plan B for a friend or a family member or someone in the community who needs that next job. But there are tons of companies out there still hiring.

I see it every day. And the opportunity is there. And as we think about preparing for the recession, Rob, I've shared with you, we've got a mini course available about how do you prepare for this recession?

What does recession readiness look like and how do you approach it? And we'd love to make that available to your listeners. Absolutely, John. Such valuable insights. I really appreciate my time with you, my friend. Thanks for stopping by. So good to be with you, Rob. Thank you, my friend. That was John Putnam. You can learn more at smarter stewardship dot com.

That's smarter stewardship dot com. Your calls are next. Eight hundred five to five.

Seven thousand. We'll be right back. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live. Great to have John Putnam here, my good friend.

You know, as we think about this looming recession, if that's in fact where the economy heads, what an opportunity we have. You know, as we think about our role in handling God's money, I love what Ron Blue, the author, one of my mentors, has to say about money. He says it's a tool.

That's right. It's used in our lives and it's used to accomplish God's purposes. It's a test. And the Bible's clear that to whom much is given, much is required. And the handling of worldly wealth is not easy. It can be a competitor to lordship.

So it's a tool and a test. But it's also a testimony. You know, think about the opportunity to handle money as a testimony to ultimately where we've placed our trust, especially in uncertain times. And the opportunity we have to look around us and say, you know what, I'm going to hold what I have loosely. And even in the midst of the uncertainty, what I know is certain is God himself, that his provision is complete and sufficient. And I can trust in that. And I can look for people on my path who are in need during challenging times to be the hand and feet of Jesus, to be salt and light.

What an opportunity. Perhaps we need to reorient our thinking during times like this. And so appreciate John's counsel today.

All right. If you have questions today on anything financial, we're going to open up the conversation to whatever you're thinking about. Perhaps there's been some financial questions rolling around in your mind over the weekend and you're ready to talk about them. Well, the number to call is 800-525-7000. Our team is standing by and let's head to the phones.

To Old Hickory, Tennessee. Hi, Lori. Thanks for calling. Go ahead.

Hey, Rob. Yes. I would like to know if I have to download the app from the Finance, Faith and Finance, in order to get the list of the faith-based funds that you happened to mention last week.

I did not download it, but I went on the website and I couldn't find that list. Yeah. That's the first question. The second question is, is there a hedge fund that's faith-based?

Those are my two questions. Okay. Yeah.

Great. I love that you're thinking about faith-based investing because it's an exciting and growing segment of the investment landscape. There's many more offerings than we've ever had, many of them world-class. And as we think about faith-based investing, some may be hearing this idea for the first time. It's really about first alignment. So this idea that we want to align our investments with our values, which may mean eliminating some companies, screening some companies out. It may mean specifically including other companies because we want to be aligned with our values because they're promoting a social outcome or human flourishing or they're taking human trafficking and slave labor out of their supply chain.

I mean, things like that that really are in line with values of believers. So that's the alignment category. The second would be impact-type investments where they're specifically going after a kingdom impact in addition to the bottom line impact as well. And then thirdly, this idea of corporate engagement. As an owner of a company, you have the ability to vote proxies, to let your values be known to company leadership. And that could be done as an individual investor. It could also be done in the aggregate by a faith-based investment manager expressing the faith values of a group of shareholders that happen to be invested in a particular mutual fund, that type of thing. And there's just a growing number, to Lori's question, of these investment providers out there. Lori, right now, the best way to access these is to go to our website.

You don't have to download the app. It's just simply faithfi.com, faithfi.com, and click on the show. And you'll see there many of our underwriters of this program, which are listed there under the show, are these asset managers that specifically offer faith-based investing. And so you'll see that there on that webpage, and you can click to learn more about organizations like Eventide and Lightpoint Portfolios and One Ascent Investments and Guidestone, Praxis Mutual Funds, or some of those fund families just doing incredible work, but specifically with a mandate for their investments around faith and values alignment. So faithfi.com, and then just click on the show. Beyond that, we are actually working on a comprehensive listing of all of the faith-based investing providers and which ones cover which categories, and some span more than one category. It's not available yet today. Our team is working on it.

We expect to have it out later this spring, but in the meantime, you can get the information you're looking for from our website. As to a hedge fund specifically, I'm not familiar with one. There are a number of faith-based investing companies that work in the private market, so just a little bit of education there. The public markets would be the type of things you can access on a publicly traded stock market like mutual funds and stocks. The private markets are direct investments often limited to what are called accredited investors, those that have a net worth of over a million dollars as a starting point, and you can actually invest directly in a company or a limited partnership.

A lot of these are taking place here domestically, but also literally all over the world. So there's a growing number of those through providers like Sovereign's Capital and Eagle Venture Funds, and then there's the faith-driven investor marketplace. But specifically as to hedge funds, Laurie, I'm not familiar with one, although there may be one out there. Okay, thank you, Rob. Okay, thank you for calling today.

800-525-7000 is the number to call. To Yvonne in Arlington Heights, go right ahead. Hello, Rob. Do you hear me well? Hi there. Doing great. Yes, sir. Okay, good.

Thanks for taking my call. My question is basically what do you think, what's your vision about if we're getting a recession, what will be the property's value? Do you think they're going to be still high or there is a chance of going down? Yeah, it's a great question, Yvonne, and you're specifically asking about housing prices, and most economists are predicting that even if we get into a recession, more than anything we're talking about a leveling off of housing prices, more so than a decline. If we were to see a decline, probably not more than 5-6%, 10% at the most. We've had a big run-up, but keep in mind it's not because of easy money or systemic problems like we had in 2008 and 2009. What you've been experiencing the last number of years that has led to this boom in the housing market is largely driven by lack of inventory, a shortage of at least 2 million homes, some say as many as 6 million homes, just based on the demand from the millennials and those working now remotely, not in urban areas. So I don't think we're going to see a big decline.

This is not a bubble in my view, but certainly a leveling off and maybe a slight decline. Thanks for your call. We'll be right back on Faith & Finance Live. Stay with us. Thanks for joining us today on Faith & Finance Live.

I'm Rob West. We've got a few lines open today. We'd love to hear from you. The number to call is 800-525-7000. Hey, before we go back to the phones, I'm going to remind you, if you count on this ministry, if you've been helped by the advice we've given here, or perhaps you've been on the website and been encouraged by one of the articles or videos, and you'd like to join us on the call, we'd love to hear from you. You can do so on our website quickly and easily. Just head to faithfi.com, that's faithfi.com, and click the Give button. You can give online securely. You'll find a telephone number to give over the phone with our team or an address where you can mail a check in.

Again, faithfi.com, just click Give and thanks in advance. All right, back to the phones we go. A few lines open at 800-525-7000 to Gail in Chicago, WMVI. Go right ahead. Hello, thank you for taking my call.

Let me see. My sister and brother-in-law who live in New Jersey, after they graduated from a veterinary school, they're both doctors of veterinary medicine, they opened their own clinic in New Jersey. Now because neither of them had a lot of cash or excellent credit, I stepped in and loaned them $30,000 to open their clinic, which is doing very well now.

That was about five years ago. They've been paying me back a little at a time now. And they still owe me, I think, about $20,000. But what they want to do now is get a loan and pay off the balance of the clinic, pay me back, and then I would do like a quick claim deed so that my name can, because my name's on the mortgage and the deed, and I would like my name off and, you know, have it all be theirs. And so we're thinking now they want to get a loan and pay off the balance to the bank, pay me off, and then do a quick claim where my name would be taken off. Yeah, and I can see why you'd want to do that and why they would as well, and this happened to work out for you. The Bible's pretty clear that we shouldn't co-sign, Gail, it just happened that this one worked out in your favor. They had bad credit more than half the time. When we do this, we have to step in and carry on with the payments because the other party is not able to or risk trashing our credit. In this case, things turned around, and that's great. But just be careful.

I wouldn't make this a habit, especially given the warnings we see in Scripture on it. But to your question here, Gail, it's fairly easy to get your name off the deed. You would, in fact, just go down to your county records office and file that quick claim deed, as you suggested, and it will state that you no longer have any claim on the property as the name implies. Getting your name off the mortgage is going to be more difficult, so they're going to want to inquire with the lender, or you can, since you're a party to it, and see if they'll allow the other co-signers to assume the loan and take your name off of it. They're typically not likely to allow that to happen because they have no incentive to do so. They'd rather have more parties than less to be able to go after if for some reason somebody defaults on this. The only thing that's changed is they're now more creditworthy, but again, they have no incentive to do that. So apart from that, they would have to refinance without you. The challenge is, I suspect rates are quite a bit higher than when you took this out, even though now, hopefully, they'd be able to qualify on their own, whereas they weren't able to before. Does that make sense? Yes, they're able to now.

Okay. So they could refinance, and that's not cheap. I mean, that's going to run probably 3%, 4%, 5% of the outstanding loan balance just in closing costs to refinance that mortgage. Plus, we've got the jump up in the interest rate that's going to result in a higher payment, even though the balance would be lower, potentially. But that's going to be challenging on them, just because it's going to make it more expensive.

But apart from that, the lender has no incentive to let you out of being responsible for that loan. Oh, I see. Okay. Yeah. Okay. All right.

Well, we'll get together and discuss it. Thank you so much. Yeah, you're very welcome. The other option is you stay on this loan, and they just continue to pay on it. And the challenge is, you just have to recognize that if for some reason something changed and they were unable to pay, and they stopped paying, of course, they would have the most harm because the home would be foreclosed on, and it's their primary residence. But it would also harm you in the form of it would really damage your credit if you didn't step in and make the payments. Now, let's hope that doesn't happen. And if it just turns out that you want to stay on it, even though you'd quitclaim, deed the property over to them, well, you could do that.

And then when they sell, obviously, they would satisfy the loan at that point. So yeah, I think you guys just need to sit down, think through it, pray through it, talk about where you go from here. If we can help further, let us know, Gail. Thanks for calling. 800-525-7000.

Let's head to Tampa. Hi, Elle. How can I help you? Hi.

Thank you for taking my call. Yes. Just have a quick question.

We just want to know the difference, my husband and I would like to know the difference between or advantages of setting up a trust or having a will for our retirement investment monies that are already set up as under beneficiaries. Yes. Okay.

Yeah. So with the beneficiary on those retirement accounts, they're going to happen, you know, the passing of those assets in those retirement accounts and any accounts that have a beneficiary named or a transfer on death, that's going to happen outside of the probate process. So that will just pass directly. The primary benefit of the trust over the will is, in fact, this idea that you can keep everything out of probate. So anything named in your will is going to go through the executor, which would be named in your will, and through the probate court, which is a matter of public record, and then dispersed according to your wishes spelled out in the will. With a trust, it happens in private, not a part of the public record, it doesn't go through the probate court, and you have the ability to both put that trust and the management of those assets by the trustee into effect prior to your death in the event you're incapacitated or beyond your death. For instance, if you had a lifelong dependent or minors involved and you wanted certain triggering events like reaching a certain age or other factors to be the triggering event to release the assets, the trustee could hold on to the assets in the trust until certain conditions were met. So that's the primary benefit of the will, is you have a bit more control before and after your death on the disbursement of the assets. But if that's not necessary, you're okay with it running through the probate court, through the named executor of the will, then a simple will can really cover most folks, and a trust may not be necessary.

If you don't need one, you're avoiding an expense that's a bit more than a will, whereas the average will might be $500, a living trust might be $1500 to $2000. Was there a specific reason you were thinking about a trust beyond what I mentioned? Well, my financial advisor thought that it would be advantageous to speak to an attorney, which we did, an estate attorney, and to ask about a trust.

Unfortunately, when I got to my appointment with him, I completely didn't even think about the trust at that point. So he did not seem to think that there was a need for a trust, but it seemed as though you avoid, the kids will avoid certain expenses with the trust. I don't know how much a probate is. Everybody says probate, but I don't really know exactly what that entails. Yeah, you know, there's not a whole lot of expense there, so it's really just a matter of it being distributed directly without any delays.

The distribution could take a little bit more time through the probate court, but unless there's a real reason there, I don't think it's necessary. Stay on the line. We'll talk a bit more, and we'll be right back. Hey, great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live.

I'm Rob West. We'll be heading back to the phones in just a moment, but first, it's Monday, and Bob Dahl joins us each afternoon on Mondays to give us a look at the week ahead in the markets and perhaps reflect on last week as well. Bob is chief investment officer of Crossmark Global Investments. You can sign up for his Dahl's Deliberations, his weekly investment commentary that I rely on at CrossmarkGlobal.com. Bob, good afternoon, sir.

And to you, my friend. Hey, so much going on last week. It's right about this time when the Fed meets that we start talking about hawks and doves.

Maybe you can fill us in on that a little bit. Yeah, as listeners probably know, hawks are folks who think the economy is strong and interest rates have to go up and the Fed has to tighten some more. And doves are not so fast, economies weakening, inflation is coming down. Let's ease up on these rate increases.

And the back and forth has been amazing. At the Fed meeting, the Fed lowered rates, sorry, raised rates by 25 basis points as expected, but the press conference afterwards, Fed chair Powell was more dovish than most people thought he would be. And that caused a big rally in the markets last Thursday. So obviously those comments perhaps mean that the Fed is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and therefore they'd take their foot off the gas pedal, so to speak, and maybe ease off on the interest rates. Perhaps even later this year we could see a decline in interest rates? Well that's what the markets have been saying. And then of course Friday's employment report was so strong, the question now is, well maybe the Fed can't let up, they maybe have to go further than we thought because the economy in labor markets are so strong. So it's back to these cross-currents, they switch almost every day, which makes it so confusing.

In fact that's the title of our Dolls of Liberations, as you know, as confusing as it is, so many cross-currents. Yeah, no doubt about that. All right, well let's talk about the market action then as of late because this has really been a strong market this first month of the year. Do you think it's gotten ahead of itself and what's your insight there?

I do. The bulls have taken it up based on just what we were talking about. The Fed's almost done, inflation's coming down, maybe we'll have a soft landing, we don't have to have a recession. And the bears who have not been heard from much of late are forgetting the fact that well, we have a very negative yield curve, money growth is negative, leading economic indicators have all rolled over. And the lagged impact of what the Fed has already done in 2022 is yet to be felt. So that's the yin and yang of it and the bulls have carried the day at least until the last two trading days, which have been down.

Yeah. Bob, what about the American consumer in the midst of all of this? I mean, I'm watching as credit card balances are climbing, we're approaching a trillion dollars owed on credit cards. You also commented about consumer delinquency rates in this week's deliberations.

Yeah, therein lies a debate as well. You've got a significant portion of the consumer that's in good shape. Lots of cash still accumulated via the pandemic, estimated a trillion dollars. They're going to spend money. They have money to spend, but then you get the other side of the consumer, the lower end, which is going into exactly what you just talked about, borrowing money, using credit cards, and that's pushing delinquencies rates up. And banks are starting to think maybe their loan loss reserves are not sufficient. So they may hit earnings going forward. So even in the consumer, you can use your words, the yin and the yang.

Yeah, interesting. All right, Bob, we had a caller earlier who wasn't able to hold. I'll ask his question. He was wondering about what we typically see from the markets in a recession. I know all recessions aren't created equal and, you know, the market tends to recover well before the economy. But let's say we're expecting a mild recession later this year.

What on average, historically speaking, does the market typically do in an environment like that? Have recession. The market has never hit its bottom until that recession started.

So in other words, last October was an important low. If we don't have recession, it might have been below. If we are going to have a recession, we probably see lower lows. So markets tend to go down around recessions. Much of it is discounted before the recession starts. But if we're going to have one, we probably have further pain because earnings will be under pressure.

I think earnings will be under some pressure, even if it's just a soft landing. Yeah, interesting. All right, Bob, we'll always appreciate your insights, my friend. Have a great week. And, well, stay strong out there.

Keep that seatbelt on. Talk it a week. Bye bye. All right. Bye bye. Bob Doll joins us each Monday, Chief Investment Officer at Crossmark Global Investments. Always appreciate his market commentary. All right, back to the phones we go here in our remaining moments. Heading to Noblesville, Indiana. Hey, Randy, thanks for calling.

Go ahead. I want to give you accolades last week for mentioning that you can contribute more to your retirement plan if you're self-employed. And I believe it's through a Roth 401k, is that right? Well, so if you're self-employed, you wouldn't have, unless you had what's called an individual K, you wouldn't typically have a Roth 401k available because those are usually employee sponsored plans, whereas when you're self-employed, you typically don't have those. But perhaps I was talking about some, I know I talked last week about some of the changes coming with Roth IRAs in the new legislation we've got now. Perhaps that's what you're referring to. Okay, so we can contribute more than $7,000 for our 401k or IRA if we did a self-employment with my wife's self-employment currently, we can contribute up to $25,000 or $27,000, is that right?

Yeah. So the 401k contribution limits for 2023 are $22,500. And then if you're over age 50, you can add another $7,500 to that. So that takes you up all the way to $30,000 with a 401k and that can be either a traditional or a Roth.

Very good. And with that said, since we're changing our plans a little bit, going that route so we can contribute more, tell me about your Certified Kingdom Advisor that we need to contact. Yeah, so this is an industry designation. It's the only one in the financial services industry that specifically relates to this specialization in biblically wise financial advice.

So these folks are not on our payroll, they're advisors that are independent with some of the biggest firms up and down Wall Street. But just like the Certified Financial Planner or a Certified Public Accountant, they've sought the industry-accepted CKA or Certified Kingdom Advisor designation. Think about this as an add-on designation, Randy, because in order to qualify for the CKA, you either have to have 10 years experience in financial services, whether that's a financial planner or an investment advisor, a tax professional, you have to have at least 10 years or another accepted industry designation like one of the ones that I mentioned, CFP, CPA, CFA, one of those. And then you qualify based on your experience, and you can take a 50-hour university-based course on biblically wise financial counsel, a proctored exam, pastor reference, client reference, statement of faith, regulatory review, code of ethics. So it's a high standard, and it should be, right, because these men and women are being held out as having met high standards in bringing advice and investments that align with the values and priorities of Christians, so they've been especially trained. So there's 1,300 professionals across the country and into Canada that have earned CKA, and you can search for one close to you on our website, faithfi.com.

Just click Find a CKA, and you can do a zip code search. Does that help? Absolutely. Thank you very much. Okay, Randy. Hey, thanks for listening to the program, you and your wife, and if we can help further along the way, let us know.

We have a little bit more time left, so let's head to Hollywood, Florida. Hi, David. How can I help you? Hey, how are you today?

Doing great. I just received a settlement from my—I went through it the worst that I didn't want, but I did receive a settlement for $245,000. Right now, I have it in my bank account.

I'd like to know, what do you think I should do with it? Well, are you going to buy another home, David? No, I'm not. I own a condo. Okay.

All right. What about retirement? Do you have retirement assets? No, I don't.

This is my retirement asset. Okay. All right. And do you have a company-sponsored plan available at work? No.

I was self-employed for 30 years, and now I am working for someone. Okay. But they don't have a retirement plan that you can access?

No, they don't. Okay. Are you a W-2 employee or are you a 1099 independent contractor? No, I'm a W-2 employee. Okay.

All right. Well, at this point, I think, you know, number one, you could get it invested as long as you have a 10-year time horizon, and it's enough money, David, that I'd probably connect with an advisor. We were just talking about the CKA designation, so connecting with a certified kingdom advisor there in Hollywood to get this money invested for you. You're going to have to do it in a taxable environment because you don't have a retirement plan. You could start funneling, you know, over age 50, $7,500 a year into a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA, but you're still going to have quite a bit in a taxable environment. The only way around that, if you don't have a retirement plan at work, is to put it into an annuity. But you may just want to keep it in a taxable account and just start investing it according to your age and goals and objectives, and you don't have to take unnecessary risk.

You'd want to do something you are comfortable with. But I think having a professional to navigate this with you, David, that's a lot of money, and you want to be a wise steward of it, but you also want to grow it because it's losing purchasing power as it sits there in your bank account, especially in light of the inflationary environment we're in right now. So I think that's perhaps your next step. Connect with an advisor. Do some retirement planning.

Have he or she look over your whole financial life, make sure you have enough insurance and other areas are covered, not any unnecessary risk, but also dealing with the investment side as well. If we can help further, let us know. Marianne and Palos Hills, I'm sorry we didn't get to you, but if you leave your number with our team, we'll try to call you back tomorrow. Hey, folks, thanks for being with us. On behalf of my team, Ryan Hansen, Dan Anderson, Amy Rios, and Jim Henry, I'm Rob West.

Faith in Finance Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and FaithFi. Check out our website at faithfi.com and come back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. We'll see you next time.