Back to School Shopping Tips

The following program was prerecorded, so our phone lines are not open. If you have school-aged children, you know that we've entered into one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year.

Hi, I'm Rob West. It's true. Families are gearing up to send kids back to school, and that means a lot of spending. So how can you make the most of yours without going into debt? I'll talk about that first today. Then we have some great questions lined up for you. But don't call in today, because we're prerecorded.

This is Faith and Finance Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, as you can imagine, it's Christmas in August for many retailers. I checked with the National Retail Federation, and they're saying that back-to-school K-12 spending will be a bit more than $40 billion this year. And get this, back-to-college spending will be about $94 billion.

That's a lot of laptops, futons, and mini fridges for dorm rooms, I would think. Now, obviously, you would want to make the most of your back-to-school dollars, and that starts with knowing everything you can about sales tax holidays in your state. Deadlines really matter, and it seems like every state has set up different tax holiday periods.

In many cases, these are set up as weekend events, but not always. Some may start on Friday and end on Saturday, so you've got to know exactly when your tax holiday starts and stops. In states with a sales tax, this could mean saving anywhere from 2 to 7% right off the bat. Okay, so now you know when to shop, but it's also important to understand just what will be tax-free in your state. NerdWallet has a handy guide for dates and tax-free items by state.

We'll put a link to that in today's show notes. The challenge is there seems to be no rhyme or reason to what individual states have declared tax-free during these holidays. For example, clothing and computers are generally tax-free and they're big sellers, but accessories for those items may or may not be tax-free, so you may want to purchase some items later when you can get a better deal. And if things weren't complicated enough, some states allow cities and other taxing districts to opt out of these tax-free holidays, so you have to check to make sure stores in your city or town are actually participating. If they're not, you can always drive down the road to shop somewhere else.

But do you need to do any driving at all? You may be able to do all of your shopping online. Most states with sales tax holidays allow for tax-free online purchases as long as the items are ordered and paid for during the holiday, even if they're delivered later. So if you don't feel like fighting your way through thousands of other shoppers, check your local store's websites for tax-free items.

Of course, major online retailers like Amazon and Walmart also participate in state tax holidays, and they'll automatically deduct sales taxes on eligible purchases, so you may want to check them out too. And if you haven't bought a membership in one of those big warehouse stores yet, now might be the time to do it. A membership might pay for itself in the savings you can get with back-to-school sales, and of course, they're all participating in sales tax holidays. Okay, now for some tips that apply even if you're not shopping during a tax holiday. First, you've got to determine how much you have to spend.

That means how much do you have to spend without using a credit card. Then make a list of everything you have to buy, and your kids' schools have probably given you lists of everything they'll need for the entire year. If you can't make all of those purchases with cash, divide the quantities in half or quarters and purchase only what you can afford now. But what about the tax holiday you say, I'll have to pay sales tax on the other items I buy later? Well, that's true, but does it make sense to save maybe 5% in sales tax now and then pay 20% or more in credit card interest on those items later?

Of course not. So purchase only what you can with cash during the holiday period and then start saving so you can make the rest of your school purchases with cash in the months ahead. I realize there's great pressure to buy everything you need for the entire year at once, especially kids clothing.

But with the average credit card rates now around 22% or higher, you've got to resist the temptation to pull out the plastic. Maybe you can get away with one new outfit or a pair of jeans for now instead of half a closet full. Okay, so you know how much you have to spend and you've pared down your list to what you actually need to purchase. Now you just have to stick to that list. That won't be easy because retailers will bombard you with special promotions and sales. And by the way, some of those items may not even be tax exempt during the holiday period.

So stick to your list and don't be an impulse shopper. All right, we're going to head to a break, so don't go anywhere. Still a lot more to come, even though we're away from the studio today and you shouldn't call in. We have some great questions that you're really going to enjoy as we continue to apply God's wisdom to your financial decisions. We'll be right back. Hey, great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West, your host.

Our team is away from the studio today, so don't call in. But coming up a little later, we'll have more of your questions right here on the program. Hey, let me take a moment to mention the Faith Fi app. We'd love for you to download it. Just head to your app store wherever you download apps and search for Faith Fi. That's Faith Fi.

You can manage your money. You can access the best content in biblical finance, podcasts, articles and videos. You can also participate in our Faith Fi community where you can post questions and get answers from others on their stewardship journey. You'll find it in your app store. Just search for Faith Fi or if it's easier, head to our website at faithfi.com.

That's faithfi.com and you'll see the app right there on the home page. All right, let's get to our calls today that we've lined up. Let's head to beautiful Montana. We'll begin today with June. Go right ahead. Hello, Rob. Hi there.

How can I help you? What I need to know is I have a home and I am 86 years old and my daughter is on my deed with me and I have two sons and her. So when I pass, they are to sell my house and split all the money between the three of them. Now, with her on my deed, will she have to pay the full amount of that money on her income taxes and stuff or is there a way I can split that between all three of them?

Yes. Well, the taxes that would be due would be non-inheritance tax and there wouldn't be any because there is no inheritance tax and there's no estate tax unless your estate is more than 12 million dollars. So that's not an issue. But there would be capital gains because she owns the home. Then her cost basis would be what the you originally purchased the home for.

So then when it's sold, there'd be a long term capital gain on any profit. If that's not her primary residence on the portion that she owned prior to your death. So one of the ways to handle this would be if she wanted to gift her portion back to you so that you were the sole owner of the property and then she were to inherit the property along with her two siblings as a part of your estate, either through a trust that you would set up or just through your will. And when they inherit it as opposed to her having it prior to your death as part owner, then they would enjoy all three of them. What's called a stepped up basis, which just means that as of the date of death, the new cost basis for the property to determine the capital gains would no longer be your original purchase price. It would now be the market value of that property as of the date of your death, which means if they turn around and sold it right away, they wouldn't have any taxes. So that would be one way to go.

But it would require that she give up her interest in the property now so that she could inherit it later. Does that make sense? Yeah. OK.

So now how do I do that? I mean, the reason I had heard someone say that it's best to have more than one person on a deed. You know, I think the word happened. Yeah. I mean, that's what I heard. That's why I did it.

Sure. And I certainly understand that. It just works counterproductive for tax purposes. So a way around that and what they may have been getting at, June, is that if she or in your other sons inherit this property through a basic will, it would go through probate. And that can be it can take some time for it to work its way through the probate court before they actually have access to the property to sell it. And so if you want to avoid probate, one way to do that while preserving the tax benefits of inheritance is to put it into a living trust, a revocable trust. And that would mean that you'd retitle the property in the name of the trust. And then upon your death, they could have immediate access to it outside of probate, but they would still enjoy that stepped up basis. So what I would recommend that you do is you visit with an estate planning attorney who could help you determine whether you want to just quitclaim deed, have her quitclaim deed, her interest back to you. And then they would inherit it through the will or whether you would want to go ahead and set up a revocable trust and then put the house in the name of the trust. And that would just create the efficient and expedient transfer of the property to your children upon your death. But it would also ensure that they, you know, don't pay any capital gains when they go sell it. Okay, I really didn't know what to do because I got to thinking about the other day and I don't want her to have to pay all the taxes and then split into the other with the boys. Yeah, you know, I want them all to pay it.

Yeah. So on the portion that she already owned prior to death, she would likely at least based on the current capital gains tax rates, whatever was considered the gain, which is the selling price minus your original cost basis, your original purchase price, plus any improvements, that profit would be subject to probably a 15% long term capital gains rate, which she would pay and then the proceeds she could split with the boys. But again, what I described is a way where you could avoid that and it would mean that they would eat inherit their portion of the property as you described either in your will or in a living trust or revocable trust. So what I would do if you don't have an estate planning attorney, someone that you've worked with maybe to set up your will and, and at the same time, I'd make sure you have a healthcare surrogate, a durable power of attorney, a living will things that will, you know, make your wishes able to be carried out, you know, in the event you're incapacitated or you need medical decisions made on your behalf, it's a good time to make sure all those documents are in place.

But if you have somebody that's great. If you don't, I would go to our website, contact a certified kingdom advisor in your area and ask for a referral to a godly estate planning attorney and any one of them can help you with all these things that I described. Okay. Could you happen to give me a phone number because I don't do much with the web.

I mean, I don't know anything about it. Okay, no problem. We're happy to help you. Let me do this rather than do that over the air here.

Somebody from our team will call you and they will take your zip code, do that search for you and then they can make those referrals over the phone. Is that all right? Okay, sure. Okay.

They do that today. Yes, ma'am. We'll take care of that.

So you stay on the line and we'll get your information and we will get in touch with you today. All right. Okay. Well, thank you so much. And you have a good day, Rob. Thank you, June. God bless you. We appreciate your call.

Well, she was a delight to talk to and she was eager to get some help. And that's what I love about being here every day, equipping you, but also giving you a decision making framework to help you learn to manage your money with confidence. Because here's the thing. We know that financial decision making can often be overwhelming, right? That there's a seemingly endless number of decisions we have to make. And yet we can boil all of those decisions down into really four categories. There's the money we live on, the money we give, the money we owe and the money we grow.

That's right. It's living expenses, lifestyle, the money we give, obviously, to ministry or charity or a church, the money we owe for debt and taxes, and then the money we're growing, which is both short-term and long-term in nature. Our short-term emergency fund would be that which we're growing, but also our long-term retirement investments and everything in between. And God's word speaks to all four of those categories, living, giving, owing and growing, with some simple principles, but also some big ideas around how we should view money and the opportunity that money can compete with the Lord for His first position in our lives.

That's His rightful place. But we can allow money to crowd that out if we're not careful when we make it an end, as opposed to a means to an end. You see, money should be a tool to accomplish God's purposes.

And when we look at it through the lens of scripture, well, that's the opportunity to say, God, what would you have me to do with what you've entrusted to me? We want to help you make those wise decisions every day on this program. Hey, just a reminder before we go to our break, we're not here today to take your live calls, but the program ahead is full of great questions from listeners just like you. And we hope that the upcoming information will be an encouragement to you. So please stay with us and we'll be back in just a few minutes. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live. By the way, we're not live today.

We're away from the studio, so don't call in, but we have some great questions that we lined up in advance. By the way, this ministry is entirely listener supported. That means we rely on your financial gifts and support to do what we do on the air every day. If you consider a gift, we'd certainly be grateful. Just head to our website, faithfi.com. That's faithfi.com and click the give button. Thanks in advance.

We'll head back to the phones here in just a moment. But first, the Federal Trade Commission is warning student loan borrowers to be on the lookout for scam artists following the Supreme Court's decision to block the Biden administration's loan forgiveness plan. Specifically, the FTC is telling borrowers first, don't trust anyone who promises debt relief or loan forgiveness. Number two, never give away your federal student aid ID login information. And third, never pay for help with your student loans.

There's really nothing anyone can do that you can't do yourself. If you have questions or you need some assistance, you can, for federal loans, head to studentaid.gov. That's studentaid.gov. And if your loans are private, the FTC says to go directly to your loan servicer for more information. So stay away from anybody who's contacting you by email, especially if they're wanting you to click a link and provide some information. They may try to impersonate the U.S. Department of Education. Just be on your guard there and certainly the same applies to inbound phone calls.

Go directly to studentaid.gov or your loan servicer if you need information or help with regard to a private loan. I hope that's helpful to you. Just be on your lookout.

I'll tell you this whole area of fraud and identity theft is really just running rampant as we do more and more online in terms of conducting business. So be on your guard there. Hopefully that helps you. Let's head to Texas Linda. Thank you for calling. Go ahead.

Hi. I am living in Texas on my mother's property that is held in an irrevocable trust from Oregon. My brother and sister, my two siblings live in Oregon. My sister has the power of attorney over everything. She can, at this point, buy, give, sell, give away, anything like that. We don't have any animosity going on but my husband and I were thinking of selling our property in New Mexico and reinvesting the money into remodeling a house that she has here on these three separate properties in Texas. So she's living in one property with us. We were going to remodel a house on a second property and then there's a third property that's just pasture land and I don't know how the properties will be divided up. She has two properties in Oregon that are worth way more money. My question is if I sell my house in New Mexico and I reinvest into the property here in Texas, how can I define that I get that property?

Is there a way to do that? Well, are all of these properties titled in the name of the irrevocable trust? Yes.

Okay. So the trust will actually dictate how the assets are distributed and when based on certain triggering events, whether that's prior to death or after death. And so ultimately you need to review that trust document so you can see how the assets will be distributed and to whom. Have you been given a copy of the trust?

I don't believe I know where it is right now but I can get one I guess. Okay. But my understanding was that after my mother's death, then whatever incomes were coming in off of the properties would be distributed in thirds. And if we sold anything, it would be distributed in thirds. But as far as who gets what property, that's not been determined as far as I know. Well all of that would be spelled out in the trust and that'd be why the homes are now titled in the name of the trust. So at death, a third party member called a trustee is responsible for managing and overseeing an irrevocable trust and the assets including the income generated but also the assets themselves would be distributed according to the trust document. And so that would all be spelled out in the trust.

And so if you can get a copy of that, that will ultimately tell you what's going to happen and how the trustee will be tasked with distributing the estate based on how it's spelled out in the trust documents. Okay. All right. And then you had mentioned that you had a website that you could do referrals for our own. You just had a question that made me think we need to maybe set up an irrevocable trust if we don't sell that property in New Mexico. So you said there was a website where you could get some information?

Yeah. And typically folks will create a revocable trust and you'd want to talk to an estate planning attorney just to determine what you're trying to accomplish. But a revocable trust accomplishes similar things. It has less in terms of asset protection and in some cases it's used for tax purposes because with an irrevocable trust, you're actually, you can't make a change. So you're giving the asset away to the irrevocable trust. In the case of a revocable trust, you can make changes over time, but it still affords you a lot of the benefits that folks are often looking for with a trust, passing assets and distributing income outside of probate. So there's not the lengthy probate process and you don't have to pay the costs of the probate court.

Often they want it anonymous. A revocable trust allows you to determine who can step in, the trustee, but prior to death if you were incapacitated. But it also allows you to give away assets and property beyond your death based on certain events, heirs reaching a certain age or things like that.

But it doesn't lock you in and allows you to make changes over time as the circumstances warrant. So the place to go to find a Godly estate planning attorney, I was recommending that you contact a certified kingdom advisor in your area. There are plenty of them there in Texas, Linda. Just head to our website. It's faithfi.com. That's faithfi.com. Click the button that says, find a CKA. That stands for a certified kingdom advisor.

And then you can just ask for a referral to a Godly estate planning attorney and they can help you with all of these things I just described. Thanks for your call today. Ron, Maggie, Suni, we're coming your way.

Stay with us. I'm grateful you tuned in to Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West, your host. This is where we recognize that God owns it all.

You're a steward or a manager of God's resources and money is a tool to accomplish God's purposes. Hey, we're away from the studio today, so don't call in. But we lined up some great questions in advance that I know you will enjoy. In fact, back to the phones we go.

Let's head to beautiful Tennessee. Hi, Ron. Go ahead, sir.

Hi. My question today is regarding the passage where Jesus said, render to Caesar what is Caesar and to God what is God. And I agree with that. But I'm having, I'm struggling, the part of it that I'm struggling with is having escaped the People's Republic of California.

I've never been more blessed, you know. But the taxes, the heavy taxation that California keeps voting for itself to take and take and take, it had been crippling, oppressive, unfair. And I just want to know, when we filed for taxes, when we filed to pay our taxes to the IRS, something that's not really clear to me why we have to do that either, I considered the Latin word rentari from what Jesus said to render.

We get the word render from rentari, which means to tear off from or to rip like a piece of fabric. So could you clarify for me why we have to file for taxes if the government just keeps rentariing me until I'm completely naked? Well, I appreciate the question, Ron, and certainly I like the fact that you're going back to Scripture as you think through this because that's really where we always need to begin. The Bible tells us that a part of our duty as believers is to honor the authorities that God in his sovereignty has put in place. And I believe this includes paying taxes as a demonstration of this attitude. In Romans 13, Paul writes, Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God.

And those that exist have been instituted by God. For because of this, you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them, taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. So I think this type of attitude says to the world that even if we don't agree with the governing authorities, that we're trusting that God is ultimately in control, and you can therefore pay taxes to those who God has allowed to govern. Now, this can be hard sometimes, as you point out, but it can also be freeing, in my opinion, in that we don't have to create the perfect government before we can feel okay about paying taxes. We can simply pay taxes, trusting that God will work all things for his glory. So I believe it honors the Lord when we pay our taxes because of what we just read in Romans 13. I also think that we need to recognize that taxes are symptomatic of income.

You know, the simplest way to reduce your taxes is to reduce your income, and nobody's really excited about doing that. So having income means we have the ability to work, and that God is providing a means for us to meet our needs. You know, both of these truths ought to make us grateful. Deuteronomy 8 18 says clearly it's the Lord who gives us the power to get wealth that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers as it is this day. So without God's providence, we would not be able to produce income or wealth. We can simply do so simply because he put us in a place where we're able to, and we can be grateful in his ability to work and earn income. And so I think perhaps part of this is switching our mindset to one of faithfulness and thankfulness for the ability to work whenever we pay taxes, even though I realize it's not something we're excited about doing. Perhaps this is a bit of a shift in thinking, but I think at the end of the day, to your point, we recognize it can absolutely be difficult, especially when we disagree with what's going on at the federal level or even the state level with regard to decisions on the part of leaders. But that's up to the Lord, and ultimately our paying taxes is a way that demonstrates our ultimate trust and dependence in him, and our willingness to obey what we read in the counsel of God's Word. Is that helpful at all?

It looks like we lost you, but I hope that is helpful. You know, as we think through just our responsibility and what it means to pay taxes and return to Caesar, what is his? You know, we're acknowledging that our hope in home is not here in Caesar's things, but rather in heaven with our Maker. You remember Luke 20 22 to 25 says, Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not? And he said to them, Then render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.

So let's just end it with this. This world is not our home. When we get so worked in holding on to the things of this world, as evidenced by our hatred of having to let go of our money when we pay taxes, we're demonstrating that our treasures are here on earth and not in heaven. And when our treasures are on earth, then saying goodbye to our earthly treasure makes us sad. But when our treasures are in heaven, we can more freely let our earthly things go, knowing that everlasting treasure awaits us with our Savior. So thanks for bringing up that great question today.

It's one I think, you know, often, you know, we can wrestle with and hopefully that gives you something to consider as you process that more fully. God bless you, sir. To Arkansas we go. Hi, Maggie, go ahead. Thank you for taking my call.

Yes, ma'am. I own in California, and I'm the mortgage holder. And even though the buyer has insurance on the house, my question is, if something happens to the house, how is my interest protected? Will the insurance company automatically take care of me?

Or just how does that work? Yeah. Well are you so you said you're the mortgage holder. Are you also on the deed? Is this your home? Well, no, it is I'm not on the deed. Okay, people who purchased the house.

Are you? Okay, so do you mean you owner finance the property for somebody else? Right. I'm the one who I'm like the bank, they pay me monthly mortgage. Okay. And then what is it you're wanting to do moving forward? Are you wanting to continue in that role? Or are you wanting to call?

I just want to know what my interest is. If something happens to the house, do I lose everything because my name is not on the deed? Or how does it work?

Well, yeah, so they have. So the person whose name is on the deed owns the home, but you have a lien against the property. So because you've extended this loan, as long as it's been done properly, you know, with a valid loan agreement, then ultimately, you have a claim to that property in the event that the property, the mortgage is not paid according to the terms of the agreement, and you could foreclose on that property and then sell it. Now, if the home is destroyed, it would be up to the owner to have insurance to cover that because regardless of whether or not the home is in good working order or not, you know, they owe you the money. And, you know, they if they don't pay it, then you'd have the ability to foreclose on it. And so that's why a bank will require that a homeowner will have proper coverage and they'll ensure that it's the proper coverage to cover the replacement value. Do you have do you know if you have a lien on the property and do they have proper homeowners insurance?

I know they have proper homeowners insurance. I get a copy from the insurance company every every year when it's renewed. Okay, let's do this. I've got to take a quick break.

You and I'll finish up off the air. Just a quick reminder. We're not here today, so don't call in, but we're going to head to a break and much more coming just after this. Stay with us. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance live here in our final segment of the broadcast today.

Let me remind you, our team is not here, so don't call in. But we lined up some great questions in advance. We'll get to those in just a moment. Before we do, let me remind you if you haven't downloaded the Faithfi app, we'd love for you to check it out. It's got three sections in it. The first is the money management system based on Larry Burkett's digital envelope system and helps you manage God's money in a way where you know exactly what's left in each envelope at any point during the month. There's also our learn tab where you can access the best content and biblical finance to grow in your understanding of God's way of handling money and our community where you can post questions, get comments and ideas from other stewards on the journey. So download it today on our website, faithfi.com.

Just click app. Let's head to Columbus, Ohio. Sooty, thank you for calling. Go ahead. Yes, I had a question in regard to when my husband passed away. I went to an attorney to see what to do with my house when I passed away. And I put it in a transfer upon death deed that my children are all named on the deed. I can do with it whatever I want to while I'm still living, but at death it would be transferred to them. My question was how will they have to pay taxes?

How will that work? Yes, so a transfer on death deed is allowed in the state of Ohio, which is why you, that's not true in every state, but that would be probably why the estate planning attorney put that in place. And so this will allow your children to receive that property outside of probate on the transfer of that real property. And so the benefit of that is it will happen quickly without the cost and the time of the probate court administering this. And as a result of them inheriting it through the transfer on death deed, as opposed to them taking ownership of it through a quitclaim deed, they will receive that stepped up cost basis that comes by inheriting a piece of property at death.

So it just simply means that their cost basis to determine capital gains will no longer be your purchase price, but it will be the market value as of the date of death, which also means that if they turn around and sell it right away, then there would be no capital gains and they'd be able to take a hundred percent of the proceeds and split according to the percentage that they received in the transfer on death deed. Okay. Okay.

I've just been listening to you and I kind of thought maybe I needed to check. And the other thing is my retirement, I put away in tax deferred annuities and I have probably over a hundred thousand dollars in tax deferred annuities, which they are all on that as well as beneficiaries. And I'm just wondering though, since it's tax deferred, would it be beneficial to start taking out so much of that money and maybe putting it in something else or because it probably, when I pass away, that monies will be, it's going to them, but they are going to have to pay tax rate on it. Yes. Right.

You're correct. So they'll pay taxes on the earnings or if it was put in pre-tax, then they'll pay taxes on the money as it comes out. And inherited annuities are taxed as ordinary income. So they're generally subject to income tax on any withdrawals they make from an inherited annuity. So would it be beneficial for you to go ahead and take some of it out now, perhaps at a lower tax rate in your season of life versus them in their working years, perhaps?

Yeah. I mean, that could be one strategy. And then obviously whatever they inherit outside of that annuity that you've already paid tax on, there would be no tax due. So I'd probably work with your advisor or CPA on that, but I think that's a, you're thinking very well on that, Sudee, just in terms of how you might minimize taxes and ensure that they get the most benefit from what they receive at your death. No, because I mean, I don't get, I only draw down 3%, but I thought might be better to take it out.

And that way it would, they wouldn't have to pay as much tax on it. I could actually take it out and put it in an account with their names on it. Yeah. And that's possible.

I think the key would be that you work with your CPA on that because you don't want to inadvertently drive your own tax rate up on that portion that you're pulling out by pulling out too much in any one year. So I think just working on a strategy to ensure that would be wise. Okay. All right. Well, thank you very much.

I appreciate your help. All right. Happy to do it. God bless you.

We appreciate your call today. You know, we often talk about the wisdom of handling money God's way. We say it all the time here on Faith and Finance, that there are only two ways to handle money, God's way or the world's way. The good news is there are many benefits to handling your money God's way.

Some of them include, number one, a deeper relationship with the Lord. Following biblical principles in your financial choices means you're listening closely to what God wants for you, reading his word and trusting Christ to lead you. You see, when you invite God into this important area of your life, well, you'll begin to understand 1 Timothy 6, which just says simply, Godliness with contentment is great gain. Another benefit that comes with choosing God's way for your finances is peace. The more you know God's heart about money and possessions, the more your actions and your attitudes can begin to line up with his truth. And when your financial choices are made in Christ, well, the result is peace because God is in control.

As it says in Romans 8, 6, the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace. While worldly desires and attitudes will lead people astray, pursuing God's way in your financial life can really bring meaningful spiritual growth. You see, as you grow in Godly wisdom, you'll understand that money is really just a tool, as we talk about all the time here on this program, a tool to accomplish God's purposes.

Let me remind you of what 1 Peter 2 says, verses 1 to 3, it gives this advice, therefore, rid yourself of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind, like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. You know, a fourth benefit to handling your money God's way is the blessing of generosity. You see, our God is the ultimate giver, and giving is definitely a part of God's plan for the Christian's financial life. When we give willingly and generously, well, we're acknowledging God's lordship over everything. I'll take you to 1 Chronicles 29, 14 on this. It says, for everything is from you, and we only give you what we have received from you.

This just acknowledges this big idea that God is the owner of everything. And by the way, Jesus himself confirmed the blessings of generosity when he said in Luke 6 38, give and you will receive. Your gift will be returned to you in full pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. Now, take note here that whatever you get back from your giving isn't just for you to accumulate, but for you to continue to be giving.

So here's the question. What are your actions and attitudes about money reveal about you? If you're sold out to Jesus, following the Lord with all your heart, well, it's going to show in your financial choices. You can make your financial decisions according to God's principles, well, or according to secular worldly ideas. We've only mentioned a few of the benefits here of following God's principles, but there are a lot more. You can read all about them in God's word.

So take some time to dig in and discover what riches of wisdom he has in store for you. All right, we're getting close to the end of the program. Let's round it out with one or two more questions to Maryland. We go. Hi, Dave. Go ahead, sir.

Hi. My dad is 91 and he's leaving everything to my youngest brother and I. And he asked me a question the other day. He said, well, if you get a new basis when I pass away on these stocks, should you go ahead and liquidate those as soon as I pass away?

And I said, well, dad, I really don't know. Yeah. So he's wondering if you should liquidate them upon receiving them, the stocks themselves? Yes. Yeah. He was talking about the fact that we would get the new basis based on the day that he passes away. And I said, that's right. I don't know.

Yeah. Well, that's ultimately going to come down to, you know, whether these are the right holdings for you, not only in terms of the merits of the companies that he's passing to you, but how that fits into your overall investment strategy. Because at the end of the day, once you receive whatever you inherit, and the same would be true for your sibling, you know, now you're the steward of these assets. And so we need to look at these not in light of well, should I sell dad stocks? But now these are these are assets that have been entrusted to me. And are these the right holdings for me? Looking at my overall investable assets? Are these the right companies? Do they align with my values? How do they fit into my asset allocation? Am I taking too much risk?

Am I too highly concentrated? And are these companies that are going to perform well in the future? So what I would say is, when you receive those assets, if you manage your money yourself in terms of your investments, well, then I would just look at how this fits in to the rest of your investable assets is it does it allow you to continue to move toward the proper allocation for you? If not, then I would say you go ahead and liquidate them. And yes, you enjoy that stepped up basis, which means no capital gains. And now you've got money that you can redeploy exactly in line with what's the best plan for you moving forward. So you're minimizing risk, maximizing return, and ultimately pursuing your God given goals and objectives. That would be my approach, Dave, upon receiving those assets. So hopefully that gives you a few things to think about.

And you can go back to your dad and continue to talk through it. God bless you, my friend. Thanks for being on the program today. Well, that's gonna do it for us today. Faith and finance live is a partnership between Moody radio and faith five. Thank you to my amazing broadcast team. I couldn't do this without them. I hope you have a great rest of your day and we'll see you next time on faith and finance live.