Protect Kids, Parents Online

Many parents obtain a social security number for their newborn before even leaving the hospital, creating another potential victim of identity theft.

Hi, I'm Rob West. We've reported many times how identity thieves target seniors. Now it seems they're going after kids, too.

And it's way more common than you might think. I'll talk about how you can protect your kids and elderly parents today. Then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000.

This is MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Okay, so according to the research firm Javelin, 1.25 million children, or about 1 in 50, have their identity stolen each year. And sadly, most of those victims actually know the perpetrators, meaning they're often family or friends. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission gets about 170,000 complaints for elderly identity theft annually.

But some analysts say that figure is far below the actual number because many seniors are embarrassed about being defrauded and don't report it. If you have children or elderly parents, here's what you can do to protect them. And if you haven't taken these steps to safeguard your own finances, now's the best time to do it. And these apply to accounts for banking, investments, credit cards, and social security.

So pretty much everything. So first, make sure the information in any of those accounts is correct, including name, home address, mobile phone, and personal email address. Then, make sure you're using a strong and unique password for each account. You can subscribe to a password manager app to help with that. It'll probably advise you to change your passwords when they're a year old.

And don't store lists of passwords on your computer or on sticky notes next to it. If an account offers two-factor authentication, use it. This might mean having a PIN number sent to your mobile phone when you try to access an account. You can also sign up for email or text notifications for things like a password reset, address change, failed login attempts, and funds withdrawal. Then, pay attention to those alerts.

If you get one for an activity you didn't initiate, well notify the company immediately and always look at your monthly statements for anything fishy. For a monthly fee, you can sign up for identity theft protection with a company like LifeLock, Identity Guard, or Norton. You can also sign up for something called informed delivery with the post office.

It'll notify you when packages are on the way so you can track them and get them inside before porch pirates can steal them. And of course, watch your mailbox and take in your mail promptly to avoid theft there. Now, probably the best thing you can do to protect your identity and that of your kids and elderly parents is to freeze your credit and theirs at the three credit reporting bureaus. Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.

And you can do that online by phone or by mail. A freeze blocks anyone's attempt to get access to your credit reports. So, if an identity thief tries to open an account or take out a loan in your name, the lender can't see your credit report and they'll automatically deny the loan or decline to open the account. You must sign up to freeze your credit at each of the three bureaus individually. You'll need to provide your social security number, date of birth, and address.

And then, depending on how you sign up, online, by phone, or by mail, you may need to provide copies of your passport, driver's license or military ID, tax forms, bank statements, or a utility bill. It's free to freeze your credit and free to lift the freeze. By the way, it doesn't affect your credit score. Once you sign up, you can obtain a PIN or password to freeze and unfreeze your credit reports as needed. And, of course, all of that applies if you're trying to freeze the credit of an elderly parent as well. But what if you want to freeze your child's credit? Again, you would contact the three credit bureaus individually. When you request the freeze, the bureaus will have to create credit files for your child before they can freeze them.

You'll have to provide the child's social security number, date of birth, address, and a copy of the child's birth certificate designating you as a parent, which authorizes you to freeze the child's credit. You'll also want to limit the amount of personal information you post on social media, and that includes yourself as well as your children and elderly parents. Keep addresses, birthdays, and phone numbers out of social media while you're at it. Beef up the privacy settings on all of your social media platforms and apps.

Scammers need very little information to get a foothold on stealing someone's identity. Now, that's a lot of steps to take to safeguard the identity of yourself and your loved ones, but it's time well spent. All right, your calls are next. 800-525-7000. We'll be back before you know it.

Stick around. I'm Rob West, your host. We're taking your calls and questions today on anything financial. We've got several lines open, perhaps one just for you. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. If you have a question today on handling God's money, aligning your financial decisions with your values and priorities as a believer, but practically, how do you wrestle with saving or giving or your spending plan, paying down debt, whatever it might be today, we'd love to hear from you.

Again, 800-525-7000. Even though our kids are starting back to school, at my house, it's already two weeks in now, and I know in some parts of the country you're saying, really? You're back in school?

Yep. Here in Georgia, we are well back into school, but technically, it's still summer, and therefore, we're featuring a unique early reader fiction series called The Secret Slide Money Club by Art Rayner for some summer fun reading. It's a great read for kids ages 8-12.

It's a three-book series. It uses humor, but also adventure to teach kids the foundational principles of biblical financial health—give, save, and live. It really gives you as a parent a solid foundation for talking about these money principles, which is so key, and Art even does some fun things to congratulate them as they're halfway through and reward them with some money facts, and it really was created with kids in mind. If you'd like to request your copy of this series, you can do so with a gift of $25 or more at MoneyWise.org. Your generous donation helps us expand our outreach to share God's financial principles with others. We are listener-supported, which means everything we do here at MoneyWise Media is as a result of your support. So if you'd head to our website, MoneyWise.org, and click the donate button or the banner at the top of the page, if you'd like for us to send the three-book series for you to use with your kids ages 8-12, we'd be happy to send it to you as our gift.

Again, MoneyWise.org, just click donate. Thanks in advance. All right, let's head to the phones today.

We're going to begin today in Florida. Scott, thanks for calling. Go ahead, sir.

All right, sir. So I have a question about buying a new home while you currently own and sell your current home. My idea was to get a HELOC loan to fund the purchase of land, possibly buy an RV, put it on the land while I sell my current home, and then get a new construction loan to finance the building of the vehicle home. Is there any other, like how does that sound to you, or is there any other better solutions for building it?

Yeah, it's a good question. What about a construction to permanent loan right up front? I mean, the construction to perm loan allows you to build, and then when the construction process concludes, that rolls over into a traditional mortgage without going through another closing. Is it the timing of all of this that would cause you to want to wait on that, or do you feel like you could go ahead with that?

Because I'm not a big fan of the HELOC just because you've got the variable rate, which is going to continue to move up, and what if this drags on a bit? So I'd rather you just keep that equity that you have, try to go ahead and qualify for that other loan to buy the land, start the building process, and then obviously once you sell your other property, you could come in and wipe it out, or you could convert a portion of it to a permanent loan when you're done. Does your debt-to-income with your current mortgage play into effect when doing that?

It will. So obviously you'd have to be able to service both loans, which you would have to qualify on the HELOC as well. So I think in both cases your debt-to-income is going to play into this. I mean, the other option, if you can't qualify based on the existing mortgage that you have on your primary residence, would be to delay all of this, go ahead and get that sold, and then either try to rent it back for a period of time from the new buyer or kind of come up with a temporary solution, which maybe is the RV that you were talking about. I think it really is going to come down to the financing arrangements, and I would look at both options, and my preference would be toward going ahead and securing the construction-to-perm loan so you can use that money to buy the land and get the RV or whatever your temporary housing is while you build the house.

All right, Scott. Yeah, I would look into that. Get a mortgage broker, somebody who can help you explore all of your options, who's not tied to one particular financial institution, just to see if you can work through all of this. My preference would be that you go ahead and lock in something now and not have to pay double the closing costs and that you could go ahead and get a fixed rate that would continue without the HELOC, which would be dependent upon that variable rate, especially as we know rates will continue to head up over the balance of the year.

So if you've got good credit, good income that can be documented, you've got options, and so I wouldn't get tied into that HELOC if you can go ahead and lock a fixed rate in right now. That would certainly be my preference. We appreciate your call today. Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. Mike, go right ahead.

Hi, thank you. I'm currently saving for a house to get the 20% down. I have about $9,000 in an online savings account, earning about 1.5% in interest.

I heard you talk about I bonds, and I'm looking to buy a house in roughly four to five years, and I'm wondering if putting that money in an I bond instead would be a better use of it. Yeah, I like that plan because your liquidity is really anything after 12 months, and so even if you decided to move that up, you've still got plenty of liquidity there. The only thing you're going to give up in less than five years would be the prior three months interest. So let's say you were to only keep it for a year, and I realize it sounds like you'll keep it longer than that.

Let's say you were to earn on $10,000, about $960, you'd give up a couple hundred dollars of that in the form of a penalty by redeeming in less than five. But I think the safety certainly is there because it's guaranteed by the U.S. government, so you're not going to lose principle. The liquidity is there because your time horizon is four to five years, and it's liquid after a year, and the return is quite attractive. Now, a couple of years down the road, will it be as attractive? Well, I think this elevated inflation is probably here for quite a while. Most economists are thinking that instead of the 2% target the Fed has us accustomed to that we've seen for a long time, we're probably going to settle in at around 4%. They're hoping they can get it down below that, but I think given that, you certainly won't see the 9.6%, let's at least hope so, that we're seeing today over four or five years, but it'll still be an attractive rate better than what you're getting in that high-yield savings account. So I like that plan, Mike.

You just head to treasurydirect.gov, open an account, and you can transfer the funds in. Does that sound good? Yeah, quick follow-up. Is there any risk to that? Should I not put all of it in I-bonds, or would you say, no, go ahead, it's just a better return and there's no risk?

Yeah, there really isn't. I mean, it's backed by the U.S. government, so they would have to default on it, so I think you're pretty safe with this investment to be able to put this money in there. It's not your emergency fund, and that makes me feel good about it, because by definition, with an emergency fund, we want immediate access. But in this case, it's for a specific goal, and because that's out beyond a year, with the safety of the U.S. government backing, I think you're in a great shape here. So I would proceed.

I think it's a great plan. We appreciate your call. We'll be right back on Money Wise Live.

Stay with us. Great to have you with us today on Money Wise Live. This is where we apply God's wisdom to your financial decisions and choices. We're stewards or managers of God's resources, and we want to be found faithful, so we go to the source, God's Word, and we say, what does the Council of Scripture say about how we should approach our finances?

We don't want to take our cues from the world. We want to recognize that it's a privilege to be a manager of God's resources, and as a steward, the objective of a steward is to understand the heart of the master and manage his money accordingly. Well, that's what we're doing here, and so together each afternoon, we explore those ideas in the context of your specific questions, whatever you're dealing with in your financial life. Ryan Hansen, managing our phones today, ready to take your call. We have several lines open. We'd love to hear from you. 800-525-7000. Give us a call, and we'll get you on the air.

Let's head to Tampa, Florida. Andrea, thank you for calling. Go right ahead.

Hi, how are you? Thank you for taking the call. And basically, I'm just, you know, at the age of 56 and have seven grandchildren, just want to be more responsible with managing my money wisely, you know, and budgets. I've never done that before, sir, and I'm trying to find the right resources because God has blessed me, you know, to be on this earth, and I feel like it was mentioned earlier that really, to me, the money is God's. I mean, if I could just do right, I just know that everything else falls into place. He provides for you.

Yeah, yeah. Well, clearly, Andrea, you're trying to be a wise steward, as we all are, and, you know, that comes with seeking wise counsel, that comes with really trying to be diligent, but it begins with the proper mindset or perspective on our money, which you pointed out is all God's, right? So that puts us in the role of steward and then money becomes a tool. And I think the challenge is that if we take our cues from the world, we will first say, OK, what does it take for me to live? And we kind of work out all of our budget and our spending plans on our lifestyle and our, you know, needs and wants and everything. And then we say, OK, what do we have left over after all the bills are paid?

And maybe I'll give a little bit. And oh, yeah, I need to save. And well, I've got these competing priorities.

And how do I do that? And, you know, as believers, I think we approach it a different way. We start by saying what's most important to us. And we realize that the way we handle money is a reflection of what we value. Remember, Jesus said, where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. It's that our heart follows our money.

You know, my son is starting his senior year in high school, and so we're starting to look at colleges. Well, once we pick a college and he lands on where he's going to go and I start writing checks to that school, I guarantee you my heart's going to be in that school because that's just the way it works. And it works that way with our giving and it works that way with anything we use money for. So we have to recognize that there's a connection between our hearts and our money. And it's really a privilege to be able to manage God's money. And we want to do it in a way that reflects our deeply held values and priorities.

So I think the best way to start is by, number one, praying and saying, Lord, give me wisdom as I manage your money. Number two, I think we've got to begin to capture our values. Where is God taking us and what's most important to us and what does it look like in your mind to, you know, the giving that you want to do? And what do you want your lifestyle to look like? How much is enough? And do you want to live simply?

And if so, what does that look like? And what are your goals for the future? Are you trying to save to be able to buy a car or put a child through college or for the long term? And as we begin to define all of these things, then we allow our lifestyle to be put into that mix so that the lifestyle is not the driver of everything.

And then we just try to take care of other things with the leftovers. So I think the starting point for you is really just to find out what it is you're trying to accomplish with God's money. Bring some definition to that and then order your finances around it. Now, a great place to begin if you don't have a spending plan would be to say, what am I doing today? What are those things I get a bill for? What about the discretionary spending that I'm doing that I don't get a bill for? Eating out and clothing and entertainment and vacations and then getting all of that in one place so you can evaluate how much you're actually spending right now and then make some decisions. Because if what you're spending is running right up to the money that you have, meaning you're living paycheck to paycheck, well, that's robbing you of the opportunity to have margin that you can use to accomplish your other goals and priorities that perhaps are even more important to you than just the here and now. And at that point, it's really the opportunity to say, where do I want to cut back? What changes do I need to make so I have more margin to be able to do the things that I really want to do? Now, you can do that on your own by just taking 30 days, perhaps carry a little notebook around with you, capture every expense that you have, and then taking a hard look at it to see what changes need to be made or you could get some help.

We have coaches at MoneyWise.org that are folks that are trained to do this with you. There's no cost. It's just their ministry. But we could provide somebody to come alongside you and help work through all of that, Andrea, to get that spending plan in place and make sure that it reflects really where you believe the Lord is leading. But give me your thoughts on all that. You nailed it, and I want to thank you. I've completed putting my two kids through college, so I totally understand what you were saying regarding your son. And I know I wish you the best of luck through his journey of getting his education. Oh, thank you.

One hundred percent. Everything you said, I totally agree on, and I would love to receive any resources as well if I have to email or call back. Yeah, so just head to our website. Head to our website, MoneyWise.org, and click Connect with a Coach. And what will happen is we'll pair you up with one of our MoneyWise coaches. They'll work with you virtually, probably through a Zoom connection, and just walk you through the process of understanding where are you at today and what changes do you want to make, and then what's the best system that's going to help you control the flow of money in and out, because the budget is only as good as your ability to operate by that budget on an ongoing basis. And that's where we need to look at what's your personality and what's the best way for you to manage that money.

Is it a digital envelope system, or is it just more of a budget that you establish where you track against it? We'll help you figure all of that out, and I think you'll feel a lot better in the end. This is MoneyWise Live. We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back.

So glad you're along with us today on MoneyWise Live. I'm Rob West, your host. We're taking your calls and questions. We have a few lines open at 800-525-7000. Let's head back to the phones.

Akron, Ohio, WCRF. Barbara, thanks for calling. Go right ahead. Thank you. I'm calling because after my tithes that I make to my church every month, I donate the largest amount to Moody Radio to share yearly. But then I listen to, like, Michael Rydonek, David Jeremiah, Erwin Lutzer, Chris Brooks, MoneyWise, and all of the programs ask you to support them so that they can stay on the air. I would like to do that wisely or use my money wisely, but I can't donate to everybody. And I'm having trouble with this. There's just too many good programs, Barbara.

That's the problem. Listen, first of all, I love your generous heart and I love that you want to be a giver and you want to be supporting where God is at work and you're obviously being blessed by these programs and you can't do it all. You know, you can only give so much after meeting your monthly bills and obligations. So here's what I would do.

I mean, you could take one of two approaches. One would be to say, you know, I'm going to establish a giving portion of my budget and I know how much I can afford to do that on a monthly basis and then I'm going to ask the Lord to give me some wisdom and I'm going to divide that portion that I have available and you could maybe take this on an annual basis. I'm going to divide it among the shows that are blessing me. In this case, the financial and biblical teaching programs. The other approach is just to say, listen, I can't do everything and so I'm, you know, going to take one program a year or something like that and ask the Lord to give me some wisdom and support that program. And I think, you know, there's a principle here that you do for one what you wish you could do for everyone, right? Because as the body of Christ, we come together and we all do our part and we all have different passions and we see God at work in different places and as long as it's aligned with his purposes, then, you know, if I'm giving to one thing and you're giving to something else, then hopefully together we're supporting all of these great causes that are edifying and growing the body and proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the earth and there's never going to be a shortage of great things to be involved in, but you can only do so much. And so I think the key for you is really to land on that annual amount that you want to give and then either just divide it up or pick one or two, you know, ministries a year and then, you know, make your support there. I don't think you can go wrong with either of these approaches, Barbara, and you certainly don't need to feel guilty that, you know, you can't do more to everyone because you have limited resources, so you're just trying to be found faithful with what God has entrusted to you. Does that make sense?

Yes, that's exactly it in a nutshell. And I do, when I do donate, I don't do the monthly one because I wait until I find out that one of them is having like a matching program where if you give a certain amount or whatever you give it will be matched and that way it'll be doubled. Yes, yes, very good. Well, I think that's a great approach and, by the way, our spring share at Moody Radio is coming up in October, and so you probably know that since you're a faithful giver, but it's coming up October 5th through the 7th. And so that would be a great opportunity just to give to Moody Radio, which in a sense is going to also help to ensure that all of those programs stay on the air because the common denominator there is the Ministry of Moody Radio, even though there are, you know, specific programs that you can give to as well.

So that may be a great opportunity, maybe just direct all of your giving to the fall share coming up October 5th through the 7th. But regardless of what you decide, Barbara, I know the Lord is pleased with your heart to be generous. You can't do everything, but you're doing your part, and together with God's people we'll make sure that God's ministries are funded, okay? Well, thank you.

That helps a lot. Okay, good. God bless you, and thanks for calling today. Let's head to Birmingham. Mike, you're next on the program.

Go ahead, sir. Oh, thank you, Rob. So, Rob, I lost my wife almost two years ago, and so prior to that we had two intern's policies, two term policies, one $500,000 on me and $400,000 on my wife. And so when she passed away, you know, of course, her life insurance, we cashed in. I just immediately got with a financial advisor, and we set it up to where I opened up a $500,000 life insurance policy to basically start moving money into that account annually, kind of as a tax shelter. And I'm 58, and I don't plan on retiring until at least 65, maybe 70, but I've got it kind of in a very safe investment strategy.

But my question is this. I've got an equity line of $240,000 that is against that investment that I can use. I haven't drawn on it, but I was wondering if it would be wise to leverage that to maybe buy an investment property or something like that to kind of generate some more income, because really there's been no money being made in the market right now with what I have now.

It's been kind of stagnant. What are your thoughts on that? And I don't know if that makes sense. Yeah, it does. So you took the $400,000, and that's essentially what you're using, the life insurance policy to grow in a tax-deferred environment. Is that right?

Yeah. So it's invested in like a basically like a 50-50 risk base because of my age. And so it's been managing well considering the way the markets have been going, but I thought I've got my last son is in college.

I've got two that are out. And I thought, well, what if I bought an investment home where he's going to school and just have him and his friends that he plays football move in and just keep an investment property over there where he can stay and then draw money, you know, draw income off of that, rental income, and just pay cash for it by pulling $150,000 off that equity line to do that. Is that something that... Yeah.

I mean, you certainly could. Tell me about that equity line. What is it collateralized by? It's collateralized by the investment that I have. So they base it on kind of what, you know, where your money is at the time, basically, in the market. Yeah. So this is essentially a margin of sorts. What is the interest rate associated with that?

The interest rate is like four and a half on it. Okay. And it's variable? Yeah. It's a HELOC.

Yeah. What about getting, you know, just getting a straight mortgage to buy that rental property with as opposed to using the investment collateral? Well, I thought about that. And, you know, I didn't know if that would be a wise decision to just do a mortgage and pay. Well, I'd have the closing costs and all that to pay. You would.

Probably the interest rate on that, the interest rate would be on an investment might be a lot more than... Yeah, but at least it would be fixed. Let's do this. We're going to take a quick break here. When we come back, we'll finish on the other side.

If you can hang on, I'll give you my thoughts and see if we can decide how to go from here. This is MoneyWise Live. We'll be right back. Great to have you with us today on MoneyWise Live. Biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Back to the phones.

Mike in Birmingham, we were talking to just before the break. He is looking to buy a rental property while his son is in college and perhaps could take advantage of it for his son, but also earn some income and build equity over time. Looking for the best way to finance that, he actually has what is often referred to as a portfolio line of credit, which is basically a collateralized loan or line of credit against an investment portfolio that allows you to take money out using the investments as collateral. And the benefit is there's typically a lot of flexibility in repayment. There's lower taxes for accessing the investments and there's typically a lower interest rate. The downside, Mike, though, is just the potential for market loss. So if you have the market value of the portfolio loss because the market takes a downward trend, your assets go with it, the lender could absolutely ask for you to put up more collateral. And if it drops far enough, there's the possibility of owing far more than you borrowed.

And so that's one of the risks. The other is just the variable interest rate on this, which is even though it's perhaps less than what you might get with a fixed loan right now, it's going to continue to rise. And so I think given that and because of the uncertainty of using this money in a way that could result in you having to come out of pocket for more money if the value of the portfolio declines, I'd rather tie the collateral to the asset itself, which in this case would be that house. The question is, what's the rate that you can get on that fixed mortgage specifically on that property? And do you have enough money both in the form of a down payment, which for a rental property, I'd love for us to go in with 50%. I mean, I realize in many cases that might be out of the question just because that's a lot of money. But regardless of what you put down, do you have enough to put a substantial down payment? And then what's the debt service? And do you have the cash flow to cover that without putting your finances in jeopardy? But if you did, I mean, I think I love real estate as a way to have a way to introduce another asset class into your asset mix away from stocks and bonds and especially given the benefits of your son being in college and being able to use the property plus you having this asset appreciating for the future. All of that makes sense as long as the debt service on it doesn't put you in a tough spot financially, which could cause some problems down the road. Does that make sense?

Yeah, it does. Well, let me ask you this. So if my income off of the house was obviously significantly higher than what my minimum payment would be, would that, I mean, what's the word, sanctified? Or because if we're pushed to shove, we can always, you know, I can always refinance it to a fixed, right? And if it got to that point and just go ahead and take a mortgage out on it. You could. Yes.

No, that's true. I think you just have to realize that, you know, the collateral that's backing it obviously has the ability to lose value. And you just have to understand what those triggering events are that could cause you to have to, you know, go ahead and in this case, get a mortgage on the property to put that additional collateral up that your custodian may require at that point. But sure, I think the key is knowing the risks going into it, making sure you have good cash flow, that you're not presuming upon the future with regard to, you know, being realistic about the rental income that it can generate. And if we were to get into a full-blown recession and, you know, it might be more difficult for you to find a renter, what happens if you went for a period of time without any income or, you know, rental prices, which are sky high right now, begin to trend down.

Just making sure you've really kind of thought through that and that you have the financial wherewithal to support it. Gotcha. Now, that makes sense. I have one other question, Rob. Is this okay? Sure.

Real quick. So, I kept my term policy for $500,000 when I took out my life insurance policy. Two things. One, should I keep that? I've got about a million now in life insurance and life insurance coverage with the term. The term is like 80 bucks a month for me right now and it's good.

It will stay 80 through the age of 75. Should I keep that and just keep that coverage along with my life insurance policy I just opened up? Are the kids the beneficiaries? They are.

Yeah. And the question is, do they really need the money? So, if something were to happen to you, are they still dependents? And if so, let's try to really quantify what that death benefit is that's needed and how it would be distributed so that they have what they need until they're kind of out on their own as functioning adults and with their own incomes and so forth. And then for what period of time that's necessary because I don't think it makes sense to be over-insured. So, I think it really is a matter of defining what the goal is in terms of what's going to be available and then how that's going to be paid out. Does it just automatically get paid out at your death or does it go into a trust and then it gets distributed based on certain conditions being met, them reaching certain ages or specifically for their care until they're adults.

Those kinds of things. But I wouldn't keep that extra half a million just because it's cheap unless you really need it in the sense that, yeah, it's going to take a million dollars of death benefit for a period of time to meet all of the needs that our kids have that are depending upon my income that would obviously go away. Yeah, there's only one. I've got two that are out of the house.

They're off my payroll, I say. I've got one that's still in college and I just want to get him through. So, he depends right now. And lastly, is it wise the way that I have it set up with my life insurance being used to funnel, I think we can funnel up to 30,000 a year right now into that account. Is that a wise strategy? Am I being advised correctly on that?

Yeah, I think so. I'm not a big fan of whole life insurance but where it can be effective is if you've either maxed out your retirement plan contributions that allows you to do salary deferral into your retirement plan or you're sitting on a lump sum that you want to invest and do it in a tax efficient manner. I think that can make a lot of sense because you're getting it into that tax deferred environment.

The key is what is the growth once it gets in there. So, I think that's where not all policies are created equal. You just need to make sure you have a good policy that's performing. But the tax benefits are undeniable especially given that you're sitting on a large sum of money and trying to get that in a tax deferred environment.

That's where whole life insurance can be very effective even though it wouldn't be my first choice for somebody who's just looking for the death benefit and can save outside of it. I hope all that's helpful to you, Mike. We appreciate you listening to the program and calling today. God bless you, my friend.

Cleveland, Ohio. Dee, thanks for your patience. Go ahead.

Hi. I was wondering if it's possible to put IRA or Roth IRA money into an I-bond? It's not, unfortunately. You can't put qualified money, Dee, into an I-bond. So, it would only be cash and it's going to have to come from a checking or a savings account. So, you would have to, in the case of the Roth, pull the money out which you can, you know, pull out tax-free if you're over 59 and a half. At any point, you can pull out up to your original contributions. But I wouldn't recommend that because the benefit of the I-bond is very attractive right now. But that's probably short-lived as opposed to the Roth where you can continue to get the tax-free growth for as long as it's in there.

And if you don't need it, you can just let it go. And especially with the Roth, you don't have the required minimum. So, unfortunately, no, you can't put that qualified money into the I-bond and I probably would not take it out. I'd be looking for money that is sitting in cash that's not earmarked for emergencies to be able to use for the I-bonds.

Okay, one more question. What about a home equity line of credit? Would that be wise to get a home equity line of credit and put $10,000 from that into the I-bond?

Yeah, I wouldn't, Dee. Mainly because the home equity line of credit rates have gone up pretty significantly that HELOC is going to have a variable rate, which means as interest rates head up, it's going to continue to go up. And I don't like borrowing money to invest anyway, even though this has a high degree of safety because it's backed by the U.S. government. Keep in mind that 9.6% is only good through the end of October and it will adjust and it will likely adjust down. It will still be attractive, but not attractive enough for you to have that money on loan against your home with a variable rate that's headed up and it's probably starting north of 5.5%, perhaps 6% right out of the gate.

So, I would not use home equity line of credit for an I-bond. Alright, well thank you so very much. Okay, you're welcome. God bless you. We appreciate your call.

Tina and Ford Payne, I've got just a minute left. How can I help you? Yes, we're only wanting to get some kind of retirement started for my husband. He's 52 and he hasn't got any kind of retirement.

And he may be trying to do my retirement at 55 and, you know, the side job and stuff, but how can we get him invested? Yeah, Tina, is he a W-2 employee or is he a contractor, self-employed? Yes, a W-2. I mean, W-2, sorry.

Yeah, okay. Yeah, I mean, that's the challenge if he doesn't have a plan available as a W-2 employee. I mean, of course, he can put $7,000 in an IRA, but how much are you looking to put away for over a year? Maybe $5,000 or something. Okay, yeah, so if it's under 7, I would say use an IRA, either a traditional IRA or a Roth would be a great way for him to get some additional money going toward retirement. You can open that at any custodian. I'd probably look at one of the robo-advisors, Charles Schwab, Intelligent Portfolios or Betterment, and you'll want to open an individual retirement account and you and your husband can each put away $7,000. We appreciate your call.

MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. Hey, have a great weekend. Hope you'll come back and join us on Monday. We'll see you then. Bye-bye.