Money Savers for Seniors

They say that retirement is the time in your life when time is no longer money.

That's 800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Okay, we've got some great ways that seniors can save money, but really these tips will stretch a buck no matter what age you are. You probably haven't heard of this one. Always use the self checkout aisle if one's available. Studies show that people actually spend less using those machines because they're really paying attention to the prices rolling up on the screen. That cuts down on impulse buying.

Knowing that you're going to self-checkout is a psychological aid for sticking to your shopping list. And have you seen the price of beef lately? You can get around that by using ground chicken in your recipes like chili and tacos instead of hamburger. If you simply must have a steak, buy a cheaper cut and marinate a day or two in the fridge to tenderize it. Speaking of the fridge, set aside a space on one shelf for stuff nearing the end of its life and then look for ways to add it to your recipes.

Or get really creative and make something entirely new out of your odd bits of cheese, leftover rice or pasta, and last week's fruit and veggies. And when you're cooking on top of the range, did you know that the burner you choose can either save or cost you money? You want the size burner that matches the bottom of whatever pot or pan you're using, whether electric or gas. If the flames are curling up on the side of the pan or you can see a red coil outside the pot, well, you're just wasting energy. Now, what about your oven? Are you using it to cook or heat up a small dish with just a serving or two? Well, that always wastes energy. Use your toaster oven if the dish will fit. It preheats faster and uses less than half the energy of the average oven.

Or better yet, pop it in the microwave to save even more on energy costs. Now, you don't have to give up fashion just because you're living on a fixed income. You can now shop at online upscale thrift shops for your clothing needs. Sites like Thread Up, Poshmark, The Real Real, and Tradezy carry gently used clothing for a fraction of what it costs new.

Will anyone really know if you're wearing last year's style? And who doesn't like giving gift cards to the kids and grandkids? You probably didn't know that you can buy them on the cheap at sites like Ray's, Gift Card Bin, and Gift Card Granny. A card that someone else didn't want could be a great birthday gift for a loved one.

We'll put links to all of these sites in today's show notes. Now, let's say you forgot to pay a credit card bill and got a late fee. Or maybe you were dinged for insufficient funds at your bank. If this is just a one-time thing, your bank or card issuer will probably waive the fee if you ask.

It's worth a call anyway. Do you have an unlimited data plan for your phone? Well, that could be a money waster, especially if you're at home a lot and using your Wi-Fi most of the time. So instead, call your provider to look over your usage and choose a lower price plan that still works for you. Or better yet, get a prepaid plan. They tend to be cheaper and usually won't require a contract. And while you're at it, ditch your phone insurance.

Have you read the fine print on that agreement? They tend to restrict the type of phone they'll cover. Plus, they often come with a high deductible and lots of red tape to replace a lost, stolen, or broken phone. Not to mention the fee you're paying every month. Instead, keep the cost of replacing your phone in your emergency fund. That's what it's there for. Okay, time to sit back, relax, and watch your favorite streaming TV show. But are you wasting money there too?

Possibly. Take a close look at the terms of the agreement for your streaming services. Many of them allow a certain number of household or family members to use their service. You can go havesies with your kids on streaming apps that you share. So much for watching the tube. Now you want to get out of the house and you're driving down the road. Did you know every time you touch the brake pedal, it actually costs you money? Now, obviously, you have to brake.

I'm a big fan of it. But the truth is, when you brake to slow down or come to a stop, you're wasting the energy, gas, that it took to get you up to speed. So use those brakes sparingly. All right, these are some common ways seniors or anybody can save money. Let us know your ideas. Your calls are next 800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. We'll be right back. Delighted to have you with us today on MoneyWise Live.

I'm Rob West, your host. We're going to turn the corner and take your questions on anything financial now. The number to call is 800-525-7000.

We've got some lines open. Again, 800-525-7000. By the way, if you enjoyed today's opening topic and you'd like to have this list that we provided to use in the future, we have a featured article titled Money Saving Tips for Seniors. And you can check it out today. It's on our homepage at MoneyWise.org. This article will also be featured in this week's Weekly Wisdom email with the latest articles, videos, and podcasts from MoneyWise, but also from our 16 content providers, the best content providers in biblical finance. Just head to our website, MoneyWise.org, click the Create Your Free Account button, and that will ensure that MoneyWise Weekly Wisdom email is delivered to your inbox. It comes out each Thursday, and we know it'll be helpful to you as you embark on this stewardship journey we talk about each afternoon together on this program.

Again, phone lines open today. The number to call, 800-525-7000, as we apply the wisdom from God's Word to your financial decisions and choices today, be it your spending plan or your debt repayment. Maybe it's your giving plan, which is usually the first to go when we get into difficult times. Let me challenge you not to allow that to happen. Stay connected to giving as an act of worship and a demonstration of your trust in the Lord, even in difficult times.

Maybe you want to talk about saving for the future, be it your emergency fund or long-term investments, whatever it might be. Again, we've got a few lines open today. 800-525-7000. Let's head to the phones. Our first caller comes from Chicago. Nick, you're first up on the program, sir. Go ahead.

Hi, Rob. I have a nephew, Jack, who is presently a senior in a high school in Portland, Oregon, and he wants to start college in the fall of next year. Rob, can you please advise how and when to go about applying for scholarships, financial aid, and such, as opposed to student loans?

Yeah, absolutely, and I'm delighted you're asking about this. You know, the sooner you can get on top of all this, the better. Right now, as a senior, he should be working on his common app. That's the common application that most schools are taking now. Some require their own application, but more and more each year using the common app, and you'll want to get that in as close to October 15th, which is the early submission deadline, as you can, because a lot of the acceptance happens on a rolling basis, but that's also going to put you in a great spot to begin applying for certain scholarships as well. You certainly want to take advantage of a lot of the private scholarships that are out there.

There's some wonderful online resources, Nick. You could direct him to Fastweb, the College Board, niche.com would be another, scholarships.com. So those are probably the biggest ones, Fastweb, College Board, niche.com, and scholarships.com. He should also check with his guidance counselor office there at school. They could probably give him a list of links to pursue to begin applying for scholarships. You need to make a calendar of the deadlines, both for applying for college as well as the scholarship deadlines, just so he's got a good roadmap between now and the end of the fall, really the end of the year to be ready to meet all of those deadlines, and just apply for as many as he can and qualifies for. Now, if his parents will qualify for federal financial aid, he's going to want to get that, or they will want to get the FAFSA in, which is what starts that whole process. That's the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. You can apply all the way up to June 30th of next year, but he's going to want to get in as early as he can with that FAFSA, just so that he can kind of get in line. And the next steps after you apply with that FAFSA are, again, to track the financial aid deadlines, submit any other financial aid applications, and then wait for the financial aid award letter, which will give them their expected family contribution and tell them kind of what options exist with regard to federal financial aid.

There's a lot to this, but I think as long as you're early and really doing your homework, both with regard to the college application process, as well as taking advantage of any scholarships, and apply for as many as you can because you never know what you'll get, and getting into the financial aid process with the FAFSA, I think are really kind of the big next steps here. Does that all make sense? I know it's a lot of information.

No, it does. And Rob, is a recording of this show posted online so I can refer my nephew Jack to it? And thank you so much for your help, and God bless you. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I appreciate that.

It sure is. It'll be up probably tomorrow, Nick, at MoneyWise.org so he could go back and listen to this. I think the key, too, is just understanding exactly what he's going to be responsible for. So if he hasn't had a conversation with his parents about that, getting that done sooner rather than later so then he can go out and check the cost of attendance for each of the schools, which is all published, and that includes more than just, you know, the tuition. That's going to include room and board and other fees and, you know, just the money that goes into being able to go to college. So be able to compare that to what's going to be available from mom and dad so he knows what do I have to work for, what do I need to get in scholarships, and, you know, what potentially, you know, for any student loans that he may take on. Hopefully we can keep that to a minimum.

So a lot to look at here, but I'm confident if he gets on it early, he'll be surprised at how much help there actually is out there to pay for the cost of college. Nick, we appreciate your call today, sir. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. Mark in, let's see, Indiana. Go right ahead, sir. Hi, how you doing today, sir? I'm doing great, thanks.

My wife listens regularly to your show and I just had a couple of questions for you. Yeah, I'm still in the market with my money for my retirement. I received a fairly large inheritance that I've been very reluctant to put in the market, so what I'm doing now is I'm trying to find the best fixed rate options where there's no risk to put my money. I've got money in savings at about two percent right now.

My wife listened to you, I guess last week or the week before, and you said there were some mechanisms above three. I've seen some short term CDs for above three and right now treasuries are above three, even for like six months. What are your thoughts on that? I mean, I'm not exiting the market with my money. I'm just reluctant at this point to put any new money in. Yeah, yeah.

Well, a couple of thoughts. I mean, obviously, there's a risk spectrum, and so if you want to stay on the most conservative, safe end of the risk spectrum, you are going to have to be comfortable with the rates associated with that. Good news is, as interest rates are heading up, and that will continue to happen even this week as the Fed's expected to raise rates somewhere between three quarters of a point, maybe even a full percentage point.

When that happens, we'll continue to see bank products follow suit. There's not a whole lot north of three percent unless you want to use an insurance product, which I'm not a big fan of. But with a bank product, I would stay still on the fairly shorter end between one and three years just because you're going to want to roll these over and take advantage of higher rates. She may have heard me talking about the I bonds, which are paying nine point six two percent right now.

The challenge is you can only put in up to ten thousand dollars, so that's not going to get you a whole lot invested, and that's per person per calendar year. So I think as you stay on this most safe end, I would probably look at CDs, and if you don't want to invest anymore and take advantage of the market that's down right now, I think that's about your best option at this point. Hang on the line, we'll finish up off the earmark, and we'll be right back on MoneyWise Live.

Stay with us. Great to have you with us today on MoneyWise Live. I'm Rob West taking your calls and questions. Looks like we have a couple of lines open. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. Back to the phones to Nashville, Tennessee. Hey Claudia, thanks for calling. Go right ahead.

Hi, thank you for taking my call. My question is, our employer changed providers of our retirement account a couple of years ago, so the majority of our money was accumulated in one TIAA CRES provider, and more recently a different now is what we're contributing to, and my question is there is there a way to evaluate whether or not it's to our advantage to put all of them together, or one company versus the other. We're moving towards retirement now, probably in the next five years, and we just want to get a little bit wiser on how all of this works, and just wondered if you could point us in the right direction.

Yeah, very good. So you're looking to take this retirement account, Claudia, and roll it over to an IRA potentially, and then have it managed, or is that something else? Well see, that's the question. We've just deposited and accumulated, tried to do our part all these years, and at this point we're looking towards retirement now and trying to figure out what that landscape looks like. If it's something that we would leave where we have it, or combine the two together, or roll it to somebody else that manages it, we aren't exactly sure what the next step is as we're starting to move towards needing to figure that out now.

Sure. So what do you have in the TIAA-CREF account? We probably have a little over a million, and probably another $500,000 in Fidelity. Okay, all right. And is anyone overseeing either of those accounts?

Actually, no. We've kind of set them up, some in, you know, 50% in the stocks and bonds, a little bit in real estate, a little bit in, excuse me, stocks, and then some in bonds for a total of 100%. We've done that asset allocation thing, and they set them up in mutual funds that automatically come right out of our paycheck. Sure, sure. You know, as you look at retirement, and are you all already in retirement or thinking about it down the road? No, we're probably in the next five years looking toward retiring. I see. Okay, so you've still got about five years. And have you separated from the employer that was responsible for the TIAA-CREF account?

No, still employed and still contributing at this point. Okay, okay. Yeah, so that needs to stay right there, obviously. At some point, you'd be able to roll that out if you wanted to. And inside the TIAA-CREF, you know, there's a number of options for you to invest in. You know, I think given how significant these assets are, you know, I would love to see you involve an investment professional in these decisions as you think about constructing the portfolio.

Just because, you know, five years out of retirement, you certainly want to start getting more and more conservative. It sounds like you're doing that. But in terms of the right mix of investments, unless you are just really comfortable with what you're doing, having somebody who could start to speak into that, and then ultimately, once you get into retirement, separate from the company, then you could roll it out to an IRA and then open up the full range of investments at that point, be it individual stocks or preferred stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, that type of thing. You know, it sounds like you all have done a good job managing this, but I think just making sure that you're not taking unnecessary risk and you've got the right investment mix is really appropriate. Would you be open to having an advisor help you with that, or do you really want to continue, you know, managing this yourself? We actually would love to have someone help us with that. Yeah, yeah.

I think that'd make a lot of sense. I mean, we just give you a lot of peace of mind, Claudia, you and your husband, to know that, you know, somebody's waking up every day really looking at this, that there's a strategy behind it. We're taking kind of the emotions out of the buying and selling process and that there's a really well thought out investment plan that's going to drive toward your goals and objectives, trying to preserve what you've already accumulated but still have a growth component to it because as inflation erodes our purchasing power, we want this to be growing in a way that makes sense, but we also don't want to take unnecessary risk given your proximity to retirement. So what I would do, unless you have somebody in mind, is just head to our website moneywise.org, click find a CKA, that stands for Certified Kingdom Advisor. These are men and women, 1300 of them around the country who have achieved really high standards in both experience, competency, but also character. They have all had pastor references, client references, they've gone through an extensive amount of training on a biblical application of financial decision-making and, you know, these professionals in five disciplines, one of which is investment advisory services, I think could be a real help to you. I'd probably interview two or three there in Nashville, there's some great ones, and then find the one that's the best fit. They'll explain to you the fee structure and, you know, the investment process, hopefully do a lot of listening to you about where God is taking you all and your family just to make sure that there's great alignment to the strategy that's deployed.

So again, it's moneywise.org, just click find a CKA and I think that'll be what you're looking for. Thank you. I just, we just don't want to make a mistake, so that sounds like exactly what we need to do. Thank you very much. All right, Claudia, sounds good. Thanks for your call today, we appreciate it. Quickly to Tampa, Florida before the next break. Mike, go ahead, sir.

Hi, thank you for taking my call. So I have a 16-year-old car, I have about 192,000 miles on it. I bought it brand new and having some issues with the AC and the mechanic said that it would cost me about $1,500 to get the AC fixed. This is the third time getting it fixed and I can, I can afford to get it fixed, but I was thinking I want to buy a new vehicle, but I'm not sure if it's smart to buy a new vehicle now, and also I want to, I like hiring cars, so I'm thinking, you know, would it be smart to buy a hiring vehicle?

Yeah. What do you think this car is worth? My car currently, I would say it's probably $2,000, $2,000 to $3,000. And to get it working, you're talking at least $1,500.

Right, but other than that, it doesn't have any issues at all. Okay, well then it might be worth it. I'll tell you, I think if you could wait a year, you'd be money ahead, just given how high used and new car prices are right now, especially if you're going to be in the upper end of the quality of cars. So I'd probably hold off on that, but I think I'd probably hold off, Mike, unless, you know, you think there's a lot more repairs coming after this one. We appreciate your call. This is MoneyWise Live. We'll be right back. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live. I'm Rob West, your host. We're taking your calls and questions today on anything financial, 800-525-7000. We've already covered a lot of ground today, but let's head back to the phone.

Spokane, Washington. Marie, you're next up on the program. Go ahead. Hi.

Hi there. I have a question as far as selling my current home that I'm in, it's quite large, and purchasing a smaller home, or is it more wise just to fix up the home that I'm in and stay put given that housing prices are so high? Yeah. Well, I think there, you know, it can make some sense as long as you currently own a home and you're not trying to enter the market, you know, as a renter, you know, here's the reality is you're going to get top dollar for the home that you're selling since it's a larger, perhaps pretty nice home. You may even, you know, have do better in terms of the appreciation you've experienced over the last several years on the one you're selling versus the one you're buying. So you'll take full benefit of this housing market on the sale and then, you know, that would be applied to the purchase. The good news is we're kind of in the middle right now where we've gone from a raging seller's market where, you know, there was bidding wars and multiple offers with no contingencies within 24 hours to where now homes are sitting on the market for one to two weeks or more, a little more realistic. We haven't seen any kind of steep decline in housing prices, although the housing market is cooling a bit. So I think this is actually a pretty good time where you could lock in, you know, the sale and really take full advantage of the appreciation you've experienced in your current home and then go ahead and buy something that would be a little smaller. The benefit there is you perhaps, you know, you're downsizing, which means less expense, less upkeep on the property itself, less, you know, overhead in terms of the utilities and the maintenance and just less square footage to maintain everything from cleaning to repairs.

So I think this is actually a pretty opportune time to do that. The key for you, Marie, is to really spend some time figuring out where do I want to go? What do I want to spend? What does my budget look like in terms of, you know, do I want to try to take some of the equity from the current home and invest that or do something with it that would generate income?

And then, you know, what is it going to cost for me to get into that smaller home in a location that, you know, fits my needs? Does all that make sense? It does.

It does. The only question I would have is the home that I'm in, that I'm considering selling, needs some substantial repairs done on the roof and the siding and even the windows. Do you think it's worth making those repairs considering it's going to be well over $50,000 or just sell the house as is?

Yeah. Do you have the funds available to do those repairs? I do, but that's going to wipe out the majority of my savings.

Okay, yeah, we don't want to do that. And what is the home worth and what do you owe on it today? I owe $66,000 and the house is appraised at $433,000. Okay. And they're looking at, like I said, over $50,000 in repairs.

Yeah. And what do you think you would spend if you have an idea yet on this next smaller home? About $400,000. Oh, okay. So you're not going to, you know, downsize a whole lot in terms of the total cost? As far as the cost, right. As far as the size, I mean substantially, but because new homes are so expensive.

Sure, sure. You know, here's what I would do, Marie. I would go ahead and select the realtor that you think you would use to sell it and get that person in there to take a look at it and help you determine which repairs are necessary and which aren't. And then perhaps just get a small home equity loan to pay for this. It wouldn't cost you a whole lot and you'll obviously get it back and then you can roll it into a new mortgage in this next property.

But I don't want you to deplete all of your savings. Now, if you were to determine, listen, its total is $50,000, but some of these we're just going to do some buyer concessions on and let them make the repairs and others are more critical to get it sold and maximize the value. Maybe you decide you need to make 20 instead of 50,000 in repairs and the rest, you're going to make a concession on the sale. And in that case, maybe you do spend out of savings because as soon as you sell it, you'd replenish that savings.

So I think you need to get somebody in there to kind of go line by line and determine what makes sense to repair and renovate now, what makes sense to leave for the buyer and disclose it, but let them take care of it. Do you follow? I do, yes. That's exactly what I needed to know. Okay, very good. I'd proceed, but I'd go ahead and pick that realtor.

If you don't already have one, look for somebody who's got a lot of signs in your area, who seems to have a lot of expertise in your particular neck of the woods and maybe interview a couple of them and find the person that's going to be the best fit for you. Hey, listen, all the best to you as you navigate this. I know it's a big task, but I know you can do it and you'll be glad when it's all behind you when you're in that newer place. Thanks for your call today, Marie.

To Orlando, Florida, Fred, you're next on the program, sir. Go ahead. Hi, can you hear me?

I can. Hi, thank you so much for taking my call. Yes, so I am getting ready to move to Illinois, and we just had our first child turning one, and I'm trying to set a college fund for her, which I didn't have, but I'm trying to make the best use of the resources we have available right now. So I'm trying to see where do I begin and what's the best state to have that set up.

Yeah, this is great that you're starting early, Fred. This is the way to do it, and you take advantage of that compounding over the next 17 or so years. I like the 529 college savings, and I like that you're asking which state, because it may not be the Florida plan that's the best for you. My favorite website to evaluate this is called savingforcollege.com.

Basically, you'll go through a series of questions when it's done. It will recommend, based on the latest data of not only the fees, any tax benefits, which won't apply to you because Florida doesn't have a state income tax, and the investment performance of all the 529s across the country that allow non-resident resident contributions, which most do, and then it'll recommend the top three or so 529s for you to consider based on all those factors. So savingforcollege.com is the place to go, okay? Okay, so I was there, and since I'm becoming an Illinois resident, so there is a couple plans I was looking at in Illinois.

One has the state tax benefit, and I have options to contribute to out of state, but I won't have tax benefits, so I'm trying to determine which would be the best course of action. Yeah, normally did you go through the the questions there on savingforcollege.com? Yes. Did it provide that analysis as to, did you, you know, put yourself in as an Illinois resident?

Yes. Okay, and did it, because normally it will factor in the tax benefits versus the investment performance and give you the best recommendation. Yeah, it is that I am left with three states, three different states, and I'm kind of stuck, and I'm trying to make the best choice. Make the best choice. Okay, yeah, I wouldn't be able to make that choice for you, but I think I would rely on the three that they provided and perhaps go with the one that was ranked at the highest, because there's a, you know, a combination of factors you're going to want to look at there from the in-state benefit there in Illinois with no state tax implications, but also the investment performance.

Given the amount of time you have, I'd probably opt for the investment performance over anything else. We appreciate your call, Fred. We'll be right back on MoneyWise Live.

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

We're so delighted you're along with us today. Hey, before we head back to the phones, it's a Monday, which means our good friend Bob Doll stops by. Bob is Chief Investment Officer at Crossmark Global Investments, where investments and values intersect.

And Bob, here we go again. Another week on Wall Street last week came under a lot of pressure as a result of a number of factors. Inflation data out, the FedEx CEO talking about a global recession, and this week it seems all eyes are on the Fed. What are you watching this week?

Exactly what you said. All eyes are on the Fed, Rob. How far will they go?

How long will it take them to get there? How fast will inflation recede? Do we have a recession? Yes or no?

What happens to earnings meantime? And we had a tough week last week, but the bargain hunters came out today and the market had a lot of green. Yeah. Bob, what are you expecting? I mean, do you feel like that what we heard from the FedEx CEO is just going to be par for the course as others weigh in?

Or do you think perhaps his was a bit overstated? I think that we will see other companies. FedEx got all the attention, but Alcoa, Nucor, two other names in the materials area indicated weakness.

And I suspect we will see more like that. Hopefully not as severe as the warning from FedEx, Rob, but I think we're going to have more companies say, you know, business isn't quite what we hoped or expected to be. And we'll have some earnings weakness as a result.

Yeah. Bob, do you think there's still an opportunity to perhaps avoid a recession at this point, given what we're seeing in terms of the slowdown and all these other factors converging? We do. As you know, the consensus about three months ago said we're in a recession. And for a bunch of reasons, some of which we talked about on this call from time to time, we said, no, not yet.

We're still feeling that way. If we have a recession, we think it's more likely to come in 2023 than the balance of this year. And a lot will depend on the Fed.

How far do they go? If they insist on their target 2% inflation, Rob, it's probably going to be tough to avoid a recession. But if they cave in at some point after the inflation rates receded to, say, 4% or 5% and say, we'll give it some more time, we might be able to avoid a recession. So it's in the hands of the feds more than almost any other body.

Yeah, well, it seems like that's just about always the case. What about the rest of the world, Bob? As dark as some of the storm clouds are here in the U.S., it seems like it's a bit more dramatic even overseas. Yes, as you know, the three big economic engines of the world just discussed the U.S. having some trouble, Europe even worse because of their energy crisis, lack of supply, higher prices, concerned about what it might look like this winter in Europe, and then China with their self-imposed zero COVID policy has created some economic weakness there, which causes the entire emerging world to struggle a bit. So the world is slowing down, how much of it's in a recession, and I have one Europe almost for sure. China probably doesn't have an official recession, and the U.S. is somewhere in between.

Yeah, interesting. All right, Bob, well, always appreciate your remarks. It sounds like we're in here for more of a sideways market moving forward while we let this all materialize over the balance of the year, huh? Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head, so don't chase the strength and don't panic into weakness. Okay, great advice, Bob. We always appreciate your insights, my friend. Thanks for stopping by.

All the best. Bye-bye. All right, Bob Doll, Chief Investment Officer at Crossmark Global Investments.

You can learn more and sign up for his dolls deliberations at crossmarkglobal.com. All right, back to the phones we go and our final moments of the broadcast today to Cleveland, Ohio. Edna, thank you for calling. Go right ahead.

Thank you for taking my call. I have a couple questions about the I bonds. The first is, if I would get, I understand you can get one for $10,000, one per year. If I got one and I made my husband the beneficiary, can he also get one and make me the beneficiary?

Yes, absolutely. The $10,000 per calendar year per person is based on the owner of the account. It doesn't matter who you designate as the beneficiary. That doesn't affect your eligibility to make that contribution. So, each of you could put in $10,000 this calendar year and then you could turn around and each of you put in another $10,000 next year if you wanted to.

So, a total of $20,000 between the two of Edna. Okay, very good. And my other question was, if inflation continues to swell, can you lose money on the I bonds? No, it would actually be the opposite. So, if inflation remains high, that means that the I bond yield is going to remain high because it's a combination of two rates. One that's the fixed portion which is set at zero and then there's the portion that adjusts based on the consumer price index. Well, that consumer price index is elevated right now and if it stays high or heads higher, that's going to continue to keep these I bond yields very high as well right now at 9.62%. The only way that the yield would begin to come down would be as CPI comes down and that's what we were just talking about with Bob. The Fed is going to continue to fight inflation the very best that it can and it's going to do that until we see inflation back down closer to their 2% target. Well, as the inflation falls, the bond yields will fall but that's not you losing money, that's just the return on your money. The yield is going to come down. It's backed, the initial deposit is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. So, there's really zero risk involved here, Edna.

It's really just what kind of yield or interest rate you might think of it as are you going to get each six months as the rate changes based on the consumer price index. Okay, well that answers my question. Thank you so very much. Okay, Edna, thank you for calling today and God bless you.

Let's see, to Arizona, Brenda, you're next on the program. Go ahead. Hi, recently my husband passed away and he left some money on obviously life insurance and then some money on TSP which is a Thrift Savings Plan. I don't know much about anything with investment. I know he hadn't invested and I don't know if I made a mistake to move the money. I moved the money to the G Fund which is like a safe fund because I noticed that I had lost like $50,000 like in a week and I don't know if that was a good move or a bad move. Anyways, my question is should I leave that money there or should I just leave it until I don't know how that works or should I put it back to investment?

Yes, well first of all, Brenda, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's passing and I can understand how that would be concerning that you're seeing it lose value. As you move to the G Fund, that G stands for government security so that's really the most stable and safe fund. The challenge is you're going to want to be able to participate in the market's recovery at a point where it makes sense to you in terms of the amount of risk you want to take. So, I think the next step for you is to really do some planning with a financial advisor who could look at your income, look at your assets including this TSP and determine how you're going to cover your expenses moving forward based on your income sources and then based on your age and goals and objectives how this TSP account should be managed. It will likely then be rolled out to an IRA, an individual retirement account and then it could be managed in such a way that fits with your needs. I can suspect that's going to include some portion allocated to stocks and that we would want to do that sooner rather than later so you can participate in the market recovery whenever it happens. Now, it could go down more from here. We were just talking about the challenges we have here in the US and abroad right now.

That's going to continue but at some point the market will recover ahead of the economy and you want to be invested in a way that makes sense for you to participate in that recovery. Do you have an advisor or would you be looking to establish a relationship with one? No, I need to establish a relationship.

I don't have any advisor. Okay, very good. Yeah, I think this is going to be really a key person to just help you get a lay of the land.

Where are you at? Assets and liabilities, looking at your cash flow and your spending plan and then helping you make decisions about everything from what insurance do you need moving forward and then what investment strategy should be deployed with this TSP account both in the TSP and when it's rolled out to an IRA. So, I'd recommend you head to our website moneywise.org, click find a CKA that stands for Certified Kingdom Advisor. I'd interview two or three CKAs there in Arizona.

Find the one that's the best fit for you and then that person can help you make a plan and then ultimately invest these funds appropriately, okay? Okay, perfect. I appreciate it.

Awesome. Well, thanks so much for your call, Brenda. We appreciate it very much. Thanks for listening to the program.

Let's see, we're going to finish today in Ohio. Tim, you're next on the program. Go ahead. Hi, yeah.

I got a question for you. I know you said you're not a big fan of those health insurance annuities and I've got three of them. Two of them are individual retirement annuities and one's a non-tax qualified regular annuity and I total I got about 200,000 in them.

Why is it you don't like them and do you recommend I do anything with them, change anything? Yeah, I think if you're already in them, I'd probably stay put. You could have an advisor, you know, take a look at that just to see what kind of return you're getting on those and if at some point it makes sense to pull that money out. I mean, generally speaking, they're complex so there's just a lot of fine print. They're not all created equal so you have to understand what you're getting. Secondly, they're expensive, meaning there's quite a bit of fees and commissions built into these. The surrender charges I'm not a fan of because if you need access to your funds, you would typically give up that access without a pretty steep surrender charge at least in the early years and then, you know, you're typically in exchange for some downside protection, you're not getting the full upside of the investment returns and so that's where I'd rather just build a well-thought-out diversified portfolio that's appropriate in your risk level for your age and objectives and then capture the long-term trends of those investments, not giving anything up on the upside in exchange for taking the risk on the downside, but as long as you're in it for the long haul, a properly diversified stock and bond portfolio is going to be the very best place to build wealth.

So I'm not saying there's not a place for them, especially if you run out of options on retirement, you've fully contributed to everything you have, but it's not my first choice by any means. Thanks for your call today, Tim. I hope that helps. Hey, thanks to my team today, Ryan Hansen, Charles Coletta, Amy Rios, Dan Anderson, and Jim Henry.

MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. Thanks for being along with us today. Hope you'll come back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then.