Save Money on Your Wedding

Unless you're planning a wedding, you probably had no idea that we're entering the busiest season of the year for saying I do.

Hi, I'm Rob West. It's true. Traditionally, June was considered the height of the wedding season, but that's no longer the case. How does that affect the cost of a wedding and how can you save money on yours? I'll talk about that today with Crystal Payne, and then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, our guest today is family financial expert Crystal Payne. She's a sister in Christ and the creator of the amazing website MoneySavingMom.com. Crystal, it's great to have you back with us.

Thank you so much for having me again. We're delighted. Hey, why don't we start there around MoneySavingMom.com? I know it's been a few years since you've been with us, so take us back briefly to 2006 when you started MoneySavingMom.com and tell us the background.

Yes, my husband and I have been married for 20 years, and he started law school soon after we got married. We wanted to stay out of debt, and so we set this audacious goal. We were going to go through law school debt-free, started learning a lot of ways to maximize the mileage of our money. In the process, I got pregnant, wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, found this thing called blogging, and from there just started talking about saving money, and people were just eating it up. Eventually, then started MoneySavingMom.com as a place to just really help people to be intentional with their finances. Well, and now more than ever, folks really are grateful for that assistance you're providing.

I suspect you've seen a lot of changes since 2006 in the cyber world and how blogs function and how people relate to you, but the value that you're providing hasn't changed, that's for sure. Well, as you know, today we're going to tap into some of your expertise around a specific topic, and that is weddings. So, what's the first thing someone planning a wedding should do to save money? The biggest thing is you need a budget. You can't just go and be like, well, we want to have a great wedding. Start with, okay, how much money can you realistically devote to paying for this wedding? And really thinking about what are your priorities when it comes to that budget, and I highly recommend that you do not go into debt.

It is not worth it. You can simplify. You can have a great marriage, even with a very simple wedding. And so, creating a budget by category and then deciding, okay, what are the categories that we want to prioritize and put a little bit more money in? And where are the areas that it's just not that important to us? For instance, when we got married, I didn't care that much about having great photos, but I wanted to have really nice flowers. And so, kind of deciding that ahead of time really helped us to be wise then as to where we are going to prioritize our money.

Yeah, no doubt. And so, having that budget, but also that conversation about what's important is really key. Any big trends that are changing, Crystal, with regard to weddings? I mean, are we seeing more weddings that are a little smaller in scale and the big weddings, 30, 40, 50,000, or a thing of the past, or are we still seeing these gigantic weddings? I think one of the things that I really see, especially when it comes to online, because so much is now kind of for Instagram, it seems like, it's this whole experience. And so, they might have a smaller amount of people coming to the weddings, but I feel like they're spending just as much or even more because it's not just this one night or one afternoon, but a lot of times it'll be this week-long experience. Yes, and that obviously can add up. And again, really important to define what it is that you're trying to solve for with the wedding.

What's most important to you? Well, when we come back from our break here, Crystal, I want to talk about what we're seeing in terms of the wedding season, because as we said in the introduction, the wedding season, which had previously been in June as the height of the season, is now shifting to the fall. And so, perhaps that's affecting the cost of weddings. I know you're going to weigh in on that and tell us how we should think about that. Are there any areas we can skimp on?

I know you're going to give us some input into that. And you're going to help us just think about some of the practical areas that we need to consider so that we can deliver this wedding on budget. Because as you said, setting that budget at the forefront and really sticking to it is absolutely key to being able to have the wedding of your dreams, but without ending up with a lot of debt on the back end. Crystal Payne with us today from MoneySavingMom.com.

We're talking about saving money on your wedding. Much more practical advice coming just around the corner. And then your questions at 800-525-7000. Again, that's 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West and this is Faith and Finance Live. Back with much more right after this. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance Live.

I'm Rob West. With me today, family financial expert Crystal Payne of MoneySavingMom.com. Today we're talking about saving money on your wedding as we enter the fall, which is a very busy wedding season. And Crystal, as we said, according to The Knot.com, about 43% of weddings take place between September and November. So how does that affect the cost of a wedding?

Well, so many venues, so many different people like photographers and the cake decorators and all the different people that do things, wedding services, they're going to usually charge more because they can. They can charge a premium during those months. So if possible, one great way to save is by not having your wedding when it is the ideal wedding season.

Think about something like December through February. You're going to save a lot if you go in the off season. It's going to also be easier to find people to take pictures, you know, to be able to find that venue because they're not going to be so booked up. And you're probably going to spend a lot less because they're not going to be charging a premium.

Yes, no doubt about that. Well, as we begin to dive into some of the specific areas, obviously the wedding gown is a big one. There's a whole cable reality show now on just picking out a wedding gown and the price tags are breathtaking. So how can we save money in this area? Well, you could do what I did and that was I wore my mom's wedding gown, actually.

So it cost me nothing so you could get creative like that. But there are a lot of places online that actually have great deals. And so if you know that you are going to be getting married sometime in the next year, paying attention, for instance, David's Bridal, they do sales a few times a year and have great prices. I mean, we're talking like ninety nine dollars for wedding dresses.

And so planning ahead can really save you a lot of money there. Also, you could borrow one from a friend. I mean, you only wear your wedding gown once if you really you know, if that's something that you're like, I don't want to I don't really care that much. I just want to have a great gown.

Borrow one. Or, you know, really just looking around and seeing if there are places that sell over stocks. There are some different stores that will sell wedding dresses that didn't necessarily sell in the nice stores. And so you can oftentimes find some great deals that way. And so I think getting a little creative and not just going to the bridal gown store and thinking outside the box are ways that you're going to save a lot of money there.

Yeah. Now, I know consignment and thrifting has become a big trend these days, one that you cover extensively at Money Saving Mom. I'm assuming there's not a wedding gown section in those stores yet, though, is that right? Well, they do have some things that could count as a wedding gown. I know.

I know that usually they're going to be ones that are going to be fairly dated, though. I'm just saying. Okay. All right. Good advice.

All right. Well, quickly behind the gown would be, of course, the cake. They have shows about those, too. So how can you save on a wedding cake, but still have something that you're excited about? Well, first off, I would look into, is there anyone you know who actually can decorate cakes well?

Because a lot of times you might have someone in your circle of friends who is a great cake decorator and they could do. It might not be the most elaborate cake ever, but it would be a great cake and it would save you a lot of money. The other thing is, do you need to have a wedding cake that's this huge cake that's going to serve everyone? Or could you go with a smaller cake? This is what we did for our wedding. We had a small wedding cake and then we just did sheet cakes for the normal everyone who was going to eat the wedding cake.

The other thing I would say is, do you want to have cake? I know lots of weddings now that are thinking outside the box and doing things like donuts or brownies or ice cream. So if a wedding cake is not something that you're dead set on, know that you can get creative and do something else. And sometimes people like it a lot more. Yes. Well, I know grooms will often go off the reservation a bit with regard to not having cake. I was at a wedding recently where there was the wedding cake, but the groom, instead of having a groom cake, he wanted those donuts you were talking about. So that was kind of fun. I think people got into that.

All right. What about the wedding venue itself? How do we keep that cost down? Well, obviously starting with if you go to church, could you hold the wedding in your church? Maybe it's not going to be this beautiful outdoor venue, but it's probably going to be a lot less expensive. And I think there's a lot of meaning there to get married in your church. Just, you know, thinking of what the purpose of a wedding is and that it's really this, you know, special ceremony before God. And so I think starting with that, you could also look around if your church isn't large enough or you're not able to hold your wedding there. Are there other churches in the area that they might be able to host your wedding or look for something like a county run facility that has a historic site or some maybe a little bit more outside the box that it's not, doesn't say wedding ceremonies. Because I have found that anytime something says wedding, whether it's wedding photographer, wedding venue, whatever, if it has wedding before it, I feel like they just jack the price up. Yeah, I think you're exactly right. So getting a little creative as you select, perhaps something off the beaten path may pay off.

All right. Obviously, when it comes to planning a wedding, there are all kinds of vendors. So any general rules for choosing vendors from musicians to caterers to photographers and the like? I would first say don't just hire the first one you meet with. I found that it's very helpful if you get three quotes, just like you would do if you were going to have some work done on your house.

You probably wouldn't just have one person come in. So get a few different quotes. You might find that there's a huge difference in price or you might just find that you really like the style of this particular vendor or that you like their personality or you just feel like it's going to be a better fit for what you're looking for. And so meet with at least a few different ones. Make sure that they are reputable, that you have some references. And really, sometimes it's easy.

We just want to go for whatever is the cheapest. But I think it's important that you make sure that you're also getting quality and someone who's actually going to show up and do what they say they're going to do. Yeah, that's really critical.

You only get one chance at that. So they need to make sure they're going to be there. All right.

Last question. And I think it's one that everyone getting married grapples with. And that is, is it cost effective to hire a wedding planner?

What do you think? For me personally, for our wedding, I feel like it was the best investment that we made for an entire wedding. Just because it took so much off of my plate to be able to have this woman who was just, she knew what she was doing. She'd done a lot of weddings and she was able to just keep everyone in line.

And it just made the day go so much smoother. The other thing is some wedding planners now, they can also negotiate prices. And so if you hand off planning for different vendors, they can go out and they can do a lot of that work for you. And they can work within your budget as well, which is why it's so important that you have a budget. And so it just depends. There's some different levels of what they will do, but it might be worth it for the time that they're going to save you, the stress that they're going to save you, and maybe also they're going to end up saving you money.

Yeah. What advice do you have for parents, Crystal, on communicating with their, let's say, daughter, around the budget that they're allowing for the wedding well in advance so there's not unmet expectations there? I think, you know, it starts with building that trust relationship with our kids. So it's this foundational thing of them understanding we love you, we care about you, but also we have priorities and we want you to think of the future. And so, yes, it's great to have a beautiful wedding, but if you are going to spend $50,000 to have this beautiful wedding and then you're going to be in debt or it's going to cause a lot of financial hardship for years and years to come, that's not really worth it. And so really having those conversations about the why behind how you spend your money and being intentional with your money and what priorities are, I think it's going to really make a big difference in the long run for your relationship and hopefully you'll get to have a great wedding on a smaller budget.

I love it. That's such great advice. Well, we're out of time today, but thanks for all that great information, Crystal, on saving on weddings. You're welcome. Thanks so much for having me. That's family financial expert Crystal Payne at MoneySavingMom.com.

That's MoneySavingMom.com. We'll be right back. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West.

All right. It's time to take your questions. Let's turn the corner from weddings and talk about anything on your mind today.

Eight hundred, five, two, five, seven thousand. We're going to begin today in Syracuse, New York. Hi Ann, go right ahead. Hi Rob. Thank you for taking this call. Thank you.

So my question is, how can we help one of our children to pay off their student loans? Yeah. So I know something about the SAVE program.

I don't know much about that, but so it's pretty high up there, six figure. Okay. All right.

Yeah. What was your intention going into it? Was the plan that your child was going to pay for it him or herself, or did you all expect to chip in along the way?

How was this set up? Well, there really was no plan. Okay. So actually there was no plan.

Wouldn't financially able. They've always worked hard. They don't ask for money.

They have jobs, but kind of got up there. So this is my desire to try to help them. Three are okay and we still got a big one here. Okay. So this is one child that has loans in her name that are six figures. Is that right? Or are we talking about multiple children?

One in there in that child's name. Okay. And it's over a hundred thousand.

It's six figure. Yep. Yeah. Okay. And what kind of job does she have? I mean, does she have good earning potential moving forward? Yes.

Okay. And have the payments started at this point? Well, they will start again. I believe interest started, I think September. So they'll start in October.

In October the payments. And I guess interest right now. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. No, that's fine. You're right.

Go ahead. And I believe the interest is seven to eight percent. You know, we've talked about wondering if it will ever come back to forgiveness. And talked about this person paying a monthly payment and then us matching that. But you still got all this interest that you're actually paying the interest. Yeah.

No, you're exactly right. And unfortunately it is on the higher side now. Well, you know, I think the key here is I mean, she has earning potential, you know, that will because these are federal loans. If she ever, you know, has the inability to pay, there is the potential for income based repayment if she wasn't able to afford it. Obviously, if you have a desire to help and you can financially do that, meaning, you know, it's not going to take money away from your ability to save for the future. So you have what you need for retirement down the road. I mean, she obviously has a long runway in terms of being able to repay this.

I understand it's a significant sum, but at the same time, you know, retirement for you all is much closer. And so I would just take a hard look at your ability to help in a significant way and whether that's going to impact you financially over the long haul. But after you've run through that exercise, whether you do that yourself or do some planning with an advisor, then clearly if you want to bless her by being able to partner with her, I think that's great.

I like doing that in a way that reinforces the right behavior. So the idea is not to completely take this off because you all went into this together knowing that, OK, she was, you know, you were borrowing this amount for her to be able to get an education. Hopefully that led to a job that gave her the ability to repay it.

Obviously, you've got a significant sum of money here. Ideally, we'd be able to pay this back. I usually use a 10 year target. You know, we tell folks try not to borrow anything and work and get scholarships and grants and, you know, save and perhaps look at ways to cut costs like, you know, living at home for a couple of years, things like that. But once you if you do decide to borrow, try to only borrow an amount that you can pay back in 10 years. So I love the idea of her having some part in this as you all work together over time to get it paid off.

Again, if you can afford to do that. And I think a matching plan makes a lot of sense. So I would just have real clear communication so she understands, you know, what you're able to do and not do and how you want to partner with her once these payments resume to try to get this moving in the right direction and get it paid off in a reasonable period of time. And I think, you know, if that means you split the monthly payment or she sends the monthly payment, if she can do that, and then you add to it, which would lead to, you know, principal reduction and accelerate that payoff, that would be ideal. And then if there is some forgiveness down the road and you all have a conviction that, you know, allows you to take that, then so be it. But in the meantime, at least we're working toward bringing this balance down and you're doing it together so long as you can afford it. Does that make sense?

It does very much so. So I think that will be our goal. Well, thank you so much. You are welcome. And listen, I'm going to do that.

OK, good. And I would say just be really clear in your communication with her so that we don't get a couple of years down the road and there's, you know, unmet expectations. Just so I think everybody's on the same page about whose role this is and what your intention is going forward to, you know, according to your ability financially. We appreciate your call today and thanks for being on the program very much. Hey, we're going to take more phone calls, but we do have a couple of lines open today. So after the break, we'll be back to tackle your financial questions. The number to call today is 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Mary Lou and Keith and Tara, we're coming your way. A quick email before we head to our break. This comes to us from Cliff. He wrote to us at AskRob at FaithFi.com. He writes, would a money market account be a good place to put my emergency fund?

And I would say, Cliff, it could be. You might find a better interest rate with a money market account. While most banks allow withdrawals without penalty, many have minimum deposit requirements. Obviously, to get the best rate, you may have to make a larger deposit when you open the account and maintain the balance. Just keep in mind, if you use a money market mutual fund, that does not carry the FDIC insurance. A money market account should. And so you just want to check that. If you want to compare rates to what you're being offered through the money market through maybe a high-yield savings as an alternative, I would just head over to Bankrate.com. You can find out who has the very best rates.

There's a five-star rating system, and it will tell you whether or not there's FDIC insurance. Thanks for writing to us today, Cliff. Again, AskRob at FaithFi.com. All right, we're going to take a quick break, and we'll come back with more of your questions. 1-800-525-7000. Stick around.

Thanks for joining us today on Faith in Finance Live. Right back to the phones we go to Miami, Florida. I'm Mary Lou. Go right ahead. Hello, Rob. Thanks for taking my call. Yes, ma'am.

I'm from Miami, Florida, and I wanted to ask a question. This is for my niece. She wanted to see what is the best route for her as a 25-year-old living at home with minimal, almost no debt. And she wants to see what she was thinking about doing some real estate investment.

But right now the market is so high, like to have some rental property. But, you know, the market is too high, so she's not knowing. She doesn't have the understanding of what to do with the money right now that she's taking home with her. She's a teacher, and she lives at home. Her parents doesn't charge her any bills, and all of her income is for her. So she's trying to see what can she do to get the best out of the money that's coming into her right now.

Yeah, very good. Well, I love that she's thinking about this, and you're right. This is a unique opportunity while she's living at home. Expenses are low. She could do quite a bit of saving.

Here's what I would probably think about. I don't think this is the right time with her being young, just starting out, especially with her not having a place of her own. And given what you said about real estate, especially South Florida real estate, not to mention the home prices, but also just where mortgage interest rates are right now. I don't think this is the right environment for her to be thinking about as a 25-year-old just getting started, taking on a rental property with a lot of, you know, a huge mortgage, especially at a high interest rate. So rather, I would be telling her to think about starting to save first an emergency fund, so three to six months' worth of expenses. I realize she'll do that quickly. Maybe she's already got that just because she's been saving.

That's great. Let's put that in a savings account. And then second, let's identify any short-term goals that she has, such as does she want to be able to buy a place of her own? Maybe she wants to be able to buy a condo in the next, you know, two years.

And she knows that's going to cost her, you know, a couple hundred thousand dollars. And she'd like a 20% down payment. So she needs to save $40,000 for that down payment.

Well, great. Maybe she can put away a couple of thousand a month. And, you know, that means that in less than two years, she's got her $40,000 down payment.

So she's ready to move out, you know, on her own at that point. Maybe she has a third fund that savings account where she's starting to save toward her next car purchase or, you know, whatever other goals that she can identify. And then in terms of long-term investments, this would be a great time for her to start funding a Roth IRA in full every year. So she could put in $6,500 in a Roth IRA.

This would be money for retirement. It's going to grow tax-free for the next 40 years while she's working between now and retirement. And if she were to do nothing more than add that $6,500 and the contribution limit will likely increase in future years. If she were to do nothing more than fund that every year for the next 40 years, she'd have a huge nest egg. And that's not even counting maybe a 401k at work that she might have along the way or a teacher's retirement plan. So I would have her think about, you know, these savings goals that she starts to put money into with intentionality for specific purposes. Emergency fund, a home purchase for herself, not an investment and maybe any other savings goals. And then with the rest, let's just go into a, you know, a stock portfolio inside a tax-advantaged retirement account like a Roth.

And let's just have her do that every year and she will be well on her way to having a really strong financial foundation. Okay, thank you. All right. Mary Lou, thanks for your call. You sound like a wonderful aunt and we're delighted that you checked in with us today. Let's head to Illinois. Hi, Keith. Go right ahead.

Yes, thank you. My question involves capital gains on a real estate deal. I heard you talk in the past that a couple, a married couple living in the home two of the last five years can get $500,000. And I guess if you're single, you can get $250,000. My particular situation is I'm married, but I'm separated. My wife lives in the house and I do not. If we were to sell that home, would I still be entitled to the $500,000 since we're still legally married but not living together? Yeah, that's a good question.

You would have to check with your CPA on that, Keith. It's a little bit of an unusual situation. I mean, the rule is you have to live there two out of the last five years.

So it could be that she would be able to get the $250,000 or perhaps you have and you would be able to meet that requirement. Have you lived there two out of the last five years? Not me. She has.

Okay. And how do you own this property? Are you both on the deed? Yes, jointly. And, you know, I went to a couple tax people. One of them was actually a CPA.

And he said he couldn't answer the question without doing a bunch of research, which I found surprising. The other one said, yes, you would be entitled to it. So I got conflicting answers from two different so-called professional tax people. Yeah, unfortunately, I don't have the specifics on that one just because you haven't lived there two out of the last five years.

So that tells me you haven't met the requirement and therefore wouldn't be entitled to that exclusion. I realize that she is a 50 percent owner and she would be able to meet that requirement. How much profit do you think you all would have out of the sale? Well, the house is paid for.

Right. So there's no mortgage on it. Yeah, the question, though, is around capital gains, which is the selling price minus the original purchase price. Yeah, it would be over the $500,000. So you'd have not the selling price, but the gain itself would be over half a million?

Yeah, because I'm sort of guesstimating because the house is, I mean, it's in California and it's probably worth about $750,000. Okay. And you didn't pay a lot less for it?

Yeah, it was under $100,000 back in 1980 when we bought it. Okay. Wow. Yeah.

So this is a pretty big question that you all need to get answered. So this is the year for you to hire a CPA to prepare your taxes and help you chase this down. It's not going to be a complicated one. I just am not sure exactly how that works, given that you're still married filing jointly, correct? No. You're not, but are you legally divorced?

No. Okay, so you're married, but you file individually as singles? I don't know how she files.

That's how I file. Okay. Yeah, so you're just going to need to get some professional counsel here, unfortunately. It could be that, you know, she's entitled to the $250,000 and you're not.

I just don't know. So I would, unfortunately, I wish I could give you a definitive on it, Keith, but you're going to need to check with a tax professional on this. And I'm sorry it hasn't been as easy as you would have thought it should be as you've been trying to get this information. So I think you need to find that person who knows exactly how to handle a situation like this and understand what you're in for. If you did have capital gains on your portion of it, it would likely be 15%. You know, it has to do with if you're, as a single person, if you have income between $44,000 and a half a million in terms of filing as a single person, then it's going to be a 15% capital gains tax.

So that would likely be the most that you would have to pay on the gain. But hopefully you'll get some further help on that just depending on this exclusion and how it's treated. Keith, thanks for your call today.

I'm sorry we didn't have a definitive answer for you. We appreciate it, though. We're going to take a quick break. Back with much more right around the corner. This is Faith and Finance Live. Stick around. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance on America on Moody Radio. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions at 800-525-7000. Let's head to Fort Lauderdale. Tara, thank you for calling.

Go right ahead. Hi, thank you for taking my call. My question is regarding the student loan repayment option plan.

Yes. There are two options, so I am not too sure about which one would be the best. There's one, which is income-driven payment plan, and there's another one that is a term base. But for the income-driven repayment plan, the loan cannot be forgiven at all. And for the term base, you have like a fixed payment and that loan can be forgiven.

So I was wondering if you could give me maybe some advice and see what would be the best. Yeah. Which loan forgiveness program were you trying to qualify for? Actually, I'm done with school. Now it's a repayment.

I have to repay my student loan. OK. Right. And so how much do you owe on the student loans? It's a lot. Close to $100,000. OK. All right.

Yeah. Well, I mean, with the income-driven repayment option, it ties the amount you pay to a portion of your income and then it extends the length of time you're in repayment to 20 or 25 years. And then when the term is over, you can get income-driven loan forgiveness for your remaining debt.

The standard repayment last 10 years and is the best one to stick with to pay less in interest over time. But the key is whether or not you can afford to do that. Does that standard repayment fit into your budget? No, it's really too high.

That's the reason I was considering the term base, which is a little bit more affordable. But because the loan cannot be forgiven at all, and I also teach, so I was a little bit concerned about that. Yeah.

Do you qualify for the teacher's loan forgiveness program? Not yet. Not yet. So I need more time. But you will at some point? Yes, I hope.

I'm hoping maybe in five years. OK. Well, I think that's the key. I mean, you have to teach full time for five consecutive academic years in a low-income school. So, you know, that's not for all teachers.

Would you qualify for that forgiveness? No, I don't think it's a low-income school. So that really removes my concern.

Yeah. So I think what it probably I mean, you'd need to check with the Department of Education, but do you just need to make sure that you would qualify for one of the loan forgiveness programs out there? And if you don't, then that kind of takes that off the table. So if not, then I would just look probably at the at the income based option, which would ensure that it fits into your budget. Now, the extent to which you can get that payment back up to what it would normally be is a good thing, because that'll just help you pay it off quicker, which means less interest paid. But if you're looking for loan forgiveness, you need to read all the fine print and make sure that you actually qualify for it before you were to allow that to help you make this decision. Otherwise, I think I would pay as much as you can. But if that standard payment doesn't fit into your budget, that's the benefit of the federal loan program, is you have the ability to reduce that payment down to something that fits into your income. Yeah, but my concern was about I think I can afford the amount for the term days.

I can do that for now. And I believe it's more affordable to me. So do you think it's a good idea to go with that? I do. Yeah, because if you, you know, if it fits into your budget and you can, you know, cover those expenses moving forward, then absolutely.

But the extent to which you can accelerate that, I would look to do that as you're able down the road. OK, and we hope that can never be forgiven. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time. All right, Tara, thank you for your call today. We appreciate it.

So, Florida. Hi, Caleb. Go ahead. Hi there. I appreciate you taking my call. How are you?

I'm doing great. Thanks for your call. We appreciate it. So my wife and I, we just recently had a baby. It's our first one. And we have about five thousand dollars worth of medical bills.

And I just started listening to your station last week. And I know how much you talk about your emergency fund. I don't know if it would be best to save up and pay off the medical bills or get divided up and pay it in segments and do the hospital bill and build an emergency fund. Yeah. So you have five thousand saved.

Is that right? Or that's the total for the bill? That's the total for the bill.

Yeah. OK. What do you all have in savings right now? Oh, we probably got a couple grand. OK, about two thousand. And how much margin do you have extra per month without paying anything toward the hospital bill? How much do you typically have left over? Oh, we probably have a thousand dollars a week extra.

So about four grand. I just got a better paying job. OK, that's great.

Yeah, I love that. Well, if you have four thousand a month in surplus and you guys can limit your lifestyle, you know, the the tendency here, Caleb, is that as your income increases, your lifestyle increases with it. And you just have to guard against that, especially with you trying to pay this bill off and fund the emergency fund. So I'd probably ask them if you could get on a repayment plan. You know, if you were to call them today and say, listen, I'm going to pay, you know, a couple of thousand dollars a month over the next three months until this is paid off, they'd be thrilled. And, you know, they probably wouldn't charge you a dime in interest because if you're a cash payer for that five thousand and you'd pay that amount per month, they would be ecstatic. And that would allow you then to direct maybe, you know, a couple of thousand a month toward building up that emergency fund and a couple of thousand toward this bill. Now, if they said they were going to charge interest or they didn't go for it, well, then I think, you know, you're only 30 days away, you know, perhaps from paying this whole thing off. And because you have so much in the way of discretionary income, as long as you just really focus on getting that emergency fund built up as your next step, then you'll be well on your way to having both, you know, this debt paid off as well as, you know, that three to six months worth of expenses. You should have that in no time, just given how modestly you're living. Does that make sense?

Yeah, it makes perfect sense. So what did he say to tell the hospital? I would just call them and say, listen, I'd like to get on a payment plan with you and I can send you two thousand a month over the next 90 days until this is paid off. And I'm pretty sure they're going to tell you, great, let's do it if you're willing to do that and just confirm that they're not going to charge you any interest. But they, hospitals are really, and doctors' offices are willing to work with you just because so often, you know, they don't get paid and there's very little recourse because they have, you know, limited impact even on impacting your credit if you don't pay it.

So the fact that you're willing to pay it off in that short of a time period, they'll be thrilled to work with you. Well, that sounds great. I really appreciate it. All right, Caleb.

Hey, we appreciate your call. Congrats on that little one. Is it a little boy or a little girl? It's a little boy. He's about eight months now. Oh, wow. What's his name?

Carter. Awesome. That's great. Well, congrats.

Nothing better than being a dad. So appreciate you calling the program and listening to the program. We're thrilled that you found Moody Radio, Caleb.

And may God bless you and your wife and little Caleb. Thanks for calling today. Let's finish up in Georgia today. Butch, you'll be our final caller. Go ahead. Hey, sir, thank you so much for your ministry. I've been involved since the early 80s with Larry for kid at the Hidden Lake facility.

And yeah, that was our that's where we set our path and awesome. Kind of like being on a diet, you know, sometimes we zone it better than other times, but I'm 65 years old and I'm still working. And just wondering if it would be a good idea to start growing my Social Security while while I'm working or should I wait till at 66 and eight months? That's when I top out or my OK, you know, where my top is. So what's your thoughts?

Yeah, I like you. If you're continuing to work, Butch, I like you just letting that Social Security grow toward your full benefit at your full retirement age, because if you take it early, not only are you going to lock in a reduction in that benefit equal to about about one twelfth of eight percent per month, you take it early. But also you're going to be you know, if you earn over twenty one thousand two hundred forty dollars, you know, you're going to have some of that withheld. Now, it'll be paid back to you once you reach full retirement age. But I just think letting this benefit grow as you're continuing to work and don't need the money makes a lot of sense to me. In fact, if you plan to work beyond your full retirement age of essentially 67, you can continue to let it grow up until age 70. And, you know, the math says that if you do that, that as long as you live 12 more years beyond that time, you will have been repaid for what you didn't take at full retirement age.

And then you'll have a higher check for the rest of your life. Now, I'm not saying you have to do that, but I would certainly wait until at least full retirement age before you start collecting. OK. And do I understand correct that at 66 and eight months when my full retirement is, if I continue to work and wanted to draw, I could make over the twenty one five or whatever per year?

That's right. You can earn an unlimited amount of money and it has no effect on your benefits once you reach full retirement age. OK, but you're kind of thinking, hey, go if you can go ahead and wait to 70.

Yeah, I think so. I mean, especially if you don't need the money and if you're in good health that the Lord tarries, you know, you'll have a higher check for the rest of your life. And, you know, that may go a long way toward just making sure you have what you need to cover your bills in retirement. And it's a guaranteed eight percent a year increase, which you're not going to find anywhere else. So, again, you know, if that if the Lord has other plans for you and you need that money, then go for it.

But if you don't, I like the idea of leaving it right there and letting it grow. Butch, thanks for your call today. Keith, I'd love to get your comment on the air tomorrow. If you want to stay on the line, we'll get your information, see if we can get you scheduled.

Faith and Finance Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and Faith. Thank you to Lynn, Tahira, Dan and Jim. We'll see you tomorrow. Bye bye.