3 Tips for Financial Wellness

Not following the Bible's financial principles is unwise and can be hazardous to your wealth.

Hi, I'm Rob West. Financial wellness doesn't happen all by itself. It's something you have to take positive steps to ensure. Nealy Simon joins us today with some great tips for being financially well. 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 journey. Well, Nealy Simon is our guest today. She's a certified credit counselor with Christian Credit Counselors, an underwriter of this program, and Nealy always brings hope for those struggling with debt.

And today she has some tried and true ways to avoid it. Nealy, great to have you back with us. Thank you for having me on the show, Rob. Well, Nealy, it certainly isn't too late in the new year to look at our finances and make some adjustments where needed. So where should we start? I have three things I'd like to share that promote financial wellness. The first is to create or update your budget. Now, most Americans have a monthly budget.

So if you have one, update it. With inflation, expenses have gone up significantly since last year. And if you don't have a budget, you really need to make one. Your budget provides a roadmap on how to get from here to there while also setting goals. Now, keep in mind, your budget doesn't need to be an IRS audit for every little thing. But what you do need to have are the major things.

And here's a list of the things you should be looking for. Track your housing, food, transportation, clothing, debt payments, utilities, insurance, medical bills and recreation expenses. Now, many people oversubscribe to entertainment services during the pandemic. Those are the automatic payments that are easy to overlook. Maybe you don't need five or six streaming services.

Just pick a few and cancel the others. A good way to see what's on auto pay is to review your bank and credit card statements. That'll give you a good idea of the big stuff, and then you can fill your budget in the best you can with the small stuff.

The more accurate, the better. Well, that certainly is a key part of financial wellness. Take us to tip number two. Pay down your credit card debt because it is the most costly consumer debt you have. According to Bankrate, the average credit card interest rate is now over 20%, and the average retail credit card interest is 29%, and some even go up to 32%.

Here's a good example. If you're only making minimum payments on a $6,000 balance, it will take you 17 years to pay it off, and along the way, you'll pay $9,000 in interest. Now this is a good time for me to remind you, no consolidation of your debt. I recommend a debt management program, which is why we've partnered with Christian Credit Counselors. They'll help you get those interest rates down, a level monthly payment, and get out of debt much faster.

All right, Nealey, tip number three. Start an emergency fund. Everyone should have a cash reserve set aside for unplanned expenses that aren't in your monthly budget. These are things like car and home repairs or medical bills.

An emergency fund can also shield the blow of losing your job. Experts say saving three to six months worth of expenses is best. If you can't do that, start somewhere. Make a goal of $500 and build from there. Another suggestion is to make it automatic. Split some of your paycheck into a savings account. Yeah, that's great advice.

All right, we're about out of time, Nealey. So many people are feeling overwhelmed these days. It seems like what they really need is an action plan. I know that's where Christian Credit Counselors comes in, so give them a quick overview of what you do. Sure. So at Christian Credit Counselors, we help people every day set up that action plan that gets you out of debt 80% faster while honoring your debt in full.

For more information, you can go to christiancreditcounselors.org or by calling us at 800-557-1985 to talk to a certified counselor today. Again, the consultation is free. Great, Nealey. Well, we always appreciate you stopping by. Thanks for the tips today and thank you for your partnership as well. Thank you so much.

Have a great day. It's Nealey Simon with Christian Credit Counselors. This is my preferred way to get you out of credit card debt, folks.

The website again is christiancreditcounselors.org. All right, your calls are next. The number, 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West and this is Faith & Finance Live. We'll be right back. Thanks for joining us today on Faith & Finance Live. I'm Rob West.

Always great to have my friend Nealey Simon with us. Again, folks, if you have credit card debt, you know, I've found the number that kind of helps you differentiate Do I need credit counseling? Can I do it myself? It's around $4,000. So nothing hard and fast about that. But if you've got less than $4,000, probably just snowball it. Start with the budget. Free up as much as you can each month in margin. And as long as you have at least $1,000 in emergency savings, then we line up the credit cards. Smallest to largest balance. Not highest to lowest interest rate. Smallest to largest balance.

That's the snowball that we talk about. Pay all the minimums, keep them current, and then apply the margin that you freed up to the smallest balance. Let's say it's $300.

Three months later, it's gone. But that emotional win of you paying it off, tearing it up, is going to allow you to keep moving down the line and then you pay off the next and the next until you're all the way there. The best method of paying back credit card debt is the one that you'll actually finish.

Studies say that's the snowball method. Now, over $4,000. That's where our friends at ChristianCreditCounselors.org come in. They've worked with hundreds and hundreds, I'll say thousands of our listeners. And really, through a biblical approach and praying with you, encouraging you, they'll help you get those lower interest rates through credit counseling, get that paid off on average 80% faster.

So check that out, ChristianCreditCounselors.org. All right, we want to turn the corner today and tackle anything financial, whatever you're considering in your financial life. We want to talk about it. We've got lines open.

Our team is standing by. We're ready to go. 800-525-7000. You can call right now. 800-525-7000. Let's dive in.

Thomas in West Palm Beach, your first up. Go ahead, sir. Thank you very much for taking my call. I collect Social Security disability right now, and I was wondering if I should stop that and go straight to Social Security, or can I collect both Social Security and Social Security disability? You can't collect both of them, Thomas. So what happens is Social Security disability benefits automatically change to Social Security retirement benefits when you reach full retirement age, whatever that is for you.

The law doesn't allow a person to receive both retirement and disability benefits on one earnings record at the same time. Okay. Well, I'll be 64 at the end of March, so I guess it'll be another year and two months before I'm 65, and that's when it'll kick in automatically? No, you said what year were you born? 1960.

All right. If you were born in 1960, that's going to put you at 67. So if you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is not until 67.

So you will stay on those disability benefits until it converts to retirement benefits at 67. Oh, okay. Okay. I didn't know what the year was that changed. Yes, sir. It has changed a few times over the years for sure.

Yeah. Now when it does change, will I go decrease or will I get an increase or will it stay the same? Yeah, that's going to be based on your earnings record. So I would pull up your benefit statement at myssa.gov, and it'll tell you exactly what you should receive based on your work record at full retirement age.

So the Social Security Administration's website, ssa.gov, you could get your benefit statement there and that should give you the information you need. Okie dokie. Thank you very much. Yes, sir. Thomas, thank you for your call today. We appreciate it. Lines are open today.

Faith and Finance Live, applying God's wisdom to your financial decisions and choices. So call right now. Get in on the conversation today. Maybe there's that question you've been wrestling with over the weekend and you're ready to talk about it, try to make a decision.

I'd love to help you think about it in light of biblical principles. 800-525-7000 you can call right now. To Chicago we go. Hi, Ruth. How can I help? Hi. Hi. I'm hoping that you will be able to tell me how I would be able to get a list of charities that it is safe to give to. Yeah, and when you say— And I enjoy your program very much and you are very helpful to me over the years. Well, I'm so glad to hear that, Ruth. Thank you for saying that. When you say, safe to give to, are you looking just to make sure that, you know, how the money is being used and whether or not too much of it's going to expenses versus ministry, those kinds of things? Yes, I guess so. There is one that I would like to give to, but I don't—I'm not sure that they would be using the money wisely, and I am giving to some other ones that I am sure that they are using the money wisely, and I would just like to have that information.

Yeah, very good. So a couple of websites that would be helpful, I think, to you. Number one is, there is an organization called the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, ECFA for short, E-C-F-A, and they basically certify Christian ministries based on a whole host of criteria in terms of their transparency and their financial status and, you know, the amount of money that's going towards staff and administration and overhead versus to program costs. It's a pretty rigorous annual process that somebody has to go through to be ECFA certified. So you could check a ministry there. I believe it's ECFA.org, is the website.

Yeah, that's the website, and you could do a search there. The second is an organization called Ministry Watch. You could do a search there, ministrywatch.com, and you know, they would offer something similar where they offer a rating system and allow you to basically go click on the search box and, you know, type in a ministry and pull up its rating, and you know, that would be helpful to you as well. One more would be the National Christian Foundation. If you have a certain cause that you're wanting to give to, they can suggest ministries, you know, that they've vetted in that particular giving category, if you will, and you can find them at ncfgiving.com. So I've mentioned three organizations, ECFA at ECFA.org. The second is Ministry Watch, and then the third is the National Christian Foundation.

I think between the three of those you should be able to get some really helpful information. I am so sorry that I didn't let you know beforehand that I am not able to go on the internet or whatever. Oh, I see.

I need something where they would just send old-fashioned mail. Yes, ma'am. Okay, let's do this.

Yeah, I don't know of anything, anybody that would offer a printed list of any kind, but what I can do is, if you hold the line, I'll have my team give you the phone number to the National Christian Foundation, and you can call them, and they should be able to help you over the phone, okay? Thank you so very much again. All right, you're very welcome. Thank you for your call, Ruth. You hang on the line, and we'll get you that phone number. Thanks for being on the program today. Folks, we're just getting cranked up here today. I know the calls are coming in. We've got a few lines open, so we'd love to hear from you today and help you think about your financial decisions in light of biblical wisdom.

Eight hundred five two five seven thousand. Also, a little later on the broadcast, Bob Dahl will stop by. Bob is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at Crossmark Global. He's a sought-after speaker. He's a Wall Street veteran, a frequent contributor on Fox Business. He joins us each Monday to give us his update on the market for the week, and the market starting off with some pressure right across the board today, mainly because of a strong jobs report. You might say, why doesn't the market like that?

Well, that could lead to the Fed not cutting rates anytime soon. We'll talk about that with Bob Dahl. We're going to take a quick break, and then back with your questions just around the corner here on Faith and Finance Live. So stick around. We'll be right back.

Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West. You're taking your calls and questions. Three lines open. Call right now.

Eight hundred five two five seven thousand. You know, I mentioned that the market was under some pressure. Here's what's in the news today. Economists and job seekers aren't on the same page when it comes to hiring.

Here's why. The experts continue to tell us that the job market is strong, citing a 50-year low in the unemployment rate as of January. It's at three point four percent. But it seems that job seekers aren't buying it. A survey by the staffing agency Insight Global shows that unemployed full-time workers applied for an average of 30 jobs in 2023, getting back only four callbacks or responses. Over half of unemployed adults said they were burned out from searching for a job.

Analysts say the job market is cooling. But the main reason for the divided opinions is that job seekers expectations are too high. After a long period of robust hiring, people simply aren't accustomed to having difficulty getting hired. That's especially true for younger workers. In the survey, 66 percent of them reported feeling burned out from job searching. So there's no doubt this, excuse me, not housing, this job market is cooling and it is something to be aware of. By far, studies say that those who find a job do so through their own network. So dust out that resume. Talk to friends and family. Get connected with people at church or LinkedIn. Let them know you're looking for a job if you're out there on the job hunt.

But good news is inflation is low despite what a lot of job seekers are experiencing in the real world. We'll get Bob Doll's take on that a little later in the broadcast as he gives us his market commentary because the jobs report, the red hot jobs report, at least on the surface, is what's driving in part this sell-off on the stock market. All right, let's dive back into some phone calls today. We've got three lines open, 800-525-7000. You can give us a call. Let's go to Hudson, Ohio. Beth, go right ahead.

Hi, sir. Thank you for taking my call. My question is I'm wondering if I should pay off our mortgage. Is it three percent just shy of $70,000? We recently sold a small family business, so I've invested some, but just wondering about that.

Yeah, it's a great question. So are you on, when are you on track to pay it off by if you just continue on? Probably 12 years. Okay, and what are your age? I am 62. Okay, and are you married?

Yes, my husband is 60. Okay, great. And are you all, one or both of you still working?

We both are, yes. Okay, excellent. And how long do you plan to continue to work at this point? I'll probably work until I'm 66 or 67, and I'm sure he'll work about that age, too. We have another business that we both work at.

Oh, okay, great. Yes, another five to seven years. And how do you feel like you're doing toward retirement, Beth? I mean, apart from this, the proceeds of this sale, do you have other assets in stocks and bonds, retirement accounts? A few in stocks and bonds. We do have a retirement account, a 401k, we each have that, and the Lord's blessed us very well. Okay, so do you feel like you're on track with your retirement savings apart from this?

I do. Yeah, okay. And then talk to me just about your desire to be debt-free. I mean, is it something like, listen, if it makes sense on paper, that's great, but if it doesn't, we're comfortable hanging on to this mortgage, or is one or both of you just really convicted about being out of debt as soon as possible? This would be our biggest debt to house. I mean, other than that, it's just utility bills, and maybe in the far future, we'll have a car payment or something, but I think that's affordable. I don't know. I mean, a lot of questions. Neither of us really feel convicted, wasn't sure what to do, and we can find a good savings with our interest rate that's well over the 3% of our mortgage.

Yeah, yeah, very good. I mean, I think that's the key, is obviously this is a very low rate. If you had said to me, Rob, I just really want to be out of debt. I mean, it weighs on me.

I want this gone. Then I would say, great, that really should come first. But apart from that, if we just do this on paper, there is a case for you just to continue to pay this down. I mean, one option would be you split the middle, which is rather than waiting 12 years, it sounds like you guys are going to transition out of at least the current business that you're in in the next potentially seven years. So what if you were to put a plan in place to try to get this paid off by retirement?

You could run an amortization schedule with a free calculator online just to say, OK, what would we need to send extra every year so that this is gone in five or six or seven years? And that way, as you're transitioning into this next season of life, whatever that looks like, this largest expense is coming off the table. But it allows you to hang on to the cash that you have and put it to work, whether that's in a CD or in an investment account. I mean, rates are high now.

They're probably not going to be as high a year from now. And so if all things are equal, meaning let's say rates come down to four and after tax, because you're going to have to pay tax on the interest for the CDs, you're really not making much more than you are paying in interest on the house, then you might as well pay it off at that point. The only thing you're losing is the liquidity that comes from having that cash available if you need it. But if you're going to invest it in a properly diversified stock and bond portfolio, maybe on the more conservative end, because you guys are within five or seven years of retirement, then you have the potential to, say, make five or six or seven percent. And now all of a sudden there is a decent margin there between what you're paying in interest versus what you're getting. So I think I would go one of the two directions. I would either say, listen, I'm going to put this to work right now while rates are great and I always have the option to pay it off down the road or B, I'm going to go ahead and invest it.

And then I want to put a plan in place to have my mortgage paid off by the time we retire. And so we're going to try to send at least that much extra every year just out of our current cash flow so that we don't ride this out 12 years, but it's gone in five or six. Does that make sense? It definitely does. Yeah.

And we were thinking along that line somewhat, but I really appreciate your advice. Excellent. Well, I really appreciate your call, Beth. Thanks for being on the program.

It's a great problem to have and a good question. So thanks for giving us a call today. Well, folks, we're going to take a quick break. We come back more of your questions and we've got some lines open. So if you have a question, we'll try to give you an answer.

Eight hundred five two five seven thousand. You can call right now. This is Faith and Finance Live. We'll be right back. Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance Live.

I'm Rob West. Coming up in the next segment, Bob Doll stops by with his market update. We'll get his take on the week ahead and the macro conditions in our economy. But in the meantime, we're taking your calls and questions on anything financial with a few lines open today.

Eight hundred five two five seven thousand. You can call right now with your financial questions. Let's go to Punta Gorda, Florida. Jeanette, thank you for calling. Go ahead.

Thank you for taking my call. My question is, my daughter is 24. She had cancer and she's been on disability since twenty nineteen. So she really hasn't had much work put in to the Social Security. So what is that going to mean for her in the long run? And what what else can she do?

Yes. Well, you know, I think the she's she earning disability now. She has she only gets a little over four hundred and we've tried to get it to raise. I mean, we're taking care of her still.

She found out at 19 and it's just been, you know, crazy ever since. And so she's been on disability because she hasn't been able to do anything. Yeah. Yeah. Right.

So she won't have enough credits then to earn regular benefits. Is that right? Yeah. She's on our insurance until she turns twenty six. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, Social Security benefits are based on your high thirty five years of employment and contributions to the Social Security system. So you have to work at least 40 quarters and contribute to the system. So that's 10 years and contribute to the system to be eligible for minimum Social Security benefits. If she doesn't end up having those 40 quarters, you know, in her work record, then she would just continue to earn the disability benefits. If she does, then she would automatically switch to regular Social Security benefits at that point. OK. And because she's still on disability, she doesn't really have a job. She pets it. She's trying to make that a business, but has not got that up and going at all.

So it's just hit and miss here and there. And from I guess how much is it that she has before she has to start claiming that as well? Yeah. So in terms of that, I mean, any income that she has from that side business, she would need to claim and then she could offset that against any expenses. So, you know, the key is to keep proper records of that so she can, you know, justify any income that she's bringing in against expenses that she has. But, you know, I think the key would be you have to file a tax return if you get above the standard deduction for the year, which, you know, is she if she's filing as an individual, as a single person or at this point filing for her this year as we're filing for her as a dependent this year.

OK. All right. Yeah. But then but once you're no longer doing that, then if she earns anything for a single filer above fourteen thousand six hundred, she'd have to file her own tax return. And that's going to come down to the income she receives from the business. You know, less any expenses that she has.

And that was the reason why I guess we are filing for her because she making not even a thousand. So it's like. Right.

Yeah, there just wouldn't be enough there. OK. So in the long haul, she won't get Social Security.

No, she won't. He said 10. OK. Yeah.

Ten years or 40 quarters. So she could qualify then for SSI, Supplemental Security Income or SSDI if she's, you know, permanently disabled. And that's where, you know, we just did a recorded a program recently. It'll be airing here in a few weeks on what's called an ABLE account. A B L E. Are you familiar with that term?

No. OK. You know, as long as you are, you know, qualified as disabled prior to the age of 26, then you can basically put money into an ABLE account and it won't affect her ability to get SSDI. So, you know, normally there's an asset minimum and so forth. But this would allow you all to put money aside so that when you're gone, she has this account plus, you know, the ability to get the SSDI. So that could be an option, you know, that would give her the ability to have some additional funds available if she's not able, you know, to support herself, potentially even a special needs trust, depending upon how severe this is. So I'd probably talk to an estate planning attorney who can really help you think through all of this just so you can make sure that you have a plan for, you know, how she would continue to provide for herself, given her condition after you're gone and be able to still, you know, take advantage of government benefits that are available for her as well. OK. Yeah, I OK. Yeah. So do you all have an attorney that you've worked with, like for your own will or anything like that?

No, I keep saying I need to do that. Plus, when she was sick, they because she was 19, they considered her an adult. She was so sick, it was really hard for her to make any decision. She couldn't make any decisions when she was going through all that. And no matter how many times she signed a form saying speak to my mom, she's my caregiver.

They just it was really hard. So I really we definitely get that taken care of. Yeah.

Yeah, very good. Well, if you don't have somebody, you could reach out to a certified kingdom adviser there in Florida and ask for a referral. But I would find a godly estate attorney who can really help you not only put your will in place, health care directives. I mean, all of those things that you need power of attorney for you and your husband, but also, you know, making sure you have proper plans in place for her so that, you know, she's provided for financially. You do that in a way that makes sense.

It doesn't limit her ability to access, you know, benefits that would be available through the government like SSDI and other things. And they can help you think through all that and make a plan. So, Jeanette, listen, all the best to you. We appreciate your call today. And God bless you for thinking through all of this now. It's important to get it all in place, certainly sooner rather than later. We appreciate your call. Well, folks, continue to take your questions on anything financial today. Plus, just around the corner, Bob Doll will stop by as well.

And Bob will weigh in on the markets and the economy and tell us what he's seeing as he's looking out across the markets today, most of which were red, by the way. Also, let me mention, you know, I mentioned a certified kingdom advisor. For those of you who aren't aware of that term, that's a professional either in financial planning, investment management, insurance, estate planning and accounting who has met high standards and not only character and competence and experience, but they've also been through a regulatory review, a pastor and client reference, and they've been trained to bring a biblical worldview of financial decision making to you. You can find a CKA in your area when you go to our website at faithfi.com.

There's more than fifteen hundred of them now across the United States and into Canada. Again, that's faithfi.com. And just click find a CKA. Also, while you're there, check out the Faithfi app.

That would be a great way you could listen to broadcast archives of this program. You can jump into the Faithfi community and ask questions or maybe answer a question from somebody who's a steward like you just trying to be faithful in managing God's money. That's the Faithfi community in the app, plus all of our content and the money management system.

Perhaps this is a time where you need to set up a budget and create a system to track the flow of money in and out of your household. Well, the Faithfi app can help you do that. It's all on the website at faithfi.com. All right, a quick break and then back with your questions and Bob Doll just around the corner. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West. Before we head back to the phones here on a Monday, we're joined by Bob Doll. He's CEO and CIO of Crossmark Global Investments, and he joins us with his market commentary each Monday afternoon. Bob, good afternoon, sir.

And to you my friend. All right, so lots of red markets today. Does this have something to do with that jobs report?

Yeah, it could. I think it's more about the Fed saying they're not going to lower rates in March as a lot of people had hoped for and expected and the jobs report being as strong as it was, both in terms of the number of new jobs and the increase in average hourly earnings all point to no, the Fed is not ready to lower rates yet. And as it does, the market a little bothered plus it's overbought has done so well since the first of the year.

Yeah, which is really surprising just given everything that's going on around us. Bob, what do you think in just in terms of the year ahead with regard to those rate cuts? I mean, what has the market priced in and what do you think is best, you know, the base case at this point? Well, at the peak, the market was expecting that is Fed fund futures, seven rate cuts that occurred in early January. And we've gotten some economic numbers, including the employment report we just talked about now. Now the consensus is five. The Fed has said three, our guess has been three or four. But the important thing is it just keeps getting pushed back.

And that's problematic at some point. And the bond market, of course, is respected that and bonds have sold off. We see the 10 year having been in the 380s, not that many days ago is 416 today. So interest rates are moving up a bit.

Yeah. What about the other developed economies around the world? Obviously, the US has been the leader in terms of market results.

But where do you think they're headed? So mixed results there to some countries, Germany, for example, are flirting with recession. China is always a question mark, although the official forecast is for 5% real growth this year.

We'll see if there's any chance of that, Rob. So the question mark about developed economies outside the US continue. Of course, the markets are pretty cheap. They're discounting in many cases of recession. Yeah.

All right. And then, Bob, I saw today interest rates on home mortgages back up above 7%. I guess that's just also a response to the Fed's comments as of late, huh? It is absolutely. These rates tend to move in unison, as you know, and rates having come down from most pick on the 10 year Treasury from 5%, not that many months ago, getting into the high threes and about now back into the low fours. So as long as the economy is pretty firm, as long as inflation's not coming down as fast as people thought, the path of least resistance for interest rates could be marginally higher.

Yeah, no question. All right, Bob, to finish today, you know, more and more of our listeners and just Christians in general, I think, are discovering that their values can be aligned with their investments. What would you say to somebody who's just hearing about this for the first time?

Where do they go next? They need to get educated. And one way to do that is find a good Christian financial advisor, a CKA, really, that works in this field, understands what it is to line up one's life, if you will, and their investments, makes all the sense in the world. It's a great opportunity. And as you point out, more and more individuals, and for that matter, institutions, are saying our investments, they need to be lined up with the rest of our lives. And that takes us back to our faith. So it's a fun process to watch, still a lot of education going on, as you know, Rob, from all your work, but we're slowly but surely getting people to stand up and say, this matters. Yeah, that's good. Well, that's a great place to leave it for today. Bob, we always appreciate your time, sir. Have a great week. All right. That's Bob Doll. He's CEO and CIO at Crossmark Global.

You can learn more at crossmarkglobal.com. All right, we're gonna go back to the phones. We'll get to as many questions as we can before we round out the broadcast today.

To Tampa, Rebecca, go ahead. Yes, I want to know that if a mortgage and a small loan, if a small extra payment a month is the same, would be about the same as making one yearly payment to principal only? Does it make a difference?

It does. You know, the sooner you pay toward the principal, the better, because every month that goes by that you're not paying interest on the amount that you reduced through that principal reduction payment is good for you. So all things being equal, if you were to send $100 a month starting in January versus $1200 all at one time in December, you'd be better off doing the $100 a month. Now, if you could do the $1200 in January, that would be better than $100 a month for the year.

You see my point here. So the sooner we can make that payment to principal, the better. And if we do that systematically, either through an annual principal reduction payment or through a monthly small amount to principal reduction, both of those are going to work for you.

But if you're really just looking to crunch the numbers and figure out which is better on paper, paying it off sooner rather than later is always better. Okay. Is that is that helpful? Yes, thank you.

Okay, you're welcome. Let me also mention, Rebecca, if you're comfortable on the internet, there's a lot of great mortgage calculators out there. If you just type in, you know, principal reduction calculator, you'll find a lot of free calculators where you can put in your loan amount, the balance that you have today, the interest rate, the scheduled payment, and then you can start playing with the calculator say, how much interest would I save if I pay $25 a month? How much would I save at $50 a month? How much would I save if I do, you know, $1,000 right now? And you can see that play out in the amortization schedule will tell you exactly what the benefit is.

And you may find that, you know, that's the incentive you need to do a little bit more just because you see how quickly those numbers add up. Thanks for your call today to Wellington, Florida, WRMB. Hi, Cordell. Go ahead.

Hi, Rob. Thank you for your your expertise on financial matters. It's golden. Honestly, thank you.

That's very kind. Yeah, I am 73 and I have a really, really beautiful townhome. And I'd like to really get some information about reverse mortgage. There's a gentleman that comes on that I think they I think these companies called movement, mortgage.com. Is that correct? Yes. Yes. Well, I've gone on. Well, I don't have a PC. But I do as much as my phone limits me, you know, allows me and I go on and I have different numbers, different numbers pop up.

But I'd like to know when he's coming on again that I can listen. And another question, Rob is, do I need a real estate lawyer to help me to, to go through this, this whole process? You don't know. So, you know, reverse mortgages can be a helpful tool Cordell for somebody in your season of life as long as you're 62 and you have at least 50% equity. Now, hear me and saying that, you know, there's a lot in the Bible about debt, a lot of warnings there. And so I love the idea of folks getting out of debt and staying there. The only difference with a reverse mortgage is number one, I think it's a tool. It's not the tool. It's not for everybody, but it can be really helpful.

Number one. Number two is it's one of the few loans that you will ever have where there's no recourse, meaning you pledge collateral for the loan, which is your home, in your case, your townhouse, but you're not personally obligating yourself. So for instance, if they pay you a certain amount every month in the from the reverse mortgage and you live to age 130 and they pay you more than your townhouse is worth, they you don't owe anything other than your townhouse.

The government is covering any difference there. So it's a non-recourse debt. So you're not personally obligated. The only thing that's backing that loan is the home itself. And so for a lot of folks in this season of life, they're really cash crunched. You know, either they have a mortgage and they can't afford it or they have paid off their home, but they don't have enough coming in in retirement assets or Social Security to pay their bills. And that's where either just paying off the mortgage and just making it go away through the reverse mortgage or getting a monthly check, you know, can be a really it can be a game changer because all of a sudden now they're able to pay their bills. And when they pass away or move, the house is sold and the loan is paid off and it's done. And most of the time their heirs don't want the house anyway.

They would just sell it and take the money. So it can be a real change for you in terms of your your overall lifestyle, just because it might give you that additional amount you need to make ends meet. A couple of things we can do, even on your phone, you can go to faithfi.com and you can search for Harlan, H-A-R-L-A-N, and look, you know, listen to the last time he was on the broadcast. He's coming back here in the next few weeks. And so you can, you know, be sure to listen to that as well. And if you stay on the line and get your information, we'll have somebody get in touch with you and just make sure you can find the link to replay it and let you know when he's coming back on. We can also have somebody that calls you help you get connected with movement if you want to explore this further. Okay. God bless you, sir. God bless you. All right. You're welcome.

And may the Lord bless you as well. Stay on the line, Cordell. We'll get your information and get somebody in touch with you.

Let's go quickly to Muskegon, Michigan. John, go ahead. Yes.

Thanks for all you do helping us with our finances. My question is, what is the difference between a living trust and a will and which one is better? Yeah, it's not better or worse.

They're just different. So a will is really important for everybody because it's going to make sure that your wishes with regard to your assets and your personal effects and even a guardian, if you have minors is named so that, you know, your wishes can be honored at death. The difference with the trust is why some people will use a trust in addition to a will is either a they want to try to pass their assets outside of probate, which can be expensive and time consuming. Maybe they have several pieces of real estate. They want their estate plans to be anonymous rather than public. You know, those would be the main reasons why you would have a living trust. So I think at the end of the day, you just need to talk through your specific situation with an estate attorney. So I would connect with somebody in your area. And if you don't have one, a CKA in Michigan can make that referral. John, I'm sorry we're out of time.

I hope that brief information helps you, though. Thanks for calling today. That's going to do it for us. I'm grateful for Amy and Dan and Jim and Anthony couldn't do it without him. Faith and Finance Live is a partnership between Moody radio and faith by we'll see you tomorrow. Bye bye.