LLC vs. C-Corp vs. S-Corp for Your Business

Almost a hundred years ago, President Calvin Coolidge said the chief business of America is business, but he didn't say what kind of business.

Hi, I'm Rob West. If you're starting your own company, you have options for setting it up. Each has advantages and disadvantages that can be confusing. I'll give you the pros and cons of each today, 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, it's a question we get a lot. I'm starting a business, but I'm not sure how I should set it up legally. Should it be an LLC or a C-Corp or some other type like a partnership or a sole proprietorship?

If you choose incorrectly for your particular situation, it could cost you money at tax time. So let's take a look at some of these just in case you want to start your own business someday. And we'll look at the LLC, the C-Corp, and the S-Corp, three of the most common. First, the LLC or Limited Liability Company. As the name implies, this is a business structure that protects you from the personal responsibility for the company's debts or liabilities. LLCs are really hybrids that combine the characteristics of a corporation with those of a partnership or sole proprietorship.

Now, what does that mean exactly? Well, it gives you protection from debt collectors and lawsuits involving the company, just as a corporation would. But unlike a corporation, the LLC allows what's called flow through for tax purposes. That means the LLC doesn't pay corporate income taxes. The company's profits and losses or deductions are passed on to the members of the LLC. That avoids the double taxation that a corporation pays when the company pays income taxes and the shareholders then pay income taxes on dividends or capital gains taxes when they sell shares. So an LLC is a formal business arrangement that requires you to file articles of organization with the state, but it's easier to set up than a corporation.

It also has certain disadvantages. For example, it may have to be dissolved if a member dies or files for bankruptcy. That's unlike a corporation that theoretically can last indefinitely. Another disadvantage, an LLC is not a good option if you decide to take the company public someday. The ownership or equity stake of an LLC cannot be publicly traded, but for many folks starting a business, forming an LLC is a great way to get started. Now, the LLC is often compared to a C corporation or C Corp, as in, which should I choose? But in most cases, you wouldn't be faced with that decision.

That's because there's a very important distinction between the two. While both an LLC and a C Corp will protect you personally from the company's debt and liability, the C Corp does not allow a flow through treatment of profits and losses for tax purposes. C corporations are subject to corporation income taxation.

That means the taxing of profits from the business is at both corporate and personal levels, creating the double taxation situation I mentioned earlier. A C Corp also requires you to hold annual meetings and have a board of directors that's voted on by the shareholders. That's a whole other level of complexity, but it has a major advantage over more simple company structures. That separation between management and the owners or shareholders is what allows C Corps to live beyond the life of an individual owner. Since they have many owners called shareholders, it also allows for the possibility of passive income for those shareholders. Now I said that the question for how to establish a business in most cases won't be a choice between an LLC and a C Corp. That's because the vast majority of folks who are starting a business would want to avoid the double taxation inherent in a C Corp.

So how do you get around that? Well, it's with an S Corp. This structure has the best features of both the LLC and the C Corp. The S Corp provides you with liability protection, but also allows you to pass profits and losses directly to shareholders. So you're only taxed once filing an S Corp can also reduce personal income taxes for the business owners by characterizing money they receive from the business as salary or dividends to owners that will often lower their liability for self-employment or FICA taxes.

An S Corp will also generate deductions for business expenses and wages paid to their employees, which again can be owners. Okay, so those are the advantages and disadvantages of the three most common company structures just in case you were thinking about starting a business. We're back with your questions just after this 800-525-7000. Stick around. The opinions offered during this program represent the personal or professional opinions of the participants given for informational purposes only.

Any information provided is not intended to replace advice from a financial, medical, legal, or other professional who understands your specific situation. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West. All right, it's time to take your calls and questions today. The number to call is 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. We'd love to hear from you and tackle whatever you're considering in your financial life. So let's dive in. We're going to begin today in Ohio with Ashley.

You can go right ahead. Oh, excuse me, Iowa is where Ashley's located. Ashley, how can I help you?

Okay, yes, I have a question. I have a friend who is in the military, but they have a lot of school bills, college tuition. They have a lot of debt from school bills. And I'd like to know, is there any organization that would specifically deal with helping folks with that kind of debt, reduce the interest or charges or something like that?

Is there anything available specifically for college debt? Yeah, it's a good question. Let me ask, is this, are these federal student loans or private? Do you know? I don't know, and I don't know the amount either. Okay, well that would be an important distinction.

Is the the person who has these loans, is this a relative of yours, a family member? Yes. Okay, all right. And are they having trouble paying it or is it currently deferred? What's the status? I really, I don't know very much about it. I just was wondering if there was some organization I could refer them to, to inquire, to see if they could get some sort of help with this.

I see. You know, there really isn't. I mean, the two options you've got is, number one, if you want to share with them, if they happen to be federal student loans, then there is what's called an income-based repayment option that would allow them, based on their financial condition, their income and assets, to trigger potentially a lower monthly payment, which might help them solve for the fact that they don't have the resources to pay on it. Apart from that, the only other option would be what's called loan forgiveness, which is a specific program that this person may or may not qualify for that has to do with whether or not they work in the public sector or for one of the various loan forgiveness programs. And studentaid.gov, that's the website, studentaid.gov, would be the best website to go to see if this particular person is eligible for any of these forgiveness programs. There is also some other forgiveness programs that the president is talking about.

We can set aside whether or not we agree with his approach. But nevertheless, unless you have a conviction otherwise, there is likely some loan forgiveness available from the federal government as well, just for, you know, general purposes. So I think that's probably the next option is to explore, A, whether or not there's an income-based repayment option available, whether or not this person would qualify for any of the loan forgiveness programs, or more recently, the executive branch loan forgiveness that the president's office has recently enacted.

Those would be the best options. Apart from that, Ashley, there really is no organization or other assistance that I'm familiar with that would be able to help here. Sarah, with federal loans, I understand what you said, and I've written this down. How would I find out that information?

How would they find out that information? Would you go to studentaid.gov? Yes, that'd be a great place to start, absolutely. Okay, well thank you very much.

I appreciate your help. All right, you're very welcome. Thanks for your call today. 800-525-7000 is the number to call.

Let's head to Fort Lauderdale. Hi Alex, how can we help? Mr. Robb, thank you very much.

First off, God bless you and your family for being able to help us. My question is in regards to personal credit and business loans. I'm trying to help a family friend acquire a bank loan for their health care practice, but their personal credit score isn't that great.

It's like the high 500s, low 600s, so I'm not sure what they're options are, but I know they make enough revenue where they should be able to apply for some kind of loan, but I just want to have some details of some information to help them out. Yeah, absolutely. What kind of line of business did you say it is? It's health care.

Okay, all right. Yeah, I mean, certainly their personal credit history along with the business credit history is going to be a factor used in evaluating the application. Now, it's not the only factor, and it's not necessarily even the most important, but it is a factor that would be heavily considered, and it's going to have one of the effects of whether or not they're ultimately able to secure the financing. Some business loans do require business owners to personally guarantee the debt, in which case they become legally responsible for payment. There are certain cases where a business financing, let's say, products, do not require a personal guarantee. So some of those might be a corporate credit card or where there's what's called invoice factoring, where they're getting a loan against future invoices that are due to be paid down the road, but it certainly is often going to be a consideration. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the SBA, it's pretty common for a personal guarantee when there's not collateral involved. Do you know if there would be collateral or are they just looking for cash support for the business? I'm sure they could get collateral, but I read somewhere that the revenue stream for sales is what will help determine how much money they can get and how much, I guess, if they get approved for that loan.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It really is just going to come down to kind of what they're looking for, what is the purpose of the loan. Again, maybe they could do invoice factoring if that's an option, otherwise potentially they could provide other collateral for the business itself. And then a lot of it has to do with, as you said, their cash flow and other assets, how long they've been in business, what kind of business structure they have.

You know, all of those are going to be factors. So, you know, I think ultimately they have to decide first whether they want to make a personal guarantee on it. And then I would look at different financing products because they're not all created equal.

And then you compare the rates and the terms, you know, of course, across multiple lenders in the same way you would if you were trying to get a personal loan. But at the end of the day, I think it's going to come down to the strength of the business, the longevity of it, and then whether or not they want to give that personal guarantee. Perfect.

Thank you, Rob. I guess part B of the question is SBA private or pretty much be both the same. Yeah, absolutely. So the SBA loans are going to be a great place to start just because they have the government backing. So a lot of times they can provide more favorable terms. So I would take a look at that probably as a starting place and then you could, you know, have them compare other private options against that.

But I think an SBA loan is a great beginning point for sure. Thank you, Rob. I hear the music.

I like them at the Grammys. Thank you very much. Exactly. We're gently escorting you off the stage, Alex, but I appreciate your call today and congratulations on that award, by the way. Hey, we're going to take a quick break. Let me remind you before we head to this break, that it's the last day of the month.

That's right. It's leap day. This is a big day, which just simply means that we can use your financial support here at Faith and Finance Live to reach our listener support goal for the month.

Just head to faithfi.com and click give. We're back with more questions after this. Hey, great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions.

All the lines just about full. Looks like we have one available at 800-525-7000. All right, let's head back to the phones to Lincoln, Nebraska. Hi, David. Go ahead, sir. Thank you, Rob, for taking my call.

I have a neighbor who wants to buy 20 feet of a property I own, which I'm willing to do, but I have no concept of how to determine fair market value for the property and how to determine if I made an income and what income tax implications that has. Yeah, yeah, interesting. So a couple of thoughts here. Number one is, do you have a mortgage on this property?

No. Okay, that's good. So it would need to be mortgage free in order to do that. I think the next step is to consult a real estate attorney and really follow all the legal steps to properly sever and then ultimately sell a parcel of land, even a small one, because you're going to need to investigate local zoning laws and land use restrictions before subdividing it. And then, you know, there is tax implications. You need to check with your CPA. But that portion that you sell that doesn't involve your home would now probably no longer be able to be counted toward the residence, primary residence exemption, and therefore it would be subject to capital gains. So for that portion, you'd establish a cost basis and then determine how much is the gain, and then you'd pay capital gains tax on that. So you'd want to get your land appraised by an independent appraiser. And then, you know, the county would have to be involved in subdividing it because you're gonna have to make sure that you ensure that, you know, you have clear property boundaries through a professional survey. And then you want to just factor in any implications long term of, you know, the effects on your remaining property after the sale, just making sure it's not creating any ingress and egress issues, things like that.

So I think you got a little homework to do, starting with a real estate attorney about the proper steps legally to sell off that parcel with local zoning with regard to use restrictions, and then ultimately, you know, with getting a survey and an appraisal to establish the value and the clear property boundaries, and then ultimately with your CPA. So you're gonna have to be the quarterback on a number of folks that will be involved in this, just to make sure you've got all the I's dotted and the T's crossed. Does that make sense? Yeah, so to figure out the value, the appraiser will be able to do that. Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

So they'll be able to give you a land appraisal and then, you know, be able to separate that out for the parcel that you want to sell. All right, thank you. Okay, absolutely. We appreciate your call today. Let's go to Orlando. Karla, you're next on the program. Go ahead.

Hi, thank you for taking my call. My husband and I would be retiring and downsizing, but our daughter moved in with her children and can't really support herself. So our house is valued at $350,000, we owe $61,000. I only have $50,000 and a 401k and my husband thinks we should look into a reverse mortgage and I'm not sure about that. Yeah, Karla, I mean it's certainly a tool that could be really helpful here. Is this the home you all plan to stay in for the foreseeable future if you can afford it?

Yes and no. It's really quite large and as far as it's almost an acre and I see myself getting, you know, we need, we don't need a swimming pool anymore. When the kids were younger, we've been here 20 years, so we really kind of thought we would downsize and move by his brother actually. Okay, but yeah, but what are the implications of that decision and the, you know, the fallout of that now that your daughter and her kids are there? I feel it's important to maintain that they are unity with us at this point because they've been through a lot, so.

Yeah, yeah. Have you all talked through or have you considered yourself just what the timeline is on this? Probably a few years.

I don't know what's, at least five more years probably. All right, now, yeah, no, that makes sense and then you said your husband is 70, you're 69. Are you one or both of you working now and on the way to retirement or are you already retired?

I retired, but I went back to work and he also did, but he's not working at this moment. Okay, and what's the plan for that moving forward? He's looking for work and my daughter isn't in a position that she earns enough without child support. She really can't really afford two children by herself. Okay, so are you needing to come home to help her care for the kids or is she just going to stay home and take care of them at this point?

I'm really just letting them do their own thing kind of thing at this point. Very good, and with him not working but you working, are you all falling behind every month or are you able to pay the bills? We're able to pay the bills and I'm able to, we can make it off of our social security and I'm saving what I'm earning, but I feel it's been quite a setback supporting them for so many years too. Sure, yeah, I can certainly understand that. So you're actually making the mortgage payment right now because you do have a small mortgage today, correct?

Correct, we're paying. So there's a couple of options here, I mean one is you know you all could just kind of weather this knowing that listen this isn't ideal, but we're staying afloat and we think this is just for a few years and ultimately you know lord willing she's going to be back out on her own able to provide for herself and you all are going to downsize and move and that would be option one. Option two is we say no we think this could be a while and we feel like you know we need that extra money today we're putting toward the mortgage and we don't have the ability to pay it off and so the reverse mortgage could actually come in and even if you don't convert the remaining equity into an income stream, which is possible, but even if you don't do that you could at the very least just stop making the mortgage payment because whatever's left on the mortgage would be paid off by the reverse mortgage and then that would just grow based on an underlying interest rate and fees over time and then when you sell it you'd pay it off but that would at least recoup the mortgage payment during this season. The other option is you actually stop the mortgage payment and you start pulling the equity out in the form of either a line of credit or a monthly income stream to you all. I think you could consider each of those and our friends at Movement Mortgage could help you process that just go to movement.com faith but let's you and I finish up off the air I've got to take a break so stay right there we'll be right back. Great to have you with us today on faith and finance live. Hey our new study's out that's right it's the faith five study called rich toward God it's a deep dive into luke 12 the parable of the rich fool it's an it's an amazing passage of scripture that confronts some key topics related to money and our hearts and if you're in a small group maybe a church and you're looking for a great bible study dealing with a practical issue that would be really helpful to you and others consider rich toward God it's it's meant to be used over four weeks you can use it personally or in a small group it's beautifully designed and as you tackle some of these important questions about the uncertainty of tomorrow and what it means to live rich toward God and how we can find our true abundance in God and not the things of this world I think it's life changing it really will draw you into a more intimate relationship with God and challenge you to make God your ultimate treasure check it out today you'll find it at faithfi.com just click shop at the top of the page that's faithfi.com all right we're going to head back to the phones to Joliet Illinois hi John go right ahead. Hi Rob you're doing a fantastic job God bless you for the work that you do well thank you sir very kind I'm addicted I'm addicted to you because I have to listen to you every day for I mean I have to every day I cannot miss you I don't know what to say about that John I don't want you to dictate anything but Jesus but I appreciate the sentiment you you you like the drug addiction oh boy it's getting worse by the moment the moment maybe we ought to move to your question okay I want to give you a little history on what I'm doing here I've purchased uh first of all I'm 76 years old 11 years ago I purchased an annuity from an insurance company I invested uh forty thousand dollars in this uh cash money in this annuity all right and I've held on to it for 11 years as of today all right and the total uh investment value of it is 60 000 and I had if I was to annuitize it today I would have a lifetime income of about three thousand four hundred and ninety three dollars okay my question my question is uh since I'm up in age and I've had some a few health issues uh I do have a bank that's offering six all close to six percent on a cd yeah to lock it in so I was trying to decide on whether it would make sense for me to either withdraw this sixty thousand dollars down because I won't have to pay any any penalties because I've held it on for 11 years to take the sixty thousand and invest in the cd almost six percent and have full control of the money so that's why I'm trying to I've been throwing it around whether I want to do that or not so I'm trying to get some input from you all right well I appreciate that uh are you looking for an income stream or are you just looking to protect it and grow it well initially when I did purchase it I was looking for an income stream I mean the income stream is fine but I I don't think I'm going to outlive the income stream I don't think I'm going to outlive the investment the forty thousand dollar investment so since it's at sixty thousand I was thinking just draw it down and have full control of the money right and then invest it in a high cd yeah but you don't need the money today correct right that's correct okay and based on your plan moving forward do you anticipate you're going to need this money or is it really just for the unexpected it's just for the unexpected okay yeah I mean I kind of like this idea I don't know where you're going to get a six percent cd though tell me about that okay there's a bank in chicago they've got a number of branches the city of chicago is called cibc okay okay and and they're paying almost six percent interest on a cd but for what for what period of time a year oh yeah you got to put it got a yeah for a year and you got to invest at least ten thousand dollars yeah yeah yeah the only challenge with that john I like the idea of you pulling it out you you're right you've been in there 11 years you have the ability to get it back you can do whatever you want with it the challenge is when that 12 months is up rates are going to be a lot lower and that means that if you want to go back into an annuity if you're looking for a guaranteed product you're going to get a much lower return there as well as a new cd and so I think although the one-year cd rates are pretty attractive right now I'd love to solve for the return that you want to get longer term especially while we're in this high interest rate environment so I guess the question is number one do you want to take any risk with this or do you want a guaranteed product only okay yeah well I would have a guaranteed product of if I was to annuitize it but then I don't know I'm concerned about whether what happens to me of well how are they going to disperse it whether I mean in regards to my beneficiaries are they just going to give them the 40,000 see I think all they're going to give them is just the 40,000 investment I don't think they'll probably give them the game yeah no and you may they probably won't even get all that either if you annuitize a lot of times it just goes away once you die it just depends on the product and how long you live you know I think a great option would be for you to go ahead and pull it out and think about investing it now what you could do is pull it out put it into the CD for a year and then get and then be prepared when that's up to find an advisor who would take the 60,000 plus the 3,000 in interest that you make the 63,000 and put that to work in a in a stock and bond portfolio largely bonds or you could do that today the nice thing about that John is again you don't need the money and so I don't think annuitizing is the right approach because that's going to turn it into an income stream but you don't need the income stream you've already got your your bills covered and so I think putting this to work for you in largely a bond portfolio with with high quality government corporate bonds through mutual funds maybe with a small portion in high quality stocks maybe like a 70 30 portfolio something like that gives you complete access to the money forever allows you to leave 100 of it for your heirs when you die and still gives you the ability to tap into it if you ever need to but if you don't just let it grow and if the Lord tarries and you're in good health this money may need to last you a couple of decades or more does that make sense that makes a lot of sense now who would be a good advisor for this if I was to do this yeah I can't recommend an individual name but I can tell you that we trust the certified kingdom advisor designation so basically these are men and women who've met extensive experience requirements character requirements pastor and client references they've been trained to bring a biblical worldview they've had a regulatory review and that allows them after a proctored exam to earn the cka designation certified kingdom advisor it's the only one in the world certified kingdom advisor it's the only one in the financial services industry around biblically wise financial advice and the way to find one there in illinois is just to go to our website john that's faithfi.com faithfi.com right there at the top of the page it'll say find a professional and if you click that button put in your zip code you'll see a list i'd interview two or three before you made that decision now that doesn't mean you can't do the cd or even go back into an annuity it would just give you at least another option to consider does that does that make sense yeah that makes sense now one quick question real quick uh real quick is identity is identity insurance uh worth paying worth paying for identity insurance all right let's do this i'll tackle that right after the break john so you stay right there we'll talk about uh identity theft protection right around the corner this is faith and finance live we'll be right back hey so glad to have you with us today on faith and finance live again it's the last day of the month this is a great day to uh support faith and finance live with your financial gift of a one-time gift or as a financial partner if you've found some value in this ministry or we've been an encouragement to you along the way we would just invite you to give we're about six thousand dollars away from where we need to finish out the month and you can help us close that gap just go to faithfi.com that's faithfi.com and click give at the top of the page and we'll say thanks in advance all right folks we're going to head back to the phone here in our final segment and just before the break we were talking to our good friend john he's in joliet illinois we were talking about an annuity but john right there at the tail end you wanted to ask about identity theft protection is that right that's correct yes whether it's worth the money yeah it's a great question and here's my thoughts on it you know products that claim to protect your identity typically aren't worth it you can freeze your credit for free on your own at all three credit bureaus just visit their websites or call them transunion equifax and experian that's going to that's going to be about the best safeguard number two you can sign up and get a pin number to freeze and your identity at the irs as well and basically what that means is that somebody can't steal your identity and take your tax refund so you could put that in place beyond that just using good best practices meaning a password keeper so you can have unique passwords for every account not using public wi-fi to log into your financial accounts monitoring your credit report i would say quarterly you can grab those credit reports at annualcreditreport.com so you know as long as you're doing those things and then keep your software up to date like on your operating system for your computer and your phone and then don't click on links in emails that's called phishing as long as you're doing all those things john i don't know that it's it's a necessary expense the only time i would take full advantage of it is if your information is compromised often the company that was hacked will extend to its customers free either credit monitoring or identity theft protection and if it's offered to you as as a part of that i'd say take full advantage of it but if you're having to go out there and buy it on your own i'd probably pass on it if it were me okay that's good advice i appreciate that ruff all right hey john you've been very kind about the program and uh your enthusiasm for what we're doing here and we're grateful thanks for calling uh let's head to canada northern alberta hi christy go ahead hi rob i'm not totally addicted to your show even though if if i was it'd be an ethical addiction but i'm so glad to hear that a long time listener um larry briquette was very influential how we viewed finances and especially debt it impacted how we taught our young family uh 33 plus years ago and this has made a huge difference in all of our lives ourselves and our children um that are now adults and are giving we're very very grateful for your show oh wow christy that means a lot thank you for saying that yeah well i've never called but i've i've thought and praise god for you for many years and so i'm glad that you're carrying the torch my husband and i are believers and in our mid-60s we're dual citizens of the us and canada and half of our half of our working income was gained in each country where we own and operate a farm and have for 40 years there's no successor in view right now we want to continue to farm as long as our health allows and but we have no retirement accounts or plans for retirement but we are completely debt free that's been our main drive um so we're not sure if we should start with an accountant or a lawyer or another place um just wondering if uh there is a certified kingdom helper that would be familiar with agriculture um qualified in in both the us and canada and retirement planning or where do we start yeah excellent well first of all thank you for your kind remarks i'm so delighted to hear of your testimony about your faithfulness in serving the lord his faithfulness to you and the impact of the late larry briquette i share your sentiment and it's amazing to me how many people still to this day reference larry and his impact on their lives countless millions have been touched by his work going back all the way to the late 70s and so i appreciate that uh it sounds like you all have done quite well you're hard workers i love the fact that you're debt free i love that you've prioritized generous giving to the lord and i realize perhaps you're wondering about you know your readiness for retirement just given that you don't have a lot saved up and yet um you know i think there is some planning to be done here god is your provider and that's what we need to to certainly rely on uh you mentioned that your income comes from both the us and canada uh will you be receiving the the canadian uh pension program yes i um i'm just starting to sign up for those um and so we'll have the canadian pension plan um for some um and then we moved up here about 29 years ago so the first part of our work years was in the u us farming and so i also we both also have to sign up for the social security as well yeah so if you make the meet the basic requirements under each country's system then you can certainly be eligible for benefits from both countries uh as long as you have enough social security credits then then you'll get that as well so i think that's the first step is just to compare the benefits that you'll be receiving hopeful hopefully from both the u.s and canada against your income or excuse me against your lifestyle spending so that you understand once you are unable to continue to farm uh you know what that looks like whether or not that will be enough to maintain your lifestyle or whether there'd be a a gap of any kind there and then putting together a retirement budget which you know most folks live on 70 to 80 percent of their pre-retirement income because they're are debt-free kind of like you are the kids are off the payroll if there are kids you know you're not saving for retirement anymore so you're you know your expenses come down and you know hopefully the the income that you have from the u.s and canada would match that in terms of a certified kingdom advisor christy you know there absolutely are ckas there in canada and you're welcome to head to our website at faithfi.com and just put in your province there and do a search you may have you know just because of how large geographically and disperse canada is you know you may have to work virtually with a ck who's not right in your backyard lord willing there will be somebody close by but i'd interview two or three and in particular look for one that is familiar with both u.s and canada just given the fact that you've resided and worked in both but i think that is the next step i think it would be well worth the time and cost to visit with an advisor who could help you develop a comprehensive plan and you know help you chart the course for the future okay and would it be good to check with an accountant too i think so yeah and i would let the advisor coordinate that perhaps he or she has a cpa that they work with hopefully one that is you know able to work both in the u.s and canada you may have to engage a cpa from each country and you know that uh that search engine there at faithfi.com would allow you to put in your city of choice and then you could expand that search radius and you know find someone who's perhaps one that resides in the u.s as well as one in canada and that way they would be familiar with each system okay well perfect well i appreciate all the other information you give about signing up for social security and guarding your credit and all that you guys are a real blessing and i thank you so very much well thank you christy that's very kind of you and may the lord bless you tell your husband we're delighted for you and he as you head into this next chapter of your lives hey i want to send you a gift just as a way of saying thanks for being a part of the program and for your call today it's called an uncommon guide to retirement and i think it'll be a blessing for you you know it takes into account listening for god's voice regarding your calling in retirement helping you to think through family systems and leaving a legacy even and the idea of sabbatical rest in the early part of of retirement so i think it'll be an encouragement to you it's by my friend jeff hayden uh and it's subtitled finding god's purpose for the next season of life so you stay on the line and if we can christy we'll uh we'll send it right out to you but thanks for your call today that was great to have you on the program let's finish up in chicago tracy go right ahead oh yes hi oh thank you for taking my call can you hear me okay i sure can okay yes just quick question i wanted to know my husband and i we are not sure if we're going to remain in our current home um we could possibly be selling to downsize um when once he retires which is in the next four years our question is does it make sense to start plugging away at our current mortgage by supplying extra payments uh monthly if we're unsure if we're going to be here um say like a forever home yeah it's a good question uh what is the interest rate on the mortgage um it is i believe 2.75 yeah okay 2.67 pretty low so you've got a you've got a really low rate i mean for the next year you could take that surplus that you have and just put that in a high yield savings account and get five percent on it or at least four and a half if not five um and so that would be one option then it you'd have that liquid cash to be able to kind of you know take care of some of those moving expenses and and you could absolutely apply all that to your new home purchase but once the rates come back down to where it's you know equal to your mortgage uh interest rate that i would say there's no reason not to continue to sock away that money toward the mortgage bring that down because you're going to roll all that equity into your next home anyway um so i would say right now put it in savings don't use it put it in savings but then once those rates come down go ahead and prepay that mortgage you guys may end up staying there a lot longer than you expect so i wouldn't want you to hold on to it and then actually find a place to use it hey thanks for your call today i hope that's helpful faith and finance live is a partnership between moody radio and faith vai thank you to lynn amy tahira and jim couldn't do it without them we'll see you tomorrow bye