Rob West: God's Word says a husband and wife become one flesh, but it doesn't say anything about prenups. I am Rob West. It's true, you won't find prenuptial agreement in your concordance. So, does that mean a Christian should never have one? We'll talk about that first today, then we have lots of great listener questions ahead, but we won't be taking your live calls today because this program is pre-recorded. This is Faith & Finance on American Family Radio. Biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.
A prenuptial agreement, or prenup, is a contract couples agree on before marriage. It outlines how their assets, money, property, and other possessions will be divided if they divorce. Who gets the house? Who gets the car? How will the finances be split up? All of these questions are answered in a prenup. Many argue that such agreements make practical sense, ensuring that difficult financial conversations happen while couples are still, quote, "in love." But as a Christian, should you consider getting one?
Well, God's design is that in marriage, two become one. Genesis 2:24 lays the foundation for this principle: "A man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." Paul expands on this in 1 Corinthians 7:4, teaching that even our bodies are no longer our own in marriage, but belong to our spouse. In God's plan for marriage, everything is to be shared. There's no mine or yours, only ours. The pursuit of oneness is central to a thriving marriage.
Further, God views marriage as a covenant relationship. Paul compares the nature of marriage to the covenantal relationship between Christ and His church. In Ephesians 5:31–32, he writes, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church." God's design for marriage is meant to be a picture of His love for His people—a relationship built on love, sacrifice, grace, and mutual respect. When centered on Him, it is a gift that reflects the message of the Gospel to the world.
Now, while prenups might seem practical, it's essential to consider the potential harm one might do to the unity of a Christian marriage. Frequent Faith & Finance contributor Dr. Art Rainer shares three possible messages that come up from a prenup being brought into the equation:
Number one: Distrust in the relationship. A prenup often suggests someone feels the need to protect their assets, which can imply a lack of trust. This can hurt because it reveals that one partner may not feel fully comfortable entrusting their life to the other.
Number two: Doubt about the marriage's longevity. Prenups can reflect concern that the marriage might not last, essentially preparing for a divorce before the marriage even begins. This uncertainty can undermine the covenant commitment God intends for marriage.
And third: One partner isn't fully committed. In a biblical marriage, everything, including finances, should be shared. A prenup may indicate that one partner is not fully committed to the oneness God desires, leaving room for mine and yours instead of ours.
So, now that we've established what a prenup can communicate when proposed, does that mean that a prenup always indicates disunity? Or are there ways that a prenup can actually foster unity? Let's look at an example.
If one or both spouses have children from previous marriages with inheritances at stake, a prenup can actually communicate to the children that you are pursuing marriage for the right reasons and that you seek their highest good when it comes to doing what's best for them. Of course, this decision should be made with much prayer and wisdom from godly counsel and advice to see if this legal arrangement suits your situation. This helps ensure that the hard questions are answered about the marriage and that the husband and wife's intentions are carefully examined before moving forward.
Ultimately, marriage is a covenant that reflects Christ's relationship with the church, which is built on trust, sacrifice, and unity. While there may be legitimate reasons to use a prenup, it should never replace the trust and commitment that are foundational to Christian marriage. Both spouses should prayerfully consider their motivations and seek to align their relationship with God's design for unity and oneness in every area of life. The process should involve open conversations about finances and trust, ensuring that any agreement serves the marriage rather than undermines it.
As you both ponder whether a prenup is right for your situation, we hope that we've provided you with some things to consider as you pray about this decision. As I said, we're off today, so don't call in, but we've got some great calls lined up in advance. So we'll go to those just around the corner. I'm Rob West, and this is Faith & Finance on American Family Radio. Biblical wisdom for your financial journey. We'll be right back.
SEGMENT 2
Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith & Finance on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West, and this is the program where we help you manage God's money God's way. That's right. God entrusts to us differing amounts—our task, our responsibility, well, it's that of a steward, manager of the King of Kings' resources. And you might say, "Wow, that sounds like an important job." Yes, it is! And that's why each afternoon on this program we gather together to help you manage it faithfully. Because when we understand that God owns everything, and that Jesus is our treasure, then we know that ultimately it's about faithfulness. That's the measure.
And then we understand that money is a tool to accomplish God's purposes: to enjoy, and provide, and give, and invest in a way that loves our neighbor, and protects the vulnerable, and advances the gospel, and ultimately we do that in a way that brings glory to God.
And so as you give, save, and invest—give wisely, save for the future, invest, pay down debt—we know that you'll have questions that come up along the way. And so the goal of this program each day is to help you answer those in light of biblical wisdom. So, we'll dive into those here in just a second.
In the news today, despite increased cybersecurity spending, US data breaches are on track to exceed last year's record. More than 471 million victim notices were tied to data compromises in the first half of 2026. That's according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. A breach involving education platform Canvas—my kids use that, I'm sure many of yours do as well—because that accounted for 275 million notices. Now, the ITRC also reported 1,803 incidents during the period compared with just 1,732 a year earlier, so clearly a rise.
AI is contributing to the rise. IBM found that 1 in 4 breaches between March of '25 and February of '26 involved AI. That was up 56% from the prior year. Malicious insider incidents are also increasing sharply, with 21 reported in the first half of 2026 versus just 3 in all of 2025.
For consumers, it's recommended that you regularly review credit reports using credit monitoring services. By the way, I would say only use a credit monitoring service if you have one paid for you because you've been the victim of a breach, or you've had a breach that has happened with one of your financial accounts. I think most of what they provide you can do free. It's not necessarily something you need to spend money on. Also consider fraud alerts.
Now, the strongest protection is a credit freeze with Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian. That's going to prevent criminals from opening accounts in your name. Why? Well, when they go to take your compromised data that maybe they got on the dark web and use that to open an account, they won't be able to because the lender will need to check your credit report. Because it's frozen, the fraudster won't have the PIN number to thaw it out; they'll be stopped in their tracks. Consider doing that with each of the three credit bureaus. It's free. The only hassle is that you have to temporarily lift the freeze when you're applying for legitimate credit.
Beyond that, use strong unique passwords, turn on two-factor authentication, be extremely cautious with personal information. Bottom line: don't ever give out personal information to someone who contacts you, whether it's through the mail, over the phone regardless of what their caller ID says, or by email. Only give personal information when you've contacted the third party directly, they're known to you, and you've gotten their information, their website or phone number, from a trusted source, and you've initiated the contact. Beyond that, never give it out, especially if they apply pressure.
And then monitor your financial life. Just keep tabs on your bank and credit card transactions, bills, credit reports. The unexpected accounts, charges, and withdrawals usually are an indication, an early sign, that someone is using your identity.
So, don't mean to raise your blood pressure here at the end of a day on Friday, at the end of the week, but these are important strategies for you to stay safe.
All right, we're ready to dive into your questions today. Let's go to Ohio. Chris, go ahead.
Chris: Hi Rob. First-time caller. Really appreciate your show.
Rob West: Thank you.
Chris: I'm 64 years old. I plan on retiring in a couple years, and my house is paid off. I've got 80,000 in a 401(k) at work, and I have 272—well, I've got 272,000 in savings. Hopefully I'm on track to retire in a couple years with my Social Security. I'm not sure what the magic number is, but, you know, my main question is: what money that I have in savings right now—I'm curious about investing that in money markets or a CD or a CD.
Rob West: Okay. Yeah. And so your question is how to choose between them, is that right?
Chris: Yeah, yeah. How to how to choose between them and what are the risks.
Rob West: Yeah, yeah, very good. So, as we stay in that category there of CD or money market, you know, looking at a bank CD or a bank money market account—and I'm not talking about a money market mutual fund, which would typically be offered by a brokerage firm like Fidelity or Schwab, that's a different category, still very low risk, but not guaranteed—but the bank CD and the bank money market account (not the fund), very high safety. They would both have typically either FDIC or NCUA insurance, both the bank money market account and the bank CD or credit union.
Both have liquidity—lower liquidity with the bank CD, because you've got to wait till the end of the period to not have a penalty, but certainly with the bank money market account, very high liquidity. The rate can change at any time with the bank money market; with the bank CD, it would be locked in.
And then, you know, at the end of the day, if you're really concerned about safety and yield, you know, you just have to decide about how important the liquidity is. A good example of something that a lot of our listeners are using is our friends at AdelFi Christian Banking. They're the largest Christian credit union in the country. You know, a lot of our listeners are using them because they want to be first aligned with a banking partner that shares their values. But their money market, for instance, is paying 4% and it's locked in for 12 months, and it's up to $100,000. Now, I know you're going beyond that, so you may want to stack that with one from another bank or credit union, or maybe you have a different option. But I think, you know, both very high safety; the key is really liquidity. Does that help, though?
Chris: Yeah, it helps. I just—so what you're saying is, in essence, is the money market fluctuates and the CD is locked in, you can't touch it for a specific period of time, right?
Rob West: Yeah, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 months, that's right. Now, the exception to that would be something like the money market from AdelFi, where they're saying they'll give you 4% for a year, but again, that's up to 100,000. But yeah, that usually is the principal difference: the liquidity based on locking it up in the CD versus full liquidity with the money market account.
I'll share a few other thoughts for you during the break and make sure you don't have other questions. So stay on the line, we'll talk a bit more, and we'll be right back. Stay with us.
SEGMENT 3
Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith & Finance here on American Family Radio. Just a quick reminder, we're not here today, so don't call in, but we lined up some great questions in advance. Out to Indiana. Jennifer, go right ahead.
Jennifer: Hi, yes. Thank you for taking my call. Um, I I'm a single mom, and I've been working a lot of overtime to try to make extra money, um, to get myself in the best financial position as possible. Um, and I I'm really close to having six months savings in my emergency fund, and the way I'm trending, I'm going to continue to work a lot of overtime. Fortunately, I work at home, so I can just put in lots of hours. And I want to know where the best place is for me to put my money once I've built that emergency fund up to six months, if that makes sense.
Rob West: Yeah. Yeah, it sure does. And listen, I've worked with enough single parents to know how challenging that is to manage the family and the finances, and just the weight that you're carrying. And so, well done. I I realize you're working hard, but sounds like you're you're getting your financial house in order. And I love the fact that you're approaching this six-month mark on emergency savings. That's a a tremendous accomplishment, Jennifer. So, well done.
Um, once that's fully in place, and uh you know, you're looking at trying to uh put that overtime income toward your long-term future, I would look for an opportunity uh to sock that away. Um, are you self-employed, or do you have a a 401(k) or retirement plan at work?
Jennifer: No. So, I I have a 401(k) plan at work. I contribute 15%, and I get matching. I think it's 3% or 5% matching. Um, I have a high-yield savings, and I automatically transfer $250 a week from my checking into my savings. I have a high-yield savings for my last child, who's a junior in high school, so we've got two more years at home. I take my child support and actually put it into their high-yield savings, which um my ex-husband is perfectly fine with. He he wants us to save as much as we can. And um yeah, and and the only debt that I have is my house. I'm 60, and my house has 10 more years on it. So, if I just pay my payments, I'll have it paid off at 70, and that's when I'm hoping to at least retire from my full-time job. I, you know, I may do something else that I enjoy. Um, but so I've I've gotten myself in a place where all of the money coming in I I can use as needed. I mean, I I do have my son in a Christian school, so I pay tuition, and he plays sports, so I pay for that, but I don't have any consumer debt. And so, um, I've been working about I I work 40 hours a week, and I've been putting in an extra 20 every week of overtime. So, I have a lot extra coming in, and it's going to stay that way probably through the end of the year.
Rob West: Wow. Amazing, Jennifer. I mean, that that's incredible, all these things you're doing. Um, how much have you accumulated in that uh 401(k) putting in 15% plus the matching?
Jennifer: Yeah. Well, unfortunately, I was not able to start my 401(k) until very very late, um, because I was a stay-at-home mom for a long time. So, right now I have about $60,000 in it, and I have it on a fairly conservative track. I spoke with my um It's through Fidelity, and I spoke with them recently, and they they put me on the right track for my planned retirement. And um, they estimate when I when I retire I might have $250,000 in it. And and it was funny because he said, "Well, you know, we estimate you're going to need $5,000 a month and so it'll last this long." And I said, "You know, that estimate might be for most people, but I I don't even spend that now, and I'm raising a a child." I just don't I live a really frugal life. We have two used cars that are paid for. I've lived in my house for a long time, I don't plan to move, so I just don't really spend money. Um, so I'm just doing Because I'm coming from behind, I'm just doing the best I can. I just don't know if I should put it towards the mortgage or if I should continue putting it until the high-yield savings emergency fund. I just don't know where the right place is to put it.
Rob West: Yeah. Yeah, no, that makes sense. And how uh you said you've accumulated uh how much in that uh savings at this point?
Jennifer: In the savings, I'm almost to six months, so it's got about $7,000 in it right now. Um, but I'm but I'm putting $250 a week in it, so it's not going to take very long to get there.
Rob West: Okay. Yeah. No, that's great. And what's the balance on the mortgage?
Jennifer: Um, I think the balance is about $80,000, and the house is worth about $280.
Rob West: All right. And what is the interest rate, do you know?
Jennifer: I think it's 3.75.
Rob West: Yeah. Okay, great. And what are you getting on that high-yield savings right now?
Jennifer: That's a great question. It maybe around 4%. I haven't checked it lately.
Rob West: Okay. Yeah. That would be great if you are. I mean, that would be a very good rate. So, listen. Again, you're doing fabulous. I love this plan here. I think, you know, one of the things you're going to want to do is look at um what your uh monthly income need will be when you get to retirement, once you're no longer working. And so, you're going to want to see, are you going to take your ex-husband's spousal IRA—or not IRA, spousal Social Security benefit, or are you going to take your own? If you've been working, you know, most of your adult life, then you're probably going to want to take your own, cuz you can only get half of his benefit. Um, and uh you know, by waiting until age 70 to take that, um you know, that's going to be uh get that check up 25% higher than what it would be. Do you know what that number is going to be? Have you looked at that?
Jennifer: Yeah, I have gone onto the Social Security website, and it looks like it'll be a little bit over over $3,000 a month, which that's that's pretty good, cuz if my house is paid off and I don't spend much money, I I could live on that. Now, I I don't know what my medical needs will be when I'm 70. Um, I just want to direct my money to the right place.
Rob West: Yeah. Well, I would say, you know, let's let's start putting it, now that you've got the six months, let's open a Roth IRA at Fidelity and fund that with that $250 a week. And when you get to the uh max of that, which will be, if you're 50 or older, $8,600, at least for 2026, then I would just continue to bump up your 401(k). Let's do this: I'm up against a break, but I want to just kind of review. This has all been really helpful information. I've been taking notes, so I just want to review your next steps right after this break. So, you stay right there. I'll come right back to you. And then, uh Leslie, I'm coming your way as well. I'm Rob West, and we'll be right back. Stay with us.
SEGMENT 4
Rob West: Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith & Finance here on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. Before the break, we were talking to Jennifer in Indiana. She's a a hardworking single mom. Uh, she has been working 60 hours a week, taking that extra 20 hours a week of overtime pay to be able to sock away some money—uh, about 250 a week, 1,000 a month on average. And um, she's debt-free except her home. She is fully funding at least 15% of her pay plus matching her 401(k). She's about to hit the six-month mark on her emergency savings, and she's funding Christian education for her son. I mean, she's she's doing a lot of great things here and just wondering how she should direct that 250 a week now that she's fully funded on the emergency fund. So, here would be the steps I would be thinking about, just based on what I've heard here today, Jennifer. Number one, check that savings interest and make sure it is comparable. You know, if it's at 4% or higher, you're in good shape. If not, you know, there are 4% savings accounts out there. For instance, our friends at AdelFi Christian Banking are offering 4% in their money market right now. Um, so that that option is possible. Um, if it is a good rate, leave it right there. I would stop funding the savings and then redirect that thousand a month uh into a Roth IRA, also at Fidelity, who has uh your other account. And, you know, you could just get that into a similar type investment strategy as your 401(k), with maybe a target date fund. You'll be able to put in $8,600. If you get to the limit on that in any year—um, you wouldn't this year just because there's not enough months left at a thousand a month for you to get over 8,600, but if you did, then I would bump up your 401(k). You know, you can put between age 50 and 59, you can put in $32,500 um in a 401(k). So you, even though you're doing 15%, because you're trying to catch up, you could do more. The only other options would be, you know, college savings, depending on what you've decided there. I know you are saving for your kids, but if you need more, that would be an option. Although the nice thing with the Roth is you can always get back those original contributions uh at any time, because it's after-tax money. You can't get back any gains, but you can get back your original contributions if you wanted to use that for college. Um, you could um, you know, look at uh a long-term care insurance policy. I know you said you were concerned about just what would happen if you needed care down the road, and that would be something you could take a look at. It, you know, they're not cheap, but neither is, you know, uh nursing care if you needed it down the road. And so you could look at that. I'd go to LTCconsumer.com to explore that if you wanted to check it out. And then the last thing I'll say is, you may want to look at bumping out maybe 5 years the target date for your retirement for that investment account. Those investment target date funds tend to be a little more conservative than I would rather you be, just because once you hit retirement at 70, uh, you know, you still need that money to last 20 or 30 years if you're in good health. And so, you know, I would say if you're planning on, you know, retiring—I'll just pick a date—in 2030, I might look at a 2035 target date fund, just to be slightly more aggressive. But let me stop there. Is that helpful?
Jennifer: Yeah, I mean that is helpful. I I actually am about to turn 60, so I I thought I was too old to open a Roth. And I don't have any...
Rob West: No, there's no age limit for a Roth. As long as you have earned income, you can contribute to a Roth.
Jennifer: Yeah. And I I don't have any savings for for my son's college, unfortunately. That's why I'm taking every bit of child support and putting it in a high-yield savings account. But um, yes, that's very helpful. Thank you. That gives me some ideas.
Rob West: Well, and if you open the Roth and and fully fund that, like I say, the the portion that is your original contributions can come back out at any time if you needed those for, you know, college or something like that to help with the kid. So, anyway, hopefully that gets you pointed in the right direction. Thanks for calling today, Jennifer. You're doing a fabulous job. Keep up the great work. Let's go to Naples. Leslie, go ahead.
Leslie: Uh yes, thank you. Um, I do have a certified financial planner, and I have a brokerage account with Fidelity. But about six six years ago, he encouraged me to open a life insurance company uh called Brighthouse. And so that for six years, if I didn't touch it, it would continue to grow. So it just uh came to fruition in May of this year, and it did very well. Um, and so his advice was, "You have to take that out, withdraw it at this point. There are other things you could do with it, but you're going to withdraw it and it's going to come directly to your bank." So I did share it with some of my family. I have two sons, and I shared it with them. And then there was an excess of about 50,000. And um the the CFP suggested um just putting it maybe into a savings account, because I had mentioned to him about perhaps getting uh another car in the near future, but that's that's not definite. I'm 73 years old. I have a Roth IRA. I own my own home. I own my own car presently. So the 50,000 um is in a online Marcus Schwab account, and it's only getting three 3.34%.
Rob West: Okay. All right. Yeah, and what are you living on? What are your income sources?
Leslie: Well, well, I have Social Security, and also a security benefit that he took out for me many years ago. So I get a monthly income of 433, and the Social Security is 2,950. So it's about 4383 a month. And um if I find that I'm needing a little extra, I go to the brokerage account, and he'll I'll withdraw maybe $5,000, maybe two times a year.
Rob West: Sure. What do you have in the brokerage account currently?
Leslie: Well, it's it's about it's over 800,000.
Rob West: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, so I like this idea of taking the 50,000, um, you know, because you have quite a bit in your nest egg, you're living modestly, your income is covered apart from maybe a few extras a year—um, but you're not pulling anywhere near what you could pull out of that 800,000 and still, you know, see it maintain its principal balance. Um, you know, you could probably pull 35,000 or more a year if you wanted to. Um, but you're not, and so that's great. But I think keeping this liquid for that car purchase or whatever other short-term needs you have makes sense, uh, especially given the uncertainty around if you might be buying another car and you'd likely want to do that with cash. So, I would say, you know, put it into a high-yield savings. You can do better than 3.3. You know, for instance, again, I mentioned a moment ago to our previous caller, our friends at AdelFi Christian Banking, the largest Christian banking uh credit union in the country, is paying 4% on their money market. You could check that out at faithfi.com/banking. And they're, for FaithFi listeners, adding up to $400 as a bonus when you open a new account. But, you know, that type of thing, a 4% money market, whether it's there or a local credit union or some other option, um, you know, could be a great move for you for this money, because, you know, that's not an insignificant amount of money. I mean, that's uh $2,000 over the next 12 months, um, you know, if you hit that in a 4% money market. But I think in terms of the place, you know, you can determine where to put it, but the strategy I think is right that's being recommended.
Leslie: Okay. And then just quickly, you mentioned to the previous caller about the Roth IRAs. So I do have a Roth IRA. I don't have a traditional IRA anymore. That was that was ended a while ago. So the you did say that she could take something from her Roth IRA at depending on what you initially put it in at?
Rob West: Yeah, any of your original contributions can come out at any time, because there are you've already paid the tax on them, so the IRS will let you take it out at any time. You just can't take more than what you put in, because if you take any of the gains uh before 59 and a half, you're going to get uh, you know, penalized for that, and that account needs to be open at least 5 years before you can start pulling the gains tax-free. So, um, you know, you can always get the original contributions. You can get the earnings after 5 years and 59 and a half years old. We'll be right back.
SEGMENT 5
Rob West: Well, you know, here on Faith & Finance, we love to shine a light on incredible ministries doing work in the name of Jesus. We often talk about becoming a FaithFi partner so you can support our work. But we also like to select ministries you may not be familiar with, because when you live as a faithful steward, you're generous. You recognize the grace that's been extended to you as just a natural response to the unmerited favor that God has bestowed on you through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus, to put you in a right standing before the Father, so long as you place your trust in Him as your Lord and Savior.
We just, as a response to that, we should live a generous life. And we see a picture of New Testament giving where it's sacrificial, and it's an overflow of our worship and our gratitude, and it's proportionate, and, you know, we do it systematically. And we even see in the early church that they were giving to meet needs well beyond even, you know, what they reasonably could understand, because they just wanted to be a part of God's plan and purposes.
Well, this month, here in the month of September, we're shining light on an incredible ministry. It's Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls. And our goal is to encourage Faith & Finance listeners to provide shoes for 1,000 children who need them. These are children in a remote part of the world where they don't have access, in many cases, to a new pair of shoes. Something you and I take for granted, a new pair of shoes and socks, is something they don't have access to.
But when you put a pair of shoes on these sweet children's feet, it means health because we're protecting them from footborne illness, and it means education because they can actually attend school—a lot of times they can't without them. But it's also the hope through God's love by demonstrating their worth, and by sharing the gospel, and then connecting them to holistic ministry.
And listen to this, it's incredible: Every $15 is going to cover the cost of one pair of shoes, a pair of socks, and the cost to transport the shoes to the distribution site where the team from Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls will, in a shoe distribution, meet with these children, put the shoes on their feet, pray over them, share the gospel with them, and then connect them back to a local church or a hope center that they're working with on the ground.
If you would be a part of helping us reach this goal of 1,000 shoes provided during the month of September while we're putting shoes on our kids heading back to school, we would be so grateful for you to do that. Here's the website: giveshoestoday.org. That's giveshoestoday.org. Every $15 will cover the cost of a pair of shoes, socks, and the transportation to get them there. Giveshoestoday.org, thanks in advance.
All right, Greenville, Alabama. Davey, go right ahead.
Davey: Yes, sir. I'm financially rebuilding myself after the loss of my mother, and I have worked and worked on trying to pay back credit cards, and I'm just at the end of the tunnel. I'm just wanting to know your strategy on being able to save money for an emergency fund for just-in-case circumstances, but also still try to steer towards building my credit.
Rob West: Yeah, yeah. Well, first of all, let me just say, I'm sorry for what you've gone through. And, you know, we go through difficult seasons, and despite your desire to live as a faithful steward, I know you've been through it, and your finances are probably at a—you're carrying a heavy load as a result of the decisions you made in the midst of that really difficult time. And now rebuilding, the Lord is there. He is your provider, and we can trust Him in that.
So I want to encourage you just to invite God into your financial life right now. Perhaps that means spreading the bills out on the table, physically even, but not necessarily, but just saying, "Lord, I want to invite You in. My goal is to be a faithful steward. I want to make the next faithful decision every day from here on out, and would You provide, even supernaturally, and walk with me in this journey?"
In terms of actually building that small cash cushion while paying down credit cards, it's challenging. And so here's what I would say: I would aim for a—just a very small emergency fund, maybe $500. And once you have that $500, perhaps $1,000, then let's freeze the emergency fund there. That's going to cover, you know, most small unexpected expenses that will come your way. It's not going to cover a job loss, but if something pops up, it's going to break the cycle of you borrowing on the credit cards.
Then let's focus really on the debt at that point. Our friends at Christian Credit Counselors would love to come alongside you. Essentially, what would happen with the credit card debt is the cards would be temporarily closed, they would be placed into a credit counseling program—which means they stay with each creditor, they move to the department that's only accessible through a non-profit credit counseling agency—but by doing so, the interest rate drops. So instead of an average of 22%, you're looking at probably somewhere between 0 and 10%. Then you're going to send one level payment to Christian Credit Counselors, and then they'll distribute it to each of your creditors.
Thousands of our listeners have used them. They're amazing, and we just hear nothing but rave reports. And they're all believers. They're just really going to be a source of encouragement and prayer support for you as well.
And then thirdly, I want to help get your budget in the right order, and I would love to do that by providing a Certified Christian Financial Counselor. We'll pick up the cost here, Davey. But what this is going to do is it's going to give you somebody that's going to meet with you several times just to get you kind of on a solid footing: to be able to assess where you are, make some recommendations, help you set up a spending plan that you can actually stick with, and get you pointed in the right direction.
I think if we can find a way to get your spending plan in place, find at least a little bit of margin that would help you build that $500 to $1,000 emergency fund, and then get set up with Christian Credit Counselors, you're going to start making some progress perhaps that you haven't seen before, and I think that's going to be the encouragement to keep you going.
If you do those things, your credit score is going to take care of itself. You'll start to rebuild that over time because now you're an on-time payer, your debt levels are coming down—which means credit utilization is declining, and that's the primary driver of your credit score—and it's just going to put you in a more solid place. Is that helpful though? Does that make sense?
Davey: That is completely helpful. I mean, I haven't heard it put better.
Rob West: Great, great. Well, here's what we're going to do: You hang on the line, Davey. We'll get you connected with a Certified Christian Financial Counselor. We're going to pay for it; it doesn't cost you anything. And then I want you to go to faithfi.com/ccc. That stands for Christian Credit Counselors: faithfi.com/ccc. While you're working with the Certified Christian Financial Counselor on your budget, you can also be working with Christian Credit Counselors to get your credit cards going in the right direction. And then just promise me that when you get to the other side of this, you'll call me and we can celebrate together, okay?
Davey: Sir, thank you so much.
Rob West: All right, Lord bless you, my friend. Thanks for being on the program. Let's go to Illinois. Kristen, you've been very patient. Go right ahead.
Kristen: Hi, Rob. My situation is I have $11,000 in cash in a bank safe right now. I wasn't expecting this money; my brother passed away, we didn't think he'd have anything left, but anyway, long story short, he did. I'm 76 years old. I don't know what to do with this cash; it's just a nuisance. But I do want to donate to the Give Shoes Today, definitely.
Rob West: Awesome!
Kristen: But I live in a housing authority apartment, I'm a minimalist, I live in a really nice apartment but the rent is cheap. I've been a caregiver all my life; I take care of a lady a couple of times a day for an hour each. And I just don't really need this money, but I don't know what to do with it.
Rob West: Yeah, yeah. Well, here's the thing. I mean, the good news is this isn't your money, it's not your brother's money—it's God's money. And so, Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the Lord's and everything therein." And so, it all belongs to Him. The question is, He has now seen fit for you to be the steward of this money.
So, I think it's a question between you and the Lord to say, "Lord, You've given me everything I need as my provider. I've been able to live modestly, and I love that. I think simplicity is a part of God's plan. We should also be able to enjoy what God entrusts to us, and so I don't think there's anything wrong with you enjoying this money. But perhaps—and this is ultimately what I think you need to spend time praying and asking the Lord to reveal to you—perhaps He's given this to you so you can put it into circulation in His economy, and giving it generously to meet a need that intersects with something that's on your heart, that also intersects with what's on God's heart that we see in Scripture.
Clearly, the protection of the vulnerable, the needy, the poor, the advancement of the gospel—all of these things are clearly on the heart of God. And so, I think if any one of those, including Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls, but could be any number of other things that the Lord leads you to, you know, you can just have a ball giving that away and knowing that that's going to compound for all of eternity, which is a pretty good return on investment, if I say so myself.
Kristen: And I have sponsored 10 children from Compassion over the years—I had 10 at a time, but now they're aging out, and I haven't picked up any more. But I don't know if I need to spread the money around, or just sponsor some more kids. I could do that at, you know, $43 a month per child, plus birthday and Christmas gifts, so...
Rob West: Yeah, yeah. Well, I can't tell you that, but what I can do is, I'm going to send you a copy of my devotional. One of the days of the devotional is how we give intentionally. Perhaps that'll give you some ideas; maybe you spend some time just meditating on God's Word related to that particular day about giving.
I would say sponsoring children—I love that. I think whether that's through Compassion, or World Vision, or any number of organizations that do that well, would be great. I'm really excited about what Buckner is doing with giveshoestoday.org as well. I was just on with one of the team members at a shoe distribution the other day, and the kids were just overwhelmed at what God had done through His provision. So, check that out as well.
Kristen, thanks for your generosity. Thanks for your call. Big thanks to my team today: Patty, Devin, Taylor, and everybody here at FaithFi. Have a great weekend. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye.
Rob West: God's Word says a husband and wife become one flesh, but it doesn't say anything about prenups. I am Rob West. It's true, you won't find prenuptial agreement in your concordance. So, does that mean a Christian should never have one? We'll talk about that first today, then we have lots of great listener questions ahead, but we won't be taking your live calls today because this program is pre-recorded. This is Faith & Finance on American Family Radio. Biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.
A prenuptial agreement, or prenup, is a contract couples agree on before marriage. It outlines how their assets, money, property, and other possessions will be divided if they divorce. Who gets the house? Who gets the car? How will the finances be split up? All of these questions are answered in a prenup. Many argue that such agreements make practical sense, ensuring that difficult financial conversations happen while couples are still, quote, "in love." But as a Christian, should you consider getting one?
Well, God's design is that in marriage, two become one. Genesis 2:24 lays the foundation for this principle: "A man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." Paul expands on this in 1 Corinthians 7:4, teaching that even our bodies are no longer our own in marriage, but belong to our spouse. In God's plan for marriage, everything is to be shared. There's no mine or yours, only ours. The pursuit of oneness is central to a thriving marriage.
Further, God views marriage as a covenant relationship. Paul compares the nature of marriage to the covenantal relationship between Christ and His church. In Ephesians 5:31–32, he writes, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church." God's design for marriage is meant to be a picture of His love for His people—a relationship built on love, sacrifice, grace, and mutual respect. When centered on Him, it is a gift that reflects the message of the Gospel to the world.
Now, while prenups might seem practical, it's essential to consider the potential harm one might do to the unity of a Christian marriage. Frequent Faith & Finance contributor Dr. Art Rainer shares three possible messages that come up from a prenup being brought into the equation:
Number one: Distrust in the relationship. A prenup often suggests someone feels the need to protect their assets, which can imply a lack of trust. This can hurt because it reveals that one partner may not feel fully comfortable entrusting their life to the other.
Number two: Doubt about the marriage's longevity. Prenups can reflect concern that the marriage might not last, essentially preparing for a divorce before the marriage even begins. This uncertainty can undermine the covenant commitment God intends for marriage.
And third: One partner isn't fully committed. In a biblical marriage, everything, including finances, should be shared. A prenup may indicate that one partner is not fully committed to the oneness God desires, leaving room for mine and yours instead of ours.
So, now that we've established what a prenup can communicate when proposed, does that mean that a prenup always indicates disunity? Or are there ways that a prenup can actually foster unity? Let's look at an example.
If one or both spouses have children from previous marriages with inheritances at stake, a prenup can actually communicate to the children that you are pursuing marriage for the right reasons and that you seek their highest good when it comes to doing what's best for them. Of course, this decision should be made with much prayer and wisdom from godly counsel and advice to see if this legal arrangement suits your situation. This helps ensure that the hard questions are answered about the marriage and that the husband and wife's intentions are carefully examined before moving forward.
Ultimately, marriage is a covenant that reflects Christ's relationship with the church, which is built on trust, sacrifice, and unity. While there may be legitimate reasons to use a prenup, it should never replace the trust and commitment that are foundational to Christian marriage. Both spouses should prayerfully consider their motivations and seek to align their relationship with God's design for unity and oneness in every area of life. The process should involve open conversations about finances and trust, ensuring that any agreement serves the marriage rather than undermines it.
As you both ponder whether a prenup is right for your situation, we hope that we've provided you with some things to consider as you pray about this decision. As I said, we're off today, so don't call in, but we've got some great calls lined up in advance. So we'll go to those just around the corner. I'm Rob West, and this is Faith & Finance on American Family Radio. Biblical wisdom for your financial journey. We'll be right back.
SEGMENT 2
Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith & Finance on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West, and this is the program where we help you manage God's money God's way. That's right. God entrusts to us differing amounts—our task, our responsibility, well, it's that of a steward, manager of the King of Kings' resources. And you might say, "Wow, that sounds like an important job." Yes, it is! And that's why each afternoon on this program we gather together to help you manage it faithfully. Because when we understand that God owns everything, and that Jesus is our treasure, then we know that ultimately it's about faithfulness. That's the measure.
And then we understand that money is a tool to accomplish God's purposes: to enjoy, and provide, and give, and invest in a way that loves our neighbor, and protects the vulnerable, and advances the gospel, and ultimately we do that in a way that brings glory to God.
And so as you give, save, and invest—give wisely, save for the future, invest, pay down debt—we know that you'll have questions that come up along the way. And so the goal of this program each day is to help you answer those in light of biblical wisdom. So, we'll dive into those here in just a second.
In the news today, despite increased cybersecurity spending, US data breaches are on track to exceed last year's record. More than 471 million victim notices were tied to data compromises in the first half of 2026. That's according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. A breach involving education platform Canvas—my kids use that, I'm sure many of yours do as well—because that accounted for 275 million notices. Now, the ITRC also reported 1,803 incidents during the period compared with just 1,732 a year earlier, so clearly a rise.
AI is contributing to the rise. IBM found that 1 in 4 breaches between March of '25 and February of '26 involved AI. That was up 56% from the prior year. Malicious insider incidents are also increasing sharply, with 21 reported in the first half of 2026 versus just 3 in all of 2025.
For consumers, it's recommended that you regularly review credit reports using credit monitoring services. By the way, I would say only use a credit monitoring service if you have one paid for you because you've been the victim of a breach, or you've had a breach that has happened with one of your financial accounts. I think most of what they provide you can do free. It's not necessarily something you need to spend money on. Also consider fraud alerts.
Now, the strongest protection is a credit freeze with Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian. That's going to prevent criminals from opening accounts in your name. Why? Well, when they go to take your compromised data that maybe they got on the dark web and use that to open an account, they won't be able to because the lender will need to check your credit report. Because it's frozen, the fraudster won't have the PIN number to thaw it out; they'll be stopped in their tracks. Consider doing that with each of the three credit bureaus. It's free. The only hassle is that you have to temporarily lift the freeze when you're applying for legitimate credit.
Beyond that, use strong unique passwords, turn on two-factor authentication, be extremely cautious with personal information. Bottom line: don't ever give out personal information to someone who contacts you, whether it's through the mail, over the phone regardless of what their caller ID says, or by email. Only give personal information when you've contacted the third party directly, they're known to you, and you've gotten their information, their website or phone number, from a trusted source, and you've initiated the contact. Beyond that, never give it out, especially if they apply pressure.
And then monitor your financial life. Just keep tabs on your bank and credit card transactions, bills, credit reports. The unexpected accounts, charges, and withdrawals usually are an indication, an early sign, that someone is using your identity.
So, don't mean to raise your blood pressure here at the end of a day on Friday, at the end of the week, but these are important strategies for you to stay safe.
All right, we're ready to dive into your questions today. Let's go to Ohio. Chris, go ahead.
Chris: Hi Rob. First-time caller. Really appreciate your show.
Rob West: Thank you.
Chris: I'm 64 years old. I plan on retiring in a couple years, and my house is paid off. I've got 80,000 in a 401(k) at work, and I have 272—well, I've got 272,000 in savings. Hopefully I'm on track to retire in a couple years with my Social Security. I'm not sure what the magic number is, but, you know, my main question is: what money that I have in savings right now—I'm curious about investing that in money markets or a CD or a CD.
Rob West: Okay. Yeah. And so your question is how to choose between them, is that right?
Chris: Yeah, yeah. How to how to choose between them and what are the risks.
Rob West: Yeah, yeah, very good. So, as we stay in that category there of CD or money market, you know, looking at a bank CD or a bank money market account—and I'm not talking about a money market mutual fund, which would typically be offered by a brokerage firm like Fidelity or Schwab, that's a different category, still very low risk, but not guaranteed—but the bank CD and the bank money market account (not the fund), very high safety. They would both have typically either FDIC or NCUA insurance, both the bank money market account and the bank CD or credit union.
Both have liquidity—lower liquidity with the bank CD, because you've got to wait till the end of the period to not have a penalty, but certainly with the bank money market account, very high liquidity. The rate can change at any time with the bank money market; with the bank CD, it would be locked in.
And then, you know, at the end of the day, if you're really concerned about safety and yield, you know, you just have to decide about how important the liquidity is. A good example of something that a lot of our listeners are using is our friends at AdelFi Christian Banking. They're the largest Christian credit union in the country. You know, a lot of our listeners are using them because they want to be first aligned with a banking partner that shares their values. But their money market, for instance, is paying 4% and it's locked in for 12 months, and it's up to $100,000. Now, I know you're going beyond that, so you may want to stack that with one from another bank or credit union, or maybe you have a different option. But I think, you know, both very high safety; the key is really liquidity. Does that help, though?
Chris: Yeah, it helps. I just—so what you're saying is, in essence, is the money market fluctuates and the CD is locked in, you can't touch it for a specific period of time, right?
Rob West: Yeah, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 months, that's right. Now, the exception to that would be something like the money market from AdelFi, where they're saying they'll give you 4% for a year, but again, that's up to 100,000. But yeah, that usually is the principal difference: the liquidity based on locking it up in the CD versus full liquidity with the money market account.
I'll share a few other thoughts for you during the break and make sure you don't have other questions. So stay on the line, we'll talk a bit more, and we'll be right back. Stay with us.
SEGMENT 3
Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith & Finance here on American Family Radio. Just a quick reminder, we're not here today, so don't call in, but we lined up some great questions in advance. Out to Indiana. Jennifer, go right ahead.
Jennifer: Hi, yes. Thank you for taking my call. Um, I I'm a single mom, and I've been working a lot of overtime to try to make extra money, um, to get myself in the best financial position as possible. Um, and I I'm really close to having six months savings in my emergency fund, and the way I'm trending, I'm going to continue to work a lot of overtime. Fortunately, I work at home, so I can just put in lots of hours. And I want to know where the best place is for me to put my money once I've built that emergency fund up to six months, if that makes sense.
Rob West: Yeah. Yeah, it sure does. And listen, I've worked with enough single parents to know how challenging that is to manage the family and the finances, and just the weight that you're carrying. And so, well done. I I realize you're working hard, but sounds like you're you're getting your financial house in order. And I love the fact that you're approaching this six-month mark on emergency savings. That's a a tremendous accomplishment, Jennifer. So, well done.
Um, once that's fully in place, and uh you know, you're looking at trying to uh put that overtime income toward your long-term future, I would look for an opportunity uh to sock that away. Um, are you self-employed, or do you have a a 401(k) or retirement plan at work?
Jennifer: No. So, I I have a 401(k) plan at work. I contribute 15%, and I get matching. I think it's 3% or 5% matching. Um, I have a high-yield savings, and I automatically transfer $250 a week from my checking into my savings. I have a high-yield savings for my last child, who's a junior in high school, so we've got two more years at home. I take my child support and actually put it into their high-yield savings, which um my ex-husband is perfectly fine with. He he wants us to save as much as we can. And um yeah, and and the only debt that I have is my house. I'm 60, and my house has 10 more years on it. So, if I just pay my payments, I'll have it paid off at 70, and that's when I'm hoping to at least retire from my full-time job. I, you know, I may do something else that I enjoy. Um, but so I've I've gotten myself in a place where all of the money coming in I I can use as needed. I mean, I I do have my son in a Christian school, so I pay tuition, and he plays sports, so I pay for that, but I don't have any consumer debt. And so, um, I've been working about I I work 40 hours a week, and I've been putting in an extra 20 every week of overtime. So, I have a lot extra coming in, and it's going to stay that way probably through the end of the year.
Rob West: Wow. Amazing, Jennifer. I mean, that that's incredible, all these things you're doing. Um, how much have you accumulated in that uh 401(k) putting in 15% plus the matching?
Jennifer: Yeah. Well, unfortunately, I was not able to start my 401(k) until very very late, um, because I was a stay-at-home mom for a long time. So, right now I have about $60,000 in it, and I have it on a fairly conservative track. I spoke with my um It's through Fidelity, and I spoke with them recently, and they they put me on the right track for my planned retirement. And um, they estimate when I when I retire I might have $250,000 in it. And and it was funny because he said, "Well, you know, we estimate you're going to need $5,000 a month and so it'll last this long." And I said, "You know, that estimate might be for most people, but I I don't even spend that now, and I'm raising a a child." I just don't I live a really frugal life. We have two used cars that are paid for. I've lived in my house for a long time, I don't plan to move, so I just don't really spend money. Um, so I'm just doing Because I'm coming from behind, I'm just doing the best I can. I just don't know if I should put it towards the mortgage or if I should continue putting it until the high-yield savings emergency fund. I just don't know where the right place is to put it.
Rob West: Yeah. Yeah, no, that makes sense. And how uh you said you've accumulated uh how much in that uh savings at this point?
Jennifer: In the savings, I'm almost to six months, so it's got about $7,000 in it right now. Um, but I'm but I'm putting $250 a week in it, so it's not going to take very long to get there.
Rob West: Okay. Yeah. No, that's great. And what's the balance on the mortgage?
Jennifer: Um, I think the balance is about $80,000, and the house is worth about $280.
Rob West: All right. And what is the interest rate, do you know?
Jennifer: I think it's 3.75.
Rob West: Yeah. Okay, great. And what are you getting on that high-yield savings right now?
Jennifer: That's a great question. It maybe around 4%. I haven't checked it lately.
Rob West: Okay. Yeah. That would be great if you are. I mean, that would be a very good rate. So, listen. Again, you're doing fabulous. I love this plan here. I think, you know, one of the things you're going to want to do is look at um what your uh monthly income need will be when you get to retirement, once you're no longer working. And so, you're going to want to see, are you going to take your ex-husband's spousal IRA—or not IRA, spousal Social Security benefit, or are you going to take your own? If you've been working, you know, most of your adult life, then you're probably going to want to take your own, cuz you can only get half of his benefit. Um, and uh you know, by waiting until age 70 to take that, um you know, that's going to be uh get that check up 25% higher than what it would be. Do you know what that number is going to be? Have you looked at that?
Jennifer: Yeah, I have gone onto the Social Security website, and it looks like it'll be a little bit over over $3,000 a month, which that's that's pretty good, cuz if my house is paid off and I don't spend much money, I I could live on that. Now, I I don't know what my medical needs will be when I'm 70. Um, I just want to direct my money to the right place.
Rob West: Yeah. Well, I would say, you know, let's let's start putting it, now that you've got the six months, let's open a Roth IRA at Fidelity and fund that with that $250 a week. And when you get to the uh max of that, which will be, if you're 50 or older, $8,600, at least for 2026, then I would just continue to bump up your 401(k). Let's do this: I'm up against a break, but I want to just kind of review. This has all been really helpful information. I've been taking notes, so I just want to review your next steps right after this break. So, you stay right there. I'll come right back to you. And then, uh Leslie, I'm coming your way as well. I'm Rob West, and we'll be right back. Stay with us.
SEGMENT 4
Rob West: Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith & Finance here on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. Before the break, we were talking to Jennifer in Indiana. She's a a hardworking single mom. Uh, she has been working 60 hours a week, taking that extra 20 hours a week of overtime pay to be able to sock away some money—uh, about 250 a week, 1,000 a month on average. And um, she's debt-free except her home. She is fully funding at least 15% of her pay plus matching her 401(k). She's about to hit the six-month mark on her emergency savings, and she's funding Christian education for her son. I mean, she's she's doing a lot of great things here and just wondering how she should direct that 250 a week now that she's fully funded on the emergency fund. So, here would be the steps I would be thinking about, just based on what I've heard here today, Jennifer. Number one, check that savings interest and make sure it is comparable. You know, if it's at 4% or higher, you're in good shape. If not, you know, there are 4% savings accounts out there. For instance, our friends at AdelFi Christian Banking are offering 4% in their money market right now. Um, so that that option is possible. Um, if it is a good rate, leave it right there. I would stop funding the savings and then redirect that thousand a month uh into a Roth IRA, also at Fidelity, who has uh your other account. And, you know, you could just get that into a similar type investment strategy as your 401(k), with maybe a target date fund. You'll be able to put in $8,600. If you get to the limit on that in any year—um, you wouldn't this year just because there's not enough months left at a thousand a month for you to get over 8,600, but if you did, then I would bump up your 401(k). You know, you can put between age 50 and 59, you can put in $32,500 um in a 401(k). So you, even though you're doing 15%, because you're trying to catch up, you could do more. The only other options would be, you know, college savings, depending on what you've decided there. I know you are saving for your kids, but if you need more, that would be an option. Although the nice thing with the Roth is you can always get back those original contributions uh at any time, because it's after-tax money. You can't get back any gains, but you can get back your original contributions if you wanted to use that for college. Um, you could um, you know, look at uh a long-term care insurance policy. I know you said you were concerned about just what would happen if you needed care down the road, and that would be something you could take a look at. It, you know, they're not cheap, but neither is, you know, uh nursing care if you needed it down the road. And so you could look at that. I'd go to LTCconsumer.com to explore that if you wanted to check it out. And then the last thing I'll say is, you may want to look at bumping out maybe 5 years the target date for your retirement for that investment account. Those investment target date funds tend to be a little more conservative than I would rather you be, just because once you hit retirement at 70, uh, you know, you still need that money to last 20 or 30 years if you're in good health. And so, you know, I would say if you're planning on, you know, retiring—I'll just pick a date—in 2030, I might look at a 2035 target date fund, just to be slightly more aggressive. But let me stop there. Is that helpful?
Jennifer: Yeah, I mean that is helpful. I I actually am about to turn 60, so I I thought I was too old to open a Roth. And I don't have any...
Rob West: No, there's no age limit for a Roth. As long as you have earned income, you can contribute to a Roth.
Jennifer: Yeah. And I I don't have any savings for for my son's college, unfortunately. That's why I'm taking every bit of child support and putting it in a high-yield savings account. But um, yes, that's very helpful. Thank you. That gives me some ideas.
Rob West: Well, and if you open the Roth and and fully fund that, like I say, the the portion that is your original contributions can come back out at any time if you needed those for, you know, college or something like that to help with the kid. So, anyway, hopefully that gets you pointed in the right direction. Thanks for calling today, Jennifer. You're doing a fabulous job. Keep up the great work. Let's go to Naples. Leslie, go ahead.
Leslie: Uh yes, thank you. Um, I do have a certified financial planner, and I have a brokerage account with Fidelity. But about six six years ago, he encouraged me to open a life insurance company uh called Brighthouse. And so that for six years, if I didn't touch it, it would continue to grow. So it just uh came to fruition in May of this year, and it did very well. Um, and so his advice was, "You have to take that out, withdraw it at this point. There are other things you could do with it, but you're going to withdraw it and it's going to come directly to your bank." So I did share it with some of my family. I have two sons, and I shared it with them. And then there was an excess of about 50,000. And um the the CFP suggested um just putting it maybe into a savings account, because I had mentioned to him about perhaps getting uh another car in the near future, but that's that's not definite. I'm 73 years old. I have a Roth IRA. I own my own home. I own my own car presently. So the 50,000 um is in a online Marcus Schwab account, and it's only getting three 3.34%.
Rob West: Okay. All right. Yeah, and what are you living on? What are your income sources?
Leslie: Well, well, I have Social Security, and also a security benefit that he took out for me many years ago. So I get a monthly income of 433, and the Social Security is 2,950. So it's about 4383 a month. And um if I find that I'm needing a little extra, I go to the brokerage account, and he'll I'll withdraw maybe $5,000, maybe two times a year.
Rob West: Sure. What do you have in the brokerage account currently?
Leslie: Well, it's it's about it's over 800,000.
Rob West: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, so I like this idea of taking the 50,000, um, you know, because you have quite a bit in your nest egg, you're living modestly, your income is covered apart from maybe a few extras a year—um, but you're not pulling anywhere near what you could pull out of that 800,000 and still, you know, see it maintain its principal balance. Um, you know, you could probably pull 35,000 or more a year if you wanted to. Um, but you're not, and so that's great. But I think keeping this liquid for that car purchase or whatever other short-term needs you have makes sense, uh, especially given the uncertainty around if you might be buying another car and you'd likely want to do that with cash. So, I would say, you know, put it into a high-yield savings. You can do better than 3.3. You know, for instance, again, I mentioned a moment ago to our previous caller, our friends at AdelFi Christian Banking, the largest Christian banking uh credit union in the country, is paying 4% on their money market. You could check that out at faithfi.com/banking. And they're, for FaithFi listeners, adding up to $400 as a bonus when you open a new account. But, you know, that type of thing, a 4% money market, whether it's there or a local credit union or some other option, um, you know, could be a great move for you for this money, because, you know, that's not an insignificant amount of money. I mean, that's uh $2,000 over the next 12 months, um, you know, if you hit that in a 4% money market. But I think in terms of the place, you know, you can determine where to put it, but the strategy I think is right that's being recommended.
Leslie: Okay. And then just quickly, you mentioned to the previous caller about the Roth IRAs. So I do have a Roth IRA. I don't have a traditional IRA anymore. That was that was ended a while ago. So the you did say that she could take something from her Roth IRA at depending on what you initially put it in at?
Rob West: Yeah, any of your original contributions can come out at any time, because there are you've already paid the tax on them, so the IRS will let you take it out at any time. You just can't take more than what you put in, because if you take any of the gains uh before 59 and a half, you're going to get uh, you know, penalized for that, and that account needs to be open at least 5 years before you can start pulling the gains tax-free. So, um, you know, you can always get the original contributions. You can get the earnings after 5 years and 59 and a half years old. We'll be right back.
SEGMENT 5
Rob West: Well, you know, here on Faith & Finance, we love to shine a light on incredible ministries doing work in the name of Jesus. We often talk about becoming a FaithFi partner so you can support our work. But we also like to select ministries you may not be familiar with, because when you live as a faithful steward, you're generous. You recognize the grace that's been extended to you as just a natural response to the unmerited favor that God has bestowed on you through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus, to put you in a right standing before the Father, so long as you place your trust in Him as your Lord and Savior.
We just, as a response to that, we should live a generous life. And we see a picture of New Testament giving where it's sacrificial, and it's an overflow of our worship and our gratitude, and it's proportionate, and, you know, we do it systematically. And we even see in the early church that they were giving to meet needs well beyond even, you know, what they reasonably could understand, because they just wanted to be a part of God's plan and purposes.
Well, this month, here in the month of September, we're shining light on an incredible ministry. It's Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls. And our goal is to encourage Faith & Finance listeners to provide shoes for 1,000 children who need them. These are children in a remote part of the world where they don't have access, in many cases, to a new pair of shoes. Something you and I take for granted, a new pair of shoes and socks, is something they don't have access to.
But when you put a pair of shoes on these sweet children's feet, it means health because we're protecting them from footborne illness, and it means education because they can actually attend school—a lot of times they can't without them. But it's also the hope through God's love by demonstrating their worth, and by sharing the gospel, and then connecting them to holistic ministry.
And listen to this, it's incredible: Every $15 is going to cover the cost of one pair of shoes, a pair of socks, and the cost to transport the shoes to the distribution site where the team from Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls will, in a shoe distribution, meet with these children, put the shoes on their feet, pray over them, share the gospel with them, and then connect them back to a local church or a hope center that they're working with on the ground.
If you would be a part of helping us reach this goal of 1,000 shoes provided during the month of September while we're putting shoes on our kids heading back to school, we would be so grateful for you to do that. Here's the website: giveshoestoday.org. That's giveshoestoday.org. Every $15 will cover the cost of a pair of shoes, socks, and the transportation to get them there. Giveshoestoday.org, thanks in advance.
All right, Greenville, Alabama. Davey, go right ahead.
Davey: Yes, sir. I'm financially rebuilding myself after the loss of my mother, and I have worked and worked on trying to pay back credit cards, and I'm just at the end of the tunnel. I'm just wanting to know your strategy on being able to save money for an emergency fund for just-in-case circumstances, but also still try to steer towards building my credit.
Rob West: Yeah, yeah. Well, first of all, let me just say, I'm sorry for what you've gone through. And, you know, we go through difficult seasons, and despite your desire to live as a faithful steward, I know you've been through it, and your finances are probably at a—you're carrying a heavy load as a result of the decisions you made in the midst of that really difficult time. And now rebuilding, the Lord is there. He is your provider, and we can trust Him in that.
So I want to encourage you just to invite God into your financial life right now. Perhaps that means spreading the bills out on the table, physically even, but not necessarily, but just saying, "Lord, I want to invite You in. My goal is to be a faithful steward. I want to make the next faithful decision every day from here on out, and would You provide, even supernaturally, and walk with me in this journey?"
In terms of actually building that small cash cushion while paying down credit cards, it's challenging. And so here's what I would say: I would aim for a—just a very small emergency fund, maybe $500. And once you have that $500, perhaps $1,000, then let's freeze the emergency fund there. That's going to cover, you know, most small unexpected expenses that will come your way. It's not going to cover a job loss, but if something pops up, it's going to break the cycle of you borrowing on the credit cards.
Then let's focus really on the debt at that point. Our friends at Christian Credit Counselors would love to come alongside you. Essentially, what would happen with the credit card debt is the cards would be temporarily closed, they would be placed into a credit counseling program—which means they stay with each creditor, they move to the department that's only accessible through a non-profit credit counseling agency—but by doing so, the interest rate drops. So instead of an average of 22%, you're looking at probably somewhere between 0 and 10%. Then you're going to send one level payment to Christian Credit Counselors, and then they'll distribute it to each of your creditors.
Thousands of our listeners have used them. They're amazing, and we just hear nothing but rave reports. And they're all believers. They're just really going to be a source of encouragement and prayer support for you as well.
And then thirdly, I want to help get your budget in the right order, and I would love to do that by providing a Certified Christian Financial Counselor. We'll pick up the cost here, Davey. But what this is going to do is it's going to give you somebody that's going to meet with you several times just to get you kind of on a solid footing: to be able to assess where you are, make some recommendations, help you set up a spending plan that you can actually stick with, and get you pointed in the right direction.
I think if we can find a way to get your spending plan in place, find at least a little bit of margin that would help you build that $500 to $1,000 emergency fund, and then get set up with Christian Credit Counselors, you're going to start making some progress perhaps that you haven't seen before, and I think that's going to be the encouragement to keep you going.
If you do those things, your credit score is going to take care of itself. You'll start to rebuild that over time because now you're an on-time payer, your debt levels are coming down—which means credit utilization is declining, and that's the primary driver of your credit score—and it's just going to put you in a more solid place. Is that helpful though? Does that make sense?
Davey: That is completely helpful. I mean, I haven't heard it put better.
Rob West: Great, great. Well, here's what we're going to do: You hang on the line, Davey. We'll get you connected with a Certified Christian Financial Counselor. We're going to pay for it; it doesn't cost you anything. And then I want you to go to faithfi.com/ccc. That stands for Christian Credit Counselors: faithfi.com/ccc. While you're working with the Certified Christian Financial Counselor on your budget, you can also be working with Christian Credit Counselors to get your credit cards going in the right direction. And then just promise me that when you get to the other side of this, you'll call me and we can celebrate together, okay?
Davey: Sir, thank you so much.
Rob West: All right, Lord bless you, my friend. Thanks for being on the program. Let's go to Illinois. Kristen, you've been very patient. Go right ahead.
Kristen: Hi, Rob. My situation is I have $11,000 in cash in a bank safe right now. I wasn't expecting this money; my brother passed away, we didn't think he'd have anything left, but anyway, long story short, he did. I'm 76 years old. I don't know what to do with this cash; it's just a nuisance. But I do want to donate to the Give Shoes Today, definitely.
Rob West: Awesome!
Kristen: But I live in a housing authority apartment, I'm a minimalist, I live in a really nice apartment but the rent is cheap. I've been a caregiver all my life; I take care of a lady a couple of times a day for an hour each. And I just don't really need this money, but I don't know what to do with it.
Rob West: Yeah, yeah. Well, here's the thing. I mean, the good news is this isn't your money, it's not your brother's money—it's God's money. And so, Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the Lord's and everything therein." And so, it all belongs to Him. The question is, He has now seen fit for you to be the steward of this money.
So, I think it's a question between you and the Lord to say, "Lord, You've given me everything I need as my provider. I've been able to live modestly, and I love that. I think simplicity is a part of God's plan. We should also be able to enjoy what God entrusts to us, and so I don't think there's anything wrong with you enjoying this money. But perhaps—and this is ultimately what I think you need to spend time praying and asking the Lord to reveal to you—perhaps He's given this to you so you can put it into circulation in His economy, and giving it generously to meet a need that intersects with something that's on your heart, that also intersects with what's on God's heart that we see in Scripture.
Clearly, the protection of the vulnerable, the needy, the poor, the advancement of the gospel—all of these things are clearly on the heart of God. And so, I think if any one of those, including Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls, but could be any number of other things that the Lord leads you to, you know, you can just have a ball giving that away and knowing that that's going to compound for all of eternity, which is a pretty good return on investment, if I say so myself.
Kristen: And I have sponsored 10 children from Compassion over the years—I had 10 at a time, but now they're aging out, and I haven't picked up any more. But I don't know if I need to spread the money around, or just sponsor some more kids. I could do that at, you know, $43 a month per child, plus birthday and Christmas gifts, so...
Rob West: Yeah, yeah. Well, I can't tell you that, but what I can do is, I'm going to send you a copy of my devotional. One of the days of the devotional is how we give intentionally. Perhaps that'll give you some ideas; maybe you spend some time just meditating on God's Word related to that particular day about giving.
I would say sponsoring children—I love that. I think whether that's through Compassion, or World Vision, or any number of organizations that do that well, would be great. I'm really excited about what Buckner is doing with giveshoestoday.org as well. I was just on with one of the team members at a shoe distribution the other day, and the kids were just overwhelmed at what God had done through His provision. So, check that out as well.
Kristen, thanks for your generosity. Thanks for your call. Big thanks to my team today: Patty, Devin, Taylor, and everybody here at FaithFi. Have a great weekend. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye.
God’s Word says a husband and wife become one flesh…but it doesn’t say anything about prenups. So, does that mean it’s okay for Christians spouses to have one? On this Faith & Finance on AFR, Rob West will answer the question—should Christians have a prenup? Then its on to calls.
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