Transcript

Don Hawkins: Let's talk assurances tonight on Encouragement Live

>> Don Hawkins: Coming up on Encouragement Live, is there any such thing as a sure thing? Well, certainly not in the financial markets. Let's talk assurances tonight with Roxanne Innermuel of his faithful stewards. That's our subject on Encouragement Live.

>> Steve: Welcome to Encouragement Live, providing biblically based encouragement and insight on a wide range of practical life issues. Now, here's your host, Don Hawkins, author of, Master Discipleship Today.

>> Don Hawkins: Thank you, Steve and friend. It's so good to have you with us. As live from studios located in First Christian Church of Wylie, Texas, Encouragement Communications presents Encouragement Live. Our ministry mission is to provide biblically based encouragement and insight on a wide range of topics. And one topic that we're all concerned about is money. In fact, the Bible has a lot to say on the subject of money and, how we spend it, how we save it, how we give it, all of those kinds of things. Joining me tonight, Roxanne intermuel of his faithful stewards.com Roxanne, it's, great to have you back today.

>> Jane: Thank you, Don.

>> Don Hawkins: It's great to be here and looking forward to our discussion. With a quick reminder at the beginning of our show that you can schedule a free time to talk with Roxanne about financial issues at her website, his Faithful Stewards.com. all you need to do is follow the links on the website and set up a good time to talk. Or you can call the office. There's a phone number on the website, his faithful stewards.com as well as a link to schedule. And of course, you're probably familiar with those schedulers. You can also schedule an appointment to be on the free webinar about will, awareness, ah, and living trust. That's coming up on Monday, June 23rd at 6:00pm Central Time. Sign up on the website on the webinar tab at his faithful stewards.com Roxanne, I think you're enjoying doing those webinars and I think you've had a good response to those.

>> Jane: Yeah, they've been a lot of fun and, I think they've been real helpful to folks.

>> Don Hawkins: Yeah, I think feedback I hear is really good.

As Christians, how should we think about assurances?

Now, we've heard the slogan nothing is assured in life except death and taxes. But, as Christians, how should we think about assurances? It's true the world doesn't offer very many guarantees, but are there some assurances that will help us as Christians approach life differently?

>> Jane: Well, I think there's many promises and guarantees in the Bible. I mean, they give us assurances on, you know, things we can stake our life on. I mean, the greatest one of these is that our faith in Jesus will provide eternal life for us.

>> Don Hawkins: Right?

>> Jane: I mean, Jesus said in John 3:16 that whoever beliefs then him will have eternal life. I mean, the belief that Jesus is speaking of here is more than just a passing belief about someone from the past, but the kind of belief that accepts Jesus sacrifice for their sins and stakes their life on it. I mean, that kind of belief actually will change lives and guarantee an eternal future. And this is an assurance that we can carry with us every day of our lives no matter what happens.

>> Don Hawkins: Good to know that. And by the way, friend, if you would like to talk with us tonight about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, maybe you're not absolutely, absolutely sure that you've trusted him. You have questions about that. Roxanne and I would love to talk with you. Our toll free number is 855-586-5433. Obviously, if you have a question about financial issues and assurances, we'll talk with you about those as well. 855-586-5433.

Don Hawkins: Knowing that our eternal future carries this guarantee can provide rest

Roxanne, can you, give us some scriptural passages that help us understand what eternal life would be like?

>> Jane: Sure. one of my favorite passages in scripture is Revelation 21 in speaking about heaven. In verses three and four of that chapter, it says, now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He'll wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. So knowing that our eternal future carries this guarantee can provide us with a lot of rest. if we keep that eternal perspective ahead of us.

>> Don Hawkins: Very important for us to keep that eternal perspective. And friend, if you have questions about that or about your relationship with Jesus Christ, the number is 855-586-5433. Roxanne is@hisfaithful stewards.com.

>> Steve: We'Re over 100 years old.

>> Don Hawkins: Dallas Theological Seminary President Dr. Mark Yarbrough on the seminary's motto Teach Trut.

>> Jane: That is what we do.

>> Don Hawkins: That's our slogan that we use.

>> Steve: Obviously it's preach the word for all of us. We are called to teach truth and live it out.

>> Don Hawkins: To learn more about how Dallas Theological Seminary can equip you for biblically based Christian service, visit DTS Edu. That's DTS. Edu.

>> Steve: are you looking for family friendly television or biblical studies with informative programming. Let me introduce you to Crossflix. From children's cartoons to in depth studies to inspiring music, Crossflix is an ever growing community of broadcasting developed for the family. Now available for Roku, Apple TV, Firestick, Apple iOS and Chromecast. Search through our on demand library with a free trial. Crossflix. Entertain, Educate, Inspire.

>> Don Hawkins: Couple of prayer requests tonight for our encouragement. Live family. By the way, I'm Don Hawkins and Roxanne Intermuel of his faithful stewards.com is with me on the program. And you can set up a time to talk with her at her website, his faithful stewards dot com. And you can sign up for that upcoming webinar on wills and trust. And we'll talk more about that in a bit. Want to encourage you to pray for Cora Varelo's mother, who is in the hospital and not doing very well at all. And also Nikki Smith, Art's mother, is not doing well at all. Pray for both of those. And Nikki's husband Brad, also having some issues as well. Pray for him. And we appreciate the fact that our, listening family is a family and we're grateful to have you along. Roxanne, we talked about the promise of everlasting life. And I love that passage from Revelation that you read. And in fact, I just finished a series of preaching through Revelation just a couple of months ago. And these promises and guarantees from God about eternity are great. But what about some assurances for while we're still here on earth?

>> Jane: Well, we can have complete assurance that God's Spirit is dwelling in us. We are never alone. His Spirit's always with us as he lives within us. So he's our counselor and our companion through this life, our friend and one that will never leave us and will always do good for us. The, Spirit, that God's seal that we belong to him and that we belong to his family, and it guarantees a future with him. So we can be assured that we're, that we always belong and that we're never alone.

>> Don Hawkins: You know, it's perfect that you're mentioning this because this is the Eve of Pentecost. And it was on that first day of Pentecost that the disciples were first filled with the Holy Spirit. And Paul, made a promise in, First Corinthians, chapter, 12, that the Spirit of God, would dwell with every believer. Jesus had promised he was going to send him in John, chapter 16, that he would abide with us forever. I think that's one of the most encouraging things to know. He is the one who empowers us, who produces the fruit of the spirit, love and joy and peace and patience and gentleness and goodness and faithfulness and meekness and self control. and if God's presence is always with us, I would think that probably, brings us some other assurances.

Roxanne: Psalm 91 gives us a strong sense of security

>> Jane: Roxanne well, yeah, and that takes me to another one of my favorite passages in the Bible, which is Psalm 91. I mean I love the whole chapter, but there's a few things I'd highlight. I mean we get a really, really vivid picture or visual, in verse four, I mean, the psalmist says that God will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge. So if we can picture an eagle with its young under its wing, protecting it from danger, this is the picture of God's prot? For us. So if you think of the size of a mother eagle compared to the small little eaglets hiding beneath her wings, you know, that picture gives me a strong sense of security.

>> Don Hawkins: You know, that reminds me of a time years ago that Dr. Frank Menth and I went, to Alaska. We were there for some ministry and also to do some hunting and fishing. And we were flying out in a private plane and flying all around the plane and even under the plane were eagles and massive and again those eagles, you know, just to think about the wingspan on those things and to think about those little egrets. That's a beautiful, beautiful picture of the security that we have in our God.

60% of Christians will die with no will, according to Sat 7

Roxanne Intermule of his faithful stewards.com is with us tonight and our number is 855-586-5433. Crossflix a complete multimedia platform at your fingertips, featuring faith based shows for the entire family. Plus an amazing library of interactive online Bible courses such as Revealing the secrets of the Hebrew Bible.

>> Jane: You'll have access to a community and.

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>> Steve: Crossflix Educate, entertain and inspire.

>> Don Hawkins: 60% of Christians will die with no will. Only 10% have up to date estate plans, virtually guaranteeing that probate courts will sort out their affairs. What does being a wise steward of God's resources mean? The Bible has a lot to say on the subject. Sat 7 offers a biblical estate planning seminar or webinar that takes the mystery out of wills, trusts and estate planning. To learn more, visit sat7usa.org Plan Sat7uh.

>> Jane: Is led by and produced by Middle Easterners and North Africans for people in that region.

>> Don Hawkins: SAT 7's new president, John Cernelio.

>> Jane: My vision is that we continue with the terrific leadership and legacy that Rex has established. And I have a vision that in the next five years we welcome 200,000 more American Jesus followers.

>> Don Hawkins: To learn more or support this ministry, visit sat7usa.org Toni King on her book Took the Maze of Medicare. I looked up on the Internet how many books have biblical in regards to Medicare, and there was zero. And then God brought you into my.

>> Jane: Life and you helped me write the.

>> Don Hawkins: Maze of Medicare because we took Medicare.

>> Jane: And put scripture with it because people are stressed.

>> Don Hawkins: They don't know what to do, where to turn.

You can schedule a free time to talk with Roxanne on his faithful stewards. com

You can order the Maze of medicare@, tonysays.com that's T O N I tonysays.com we're back on Encouragement Live tonight. I'm Don Hawkins. Roxanne intermule of his faithful stewards.com is with me. And a reminder, you can schedule a free time to talk with her on the website. His faithful stewards.com just follow the links on the website to set up a good time to talk or you can call her office to set a time if that works better for you. The link to schedule and the phone number both listed at his faithful stewards.com if you need help getting to the website, check on one of your grandchildren. They can be of help. That's his faithful stewards.com Roxanne, I love to use that, get your grandchildren to help you on that because a lot of grandparents have trouble going to websites, right?

>> Jane: Yeah, they do.

>> Don Hawkins: So got to be realistic about that.

Psalm 91 speaks to our fears so we can ground ourselves in God

Now, we've talked about this, vivid picture of, the eagles sheltering us from Psalm 91. I believe you have some other insights to highlight from Psalm 91, which, by the way, is one of my favorite passages as well.

>> Jane: So, yeah, I mean, I think about verse nine too, where it says, if you make the most high your dwelling place, even the Lord who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. It really speaks to our fears so we can ground ourselves in him and trust him.

>> Don Hawkins: You know, talking about fears, I think about what the psalmist said in Psalm 27:1, verse one said, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid. So we have their light, that is direction. we have God's salvation. That is, he protects us from evil, and he strength. He empowers us, so we really, really don't need to be afraid of anything. And that's why he says in verse 14 of Psalm 27, Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and he will strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Now you have more for us. From Psalm 91, I believe.

>> Jane: Yeah. And verse 15 from, Psalm 91 gives us a quote from the Lord where He says, he will call on me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble, and I will deliver him and honor him. This is written to God's people. And when God's people call on him, they can be assured that he will answer. As believers, we have our almighty God covering us with his wings, answering us when we call. In times of trouble, knowing that God is always with us is a guarantee that we can count on. And that doesn't mean that we always get what we want, but it does mean someone bigger is looking out for our best, no matter what.

>> Don Hawkins: Very important for us to remember.

Roxanne says when we make financial sacrifices, it builds heaven for us

Once again, if you would like to talk with Roxanne, at no charge, no cost, no obligation, her website, his faithful stewards.com has a location where you can set up an appointment to talk with her, or you can dial in on the phone number that's given on the website, his faithful stewards dot com. Roxanne, you work in the financial realm. Realm, I should say. I said, well, it's kind of overwhelming. Can you think of some assurances from the Lord that have to do with our finances?

>> Jane: yeah, sure. I think that he does give us some guarantees there, too. Maybe not what we would expect. but when we make financial sacrifices and give generously, we're promised that it's building treasure in heaven for us. Jesus tells the crowd that's listening in Luke 12:33 that God is pleased to give them the kingdom. and he tells them to give to the poor and to put their treasure in heaven where it cannot be taken or destroyed. And then we see Paul exhorting Timothy, command the rich in his flock to do good deeds and to be generous and share with others. And by doing so, they'll lay up for themselves treasure in heaven. So I think we can be assured that the financial sacrifices that we make for others and for the Lord in this life will become treasure in heaven for us.

>> Don Hawkins: You know, I think about what Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 9. He said, we're not to give grudgingly nor out of Obligation or necessity. Because God loves a cheerful giver. And it's interesting, Roxanne, that word cheerful in the Greek language that Paul wrote in is this translator, transliterated into English would be hilarious. In other words, it's the idea of somebody who is absolutely having a joyful time giving. And, giving is just one part of what we do with money while we live in the world. I think it can be wise to find some financial strategies with some assurances that offer us a level of protection. I think you can tell us a little bit about how your approach to that guarantees your financial work.

>> Jane: Sure. I believe that good stewardship and finances does not risk the resources that God's entrusted or expose them to possible loss when we can earn really good returns without that risk. I mean, most of us don't consider it good stewardship to take our savings to Las Vegas and wager it to try and get it to grow fast. And haven't they returned yet? We've come to accept putting our money into stocks and mutual funds or other market type of investments as being acceptable, even though it carries exposure to loss and offers no guarantees. Since there are safer ways to grow money that guarantee it won't be lost while still earning good returns. That looks like much better stewardship to me.

>> Don Hawkins: Boy, I would say so as well. And again, you can set up an appointment to talk to Roxanne about some vehicles that make that possible.

Let me also mention that free webinar with will Awareness and living trusts

Let me also mention that free webinar, again, with will Awareness and living trusts. Some of you are looking forward to not only retirement, but taking, care of your children and grandchildren, maybe even great grandchildren. And, there are ways that you can protect what you would like to leave, them, so that so much of it doesn't go to the government. On Monday, June 23, at 6pm Central Time, you can sign up for a free webinar on will awareness and living trust. Roxanne is facilitating that. You can sign up on the website on the webinar tab at His Faithful Stewards.com Again, the webinar tab. It's Monday, June 23, 6pm His Faithful Stewards.com all right, Roxanne, now the big question. How do you approach saving for the future? In our later years, give us a glimpse into what you recommend.

>> Jane: Well, when I look at the financial realm, I like to consider the history of retirement planning to see how we've gotten to where we are. I mean, earlier in the 20th century, the common method of employers providing for retirement for their employees was done through pensions. every year that a person worked, it increased the amount that they would be guaranteed to be paid after they retired that would pay them the rest of their life. I mean, it worked well as long as companies where people worked remained strong. It still works a lot like this with state retirement funds or teachers. You know, the teachers funds and public service worker type of funds.

>> Don Hawkins: You know, I can remember remember, hearing my dad, he received railroad retirement and was a little different from Social Security and some other vehicles like that. And then my uncle talked about when he was going to take the pension. He worked for U.S. steel. And I. People that taught school that worked a number of years would tap into retirement like that. But things seem to have shifted from that today. Talk about maybe what has brought about the shift.

>> Jane: Well, problems with pensions arose when some companies failed and went out of business. So people who were counting on, pensions from those companies ended up without anything. And the response of many companies and the government to this problem was to offer a more individualized way to save for retirement. So the 401k was introduced with this. The focus moved from the retirement income level to account balances and how much return you could get for your money.

>> Don Hawkins: And we should probably mention 403 B, which is the not for profit vehicle that's used as opposed to 401k. Would that be correct?

>> Jane: Yes, very, very similar. Just for nonprofit.

>> Don Hawkins: Yeah, different thing. 401ks were the government's response for retirement since pensions were failing. And some of the companies actually were not able to, to take care of the promises they've made their employees. Would that be an accurate assessment?

>> Jane: yeah. 401 s were really an experiment that started with the boomers. I mean it resulted in a lot more money going into the stock market, which is a goal of the government. and people began to accept their savings as being at risk in the stock market as a normal way of life. I mean a lot of marketing was done to make people feel positive about the retirement savings being in the stock market and to feel like that was the best thing. And financial planners were also indoctrinated when with optimism about market accounts. And because the government has given great incentives to business owners to provide for retirement through these stock market investments, they've become very common. people came to accept the risk and feel that it was necessary.

>> Don Hawkins: Let's think about that word risk for just a moment. I've often heard that you can't get good returns on your retirement savings unless you keep it in the Market, even though that's risky. would you agree with that statement? Is that true?

>> Jane: Well, no, I would actually disagree with that statement. I think that's a cleverly worked idea used for marketing purposes for companies dealing in the stock market. But I work with investments that have averaged 8 to 13% over the last 10 years. They've outperformed NASDAQ and many other major stock investments. But these accounts don't lose when the market drops. So with accounts in the market, you have to factor in losses on those accounts and not just look at the gains.

>> Don Hawkins: And, you know, these days where the market's going way up and way down and back and forth, a lot of anxiety seems to happen as a result of that. don't you think it's maybe a hard on people's mental and emotional, even spiritual health?

>> Jane: I think it can be, yes. For a lot of people.

>> Don Hawkins: Yeah, I would think about that.

There are many accounts that guarantee against loss but don't earn good returns

Now, let's talk about losses. Because if the market goes up, there are times the market goes down and their losses. can you give us a clear way to understand how those losses will affect those accounts over time?

>> Jane: Sure. Let me give you an example. and I often give this to people when I talk to them. If I put $100,000 into the market and the market goes down 50% that year, what do I have left?

>> Don Hawkins: I have $50,000. I believe my math is correct on that.

>> Jane: Yeah, correct.

>> Don Hawkins: All right.

>> Jane: Now, let's say the market goes down another 50% the next year.

>> Don Hawkins: I'm down to 25,000 now, and I'm really hurting.

>> Jane: Right. But let's say the next year it really rallies the market does great. It does 100% growth, so that everything doubles. Now, how much do you have?

>> Don Hawkins: Oh, my. I'm all the way back up. No, I'm not. Back up to $100,000. I literally still only have half of what I started with. That's not good.

>> Jane: Yeah. And so what you're seeing is it takes twice as much the gain to make up for any loss just to get back to where you started.

>> Don Hawkins: So what you're saying is, Yeah, you're saying it's much more difficult to climb back up than it is to go down. Easier to go down than come back up.

>> Jane: Exactly. And arguments about loss being acceptable if a person has lots of time to regain their money before they retire, fails to see how much stronger that growth might have been if they hadn't been losing back and forth over time.

>> Don Hawkins: Boy, I would agree with that. absolutely. If you can avoid that losing that's so important. So are there accounts that guarantee you won't lose and still earn good returns?

>> Jane: Yes, there are many that guarantee against loss, but that alone doesn't make them good. There are many mediocre accounts, even poor accounts that protect against losses, but they don't experience strong gains. The ones that we use have averaged 8 to 13% over the last 10 years and it takes advisors and agents a lot of time and effort to find find good options with strong growth history.

>> Don Hawkins: I want to go into that some more, but we're coming up on a break and I want to mention to you friend, you can set up a time to talk with Roxanne Intermule about these vehicles, that will average 8 to 13% and have over the last 10 years but will guarantee that you will not lose principle and losing principle as we've just talked about one of the worst things that can happen to your nest egg. go to his faithful stewards.com if you'd like to set up a time to visit with Roxanne. You can call the number that's on that account or you can set up a time to talk with her at his faithful stewards.com we'll be right back.

Free webinar will discuss wills and trusts after you pass away

>> Steve: There are only two ways that your affairs will be settled after you pass away. Your way or the government's way. For anyone without a will or trust in place, the government will settle it through probate. So we must all ask ourselves, do I want the government to decide how my minor children get their inheritance and where my assets go and then charge my heirs probate and court fees to make that happen? Or do I want to protect my family from probate and steward the resources that God has entrusted to me by determining how the assets that I leave behind will be used? Find out what you need to know and do to protect your heirs at a free webinar with his faithful Stewards. This free webinar will discuss wills and trusts and help you understand it all. Go to hisfaithfulstewards.com and find the link for webinars. There's a place there under webinars where you can sign up. That's hisfaithful stewards.com and the link to webinars his faithful stewards.com when you need to consider independent or assisted living or.

>> Jane: Memory care for a parent or spouse, Restoration Senior Living provides a distinctly Christian setting with the most stringent quality care. Restoration's innovative program addresses the medical, emotional.

>> Steve: And spiritual dimensions leading to an enhanced quality of Life. You can learn more@, restorationsl.com that's restoration sl.com.

>> Don Hawkins: Sagi Lukas grew up in South India without Christ, but when he trusted the Savior, his Hindu family disowned him. His witness brought his entire family to Christ and led to the founding of Mission India, which trains hundreds of village missionaries each year. For a free copy of Sagi's biography, Transform for a Purpose, and to learn more about Reaching Indians Ministries International, visit reme.org that's remi.org for over 30 years.

>> Steve: Don Hawkins has provided radio encouragement with a variety of gifted guests. Now you can be encouraged by these interviews with guests like Greg and Aaron's mom, Dan Cathy, Dr. Frank Minrith, Josh McDowell, and more. Subscribe to the weekly encouragement for your podcast dropping Wednesdays@life.com or at your favorite podcast app.

Don Hawkins: Roxanne was talking about some accounts that guarantee against loss

Welcome back to Encouragement Live. Our toll free number is 855-586-LIFE. Here again is your host, Don Hawkins, author of Master Discipleship Today.

>> Don Hawkins: Maybe you have a question about what Roxanne was just telling us. I would encourage you to give us a call at 855-586-5433. Roxanne was talking about some accounts that guarantee against loss. You can't lose the principal, but average 8 to 13% over the last 10 years. So they have an amazing track record. And Roxanne, my question is why aren't a lot of financial advisors telling people about these accounts?

>> Jane: Well, many advisors don't spend time doing research to find good ones and don't even know that they're out there. I mean, many can only sell the mediocre products that are offered by a company with whom they're associated. so all they ever see are those mediocre ones and they think they're all that way, which just isn't true. also, they prefer working in the market since they get paid a percentage from their clients accounts every year.

>> Don Hawkins: So you're saying the financial planners that work in the market investments actually get paid from people's accounts every year. Does that mean those fees are deducted from their accounts?

>> Jane: yes. I mean, and a lot of times people don't even realize that they're paying them because they're simply deducted from the account balances. And there can also be hidden fees that don't even show up on statements. The accounts that we work with do not have management fees or other hidden fees that reduce a person's returns. but a lot of financial planners have been filled with bad information about the safer accounts that are simply not true. So they stay away from them and tell their clients to do the same. This keeps people in the market where their money's at risk and where they get paid every year, with management fees.

You have some criteria that you evaluate companies with

>> Don Hawkins: Now you have some criteria that you evaluate companies with, and, I believe there are three of those, if I recall from a previous program. Is that correct?

>> Jane: That's correct. And the first is that as far as I can tell, and as deep as I'm able to dig into looking into them, they are biblically respectful, responsible and how they make and use their money. Second, they must have 10 year averages, for their returns that have been 8% or more. And third, the companies must be very strong financially as shown by having greater assets than obligations.

>> Don Hawkins: I think it'd be good to just recap those a little bit. The first one is biblically responsible. So I take it you wouldn't be investing in casinos in Las Vegas or that kind of thing. No.

>> Jane: And actually there's a couple of large financial companies that have very strong returns, but they're doing that on the backs of third world countries and human trafficking and some other things that, you know, they're not readily seen but they're involved with. So any companies that have associations with those, we steer clear of them.

>> Don Hawkins: And then you mentioned the second Criteria is a 10 year average of 8% or more. And I believe you mentioned that, some of the ones you're working with go from 8 to 13% and they guarantee against the loss of principal, correct?

>> Jane: That is correct. And those are averages. That doesn't mean. Because there are some years where the market's going negative and you know, they're connected to an index, so they'll do zero that year because they're guaranteed not to go backwards. But then there's other years that they do tremendously and that's what gives them that average where they've been 8 to 13%.

>> Don Hawkins: Yeah, I would have to say that average sounds like a very good average.

Companies have to have greater assets than obligations to maintain A ratings

But the third thing to me is very intriguing. the company has to be strong financially and have greater assets than obligations. I think you've talked about a way that some companies hide the fact that their assets are not that great. Could you elaborate on that?

>> Jane: Sure. And many of them do that and what happens is they want to maintain the A ratings with the rating companies. So when they start having greater assets than they have obligations, they just create a new company and they move those obligations off to the other company. So that when the rating companies come in, they, they don't see Them. I work with an organization that looks at everything, including what they've moved off of their books and all of their sub companies so that we know when we're looking at them, we're looking at their true assets to obligations.

>> Don Hawkins: All. right, just to recap, again, the three laws of learning as we've talked about, repetition, repetition, and we both know the third one, these need to be biblically responsible, have 10 year averages that average 8% or more, maybe up to, to 13%. And again, those are averages. It's not guarantees, but the companies have to have greater assets than obligations. And Roxanne, you have a way to figure that out. Make sure because of, what access you have now, Pensions, when employers, were providing pensions in years past, would actually guarantee a person a certain level of income for the rest of their lives. do these accounts you work with do the same thing?

>> Jane: yes, they certainly have that option. I mean they can work just like a private pension that you control and it can guarantee you will never run out of money. People can save until they're ready to draw income. Then it can provide guaranteed income for the rest of their lives so that they can't outlive their money.

>> Don Hawkins: Now, do they also give you an option if you want to make sure you have some left over to pass along to your heirs, your children, your grandchildren?

>> Jane: Yes. There's different ways that that can be done as well.

>> Don Hawkins: Yes, yes. So they do have, some options in there. here's another question. Do you think these plans are good for just anybody?

>> Jane: Well, not necessarily. I mean, to get the strong growth returns that we've seen historically, someone has to have at least $10,000 to get started and get the account going. They also need to realize that the money isn't going to be an account that they can draw back out of endlessly without penalty. They're, there's a little bit of a period of time, kind of like a CD that it's in there for sure. like other retirement savings vehicles, there can also be tax penalties or other penalties for taking money out before the retirement age. And so the ones that I work with, they have a four year maturity time frame. But for younger people that may need access to their funds for various things, there can be some other good options for them.

>> Don Hawkins: In other words, the bottom line is, scripture talks about getting wise counsel. And I think for, anybody who's in the market, whether you're a younger person and putting some stocks into the market, or whether you're an older person and you're getting ready to draw some of that money down and you're getting a little nervous about the ups and downs of the market. Let me remind you, you can schedule a free time to talk with Roxanne on her website, his faithful stewards.com. it's very easy to follow the links on the website to set up a good time to talk or it's easy to call the office instead of time. the link to schedule and the phone number are both at his faithful stewards.com again that website, his faithful stewards.com and our toll free number.

Roxanne discusses insurance banking options for younger people

If you have a specific question about what we're talking about tonight and the assurances about the kinds of investments return, talking about 855-586-5433. Roxanne, you mentioned younger people and the fact that they may need some other kinds of options. What kind of options would be better for them that might still have guarantees?

>> Jane: Oh, there's some different things, but one of the strategies that comes to mind is that we show people, especially people who are a little younger and may need access to their money. And is insurance banking. I mean it's sometimes called banking on yourself or infinite banking, but there's about a dozen insurance companies that are set up to do these policies really well. people can store their money in these policies and have guaranteed growth plus variable dividends. But as long as they're being done on whole life policies and not universal life policies, I mean if they need to access the money in these policies, they borrow against themselves and the account value continues growing interest even on the money they've borrowed against. So it actually leverages their money for them. So it can be gaining interest even when it's being used. And it can also provide a tax free line of income in retirement.

>> Don Hawkins: Sounds like a way to use your money for two different purposes. And to me it sounds like that would be a very good option. Now why is it so important to do this with a whole life policy as opposed to a universal life policy and maybe in the process sort of explain the difference between the two?

>> Jane: Well, both of them are permanent life insurance policies. but unlike universal life policies, the cost of insurance and whole life is locked at the age when the person, when the policy issues and the fees don't change. I mean a lot of agents try to use universal life policies for this, unaware that the increasing cost of insurance is going to eat up growth in later years and that the fees in universal life are not locked in like they are with Wholesale Life. so every year the cost of insurance goes up in the whole life policy. It starts lower, but then it ends up higher. And so they may show more growth in the early years, but it won't stay that way. And when things get hard, the companies can make up income by increasing fees on the universal life policies. So with a whole life policy, risks are held by the insurance company. With Universal Life, the risks are held by the policyholder.

>> Don Hawkins: You know, I suspect, Roxanne, a lot of people have never heard that distinction between whole life and Universal Life. don't you think there's a good possibility that some people thought they were buying whole life and wound up buying Universal Life?

>> Jane: Yes, because there's a lot of similarities in the policy. They just. Universal life was brought in by the insurance companies in order to shift the risk from the, from the company to the policyholder.

>> Don Hawkins: And that is a big distinction to remember. And again, I want to repeat that the risk with Universal Life is shifted to you. If the cost of insuring you goes up, then you will bear that cost. Whereas if you bought Whole life, and I believe that the policy I bought many years ago through my uncle was a whole life policy, at least I sure hope and pray it was. I'm going to go back home and check that out. I believe now you said they're about a day dozen companies that do these policies. Well, don't all insurance companies offer whole life policies?

>> Jane: Yes. I mean, probably every insurance company offers some kind of whole life policy, but that doesn't mean that they're well calibrated to be money storage tanks used for infinite banking or that they'll allow people to overfund them for growth, which are really important for this strategy. if it's not correctly, if it hasn't been set up from the beginning correctly for overfunding, then a person likely only has an expensive insurance policy, not one they can use for the banking purposes.

>> Don Hawkins: Now, some of you listening to the program tonight, maybe you're in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, and you're thinking this could be an intriguing way for you to, make double use of some of the funds that you're setting aside. you might want to talk with Roxanne about this. And let me remind you again that you can schedule a free time. Time to talk with Roxanne. There's no obligation, you're not going to be have your arm twisted. She's not going to try to hard sell you anything. her website is his faithful stewards.com and there are links on the website to set up a good time maybe early next week to talk with Roxanne. Or you can give her office a call and set up a time. The link for scheduling as well as the phone number for the office or on on the website website his faithful stewards.com again that's his faithful stewards.com Roxanne we're coming up on a break, so I want to just take a moment to mention that free webinar Again Will Awareness and Living Trust can actually help a person save a significant amount that they'd like to get into the hands of their heirs as opposed to letting the government get it correct.

>> Jane: That is correct.

>> Don Hawkins: Good to keep that in mind. And on that website, his faithful stewards.com there is a tab that mentions the free webinar. The date on that is Monday, June 23rd. It will be at 6pm Central Time. Again that's at his faithful stewards.com the will awareness and Trust, Living Trust webinar is coming up Monday, June 23rd 6pm Central do you have an extra.

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The older people grow, the more important it is that they have savings

>> Jane: The older people grow, the more important it is that they have savings that are not at risk in the stock market.

>> Don Hawkins: Here's an important warning from Roxanne Endermule of his faithful stewards.com I've seen many.

>> Jane: People in their 50s that have all their savings still in a 401k or some other market based account that is fully at risk of loss.

>> Don Hawkins: Roxanne and her team offer practical financial counsel to people from all age groups.

>> Jane: It could be that they need to start saving for the future in retirement, or maybe they've already done those things and they just need to be good managers of what God's given them and get their money to where it can grow well but won't be at risk of loss in the stock market. Or maybe they need to get a will or a trust in place to protect their family from the cost and stresses of probate.

>> Don Hawkins: You can schedule a free and confidential time to talk with Roxanne at her website, his faithful stewards.com just follow the links on the website to set a good time to talk or you may call the office to set a time. That's his faithful stewards.com Roxanne intermule of his faithful stewards.com is educating us tonight, letting us in on the fact that there are ups and downs in the market and when the market goes down it takes twice as much effort for the market to go back up. But there are certain investments that you can plug into that will guarantee that you will never lose your principal and that also have the potential, to average 8 to 13% as they have done the last actually 10 years. I believe you said Roxanne, on those companies that you work with, correct?

>> Jane: Yeah, that's correct.

>> Don Hawkins: Now 855-586-5433.

We help people who are paying a lot in capital gains taxes to cut away

If you have a specific question 5 about what we've been talking about, we also talked about utilizing whole life insurance, not universal life, as a means of avoiding some of these things. If you are a younger person. I'm curious Roxanne, what are some of the other financial strategies that you work with and, and what kind of guarantees might they have?

>> Jane: Well, we also work with some specialized trusts that use an IRS code that can defer passive income taxes forever. we help people who are paying a lot in capital gains taxes or other types of investment taxes to cut away most or all of that tax bill. It's a 75 year old trust. I mean additionally, we can also help people who are self employed use trust strategies that will turn a lot of their income into passive income and eliminate the taxes that they're currently paying. So for self employed people, these trusts can often reduce their taxes by 90% or more with good tax preparation.

>> Don Hawkins: I hope some of you are listening closely to what Roxanne just said. Said, if you are dealing in capital gains taxes, and I was talking with a businessman just this past week, Roxanne, who was very concerned about capital gains taxes. there are some things that you use, specialized trust that literally can help a person avoid capital gains, correct?

>> Jane: Yes, that is Correct.

You can reduce your taxes by 90% or more with good tax preparation

>> Don Hawkins: All right. And then you also said if you have the self employed income income and you get 1099 as opposed to a 10, what, is the other 1040, I believe. I'm not a tax man, as you can tell. but you can reduce your taxes by 90% or more with good tax preparation. Now does that have some specific benefits for Christians?

>> Jane: Well, that's what I've seen. I mean we find that a lot of believers, a lot of our clients would love to give more money to ministries that expand the kingdom of God. But they're paying so much in taxes that they can't give the way that they would really like to. So if they're self employed or working off some kinds of passive income, we help them divert many of those dollars away from taxes so they can then choose to support ministries that God lays on their heart, then they can be guaranteed that they're laying up treasure in heaven for eternity instead of just supporting government programs.

>> Don Hawkins: And that's what we talked about earlier in the program, the assurances of God's blessings. Blessing if we are faithful to him and are, laying up treasures in heaven, as Matthew chapter six reminds us, is the priority. Let me remind you, you can schedule a free time to talk with Roxanne at her website, his faithful stewards.com follow the links on the website to set up a time or use the telephone number to call in and set up a time at his faithful stewards.com. that same website is where you can sign, sign up for the webinar on will awareness and living Trust. That's coming up Monday, June 23rd. There's no charge for attending that 6pm Central time. And you'll be able to log on and listen to that webinar and be involved. I think they'll also be able to ask questions during that time. Is that correct, Roxanne?

>> Jane: Yes, yes. We always open it up for questions after we, we've done the first part.

>> Don Hawkins: Yeah, that's a very helpful thing to keep in mind. Mind Again, the date is Monday, June 23rd. That's still a little time off. So plan your schedule. 6:00pm Central Time. You can do the calculation if you are in eastern time or Pacific time or mountain time. And the place to sign up is the webinar tab at his faithful stewards dot com.

Government laws will determine what happens to people's assets if they don't plan

Roxanne, as I recall, you are working with wills and trusts for people to plan for their legacy. maybe this would be a good place for us to jump in and talk about, about why it's important, to work with, these for financial planning.

>> Jane: well, a lot of people don't realize that the government laws will determine what happens to their assets when they die if they don't establish their own plan. I mean, if a person wants to leave a portion of their estate to a Christian ministry, that's never going to happen without, you know, appropriate planning ahead of time. And any significant asset will go to probate, and a lot of its value will be eaten up in attorneys costs and court fees. I mean, if they have no plan or, or if they only have a.

>> Don Hawkins: Will now, and a lot of people don't have a will. So that's an important thing to keep in mind if you have not yet set up that time. If you don't have a will, you certainly need to get one done. talk about how the government gets involved in the settlement of estates.

>> Jane: Well, the way the government administrates, is through probate when, when someone's estate go, the court follows the will if there's been one left, or it makes decisions based on state laws if there wasn't one left, if there's no will. And the whole process can become quite costly. there's court fees, attorney fees, appraisal fees, and a lot of other settlement fees involved in the whole probate process. So a lot of estates never even get settled because the heirs can't afford all the costs associated with probate to settle the person's estate, and they can't access any of the funds in the estate to pay those costs until after it gets settled.

>> Don Hawkins: In other words, you actually have to have enough money to settle. You cannot pull money out of an estate. And I think a lot of people don't realize that. I found this out the hard way when I was involved. As the executor of an estate, for a family member, you, have to actually come up with the money, to pay that before you can draw anything out of the estate, correct?

>> Jane: That is correct.

>> Don Hawkins: Ooh, painful. Now, if a person has a will, does that keep their estate out of probate?

>> Jane: no, actually, it doesn't. A will only instructs the courts on how the person wants their assets distributed. But the courts still control the process and charge all the fees. when there's only a will, your executor gets to deal with the courts through the entire process. And it can be pretty stressful and expensive. Process for errors.

>> Don Hawkins: Yeah, it's pretty stressful for, those who are executors of estates as well, my brother and I were talking about that this past weekend. We were together for his 50th wedding anniversary. And we both have served as executors of family members estates. And quite frankly, it's, it's not a lot of fun, is it, Roxanne?

>> Jane: I don't, I don't think so.

>> Don Hawkins: Not at all.

Are wills appropriate for some people? Um, yes, it can be

now, are wills though appropriate for some people? People?

>> Jane: yes, it can be. It can vary by state. I mean, each state has a cutoff for the value of someone's estate before it's required to go to probate. someone could Google that information for their state and find it pretty quickly. I mean, if the value of a person's assets are beneath the state cutoff and they don't own any real estate, then a will may be the best way to go for them. But they do need to realize that there's a couple of other documents that we would be important as well, and those would be the power of attorney for financial and health care as well as a, ah, living will for advanced directives.

>> Don Hawkins: All right, let's get into those two things.

Having power of attorney documents for health care and finances is important

What does a power attorney do? And also why is it important?

>> Jane: Well, if a person were to become incapacitated, say because of an accident or an illness like dementia, someone else is going to have to make their financial and health care decisions for, for them and speak on their behalf. and they have not. If they've not actually executed those documents that appoint the people that they want in those roles, then the courts are going to appoint someone to do it. And the person appointed might not be the person they choose and it might not be someone who's going to look out for their wishes the way they'd like.

>> Don Hawkins: Now I think you indicated there are two power of attorney documents. One for health care, one for families finances. Is that correct?

>> Jane: Yes, there are two and they can be handled by the same person, but they can also be handled by different people. One will make financial decisions for you and the other will interact with healthcare providers and speak on your behalf, you know, over healthcare decisions. And there is one other document that your healthcare power of attorney will need, and that's the living will with advance directly that spells out your wishes about how you would, how long you would want to be kept like on artificial support or rather you would want to be resuscitated. it's important to think through those and know where you stand so your family knows and they don't have to decide for you. I mean, having these documents in place removes a tremendous burden from your loved ones and prevents disagreements among them over, you know, who should do it later.

>> Don Hawkins: This would be a great time for you to take a moment to jot these, things down. Down. Power of attorney documents for health care, power of attorney for finance, living will, and advanced directives. Make sure you have those things in place. And if you'd like to talk with Roxanne about that and your specific situation, Roxanne, that is the kind of thing that you talk to people about. And I know you'll be talking about that on the upcoming webinar, but people can schedule a time to talk with you about these things as well, correct? Correct?

>> Jane: Yes, that is correct.

>> Don Hawkins: All right. And again, the website, his faithful stewards dot com. there's a place on there where you can schedule a time to talk with Roxanne. She doesn't charge for those conversations. they will enlighten you. but also, it'll be an opportunity for you to learn more about your specific situation.

A revocable living trust prevents heirs from going through probate

Now, if a person's assets fall above the state minimums to avoid probability, how can they be sure their heirs still won't have to go through probate?

>> Jane: Well, that's where a revocable living trust comes into play. Sometimes people think those trusts are just for the wealthy, but that is simply not true. they're for anyone who wants to guard their heirs from having to spend the cost, time and stress of going through probate. And while it can be fairly expensive to hire an attorney to set those up, there's other options that can be a lot more affordable and still provide attorney created documents.

>> Don Hawkins: If a person sets up a revocable living trust, how are the final affairs handled with these? And how is it different from a will?

>> Jane: Well, m. If a person sets up a revocable living trust, then when the Lord calls them home, the person they've named as trustee will take over distributing their estate. The trustee will follow the wishes that are stated in the revocable living trust. The process never goes to the courts. It remains private. The trustee handles everything. It saves all the stress and costs associated with probate, and the assets are distributed much more quickly. And it's all private. It's not public like it is in probate.

>> Don Hawkins: All right, just to sum up, you help people, Roxanne, with safe investments that have averaged 8 to 13% over the last 10 years. You help people with a long term strategy. with infinite banking, you help people wipe out capital gains and other passive income taxes. You help people reduce self employment taxes drastically. And you also help people with wills and trusts. Now, can you help people pull all of that together into a personalized plan?

>> Jane: Yes, we can provide a full plan based on a client's needs and goals. We aim to help people, you know, be set for good stewardship in their financial plans at all levels and to have it fit what they want to accomplish.

>> Don Hawkins: All right, Let me encourage you friend to check on the that at his faithful stewards. Com. That's the website where you can schedule a time to talk with Roxanne or you can sign up for the upcoming webinar on will awareness and living trust. Again, the website is his faithful stewards dot com.