RSS Feeds
Equipping people worldwide to learn, apply, and teach God's financial principles so they may know Christ more intimately, be free to serve Him, and help fund the Great Commission.
Today on MoneyLife
Friday, June 19, 2009
Chuck Bentley: Money-Saving Ideas about Insurance and Housing
(originally aired January 21, 2009)
I've been researching topics we’ll discuss on future broadcasts. While on the Internet, I found a site where Christians were talking about financial insecurity. They were expressing fear about the economy and having enough to live on in the future. Even though they acknowledged God as their provider, they still struggled with insecurity. I have compassion for them, because fear is destructive and not the life God wants for us. He wants us to live by faith and experience freedom. Very few of the people expressing fear about the future were living by God’s financial principles. We can help you with that. Health insurance is expensive. Today, about 15% of adults in the U.S. don’t have insurance. One of the options for lowering the cost is self insurance. Get your finances in order, save, reduce the amount of insurance you have, raise the deductibles on the insurance you keep, and use your savings to pay deductibles. This works best for people who don’t make many claims and seldom go to the doctor. There are other ways to save on insurance:
Another option is to set up a High Deductible Health Plan. As the name implies, this type of policy has a very high deductible and covers catastrophic care. With an HDHP, you pay for most of your health care costs, and the plan is a safety net that is used during hospitalizations. It has high deductibles and low premiums. People who use an HDHP are eligible to use a tax-deferred health savings account to save the money needed to pay high deductibles. You can get an HSA through a bank, credit union, insurance company, and some employers. If you go this route, declare an amount to set aside in the HSA for the year. The money earns interest tax-free. Money that isn’t spent rolls into the next year and helps you build towards self-insurance. Home swapping is becoming popular. There are over 90 Web sites offering this service, such as OnlineHouseTrading.com and Pad4Pad.com. Some people have to move because of their job and they need help, especially in a slow real estate market. Some of the Web sites make bogus claims and charge outrageous fees. In reality, it will be difficult to find someone who wants to swap houses with you. If you need to do it, be careful which Web site you use. Watch out for monthly fees; a one-time, upfront fee is preferable. Make sure the site has a lot of people visiting,and be careful about giving too much personal information. Protect your privacy. Have someone you trust check out the house in person and get an attorney to help you with legal issues like the mortgages. Renting may be a better, simpler option. I want to encourage those of you who are trying to overcome financial Insecurity. Ask God to show you the dross (fear) in your heart so that you can address it and be free from it. Proverbs 25:4 says, "Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith." |
|||
Save Money on InsuranceWhen it’s used properly, insurance is a wise investment, especially if you’re protecting your family against potential financial devastation. |
Health InsuranceGod created us to live in a physical world in which there are things beyond our control, such as accidents and diseases. |
||
Ideas for Funding an Emergency AccountOne of the best ways to break out of the debt cycle is to have an emergency savings fund to cover unexpected expenses. |
10 Ways to Save MoneyWe need to make saving money and debt freedom top priorities in lives. |
||
Other Resources: |
|||
Two of the biggest budget busters are insurance and housing. They cause people a lot of stress. Today, I want to share some creative ideas that may help you save money and reduce that stress.
