Q:  We have $30,000 in credit card debt and it seems it will take forever to get it paid off.  Should I use money from my 401(k) to pay off that debt?  I am 35 years old. A:  I realize when you see that money sitting in your 401(k), that there is a temptation to tap into it so you can make that credit card debt disappear.  I also realize that it seems to take forever to make progress on your credit cards, especially if all you are paying is the minimum payment.  But using your 401k money to pay...

Have you ever stopped to consider the potential "future value" of the money you spend today? If you were to save it rather than spend it, what would it be worth in, say, 20 years? For example, let's say you spend $8 each workday for lunch on the job. What if you decided to fast just once a week and save that $8 rather than spend it? Over 20 years, you would accumulate about $8,300. Not bad. But if you were to invest that $8 a week in a Roth IRA earning 6%, your small weekly investment would...

When Karen and Scott got married, Karen had nearly $50,000 of non-mortgage debt. Scott, who was a Chicago firefighter at the time, jokingly referred to it as "a reverse dowry." Several years before meeting Scott, Karen had been through the breakup of a relationship she thought was headed toward marriage. "I decided that if I'm not getting married, at least I'm going to have a nice apartment. I can remember standing at the counter of a furniture store unrepentantly handing over my credit card. I...

What does success in your job look like? Is it advancing in your career to higher positions? Is it earning more money? Is it making a difference in the world? Would God ever call you to something knowing that your efforts would fail? I’ve often found these questions to be interesting thoughts to ponder. God called Moses to stand up to Pharaoh, but then hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he wouldn’t give in until enduring the various plagues. Ultimately, I think most of us would consider Moses’ “...

God promises to help us in our financial lives—even when we don’t know where our provision is going to come from. Jesus told the masses in His day (many of whom were unemployed), “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matt. 6:34 MSG). Comforting words…but how does it work when we are out of a job? And what are we to do with the...

The Bible is full of advice on how to handle money. Every business owner can (and should) build their business on these essential principles straight from the Word of God. As you read through these Bible verses and associated principles, ask yourself where you see room for improvement in your own business dealings. 1. CONDUCT YOUR BUSINESS WITH HUMILITY. Be realistic about your human nature. Everyone makes mistakes, and I’d venture to guess you’ve made a few. Humility causes us to listen to our...

It’s said some cooks are born, not made, and Anne Grimes agrees.  “I think I was born with a pan and a spoon in my hand, ” laughs Anne. “By the time I was nine, I was baking cakes for neighbors and had a business going.”   Anne’s love of cooking continued after she married. She and her husband started a local bakery. But after a few years, jobs in her town were scarce, and the people there moved out. “All of a sudden, the town just dried up. And so, there was very little business there. So, we...

If you are a Christian, then you are called to use your gifts at church in a volunteer role or perhaps professionally. Choosing the roles that best fit your personality and interests can lead to serving God and the church more effectively. Your job satisfaction will also increase as you serve people out of your strengths.  John Holland created a theory that can help you to have more job and ministry success and satisfaction. Holland identified six personality themes: Realistic, Investigative,...

What do you picture when you hear the word retirement?  You might have a vague plan of traveling around the country visiting grandkids. Or maybe you long for the day when you’ve saved up enough money to quit a job you hate. Some of you might feel anxious because you’re not prepared. Now, hear me out: It’s never too late to start saving for retirement. And if you feel behind, don’t panic! Getting ready for retirement will take planning and sacrifice, but you can do it.   To get you started, here...

Dear Dave, I’ve been struggling financially for the past few months, so I’ve been playing the lottery once a week. To me, the chance to win millions is worth a few dollars a month, even if things are tight. Paula Dear Paula, You’ve told me you’re having money troubles, and at the same time you’re throwing money out the window every week? Honestly, the small amount you’re talking about doesn’t make a difference. Even if it’s just two or three bucks a week, that action represents a lot of...

Dear Dave, In light of recent events, do you have suggestions for things people should think about and prepare for if they get laid off from their jobs? Sam Dear Sam, It’s no secret that things are shutting down all across the world. If your workplace has closed its doors and isn’t offering pay, then it’s time to regroup and get some things in order. The thought of being without a paycheck can be overwhelming, but a little thought and planning can help you get though times like these. Start ...

If you’re feeling panicked about money in these uncertain times, I want you to hear me on this:  You are not alone. You will be okay. People all across the country are wanting to know how the COVID-19 virus will affect their finances. Here are some of the top questions I’m getting about how to handle money during this trying time. What should I do to protect myself and my family right now? Conserve your financial resources. This means cutting unnecessary spending, like cable television, eating...

The coronavirus pandemic is causing the world to realize just how fragile life can be.  More than ever, people need to hear that God is good and offers us salvation through Jesus.  As Christians, we have a unique opportunity to glorify God as we serve our neighbors. Through the ages, amazing things have occurred during difficult times. The story of C.S. Lewis writing the classic book Mere Christianity is one of those.  In the book, C. S. Lewis at War - The Dramatic Story Behind Mere...

I recently read an article that asked the question, “Are you taking enough risks?”  This is an important question in our work life because without taking risks we will not grow.   While some people's personalities drive them toward taking risks, many people only take risks in their professional life when forced to do so. The layoffs and furloughs forced by COVID-19 have catapulted workers out of what felt like stable jobs into unexpected job searches. Millions of people found stability replaced...

Dear Dave, What percentage of our income should we save for our kids’ education? We know you recommend setting aside 15 percent for retirement, but do you have a similar rule that applies to paying for college? Andrew Dear Andrew, I don’t really have a rule, or percentage, for how much you should save toward a college fund. If you’re following the Baby Steps, I recommend getting 15 percent of your income going toward retirement before saving for college. After you’ve got your retirement savings...

Chuck Bentley is CEO of Crown Financial Ministries, the largest Christian financial ministry in the world, founded by the late Larry Burkett. He is the host of a daily radio broadcast, My MoneyLife, featured on more than 1,000 Christian Music and Talk stations in the U.S., and author of his most recent book, Money Problems, Marriage Solutions. I recently spoke with Chuck about his advice for managing our money during difficult financial times. Why is it important to follow God's principles for...

Gaylord, MI Sofia Kunst had already developed a knitting hobby by the age of 12 after learning how to knit blankets from her grandmother. One day she ran into a “snag." She was running out of yarn. Reflecting on that moment, Sofia says, “I didn’t have enough money to buy more yarn, because the yarn I like to make blankets with is more expensive.” Sofia’s mom, Courtney, suggested she use the remaining yarn and weave a wall tapestry and sell it. They found a design online, and for three days...

Linda Beavert never thought she’d be able to enjoy retirement. “I've just sailed through it. I know because God's held my hand, you know.  He answers, and he leads me and there's just no better peace, no better confidence.” For most of their thirty-seven-year marriage, Linda and her husband struggled financially, even though they both worked full-time. “I was never comfortable about our money situation. We didn't know about budgeting; we never budgeted, and we lived from hand to mouth, just...

Rhonda Bell dreamt of a better financial future. She felt stuck working two jobs with irregular hours. “And I had to do both jobs even to have just enough. I remember one time when I out of work; I just dug around my house for change ended, and I up finding like, in change, $13.76. I was able to buy groceries; I had no food. I just really wanted a career. I wanted the Lord to bless me with something stable.” When friends encouraged Rhonda to go into healthcare, she prayed about it. She believed...

During this way too long pandemic, thinking about your "dream job" may seem like a waste of time. "Forget about a dream job," you might think, "I just need a paycheck!" Whether you are job hunting or in work that you desperately want to escape, you may be tempted to take any job to get out of your current situation. While it's true that at times it makes sense to take a less-than-ideal job to bring in some money, you don't want to get stuck in a dead-end, poor fitting, soul-deadening job. The...

Chesapeake, VA Kyle says, “I knew that she was going to be great. She's very strong. She’s conquered a lot of things. She did great. So, very proud of her.”   Emily is a stay at home mom and homeschools all four kids. Managing the household on a sailor’s salary isn’t easy. In fact, the couple was often forced to buy food and other necessities on credit cards and personal loans. The monthly payments became too much to handle.  Emily says, “There's a lot of worry. A lot of how we're going to get...

Dear Dave, I have $11,000 in a mutual fund account that is not a retirement account. My wife has a retirement account through her job as a teacher, but I do not have one at all. We’re in Baby Step 2, so should we cash out the $11,000 in the investment account to help pay off debt? Chris Dear Chris, If this money is designated as non-retirement funds, I’d say go ahead and cash it out. Use the money to pay down debt, and continue to stay focused working the Baby Steps. Get that debt paid off,...

Visit CBNLEGACY.org, call 1-800-333-2373 or email PlannedGiving@CBN.org     Year-End Ideas - Optimizing Charitable Giving  There are three focus areas when deciding on optimizing charitable giving while maximizing tax deductions: Appreciated Investments  Cash  Retirement Plans  Appreciated Investments Gifts of Stock Select a highly appreciated stock held for 1-year+ in a brokerage account. Donate stock shares by DTC wire transfer. Benefits Receive an itemized charitable tax deduction at...

Work hard and play hard was the mantra that Eric Pavlack lived by. For 17 years, he traveled across the country laying railroad tracks which paid well but triggered a habit of reckless spending. “Because I was selfish, money was very important. and I’m making all this big money and I wasn’t used to it. I was spending it right and left. Guns, hunting trips, motorcycles, weightlifting stuff, trucks, cars.” In order to afford his lavish lifestyle, Eric worked extra hours. “I bought stuff on a whim...

DNA tests are uncovering family histories. In some cases they're also revealing mixed bloodlines and the buried history of slavery. For African Americans, this can be emotionally-charged. What do you do when you find out one of your direct ancestors was a slave owner? And does it open the door to new conversations about racial justice and social healing?

Original Air Date: March 10, 2018

Guests:

Alex Gee — Erin Hoag — Annette Gordon-Reed — Anita Foeman

Interviews In This Hour:

How Do You Know Ruben Gee? — Searching for America's Racial History in a Graveyard — Uncovering America's Buried History: The Story of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings — Changing Our Conversation About Race Using Genetic Testing

Further Reading:

"Black Like Me" podcast

Millions of people are caring for someone with severe memory loss, trying to find ways to connect. One of the best ways anyone has found is music. We examine the unexpected power of song to supercharge the human mind.

Original Air Date: August 17, 2019

Guests:

Shannon Henry Kleiber — Oliver Sacks — Francine Toder — Anne Basting

Interviews In This Hour:

The Power Of Music And Memory: 'Music Was Waking Up Something Within Each Of Them' — The Deep Connections Our Brains Make To Music — It's Never Too Late To Learn To Play — MacArthur Fellow Anne Basting On Asking People With Dementia 'Beautiful Questions'

When things don't go the way they're supposed to — viruses, star systems, presidents, even fish — we're often desperate to explain the chaos. In this episode, we search for order in the universe.

Original Air Date: August 08, 2020

Guests: 

Patrik Svensson — Lulu Miller — Alexander Boxer — Margaret Wertheim — S. James Gates Jr.

Interviews In This Hour: 

The Weird World Of Eels — We Call Them Fish. Evolution Says They're Something Else. — The Original Algorithm Was Written In The Stars — Seeing The World With A Mathematician's Eyes

Further Reading:

Nautilus: Eels Don’t Have Sex Until the Last Year of Their Life—NYAS: The Mystery of Our Mathematical Universe

We owe our past and future existence on Earth to fungi. Some can heal you, some can kill you, and some can change you forever. And the people who love them are convinced that mushrooms explain the world.

Original Air Date: June 08, 2019

Guests:

Lawrence Millman — Paul Stamets — Eugenia Bone — Michael Pollan — Dennis McKenna — Robin Carhart-Harris

Interviews In This Hour:

Humanity? It All Started With The Raven and Fungus Man — The Soil-Cleaning, Insect-Warding, Smallpox-Curing Power of Mushrooms — From Candy Caps To Morels: Notes From A Mushroom Hunter's Cookbook — John Cage, Vaclav Halek and the Marvels of Mushroom Music — Did Magic Mushrooms Shape Human Consciousness? — 'Fantastic Fungi' And How To Film Them

A new generation of Black farmers are working to reclaim land, hoping to grow justice along with vegetables and plants.

Original Air Date: August 22, 2020

Guests:

Leah Penniman — Savi Horne — Venice Williams — Marcia Chatelain

Interviews In This Hour:

How Black Farmers Lost 14 Million Acres of Farmland — And How They're Taking It Back — 'When You Hold Land You Have to Keep It' — My Garden Is An Outdoor Parish — Cooking Greens: A Delicious Family History Lesson — The First Job, The Polling Place, The Community Space: How McDonald's Became 'The Closest Thing To Home' For Black Communities

Once upon a time, science and magic were two sides of the same coin. Today, we learn science in school and save magic for children’s books. What if it were different? What would it be like to see the world as an alchemist?

Original Air Date: September 19, 2020

Guests:

Sarah Durn — Pamela Smith — William Newman — Charles Monroe-Kane — Jason Pine

Interviews In This Hour:

Transmutation Of The Spirit — The Historical Lessons Embedded in Alchemical Recipes — Was Sir Isaac Newton 'The Last of the Magicians'? — The Buried Secrets of Czech Alchemy — Drug Store Alchemy in the Ozarks

Further Reading:

Maier: Atalanta Fugiens

New experiences actually rewire the brain. So after all we’ve been through this year, you have to wonder — are we different? We consider the "COVID brain" from the perspective of both neuroscience and the arts. Also, we go to Cavendish, Vermont to hear the remarkable story of Phineas Gage, the railroad worker whose traumatic brain injury changed the history of neuroscience.

Original Air Date: October 10, 2020

Guests:

Margo Caulfield — David Eagleman — llan Stavans

Interviews In This Hour:

How Phineas Gage's Freak Accident Changed Brain Science — 'COVID Brain' and the New Frontiers of Neuroplasticity — The Pandemic and the Poets

Is there a better way to talk about death? And to grieve? So many people have died during the pandemic — 4.8 million and counting — that we're living through a period of global mourning. And some people — and certain cultures — seem to be better prepared to handle it than others.

Original Air Date: June 12, 2021

Guests:

Heather Swan — Gillian O'Brien — Charles Monroe-Kane — Gabe Joyner — Rafael Campo

Interviews In This Hour:

The Barred Owl Who Came To Visit — How The Irish Talk About Death — How To Remember A Beloved Brother? A Memorial Tattoo — A Physician-Poet Bears Witness to the Pandemic's Lost Voices

There's a certain a kind of visual encounter that can be life changing: A cross-species gaze. The experience of looking directly into the eyes of an animal in the wild, and seeing it look back. It happens more often than you’d think and it can be so profound, there’s a name for it: eye-to-eye epiphany. So what happens when someone with feathers or fur and claws looks back? How does it change people, and what can it teach us?

Human identity cannot be separated from our nonhuman kin. From forest ecology to the human microbiome, emerging research suggests that being human is a complicated journey made possible only by the good graces of our many companions. In partnership with the Center for Humans and Nature and with support from the Kalliopeia Foundation, To The Best Of Our Knowledge is exploring this theme of "kinship" in a special radio series.

Original Air Date: February 08, 2020

Guests:

Gavin Van Horn — Jenny Kendler — Ivan Schwab — Jane Goodall — Alan Lightman

Interviews In This Hour:

In The Eye Of The Osprey: A Physicist's Wild Epiphany — 100 Bird Eyes Are Watching You — The Look That Changed Primatology — Watching the Fierce Green Fire Die: Animal Gazes That Shaped Conservation Movements — The 600 Million Year History Of The Eye — 'We Are The Feast' — A Feminist Philosopher's Life-Changing Encounter With A Crocodile — How Do You Practice Kinship? A Brief Meditation — Sharing Eye-To-Eye Epiphanies With The Animal World

Further Reading:

"The Disruptive Eye" by Gavin Van Horn—"6 a.m. on LaSalle Street" by Katherine Cummings—"Salmon Speak ~ Why Not Earth?" by Bron Taylor—"The Eyes of an Owl" by Greg Ripley—"From Bestiary" by Elise Paschen

As audio producers, one of the most fun things we get to do is bring the soundscape of a novel to life — cue the monsters, the storms, the footsteps of a creature emerging slowly from the ocean. So that’s what we’re bringing you today: Great writers, epic sound design.

Original Air Date: July 03, 2021

Guests:

Nnedi Okorafor — Neil Gaiman — Lidia Yuknavitch — N. K. Jemisin — Ann Patchett — Richard Powers — Pattiann Rogers — Lorrie Moore — Kelly Link — Mark Sundeen

Interviews In This Hour:

Nnedi Okorafor's Alien Invasion of Lagos — Neil Gaiman Brings Us To The End Of The World — Lidia Yuknavitch’s Dream World: How Dreams Shaped Her Dazzling Speculative Novel — A Not So Distant Future in the N.K. Jemisin's 'Broken Earth' Trilogy — Ann Patchett on 'State of Wonder' — Richard Powers on Writing the Inner Life of Trees — Pattiann Rogers on Bee Poetry — Lorrie Moore on Bringing Characters To Life With Brevity — Kelly Link on 'Pretty Monsters' — Mark Sundeen on 'The Making of Toro'

Why don’t we all just take moment to acknowledge that we are collectively exhausted? The pandemic, the protests, the President’s Twitter feed — everything is exhausting. But maybe it doesn’t have to be?

Original Air Date: October 24, 2020

Guests:

Katrina Onstad — Emma Seppala — Richard Polt — Filip Bromberg — Lars Svendsen — Anne Helen Petersen

Interviews In This Hour:

Can We Not? How The Pandemic Has Made Burnout Worse Than Ever — Sunday Night Blues, Monday Morning (Short) Fuse — Setting Too High A Bar For Success Is Running Us Ragged — To Waste Time Is To Deepen Life — Why Swedes Are Trading Jobs For Meaning — Have You Considered Doing Nothing?

Africans are moving into cities in unprecedented numbers. Lagos, Nigeria, is growing by 77 people an hour — it's on track to become a city of 100 million. In 30 years, the continent is projected to have 14 mega-cities of more than 10 million people. It's perhaps the largest urban migration in history.

These cities are not like Dubai, or Singapore, or Los Angeles. They’re uniquely African cities, and they’re forcing all of us to reconsider what makes a city modern. And how and why cities thrive.

To find out what's going on, we go to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to talk with entrepreneurs, writers, scholars and artists. In this hour, produced in partnership with the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI) — a global consortium of 270 humanities centers and institutes — we learn how the continent where the human species was born is building the cities of the future.

Original Air Date: December 14, 2019

Guests:

Dagmawi Woubshet — Julie Mehretu — Emily Callaci — James Ogude — Ato Qyayson — Teju Cole — Meskerem Assegued

Interviews In This Hour:

Rediscovering the Indigenous City of Addis Ababa — 'People As Infrastructure' — A Tour Of The Networked City — 'I Am Because We Are': The African Philosophy of Ubuntu — How Pan-African Dreams Turned Dystopic — Decoding Global Capitalism on One African Street — Life in the Diaspora: How Teju Cole Pivots Between Cultures — Can Artists Create the City of the Future?

Further Reading:

CHCI

If you look at a mountain, you might see a skiing destination, a climbing challenge, or even a source of timber to be logged or ore to be mined. But there was a time when mountains were sacred. In some places, they still are. What changes when you think of a mountain not as a giant accumulation of natural resources, but as a living being?

Today’s show is part of our project on kinship with the more-than-human world — produced in collaboration with the Center for Humans and Nature, and with support from the Kalliopeia Foundation. You’ll find more information about the project at ttbook.org/kinship and humansandnature.org.

Original Air Date: July 24, 2021

Guests:

John Hausdoerffer — Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk — David Hinton — Lisa Maria Madera

Interviews In This Hour:

What Do You Owe The Mountains Around You? — 'These Are Live, Active Places': A Ute Activist Fights To Save The Bears Ears National Monument — A Poet Finds Life Lessons on Hunger Mountain — 'I Was Born To Volcanoes'

What does it take to win Olympic gold? To become "the world's fastest human"? This hour, Olympic fame, the politics of sports, and the science of running.

Original Air Date: July 31, 2021

Guests:

John Carlos — Gretchen Reynolds — Mark McClusky — Michael Powell

Interviews In This Hour:

The Fist and the 1968 Olympics — Walk, Run, Swim Or Bike — The Most Important Exercise Is Merely Movement — Faster, Higher, Stronger — The Magic of 'Rez Ball'

One of the toughest things about trying to understand climate change – arguably the most important story of our time - is wrapping our minds around it. To even imagine something so enormous, so life-changing, we need a story. Some characters, a metaphor, and even some lessons learned. For that, we turn to the novelists and journalists telling the story of climate change – as we – and our children – live it.

Original Air Date: August 14, 2021

Guests:

Alice Bell — Lydia Millet — Lidia Yuknavitch — John Lanchester

Interviews In This Hour:

The Climate Change Stories We Need To Hear — The Climate Crisis Gets Biblical — Lidia Yuknavitch’s Dream World: How Dreams Shaped Her Dazzling Speculative Novel — A Climate Dystopia Of Cold, Concrete, Wind and a Wall

Over the past decade, plant scientists have quietly transformed the way we think of trees, forests and plants. They discovered that trees communicate through vast underground networks, that plants learn and remember. If plants are intelligent beings, how should we relate to them? Do they have a place in our moral universe? Should they have rights?

Human identity cannot be separated from our nonhuman kin. From forest ecology to the human microbiome, emerging research suggests that being human is a complicated journey made possible only by the good graces of our many companions. In partnership with the Center for Humans and Nature and with support from the Kalliopeia Foundation, To The Best Of Our Knowledge is exploring this theme of "kinship" in a special radio series.

Original Air Date: December 19, 2020

Guests:

Robin Wall Kimmerer — Matt Hall — Monica Gagliano — Brooke Hecht

Interviews In This Hour:

We've Forgotten How To Listen To Plants — We Share This World With Plants. What Do We Owe Them? — Guided by Plant Voices — The Botanical Medicine Cabinet