Faith, Finances and F*Bombs

Hartley and Kevin discuss Caitlin Clark, listener feedback, the promise of a car and receiving a daily allowance versus a lump sum. SHOW NOTES:On the day this episode was recorded, the Wall Street Journal reported the aforementioned Iowa star-turned-No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft has agreed to an eight-year, $28 million contract with Nike that features a signature shoe, giving Clark the most lucrative shoe deal in women's basketball history.Rookies' salaries in the WNBA™ are determined by their draft position. Caitlin Clark's base salary for her first year in the league is around $76,000. In April 2024, CBS reported that Clark's four-year rookie contract is worth a total of $338,056. She'll be paid $76,535 in 2024, $78,066 in 2025, $85,873 in 2026, and $97,582 in 2027.You can read more here about the highest-paid professional women's basketball players and the disparity between NBA and WNBA salaries. Like the king who stopped paying his son a yearly allowance, God desires to give us day by day all that is sufficient for the day. Every person is in need of God’s unbroken love, companionship, wisdom, and giving. Creating space in each day for God and intentionally spending at least a few minutes within this space to personally interact and listen to God is a great way for these and other spiritual needs to be met. Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightMusic CreditsPodcast Theme: Catch It by Coma-Media from Pixabay   Transition Theme: For Elevator Jazz Music by Music_Unlimited from Pixabay  Sounds by Zapsplat Additional Sound Effects from Pixabay   

Are you a naturally curious person or do you tend to be a know-it-all? After committing a false start, Hartley shares about a favored foreigner of Jesus and Kevin expresses his frustration about the unfavored foreigner of America. SHOW NOTES:The story about the Lepers can be read in the Bible, New Testament, Luke 17:11-19Learn more about the Pension Protection Act of 2006.    Learn more about Target Date Funds.  Show Credits:Sound Effects by Zapsplat Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightMusic CreditsPodcast Theme: Catch It by Coma-Media from Pixabay   Transition Theme: For Elevator Jazz Music by Music_Unlimited from Pixabay   Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog 

How and when and where did you first recognize God's activity in your life? Hartley discusses responding to God; Kevin questions the reasoning behind recent standard adjustments to the target inflation rate and values for basis points. There are no SHOW NOTES for this episode.Show Credits:Music CreditsPodcast Theme: Catch It by Coma-Media from Pixabay   Transition Theme: For Elevator Jazz Music by Music_Unlimited from Pixabay   Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog 

Hartley and Kevin discuss tee shirts, federal reserve districts and  prayer as conversation with God. SHOW NOTES:As he does in most episodes, Kevin refers to and speaks into activity of The Fed  and discusses the Philadelphia Fed Index in this installment. We encourage any listener to visit this web page for an explanation and understanding of why these are elements of our Finance segments.For those interested, we've included a link to The Lounge Guide to Wearing Underwear as Outerwear.     Show Credits:Sound Effects by Zapsplat Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightMusic CreditsPodcast Theme: Catch It by Coma-Media from Pixabay   Transition Theme: For Elevator Jazz Music by Music_Unlimited from Pixabay   Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog 

Hartley introduces us to the breath prayer, Kevin anticipates push-back in the upcoming political season. SHOW NOTES:adjacent — /ad·​ja·​cent/ adjective                                                                                                                                                                                 not distant: nearby; lying near, close tangent — /ˈtanj(ə)nt/ adjective (of a line or plane) touching, but not intersecting, a curve or curved surfacetangential — /tan-jen-shuhl/ adjective(of a subject or activity) different from or not directly connected with the one you are talking about or doing: a tangential issue Kevin is currently reading: Practical Optimism: The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional Well-Being by Sue Varma, MD; published by Avery; 2024; 336 pagesYou can pray a breath prayer into the spaces of your day: when you are waiting, when you are worried and anxious, when you need some sense of God's presence, 'underneath' all other words and thoughts consuming your daily interactions, when you are entering into silence and solitude, and as a way of bringing your mind back to your desire when it begins to wander.   Discovering your Own Breath PrayerSit quietly, reminding yourself you are in God's loving presence. Allow yourself to sit with a particular word or phrase from Scripture if there is one which helps you enter a prayerful, listening stance.Express your true heart to God: "God, what I most want from you right now is... Choose your favorite name or image for God which best captures who God is for you or who you need or want Him to be as you are currently relating to him. (examples: God, Father, Jesus, Creator, Spirit, Breath of life, Lord, Shepherd, Holy One, Prince of Peace, Savior)Combine your name for God with the expression of your heart, capturing your yearning for intimacy, wholeness, or well-being in Christ. Consider variations of your combination until you have a prayer of about 6 to 8 syllables which flows smoothly when spoken aloud; rhythmic enough to be prayed with the inhalation and exhalation of your breathing. Portions of the Breath Prayer exercise are adapted from The Breath of Life: A Simple Way to Pray by Ron DelBene; published by Wipf and Stock; 2005; 110 pages The film “Super Size Me” is a 2004 part documentary film and part health experiment directed by and featuring American indie filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. In the film, he records the effects of a 30-day period of time (Feb. 1 – March 2, 2003) in which he ate only McDonald’s food.A man named Johnny Harris researched why McDonald's™ ice cream machines are consistently broken down and chronicled his findings in this video presentation. You can visit this website to discover if the McDonald's™ ice cream machine near you is currently operational. Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Sound Effects by Zapsplat Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightMusic CreditsPodcast Theme: Catch It by Coma-Media from Pixabay   Transition Theme: For Elevator Jazz Music by Music_Unlimited from Pixabay   

Hartley is put off by a negative emoji, Kevin hints about how the market is likely to perform during this election year, and they discuss where to see tangible proof of God answering prayer. SHOW NOTES:Hartley refers to Harvard University's version of a popular Implicit Association Test (IAT). Proponents of the IAT have not shown that it unequivocally measures unconscious racism and have failed to rule out alternative explanations. The IAT has not been shown to correlate with other established measures of prejudice and discrimination or to predict discriminatory behavior. Another criticism of the IAT is that it may measure associations that are picked up from cultural knowledge rather than associations actually residing within a person. The counter-argument is that such associations may indeed arise from the culture, but they can nonetheless influence behavior.A Key Takeaway is missing from the audio in this episode: 4 weeks (28 days) — Hartley's accident was August 5, 2021. He was released from the hospital on September 2, 2021. Hartley's stay in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit was 13 days; he was in an inpatient Rehabilitation hospital for 7 days.  Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightMusic CreditsPodcast Theme: Catch It by Coma-Media from Pixabay   Transition Theme: For Elevator Jazz Music by Music_Unlimited from Pixabay    

Hartley and Kevin converse about the weather and lakes of Missouri, Kevin informs us he will never fly again, and Hartley attempts to tackle the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling. SHOW NOTES:Follow the progress of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling on IVF. There are 211 trading days remaining on the US Stock Market and our current record-highs for 2024 on the S&P 500 is 13. The song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is a 1976 hit song written, composed and performed by Gordon Lightfoot to memorialize the sinking of the bulk carrier in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.  This episode starts off the rails because of this article mentioning the new forthcoming HGTV series.  On the off-chance you need MORE information about the Lake of the Ozarks, click here. Hartley was close, but wasn't completely correct about why Chicago is called The Windy City. Learn more about the origins of State Mottos.Fact-check: the rules regarding owning homes on Lakefront Property: The only time a waterfront property is private is when it is surrounded solely by a landowner’s property. For example, if you create a manmade lake or pond, or a  natural lake is landlocked by your property. Another example is a large acreage property with a lake on it. If the lake is situated completely within the land’s perimeter, then the owner of the land also owns the lake. The lake is considered to be private property, and the owner can do with it as they wish. Another private property example is when a home is on land that extends to the lake shoreline, but the lake itself is not part of the land purchased. In this instance, only the property is private. In other instances, property owners own the home, the land, and part of the shoreline. Some properties entitle you to use the water, but not to construct a dock or other structure by the shoreline.Power companies often build lakes for hydroelectric power generation and similar uses; this means that the company owns the lake. However, they may allow the land around the lake to be sold or leased. Usually, these lakes are open for recreational use. But, the power companies that own them typically instruct homeowners and visitors to follow certain restrictions and user guidelines. If you buy a home on a power company-owned lake, the home you purchased will be yours. The land, however, may be leased from the power company. But you don’t have to worry about the length of your lease term. Many lakes will lease land in 100-year terms.  Buying a home on a leased lot is almost a hybrid between an inheritance and a leasing agreement. Buyers don’t have to re-negotiate lease terms with every property purchase. Instead lease agreements, responsibilities, and property additions – like boathouses and docks – are “passed down” to the next buyer. An important thing to remember about leased lots is the original landowner (the utility company) maintains ownership of the land and lake shoreline when leasing terms expire.Part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ role is “planning, designing, building, and operating locks and dams.” The Corps owns and operates more than 200 locks and dams throughout the United States, and in many instances owns the lake, shoreline, and property in the immediate area. Although on some lakes property can be sold for private ownership and use, there are other lakes on which no private construction or ownership is allowed.EPISODE FEEDBACK AND CREDITS:    X / Tweet™  |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comHartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / BlogSounds by Zapsplat  Podcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay  Announcer: Dr. K.J. Wright 

In this episode we are encouraged by Hartley to take up a new practice and Kevin tells us we can't fight the fed. SHOW NOTES:12 listeners have entered our contest! There are 215 trading days left on the S&P 500 and we have experienced 12 record closes in 2024 to date. You can still enter the contest by casting your prediction before April 1, 2024.   We've done our fact-checking about the lack of fact-checking:learn more about how eating chocolate will help you lose weight learn more about False FlagsComment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay   

Hartley takes a Jamaican plunge, Kevin criticizes a helpless reporter, and the pigs are left behind.Show Notes: For a written report about the interview with Larry Kudlow, visit here. The Parable of the Prodigal Son is recorded in Luke 15:11-32. In the story, a father has two sons. The younger son asks for his portion of inheritance from his father, who grants his son's request. This son, however, is wasteful and extravagant, thus squandering his fortune and eventually becoming destitute. As consequence, he now must return home empty-handed and intend to beg his father to accept him back as a servant. To the son's surprise, he is not scorned by his father but is welcomed back with celebration and a welcoming party. Envious, the older son refuses to participate in the festivities. The father tells the older son: "you are ever with me, and all that I have is yours, but your younger brother was lost and now he is found."Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Sounds by Zapsplat Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay   

Kevin and Hartley discuss the changes occurring in the collegiate and professional football landscape.Show Notes:The content of this episode was prompted by the January 6, 2024 opinion editorial, Welcome to the end of college football as we know it, written by Will Leitch and published by CNN.What do you think? Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb  Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.com  Show Credits: Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay  

This bonus episode describes and outlines our finance-based contest for 2024.  You are invited to participate in this contest. Show Notes: Enter our contest and predict how many record closes (all-time highs) on the S&P 500 you believe will occur in 2024 .As of the date of this episode's release, 219 trading days remain. Officially, there are 252 trading days on the stock market this year (2024) in the United States. You may submit your prediction any time before or on the contest entry deadline: April 1, 2024. On the date of the entry deadline, there will be only 191 trading days remaining in the year.  Submit your guess (i.e., "I predict there will be 21 new all-time highs.") by April 1, 2024, via:Email:  f.bombs@hartleywright.comX: @FaithMoneyBombUpdates on the actual number of all-time highs will be announced on future podcast episodes throughout 2024.Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits: Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay  

Each suspicious about the integrity of their local recycling management, Hartley describes two world views, emphasizing God's economy, and Kevin details last month's view, summarizing the United States economy. This is part two, continuing their long conversation of the previous episode.Show Notes: Municipalities and counties pay for residential and commercial recyclables to be trucked to local and regional recycling plants for processing. Clean batches are sorted and/or compressed into bales of similar plastics, paper, aluminum or glass. The centers sell the cleaned recyclables on the open market to buyers who will process them into recycled materials like plastic pellets or post-consumer paper; these can be turned into new products. This entire process – the processing and creation of saleable recycled goods – costs money. As with any good, profitability requires selling for a higher price than it costs to make. Contaminated batches are harder to process into new products and therefore fetch a lower price on the market, if they can be sold at all. Currently, U.S. recyclables are no longer profitable, and no one wants to buy them.China used to buy the majority of the world’s plastics and paper for recycling. Starting Jan. 1, 2018, China banned imports of most scrap materials because shipments were too contaminated; the country no longer wanted to be the “world’s garbage dump.” As a result, the U.S. and other Western nations who had relied on China to offload their recyclables saw a “mounting crisis” of paper and plastic waste building up in ports and recycling facilities. Domestically, the closing of the Chinese market to U.S. recyclables bankrupted many domestic recycling programs because there was too much supply and no real demand. This left waste-management companies around the country with no market for recyclables. They’ve been forced to go back to cities and municipalities with two choices: pay a lot more to get rid of their recycling or throw it away. Reports in The New York Times and The Atlantic noted that most are choosing the latter.The Parable of the Wedding Feast is one of the parables of Jesus and appears in the New Testament in Luke 14:7–14. He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, "When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, don't sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him, and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, 'Make room for this person'. Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." He also said to the one who had invited him, "When you make a dinner or a supper, don't call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back. But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind; and you will be blessed, because they don't have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous."The Parable of the Unjust Manager is a parable of Jesus which appears in Luke 16:1–13. In it, an accountant who is about to be fired repents of his sin, tries to "curry favor" with his master's debtors by asking the debtors to only pay what they owe his master—rather than pay him as well. Although the master has a certain grudging admiration for the manager's "shrewdness," Jesus labels the manager "dishonest:" “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is a parable of Jesus which appears in Matthew 20:1-16. Planting, maintaining and harvesting vineyards in first-century Israel was strenuous work requiring hard physical labor in the heat of summer. Often, additional laborers were required to get all the work done. The owner of this particular vineyard went to the marketplace at the first hour of the morning (6:00 a.m.) to find workers for the day. His offered wage of one denarius, a Roman’s soldier’s pay for a day, was generous indeed. The workers in the first group were more than happy to work for the generous wage. As the day progressed and more workers were hired, the specific wage was not mentioned, but the landowner promised to pay “whatever is right.” Apparently, the workers were sufficiently confident of the landowner’s character that they trusted him at his word. Altogether, four groups of workers were hired, the last group just one hour before the end of the day. When the time came for the wages to be paid, the first group of workers saw the last group being paid a denarius and were naturally thinking they would be paid more since they had worked the longest. Their anger against the landowner spilled forth when they saw they would all be paid the same, even though they got exactly what they had agreed upon when they were hired. The landowner was forced to defend his actions to the first group, even though he had dealt with them in perfect fairness according to the contract. The landowner, whose decision to pay all the workers the same was an act of mercy—not injustice—represents God, whose grace and mercy are shed abundantly upon those of His choosing.Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Sounds by Zapsplat Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay   

Hartley and Kevin have a long conversation, never getting around to discussing faith, finances or eff bombs. We learn about some personal challenges they each experience this time of year, Hartley shares an unsatisfying childhood memory, and Kevin expresses concerns about youth sports and a lack of listener participation in our current contest. Show Notes: The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was tried and acquitted for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. The pair were stabbed to death outside Brown's condominium in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on the night of June 12, 1994. The trial spanned eleven months, from November 9, 1994[1] to October 3, 1995.The Ozark Music Festival was held on July 19–21, 1974 on the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri. It is estimated 160,000 to 350,000 were in attendance at the three day festival. The event was marked by mismanagement as the facilities were not equipped for the number of attendees.Forrest Gump is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is inspired by the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field.Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is type of depression. It happens during certain seasons of the year—most often fall or winter. It is thought that shorter days and less daylight may trigger a chemical change in the brain leading to symptoms of depression. Light therapy and antidepressants can help treat SAD.Book referenced in this episode: Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant; Published by Viking Press; 2023; 304 pagesAs a newspaper carrier, from ages 8 to 15, Hartley delivered the Boonville Daily News from 1978 to 1980 and The Sedalia Democrat from 1981 to 1985. It is certainly plausible Mrs. Ekerle obtained her crisp, clean bills from an ATM as Hartley suggests. On September 2 1969, Chemical Bank installed a prototype ATM in the U.S. at its branch in Rockville Centre, New York. The first ATMs were designed to dispense a fixed amount of cash when a user inserted a specially coded card. By the 1980s, these money machines had become widely popular and handled many of the functions previously performed by human tellers, such as check deposits and money transfers between accounts. Today, ATMs are as indispensable to most people as cell phones and e-mail.Remember to contact ("Dig Right") Missouri 811! For digging projects big or small, you need to contact Missouri 811 at least 3 working days before you start digging to avoid hitting an underground utility line. It’s free, it’s simple and it’s the law. Missouri 811 notifies its member utility companies to mark their underground facilities where you plan to dig. Safe digging is everyone’s responsibility. Failure to dig safely can result in costly damages and repairs, loss of essential utility services, and even serious injuries to you or your neighbors.Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Sounds by Zapsplat Additional Sound Effects from Pixabay  Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay   Disclaimer Theme: Night Bossa by OYStudio from Pixabay      

In this episode covering the holiday break, we are invited to participate in a new interactive contest, Hartley highlights the final two themes of Advent, and Kevin poses a threat with his left hand.Show Notes: In 2024, there will be 251 trading days on the stock market in the United States. Enter our contest to predict how many all-time highs you believe will be recorded in 2024.Submit your guess (i.e., "I predict there will be 112 new all-time highs.") by New Year's Day, January 1, 2024, via:Email:  f.bombs@hartleywright.comSpotify: Respond to the question on our episode page or in the Now Playing view on the Spotify mobile app. X: @FaithMoneyBombUpdates on the actual number of all-time highs will be announced on future podcast episodes throughout 2024.Books mentioned in this episode are:Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.; Published by Random House; 2006; 320 pagesDemocracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson; Published by Viking; 2023; 304 pagesAdvent:Week 3: Joy  |  Scriptures: Luke 1:26-33; Isaiah 12:2-6   |   For Reflection: Journal things in your life which cause you to rejoice and thank God for those blessings. Week 4: Peace  |  Scriptures: Matthew 1:18-25; Isaiah 7:10-16   |   For Reflection: Where or from what do you need Peace in your life and what do you need to do in order to allow God to provide it? Comment—What do you think? X / Tweet™ to us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Sounds by Zapsplat Additional Sound Effects from Pixabay  Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay   

Kevin shares an idea too logical for government consideration, Hartley comments on the second week of Advent, and they both consider apple a cherry in music preference. Show Notes: The average retirement age in the U.S. is 64 years old, with the average retirement age across all states spanning from 61 to 67 years old. The Social Security Act sets the minimum age to retire at 65 to receive full retirement benefits, although the minimum retirement age will continue to rise. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services advises:If you apply to start getting retirement benefits from Social Security (or the Railroad Retirement Board) at least 4 months before you turn 65, you’ll automatically get Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) when you turn 65.You’ll still need to make important decisions about how you get your coverage, including adding drug coverage. If you want to get Medicare when you turn 65, but aren’t planning to take retirement benefits at that time, you’ll need to sign up for Medicare.After you turn 65—Depending on your work situation and if you have health coverage through your employer—you may want to wait to sign up for Medicare.Male college graduates retire three years later than those with only high school diplomas. Women also retire later if they have more education, but the story is less clear because so many more women entered the workforce throughout the latter half of the 20th century. In 1992, the average retirement age for men was 62, and just 59 for women, according to Dr. Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The most recent Center for Retirement Research data is from 2021, and it represents a slight decline in the average age of retirement, thanks in large part to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Women did dip down in terms of activity because of Covid-19, so that’s not surprising,” says Dr. Munnell.The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College reported that less-educated people are generally in worse health, and are therefore more likely to retire due to health issues. Meanwhile, white collar jobs–which tend to be filled by those with a college education–are less physically demanding, thereby allowing workers to stay employed longer.The Week 2 Advent theme discussed in this episode is: Joy.  Advent Scripture Readings and Prayers: Isaiah 11:1-10 — There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might,the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.  And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.God of Love,Your son, Jesus, is your greatest gift to us.He is a sign of your love.Help us walk in that love during the weeks of Advent,As we wait and prepare for his coming.We pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior. AmenPsalm 72:1-7, 18-19 —True God, bestow Your honest judgments upon the king and anoint the king’s son with Your righteousness.May he be honest and fair in his judgments over Your people and offer justice to the burdened and suffering.Under his reign, may this land of mountains and hills know peace and experience justice for all the people. May the king offer justice to the burdened and suffering, rescue the poor and needy, and demolish the oppressor! May the people fear You for as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon rises in the night sky, throughout the generations.  May the king be like the refreshing rains, which fall upon fields of freshly mown grass— like showers that cool and nourish the earth. May good and honest people flourish for as long as he reigns, and may peace fill the land until the moon no longer rises. May the Eternal God, the God of Israel, be blessed, for He alone works miracles and wonders! May His glorious name be blessed forever and the whole earth be filled with His eternal glory!Lord Jesus,Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.We who have so much to do and seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day,We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.To you we say, "Come Lord Jesus!"AmenRomans 15:4-13 — You see, everything written in the days of old was recorded to give us instructions for living. We find encouragement through the Scriptures and a call to perseverance that will produce hopeful living. I pray that our God, who calls you and gives you perseverance and encouragement, will join all of you together to share one mind according to Jesus the Anointed. In this unity, you will share one voice as you glorify the one True God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, our Liberating King. So accept one another in the same way the Anointed has accepted you so that God will get the praise He is due. For, as I am fond of saying, the Anointed One has become a servant of the Jews in order to demonstrate God’s truth. Effectively this confirms the promises He made to our ancestors and causes the non-Jewish nations to glorify God for His mercy. As the Scriptures say, For this I will praise You among the nations and sing praises to Your name. Again the Scriptures say, Nations, celebrate with His covenant people. And again, Praise the Lord, all nations. Raise your voices, all people; let your praises flow to God. Again Isaiah says, Then, the root of Jesse will emerge—He rises to rule all the peoples of the world who come to Him for guidance and direction. In Him they place their hope. I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit.God of power and mercy, open our hearts in welcome. Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy so that we may share his wisdom and become one with him when he comes in glory, for he lives and re...

Kevin receives some stiffening news regarding his health and Hartley introduces the first week of Advent.Show Notes: The Week 1 Advent theme discussed in this episode is: HopeScripture Readings for Hope are: Isaiah 2:1-5 | Psalm 122 | Romans 13:11-14 | Matthew 24:36-44 Restore Us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!" — Psalm 80:3Prayer: In the awesome name of God, in the victorious name of Jesus, in the mysterious name of the Spirit, we acknowledge our God, and we wait; we are still, we are silent, and we wait. Amen. Comment—What do you think? Tweet™ to / X us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Sounds by Zapsplat Additional Sound Effects from Pixabay  Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay   

Kevin discusses the joy and challenges of beginning a new, unexpected "side gig."Show Notes: The content of this episode is dialogue extracted from multiple recording sessions in September, 2023. The character Navin Johnson was portrayed by the actor Steve Martin in Universal Pictures 1979 feature film "The Jerk." Comment—Please reach out to us and tell us what you think: Tweet™  / X us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Sounds by Zapsplat Additional Sound Effects from Pixabay  Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay   

Part 2 of 2. Hartley pulls together two previously introduced word pictures to help us identify God's providence in our lives, Hartley and Kevin play a new game, Hartley shares a personal medical concern as a personal cherry bomb. Show Notes: The degree of fullness in any life accords perfectly with the intensity of true desire. We have as much of God as we actually want. One great hindrance to the Spirit-filled life is the theology of complacency so widely accepted among gospel Christians today. (from God's Pursuit of Man by A. W. Tozer) • What do you desire? "For He fills the thirsty soul. And He fills the hungry soul with good things." —Psalm 107:9• How much of God do you really want? "Come close to the one true God, and He will draw close to you." —James 4:8 • That’s What She Said | a twisted game of innuendos  — adult party game ©2018 That's What She Said, incorporatedComment—Please reach out to us and tell us what you think: Tweet™  / X us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Sounds by Zapsplat Announcer: Dr. K.J. Wright

Part 1 of 2. In this episode, Kevin and Hartley reflect about "Patriot Day," Kevin addresses expectations connected to the Secure 2.0 provisions and balances the good news for savings accounts against the bad news of fixed mortgages, Hartley critiques a faith-related app in the show's first Pop Culture Review. Show Notes: This episode was recorded on September 11, 2023. This day is officially called “Patriot Day,” (Kevin refers to it as a day of remembrance) a national day of service and remembrance that commemorates the catastrophic events of Sept. 11, 2001. On this day in 2001, almost 3,000 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks involving commercial airplanes. The attacks started at 8:46 a.m. when hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 11 crashed the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building. Just 17 minutes later, hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the World Trade Center’s South Tower, killing all on board and more inside the Trade Center. Thousands more died when both towers crashed down less than an hour after being attacked. The 9/11 attacks weren’t limited to New York. Flight 77 crashed into the western façade of the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m., killing 50 people on board and 125 inside the Washington, D.C. home of the Department of Defense. A fourth plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all on board as passengers and crew attempted to wrestle control from the hijackers. Among the fatalities that day were 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers and 55 military personnel.“It’s the nature of the world that most people have moved on, but the people directly involved with 9/11, for them, twice a day it’s 9/11.”   - Robert Reeg, former FDNY firefighter.Additional commentary and reflection on the app Text With Jesus:It is worth considering what our society reflects knowing people are willing to employ a Silicon Valley tool in place of something so profoundly human and freeing and beautiful: the quality of accessing God through prayer. Isn't seeking to communicate with (and control) God through a handheld device similar to offering requests for health and prosperity to totems and golden calves created by ancient metal workers? A person truly formed by prayer will protect and cultivate the spiritual encounter, appreciate and accept the mystery of Jesus, allow Jesus to be himself. Prayer is a human experience. Everyone can do it any time they want.  The fact Text With Jesus has been created and is being consumed reveals how deeply married/codependant/intertwined we Americans have become to our smartphones. Hartley and Kevin address, only through light inference, why people should be careful and dubious toward this app's insistence that its content is "Bible-based." There is an embarrassing level of biblical illiteracy among all people, including Christians and the pious, when preference is given toward avoiding uncomfortable truths in favor of what one wants to hear. The app aligns with our clinical culture, which emphasizes personal affirmation and physical and mental wellness  Comment—Please reach out to us and tell us what you think: Tweet™  / X us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Sounds by Zapsplat Additional Sound Effects from Pixabay  Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay    

Hartley and Kevin list twenty-five topics and observations which they feel aren't-quite-not-really-definitely-not-fully-potent explosives worthy of dedicating to a fully-authorized F*Bomb segment of any episode. Hartley calls attention to Kevin's impressive new venture. Kevin affirms Hartley's new criteria for future episodes.   Comment—What do you think? Tweet™ to / X us |  @FaithMoneyBomb Leave a comment via Email |  f.bombs@hartleywright.comConnect With Us:Hartley   Facebook /  Twitter / ThreadsKevin   Facebook / Blog Show Credits:Sounds by Zapsplat Additional Sound Effects from Pixabay  Announcer: Dr. K.J. WrightPodcast Theme: Catch It Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay