Legacies 4th Quarter 2022

Legacies A publication of the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana

Inside This Issue

4th Quarter 2022

Ending the Year Well:

Tax-wise Charitable Planning Strategies Page 2

Six Tax-Saving Solutions for Year-End How to Improve Your Balance Page 3

The end of the year is fast approaching, and with it so is your opportunity to reduce your income taxes. With a little end-of-year planning, you can trim your tax bill and avoid paying too much at tax time next year. Here are six things you can do to make your money work harder for you: 1. Give to your church.

Make an end-year gift for your favorite ministry.

Foundation Ministry Grant Winner Page 4

“Where Faith and Money Come Together”

2. Pay your mortgage early.

Make your January mortgage payment in December.

3. Defer Income.

Defer income or a year-end bonus until next year.

4. Manage your IRA. If you are required to take a distribution from your IRA, take only the required amount to reduce taxable income.

5. Balance Stocks.

To offset any capital gains, sell some stock for a loss and rebalance your portfolio.

6. Gather deductions.

Make early payments for any deductible expenses.

These ideas are some of the simplest and most effective ways you can reduce your tax bill.

For more tax-wise charitable planning strategies, see Page 2.

The end of the year is fast approaching, and with it so is your opportunity to reduce your taxes.

Legacies

Tax-Wise

Charitable Planning Strategies

“Where Faith and Money Come Together”

at Year-End

2022 Board of Trustees Rev. Michi Head Chairman Dr. John R. Black L. Nettles Brown Rev. Jo Ann Cooper Dr. Debra Davis Omer Davis Rev. Doug deGraffenried Mike DeHart Bobby Fahey Irwin Felps Dean Harvey Drew Kennedy Sandra Kuykendall Eunice Val Lavigne Richard Lewis Rev. Ashley McGuire Rev. Brian Mercer Troy Searles Rev. Drew Sutton Dianne Wilkinson Chris Spencer President

Contact Us: 8337 Jefferson Hwy. Baton Rouge, LA 70809 Phone: (225) 346-1535 Email: information@umf.org Web Addresses: www.umf.org www.umfgiving.org Legacies Editor: Kelly Johannessen kellyj@umf.org

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There are a number of charitable planning strategies that can help you lower your income and taxes this year. Here are some ways you can shift tax dollars to charitable dollars and support your favorite ministry.

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IRA Charitable Rollover - Persons age 70½ or older can rollover up to $100,000 from their IRA to their church or other qualified charity. This may lower your income and taxes.

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Outright Gift of an Asset - Make a gift of stock, real estate or another asset, avoid paying capital gains tax on the transfer and receive a taxsaving charitable deduction.

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Donor Advised Fund (DAF) - Make a tax deductible gift to a DAF, which gives you the ability to make grants to your favorite ministries this year and in the future.

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Zero-Tax Gift and Sale - Make a gift of part of an investment or property you intend to sell, avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale and receive cash back.

If you would like further information on any of these end-of-year planning strategies, please contact us at information@umf.org.

care. share. give.

With good tax planning strategies, charitable contributions can reduce three kinds of federal taxes: income, capital gains and estate taxes.

4th Quarter 2022

Savvy Living How to Improve Your Balance Dear Savvy Living, After taking a fall last month, my doctor suggested I start doing balance exercises. Do you have any tips for balance?

Most people do not think about practicing their balance, but it is a good idea to start doing so. In the same way that you walk to strengthen your heart, lungs and overall health, you should practice maintaining your balance.

As we age, our ability to maintain balance declines, which can increase our risk of falling.

More than one in three individuals aged 65 or older falls each year, and the risk only increases with age. A simple fall can cause a serious fracture of the hip, pelvis, spine, arm, hand or ankle, which can lead to hospitalization, disability, loss of independence and potential fatalities.

How Balance Works Balance is the physical ability to distribute your weight in a way that enables you to hold a steady position or move at will without falling.

Balance is controlled by a complex combination of muscle strength, visual inputs, inner ear workings and specialized receptors in the nerves of your joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons which help with orientation. These factors are sorted out in the sensory cortex

of your brain, which takes this information and gives you balance.

Over time, these neurological pathways dull and cause individuals to gradually lose their balance.

teeth or even while waiting in line somewhere. In the beginning, you might want to have a wall or chair to hold on to in case you lose your balance.

Poor balance can lead to a vicious cycle of inactivity.

Individuals who feel unsteady end up curtailing certain activities, which can lead to inactivity.

• Heel rises: While standing, rise up on your toes, lifting your heel as high as you can. Drop back to the starting position and repeat the process 10 to 20 times. You can make this more difficult by holding light hand weights.

If they are continuously inactive, they no longer challenge their balance systems or their muscles. As a result, both balance and strength decline, and simple acts like strolling through a grocery store or getting up from a chair become trickier for these individuals. This can shake their confidence and cause them to become even less active.

• Heel-toe walk: Take 20 steps and with every step, touch your heel to your toe on your opposite foot. Keep your focus straight ahead instead of looking down at your feet.

• Sit-to-stand: Without using your hands, get up from a straightbacked chair and sit back down 10 to 20 times. This improves balance and leg strength.

Balance Exercises If you have a balance problem that is not tied to illness, medication or some other cause, simple exercises may help preserve and improve your balance. Some basic exercises you can do include:

For additional balance exercises visit go4life.nia.nih.gov, a resource created by the National Institute on Aging that offers free booklets with illustrated examples of many appropriate exercises.

• One-legged stands: Stand on one foot for 30 seconds or longer, then switch to the other foot. You can do this while brushing your

You can order your free copy online or by calling 800-222-2225.

“Savvy Living” is written by Jim Miller, a regular contributor to the NBC Today Show and author of The Savvy Living book.

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Foundation Prize Assists Children Around the World When Buzz Hortman agreed to accompany his wife, Sue, to the Louisiana Annual Conference this summer, he had no idea he was about to hit a lucky streak that would benefit children across the world.

Buzz and Sue Hortman are members of First UMC of Natchitoches, where Sue was elected as a lay leader to represent the church at the Conference in Baton Rouge this year, held June 15-17.

As the Conference sessions gathered, Buzz waited for Sue in the seating area of the Foundation’s exhibit space. He noticed the hubbub around the Foundation’s prize drawing table, and decided to enter his wife’s name, on the off chance she might win.

Sue Horton won the Foundation’s prize drawing for a $500 ministry grant

Sure enough, after several smaller prizes were awarded, Sue’s name was drawn for the grand prize drawing, a $500 ministry grant for her church.

According to Rev. Gary Willis, pastor of First UMC, Natchitoches, the prize was used toward an ongoing church project: Operation Christmas Child, a ministry administered by Samaritan’s Purse of Boone, N.C. Volunteers across the U.S. coordinate and gather shoeboxes full of Christmas gifts for children in need around the world.

First Natchitoches had just begun their second year of involvement with Operation Christmas Child. The project team had increased its goal over last year’s, hoping to complete 150 boxes. While church members donate some money and items for the gift boxes, there are costs involved with supplementing the boxes and shipping them to Samaritan’s Purse.

First Natchitoches was able to use the grant to cover the cost of reaching their new goal.

Rev. Willis was pleased to receive the grant that helped the church reach its goal. He said, “We appreciate the grant made by the Foundation. Not only does it help Operation Christmas Child, but it provided us an ecumenical opportunity as well, to work with the other churches around Natchitoches that are heavily involved in this ministry.”

Foundation President Chris Spencer said, “The Foundation is pleased that the ministry grant was put to good use, and we hope to provide another grand prize ministry grant at next year’s Annual Conference.”