Welcome to the Wealth Curve Talk Podcast. In this episode, John continues his series on the Wealth Curve Blueprint. This time he talks about the liquid asset rate. This is the amount of cash you have available for any expenses above the ordinary.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.Today’s podcast includes these vital points:* Achieving a savings rate balance means your spread your assets around multiple types of savings vehicles and more than one tax structure.* Each dollar that you put into savings should build your liquid savings, short-term savings, defensive savings, and long-term savings.* If you allocate your savings in a lopsided fashion, you put yourself at risk: Clients who have all of their money in 401Ks frequently end up in credit card debt or with 401K loans.* You also want your money in a variety of tax structures. It means that for some you pay taxes upfront (think Roth IRA) and for others your defer tax payments (think 401Ks and 403Bs).* You want to work to make sure that you will be in a lower tax bracket in retirement. You want to benefit from your tax-deferred savings, rather than losing out.When you work with us to put your assets into the Wealth Curve Blueprint, you will quickly see where your plan is overweight. Then, depending on your circumstances, you can reallocate some savings. The balance will be unique to you.For more, listen above.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

Welcome to the Wealth Curve Talk Podcast. In this episode, John continues his series on the Wealth Curve Blueprint. This time he explains the savings rate balance. It shows how to allocate your savings among different types of vehicles and tax structures for optimal performance.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.Today’s podcast includes these vital points:* Achieving a savings rate balance means your assets should be spread around multiple types of savings vehicles and more than one tax structure.* Each dollar that you put into savings should build your liquid savings, short-term savings, defensive savings, and long-term savings.* If allocate your savings in a lopsided fashion, you put yourself at risk. Clients who have all of their money in 401Ks frequently end up in credit card debt or with 401K loans.* You also want your money in a variety of tax structures. So, for some you pay taxes upfront (think Roth IRA) and for others you defer tax payments (think 401Ks and 403Bs).* You want to work to make sure that you will be in a lower tax bracket in retirement. You want to benefit from your tax-deferred savings, rather than losing out.When you work with us to put your assets into the Wealth Curve Blueprint, you will quickly see where your plan is overweight. Then, depending on your circumstances, you can reallocate some savings. The balance will be unique to you.For more, listen above.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

Welcome to the Wealth Curve Talk Podcat. In this episode, John explains one of the most vital components of the Wealth Curve Blueprint and the Wealth Curve Scorecard: your savings rate.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.Don’t miss John’s essential points about your savings rate:* Establishing your optimal savings rate is one of the most important parts of your financial plan.* The higher your income level, the greater the percentage of your gross income that should go to savings.* The goal is to put money into several different savings vehicles in order to create a constant inflow of money into savings.* The Wealth Curve Blueprint looks at all of your income sources. This includes rentals, investments, dividends, and bonuses. It determines what your optimal savings rate is.* We then help you identify places where you are spending money needlessly so that you can redirect that money to savings.Budgets don’t work, because life happens. But if you put your savings rate first, it doesn’t matter where you spend the rest. I look forward to helping you determine what you are saving. Is it optimal for your current situation? If not, what changes can you make? For more, listen above.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

In this lower taxes episode, John details the  (https://www.smallwoodassociates.com/the-wealth-curve-scorecard/)Wealth Curve Scorecard. It is part of the Wealth Curve Blueprint, can help clients lower their tax rate.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.In addition, John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.Furthermore, his dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.Don’t miss John’s essential points of wealth planning:* Our Wealth Curve Blueprint shows you how much you are paying in Federal income taxes, state taxes, FICA, Medicare, property taxes, and so on. It measures that against your income and your assets.* In addition, our goal is for you to pay less in taxes during your working years (your wealth accumulation phase) and during retirement.And more:* Imagine if we were to reduce what you pay in taxes each year by even a few percentage points. It could have a significant impact on your ability to accumulate wealth, prepare for the future, and enjoy more today:* Plus, the Wealth Curve Blueprint and Scorecard we made for our fictional clients John and Molly Redbank shows they pay 30% of their income in taxes.* Also, by optimizing their deductions and developing strategies to reduce taxation on dividends, interest, and capital gains, we were able to drop that to 28%.* Lastly, since their income is $445,000, that gave them an $8,000 or $9,000 increase in their savings rate—a significant gain.Above all, we would like to do the same or better for you. If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

In this batting average episode, John details the  (https://www.smallwoodassociates.com/the-wealth-curve-blueprint/)Wealth Curve Blueprint. It’s a tool he has developed to help clients compare the performance of their current financial plan against their short and long-term goals.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.Don’t miss these essentials in today’s podcast:* Firstly, your wealth plan should contain certain components that work together. They also need to work in the right order to generate the most successful outcomes.* Most financial advice that’s available today is focused on a single strategy or product. They don’t focus on a comprehensive set of strategies. But inefficient strategies are one of the most common factors in the failure of financial planning to meet clients’ goals.* Although every plan should have the same seven components, the precise optimal mix and ordering of them will be unique to you.And more:* If a batter “bats 300,” it means he gets a hit 30% of the time he’s at the plate. That is considered a very good batting average in the major leagues! We want to help you bat well above 300 so your financial plan helps meet all of your goals, not just 30% of them.* Additionally, we developed our Wealth Curve Blueprint based on nearly three decades of experience in wealth management. It helps clients to get an at-a-glance snapshot of their financial plan.* Also, the blueprint contains a scorecard, which just like a baseball scorecard, organizes every component of your plan. It organizes changes to your income, expenses, asset structure, savings rate, taxation, and debt structure.* Plus, it lists protections like insurance and pensions.* Lastly, your scorecard can then measure each component’s success in achieving the primary goal of building your wealth and protecting it from eroding pressures.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

In this episode, John continues his deep examination of the retirement planning. He also urges you to re-examine your plan now and on an annual basis. Today he focuses on market volatility, which is a factor in your withdrawal rate (covered in Part 1). He also spends time on the variables associated with longevity risk (also covered in Part 1): healthcare costs and long-term care costs.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s main points are:* There are several risks putting pressure on your financial plan: market volatility, inflation risk, tax law risk, geopolitical risk, increase in personal expenditures, and state and local risk such as underfunded pension plans in your community or increased real estate taxes.* Most financial planning software gives you a simulation of your financial plan over time that assumes a steady rate of return. But market volatility and your unique situation (your investment mix, your withdrawal timing) mean that you will be subject to a sequence of returns unique to you.And more:* Along with that, past market performance has nothing to do with future performance.* A recent assessment of health care costs in retirement show that an average couple will pay $400,000 in non-reimbursed healthcare costs during retirement.* Factoring in average life spans, that’s $20,000 per year per person. How will your retirement income cover that cost?* Finally, the average stay in a long-term care facility is 2 ½ to 3 years. Monthly costs can go upwards of $10,000.How secure and how safe is your current retirement plan? What triggers are in your financial strategy? Your financial plan is never done. You need to constantly evaluate it. Evaluations should be based on what is happening in your life right now, and any potential financial pressures.Start by downloading our Wealth Curve Pressure Identifier. Let’s pinpoint the things you love about your plan. Let’s identify what keeps you up at night, or what you’d want to change about it.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

In this episode, John answers the question, “When Should I Collect Social Security?” and gives insights on how to apply social security benefits when creating a retirement plan. He explains that there is more to social security than most of us are aware of. John provides examples to show us why when asking “When should I collect social security”, the decision for collecting or deferring these benefits may have huge implications.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.The key takeaways are:* More and more baby boomers need to decide on their social security benefits as part of their retirement plan. How and when to start collecting has huge implications on their lifestyle.* Conventional wisdom about social security is often misleading and does not apply to everyone. Understanding your unique situation is the essential for getting the most from your social security benefits.* You can collect $24,000 of social security at age 62, $33,000 at age 66 or $42,000 at age 70. How do you determine when is a good time? John has a few tips on that.Plus:* John provides examples explaining why one might collect or defer social security benefits and how this may impact one’s retirement plan.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

In this episode, John goes in-depth on three of the seven variables that are vital to consider when designing your retirement plan. If you change just one of these variables, you will affect the outcome of your plan. If you change two or three, it’s not even the same plan.John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.John’s strength is his ability and commitment to improve the level and quality of the financial planning process.His dedication to his clients’ growth involves an evolving strategy. His focus is to meet the demands, desires, and needs of his clients in a changing economic environment.The key takeaways are:* More retirees than before are finding themselves working in retirement. This is because the three main pillars of their retirement plan—pension, Social Security, and savings—are not enough.* A record 61,859,000 Americans are collecting Social Security this year, while 126,827,000 people are working. That 2:1 ratio of workers to collectors is far from the 40:1 ratio of 1945, and will get worse in the coming years.* 70% of Baby Boomers will be drawing Social Security between 2022 and 2029.* The architects of the plan didn’t expect people to live as long as they do now. Social Security is in real trouble, and one day soon may resort to paying only people that can prove they need it.And more:* Pensions are in peril across the country, most of them being massively underfunded.* Congress is still trying to figure out how to bail out the largest American pension plans.* Companies have changed pensions from “defined benefits plans” to “defined contribution plans.” Doing so, transfers the risk from them to you.* It’s prudent to find out whether your pension is properly funded. Try https://www.truthinaccounting.org/.* Recommended withdrawal rates for your portfolio have been based on life expectancy that are shorter than the current average. You will need to determine the rate that is best for you, and consider a retirement age older than 65.* It’s best to sketch out several scenarios for your financial plan. For example, leaving out Social Security or your pension, and seeing if your plan could survive without them. Do the same with several withdrawal rates and age of retirement.Whether you’re 5, 10, 20 years out from retirement—or just retired—now is the time to understand the pressures that affect your retirement plan. Listen to this podcast here, and stay tuned for Part 2, which will discuss the rest of the seven variables.If you are new to Smallwood Wealth schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

Welcome to the Wealth Curve Talk podcast, in which John Smallwood, a certified financial planner, identifies key areas of pressure on your wealth and strategizes with you to reduce it.Have you asked yourself “How much money do I need for retirement?” In this episode, John discusses safe withdrawal rates from your portfolio. He also emphasizes the importance of diversifying your sources of retirement income.Don’t miss John’s key points:* Firstly, plan for retirement with the goal of sustaining your current lifestyle.* A good thought exercise is to take your current retirement savings and figure out how long it will last you based on your current spending. Five years? Ten years? You’ll need to adjust accordingly.* Recommended withdrawal rates have gotten lower and lower, but even a 2.5% rate of withdrawal may not last the full 30 or 40 years of your retirement. And how much money would that be to live on every year?* Experts have proposed safe withdrawal rates based on historical market rates of return but have not taken into account market volatility.* The sequence of returns in any given market will dictate how successful your withdrawal rate is.TALK TO A FINANCIAL ADVISORCall (800) 797-1000 for a 30-minute no-obligation introduction.BOOK AN APPOINTMENThttps://go.oncehub.com/ScheduleYourWealthCurveConversation (https://go.oncehub.com/ScheduleYourWealthCurveConversation)REQUEST A FREE COPY of 5 Ways Your Wealth Is Under Attackhttp://5waysfreebook.com (http://5waysfreebook.com/)JOIN OUR NEXT WEBINARhttp://smallwoodwealth.com/smallwood-webinars/ (http://smallwoodwealth.com/smallwood-webinars/)CONNECT WITH USFacebook -- https://www.facebook.com/pg/SmallwoodWealthManagement (https://www.facebook.com/pg/SmallwoodWealthManagement)Twitter -- https://twitter.com/smallwoodwealth (https://twitter.com/smallwoodwealth)LinkedIn -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-l-smallwood (https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-l-smallwood)Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/smallwoodwealth/ (https://www.instagram.com/smallwoodwealth/)* Securities offered through Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Member FINRA/SIPC Headquartered at 80 State Street, Albany, NY 12207. Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments and Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC are not affiliated companies.

Welcome to the Wealth Curve Talk podcast, in which John Smallwood, a certified financial planner, identifies key areas of pressure on your wealth and strategizes with you to reduce it.In this episode of Wealth Curve Talk, John emphasizes the necessity of taking a macro view of your financial plan. While most financial decisions are made in isolation (one tree), they will have ripple effects throughout your entire plan (the forest). It’s best to make decisions with a broad view in mind.John’s detailed examples illustrate how to protect your wealth now and in the future:* The micro view of a 15-year mortgage says, “This is a good idea because I’ll pay less interest on my mortgage and less for my house overall.” But, if you take a macro view, you see that as your mortgage interest deductions lower over time, your taxable income increases.* With the macro view, you see that as you make the high monthly payments that come with a short-term mortgage, you will have more of your money tied up in it. This violates the economic goal of the efficient use of capital, which is to get the maximum amount of benefits for every dollar spent.* With a macro view, you see that as your interest income compounds, your taxes compound too. And as your taxes increase, your savings rate decreases. It will be hard to compensate for that with high mortgage payments.* With a macro view, you surmise that over 15 years property taxes are likely to increase, as will homeowners’ insurance, and other expenses.* With a macro view, you might take a 30-year mortgage instead. For details on what that looks like, listen to the full podcast.For more on mortgages, taxation, and how to take the macro view of your plan, talk to an experienced financial advisor at Smallwood Wealth.TALK TO A FINANCIAL ADVISORCall (800) 797-1000 for a 30-minute no-obligation introduction.BOOK AN APPOINTMENThttps://go.oncehub.com/ScheduleYourWealthCurveConversation (https://go.oncehub.com/ScheduleYourWealthCurveConversation)REQUEST A FREE COPY of 5 Ways Your Wealth Is Under Attackhttp://5waysfreebook.com (http://5waysfreebook.com)JOIN OUR NEXT WEBINARhttp://smallwoodwealth.com/smallwood-webinars/ (http://smallwoodwealth.com/smallwood-webinars/)CONNECT WITH USFacebook -- https://www.facebook.com/pg/SmallwoodWealthManagement (https://www.facebook.com/pg/SmallwoodWealthManagement)Twitter -- https://twitter.com/smallwoodwealth (https://twitter.com/smallwoodwealth)LinkedIn -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-l-smallwood (https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-l-smallwood)Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/smallwoodwealth/ (https://www.instagram.com/smallwoodwealth/)Securities offered through Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Member FINRA/SIPC Headquartered at 80 State Street, Albany, NY 12207. Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments and Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC are not affiliated companies.