Retire Ready Too

This week's guest contributor is Donna Hartl an attorney and Certified Public Accountant.

She focuses tax planning, tax dispute work, estate planning, guardianship, probate and trust administration. Donna has also been named an Illinois Super Lawyer, and is a member of the Leading Lawyers Network, having been named in July of 2019 as one of the Top-10 attorneys for personal tax in the State of Illinois.

Donna is laying down the law regarding estate planning, what documents you need and why you don’t take the do it yourself approach to planning for your legacy, there are just too many blindspots. 

This week’s episode focuses on the emotional and holistic side of money...the stories we  tell ourselves about money. Stories are the messages we receive about money in childhood often from parents and reinforced in our social and cultural environments.  

All these messages integrate to form thoughts, money stories and core beliefs that influence how we interact with money on a daily basis. Some of these beliefs are unconscious leading us to behave or react to money with little or no thought.

Today’s guest contributor shares how her childhood experience of watching her mother struggle with money impact the financial decisions she made in her life. In early adulthood she had accumulated $55k in debt, resolved to pay it off in 5 years, but actually paid it off in 3.5 years. It is a story of awareness, understanding how the past intersects with the present and potentially the future until we make a conscious decision to change. 

Kassandra Dasent is a holistic wealth advocate and a thought leader in the personal finance space, certified project manager (PMP/CSM), certified commercial credit analyst (GCC), and certified financial education instructor (CFEI).

She is also an accomplished singer-songwriter and has performed as a solo artist and as a vocalist in festivals. She has been featured in numerous media outlets including Grammy.com, Forbes, US News & World Report, Business Insider, Fast Company, Yahoo! Finance and so many more.

A twice immigrant, and fluent in French, Kassandra was born in Trinidad, West Indies, raised in Montreal, Canada. 

Talking to Kassandra was like sitting on the sofa with an old friend enjoying a cup of coffee. She is real, vulnerable, fun, engaging and insightful. I am sure you will enjoy her story as much as I did. 

To find out more about Kassandra and how to contact her 
Website: https://www.kassandradasent.com/work-with-me/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kassandradasent/

Health insurance is confusing and complicated with a language of its own...premiums, deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, etc. If you are in the market for a policy, I suggest taking The Insurance People on that journey with you. 

In this week's podcast episode guest contributor Alexandra Eidenberg helps break down health insurance basics; selecting the best policy for your unique circumstances and why having a health insurance professional assist in the decision making can save you time and money. 

Alexandra Eidenberg is the Founder and President of The Insurance People, an insurance agency serving everyday families and businesses. Alexandra’s speciality is health insurance. She spends her days coordinating individual health insurance and employee benefits for small businesses, helping them access the benefits they deserve.

While helping people is something that Alexandra is passionate about. She is also a servant for her community. She founded WE WILL in 2013 to help women and children get involved in their communities and pass legislation. 

Alexandra also currently serves as the IL State Chair for Vote Mama, a political organization that identifies, cultivates and motivates women with young kids to get elected and stay elected.

In addition, she is on the Executive Board of New Trier Democrats, is Co-Chair of Membership and on the Steering Committee with Invest to Elect Illinois and was Illinois Democratic Women, Woman of the Year 2020.

Alexandra is a bubbly go getter who gives 100% every day. If you don’t know her already, chances are you know someone who does.

You can find Alexandra and her company online:

https://www.insuranceppl.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Insurancepeople/

https://www.instagram.com/theinsuranceppl/

This week's podcast we are having a conversation about the $1.7 trillion gorilla in the room….called student loans. America is in a student loan crisis whether it is willing to admit it or not. 

Here are a few stats to help you understand the gravity of the situation: 

• 43 million Americans owe a combined $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. 
• 20 years after graduating from college half of the borrowers still over $20K in outstanding debt
• 70% of graduates leave college with student loans
• In 2005 the average student loan debt was $17K, as of April 2022, the Wall Street Journal states college graduates start their careers with an average of $36K

This is problematic because it not only impacts a borrower's ability to save and invest, but it is also a drain on the economy. America really does not manufacture anything anymore, instead relying on consumption for economic expansion. 

Having a significant portion of your salary allocated to student debt, means there is less money to purchase a home, spend on clothes, eat out with your friends and fully participate in the economy.

Contributing guest: Ja'net Adams

The contributing guest on this week’s podcast is Ja’Net Adams. She is an international speaker, author and CEO of EMAC consulting. Shortly after graduating, she was $50,000 in debt, but made a commitment to pay it off and she did just that within two years. 

Now she takes the financial principles that she learned to teach others all over the world. As a professional motivational speaker, she speaks to universities, corporations, high schools, and not-for-profits about financial literacy. 

She has spoken on behalf of the White House, The Department of Education and has been featured in various media outlets including Forbes, BBC, CNBC, Huffington Post, Black Enterprise Magazine, Fox Business News, USA Today.

Here is what we know about the student loan cancellation situation.

Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, have recently (May 2022) introduced a bill to prevent President Biden from forgiving any student loan debt, including exemptions for programs like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Teacher Loan Forgiveness. 

It is highly unlikely that President Biden will cancel $50k in student as requested by some Democrats. However, he is considering the legality of cancelling $10k for undergraduate loans for those with incomes less than $125k.

Requirements to get closer to PSFL forgiveness

I recommend anyone reading these show notes to go to the Department of Education's website for the most recent information on student loan forgiveness, the situation is very fluid and changing constantly. 

At the time of podcast recording (May 2022) these were the guidelines to qualify for PSFL forgiveness: 

• Employed with the government, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, or other not-for-profit organization
• Working full time
• Previous years of student loan payments will now count towards forgiveness (must apply by October 31, 2022)
• Have Direct Student Loans (or consolidate other loans into Direct Loans)
• Make 120 qualifying payments

Federal Student Aid: https://studentaid.gov/pslf/

Our homes are one of the largest wealth building assets the majority of us own. So, it makes sense that we would do all we could to protect it. But…sometimes, we don’t know what we don’t know. 

How do you know if you have adequate insurance coverage? During the pandemic families were spending more time at home so they upgraded their backyards, added decks and pools, made improvements to their basement and even started home-based businesses. 

Are these upgrades covered under your current insurance policy? What about the home-based business? 

We assume so, but you know what they say about assumptions 🤔.

Our contributing guest, State Farm Agent Audrey McFarlin breaks down the homeowners’ insurance terminology we need to know to make confident decisions when selecting a policy and ensure we have the right coverage for the right risk.  

Whether you are purchasing as a first time homebuyer or you’ve been a homeowner for years,   you don’t want to miss this week’s podcast episode.

RESOURCES:

Audrey has more than 15 years experience working with State Farm. Her agency is

licensed to advise on personal insurance lines, business insurance, life and health

insurance. You can find her at https://www.audreymcfarlin.com/?cmpid=puzg_blm_0001

FEMA Flood Insurance Map https://www.fema.gov/

The FIRE Movement is a lifestyle that revolves around understanding what is really important to you about money. FIRE stands for financial independence retire early.

It is a movement of living your life on your own terms rather getting swallowed up on the idea that purchasing more stuff is going to make you a happier person. 

The book mentioned in the podcast is Your Money Or Your Life by Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez. 

Are you age 40+ with little or no retirement savings?  If so, this episode will provide you with some practical steps to help you get on track to retire ready.  

Fidelity’s rule of thumb for  how much you should have saved for retirement based upon your age is as follows:

 3   X Salary  @ 40 years old
 6   X Salary  @ 50 years old
 8   X Salary  @ 60 years old
10  X Salary @ 67 years old

Don't panic if your savings don't quite meet Fidelity's guidelines. There are a number of factors that can impact how much you should save for retirement, such as where you live or your retirement lifestyle.

The bright side is you are in your prime earning years and with some "tweaks" to your finances you still have time to make a significant impact on your financial future.

So Let's Get Started!

There's been some debate questioning the cost benefit of a four year degree because of the skyrocketing cost of college and the loan burden that this place on students and their families, it's becoming a generational anxiety.

There is no doubt college costs are outpacing inflation and Middle Class Americans' wages. 
This episode focuses on education planning, specifically using the 529 Savings Plan. 

Now here's some things to consider when you're planning for education. What type of college do you want your child to be? 
 
public institution or private institution, and some cases you can pay twice as much to attend a private institution than a public university.
 And then how do you feel about your child attending a community college to obtain their general education credits and then transferring those credits to a four-year institution. This could save you thousands of dollars over a two year period. So think about how much can you actually contribute on an annual basis to fund your child's education, prepare a spending plan to help you determine if you can fully fund their education, if that's what you desire, or perhaps you anticipate receiving some type of financial assistance and you plan to find maybe you're only 50% or maybe 30% of their education. Will, other family members be involved in paying for college as well, such as maybe grandparents or godparents. All of these factors will be important in determining how much you can contribute to your child's college education.