The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: How To Spot & Avoid Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

Today, I’m talking about the get-rich-quick scheme you’ve already fallen for. Can you guess what it is? 

The business school building at Portland State University where I went to college was nicknamed the lotto building, because it was built with Oregon lottery dollars. That was very instructive for me, and despite knowing that the odds of winning were dismal, it was a multi-million dollar building that was funded by people who found out the hard way that the odds were against them. 

While the lottery is a perfectly legal scheme, it still checks the most important box that I talked about earlier this week as a tell-tale sign - big payoffs for little investment and no time or hard work required. 

The problem with the lottery, or more generally, gambling is that too many people who play the lottery or gamble, do so with the hope that they’ll win, and some people even gamble with their paycheck for the month. 

A recent article in the WSJ about the 1.3 billion mega millions jackpot, looked into how and why lottery ticket sales surge with higher unemployment and economic downturns, according to several studies. 

This is not a good sign. You would expect that right now, with inflation being so high and the economy sputtering, that lotto ticket sales would be down, but the opposite is true. In Arizona, lotto ticket sales are up 152% this year, with eye-popping jackpots being a big driver of sales, despite 300 million to 1 odds on the 1.3bn mega millions jackpot. 

Higher inflation is a source of financial anxiety, and another driver for increases in sales, with the promise of a big payout to make their problems go away. The reality is though that the odds are so far out of your favor, that the purchase of the lotto ticket or hitting the casino this weekend is just going to make your financial woes worse. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: How To Spot & Avoid Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

Today is a continuation of yesterday’s episode with a few more tell-tale signs of fraudulent schemes. 

The first one is something I see all the time, and is present in more than just fraudulent schemes, but legitimate ones as well, but should give you pause…and that is big, bold promises.

In September 2011, Reebok was ordered to refund $25 million to customers because its advertising promised — without adequate evidence — that the company’s EasyTone shoes could firm users’ butts and legs with every step. 

Other promises you’ll hear might sound like:

• Be your own boss
• Six-figure monthly income with little to no work
• “I did it, and so can you!” 
• Earn money in your pajamas
• Running ads in front of exotic cars and airplanes to show that they made it

I see promises like this all the time for online business ads, or multi-level marketing business, and they’re always something you want to watch out for. 

Another important tell-tale is a lack of transparency. When you can’t understand or do your research on an investment in something, it’s time to take a pass. Any person working for a legitimate business is always going to be able to answer your questions, and if they can’t it’s time to move on. When you get past marketing glitz to the real figures, you can begin to understand if this investment is worthwhile or not. 

Warren Buffett always says he never invests in a product or service or business that he can’t wrap his head around, which is a pretty good rule to follow. 

The last tell-tale sign is a bad gut feeling…[travel sweepstakes]. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: How To Spot & Avoid Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

As I talked about yesterday, scammers are now using online platforms and getting more clever all the time, so it’s helpful to know not just the specific scams to look out for, but also some of the tell-tale signs of a fraudulent scam. 

So today I’ll share with you several things to watch out for if an opportunity seems too good to pass up. And since all the most important tell-tale signs can’t fit into one podcast episode, we’ll pick up with part 2 tomorrow. 

So the first tell-tale sign is:Some sort of promise or guarantee [talk about legitimate advertising and investment can’t really do this]. 

There is always some type of required up-front payment required on your part, sometimes nominal, sometimes significant. 

And third, it’s hard to find information online, or what you do find looks suspicious or is negative. Email is a common platform used for scamming people, so it’s good to not respond to emails from people you don’t know, or even if it appears to be from someone you know but it’s out of character, best to pick up the phone and call the person to see if it really was them, and not someone who hacked into their email.

But you can also look up the website and online reviews to see if something looks legit, which you should always do anyways. No web presence or a sketchy one is a big red flag. No physical presence is also a big warning sign. Can you find a street address and not just a PO Box? 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! Come on back tomorrow where I’ll continue with a few more tell-tale signs of fraudulent schemes. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.  

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: How To Spot & Avoid Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

Today, I’m talking about how social media has changed get-rich-quick schemes, and what to watch out for online.

One of the problems with social media that makes things a lot easier for scammers is that there is often so much about you available online, and scammers can friend and follow you, and see your posts, see who you’re friends with, and learn a lot about you online.  Combine that with the fact that many people these days are comfortable being friends with or being connected with people they don’t know in real life. 

This scammer who appears to be your online friend, then will message you and say something like, hey, I helped your neighbor Ellen make money, and it sounds legit because after all they know Ellen. But all they saw was that you posted a picture with Ellen last summer at your neighborhood block party, and they don’t actually know her. 

The most common types of scam online are online shopping deals and product giveaways. Someone messages you and says, we want to send you $100 of free (whatever) or you’ve been selected for this free gift card, or an amazing free trip or something along those lines.

But the catch is that you just need to pay $20 for shipping or pay some fee to claim your prize. The fee is often minimal, so you think that’s a pretty good deal…and that’s how they get you. You hand over your $20 and your freebie never arrives and you never hear from them again. 

Another common scheme is cash flipping. I learned about this on a WSJ podcast late last year. The scammer says something like: “I can help you make quick cash. I do this for a lot of people. All you have to do is send me $150, and I can just flip that into $1,500." Sometimes people will say that they have some special key to investing money really quickly, that they're an expert in it. No one else knows how to do it. And they'll tell you, "I'm so good at this that I'm going to get even more money than $1,500 after I flip the 150 you give me, but I'll give you $1,500 back." So they make it sound like it's a good deal for everyone involved, but it's not. They just want that $150 from you.

These are just a couple of examples of how social media has changed the landscape, and tomorrow I’ll talk about some of the tell-tale signs that the great opportunity you’ve just stumbled upon is a get-rich-quick scheme that you should avoid.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! 

I’m your host Ashley Micciche, co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors, an independent financial advisory practice managing $340 million in client assets. I’m a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, and I started this podcast because I love helping people just like you gain clarity and make a plan for the retirement you envision. 

The theme this week on the podcast is: How To Spot & Avoid Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

Back in 2009 I had a client who invested more money than he could afford into an extremely high yield investment. He was retired and an conservative investor, and unfortunately, he didn’t seek my advice before agreeing to hand over his hard-earned money. 

The person who called him up on the phone promised eye-popping returns, and that he would start receiving checks within a year and double his money right away.

So he emptied his savings account and handed over $50,000, wondering why his financial advisor - me - wasn’t telling him about these opportunities.

The tell-tale signs of fraud were all there - the promise of incredible returns, little to no risk, and an unsolicited offer that seems very exclusive with no verifying information to be found anywhere - but he was too excited about the guarantee of a much higher income than what he was getting on his bond portfolio at the time, and he didn’t see them. 

When the checks never came, he started calling and they kept putting him off saying that things were about to take off, and he would start receiving his money soon. Be patient…don’t worry, they said. 

Then they stopped answering, then the phone number was disconnected. 

Unfortunately, this scenario is all-too-common, but not every get-rich-quick scheme is fraud. Some are perfectly legal, which makes them even more problematic and harder to spot.

So this week, I’m going to share with you how social media has contributed to the growth of get-rich-quick schemes and new tactics people are using online. I’ll talk about telltale signs of get-rich-quick schemes & real-life examples of these schemes so you can learn how to better spot them, and the most fallen-for get-rich-quick scheme that you, yourself, have probably fallen for. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! Come on back tomorrow where I’ll talk about how social media is contributing to the growth of get-rich-quick schemes. 

My name is Ashley Micciche...and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

It’s Sunday, which means...it’s recap time here on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast

This week the theme was: Habits that lead to happiness in retirement. 

In case you missed any episodes, here’s what I covered this week:

• Don’t Smoke & Watch Your Drinking
• Maintain a Healthy Body Weight & Get Moving
• Learn To Cope
• Be Intellectually Curious
• Cultivate Stable, Long-Term Relationships

The most important takeaway from this week is: While all of these habits are key ingredients for remaining happy and healthy well into your retirement years, if you’re going to pick just one of these habits to start cultivating now, start with healthy long-term relationships…call your sister, do something to strengthen your relationship with your spouse, or invite a friend over for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. 

Tomorrow I’m starting a brand new weekly theme: How To Spot & Avoid Get-Rich-Quick Schemes. 

When the stock market and bond markets are in turmoil, like they are in 2022, get-rich-quick schemes start to come out of the woodwork to take advantage of us when we’re beaten down and desperate for a way to make up for losses. 

Many people seem to think that only gullible or stupid people fall for these schemes, but that’s simply not true. All the wealthy people who fell for Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme were sophisticated, wealthy investors. I’ve seen firsthand clients who are smart & well-educated fall for similar schemes, so next week, I’ll share with you how to spot and avoid these schemes. 

Thank you so much for listening this week! If this podcast is valuable for you, please share the show with a friend, a neighbor, your brother, or co-worker who is getting close to retirement. Just go to your favorite podcasting app, hit the share icon, then text or email the show link to someone you know who is eyeing retirement. 

Thanks for sharing the love and spreading the word. I hope you have a blessed Sunday. My name is Ashley Micciche, this is the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is Habits that lead to happiness in retirement. 

The last key to happiness in retirement according to the long-term Harvard research study I’ve been referencing this week, is cultivating stable, long-term relationships. If you’re married and have been for years, you know that it takes work - a lot of conscious and consistent effort to maintain a solid and happy marriage. But it’s not just marriage that’s important here. We all need solid friendships, and stable, healthy relationships with our family to thrive. 

According to the Harvard study, the single most important trait of being happy-well in retirement is healthy relationships. That’s it. The number one most important thing. You can still have a shot at happiness in retirement if you smoke, are overweight, and haven’t read a single book since you graduated high school, but you don’t have good, strong, relationships with people you can count on in good times and bad, then you’re much more likely to get unhappier as you age. 

Like the other habits I’ve discussed this week, this one doesn’t happen overnight. If you don’t have the relationships in your life that you crave, it can be challenging to form new bonds, but it’s possible. I’ve really had to prioritize this in my own life, because I work full-time, I have a husband, and 3 young children, so I don’t have a lot of additional time to go hang out with friends. 

But I have made a conscious effort to be a part of the mom’s group at my church, and I’m making a conscious effort to make time for the friends in my life that I want to stay close to. I refuse to substitute real-life friendships with likes and comments on Facebook, and as a result, I’m spending time deepening friendships with those friends I care about the most. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is Habits that lead to happiness in retirement. 

Today, I’m talking about being intellectually curious. Interestingly, this trait is extremely important at all stages in life, and is one of the keys to being successful in your chosen career. If you’re intellectually curious you’re willing to learn new things and when something is new to you or you don’t understand, you ask questions and dig around to find answers. It’s also a sign of humility, which is important for continued learning and growth. 

Have you ever known someone who thinks they already know everything? We expect this with teenagers, but I sometimes find this trait in adults, and it’s a surefire way to tell that this know-it-all has learned everything they’re going to, which is unfortunate. 

On the other hand, people who are intellectually curious are good problem solvers, they know how to find answers, because they have so much experience searching for and finding answers, and they approach situations with more creativity, rather than just relying on what’s worked well in the past. 

I am naturally curious and have always been, and its a big reason why I don’t run out of things to talk about nearly 1400 episodes into this podcast, and why it’s fun and exciting for me to learn new things about retirement, saving, investing, and topics like this week’s which is how to be happy in retirement. I can apply the new things I’m constantly learning to help you, as well as my clients, myself, my children, my family and friends. 

In retirement, continuous learning and being intellectually curious mean that you’ll not be content to sit and watch CNN or Fox News every day in retirement. There are numerous ways to continue learning new things in retirement - reading books, keeping up with hobbies and activities you enjoy, volunteering, traveling to new and interesting places, or even enrolling in a college course. 

I can think of no better way to spend the extra time you’ll have in retirement by continuing to learn more. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is Habits that lead to happiness in retirement. 

So far this week, I’ve been talking about the health habits that will lead to happiness in retirement. This advice is based on a long-term Harvard study that’s still ongoing which has been following a wide variety of Americans starting in their 20s throughout their whole lives. What the study has found is that happiness increases from about age 50 to 65, but then something interesting happens at age 65. People diverge into 2 categories:

Sad-sick, and happy-well. The sad-sick cohort are below average in physical health, mental health and life satisfaction. They tend to get unhappier as they age. The happy-well cohort on the other hand enjoy good physical health, mental health, and high life satisfaction that doesn’t diminish with age. 

The sad-sick are more likely to smoke, have issues with drinking, are overweight or obese, and don’t get much daily movement or exercise. 

These are all important health habits to cultivate throughout life, but what about the non-health related predictors. That’s what we turn to today, starting with learning to cope. 

Life is stressful, and some of us have found ways to deal with the person who cut you off in traffic, or that coworker who always manages to put you down. If you find yourself still angry at the random person in traffic after several minutes, or continuing to stew about your rude co-worker, it can lead to bitterness and resentment for more than just the people who hurt you. 

At the Catholic parish I attend, it’s a great place to see this firsthand. There are an unusually large number of people in their golden years, compared to the general population, and its easy to spot the joyful, warm, inviting people, as well as the wounded people who have allowed their hurts, turn into resentment and bitterness. I can tell within 30 seconds of talking to someone whether or not bitterness and resentment have closed them off to the world, and it’s very sad to me how so many people have allowed the inevitable pain and tragedy of life have cast such a dark shadow over their lives. 

The solution to this is not easy, because it requires often years-long cultivation of patience, kindness, gratitude, and a conscious effort to have an open heart by loving and seeing the best in others. Those I know with an open heart allow love to flow through them and aren’t handcuffed by pain and resentment. Easier said than done, I know!

Some of us may even require therapy, but if you find yourself angry, resentful, and bitter, then a great place to start is with a book I read last summer called “Be Healed”, by Dr. Bob Schuchts. It’s written for a Christian audience, so take that into consideration on whether or not this book might be for you, but the book is powerful and practical for healing the deep and inevitable wounds in our lives that, unchecked, can lead to misery and resentment. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is Habits that lead to happiness in retirement. 

Yesterday, I introduced the 80+ year old Harvard Study that is the basis for this week’s theme. It’s a treasure trove of data on what it takes to live happily in your retirement years. The study is still ongoing, and it looks at individuals and their habits over a lifetime. 

Think of it like investing in a Happiness 401k. The sooner you can start investing in the good habits and avoiding the bad habits, the more you’ll reap the rewards of your investment in your retirement years. 

The first two important habits are don’t smoke & watch your drinking. The next 2 habits are also health related, and nothing earth-shattering that you haven’t already heard a thousand times before, but since it’s clear that it makes a huge difference in your health and happiness in retirement, let’s mention them again:

#1 - Maintain a healthy body weight. 

#2 - Prioritize movement in your life every day.

Today, over 40% of Americans are obese, which is defined as having a body mass index over 30. The problem got worse during the pandemic too, and obesity rates keep climbing. It’s such a problem that it’s even a contributing factor to low recruitment numbers for the US Military, as many would-be recruits don’t qualify due to their weight. 

The second recommendation of prioritizing movement is obviously related to maintaining a healthy body weight, but it’s slightly different in that exercise has all kinds of benefits psychological and stress-reducing, and happiness boosting benefits in addition to supporting a healthy weight. 

That’s it for today. Tomorrow and for the rest of the week, we’ll transition into some non-health predictors of happiness in retirement: emotional resilience, education, and relationships. 

Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance