THINK Retirement NOW. ™

Any way you slice it, the Covid 19 stock market crash of 2020, has fully recovered. It would surprise no one to see the Dow break 30,000 soon, on its way higher. Today a person age fifty five or older has experienced three nasty bear markets and may fear another big crash, keeping them on the sidelines. Even though EVERY crash has recovered, many still fear another crash. Are we on the verge of a crash, or more market increases ahead?  Financial historians point out that market crashes, which are defined as sudden downturns of at least ten percent in one day, are fairly frequent. The good news is that financial recoveries are just as frequent! Today, we'll examine this market and compare it to 2008 and other markets that crashed, and subsequently recovered.  Get ready for an interesting show...MASTERING MONEY is on the air!!

In a stock market rally like this, it easy to make the mistake that the only way to build wealth in the stock market is on the basis of the stock price alone. But many stock market fortunes have been built with stock splits and dividends over time. When you own shares of  a company whose stock splits, and then splits again and the share price continues to retrace its price pattern- the value of your holdings grows exponentially, even through down markets. Today, we'll use Amazon as an example, following it from its birth as an IPO in 1997, through its multiple stock splits, and magnificent growth. Ten thousand dollars held since inception in Amazon would be worth more than 12 MILLION DOLLARS today. We'll examine how staying with money-making companies over time, rather than frantically buying and selling,  could be your BEST path to success. Don't miss it...MASTERING MONEY is on the air!!!

This election year is shaping up to be the craziest ever!  There is even talk of a contested election if Joe Biden doesn't win,  and millions of late ballots coming in the mail. No one knows who will win and it is quite natural to feel like your investments for retirement are being played like a fiddle. Being frozen with fear about what-to-do with your 401k or rollover IRA is completely justified. But you can't remain frozen in fear. You didn't get this far in life by not having a plan and taking action. If you are stressed right now about the long term SAFETY of your money and where you will get enough income with bond rates so low, the cart somehow got in front of the horse. Your strategy has a hole in in it.  And if you don’t fix it, you may never feel at ease about where you are going with your money. Well today, we're here to fix it with common sense solutions that you can take to the bank. It's all about YOU and YOUR retirement...MASTERING MONEY  is on the air!!

Today on Mastering Money...It’s a MOTLEY FOOL MONDAY!! The Motley Fool Money Show is one of the most popular stock market TALK SHOWS in America, featuring timely insights from top market experts and heard by millions of listeners coast to coast—including Saturdays right here on Money Radio! After an update of the markets and today's breaking financial news stories, we'll take you to an exclusive broadcast of the Motley Fool Money Show to help you INVEST SMARTER--plus money-making and money-SAVING ideas from Steve you won't want to miss! --it all starts NEXT... MASTERING MONEY IS ON THE AIR!

If you can live on your Social Security and pensions alone, and have no need for any income from your investments—ever—then you are fortunate. Most people in retirement today, however,  DO need to derive income from their investments at some point.  But even if you don’t actually WANT any income from your 401k money, the IRS has other ideas. Once you reach age 72, you are required to begin taking distributions from your investments, like it or not. With bonds paying so little and many people retiring without pensions anymore, what if Social Security goes bust? Now you know why so many smart retiring professionals are choosing NEXT GENERATION annuities to retire on!  Steve will review the fundamentals and the finer points for you on today's show. Don't miss it-

If all you had on which to judge the state of the economy was the stock market, it would seem like everything is just fine. After falling 37% in about a month from late February to late March, the broad market came back far enough to crawl out of the hole for the year by Monday June 8th.  The breathtaking speed of recovery has many investors convinced that another market crash is inevitable. But is it really? Today on Mastering Money, Steve will be revealing the three keys you need to look for which would determine whether or not we'll see another crash and how to know if you are properly prepared.  If not, don't worry--we'll have some important steps for you to take right now. You don't want to miss today's show, MASTERING MONEY is on the air!!

Joe Biden likes to brag about his record of handling pandemics, and likes to criticize Donald Trump for over five million COVID infections. But did you know that SIXTY million Americans got infected by the H1N1 Swine Flu-- that Biden was in charge of in 2009?   A White House staffer now admits that they just got lucky it wasn’t as lethal as Covid 19, stating that basically they did (quote) "everything wrong"  and could have been the worst pandemic in history. In the name of political unity, we will review the facts and compare the responses to H1N1 versus Covid 19. The results might shock you! Then, medicare expert Shelley Grandidge joins us for the Q & A with Medicare enrollment right around the corner. Don't miss it...MASTERING MONEY is on the air!!

The Wall Street Journal, often a critic of President Trump,  stated the facts clearly in their August 24th front page report: (quote) “In response to the novel and deadly coronavirus, many governments deployed draconian tactics never before used in modern times....severe and broad restrictions on daily activity that helped send the world into its deepest peacetime slump since the Great Depression.” “The equivalent of 400 million jobs have been lost world-wide,   Yet Joe Biden said on ABC TV that he would not hesitate to shut down the economy... AGAIN!! . The journal points out the economic loss and stupidity of another shutdown. Even economists from Harvard--no fans of Donald Trump--believe that shutting down the economy is not the way forward, with empirical data to prove it. Today, we'll unpack that Wall Street Journal report and Steve will show us how to invest in the CRAZIEST YEAR IN U.S. HISTORY!   Don't miss it...MASTERING MONEY  is on the air!!!

Today on Mastering Money...It’s a MOTLEY FOOL MONDAY!! The Motley Fool Money Show is one of the most popular stock market TALK SHOWS in America, featuring timely insights from top market experts and heard by millions of listeners coast to coast—including Saturdays right here on Money Radio! After an update of the markets and today's breaking financial news stories, we'll take you to an exclusive broadcast of the Motley Fool Money Show to help you INVEST SMARTER--plus money-making and money-SAVING ideas from Steve you won't want to miss! --it all starts NEXT... MASTERING MONEY IS ON THE AIR!

Now that the convention full of scripted feel-good speeches is over, it's time to start dissecting the policies of Joe Biden. One of the most impactful--but least discussed parts-- of the recently released Joe Biden tax plan is the elimination of the "step-up-in-basis" upon death. Many American families have enjoyed the ability to pass on appreciated assets like the family home, real estate, and stocks held at brokerages to the next generation without any capital gains tax.  Whether you have built up a nice stock portfolio or paid off your home and hope to leave it to your kids, Biden’s plan would eliminate that privilege and impose a capital gains tax upon.  But wait, there's more! His plan also makes gains taxable at the ordinary income rate, rather than the lower capital gains rate. We'll review the Tax Foundation's analysis. Then Medicare expert Shelley Grandidge joins us. A really important show you don't want to miss....MASTERING MONEY is on the air!!!