What’s Kenner French Thinking!

What’s Kenner French Thinking!

By R. Kenner French and VastSolutionsGroup.comBusinessEntrepreneurship
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What’s Kenner French Thinking! episodes

  • NFTs, Blockchain, and how to make money from them!
    Keys and blocks
    Cryptography is the technique used to protect privacy of a message by transforming it into a form that can be understood only by the intended recipients. Everyone else will see it as only an unintelligible sequence of random characters. This message manipulation is enabled by a pair of keys, public and private keys: You share your public key with your friend, who uses it to transform his message to you into an unintelligible sequence of random characters. You then use your private key to put it back into its original form.
    The special mathematical properties of these two crypto keys are widely used to provide secrecy and integrity. Two crypto keys play the role of digital signatures and are commonly used in blockchain to enable both authentication and anonymity for transactions.
    Blockchain is a crucial technology for creating NFTs. It uses cryptography to chain blocks into a growing list of records. Each block is locked by a cryptographic hash, or string of characters that uniquely identifies a set of data, to the previous block. The transaction records of a chain of blocks are stored in a data structure called a Merkle tree. This allows for fast retrieval of past records.
    To be a party in blockchain-based transactions, each user needs to create a pair of keys: a public key and a private key. This design makes it very difficult to alter transaction data stored in blockchain.
    14 min
  • Cryptocurrency (Tax) Questions & Answers!
    The IRS’ take on Cryptocurrency, or as the Service calls it, "Virtual Currency" is becoming more and more essential to investing and holding the 
    assets. Why? Virtual currency transactions are taxable by law just like transactions in any other property. Taxpayers transacting in virtual currency 
    may have to report those
    transactions on their tax returns. WHAT IS VIRTUAL CURRENCY?  Virtual currency is a digital representation of value that
    functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and/or a store of value. In some environments, it operates
    like “real” currency (i.e., the coin and paper money of the United States or of any other country that is designated as
    legal tender, circulates, and is customarily used and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of
    issuance), but it does not have legal tender status in the U.S. Cryptocurrency is a type of virtual currency that
    utilizes cryptography to validate and secure transactions that are digitally recorded on a distributed ledger, such as
    a blockchain.
    Virtual currency that has an equivalent value in real currency, or that acts as a substitute for real currency, is
    referred to as “convertible” virtual currency. Bitcoin is one example of a convertible virtual currency. Bitcoin can be
    digitally traded between users and can be purchased for, or exchanged into, U.S. dollars, Euros, and other assets.
    12 min
  • Crypto’s Advantages and Disadvantages
    Crypto is a unique currency. It’s completely virtual. Crypto is
    unsupported by any central bank or other authority. It’s not
    the official currency of any country. Yet all of these are both
    advantages and disadvantages. Whether or not crypto is an
    advantage for you is dependent on your situation.
    Crypto have several advantages over conventional
    currency:
    1. Crypto can’t be physically stolen, generally. There is
    nothing physical to steal. In theory, however, someone
    could force you at gunpoint to send your cryptos to
    someone else.
    2. It’s possible to avoid taxes. The onus is on the taxpayer
    to be honest about crypto transactions. There are many
    disagreements regarding the government’s ability to
    track cryptos through the system. Most of the
    investigative activity regarding cryptos is centered on
    major crimes, such as drug trafficking.
    3. Crypto is extremely flexible. You can pay anyone in the
    world at any time. Holidays, exchange rates, borders, and
    10
    A Quick, EZ Guide to UNDERSTANDING Crypto
    the time of day are irrelevant. Crypto hasfar greater
    flexibility than any other type of currency system.
    4. There are no transactional costs. As there is no central
    authority, transactional costs are unnecessary. All of the
    computers on the system, including your own, are doing
    the heavy lifting. There’s no one else to pay. You could
    send your child a million dollars’ worth of cryptos without
    it costing a single penny. Try doing that with yourlocal
    bank or PayPal.
    • However, providing a small transactional fee will
    guarantee that payments are processed more quickly
    and most trusted exchanges charge fees fortheir
    services.
    5. Privacy is maintained. Your personal information isn’t
    required as part of the transaction. There’s no risk of
    identity theft. The entire process is encrypted. Keep in
    mind that it’s not entirely anonymous. All transactions are
    recorded and posted for anyone to view. However, your
    name isn’t publicly associated with yourtransactions.
    6. Transactions cannot be reversed. This is good news for
    merchants, but may be a disadvantage for consumers or
    anyone that sends crypto to the wrong wallet.
    11
    A Quick, EZ Guide to UNDERSTANDING Crypto
    7. The crypto code is open source. There are no secrets,
    otherthan the identities of the parties involved in the
    transactions.
    It’s easy to see why cryptos are useful in certain situations.
    You have a greater degree of privacy and a lack of
    transactional costs. Crypto can be used at any time and on
    any day. You can still make or accept a payment
    9 min
  • The History of Cryptocurrency: An Essential Guide

    Cryptocurrency (now termed “Crypto”) is a digital monetary system. Instead of “dollars,” the unit of currency is referred

    to as a “Bitcoin.” Like traditional money, cryptos can be used to store and transfer value among other crypto users within

    the crypto community. Bitcoin is considered a cryptocurrency. The currency utilizes blockchain technology

    and cryptography for management and creation of the currency.  There is a crypto protocol, which resides primarily on the

    internet. It’s possible to utilize the protocol on your smartphone, computer, tablet, and other computing devices.

    It’s easily accessible to anyone with common available technology. Essentially, anything that can be done with conventional

    currencies can be done with cryptos. It’s possible to buy and sell goods and services, give money to other individuals or

    organizations, or even provide credit to others. Crypto can be bought, sold, and exchanged for other currencies.

    10 min
  • Non Qualified Plans 101 (These plans can make you WEALTHY)

    A nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan is an elective or non-elective plan, agreement, method, or arrangement between an employer and an employee (or service recipient and service provider) to pay the employee or independent contractor compensation in the future. In comparison with qualified plans, NQDC plans do not provide employers and employees with the tax benefits associated with qualified plans because NQDC plans do not satisfy all of the requirements of IRC § 401(a).

    Under a nonqualified plan, employers generally only deduct expenses when income is recognized by the employee or service provider. In contrast, under a qualified plan, employers are entitled to deduct expenses in the year contributions are made even though employees will not recognize income until the later years upon receipt of distributions.


    Despite their many names, NQDC plans typically fall into four categories.

    1. Salary Reduction Arrangements simply defer the receipt of otherwise currently includible compensation by allowing the participant to defer receipt of a portion of his or her salary.
    2. Bonus Deferral Plans resemble salary reduction arrangements, except they enable participants to defer receipt of bonuses.
    3. Top-Hat Plans (aka Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans or SERPs) are NQDC plans maintained primarily for a select group of management or highly compensated employees.
    4. Excess Benefit Plans are NQDC plans that provide benefits solely to employees whose benefits under the employer’s qualified plan are limited by IRC § 415.

      5. Despite their name, phantom stock plans are NQDC arrangements, not stock arrangements.



      9 min
    5. End of the Year Financial Essentials!

      The end of the year provides an ideal opportunity to reflect on the status of your personal finances and review your evolving goals and objectives for the year ahead. Below are seven things you MUST do to be prepared for a fun New Year’s Eve:

      • Get Organized. Pull together all of your important papers, including any wills, trusts, life insurance policies, homeowners insurance, and other pertinent financial records.
      • Prepare a Tax Strategy. Begin to gather tax information and arrange a time to meet with your accountant, if necessary. It is important to file income taxes on time. Paying late can be costly.
      • Schedule Legal Consultations. Consider scheduling a meeting with your attorney to discuss, and possibly update, your estate plan. You may need to establish or amend wills or trusts as necessary to adjust for changing goals or circumstances.
      • Review Insurance Coverage. Get together with your insurance professional to review your life insurance policies to ensure you have the appropriate amount of coverage, as well as the proper beneficiary arrangements.
      • Remember Your Reimbursement Account. If you maintain a flexible health care or dependent care account to achieve pre-tax savings, make sure you have submitted all related expenses in order to receive reimbursement. Remember that unused funds are lost if not spent in the current benefits period. If any funds still remain in the account, try to accelerate some expenses that normally would come due after the New Year in order to use up this year’s funds. If your account was either insufficiently funded or overfunded, adjust your commitment to the account for the year ahead to better match expected needs.
      • Don’t Forget About Retirement. Sit with your financial professional and make sure all is set before going out for a fun night on the town. There may be some last minute things that can be accomplished that could better your financial situation.
      • Write It All Down. After meeting with your advisors as outlined above, write down the goals that you can realistically attain. Make the commitment now to plan your finances to help assure yourself a comfortable, secure future.

        • R. Kenner French is an executive at VastSolutionsGroup.com and a CIO at Vast Holdings Group. He has authored two books — with another on the way, written numerous articles, and speaks all over the country on topics of interest to entrepreneurs.

        5 min
      • The One Crypto Tax Strategy to Know!

        Because cryptocurrencies are classified as “property” rather than as securities, the wash-sale rule does not apply if you sell a cryptocurrency holding for a loss and acquire the same cryptocurrency before or after the loss sale.

        You just have a garden-variety short-term or long-term capital loss depending on your holding period. No wash-sale rule worries.

        This favorable federal income tax treatment is consistent with the long-standing treatment of foreign currency losses.

        That’s a good thing, because folks who actively trade cryptocurrencies know that prices are volatile. And this volatility gives you two opportunities:

        1. profits on the upswings
        2. loss harvesting on the downswings
          3. 7 min
        3. There ARE other Cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin!

          Everyone has heard of Bitcoin, even if they don’t fully understand it. There are numerous other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin. There are seemingly hundreds of cryptocurrencies, and most of these were released in the last couple of years. Coinmarketcap.com lists 100 cryptocurrencies. Many experts believe the numbers will continue to climb. In fact, with creator coins now available the space could increase by the thousands soon.

          Bitcoin has a considerable head start on the other offerings. Several cryptocurrencies are slight variations on the Bitcoin platform and may be more attractive to conventional financial institutions.



          8 min
        4. 2021 IRS Top 10 Tax Tips

          People think April 15th is Tax Time but actually if you get things organized at that time it is too late. Get ready now — June, July, August. Tax laws can be confusing, leaving many unsure of what they may deduct and how they should file. However, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the process can be simpler than you may think if you attack it the right way.

          8 min
        5. What is an IRA?

          On today's episode, we are joined by Kenner French, CIO of VastHoldingsGroup.com and executive at VastSolutionsGroup.com.

          Join us, as Kenner explains IRA's plus the advantages of having them.

          The known definition of IRA's are individual retirement accounts (IRA) which are tax-advantaged accounts that individuals use to save and invest for retirement.

          Are you maximizing your retirement potential? As always, one of Kenner's top recommendations are for entrepreneurs to schedule consultations with their tax and financial advisors quarterly in order to maximize their tax savings. This includes looking at their qualified plans.

          If you have any questions on this podcast or just questions in general. Please reach us at:

          VastSolutionsGroup.com

          Phone: (888) 808-8278 Extension: 701 

          Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Pacific)


          Thank you for listening!

          10 min

        About What’s Kenner French Thinking!

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        Hey, Mr or Ms Entrepreneur, trying to hear business secrets? Hear the entrepreneur secrets told by R. Kenner French on daily episodes dropping at 9am eastern. Get the secrets of tax, finance, AI, asset protection, and more with top-tier guests and actionable strategies. Be told the keys to explosive growth and leave your competitors in the dark.