Winning at Life with Gregory Ricks

Gregory explains how the last month had an unusual amount of interruptions for the show with a combo of James getting sick, technical issues, Gregory's vacation, and getting hit with a hurricane.

Gregory goes through some financial code changes being debated in Congress. Most are aimed at the wealthy, but some policies affect us all. We may be losing the Backdoor Roth Conversion and other powerful tools.

Look out for these 2 Social Security mistakes that could ruin your retirement.

Look for Gregory's pop up events for clients to keep them updated on their accounts and the new tools at their disposal.

Dwayne Stein of Mortgage Gumbo is keeping an eye on the Federal Reserve meeting this week, and the focus is on tapering.

It's still a seller's market in real estate, but the pendulum is swinging back toward the buyers side.

Chuck in Mandeville asks Gregory Ricks and Dwayne Stein if this is a good time to buy an investment property.

Dwayne explains why dealing with the hurricane aftermath causes most of his loan that were in the process have to start over.

Tom in Gulfport asks Gregory's thoughts on precious metals investments. Gregory is not a big fan of it, and explains why.

Crystal in Meridian is a single mom looking to buy her first home. How does she know what she can comfortably afford?

Gary on the Westbank is about to reach his Social Security Full Retirement Age. Should he start his retirement benefit, or delay it to build a bigger check?

Bonnie in Jackson is thinking of moving in retirement to be closer to her kids. After her home sells, should she buy or rent in a new city?

Randy in Picayune wants to help his grandkid start saving for retirement. Can he hire a minor to do some work, and use those earnings to fund an IRA or Roth IRA?

Jack in Baton Rouge asks Gregory's thoughts on the FIRE Movement that seeks to maximize savings and retiring as early as possible.

Gregory explains how the age 55 exception for IRAs could help if you've been separated from your job and need to access retirement funds to keep going.

Dealing with taxes is a common theme in financial planning, and Gregory encourages you to explore some options that are tax favored.

Leo in Amite asks if his sister qualifies for minor survivor benefits and widows benefits from Social Security

Space X launches the first all-tourist crew into space. The rocket has no pilot on board, and is guided by AI.

Gregory goes through some financial code changes being debated in Congress. Most are aimed at the wealthy, but some policies affect us all. We may be losing the Backdoor Roth Conversion and other powerful tools.

Gregory explains how the last month had an unusual amount of interruptions for the show with a combo of James getting sick, technical issues, Gregory's vacation, and getting hit with a hurricane.

Gregory warns you of some proposed tax hikes and rule changes that could affect your money.

George in Mobile has a daughter who graduated college and got a great job. How can she get started with investing?

Look out for these 2 Social Security mistakes that could ruin your retirement.

In the aftermath of storms, how do you get insurance to help cover the costs of some of your home damage? Gregory helps James deal with some needed home repairs, and his experience getting insurance to pitch in.

Amy in New Orleans is in a 4-unit condo, and their destroyed carport isn't covered by their insurance policy. How does being in a 4-person condo association affect the ability to make decisions on whether or not to rebuild it?

Gregory reviews 3 disasters your home insurance won't help with.

Hear a caller from March 2020 ask Gregory about buying the Carnival stock dip, and see how the advice stands the test of time.

Gregory stresses the importance of emergency savings, and don't go do anything crazy with that money.

John in Mobile has some questions about using an Indexed Universal Life Insurance policy to get some growth and maybe even some tax-free income. It almost sounds too good.

Gregory has 6 dates in September for the Wine, Wisdom, and Food Experience coming up in Metairie, Baton Rouge, and on the Northshore in Madisonville. Take back control of your retirement! RSVP at 504.832.9200

The High Stakes of Social Security Decisions: whatever errors you may make when turning on your Social Security, you have to live with for the rest of your life.

Brent in Gulfport has about $100k in emergency savings. Should he invest some of that? Leaving it in a savings account means it's getting eaten up by inflation.

Gregory has 6 dates in September for the Wine, Wisdom, and Food Experience coming up in Metairie, Baton Rouge, and on the Northshore in Madisonville. Take back control of your retirement! RSVP at 504.832.9200

Gregory reviews some comment cards from those who attended his previous events, and there's a strong theme among taxes, Social Security, and making sure you don't run out of money in retirement.

Leo in Amite asks if his sister qualifies for minor survivor benefits and widows benefits from Social Security

The Advanced Child Tax Credit payments have totalled $15 billion in each of the last two months.

The current James Bond, Daniel Craig, says he will not be leaving his fortune to his children, because he finds inheritance distasteful.

Gregory reviews some alternatives for your emergency savings beyong a typical savings account, starting with a Roth IRA.

Gregory's observations from recent travels show airports and hotels are getting busy again, but covid restrictions are still causing issues.

Gregory has 6 dates in September for the Wine, Wisdom, and Food Experience coming up in Metairie, Baton Rouge, and on the Northshore in Madisonville. Take back control of your retirement! RSVP at 504.832.9200

The High Stakes of Social Security Decisions: whatever errors you may make when turning on your Social Security, you have to live with for the rest of your life.

Bill in Baton Rouge calls back to update Gregory that his health outlook has drastically improved, and now he has to rethink his Social Security options with his wife.

Merle in Pearl is receiving a disability check from Social Security and has gone back to work. Will he get in trouble for double dipping? And can his wife draw a spousal benefit somehow?

Joseph in Covington has about 6 months of expenses sitting in a savings account. It's getting eaten up by inflation. Should he invest half of that to get a better return?

The Numbers were mixed, with a pretty even ratio of good news and bad news. Gregory explains how the debt ceiling has technically expired, and the Treasury Department is doing that thing where they are shuffling money to avoid a default.

The success of the Delta Variant and Covid Vaccine hang heavy over the markets and the economy at large.

The average investor does NOT beat the market, so here's 4 secrets to beating the average investor.