Winning at Life with Gregory Ricks

Black Friday is going to look very different. Retailers who want to avoid the crowds and mobs of an in-store sale are opting for online door busters. Home Depot is among the retailers spreading out their specials over a two month span.

Dennis in Mississippi asks if his wife could qualify for Social Security Disability without a recent work record. Gregory confirms the key is going to be what she's done in the last 10 years.

Will in Metairie asks if his payroll taxes from self-employment could boost his monthly check.

Are you too old to refinance your mortgage? Mark in Metairie is considering a refinance on his mortgage at age 68.

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What's the deal with stock slices? Charles in Mandeville asks Gregory's take on a program from a broker allowing you to buy smaller slices of high priced stocks.

Learn how Social Security credits work.

How do different states tax your Social Security?

Is the Unemployment Insurance bonus from the stimulus taxable?

Gregory explains how this is the fastest Bull Run turnaround in the history of the stock market.

Jared in Kenner wants to pull money out of his 401k to pay off his mortgage. Usually these callers get a stern "no" for an answer, but Jared has a low payoff amount, a mortgage with a relatively high interest rate, and there's no penalty this year on 401k distributions this year because of Covid, as long as he can pay the money back on time. Jared gets a stong "maybe."

How should you dip into your assets to deal with a huge medical bill? Michael in Madison, MS has over a million in investment assets - mostly stocks - and has some unexpected medical costs hit his spouse.

Gregory has some warnings for those who are trying to time the market. History is not on your side.

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Why would someone buy a 100 year bond? Gregory tells you the history of an attempt by JC Penny to issue 100 year bonds. James found the oldest bond in history still paying interest.

Trump announces a payroll tax deferral option, and it sounds like there's a lot of gray area around how this will work.

The Sandwich Generation is caught between supporting their children and parents at the same time. Gregory has tips he learned going through that phase.

The history of how stocks perform the year after an election should give you an optimistic view of 2021.

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How different asset classes have reacted to the last 10 elections.

Don on the Northshore asks if the economic issues from the Coronavirus will create a buying opportunity for investment properties.

Divorce paperwork is up 34% this year. The pandemic may be the biggest contributor, and your finances may take the biggest hit.

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The pandemic increased the amount of people who saved money by a big leap.

Gregory reviews some quick Social Security questions that came up on Saturday's show.

How the stock market has reacted to the last 10 elections.

Ann in New Orleans asks if her spouse's Windfall Elimination Provision will affect her spousal benefit when he passes.

Mike in Mobile asks if his $100,000 winnings from a scratch-off ticket will have any effect on his Social Security.

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Derik in Baton Rouge has an employer that wants to move away from pensions and more towards 401ks. He's being offered some interesting options, but not sure which way to go.

Gregory sees people try and get the same effect as Indexing by manually diversifying their stock positions. This attempt at self-indexing rarely works out better than a similar index fund.

Here's why you shouldn't be concerned about the economic impact of the next election: the market has a solid history of growing no matter who is in charge.

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Sheila in Waggaman asks about her sister's options with Social Security. She's twice divorced. Can she draw a benefit from the record of either ex spouse?

Emile on Facebook Live asks if he can receive both military disability benefits and Social Security retirement benefits at the same time.

Timothy in Metairie is concerned about his wife's Social Security options should he pass away.

Pat in Belle Chase wants to know if she turns Social Security on the month of her birthday (or the month after) to get the full retirement amount. How will this affect her taxes?

Bill in Metairie is thinking about delaying the start of his Social Security retirement benefits past his Full Retirement Age, and wants to know how much his benefit would increase by waiting.

EJ from Long Beach gets a pension from her work for her federal career, and wants to know if she will get hit with the Windfall Elimination Provision on her Social Security benefit.

Chuck in Baton Rouge wants to know if his wife's State Pension will cause his Social Security survivor benefit to be offset.

Wes Blanchard, Estate Planning Attorney, is our guest, and shares his opinion on a non-married couple buying a house together: it's a horrible idea. Gregory's wife Stacey calls in to give support to the woman in this scenario from John's email.

Wes Blanchard talks about steps you need to take when your spouse passes away.

Shannon in Gulfport is remarried, and wants to know if she could draw a benefit from her deceased spouse's record.

Dustin in Gulfport asks if his Mother In Law can qualify for some benefits from Social Security, even though she doesn't have much of a work record.

Tommy in New Orleans wants to max out his Social Security benefits by planning with his spouse.

Sharon in Pascagoula has financial concerns for her elderly uncle who is remarried and slipping into dementia.

Roy in Metairie is about to go in for major surgery, and will be going on Social Security Disability. How does all of this work?

Mark in Kenner is going blind, and asks if he can dip into his 401k penalty-free due to his disability.

Corey on Facebook asks Gregory's thoughts on investment apps like Acorn.

Mike in River Ridge is thinking about turning on Social Security early and continuing to work, but is concerned about getting hit with the earnings clawback.

Mike in Baton Rouge will continue to work past his Social Security full retirement age, and asks if he continues to get higher credits.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell makes it very clear he is committed to inflation, and won't be raising rates anytime soon. Gregory Ricks explains how to invest with inflation in mind.

We review a call from 2015 from an investor who bought physical silver. Given silver's performance in 2020, it's incredible to see how well the advice from 5 years ago has proven to be solid.

The Unemployment Insurance bonus is approved by most states.

Should you pay off your credit cards first, or invest that money?

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Jeff in Houma wants Gregory's guidance on doing a Backdoor Roth IRA.

Gold retreats from its all-time highs, as the world seems to be running out of bad news.

Netflix and Amazon are killing it in the stock market, and it seems like there's plenty of room to go up.

Mark in Mandeville has been forced to retire early. Should he go ahead and turn on his Social Security early?

The IRS is facing a backlog of mail, and are suspending some notices until they get caught up. About 80,000 may have accidentally thrown away their stimulus payment that was mailed to them on a debit card.

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Stephanie from Pascagoula got a letter from Social Security, and asks Gregory about the new changes to her monthly check.

Rebecca in Metairie asks if Social Security Disability benefits pay a month after you turn your benefit on. Social Security benefits are paid a month behind.

David in Baton Rouge is receiving a disability check from both Social Security and the military. When does he switch to Social Security retirement benefits?

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