Winning at Life with Gregory Ricks

01:14 - What the heck happened with Tesla stock today? Elon Musk tweeted about taking Tesla private, the stock trading was halted, and then it was resumed for the last 15 minutes of the trading day. Something doesn't seem right about this whole situation, and there's a chance this may end up being huge news down the road.

16:29 - Gregory and James preview an upcoming show topic on 20 things rich people do that poor people do not. Gregory is an early riser, and given our time zone, there's advantages to getting your day started early. When we're waking up, Europe is halfway through their day. Scheduling is something you need to master to be as productive as possible.

25:31 - Gregory helps a guy find his place on the financial path. He wants to retire at 61, and needs to generate income from assets to fill the gap until Social Security kicks in at FRA.

27:47 - James in New Orleans is maxing out his 401k and still has extra money to invest at the end of the month. What are some of his other investing options for retirement?

35:39 - The Social Security tax brackets were set in 1993, and hasn't been indexed for inflation. Most people drawing an income from assets in retirement will cause their Social Security benefits to have some tax exposure, but tax free income could save you thousands by staying off the 1040.

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02:00 - We recap some of the highlights from Saturday's show, including the discussion on how people so often get themselves into a situation where they are years behind on their taxes.

05:19 - What's up with REITs? Are they good investment tools? Gregory shares how to know which kind of Real Estate Investment Trust is a good investment. A primary consideration when evaluating a REIT is the exits. Can you get out of it? How long will it take? How much will it cost to exit early? Real Estate Investment Trusts can be a good investment in the right circumstances, but you really have to be cautious about the exits.

12:09 - Log in to your account at SSA.gov and check out your status with Social Security.

22:39 - An elderly couple passes on and leaves a painting hanging in their bedroom worth $160 million. Investigations show strong evidence this quiet little schoolteacher household had a secret life of stealing tons of money and travelling to 140 countries. And, it looks like they got away with it all.

32:41 - Gregory explains why you might need to be at his next live event September 12.

34:53 - Can you convert your IRA into a Roth IRA? Susan in New Orleans wants to know if she qualifies to convert her traditional IRA to Roth status.

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0:01:34 - A proposed reform to the Capital Gains Tax looks promising. It would index the cost basis for inflation, thus saving on taxes at the point of sale.

0:04:49 - The Paul Manafort trial is all about hiding income to avoid taxes. Years before working for Trump, Manafort made millions in the Ukraine and surrounding areas, but hide it from the IRS to avoid taxes. Gregory believes its better to pay your taxes than go to jail.

0:13:16 - Gregory went to a back-breaking conference in the Bahamas: beautiful beaches, great food, and some financial wisdom.

0:16:33 - Gregory Ricks Live is coming to Ruth's Chris in Metairie September 12. This is your chance to meet Gregory Ricks, and find out more about what Gregory Ricks and Associates can do for your financial future. Learn about how to decode volatility, Social Security planning, how to generate income streams, tax strategies, and estate planning.

0:31:03 - What's up with REITs? Are they good investment tools? Gregory shares how to know which kind of Real Estate Investment Trust is a good investment. A primary consideration when evaluating a REIT is the exits. Can you get out of it? How long will it take? How much will it cost to exit early?

0:37:17 - Gregory gives you reasons you would need to use a trust. A trust is all about controlling your assets, and there's ways you can use trusts to protect and distribute your retirement assets specifically. There's also a few basic guidelines on when you do NOT need a trust.

0:44:21 - Harold in Gautier asks Gregory for his opininion on his household's financial situation. They are in retirement with enough assets to cover their income, and a house that's paid off with no other debts. Where are the holes in their financial planning that Harold hasn't thought of?

0:55:05 - What's the real deal behind those tax relief services you hear in advertisements? Jude Heath and Gregory Ricks agree there is no shortcuts to getting your taxes settled up. There may be ways you can get some help, but it's going to be through a proper CPA who specializes in taxes. Jude explains how unravelling the story behind back taxes may take a while, and the bigger issues make take longer, but Jude will get you on the path to recovery.

1:07:59 - Gregory and Jude analyze the Paul Manafort trial for evading taxes on foreign income.

1:12:21 - Lance in Biloxi is the executor of his elderly parents' trust, and wants Gregory's help making the best use of their assets to cover their long term care.

1:19:39 - Can you convert your IRA into a Roth IRA? Susan in New Orleans wants to know if she qualifies to convert her traditional IRA to Roth status.

1:28:34 - The Federal Reserve decides to keep the interest rates unchanged this week. Art Laffer explain the proposed reform that would index capital gains taxes for inflation.

1:32:12 - Apple becomes the first company to be worth more than $1 trillion. 20 years ago, it was almost bankrupt. It's an amazing story.

1:36:51 - Robert in Jackson has a friend who is inheriting an IRA left to her from her deceased son. Gregory Ricks spells out her options, decodes the taxes.

1:39:34 - What do I do with this old 401k? Sean in New Orleans has a 401k still sitting at the old job, and wants to know Gregory's ideas on what he should do with it.

1:43:45 - Dave in New Orleans was gifted his mother's house before she died. Now that he's going to sell it, what is tax exposure? Will he be charged capital gains for the entire value of the house?

1:48:47 - Ben in Laplace wants Gregory's opinion on how to handle a Securities Based Line of Credit as interest rates keep creeping up.

1:59:06 - Van Dyke in Oxford asks Gregory's opinion on how he has his retirement contributions set up in the company plan.

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02:05 - The GDP grew at 4.1% for the second quarter. This is a great number, and all but guarantees the Fed will continue raising rates. The tariff battles with China still loom large over future economic growth. Gregory also points out some weakness in the tech sector staining an otherwise positive earnings season.

0:13:21 - Mark in Pearl River asks Gregory: Does Louisiana tax distributions from your TSP (Thrift Savings Plan)?

0:14:14 - Jonathan in Picayune is maxing out his IRA and Roth IRA contributions. What should he do to invest for retirement beyond that?

0:17:46 - Social Security COLA increases have not been keeping up with inflation across most important spending categories. A report claims this has resulted in a net loss of the purchasing power of the average Social Security benefit of a little over $400 per month. Gregory explains how Social Security may look a little different by the time you retire, but it's probably not going away.

0:21:04 - Mike in Poplarville wants to know if he and his wife have enough assets to retire. Gregory asks a few questions, and helps Mike find out where he is on the retirement path.

0:28:32 - Chris in Pontchatoula is thinking about retiring soon, and wants to know if there's any way he can beef up his Social Security record and get a larger check. Conversly, will retiring early hurt his benefit because he stops paying into the system?

0:34:55 - Gregory gives some details on how the tax code can be used in different ways by filers when it comes to their Social Security. Some states tax your Social Security, and some do not. Social Security can be taxable at the federal level once certain income limits are met.

0:41:03 - Susan in Gulfport wants to know if retiring a few years before turning on her Social Security will hurt her benefit much.

0:49:28 - Ray in New Orleans asks Gregory how his wife's participation in a State pension could affect her Social Security benefits. Her work record is pretty evenly split between the private and public sector, and if she can go get a few more years in a job that pays into Social Security, she may be able to not have any offset to her benefits from the Windfall Elimination Provision.

0:57:30 - Jim in Bush asks Gregory how his Social Security benefit would be affected if he took a job offer in South America that doesn't pay into Social Security. Gregory explains how missing a few years of Social Security contributions could cut into your benefit amount. Dwayne Stein adds he had a client with a similar situation recently, and there's other considerations in taking a job overseas.

1:07:20 - Dwayne Stein and Gregory Ricks discuss how you can use a reverse mortgage and get some interest on the unused portion of the credit available. Dwayne spells out the differences between a fixed reverse mortgage, and an annual reverse mortgage.

1:13:25 - Nick in New Orleans asks Gregory and Dwayne about what happens with a couple in a reverse mortgage when a spouse passes away.

1:18:05 - Reagan in Springfield asks Gregory to explain how a traditional IRA can be converted to a Roth IRA.

1:29:50 - Dwayne Stein of MortgageGumbo.com and Gregory show you how you can take out a line of credit through a reverse mortgage and get guaranteed compounding interest on your home's equity for years. This allows you to grow the amount of money you will have available for distributions, or at least helps you keep up with the interest accruing on the other side of the ledger.

1:38:52 - Judy in Starkville asks if continuing to work after she's started taking Social Security benefits will change the size of her check.

1:49:12 - Mary in Poplarville had some of her Social Security benefit clawed back because she continued to work after turning it on early. Will this stop at some point?

1:51:56 - Bob in Pass Christian needs Gregory's help to know when he can qualify for Social Security disability or retirement benefits.

1:54:31 - John in Pascagoula asks Gregory if his state pension in Mississippi will affect his Social Security benefits.

2:02:53 - Jennifer in Covington maxes out her IRA and Roth IRA every year. Where should she put her additional retirement savings?

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01:37 - The GDP grew at 4.1% for the second quarter. This is a great number, and all but guarantees the Fed will continue raising rates. The tariff battles with China still loom large over future economic growth.

15:29 - Is Social Security going broke? Gregory gets asked often if Social Security will be going away at some point in the future. Gregory explains how Social Security may look a little different by the time you retire, but it's probably not going away.

24:58 - Mary in Poplarville wants Gregory's opinion on an investment opportunity from one of her friends. Gregory gives her some questions to research about the investment, and helps her understand how to evaluate an opportunity like this.

36:03 - Gregory reports on a survey showing most Baby Boomers are planning on Social Security being their main source of income in retirement. You will have to come up with additional income if you want to maintain your standard of living. If you don't have enough money saved up, delaying Social Security becomes even more important.

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01:41 - Venezuela is expected to have 1,000,000% inflation this year, and GDP growth of -18% according to the IMF. It's a real humanitarian crisis that has deteriorated to one of the worst hyperinflation collapses in history.

06:42 - Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says we could have a new trade deal worked out with Mexico soon. The new President-Elect of Mexico already has a team working with a team Trump assembled to replace the old NAFTA rules. The new guy gets sworn in on December 1st, and we may have a deal ready to sign by then.

10:44 - It's possible that 5 states have a debt spiral they can't escape without reforming their pension systems. Gregory sees the shift from defined-benefit plans to defined-contribution plans, and how to best utilize those tools.

13:06 - What do you do when your 401k loan is ended? Gregory explains the two most likely scenarios: you leave the job, or you miss the payments. If you leave the job, whether voluntary or not, the unpaid portions of your loan will be considered a plan loan offset. If your loan ends because you miss too many payments, it will be considered a deemed distribution.

27:24 - Gregory teaches you the different timelines allowed when settling up a deemed distribution and a plan loan offset.

30:03 - The Numbers are mostly positive, but Facebook had the worst one-day market cap loss in history.

37:20 - A check scammer was using the identities of famous people in Florida for years.

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01:01 - Trump and the head of the EU announce an agreement to end the tariff battles between the United States and European Union. Juncker, the EU President, added they would also up their purchases of US soybeans and natural gas. This appears to help us ecnonmically with Europe, and put the squeeze on Russia and China. We hear some audio from Trump and Juncker going into more details about the agreement, and Gregory explains how this is good news for your investments.

14:10 - A report claims oil could soon be $200 per barrel. Gregory breaks down the report that focuses on how ultra-low sulphur regulations could make things quite expensive for the oil industry and industrial companies reliant on fossil fuels. Will natural gas be able to fill some of the market vacated by skyrocketing gasoline?

23:27 - Byron in Houma says natural gas isn't really a good fit for personal vehicles, because it's not so easy to transfer and store. Gregory agrees that as the technology stands now, the danger sounds a little steep for LNG based engines, but if we could efficiently change natural gas into more stable form of fuel, that's a more likely solution.

27:54 - Bob in Bay St Louis is going to use the proceeds from a home sale to buy a new house. Should he put all his money down on the house to keep the payments low, or should he put the minimum down and keep a cash reserve? Gregory asks a few questions and thinks Bob may want to look into the details on how a reverse purchase could fit his situation.

35:57 - The Numbers segment is positive for our major indices, but most of those gains were in the last hour of trading when the EU deal was announced. Facebook is taking a double-digit beating in share price after their Q2 earnings came in with a rare miss.

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01:10 - Mississippi's tax-free school shopping holiday is this weekend. James finds it odd that the tax-free holiday for school shopping doesn't include actual school supplies. On the other side of the border, Louisiana just cancelled its tax-free holidays for the next 7 years.

06:40 - Demographic reports show that people are migrating to Texas and Florida more than any other states. It's probably a good combination of weather and no income tax. The states people are leaving the most: Illinois and West Virginia.

12:39 - A piece of financial advice from the TV show Cheers weaves in neatly with a Joe in Metairie, who is thinking about taking a loan from his 401k to cover the cost of getting into an investment property. Gregory is usually against making such a move, but after a few probing questions, Joe may be making a good move here.

19:21 - How do you know if you're getting a good deal on a real estate investment? Gregory gives you some guidance on how to evaluate investment properties.

23:38 - Bitcoin is still in the dumps and having problems. There's still some optimism for the face of the crypto world, but another crypto-scam in the news doesn't help.

30:18 - The Numbers are strong in light of a stellar start to Q2 earnings season.

34:09 - Gregory reports on credit-default swaps being used to trade Tesla's debt contracts.

39.55 - Google is crushing it. They beat earnings, and have much more room to grow.

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02:49 - Gregory tells about his face off with a raccoon in the backyard.

17:91 - The duck boat tragedy in Missouri is horrible, and reminds Gregory of his experience in a duck boat ride. Gregory isn't much for taking risks these days, especially considering the amount of people who are counting on him.

21:21 - The annual report on the state of retirement savings in America shows that people are doing a better job of saving than previous years, but are still behind schedule. Gregory warns against using overly optimistic returns on your investments when planning for the future. If you plan for 7% returns on your money, but only get 5%, you will be behind. If you plan for 4%, but get 5%, you will have a little extra cushion.

25:55 - Mosquito Joe gets a shotu out. West Nile has shown up in Louisiana, but there's no bugs in Gregory's yard.

27:24 - Susan in New Orleans asks Gregory: Would you ever put an annuity in an IRA? Gregory says yes, sometimes it's the right thing to use a fixed annuity in an IRA.

33:15 - CALPERS, the largest public pension in the US, is going to have to make some serious changes soon to avoid a total meltdown.

37:47 - Defined benefit plans are proving to be a problem over the long term, and will have to give way to defined contribution plans. If you don't make your anticipated returns on a defined contribution plans, there's no pain to the outside world, but if you don't make your returns on a defined benefit plan, someone is going to have to pay up: usually either the company or taxpayers.

40:51 - Joe in Metairie is thinking about taking a loan from his 401k to cover the cost of getting into an investment property. Gregory is usually against making such a move, but after a few probing questions, Joe may be making a good move here.

47:44 - Jude Heath, CPA of the Total Wealth Authority, helps us break down the proposals floated for Tax Reform 2.0. Gregory hears the push for annuities, and is concerned Wall Street may be using their influence for that to include variable annuities. Bending policy curves toward fixed annuities could be a great alternative to the defined-benefit plans supplying income to retirees. Jude Heath agrees that tax policy could easily be tweaked to encourage and reward savers. Lifting the earning cap and contribution limits on 401ks and IRAs would be good start, and capping taxes on distribution would be helpful on the back end.

1:00:45 - Tax Reform 2.0 continues to be dissected byt Gregory Ricks and Jude Heath. For all of the tax breaks mentioned, will Congress be able to get this passed as is, or will they have to balance out the lost revenue with spending cuts and/or tax hikes elsewhere?

1:01:54 - Carol in Mississippi asks if the states also charge a penalty for IRA distributions before age 59.5? Gregory says that penalty is at the federal level only, although states will tax retirement benefits differently.

1:09:21 - Steve in Slidell heard Gregory mention that 401k withdrawals have no penalty if you separated from the employer after age 55. Does that still hold true if you roll that 401k into an IRA?

1:13:07 - The proposed Universal Savings Accounts don't seem to make much sense. Gregory and Jude talk about how similar financial tools already exist, and it would be better to simply make some minor changes to the Roth IRA rules rather than create a whole new financial structure.

1:21:25 - Gregroy and Jude agree we should expand HSAs. Tax Reform 2.0 mentions the idea of making Health Savings Accounts available to more people, and possibly lifting the contribution amount. Gregory would like to see HSAs for everyone, and the contribution limits need to be much higher. Jude agree that would be huge.

1:33:46 - Gregory talks about having a fun day at the racetrack: NOLA Motorsports Park.

1:41:59 - Of the Millenials who have purchased a home, 68% are unhappy with it. Some of this can be explained by the drag on time and resources, but that only means Millenials had unreal expectations going into the deal. Owning a home causes many little expenses that are rarely discussed: the monthly home alarm bill, the quarterly pest control, appliances breaking, lawn care, painting, and anything a kid can break.

1:50:35 - Americans will pay $104 billion in credit card interest and fees this year.

1:52:57 - Chase in Gulfport has $2,000 in extra income monthly to invest. Should he pay down his mortgage with that money, or is there better options? Gregory asks a few questions, and has some powerful investing options for that money, maybe even using a 7702 plan.

2:07:44 - Cici in Sardis asks Gregory if her mortgage payments should have whittled away more principle than reported. Gregory explains how most of her payment is going to taxes, insurance, and interest, rather than principle. As the mortgage moves along, the principle payoff should accelerate.

2:09:57 - Michael in Imlay City, Michigan asks Gregory about the commercials selling you gold in your IRA: can you actually hold your physical gold investments personally if you're buying them through your IRA? Gregory warns that could be considered self dealing, and generally leans away from physical gold as an investment tool.

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01:18 - Gregory explains how Trump should factor into your financial decisions.

03:52 - Gregory reports on how much of our national debt is held by foreign countries, and how many countries have sold off big chunks of our bonds. Russia has unloaded most of their bond holdings, and has been buying up gold. What's going on with that?

13:13 - Russia's GDP has fallen by almost half since the price of oil crashed a few years ago. Gregory shows how Russia lost money dumping our bonds, and lost money on the gold they've been acquiring in recent years.

16:10 - Gregory shares how he evaluates a stock. Start with the company, it's earnings, do the books look good? Is the stock in a buying position? You have to make sure you're buying the right company, and you're buying it at the right time. Maybe you should wait a day or two if you're not sure.

19:41 - China is a much bigger economic counterweight to the United States than Russia. Their economy is around ten times as big, and China holds over a trillion in US debt. Russia is a bit player compared to China when it comes to affecting our economy and your money. The rest of the list on US debt holdings by country is a fun discussion.

25:03 - Gregory expects Russia to attempt to influence any and every election they can. Every country tries to influence any election they can. China, North Korea, Russia, Iran, and those countries are probably trying to hack anything and everything they can at all times, but here's the better part: we probably get hack attempts from allies like the UK, France, and Germany.

26:29 - What happens to all of the Burberry merchandise that goes unsold? Gregory reveals a common practice of the high end retail industry to maintain status and price: they burn it.

32:29 - We have a new richest man in the world: Jeff Bezos.

34:22 - The highest paid celebrities list is always interesting. Good to see the Rock doing so well.
37:21 - The Numbers come in a bit mixed, but a report says Tesla's cancellations are outpacing new reservations. Gregory questions the logic of a country with $21 trillion in debt continuing to subsidize companies like Tesla.

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