Will you need long-term care during your lifetime? If so, what will it cost and how will you pay for it? As individuals progress through retirement, the possibility of needing long-term care becomes an important consideration. The cost of long-term care can be substantial and a common fear for many individuals is losing their life savings in the event that they need assistance in the future. In this episode, we discuss the cost of long-term care as well as the considerations individuals should be thinking about before they actually need assistance.

Those who plan ahead are most likely to be prepared and will have the best chance to effectively navigate the expensive landscape of long-term care costs.

If you are interested in learning more about the cost of long-term care and the considerations you should be thinking about now, we think you will enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For more detail about planning for and navigating the cost of long-term care, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/financial-planning/are-you-prepared-for-long-term-care/

What does it take to be wealthy? While each person may have a different financial threshold in mind, most people have a similar mental picture of what wealthy looks like. They see a fancy home, nice cars, and lavish vacations enjoyed by someone who sold their company for a fortune or received a significant inheritance. This month we are discussing how most individuals have accumulated their wealth and how you can too! The research shows that most millionaires did not get lucky, strike it rich, or receive a substantial inheritance. They accumulated their wealth gradually over a long period of time. They lived on less than they earned, they saved consistently over time, and they let their investments ride regardless of market conditions.

If you are interested in learning the simple and attainable strategies that others have used to create long-term wealth and how you can too, we think you will enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For more detail about building wealth, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/investing/the-misperception-of-wealth/

Over the past decade, real estate values have soared. Nearly everyone knows someone who has “made a fortune” in real estate and touts it as a “can’t miss” opportunity. While real estate is a valuable addition to many investment portfolios, all real estate is not created equal. Real estate is an industry just like anything else, and those who have devoted careers to it are much more likely to succeed than those who simply dabble with the hope of making a quick return. Since most individuals with a full-time career in another field do not have the time or desire to develop the skills to succeed in real estate, the majority of individuals are best served by passively investing in real estate deals led by professional real estate sponsors. In this episode, we discuss the key factors to evaluating and identifying quality sponsors that create long-term value for their investors. If you are interested in private real estate investing, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For those who are interested in even more detail about evaluating real estate sponsors, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/investing/private-real-estate-investing-evaluating-sponsors/.

Health savings accounts (HSAs) have been around for nearly two decades. First introduced in 2004, HSAs provide a way for Americans to temper the bite of significant health care costs by creating a triple tax benefit through an upfront tax deduction when contributions are made, tax-free growth over time, and tax-free distributions for qualified medical expenses. In this episode, we discuss who is eligible to contribute to an HSA account and how to maximize the tax benefits to reduce taxes and take some of the bite out of future health care costs. If you are interested in learning how to maximize your tax savings today and save for the inevitable rising cost of health care, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For those who are interested in even more detail about tax advantages available through health savings accounts, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/tax-planning/triple-tax-savings-with-health-savings-accounts/.

March 2023 has seen the start (and hopefully the end?) of a financial industry crisis that has captivated Wall Street and many Americans. It all started on Wednesday, March 8th when Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, CA announced it needed to raise capital to shore up losses on its available for sale securities portfolio. What followed next amounted to the 2nd and 3rd largest bank collapses in American history. In this episode, we discuss the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank as well as the best way for individuals to ensure their cash balances are protected. If you are interested in learning how to effectively manage your cash to ensure it is both secure and earning a fair return, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For those who are interested in even more detail about managing your cash balances in light of the current challenges in the banking industry, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/financial-planning/banking-crisis-are-your-assets-safe/.

Mutual funds have long provided a simple way for Americans to diversify their assets and invest for the future. The primary attraction of mutual funds has been the ease of diversification and affordable access to professional managers which has helped the US mutual fund industry grow to control over $20 trillion in assets. However, what many people don’t understand is how owning mutual funds in taxable brokerage accounts often results in capital gain distributions that increase their tax burden and reduce the long-term growth of their portfolio. In this episode, we discuss the challenges that investors face when investing in mutual funds and what options they have to build portfolios that increase the likelihood of achieving the best long-term results. If you are interested in maximizing the tax efficiency of your investment portfolio, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For those who are interested in even more detail about tax efficient investing and minimizing capital gain distributions, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/tax-planning/mutual-fund-tax-surprise-capital-gain-distributions/.

Beginning with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act otherwise known as “Trump Tax Reform” that was passed at the end of 2017, Americans have seen significant new tax legislation passed almost annually. As we enter 2023, it appears the rate of change in tax and retirement rules is not about to slow down anytime soon with President Biden signing the SECURE Act 2.0 into law on December 29th, 2022.  In this episode, we discuss how the Secure Act 2.0 makes significant changes that will impact retirement and tax planning for many families and will provide new opportunities for those who proactively adjust to the changes. If you are approaching retirement or reviewing your own tax planning strategy, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For those who are interested in even more detail about the SECURE Act 2.0, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/tax-planning/secure-act-2-0-new-tax-law-new-opportunities/.

Medicare is the primary health insurance for most retired Americans, and given how expensive private health insurance has become, many individuals approaching retirement often plan their retirement around their eligibility for Medicare coverage. While Medicare can be very affordable for most retirees, individuals with high incomes often receive an unwelcome surprise when they learn that Medicare premiums are adjusted for those with higher incomes. In this episode, we discuss how an individual’s income can impact their Medicare premiums and the best planning strategies to ensure individuals do not pay larger Medicare premiums than necessary. If you are approaching retirement or on Medicare already, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For those who are interested in even more detail about Medicare premium adjustments, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/tax-planning/why-are-my-medicare-premiums-so-high/.

As we near year-end, charitable giving is once again on the minds of many families. While giving charitably is valuable in its own right, most families are also interested in maximizing the tax benefits of their charitable gifts. Traditionally, the default method for charitable giving is cash, check, or credit card, but these gifts fail to maximize the tax advantages available. In this episode we discuss how gifting long-term appreciated stock can increase the tax benefits families receive from their charitable giving - ultimately reducing the after-tax cost of the gifts they make. We also discuss how to streamline and simplify the gifting process to avoid the hassle that often comes with gifting stock to multiple charities. If you are charitable and would like to maximize your tax savings, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For those who are interested in even more detail on gifting appreciated stock to charity, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/tax-planning/gifting-appreciated-stock-it-is-better-to-give-and-receive/.

For many Americans, saving for retirement is a top priority and ensuring that retirement savings accumulate in the most tax advantaged way is an important step in achieving the retirement of their dreams. For decades, Roth IRA accounts have provided a tax-free option for retirement savings and have accelerated the growth of retirement accounts for many families. While Roth IRA accounts provide attractive tax benefits, there are income limits that restrict the ability of high-income families from contributing to these accounts. Although these income limits appear to eliminate the benefits of a Roth IRA for high-income families, there is an allowable way to work around the restrictions that has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes over the course of a lifetime. Welcome to the back-door Roth IRA strategy.

For those who are interested in even more detail on back-door Roth IRA contributions, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/tax-planning/tax-free-growth-with-back-door-roth-ira-contributions/.