ZG Radio

Whether in retirement or behind the wheel, it’s good to have a plan and a pulse on what is happening around you. Knowing the rules, the technology, and your motivation all plays a part in the route you take with your retirement planning. In this episode, J’Neanne covers a few different topics happening in the news, such as self-driving cars. Then, she answers three questions from the mailbag, including one from someone with a lack of drive to leave a legacy.

See the show notes and read more here. ----more----

Check out the full rundown for this episode:

3:32 – In the News: Ford plans to have 100 self-driving cars by this year.

8:31 – Regardless of new technology, financial advisors are still important.

13:05 – In the News: Congress is working on a bill to raise RMD age.

15:57 – Mailbag: Estate planning without plans to leave a legacy.

19:38 – Mailbag: Are all long-term care policies expensive?

22:35 – Mailbag: Having a hard time spending money in retirement, is something wrong?

There are plenty of proverbs that aren’t meant to be about money, but we can easily learn a financial lesson from them anyway. We’ll show you the hidden money meanings behind some of these popular sayings and answer a question from the mailbag about changing annuities.

Full show notes: https://theuswealthadvisors.com/2019/07/what-popular-proverbs-teach-us-about-money/

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Strategy Points:

 

In The News

1:51 Investing in IPOs

Several tech companies have gone public (or they will be) including Uber, Peloton, Pinterest, and Zoom. Do you recommend people invest in IPOs?

J’Neanne says generally no because there are a lot of unknowns. If you look at Facebook and Amazon, they are not really profitable, but they have high revenue.

Unless you are working in the company and have company stock, you are gambling and speculating and that’s not usually the prudent choice to make with your retirement dollars.

Financial Proverbs

8:00 “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”

The idea of this proverb is that sometimes it’s best to focus on what you already have instead of worrying about trying to get more.

And at some point in your financial life, you should be more focused on not losing your savings instead of trying to maximize the return on your investments. You cannot maximize a return without taking risk. Are you taking risks without compensating?

10:06 “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Everyone is a genius if the market is going up and you’re invested in the market. But the reverse is also true.

11:47 “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

We saw what happened in 2008 -- most people got burned when they were all in one side of the market. This is why it’s so important to diversify in the financial world.

A lot of people still make the mistake of putting too much stock in a company for which you’re also working. J’Neanne shares a story of someone who worked at Fannie Mae and put thousands into company stock.

15:23 “One man’s trash, another man’s treasure.”

People passing around stock tips is a great example of this. Remember that your situation is unique, and your expectations are different from everyone else.

Just because someone is recommending something to you doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be a good fit and a successful venture.

For example, if you have a pension, you may not need an annuity. Whereas for someone else, an annuity might make sense.

Mailbag

21:22 Martin: Changing annuities

Martin says he has money in an annuity but isn’t very happy with it and wants to move it to a different annuity. Will there be a big penalty to take the money out of the current one to move it?

This is called the surrender charge and every annuity has one depending on how it is set up. An annuity company is an insurance company and people will buy the annuity for the guarantee, so it’s important to know what you bought.

Because of the guarantees, the money is expected to stay there for a while.

If you are not happy, it’s important to figure out why. There are advisors who use annuities as part of the planning process and then there are just annuity salespeople. So, if you move to a new product you need to make sure you don’t move to the same thing. Remember, there needs to be a motivating reason to move from one annuity to another.

J’Neanne’s office has an annuity analyzer to help people understand how it works and provide options. Annuities, when appropriate, need to be part of an overall plan. They shouldn’t be implemented as one-time purchases disconnected from a big-picture plan.

The term “fake news” has become synonymous with the political climate of the past few years. But the phenomenon has spread to other parts of our culture as well. What about fake news in the financial space? We’ll look at some recent news headlines to see if they qualify to be labeled as “fake news”.

Full show notes: https://theuswealthadvisors.com/2019/06/how-fake-news-impacts-your-financial-choices

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Strategy Points:

2:00 In the News: Brexit

Will Brexit impact our economy in the U.S.?

J’Neanne shares a few reasons why people are in favor of Brexit.

You might get a spike up or down in the market, but the decisions will pan out and likely not affect the U.S. economy significantly.

7:15 What is fake news?

It’s easy to use hyperbolic language to create a sense of fear.

The news makes you move, one way or another.

8:40 “Social Security going broke!”

Somewhat true in that it will be insolvent by 2035. Congress will have to find a way to continue benefits.

With more people taking Social Security distributions, it is draining the fund more than ever before.

But when you build up an economy where people are paying taxes, that’ll help replenish the Social Security fund.

10:31 “Buy gold now!”

The news claims the dollar will crash and gold will rise in value.

You should ask, how does the rate of gold get established?

Right now, our dollar is stronger than ever with a stable government and economy compared to the rest of the world.

12:58 “Nursing home costs poised to bankrupt millions of Americans”

Nursing home costs are indeed going up.

As a culture we have begun outsourcing care and there isn’t a huge supply.

It won’t bankrupt people, but you will spend down assets faster.

If you don’t have the money, then you will be in a Medicaid home.

16:05 “Market crash--coming soon!”

How do you define soon?

Market crashes can happen from a number of things, but it’s hard to actually predict a market crash.

Even weather can impact the market, be it flooding or hurricanes or tornadoes.

19:24 Additional fake news headlines

Be careful about what is being sold.

Maryland just suffered its largest ponzi scheme.

You need to see documentation to not get sucked into a scam.

You have to be careful on the sites that you frequent, there is a lot of clickbait and also sponsored posts with hidden agendas.

23:15 Getting To Know You: Big trouble

J’Neanne had some fun as a teenager when she lived on base but got pretty scared when she got caught riding a Suzuki 90 without a license.

26:33 Mailbag: Buying a new car

Bradley says his wife just totaled their car. They would need about $30,000 to get a new one, but they only keep $1,000 in the bank. Should they get the money from their IRA and pay taxes? Or use after tax money and pay capital gains?

First, who was at fault? Insurance should cover some of it.

You can get a car loan if you have to get a car right away.

Try to buy a new-used car and then pay the loan down with the insurance money. It’s a bad idea to go into the IRA unless it’s a real emergency.

 

The Spy Kit:

Click the image to get a free retirement rescue toolkit.

More Intel:

The host: J'Neanne Theus - Contact - Call: (443) 718-6310

Subscribe To The "Your Financial Mission" Podcast:

Apple Podcasts

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Today's Mission:

Indecision can be just as dangerous as making the wrong decision. That’s why sometimes you have to decide when to fish or when to cut bait. J’Neanne will walk us through five holdups that might stall your financial decisions. We also answer a listener question about rental properties.

View the full show notes here: https://theuswealthadvisors.com/2019/06/5-holdups-stalling-your-financial-decisions

 

Strategy Points:

6:16 Too Many Decisions to Make

If you don’t feel comfortable with what you are trying to do, you need to sit down with a professional to discuss retirement planning.

There are a lot of different philosophies on how to build your retirement strategy.

Instead of “right” decisions, there are often better and more economical decisions.

The laws change, the opportunities change, your life changes. You have to have some flexibility.

10:00 Too Much Research

Becoming overly educated on so many different decisions can cause you to feel overwhelmed.

Doing too much research is like counting the blades of grass in your yard.

Don’t get caught up on the minutiae, think about the bigger picture. Always keep the end goals in mind.

13:34 General Confusion

Math is not money, and money is not math.

You are probably pretty smart and good at what you do, but can you experience the same success in retirement planning when that’s not your specialty and your life’s work?

Look at tax consultants as an example. The rules changes every year, so even they get confused if they’re not staying abreast of the most recent changes.

15:13 You Don’t Like Talking About Money

Perhaps you have a past perception that money is a dirty topic.

Realize it now, you can’t get around talking about money.

The decisions about money are just as important as the money itself.

16:45 Traumatic Life Events Can Stall Decisions

Divorces, illnesses and death can be devastating events that might leave you unable to make proper decisions about your own or a loved one’s money.

You might be vulnerable following these times, so don’t do anything drastic for at least a year.

You need to recover emotionally before you can make these major decisions.

22:18 Getting to Know You: Movies

What movie can you watch multiple times and enjoy it every time?

Good storylines, casting, and cinematography influence J’Neanne’s favorites.

31:34 Mailbag: Inheriting Rental Property

Harriet says her aunt died recently, leaving her to inherit a rental property unexpectedly. What should she do?

Realize your aunt wanted you to have it for your opportunity, you don’t have to keep it.

Do you want to be a homeowner and deal with the responsibilities of a landlord?

If not, you either hire someone as a property manager or sell the property.

 

The Spy Kit:

Click the image to get a free retirement rescue toolkit.

More Intel:

The host: J'Neanne Theus - Contact - Call: (443) 718-6310

Subscribe To The "Your Financial Mission" Podcast:

Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Google Play

Stitcher

What do Kohl’s, Disney, and McDonald’s have in common? They're all making headlines as they roll out new business plans. J’Neanne talks about how their plans could affect you as an investor. Then, love is in the air with today’s question from the mailbag...but is debt hovering as well? 

For J'Neanne's Retirement Rescue Toolkit, go to: http://theuswealthadvisors.com/shock/

To read more on J'Neanne's blog, go to: https://theuswealthadvisors.com/2019/05/in-the-news-business-plans-and-a-bride-to-be/

There’s a buzzword in the financial world called “safe money”, but it has many definitions . Everyone wants their money to be safe to a certain extent, but you need to balance risk and safety in your portfolio. Theres also a lot of misinformation out there, so J’Neanne shares everything you need to know about safe money.

For J'Neanne's Retirement Rescue Toolkit, go to: http://theuswealthadvisors.com/shock/

To read more on J'Neanne's blog, go to: https://theuswealthadvisors.com/2019/05/what-is-safe-money/

Are you wondering if it’s “safe” to retire? What kind of factors should you consider beforehand? In looking at your lifestyle and preparing you for some of the unknowns, J’Neanne gives some pointers on how to know when you’re ready to retire. She then talks tax reform as we put Tax Day 2019 behind us.

For J'Neanne's Retirement Rescue Toolkit, go to: http://theuswealthadvisors.com/shock/

To read more on J'Neanne's blog, go to: https://theuswealthadvisors.com/2019/04/when-is-it-safe-to-retire/

Today we’re tackling five financial pain points you will likely face--if not now, then in the future. Do you know how you plan to address these in your life? Then, we’ll talk about J’Neanne’s thoughts on taxing the rich and saving for college.

Visit https://theuswealthadvisors.com/2019/04/5-common-pain-points-in-your-financial-life/ for the full blog post, show notes and links to resources related to this episode.

Everyone has a junk drawer somewhere full of odds and ends. We’ll talk about the six financial things you probably have sitting in a drawer somewhere as well and what you need to do to dust them off and make sure they're put to use. Then, J’Neanne talks about student loans and the ripple effect they have in the financial world.

For J'Neanne's Retirement Rescue Toolkit, go to: http://theuswealthadvisors.com/shock/

To read more on J'Neanne's blog, go to: https://theuswealthadvisors.com/2019/03/6-things-wasting-away-in-your-financial-junk-drawer/

On this all-mailbag edition of the podcast, learn how your Social Security will be taxed. We'll also explore how cash settlements and inheritances could change your retirement.

For J'Neanne's Retirement Rescue Toolkit, go to: http://theuswealthadvisors.com/shock/

To read more on J'Neanne's blog, go to: https://theuswealthadvisors.com/2019/03/understanding-your-social-security-taxation/