In this episode I'm going to begin to show you how home equity, paying off your mortgage, fails all four tests of a wise investment. It's very popular and very comfortable to pay off your mortgage but compared to the alternative way of being debt free it's a terrible financial decisions. The first test that home equity fails is the Liquidity Test...listen in to hear what I mean.
This is where I started my career as a Financial Educator eleven years ago! An expert in Mortgage Planning, which is using mortgages to create a better retirement, trained me personally over about a twelve month period. The mortgage is the most powerful tool in retirement planning and personal finances. You will not believe what the mortgage can do to lower risk, increase returns, increase retirement income, increase long term care, take better care of a spouse if you pass away, etc. This episode will introduce a series I'm doing on Mortgage Planning.
This is a lighthearted episode where I tell the story of my son and I being asked to go pig hunting in Hawaii by a complete stranger. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! As it turns out feral pigs and joker brokers actually have a lot in common so I decided to use this pig hunting experience to teach a financial truth. Enjoy!
Are you enjoying your marriage to the IRS? Did you know you can divorce the IRS and choose not to pay taxes on IRA/401k Income in the future? For those who think taxes may go up this episode explores the option of converting your existing Qualified Plan money (401ks, IRAs, TSPs, 403bs, 457s, etc.) to Roth IRA where you pay off the IRS so you never owe taxes on this money again....no matter how high taxes go.
Taking money from IRAs and 401ks may allow the IRS to charge taxes on your Social Security Income. In this episode I'll do a brief explanation of the problem we call The Tax Torpedo.
Most people should not be using 401ks and IRAs to save for retirement. So what should you be doing? Should you use pretax money and invest in 401ks and IRAs or after tax money and use Roth IRAs and Cash Value Life Insurance? It's actually a very simple matter of just answering two simple questions I call "The Litmus Test". Listen and and find out which way you should be saving for retirement.
In this second episode of Tax Week I'm going to talk a bit about the IRS's job and how to play the game of lowering taxes while having fun. I'll introduce you to the most successful card the IRS has ever played in the game they play which is "take our money and make it THEIRS".
In this episode I interview Author David McKnight, who teaches retirees how to be in a zero percent tax bracket. We also talk a bit about a new book he has just released
There's a place to put your money where it will grow by a guaranteed 8%-9% per year. Sound too good to be true? Listen to this short episode and see which tool it is and how to use it.
How would you answer this question? "Musicians make a lot of money?". It's a hard question to answer....which musician? Some do, some don't. Well, what if someone says "Annuities have high fees" or "Cash value life insurance is a bad investment"? I'm going to give you a tool that will protect you from the bad guys who make sweeping statements to try to get you to buy what pays them the most.
In this episode I'm going to walk you through a process I went through in the beginning of my career as a retirement planner. Let's look at the entire history of the S&P 500 Index and see if we can find any clues on how it moves, what happens after loss years, how many loss years vs. gain years etc. There are some hidden gems for your financial planning decisions in looking at how the S&P 500 Index moves.
How important is it to have coaches and mentors that you follow in anything you do? Extremely important....the best performers in the world, the people who achieve the best results at what they do, all have coaches. In this episode I'll explain some of my journey using coaches, talk about the status of today's financial gurus and tell you how to find people who tell the truth.
Is it prudent to think that the market, and our economy, will behave in exactly the same way as two thirds of the work force retires, stops putting money into the stock market and begins to take it out? Is there a chance that the financial "weather" we've experienced as the Baby Boomers saved for retirement may change as they take all of that money out of the market to spend in retirement? This is what I cover in this episode.
My host is in a different time zone so this looks like it was released on July 5th but trust me....I posted it on the fourth a July like a good American Podcaster! On this Independence Day let me teach you how to make a Declaration of Financial Independence.
Competition is great, and capitalism is great, but there's something that's allowed in all industries that I don't think should be allowed in the Financial Services Industry. The damage that this is causing to your retirement is far too much of a price to pay. In this episode I will explain why it's OK when selling popcorn but doing the same thing to retirees...not OK.
What are ten sure fire ways to improve your retirement? I'm glad you asked. That's exactly what I'll cover in this episode...ten things you can do to set up your financial and retirement plan for maximum results and maximum enjoyment.
What are the top ten things you absolutely have to avoid to have the best retirement possible? I'll cover them in this episode. Whether you are 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70 avoiding these ten mistakes will dramatically improve your financial and retirement planning.