Hosts: , CFP®, AIF® and Joe Bert, CFP®, AIF®
Well good Saturday morning to you, everybody. I am Kyle Cassandra and this is On the Money with the Certified Financial Group here on News 965 WDBO. It’s ask the experts weekend. Joe Bert and Nancy Hecht are here this morning, good morning guys.
Good morning.
Good morning.
How are you today?
Great, good.
We’re doing great.
It’s getting warm where the northeast is in the 10s and 20s, Nancy, I know <Inaudible>.
<Inaudible> I’ve lived in Florida.
<Inaudible> this cold weather.
I do not miss it at all.
We saw the weather report right before we went off and was like ah man, I don’t <Inaudible>.
<Inaudible>.
Joe, what are we doing here at 9:00 on a Saturday on WDBO?
Nancy and I are here to take your questions regarding anything that might be on your mind regarding your personal finances. We go through life trying some of this, trying some of that, and wake up when we’re 55 years old. Look across the breakfast table to Loretta and say Loretta, what are we going to do? The paychecks are going to stop here pretty soon and now we have this 401k, got this IRA, got this stuff we’ve accumulated. How do we turn all of that stuff into income so we can maintain that lifestyle that we’ve come to know and enjoy.
<Inaudible> buy lottery tickets.
That may be our only solution. But we are here to answer those questions that might be on your mind regarding your personal finances. Because as I said, we go through life with a collection of financial accidents and we are your financial body shops, and we’re here to take your questions that you might have about your IRA, about a 401k. A lot of reverse mortgage, about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, long-term healthcare, annuities, life insurance, all that and more. We are here to take your questions and we are also I think ready on Facebook live. We are live on Facebook live, so if you want to go to your Facebook page and go to Certified Financial Group — how do we do that, Donny? We go to Certified Financial Group.
Facebook.com/ <Inaudible>.
Thank you, thank you.
Facebook.com/CertifiedFinancialGroup.
So you can see behind-the-scenes, you can catch up with Nancy and me here this morning taking your calls. So we are here and the good news is the lines are relatively wide open. We already have a caller in line, Kyle, so why don’t we jump right to it?
Well we haven’t screened him yet, so hang on.
<Inaudible> in light of that, in light of that.
Well, we’ve got the phone number. 844-220-0965. So you get the Facebook, you get the camera in there, <Inaudible>. 844-220-0965. That’s 844-220-0965. The text machine is up and running as well, 21232. 21232, and if you want to watch us on Facebook, you can put Certified Financial Group in the search bar too. That’ll bring up that page <Inaudible> and then will bring you to the Certified Financial Group page and you’ll see the video right there at the top.
<Inaudible>.
Last week, we had a caller that called about his 14 year old daughter that was making money doing commercials, and had asked about what type of retirement plan could be had for her. And there is such a thing as a custodial IRA, so wanted to let that gentleman know that that could be established for his daughter.
There you go <Inaudible>.
Just taking a left over question from last week.
That’s great, thank you. Alright, so we are here, Kyle? We got a caller?
Well, we do. We have Al, Al is ready to go. Al is up and on the line right now. You’re up first on the Certified Financial Group right here on WDBO.
Hi, Al.
Hey, good morning.
<Inaudible> IRA <Inaudible> I’m 31 right now and I already took required minimum distribution. If you get a little bit short on cash where you need a new <Inaudible> before they send you the statement, <Inaudible> can you do a partial withdrawal of funds?
Al, you can take whatever you want out of that when you want it. The only thing the government is concerned is that you take the required minimum distribution.
Right.
So that money is always yours. When you want it, you’ve got it, it’s yours, take it.
So if you pull out more and you pay taxes on it, the federal government is going to be very happy with you.
But can you get <Inaudible> suppose that <Inaudible> withdraw $7,000, you know. You can say well for now give me $2,000 and then later on pay the 5,000, whatever?
Yes, as long as but December 31st of the year you have at least the minimum that’s required withdrawn, you’re fine. It doesn’t matter how you take it. Often, <Inaudible> clients that are just starting to take the required minimum distributions, they ask how can they get it. And you can really get it in any manner that is most appropriate for you. Some people take it out monthly, some take it quarterly. We have a lot of clients that take it out in a lump sum. But Al, as long as you take the minimum, it doesn’t matter how you take it.
So it has be done before December 31st?
That’s correct.
Correct, correct.
Don’t they send me the letter? <Inaudible> I’m a dinosaur, okay?
Yes.
So <Inaudible> send me a letter saying how much you have to take out.
Right.
Yeah.
They’ll send you a letter and that’s the amount you have to take out by the end of the year. So if you want to take out a little now and take out some later, as long as you take out that amount by December 31st as Nancy said, you’re in good shape.
Alright, thank you very much.
Alright Al, thanks for the call.
Alright. If you want Al’s line, that’s 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. Today’s topic I have here on the messenger: Do this now, three moves to make before the end of the year.
Exactly, exactly. I’m sure there’s more than three but I think that these are the most important. A lot of people now are getting their property tax bills. So we’ve talked in the past about doing something we call bunching deductions. So let’s say that you know next year you’re up for a raise. So your income might be a little bit higher. You do have the option to wait until after January 1st to pay this year’s property tax bill. And then pay next year’s property tax bill, so you have double the property tax deduction assuming you can itemize in 2018. So looking at things like that or charitable contributions that you normally make, and getting additional deductions in the years that you think your income might be a little bit higher to help reduce the taxability of it a little bit.
So let me stop you here. So you have the option — you’ve got the tax bill now.
Right.
So if you paid your tax bill last January, you can also do that this year and double off this year.
Right, exactly.
Or as you said, if you get <Inaudible> more income next year, you can do the same thing, pay it in January then pay it the end of the fall.
Yes, last year I did that. I paid two property tax bills in one year, so yeah. You can do that, many people do that as a charitable contribution <Inaudible> you know how much you normally make to organizations and if there’s an unexpected cash influx in a particular year, then you can just do two years worth of deductions in one year. Another thing that you can do, a lot of people are looking at their statements and they’re seeing that there’s some nice gains in some of their investments. And if you happen to be in a 10% or 15% tax bracket, you can take your gains and pay 0% on those capital gains.
Not bad.
The maximum tax on capital gains is 20%. And if you’re re-balancing your portfolio, you can look at matching up some gains against maybe some items that have taken a little bit of a loss. And then those gains will also become tax-free if you’re above the 15% tax bracket. And the last thing — and this is really appropriate now, is disaster losses. For people who had suffered some losses from the hurricane, generally you’re allowed to take 100% of your losses and then you have a 10% threshold. Your losses have to be more than 10% of your adjusted gross income to be able to take a loss deduction. But in September, Congress approved legislation to waive that. So active the first $500, the 10% threshold does not matter. So <Inaudible> okay so if you suffered say $5,000 worth of losses, you can write off $4,500 worth of the loss and it does not matter if that $4,500 is 10% of your adjusted gross income or not. You can still use it as a straight —
Like a $500 deductible.
Okay.
Right. Itemized deduction.
Right, right.
Whereas in the past, if that $4,500 was not more than 10% of your adjusted gross income, you could not take any <Inaudible> off.
So one more things, that’s our charitably inclined folks, that <Inaudible> may want to consider is doing a direct transfer of your RMD up to $100,000 directly to the charity before the end of the year. And that’s another way to <Inaudible>
But you have to do that before December 31st.
Right, right. And what you would need is the name, the address, and the tax ID number of the charity. So it has to be a direct transfer. It can’t flow through you, it’s got to go directly from your custodian to the charity. We do for a lot of our clients, but you’ve got to be over 70 and a half years old.
There you go.
Your on tax <Inaudible> right here.
<Inaudible>. Well now is the time. Now is when we’re thinking of okay, November <Inaudible>
The next six weeks are going to go really fast.
Well Thanksgiving and then every weekend you’re going to be shopping and then the Christmas party starts and then boom, already it’s January.
It’s <Inaudible> already. <Inaudible>.
November and December always go by super fast. Well 844-220-0965 is the number to jump in on the conversation today if you have a question about anything we just talked about. Got something on your mind? It’s already November. It’s November 11th, it’s Veteran’s Day already, can you believe that?
Yeah, just a shout out to all of our veterans for their years of service. <Inaudible> do that, I just jump right in there.
No, you can do that today. Go right ahead, that’s okay. It’s you’re show, I’m all good with that. It is Veteran’s Day, but I would also say if you’re a veteran, any VA benefits questions you may have that you can get answered for you as well, 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. Or you can text at 21232 if you — now you can shout to veterans.
There you go. <Inaudible> Shout out to all of our veterans for their service. Just a reminder, for those folks that are committed to going to Gary Abely’s mutual fund seminar, that’s today. It is sold out, booked up, filled up, standing room only, and that is done. So if you signed up for it, I’m sure he’d appreciate you showing up and taking the seat you signed up for. And the next one coming up —
Got two in a row, that he has sold out there.
Yeah, well he does a Medicare thing that everybody is interested in. The next one coming up is everything you want <Inaudible> today. When can you retire, you know your number. This is always a popular one as well.
Yes.
People retire and they have no idea if the money will last throughout their lifetime. So Gary will be doing that —
Knowing your number is key because what’s the finish line, what’s the goal, what am I <Inaudible> to. You can’t just pick a number out of your head. It’s good to sit there and say you know what, okay, I want to do this and I want to do this and I want to do this. Okay, what’s that number?
Well it encompasses a lot. I met with a couple yesterday and was doing a plan presentation. And they had not realized until they fill out what we call a blue form, <Inaudible> extent of expenses. And how much money they’re actually spending every single year.
Yeah.
Instead well — in retirement, <Inaudible> going to be less. And we have found often, that no that is not the case. Health insurance and healthcare costs tend to increase and they end up spending more money. Travel, vacation, on the kids <Inaudible>
That house paid off, but your healthcare bill looks like a mortgage payment.
Yeah.
<Inaudible> real disasters out there. We’ve had some clients walk in that are shopping the ACA and man alive <?>, it’s scary what’s out there unfortunately.
I can tell you from personal experience going through it right now, we have a choice between $2,700 a month in premiums or $4,000 a month in premiums depending on what services we’re <Inaudible>.
Wow.
That’s a <Inaudible>.
I heard somebody that other day <Inaudible> only had something like a $30,000 deductible, like that’s not health insurance. That’s <Inaudible>.
It’s called catastrophic.
Yeah, that’s exactly what that was. But you know, that’s something to think about and that’s something you guys help with over here at the Certified Financial Group. You sit there, sit down, no matter what age you are. 50, 45, 40, 35, anybody in the 20s, <Inaudible> plenty of time now, yeah.
Yeah, the beginning of this year was really nice. I saw so many people in their 20s and their 30s, and it really made me happy that they were embracing some planning.
I think what’s going on is they’re seeing perhaps their parents struggling.
Right.
And the wake up call is coming. But their parents didn’t see their parents struggle, and that’s what’s going on.
Yeah.
It’s that World War II generation that had the house paid for, didn’t have a lot of debt, didn’t have the big wedding, didn’t have the college expenses and all of that stuff <Inaudible> with modest means, they got through it. So that generation didn’t see their parents. But now the younger generation are seeing their parents struggle because their parents didn’t plan.
Yeah, and I know a lot of people who think aw my parents struggled. I’m like, no they didn’t. They got there and they’re <Inaudible> all of the assets they have, look at how much they saved. But it was the <Inaudible> no no no, we can’t buy that. They could be perfectly fine and well off and they’ll still be buying dollar toilet paper at the dollar store, which you got — parents, they’re just spending ridiculous amounts of money on everything.
<Inaudible> this is a discussion we had with our daughter a couple of weeks ago. Because she entered college in 2009. So right after everything imploded in 2008, so there was a seismic shift in her world and what we were able to do for her. And I had to consistently say no to her.
I think that has a lot to do with it. You think you have a lot of the 20-somethings now that were teenagers when the market crashed.
Right, right.
So all of the layoffs, all of their parents get laid off at 56 and go what am I going to do now, that now as they’re getting in, they’ve got their money. Oh now I’ve got — they’re sitting and looking at a 401k and a company matching. <Inaudible> make sure I don’t screw this up.
Yeah, yeah. But the nice thing is she’s telling all of her co-workers you have to be doing this, you should be putting more into your 401k.
I thought I was with everybody else, filling out my 401k and planning for retirement and apparently a lot of my friends aren’t. And they look to me for advice. I go woah woah woah, I’m not the planner. I just do it.
<Inaudible> worst thing is when first of all, the people don’t take advantage of the free money. Because many companies have a match. And people aren’t taking advantage of that and many people think they’re maxing out when they’re just <Inaudible>.
Just contributing to the match, yeah.
I made that mistake, <Inaudible> yes, I did make that mistake until I started doing this show on a regular basis.
There you go, so <Inaudible> your age, you can put in 18,000.
Well and what you have to realize is the money is going out of your pocket one way or another. Either it’s going into another bucket that has your name on it which is 401k, or it’s going to another bucket that has the name of IRS on it for <Inaudible>.
Alright, well 844-220-0965. We’re up against the three big things you need to know. 844-220-0965 is the number to joint us in if you’re listening and you don’t have anything planned. And you just don’t know where to get started or what to do, that’s what we do here on the radio today free of charge. 844-220-0965. We do have a text question in at 21232, we will answer that right after we get the three big things you need to know. We are planning tomorrow —
Today.
With Joe Bert and Nancy Hecht from the Certified Financial Group here on News 965 WDBO.
Hey, welcome back. This is On the Money with the Certified Financial Group here on News 965 WDBO. It’s ask the experts weekend, Joe Bert and Nancy Hecht are live here in the studio, taking your phone calls at 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. We also have a text machine up and running as well, 21232. Lots to get to here in this short segment because we are three minutes away from the latest news, weather, and traffic, so let’s get back to our phone call. Talk to Jeff in Orlando. Jeff, you’re on with Joe and Nancy here on WDBO. Good morning.
Good morning.
Hi, Jeff.
Good morning, Jeff.
Hi everybody.
What’s your question?
So I found out that I’m able to do durable medical equipment and home modifications through insurance due to one of my certifications, and I currently work in the public school system. My question is I had my FRS <sp?> retirement which is the Florida retirement. So I have that in place, but I also have a 403b with about 40,000 in it right now. So assume these home modifications and equipment become very expensive. So my question is should I cash out my 403b because this is all pre-authorized, and once I get an authorization I am able to supply the equipment and get reimbursement from insurance. Would that be something worth cashing the 403b out?
Well, first of all how old are you, Jeff?
35.
35, okay. So anything that you pull out of the 403b, you’re going to pay ordinary income tax on plus a 10% penalty for early withdrawal. Is that the only source of cash that you might have?
At this point, yes because we also have two rental properties and we just got some hurricane damage, so that <Inaudible>.
Okay, alright. Well I mean if that’s the only place that you have for cash. I mean we’re not fans of using your retirement account as a piggy bank and especially if you might be wiping that whole thing out. You just have to be prepared to pay those taxes.
And so the other part that gets really fun is my student loans are under the income-based repayment. Will that jump those up?
Yes, it will. Because <Inaudible> taxable income. One thing you might look at is if it’s inevitable that you’re going to definitely use this 403b, take part this year and part next year, or close to the end of the year. And if you take part of it now and then the rest that you’re going to need for the business in January, then it’s going to be spread over two different tax years.
I didn’t think about that, that’s a good idea.
I don’t know if that will help or not, but that’s one way to spread it out and maybe preserve what’s going on with your student loans.
Alright, well I appreciate.
Okay.
Yeah, <Inaudible>. Alright Jeff, thanks so much for the phone call. If you want Jeff’s line, it’s 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. We are up against the latest news, weather, and traffic here so Caroline, hang on the line. I also see we have a couple of text questions in at 21232, if you do have a text question please keep it to about 160 characters, that’s all we can see on our screen. I know sometimes our questions get cut off if it’s a long text. That’s what the phone lines are for. So give us a call, we can have some bounce back. 844-220-0965. We’re planning tomorrow —
Today.
With Joe Bert and Nancy Hechts from the Certified Financial Group here on News 965 WDBO.
Alright, welcome back. This On the Money with the Certified Financial Group here on News 965 WDBO. We have Joe Bert, Nancy Hecht, playing the <Inaudible> Saturday morning at 9:35. We’re taking your phone calls as well. 844-220-0965. Why don’t we take in your <Inaudible> Joe?
We’re here to answer any questions that might be on your mind regarding your personal finances. As we say, we go through life trying some of this, trying some of that, wake up when we’re 55 years old and find out we had a collection of financial accidents. So we are your financial planning body shop. We will repair those dents and damages. Put a little bondo on there, paint you up, and get you out the door.
A little bondo.
Bondo. So all you have to do is pick up the phone and dial these magic numbers.
844-220-0965. Bondo on the 401k plan.
That’s it.
844-220-0965.
Do you know what bondo is?
I was just saying to myself that my people and younger than me don’t know what <Inaudible>.
You’ve never been in a body shop?
Well we said that — what was it, last week when we said do they still make bondo? What is bondo? Do you just put it on his bumper and put it back together, yeah.
That’s the stuff they used to repair dents and damage in your car.
That was the <Inaudible> paste or <Inaudible> on your car. <Inaudible> Yeah, that was a good one.
Bondo.
That was a good put in on and smooth it out, <Inaudible> it on and you never <Inaudible>.
<Inaudible> old sign. You ever see like those old signs, those old brands? I <Inaudible> those signs, <Inaudible>. Alright, well you guys text machine is up and running. We got our phone calls rolling, so let’s get back to them. Let’s go to Caroline in Merrot Island, has been hanging on for a little while.
Caroline.
Caroline, you’re on WDBO.
Hey, good morning.
Good morning how could we help you?
Good morning.
How can we help you?
Well my question, you guys were talking about the deductions, doing the <Inaudible> whole property taxes or charitable deduction in retirement. So where do you get the best bang for your buck?
Well, what you have to do is look at your own tax situation and determine whether or not you’re going to be able to use the deduction. A lot of people do that, they double up on the deduction like Nancy said for charitable or property taxes. They get double deductions in one year, so you can get over that threshold of the standard deduction. So depending on your own personal situation, how much you’re paying in property taxes and what you give to charity and so forth, that’s what you have to look at.
One thing you could do <Inaudible> oh I’m sorry, go on.
No I mean, I’m just saying would it be better to make a charity deduction or —
No, that’s <Inaudible> the same.
Yeah, if you can <Inaudible> if you can itemize, you can itemize. So it’s whatever is going to work easiest for you, whatever is going to give you the warm fuzzies. If it’s doing more charitable versus paying a double property tax. And if you want to see what’s going to be most effective, you can go on IRS.gov and download 1040s, just do a little thumbnail and see. If I do an extra $1,000 it’ll push me into this level, and I can then itemize and do more.
However, one word of caution. There is a phase-out of charitable contributions over a certain income level. So dollar for dollar, your property taxes will get you there without. And unless your income is high, then you don’t have to worry about the charitable deduction phase-out. But some folks because of their income, don’t get dollar for dollar on the charitable contributions.
Okay, and what about doing a retirement investment? Because I’m a real estate agent so I have to do everything <Inaudible>.
Well I mean every penny that you can do pre-tax or through a SEP or a SIMPLE or any type of deductible thing is going to be the best and first and foremost in my mind, you know?
You’re self-employed?
Yes, I am.
You ought to consider setting up what we call a uni-k, a one-person 401k plan. And you can combine that with regular contributions, put over $50,000 into that on a pre-tax basis. You’ve got to be talking to a financial planner. I know, he’s on my back.
Well, get him off your back and get him in front of you and get it going, because the year is closing. In fact, you have to have that 401k set up by the end of the year. However, you don’t have to fund it until you file your taxes. So you may not have the cash flow now but you have to have it set up. Alright?
If he’s listening, I’m sure I’m going to get a call. Thank you.
<Inaudible> for the call. Alright, if you want Caroline’s line, it’s 844-220-0965. 844-220-0965. Let’s go to Nancy in Orlando. Nancy, you’re up next here with the Certified Financial Group here on WDBO.
Hi, I have a health insurance question. I have Medicare parts A and B <sp?> for my health insurance and I’m finding there are a lot of things that Medicare doesn’t cover. And my premium for the part B which is the doctors office visits is going up to $134 a month in January. And I was told by my providers that self-pay patients get 75% discount off of the regular charge that they would normally charge the insurance.
Wow.
So I’m wondering if it would benefit me to just drop my part B insurance and use the numbers saved on the premium to — no?
No, no, no, no, no. Because you don’t know that everybody is going to do that.
Oh.
Yeah. You’re playing with fire there because you’re assuming that the doctor you’re going to go to will do that for you, but you want to have that coverage. And I understand what that opportunity is for you, but I wouldn’t do that.
And you might want to ask while keeping it, if you’re at a doctors office. If I self-pay versus you running through my insurance, will I get this discount? So by maintaining and asking the question, you have the choice.
I did ask that, and they said if you have the insurance, they have to run it through <Inaudible>.
You don’t want to drop your part B, what you want to look at is a Medicare supplement, and that’s what they’re out there for.
I can’t get a supplement because I’m under 65 and it’s very, very expensive, it’s like $500 for <Inaudible>.
Ah, okay.
Because I’m on disability.
Ah, okay.
Alright, yeah don’t drop it. Hang onto it. Yeah, sorry about that.
Okay, thank you.
Okay, thanks for the call.
Thank you, Nancy, for the phone call. If you would like Nancy’s line, it’s 844-220-0965. Let’s go to William in Daytona. William, you’re up next with the Certified Financial Group here on WDBO.
Good morning, William.
Hi, William.
Morning.
What can we do for you?
<Inaudible>.
I’m $18,000 in credit card debt and I’m currently a student. Am I savvy or am I slick using my cost of living loan for school to pay down my credit card debt, get a lower interest rate?
You’re using your student loans to pay down your credit card debt, is that what you’re doing?
Well yeah, <Inaudible> student loans for the amount of school but I can take out a cost of living loan to pay for supplements throughout the year, but I’m paying 3% through the get government and <Inaudible> with the credit card.
Oh yeah, yeah you could do that. And the key is to get rid of the credit cards because they’re in your pocket and you’ll use them again and find yourself in the same position. So anytime you can borrow and lower interest rate and pay off a higher interest rate, you’re money ahead.
Okay, so I’m not crazy, thank you.
No, it’s a smart idea as long as you keep your spending in check. And you do not put more going forward on the credit card than you can afford to pay off when you get the bill.
Correct. Thank you.
Alright, thank you.
Alright, just like that, thanks so much William for the phone call. If you want William’s line, it’s 844-220-0965. Text machine 21232. Kat in Kissimmee is up next. Kat, you’re on with Joe Bert and Nancy Hecht, certified financial planning professionals from the Certified Financial Group here on WDBO.
Good morning, Kat.
Good morning. Thank you for taking my call.
Sure.
I’m about to retire and I have a pension actually an investment that I can take the whole thing. And then I have a rollover from another job, and then I have tax-deferred savings account from my job.
Okay.
Okay.
So what I’m wondering is when I retire, I’m thinking I should put them all into one piggy bank.
You can do that. I mean — I would want to know and I’m sure it’s Joe’s first thought too, have you sat down with anyone like us to look at where you’re at now and how you’re living your life and cost of living. Bring out all this stuff under one bucket is nice, one statement, one area to pull withdrawals from. There’s a lot of ease of recordkeeping in management. But then how to have those dollars invested and allocated to best suit your needs is an important part of the picture also.
You mentioned you can cash in your pension and get a lump sum, I think that’s what your first comment was there, Kat?
To roll over into another account.
Right, so she would roll over that, the old 401k, and then the current one.
Yeah, you want to have that looked at because one of the things that we like when you’re going into retirement is guaranteed income and a pension will provide that. In some cases, it makes sense to grab the pension and in some cases, it makes sense to cash it in and roll it into an IRA and draw from your IRA as you need it. Are you married, Kat?
Yes.
You’re married.
And it’s Pat.
Pat, I’m sorry. <Inaudible>
Oh yeah, <Inaudible>. Kyle said Kat.
Okay, so we got you.
Yeah.
Pat, you should really have a plan done for you. You’re entering a phase of life when mistakes can be critical and you’re about to make some decisions with a lot of money that you’re going to look at for the rest of your life as to how do I do what I want to do. And the only way to really get that answer is to sit down with someone that would do this for you for a fee. Won’t do it for free, because if they’re doing it for free, chances are they want to sell you something. So you want somebody that will spend time with you, sit across the table with you and develop something that will work for you and is customer tailored for you that’ll give you the guidance. And that’s what we do with Certified Financial Group, been doing it now for 40 <?> years and we’d be glad to take you on as a client. But you’re in that critical point in time, Pat, where you need to have somebody really crunch some numbers for you. And then the best thing you get out of this is peace of mind. Because for the first time, you’ll know exactly what you’ll need to do and why you’re doing, then you can sail off into the sunset and enjoy your retirement.
So Pat, feel free to <Inaudible>
Yeah, I have a town house also that is about to pay off. And I’m thinking about selling that to put in the pot as well.
Okay.
Sure, sure. Well, it may not makes sense to do that. Depending on what the return is on that town house, where it’s located, then that might be a good investment that you want to hang onto as it gives you a little diversification of real estate.
If there’s a potential gain or loss in that.
Right, right.
Pat, feel free to give us a call. Our phone is 407-869 —
Well you know I can’t write that down while I’m driving.
Oh, okay. Alright, <Inaudible>. So when you get home, look up financialgroup.com and then you can get the <Inaudible> phone number and you can click on a tab to request a complimentary consultant.
And you have News965.com or we have all of our listings as well, that’s another way. I’m just trying to thinking what’s an easy way to remember. But CertifiedFinancialGroup.com, the easiest way. Alright, Pat, thanks so much. Sorry I called you Kat there. I did the K instead of the P when they put your name in on the computer screen. Let’s go to I believe — John has been hanging on long. It’s John in Orlando, you’re on with the Certified Financial Group here on WDBO.
Hi, John.
Good morning. I have five agency <?> funds and just recently none of them are paying any principal. They’re paying interest, but not principal.
Okay.
<Inaudible> I don’t know why.
Well were they designed to be self liquidating?
Well, yeah. When they mature, they just disappear, yes.
Okay.
Well wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute. Let’s back up. First of all, who’s the issuer?
You mean like a — they’re agency funds.
From?
Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae, federal home loan.
Okay, okay. So you were getting a check for a period of time and now the checks have stopped?
Well he’s getting interest only, no more principal repayment.
Right, right. I’m wondering why people aren’t paying the mortgages and I’m not getting any principal back.
Well, probably because the interest rates are very low and there is no urgency to pay them off.
Well that’s it, yeah. <Inaudible> 3%.
Yes, that’s why. That’s a great mortgage and people aren’t rushing to pay those off anymore. Back in the day when interest rates were higher and you could refinance at a lower interest rate, people were rushing to pay off their bonds and you’ve got principal and interest coming back on those loans.
Yeah, so you’re not seeing a lot of refinancing right now, you’re not seeing a lot of pre-payments.
Right.
Okay, yeah you answered my questions. That’s great. But can this go on like forever or <Inaudible>.
Well at least — forever or to the maturity of the bonds.
Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah — well no, well let’s see. Most of the bonds — I bought them with the average life span, anywhere from two and a half to three years.
Oh, okay.
And it’s been — most of them were bought in 2012.
Okay. It’s a little bit hard, John, without seeing the actual bonds or being able to look up the bonds to see what’s going on with them. We do have the ability to search.
But the basic problem is people aren’t refinancing, that’s why you’re not getting the principal payment.
Huh, right. And, I mean it could go on for a long time since they’re not refinancing?
Yes it can, at 3%. But there’s <Inaudible>
But there’s a secondary market. You could sell them in a secondary market and get something for them. Whatever the market will pay for them. It’s not like it’s illiquid.
But it guarantees 3%, is not so bad in today’s world when you compare it to checking and savings, money market <Inaudible> pay you.
Instead of 0.03%, you’re getting 3%.
Yes, exactly.
<Inaudible> looking for more income, but unfortunately John you got to remember when you’re getting that check with the principal coming back with the interest, ultimately that’s going to disappear — I mean it stops.
And the interest payments will decrease because it’s being paid on a small amount.
<Inaudible>. Well thanks for the call, John.
Yeah John, we appreciate it. We are up against the break here, but if you want John’s line, it’s 844-220-0965. We are planning tomorrow —
Today.
With Joe Bert and Nancy Hechts certified planning professionals and Certified Financial Group. Again, 844-220-0965. Time to get the three big things you need to know.
Welcome back, it’s the final segment of On the Money with the Certified Financial Group here on News 965 WDBO. It’s your last chance to get your question answered and we have some people on the phone lines and a text question to get to. So let’s get right to it, let’s talk to Mike in St. Cloud. Mike, you’re on WDBO. Good morning.
Good morning Mike.
Hi Mike.
Yeah, good morning.
How can we help you?
Good morning guys, thank you so, I love you so.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
I just wanted to get to the point there. I want to start a college fund for my grandson, but I want to be able to maybe between just me and him. Because I don’t like my kids, I don’t trust my kids, they’re just waiting for me to die, you know, that kind of thing. I just want to do something that I can do for him and leave it for him.
If you do a 529 college savings plan, you are the owner. The grandchild is the beneficiary, and you can name — are you married?
I am married, yes.
Okay, then you can name your spouse as the successor owner.
Okay.
<Inaudible> anything that completely within you, and one nice thing about you doing it for your grandchild is if there’s grants or scholarships or loans that can be had, because you own it and you’re not the parent. Whatever you’re doing for them does not have to be claimed on a financial statement. So I think it’s wonderful. Anything you can do for your grandkids I think is a phenomenal gift.
In addition to that, you may want to consider the Florida Prepaid plan because that would be in his name.
Okay.
Have you looked at that at all? Do you know how that works?
Yes, I do. I was going to ask you, if you don’t mind, so I have to have his Social Security number? Because I don’t think he has one, yet.
You do.
Yeah, he does. He has one. Believe me, they don’t leave the hospital today without a Social Security number.
Oh, is that right? Okay, okay. And what happens if he doesn’t go to college? Can my — can we retain that or is that just <Inaudible>
Well each plan is different. The 529, you can pass onto anybody else in the family.
Right, right. Or if you end up not having a grandchild that you would like to name as a beneficiary and you end up using the money yourself, even though it’s grown tax-deferred, you’ll just pay ordinary income tax on whatever the growth is.
On the Florida Prepaid plan, you can cash it out but you pay taxes and any gain that might be there.
Thank you for all you do, I really appreciate it.
I appreciate your call.
Thank you, Mike.
Great thanks Mike, let’s go to Rich in Flagler Beach. Rich, you’re on with the Certified Financial Group here on WDBO.
Hi Rich.
Good morning. Quick question on the hurricane, <Inaudible> storm deductible. Is that just for primary residence or can it be for your second home as well?
There is no stipulation. It just says storm damage related to the hurricanes, to Harvey, Irma, or Maria. So it does not specify whether it is primary or a secondary residence.
Okay.
Alright.
Might want to check just to make sure, but again <Inaudible> in that.
Double-check that. Alright, let’s get to our text question. This text has been in here for awhile. I must take out yearly withdrawals from federal government TSP as well as an RMD. Can I put this withdrawal into a traditional IRA or give it to charity to avoid taxes?
Well you can’t do the traditional as you’re working.
No, no, you cannot. I mean if the person has a rollover or a traditional already and they want to transfer money from the TSP and into the IRA account, and then have it go from the IRA to charity, that path can be taken. But otherwise, no.
Okay. Well that’s going to wrap up our questions. We’ve got about 30 seconds left, so let’s give out the workshop schedule one more time.
Gary Abely has the next one on January the 6th, know your number. You can get more information about that at our website. That’s Financialgroup.com, financialgroup.com, click on workshops. That’s Saturday morning 9:00 to 11:00, good information, and we hope to see you there. And once again, a salute to all of our veterans.
Absolutely.
Yes.
Happy Veteran’s Day everybody. Boy, today went by fast. A lot of great questions <Inaudible>, always with the A team with Joe Bert, Nancy Hechts here on On the Money. That’s going to do it for this week’s addition. You will be back next Saturday, 9:00am right here on News 965 WDBO.
This is News 965 WDBO where Orlando turns first for breaking news, weather and traffic 24 hours a day.
Live team coverage starts
Dictation made on 11/20/2017 4:15 PM EST.