Speaker 1:
Stay tuned for On The Money, Central Florida’s most listened to financial call-in show, brought to you by Certified Financial Group in Altamonte Springs. It’s the only show hosted exclusively by certified financial planner professionals.
Speaker 1:
Monday through Friday, their CFPs provide financial planning and investment advice for a fee, but on Saturdays, the advice is absolutely free and has been for more than 30 years for their WDBO listeners. If you have a financial question you want answered by real fiduciaries, the lines are wide open. Call (844) 580-WDBO. That’s (844) 580-WDBO. Enjoy the show.
Josh McCarthy:
Hello and welcome to On The Money right here on WDBO AM 580 and 107.3 FM. My name’s Josh McCarthy, the glorified middleman between you and the people you call to talk to because this show is On The Money brought to you by the Certified Financial Group right here in Central Florida.
Josh McCarthy:
[Inaudible 00:01:22] that for more than three decades, the professionals at Certified Financial Group have been answering your questions for you every week on WDBO’s On The Money. They’ve become Central Florida’s most listened to financial call-in program. And it’s the only call-in program where all of the hosts are certified financial planner professionals.
Josh McCarthy:
If you got a question for the team with over 400 years of combined experience providing financial planning and asset management to Central Florida families, this is the number for you. Call (844) 580-9326. That’s (844) 580-WDBO.
Josh McCarthy:
If you don’t have a question right now, maybe a bit of the conversation you are going to hear will jog a question sitting in the back of your brain and then it will bring it to the tip of your tongue. So again, (844) 580-9326. Today, we are so fortunate to be joined by Charles Curry and Joe, the Oracle of Orlando himself, Joe Bert. How are you guys doing today?
Joe Bert:
We’re doing great.
Charles Curry:
We’re good.
Joe Bert:
We just got back, for our listeners information, from the annual Tunnel to Towers 5K run and walk in Altamonte Springs. And we’re sitting here in our CFG shirts and NYPD hat here on our desk. What a crowd they had out there. We were joined by Scott Anez, joined our group this morning. Shout out to Scott and thank him for that. But there must have been… How many people you think were there, Charles?
Charles Curry:
Several thousand were there, and it just seemed like there was more and more people kept showing up, which is tremendous for such a wonderful organization and cause.
Joe Bert:
One of our colleagues, Carrie Augustine, one of our client service administrators, came away with a medal. So congratulations to carry on that. We want to extend our thank you to all the folks that participated in that great event, raising several thousand dollars for the Tunnel to Towers effort is where they provide mortgage free homes to first responders and to the military that can’t number one, afford the home, and number two, that have severe disabilities because of their service to our country.
Joe Bert:
So, we were glad to participate in that this morning. We had our tent set up handing out hand sanitizers and backpacks and pens. We were right there next to Dunkin Donuts. And Mission BBQ had excellent barbecue and several other groups that are out there. What a wonderful morning. What a wonderful event, way to start it. I was up at 4:30 this morning. So if I’m a little bit slow this morning, it’s because we have to be there at 5:30 to set up.
Joe Bert:
But we’re delighted to be here, and we’re delighted to be with you here this morning. We’re here, as Josh said, to take your calls. This is not a one-hour infomercial. We’re here to help you as Charles and I and the 14 other certified financial planners do, providing investment advice and financial planning to our clients for a fee on Monday through Friday. But on Saturday morning, as I say, we are here for you absolutely free.
Joe Bert:
So if you have any questions, things that are on your mind, things have been bugging you, do you want questions answered about your 401(k), about an IRA, decisions that you’re trying to make regarding real estate, long-term healthcare, annuities, life insurance, reverse mortgages, all that and more, these are the things that Charles and I deal with, and we’ll be glad to take your call.
Joe Bert:
The good news for you is I think the lines are absolutely wide open. If you have anything that’s on your mind and you’d like to get that question answered, just pick up the phone and dial these magic numbers.
Josh McCarthy:
The numbers are (844) 580-WDBO. We got a couple calls lined up for you guys already. Again, the number is (844) 580-9326. We will be answering your questions on anything planning your financial future, but we like to have a topic set aside for the day to kind of buckle down on. That topic today is planning or your year… Forgive me. The topic is your 2022 year-end planning checklist.
Joe Bert:
Well, why don’t we take callers? Let’s not keep them waiting because perhaps they got stuff to do this morning and they’re sitting in their car or wherever they might be. So let’s line up the calls. Go ahead.
Josh McCarthy:
I got you. They may have been at Tunnel to Towers themself.
Joe Bert:
That’s true.
Josh McCarthy:
And now they’re tired. They’re like, “Let’s get to it.”
Joe Bert:
[inaudible 00:05:24].
Josh McCarthy:
All right, Sylvia calling from Maitland. Go ahead, Sylvia.
Joe Bert:
Hi Sylvia. Good morning. Thanks for calling.
Sylvia:
Good morning. Thank you for taking my call.
Joe Bert:
Of course.
Sylvia:
I have a little bit of a nest egg in savings. I’m 65, I’ll be 66 in January. I still have a mortgage. I have about 83,000 in savings. That’s all the money I have in the world. And then my mortgage is worth about 72,000, I mean, that I owe. I’m wondering, should I go ahead and pay it off? Excuse me.
Joe Bert:
Well, let’s look at this, Sylvia. First of all, how is your income? Are you directing Social Security or pension or anything?
Sylvia:
Yes, I started Social Security in February, but I’m not at full retirement age, but I had no income, so I decided to start it. And I get about $1,800 after they take out for Medicare.
Joe Bert:
Is the $1,800 covering your bills?
Sylvia:
Yes, it’s covering everything.
Joe Bert:
Okay. Tell me about your mortgage. You owe $72,000 on your house. What’s the interest rate?
Sylvia:
Yes.
Joe Bert:
What’s the interest rate?
Sylvia:
Oh, 4.625.
Joe Bert:
Okay. How old is the mortgage? How many years more you have to pay on it?
Sylvia:
I think I have about 18.
Joe Bert:
18. So it’s a 30-year mortgage I presume, obviously.
Sylvia:
Yeah.
Joe Bert:
Or 20-year mortgage. So 18.
Sylvia:
Yes.
Joe Bert:
Guess you’re about halfway there. Chances are that I would not suggest that you pay off your mortgage. Here’s the problem. You take that money, you’re going to pay off your mortgage, you’re going to eliminate the mortgage payment, obviously. You’re still going to have to pay property insurance and taxes. So people think, I’m going to pay off the mortgage and have no more payments, but they forget about it, right Charles?
Charles Curry:
Mm-hmm.
Joe Bert:
They forget about you still got to pay property taxes and insurance on top of that. So you’re going to save the principal and interest. All right? That’s the good news.
Charles Curry:
Yeah.
Joe Bert:
The bad news is you’re going to plunk $72,000 into your house, five, 10 years down the road when you need some income, more income, you can’t go to the kitchen sink, turn on the faucet and get cash flow, as we say.
Joe Bert:
So, I would continue paying on that mortgage, and I would suggest that you get that money working for you. Set aside a nest egg so if the air conditioning breaks or the roof blows off or something, you’ve got some emergency money. But that other money, Sylvia, you’re still a young woman. What would you add to that, Charles? Go ahead.
Charles Curry:
Yeah, the old thought around that is you don’t want to be kind of home rich and cash poor. We’ve had people ask us this question before in regards to, it’s nice to be debt free, but as Joe pointed out, there are additional expenses that are going to be there every year. And then of course, also home maintenance. A lot of folks are having to either repair or replace a roof or an air conditioner right now, just nature of living here in Central Florida, and those costs do add up.
Charles Curry:
And things we don’t know is if we need to fix a car or have major medical, it’s important to have some of that savings kind of set aside for those expenses because as Joe mentioned, you can’t really turn the spigot on and have money come out of the sink for you when you need those funds.
Joe Bert:
Tell us about the house, Sylvia. What’s the house worth, you think?
Sylvia:
The house is worth probably 450,000.
Joe Bert:
Oh, okay. And you owe 72. Okay.
Sylvia:
Yeah.
Joe Bert:
Do you plan on living there the rest of your life?
Sylvia:
It’s questionable. I can move in with my daughter, but I’m not ready to give up my-
Joe Bert:
Your freedom. I understand.
Sylvia:
Well, yeah, sort of.
Joe Bert:
Sure. Okay. All right. Well, the good news for you is that you’ve got a lot of equity in that house. The bad news is it’s equity, and you can’t get it out until you do one of two things, either sell the house or refinance it. And therein lies the challenge.
Joe Bert:
Sylvia, I think the best thing for you to do is to sit down with a certified financial planner, have him or her look at your financial situation, plug in what you’re spending, what inflation and taxes are going to do to you over the coming years. Factor in all those other things that you want to do, like perhaps taking trips and giving gifts. You got to factor in the fact that you’ve got to maintain that house. And then look at how that money could be invested for you, some of it, not all of it, but some of it to give you some growth through the future.
Joe Bert:
In your situation as I said, if I didn’t say it, this is what I was thinking, it’s a good news, bad news situation. The good news is you’re still a young woman. The bad news is you’re still a young woman, and statistically I’d have 25 or 30 years I have to worry about you to be sure you have enough income.
Joe Bert:
You are doing what really everybody does because they have don’t have a plan, is they try to figure it out on the back of an envelope only to hit a road bump somewhere and look back and say, “Gee, I wish I had of known that five years ago.”
Joe Bert:
I would encourage you to get together with a certified financial planner, have him or her do a plan for you, somebody that’s going to charge you a modest fee to do it. It’s what we do at Certified Financial Group. Anybody that does financial planning for you for free, there’s something, there’s a hook there, and I try to stay away from those people. But we charge you a modest fee. We’ll tell you what that fee is before we even do the work for you. And you could decide what you like to do. If you don’t want to do it, that’s fine, but at least you have an alternative.
Joe Bert:
This is what I would recommend because you’ve got a lot of life in front of you. And operating in the dark, you put your head on the pillow at night and you wonder is it going to work out, and that’s the worst thing. What financial planning does for you, it gives you peace of mind. And that’s what we do for our clients, Sylvia.
Joe Bert:
I encourage you to call us or call any other number of certified financial planners that are here in Orlando. Be sure it’s a certified financial planner because we are required to work with you as a fiduciary, and that’s important for you. Does that help you, Sylvia?
Sylvia:
That does with the first question. I’m sorry, I should have clarified. I have a second question.
Joe Bert:
Sure.
Sylvia:
I started collecting Social Security before full retirement age. I could go back to work, but I really don’t want to. But if I did, would I have to pay that Social Security back or what would happen?
Joe Bert:
Well, you’re 62?
Sylvia:
65.
Joe Bert:
You’re 65. Your full retirement age is 66.
Sylvia:
Yes, next year. It’ll be almost a year away.
Joe Bert:
You’re almost a year away. Well, you don’t have to pay it back. What they do, you have an earnings limit. The earnings limit your first year away from your full retirement age, you get to keep a little bit more. I can’t remember off the top of my head. Do you remember what the number is, Charles? Off the top of my head, there is an earnings limit. If you want to call us on Monday, I’d be glad to tell you what it is. But yes, there would be an offset for you.
Joe Bert:
Sylvia, I’m telling you, I’ve been doing this for years and years and years, if you can go back to work, find something that you like to do with people you like to be with, this is the best thing that you can do for your mental and fiscal health. And you can stop your Social Security, you can suspend it, cut it off, and go back to work. Your Social Security, the amount of money that you’ll get will increase when you turn the spigot on again.
Joe Bert:
Once again, I would sit down with a planner, have him or her look at your options, and then you can make an intelligent decision.
Sylvia:
Okay. All right. I never did collect unemployment. I stopped working in 2020. I didn’t collect it because you have to be available to go back to work.
Joe Bert:
Sure. Sure.
Sylvia:
So I never did collect any money.
Joe Bert:
Sure.
Sylvia:
I guess I’ll have to just think about everything you said, and thank you for the information.
Joe Bert:
You’re welcome, Sylvia.
Sylvia:
If I-
Joe Bert:
We wish you nothing but the best. Go ahead.
Sylvia:
If I go back to work after I’m full retirement age, does that affect-
Joe Bert:
No, it doesn’t.
Sylvia:
… if I have to pay anything back?
Joe Bert:
No, then you get to keep everything that they’re sending you.
Sylvia:
Okay. Even though I started before full retirement age?
Joe Bert:
Yes. If you suspend it, yes. That’s correct. Yep.
Sylvia:
Oh, that’s wonderful. All right. Thank you both so much.
Joe Bert:
You’re welcome, Sylvia.
Charles Curry:
You’re welcome. Have a wonderful day.
Joe Bert:
Thanks for the call. Yep. All right, Josh, what do you think there, buddy?
Josh McCarthy:
Thank you so much, Sylvia. We’re going to take a quick break here On The Money. We got Bob waiting in Melbourne and Edward and Orlando. We’re going to come to you guys right after the break. We got joined by Charles Curry and Joe Bert, the Oracle of Orlando, both certified financial planner professionals with the team at Certified Financial Group. And this is On The Money. If you got a question for the gentleman here, (844) 580-9326. That’s (844) 580-WDBO. And you are listening to On The Money, where we’re planning tomorrow-
Joe Bert:
Today.
Josh McCarthy:
… with the Certified Financial Group.
Josh McCarthy:
Welcome back to On The Money right here on WDBO, brought to you by the Certified Financial Group right here in Central Florida. If you’ve got a question about how to handle your Roth IRA, your 401(k), anything involving your financial future, now is the time to call because we have certified financial planner professionals sitting at the phones ready to take your calls.
Josh McCarthy:
We have Joe Bert, the Oracle of Orlando, and Charles Curry sitting by. I don’t want to waste any more of the listeners’ valuable time as well as the team with Certified Financial Group. So we’ll hop right on over to Edward in Orlando. Edward, go ahead.
Joe Bert:
Morning, Edward.
Edward:
Good morning. How are you?
Joe Bert:
We’re doing great. Thanks for the call. What’s up?
Edward:
Okay. Is that Mr. Curry? He’s the tax expert, isn’t he?
Joe Bert:
Oh, no.
Edward:
Or are all you guys?
Joe Bert:
No. Well, Rodney is a CPA and Gary’s a CPA, but we do a little bit in taxes. We’ll try to help you. What’s up?
Charles Curry:
Oh yes. We’ll do our best.
Edward:
I have a question. I have a mutual phone that I’ve had for 20 years. It’s been doing very well, but this year it has lost money. Can I claim that on my taxes just because the money was lost this year? Because it’s made money since I bought it 20 years ago.
Joe Bert:
You can take a loss if you sell it. You can’t take a loss if you just hold onto it.
Edward:
Let’s say I bought it for $100 20 years ago, and now it’s $200.
Joe Bert:
Okay.
Edward:
Well, it was for $200, but now it’s down to $150. You know what I mean?
Joe Bert:
I know what you mean.
Edward:
This year, it’s dropped 50. Can I deduct that 50 from my taxes even though that price-
Joe Bert:
No.
Edward:
… is still more than when I bought a 20 years ago?
Joe Bert:
No. No, because you still have a gain.
Edward:
In other words, the long-term gain overrides the short term loss.
Joe Bert:
Yes. And you only have a short term loss if you sell it. Just holding onto it-
Edward:
I know that, but if I sell it and I have a $50 loss, I can’t claim that loss my taxes because overall I’ve got a gain from day one.
Joe Bert:
You have a gain. That’s correct. You look at your cost basis. And by the way, your cost basis is what you originally invested, Edward, in addition to all the dividends and capital gains that may have been reinvested over all the years.
Edward:
Yes. That drives the cost basis up too.
Joe Bert:
That’s correct. So, if you look at where you are today, you may find that… You have been paying taxes all along on those dividends and capital gains, right? Unless it’s in a retirement account.
Edward:
Yes. Right. But when I look at the [inaudible 00:17:02] it’s a Vanguard fund, it shows so and so loss for this year.
Joe Bert:
That’s correct.
Edward:
You think that they’re not taking that into account what I spent every year with the reinvesting the dividends?
Joe Bert:
No, they probably are, because your cost basis is adjusted. So, if you have a loss there, they’re showing you a loss, you do in fact have a loss.
Edward:
Well, I do have a loss for this year because last January it was at 200, as I say, and now it’s 150. I have $50 lost. Those are not real numbers, but it’s only showing a loss for this year.
Joe Bert:
Yes, yes. Chances are that they are showing you your cost basis, and they’re showing you what your loss is only if you sell it. You can’t realize or take a loss if you don’t sell it.
Edward:
Yeah, I know that. Yeah.
Joe Bert:
Right. That’s it.
Edward:
Well, what I was going to do is, you can sell it and wait 30 days and reinvest it again, right?
Joe Bert:
Exactly, yes, to avoid the wash, the wash sale.
Edward:
That’s called a wash.
Joe Bert:
That’s correct.
Charles Curry:
Yes.
Joe Bert:
That’s correct.
Charles Curry:
I recommend folks just wait 30 days plus one just to be safe, because you’re going to have holidays and all. The other piece that Joe was talking about with the dividends, that’s also another thing to take a look at with that investment is look at each time a dividend’s been reinvested and see if you have a gain or loss on that. You might be able to take some losses on some of those dividends that were paid over the past year, even though you’ve held it for a very long time.
Edward:
Because the net value of the fund today is more than it was the day that day I bought it.
Joe Bert:
Yes. However, the cost basis has increased every year with the reinvestment of the dividends and capital gains, so if you’re in a lost position, Edward, the bottom line is the only way you’ll get that loss is if you sell it and then wait 31 days to buy it back.
Edward:
Yeah. Right. Okay.
Joe Bert:
Okay. All right, Edward, thank you for the call.
Josh McCarthy:
Thank you so much, Edward. We’re going to take a quick break, go to news, and get some weather and traffic in your life as well. You got a question for the team at Certified Financial Group, your financial future is all in their brains right now, and they want to give you the information that you so valuable need. The number is (844) 580-9326, (844) 580-WDBO. We’ll be right back with more of On The Money, where we’re planning tomorrow-
Joe Bert:
Today.
Josh McCarthy:
… with the Certified Financial Group.
Speaker 1:
Welcome back to On The Money, Central Florida’s most listened to financial call-in show, brought to you by Certified Financial Group in Altamonte Springs. It’s the only show hosted exclusively by certified financial planner professionals.
Speaker 1:
Monday through Friday, their CFPs provide financial planning and investment advice for a fee. But on Saturdays, the advice is absolutely free and has been for more than 30 years for their WDBO listeners. If you have a financial question you want answered by real fiduciaries, the lines are wide open. Call (844) 580-WDBO. That’s (844) 580-WDBO. And enjoy the rest of the show.
Josh McCarthy:
Welcome back to On The Money, right here on WDBO 107.3 FM and AM 580. My name’s Josh McCarthy. I am the phone person who answers the phone when you call in and you expect the fantastic information that you can only get here On The Money with the Certified Financial Group here in Orlando.
Josh McCarthy:
Of course, today we are speaking so lucky to be joined with Joe Bert, the Oracle of Orlando, and Charles Curry, both certified financial planners, both with the team at the Certified Financial Group. If you have any questions on planning your financial future, how to put some more money into your Roth IRA, plan for your kids college, you got a big lump sum from selling a house and you want to know what to do with it, if you’re not ready to buy just yet, now is your time to call (844) 580-9326. That’s (844) 580-WDBO.
Josh McCarthy:
Today’s topic on the show right now is how to do your 2022 year-end planning checklist. But before we bounce over to that topic, we for sure want to answer any questions our callers may have. Let’s join with Bob in Melbourne. Bob, you’re on with the team.
Joe Bert:
Bob, good morning. Thanks for holding on.
Bob:
I understand when my modified adjusted gross income gets near around 100K, my Medicare premiums could increase quite a bit. Does that also apply to my Medicare supplement premiums?
Joe Bert:
Not your supplement, but it’ll apply to your part D. It’ll apply to your part B and your part D, but not your supplement.
Bob:
Oh, okay.
Joe Bert:
Your supplement comes from an independent insurance company.
Bob:
Yes. Yeah. Okay, that’s great. It apparently could go up almost double the Medicare premiums from what I’m paying now.
Joe Bert:
Well, it depends. The cheapest Medicare premium is 170 bucks. If you’ve got a high enough income over $500,000, your Medicare premium will be almost $600.
Bob:
Well, I’m assuming my modified adjusted gross income, does that income include all of my Social Security even though it is all not taxable?
Joe Bert:
Yes. Yes, because your modified adjusted gross income is your adjusted gross income, which also includes your Social Security.
Bob:
Okay. Yeah. Well, it looks like it’s going to just double then I think for me. I won’t be making half a million, but I’ll be making over 100K.
Joe Bert:
If you’re over a 100K, if you’re up to 114K. Are you married?
Bob:
Single.
Joe Bert:
Single. Okay, single. If you’re over $91,000, that’s going to jump up to 238 plus another 12 bucks on the Part D. So you’ll be at 245, 250.
Charles Curry:
Is this a one time thing with your income going over a 100K, or is this going to be going forward for you?
Bob:
Well, just depending on RMDs, you know how that works.
Joe Bert:
Sure.
Bob:
Do you think that income limit will be increased over the years for inflation or anything?
Joe Bert:
Yeah, it’s adjusted.
Bob:
Okay.
Joe Bert:
Yeah, it’s adjusted.
Bob:
That’s just something to look not forward to, I guess.
Joe Bert:
Well, it’s good news, bad news, Robert. You got the income, and the bad news is, you got to pay some extra taxes. But thank God you have the income.
Bob:
Oh yeah. I can’t complain.
Joe Bert:
Hey, I appreciate you hanging on.
Bob:
Thanks guys.
Joe Bert:
Have a great weekend.
Charles Curry:
You’re welcome.
Joe Bert:
Okay. Another caller, I see, Josh.
Josh McCarthy:
That’s right. Let’s head up to Merritt Island, where Carlo’s got a question. Go ahead, Carlo.
Joe Bert:
Good morning, Carlo. What’s up?
Carlo:
Hey, good morning. How are you? I’m Carlo.
Joe Bert:
Good, good.
Carlo:
Quick question. I don’t know if it’s going to be quick or not. A friend of mine is telling me about synthetic stocks and Citadel and that they’re raising or lowering certain companies such as game stock and that I should try to take all of my 401(k) and put it in a safer place right now. He says in the near future, there’s going to be some kind of bubble coming. I don’t know if that’s true or not.
Joe Bert:
I don’t know where you’re getting this advice, but I would not take it.
Carlo:
[inaudible 00:24:28].
Joe Bert:
Yeah, no. Your 401(k) is not designed for gambling, first of all. Your 401(k) is designed for your retirement to get steady returns. The game stock and Bed Bath & Beyond and the other meme stocks that they’re shorting and so forth, that’s highly speculative. Stay away from that stuff unless you can afford to lose money.
Charles Curry:
You have to think also with your 401(k) account, it’s for retirement. So you’re looking this longer term for you. The goal with that money is to have it grow for you. The only way to get it to grow is it needs to be in the market and be invested. If you try to market time, you of course could drastically impact how your investments do. A lot of folks during COVID got spooked to the market and got into cash and never got back into the market as the market proceeded to have one of the greatest bull markets that we’ve seen in the last 20 years.
Joe Bert:
Right. A lot of people are sitting in cash now are being fooled. They feel comfy, cozy because the market goes down a little bit. I didn’t lose anything. When you’re going to get whipsawed, my friends. When that market turns, it turns fast.
Joe Bert:
If you have a diversified portfolio of quality, there’s no way to avoid losses. If you’re diversified with quality, you don’t suffer as much as when the entire market goes down. However, you want to be in the game when things turn around because that’s when the money is made.
Joe Bert:
Anyway, I would stay away from those things. And certainly you couldn’t do them in your 401(k) unless your 401(k) has what’s known as a self-directed brokerage account. That’s our word of caution, Carlo, and we appreciate the call.
Carlo:
Oh, thank you so much. Have a great day.
Joe Bert:
You’re welcome.
Charles Curry:
Thank you so much, Carlo. That opens up a line here with the team of On The Money and Certified Financial Group. If you have a question for Joe Bert, the Oracle of Orlando, or Charles Curry standing by, the number is (844) 580-9326. That’s (844) 580-WDBO.
Joe Bert:
Let’s hit that topic. Go ahead, Charles. It’s all yours.
Charles Curry:
All right. In terms of a good time right now as we start turning the clock towards the fall months is to kind of look at, it’s kind of our year-end planning checklist for 2022 and then looking forward to 2023. One of the things that we always like to remind folks when it comes to planning is it’s that time of year to kind of revisit your budget for what you spent this year and what you anticipate spending next year into 2023, and how are you going to look at your investments and your finances how to make that happen?
Charles Curry:
One of the important things is this is a good time to rebalance your portfolio. Work with your advising team, look at your investments, make sure that your portfolio is still aligned with your risk tolerance. For example, a moderate investor in a good market, your portfolio might have gotten overly aggressive so that when you see volatility in the market, your portfolio might go down faster than you were anticipating it to.
Charles Curry:
It might also give you an opportunity to take some losses in terms of harvesting some losses, kind of like from the prior caller, in terms of taking advantage of what we’re seeing. The other thing is too, it also allows you to look and diversify around some of your positions. If you’ve gotten a position that’s over 10% of your portfolio, that’s considered a concentrated position. That’s one that we would probably recommend you reducing or looking at ways to take less risk with that.
Charles Curry:
And then the other piece too is you have to revisit your current income needs. Look at your portfolio, see how it’s generated in terms of income being kicked off in terms of dividends and interest, and make sure that’s still in line with your needs today. If your needs today are higher than what your portfolio is doing, then it might be time to look at those investments and say, how do we restructure those things to generate more income for the year ahead?
Charles Curry:
The other thing too is kind of knowing what your money is doing. It’s an important thing for a lot of us to understand where our investments are going, what is it doing, and what is it supporting. The other pieces when it comes to year-end planning also is it’s that time of year where you can request your credit reports. You’re allowed to do that from all three credit rating agencies at least once a year. That’s that time to take go look at that and make sure everything looks right and that nobody’s gone in and tried to take your identity.
Charles Curry:
The other too as we get near the end of the year, is looking at your healthcare and insurance. It’s time to review those policies, make sure your healthcare coverage is right for you and for your family, and also take a look at the benefits and also who the beneficiaries and make sure that’s all in line for you.
Charles Curry:
And then the other important piece has to do with estate planning. That has to just bringing out your wills and trusts and your important documents in terms of power of attorney as well. Look at those documents, make sure they’re up to date. Make sure you have the right beneficiaries listed and the elections and appointments kind of made in those documents and that you’ve actually taken that step, important step in terms of retitling assets.
Charles Curry:
We’ve seen some folks come in and say, “I’ve done all my financial planning, I have my nice binder for my estate planning attorney.” And then we ask them, “Have you retitled any of your assets?” And no, they haven’t. And it’s like, well, you’ve done the important first step, but you haven’t taken the most important second step in terms of implementing that estate plan that you’ve had your attorney draft for you.
Joe Bert:
Yeah, that’s not uncommon where we see some folks feel real good that they spend all that money and got that great binder and have all these documents and they’re all ready to go. And they didn’t fund the trust. They didn’t put any assets in the trust. You really have an empty vessel there.
Joe Bert:
These are the kinds of things, all the things that Charles was talking about, they’re things that we do for our clients as certified financial planners. While we manage a couple billion dollars of money for our clients, we also do as certified financial planners, work with our clients to be sure that all those other areas are taken care of. Because if they’re not, we can do the best job for you as money managers and find out that there’s a hole in the bucket somewhere and there’s a problem.
Joe Bert:
This is what we do day in and day out, providing financial planning advice and investment management for a fee. Our firm goes back more than 40 years. We have more than 400 years of combined experience and now have 16 certified financial planners here at Certified Financial Group as an independent firm.
Joe Bert:
If you want to know more about what we do and how we do it, I encourage you to go to our website, that’s financialgroup.com, financialgroup.com. You can get more information about us too, if you like, off the air by calling Rodney Ownby right now. Rodney is a CPA in addition to being a certified financial planner. And he’d be glad to take your call. If the line is busy, he promises to get back to you. Just leave him a message and he’ll do it. I see you another call teed up there, Josh.
Josh McCarthy:
That’s right. Sandra’s got a question I think we all can relate with that one point in our lives. Go ahead, Sandra.
Joe Bert:
Good morning, Sandra. What’s up?
Sandra:
Hi, good morning. Well, basically, my husband and I, we’re in our mid to late 40s, and we’re somewhat trying to actually get free, no mortgage, no credit cards and so forth. We do have savings, but we don’t feel like we’re doing anything with it. It’s just sitting in the bank. We want to learn how to make our money work for us, but we just don’t know where to start because our financial education isn’t very strong.
Joe Bert:
Well, Sandra, let me tell you something. You are out there with 99% of America. I say this time and time again that they don’t teach you this stuff in school. You’re wise there at your current age to be considering it. Most people don’t really focus on this stuff until the kids are out of the house and they’re five or 10 years away from retirement. Now we got to get serious, and you’ve lost our great opportunity. So, let’s look at your situation. First of all, you’re employed, I presume, you and your husband employed.
Sandra:
Yes. We own a small business.
Joe Bert:
You own a small business. Well, that’s great because now you’ve got some really great opportunities in terms of setting up a retirement. Tell us about the business. Is it just you-
Sandra:
Well, we own a trucking business.
Joe Bert:
A trucking business?
Sandra:
A small place. Correct.
Joe Bert:
And you have employees, I presume, or are they independent contractors?
Sandra:
Both. But right now, yes, they’re W2.
Joe Bert:
They’re W2 people. Okay. Having your own business has great opportunities for you to save money on a very, very tax favored basis by setting up a retirement plan of some sort because you get a tax deduction for yourself and somewhat for your employees. I don’t need to tell you in today’s market, people today are looking for retirement benefits. Are they not?
Sandra:
Yes.
Joe Bert:
Yeah. Something that you may want to consider, and this is something we do as Certified Financial Group, in fact, we have a great program we just started out, it’s called a certified 401(k) designed for small businesses. It’s very, very, very low startup costs. And it may be something perfect for you and your employees to start saving money for retirement. Saving money for retirement in your retirement plan is by far and away the best way to do it. Now tell her why, Charles?
Charles Curry:
Yeah. It’s the best way to do it because in essence, you’re paying yourself first. And by putting money aside kind of pre-tax dollars, you allow those dollars to grow and compound and really take advantage of the tax code to your favor. With that money kind of growing inside of an investment vehicle for retirement, you have time between now and when you get to age 65 for those assets to really grow for you and to provide kind that income base you’re going to need when you retire. And when you finally sell your business or leave your business, that will be there to support you.
Joe Bert:
Sandra, we’re up against the break. Stick around and I’m going to tell you how to get involved with that. If you can, stick around for the break. Take it away, Josh.
Josh McCarthy:
Thank you so much, guys. And Sandra, we’ll be right back to you after this quick break. We got just a few minutes left in our final segment, so if you got a phone question right now, feel free to call (844) 580-9326. Or if you got a question that may linger past the 10 o’clock hour, I welcome you to pick up the phone right now and dial (407) 869-9800. That’s (407) 869-9800. Rodney is standing by off the air with the team at Certified Financial Group. You are listening to On The Money, where we’re planning tomorrow-
Joe Bert:
Today.
Josh McCarthy:
… right here with the Certified Financial Group.
Josh McCarthy:
Welcome back to On The Money right here on WDBO 107.3 FM and AM 580. We’re joined with the team at the Certified Financial Group right here in Central Florida. We don’t want to waste too much time because Sandra was in the middle of a fantastic educational informative answer. Sandra, you’re back on with the team, Joe Bert and Charles Curry.
Joe Bert:
Sandra, getting back to your situation, the good news for you is you have a business there and your house is paid for and you’ve got some excess cash and now you want to build for retirement. The good news for you is you’re still young, you’ve got some excellent opportunities waiting for you, but what you want to do is you want to save that money on a pre-tax basis. Let Uncle Sam help pay for retirement. The best way to do that is to set up an inexpensive retirement plan for you, your husband, and your employees so everybody’s happy. Call our office on Monday, ask for Wynn Smith. Wynn is our expert in that area. He’ll sit down with you, show you exactly how you can benefit and what the cost might be, and then you make an intelligent decision.
Joe Bert:
Whether you do business with us or somebody else, I would focus on setting up a retirement plan in your company because you have an opportunity there to do far more for yourself than people that are working for somebody. You’re working for yourself. You can really set aside some serious money.
Sandra:
Yeah. I appreciate that. Yeah, I mean, we know some of the advantages that we have at our fingertips. It’s just how to apply them. That’s our issue.
Joe Bert:
Sure, sure.
Sandra:
That’s what we’re trying to learn and educate ourselves and do better with the position that we are in.
Joe Bert:
Well, call Wynn Smith on Monday morning and tell them you spoke with me on the radio and we’ll be glad to sit down. Come by for a cup of coffee and say hello when you’re here, Sandra. I’d like to meet you.
Sandra:
Okay, I appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Joe Bert:
Okay, you’re welcome. Have a great weekend. I want to touch base real quick on some workshops we have coming up. Charles?
Charles Curry:
Yeah. We have several workshops coming up here at our office location, the first one having to be Savvy Security, kind of the 10 threats every person in business faces and how to protect yourself. That one’s going to be on September 14th from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
Charles Curry:
The next one will be Will Your Savings Last a Lifetime? That will be on September 24th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. And then in October we have College Planning for High School Students: What Parents Should Know. That’s going to be on October 12th from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
Charles Curry:
And then lastly in November, we have Social Security Planning: Basic Rules and Claiming Strategies. That’s going to be on November 8th from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. All those are going to be here at our offices at Certified Financial Group.
Joe Bert:
We hold those in on what we call our learning center. It’s a very comfortable room, can accommodate about 30 people very nicely. Provides some refreshments, have state-of-the-art audio/visual. That one September 14th is Wednesday. You’re doing that right, Charles?
Charles Curry:
That’s correct.
Joe Bert:
Yeah. That had a good turnout last time because people are really interested in how to protect yourselves online today. And Charles does a great job. If you want more information about that, go to our website, that’s financialgroup.com, financialgroup.com. Click on events. You make your reservation right there. We’ll save you a seat and be sure to see you coming by.
Joe Bert:
That one that you’ve got, I’m really intrigued about that one, this is the first time you’re doing this too, on the college planning.
Charles Curry:
That’s correct.
Joe Bert:
I talked Rynda Wilk who’s coming by, special guest. Rynda is also a certified financial planner, and she provides a service to her clients looking at all the options that are out there factoring in the cost of the school and what they might be eligible for financial aid and so on and so forth. This is once again, free information for you. Go to our website financialgroup.com, financialgroup.com, and sign up.
Josh McCarthy:
Thank you so much, Joe Bert and Charles Curry, team members at the Certified Financial Group right here in Orlando. Unfortunately, that’s the end of this show, but there is still Rodney standing by with that very same team at Certified Financial Group. That number again is 407… Let me scroll up to the number. The number is 407, if you want to talk to Rodney, (407) 869-9800, (407) 869-9800. Thanks for listening to On The Money, where we’re planning tomorrow-
Joe Bert:
Today.
Josh McCarthy:
… with the Certified Financial Group.