2.10.23: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

2.10.23: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Producer:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs, and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Producer:
Welcome to Financial Freedom with your host Safe Money Bob. Get set for a full hour of financial information and economic news you can't afford to miss. Bob works hard each day to educate Americans like you on how to reach the Financial Freedom they've worked so hard for. And he can help you too. So now let's start the show. Here's Safe Money Bob.

Producer:
Hi again, everybody. Welcome to a brand new edition of Financial Freedom with Safe Money Bob, Jim, you here as always, being joined by my co host, financial expert and the man of the hour, Safe Money Bob.

Bob Loss:
Hey, Jim. How are you doing, buddy?

Producer:
All right. Well, in today's show, Bob and I will break down health and care, important but often overlooked factors in retirement. Plus the Secure Act 2.0 overview of changes that affect retirees and pre retirees. We'll break those down. Plus, Bob's power tip of the week. That's all coming up. And a quick reminder, Bob provides comprehensive consultations at no cost to our listeners. And there's absolutely no obligation. Only work with Bob. If it's best for you, Bob will help you cut unnecessary costs in your IRA for one K or any other retirement savings account, as well as helping you maximize your Social Security benefits for you and your spouse. So contact Bob today at 9083592861 or log on to SafeMoneyBob.com Smart Retirement Series Part two This week Health and care starting Bob with smart health and retirement can be a stressful time for many people especially when it comes bob to planning their health care needs.

Bob Loss:
Yeah, health care is probably one of the largest expenses you'll have during retirement. Even if you're really healthy, it can just be staggering What you can end up spending for different things. That's why you always want to have planned Medicare coverages. Your Medigap or Medicare supplement policy have reserves that you can get to for co-pays and or deductibles if they pertain now, because Medicare is an important part of the retirement planning process, it's important to understand, you know, proper Medicare planning during retirement can help minimize your health care costs over the long term and provide other financial benefits. Let us help you protect your your health throughout you and your spouse is retirement. You want to contact us at what Medicare questions at 9083592861 or you can get in touch with us by going to the W is the first time I won't say them anymore w w w dot SafeMoneyBob.com either way. And you can book a call by leaving a message at the number I provided and some will get back to you type of call about this. Otherwise just go to save money Bob dot com and book a call 1530 or 60 minutes whichever you choose. So I want to give you some facts about Medicare. So Medicare, more than 61 million Americans are covered by Medicare health plans right now. National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare 2020 provided that 18 and one half percent of the US population is on Medicare Single care.

Bob Loss:
It's almost 20% of us are on Medicare. 65% of survey respondents said they would not know which part or parts of Medicare they should enroll in based on 2022 Medicare survey by single care, Almost four out of ten Medicare consumers are also enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. Kaiser Family Foundation provided that 2021. So you want to have complete comprehensive plans, especially knowing your health or you're healthy. Are you somewhat healthy? Do you need to use prescriptions? Do you need to go to the doctor? A lot, have lab work, have diagnostic tests based on your health. You want to know what you're going to use. So again, you want to work with a professional to help you have the proper coverage. And we want to know how to lengthen your life and live a healthier retirement. The healthier you are, the less reliant you hopefully will be on your health insurance. You would think you would be a no brainer. Yes, but just different things can happen. Keeping your mind and body sharp will also help other issues that arise later in life. You want to stay motivated, moving around, motivated, read, think, ponder. What was it Jimmy Valvano said? If you laugh, cry and think in a day, you had a hell of a day. So if you can do that at least once a day, you're going to be in pretty good shape. Now you want to exercise regularly. That's for anybody out there. Don't care if you're retired, still working, you got a ways to go.

Bob Loss:
Physical activity is important. I believe in it myself. I try to walk every day or at least do 30 minutes of exercise 5 to 6 days a week. If you can do 30 minutes, you know, physical, mental health, aim for 30 for sure. A brisk walk, cycle, swim, dance, even just quick movements, things that don't hurt your joints per se, you know, things that get your blood pumping, get your mind thinking. See, walks are not only good for the heart, depending on. You're with. If you're alone, they can be therapeutic for the mind. It allows you to just think about things. When I go on walks myself, I think about a lot of different things personal, professional, family, charitable stuff, anything that's kind of going on. You just kind of collect your thoughts when you're alone, or even if you're working with other people. It's good to have that communication with others and you want to eat a healthy diet. Eating a well-balanced diet is essential for maintaining good health. Focus on fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and health healthy fats. Avoid processed foods. Processed foods is what kills us. You know, sugary drinks, alcohol. I mean, I don't know, last time I had a Coke or a Pepsi or anything like that, I might have a Sprite once in the last year or something like that. I don't know. I do like my wine and sometimes other stuff, but, you know.

Bob Loss:
But do they say everything in moderation is a good thing Now? You want to definitely maintain a healthy weight and try to avoid being, well, overweight. That puts a lot of stress on your body, your organs, your joints. You know, this involves a combination of regular exercise and eating well, eating well balanced diets. You know, obesity can lead to many other health issues. I found that a lot of people are heavier than I know. They've got blood pressure issues. They might have cholesterol issues, blood sugar issues, joint issues, knee issues. It just adds like when you're when your body is carrying too much weight, it can definitely add stress to a lot of different aspects of your health. You know, stay socially active, you know, socialize with friends and family. It can help keep you mentally sharp and emotionally fulfilled. You know, you don't want to be in a void where you're kind of thinking like by yourself about things you want to be thinking about. So definitely try to join a club, volunteer in the community. Like volunteering is a great way to stay engaged, participate in activities you enjoy. You know, if you like playing poker once a week, play poker if you want to in the nice weather, be anywhere up here in the mid-Atlantic, northeast, play golf once a week or a couple of times or become a starter, you know, or be a greeter. Something something where you're interacting with people because you want to definitely stimulate your brain, you know, keeping your mind active, engaged.

Bob Loss:
It can help definitely prevent cognitive decline. You know, reading books, as I mentioned earlier, read books, solve puzzles, you know, pick up a skill or a hobby, if you like making things. Maybe you want to be able to create woodworking type things. Puzzles are really cool and just read in different books and setting a goal for yourself to read like a book a week or a book every two weeks or a book a month, you know. And what I like to do when I read books is I take notes in my you could do it on a piece of paper. You can take it in a notepad. I like putting them in a note in my iPhone. That's just the way I do it. Sleep. Gosh, sleep is essential for overall health and being, you know, you want to try to get 7 to 8 hours a night, you know, can also help with your stress by managing stress. Stress takes a toll on us. You know, whether you're working in retirement physically or mentally, you know, practice deep, I find breathing deep, just deep breaths, clearing your mind, thinking of places that you like, like when you're sitting at the beach and you hear the waves coming in, you're at the lake and maybe you hear the fish jumping out and you hear birds in the trees, something that makes you feel relaxed and definitely don't neglect your car, right? So just get the oil change every I guess it's 5000 now.

Bob Loss:
Could used to be 3000 miles, you know, just like your car getting serviced. You want to make sure you stay up to date with your medical checkups and screenings. You know, regular checkups and screenings can help detect and prevent problems before they become a serious issue. You know, you definitely want to stay ahead of the game with that. And mental health, you know, retirement could be a big transition. You know, it's important to take care of your mental health. You could be overwhelmed, experiencing depression, anxiety, unfortunately, because all of a sudden, you know, you're not at work at the water cooler or maybe you're not on you know, based on the last few years, meetings with people and so forth, video can just change. You just want to be healthy, mentally, physically, emotionally and financially. So reach out to me. It's safe money. Bobkoff Book a call 15, 30 or 60 Minutes or give us a jingle at 9083592861. And we'll be happy to have one of my assistants reach back out to you. Associates set a call up again if you leave it on the voicemail, just if you want to leave a couple of dates and times that work really good for you, we'll definitely try to set you up with that. But yeah, definitely call 983592861. That's your preference or go to save money Bob dot com and we'll set up a chat You.

Producer:
Know two things in there Bob that you mentioned that I think are vitally important. Number one is getting enough sleep and oftentimes I think that's overlooked like the second point I'm about to make, but people a lot of times I do it. I'm sure you do it too. We operate sometimes on 5 to 6 hours of sleep, and studies have shown that you need about 7 to 9 hours to really reach that maximum vibration for yourself to get you through the day. And it's no different for retirees. That goes for pre retirees as well, by the way. But number two is exercising regularly. And I think when people think of exercising and they think of, oh my God, what does that entail? Is it this, is it CrossFit? Is it weightlifting, power lifting, things like that. But you brought up some good points there in exercising regularly. It's just taking a walk and a lot of time. It is therapeutic for your mind. It's certainly therapeutic and good for your joints. But things like taking a walk, jogging, riding a bike, buying a stationary bike that constitutes as good exercise as well. I just want to bring those two points up, Bob, about how they may be in terms of smart health. Two of the more important points, certainly mental health is is is very important. But the two points that I really want to highlight, it's the exercising part and getting enough sleep.

Bob Loss:
Absolutely. I've gone to gamut. I mean, I used to be, you know, high school and collegiate cross country and distance runner know. Then fast forward in my younger adult years, you know I'd go for a jog, ride a bike and do calisthenics. And now in my fifties I'll be 56. You end of the month, end of February. You know, I've gone from the hitting the gym like a beast three or four times a week with virtually a personal instructor. Even had one come into my house at one point for a while. But then I got to the point where my body was getting too beat up because I was working out too hard. So then I regressed to the I even tried running. My knees are shot from running when I was younger. Find your find your sweet spot. Right. Talk about golf. Hit the ball, sweet spot, even softball, baseball, whatever. Hitting the sweet spot on the bat. Find your sweet spot. Right. It could be taking a walk five days a week, 30 minutes a day.

Producer:
It can be walking out slow with these things, too. I mean. Well, yeah, right into, you know, doing a 3 to 5 mile, ten mile walk. I know this person who's doing a 100 mile run coming up here in a couple of months. You don't need to do that. You can start slow. You know, you walk a mile, half a mile each day, every other day. And before you know it, you've built up some stamina.

Bob Loss:
Work it up. Yeah, you work up to what you can do. We'll we have a little group where I live now. We're up to three, you know, And one guy was like, Whoa, he's a little older than me too. And it was kind of like, okay, I notice we walk a little slower on those walks. Just make sure he doesn't have any issues. But, you know, like you say, start slow if it's 15 minutes, three times a week and you work your way up to 30 minutes, five times a week and just stretch. Stretching would not believe just stretching. I'm not saying you got to be a yoga instructor, but you want to stretch, you know, make sure you're just stretching even in the morning before you start really doing things is great. Your back. Your back is huge. Like if you have a healthy back, it allows you to do a lot of things. If you don't, it limits you drastically and a lot of activities you can have. So what is it? Like I said, good, good. All the good health and all the different facets we discussed.

Producer:
All right. Well, coming up, we'll chat Bob and I about smart care in retirement as well. Plus, important changes to the Secure Act 2.0 that you need to know about. And hey, a quick reminder to subscribe to the show in podcast form. We appreciate it. Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Financial Freedom with Safe Money. Bob continues in a moment.

Producer:
Helping bring you one step closer to Financial Freedom. You're listening to Financial Freedom with Safe Money Bob. Guide questions Safe money. Bob is here to help visit safe money Bob Dotcom today.

Producer:
Welcome back to Financial Freedom. Thanks for making us a part of your weekend. Coming up, smart care in your retirement. Plus, Bob's power tip of the week. Looking forward to all of that coming up later on in the show. And last week's program, we dissected smart, risk, smart, safe and smart task in part one of how to build a smart retirement plan. Things like market risk, interest rates and public policy are branches, Bob, of smart risk in retirement.

Bob Loss:
No doubt, Jim. You know, market risk rate, what are you willing to lose to get what you want to make? And obviously, interest rates play a huge part in what you can make and where you can make it based on how bonds react. Fixed instruments, even multi year fixed annuities in public policy obviously has a huge impact on our investments as well.

Producer:
And again, last week's show valuable information available with previous episodes as well in podcast form Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. Bob, you've got an event coming up with Tom. It's titled Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Uncovering the Three Pillars of Building Wealth in today's unique financial landscape, including the secret strategies that seven figure households use to get ahead.

Bob Loss:
Absolutely. So it's going to be a webinar I'm co hosting with Tom Hagner. He's pretty well known in our circles. It's going to be I believe it's going to be on my birthday February 28th, and I believe it's 6 p.m.. So what we're going to do to our listeners. Audience Your friends, family, anyone that you want to share this with, send them over to save money. Bob You know, there's going to be there is a link or there will be a link there so you can register, definitely register so that if something happened and he couldn't be on it live, potentially I can get you a recording if I have that availability. I'm not sure yet, but it definitely register. It'll take about 42 minutes, give or take. He's really got a lot of great information. You know, becoming a millionaire again, it depends on your age somewhat, but it's all mathematics. It's really all mathematics. He's going to show you. It's math. It's totally math. If somebody came to me up 35 years old and I want to have this $1,000,000, $2 million, whatever it is, into something, especially in my case, it would be tax efficient and safe and accessible the way I would design most of that portfolio. You can do it. You just have to have cash flow and discipline. And I can even get into some of the things, you know, either before or after that webinar that will help all of you young, middle aged or old, you know, make more of what you have.

Producer:
Yeah. And again, to sign up, visit, save money, Bob Again, save money. Bob com to sign up for the event ock Secure Act 2.0 passed late in the 2022 congressional session and is now the law of the land. So Bob, what does this mean for you and your retirement? Let's give an overview of the changes that affect retirees and pre retirees.

Bob Loss:
Sure, Jim. So obviously we always talk about require minimum distributions. Now they begin at age 73 and they will begin at age 75, but that's not for another just under ten years. So let's just keep 73 in mind. If you remember, it was 70 and one half, then it became 72. Now it's 73. You know, a lot of reasons why they even had the original secure act was changing the stretch ability of inherited IRAs. It's now got to be distributed in ten years and tax be paid versus before. I'm sure that did not change. With age of RMDs increasing, we can hopefully let you keep your money growing and you can afford to postpone withdrawal in it from these accounts for income needs. Hopefully have other sources, you know, multiple buckets. We talk about having multiple buckets of income. It also means you have an extended window to complete a Roth conversion and divest the IRS. Get the IRS out of your pocket, out of your business, out of your retirement plan. You want to complete your Roth conversions before you need to start withdrawing at least some as best you can for retirement. Starting in 24, you know, RMDs will no longer be required from employer based Roth. That's a biggie. Employer based Roth plans. Retirement plans will not be required to have RMDs, which is huge. Employers can now contribute matching contributions with after tax dollars. So you're not handcuffed, unlike a regular Roth where you had to.

Bob Loss:
You can always extend it and let it go if you never need it. Tax free to your family, your beneficiaries, your kid, your grandkids, whomever. So that was a really good piece of that legislation. The penalty to take an RMD decreased to 25%. It was 50%, so it decreased to 25% of the RMD amount and decrease the 10% if corrected. So if you miss it, something happens and it just didn't happen. You're going to basically have a chance to correct it within certain parameters. You have to file amended tax return and you'll have basically a. 10% penalty. So you'll pay regular tax and 10% which. Not a bad deal for that. The one that happened to slip by. You also have catch up contributions. So those will increase in 25 for for one case for three government plans. Ira account holders. These these parties be more room to catch up and save employer sponsored plans. Current catch up limit 7500 a year. If you're 50 plus as of 1.25, it will be ten k a year for those 6263, this amount will be indexed to inflation, so automatically adjust yearly based on CPI. Iras current limit on those 50 plus 1000 a year. Starting at 24, the one K limit will be indexed to inflation, so it can increase annually by cost CPI. So let's talk a little bit about 529 savings college savings plans.

Bob Loss:
So after 15 years, assets in a 529 plan can be rolled into a Roth IRA for the beneficiary subject to annual Roth IRA contribution limits Lifetime limit of 35 k qualified charitable distributions beginning at 23 people who are age 70 and one half and older may elect part of their QCD or CO VI charitable distributions limit at one time gift of 50,000. So adjusted for inflation to a charitable remainder unit trust, we call them cuts chairman or charitable remainder annuity trust or a charitable gift annuity. But yeah, I'm familiar with cuts very familiar with them in the last few years. A good way to leave money and get a tax break too while you're alive. This is an that's not legal advice. That's just general information. This is an expansion of the types of charities that can you can receive use a QCD if you have a passion for charity, a special cause, a church, and we can help you make strategic donations in an effective way that leaves a lasting legacy. So what that means is you can there's ways that you can contribute to a charity of your choice while alive and or when you pass. And in some cases, depending on the plan, we can make sure that you're not taking away the legacy from your own family while you're still exercising your philanthropy that you want to while you're alive, you know?

Producer:
Yeah. Good information there, Bob. And again, the catch up contributions they'll increase in 2020 5441403 B's governmental plans and IRA account holders. So that gives pre-retirees more room to catch up and save. What exactly does that mean in layman's terms and more simple terms?

Bob Loss:
So in simple terms, you're allowed to contribute more money that you may not have been able to before to catch up where you could have been from a contribution standpoint. So they increased different limits in a different retirement plans. You may have access to that. You get to put some more money away. In the case of most of these, you're going to take the tax tax break now and then it will be taxed deferred until you access it. It's basically to help you get your nest egg, your gross nest egg to be larger because you have more dollars working for you on a tax efficient or tax deferred manner. And hopefully that cleared it up.

Producer:
I was going to say, and by nest egg, you mean.

Bob Loss:
Your retirement funds. Your retirement funds and these type of plans? Yes.

Producer:
Okay. And again, you mentioned great information there, too, about the 529 college savings plans as well.

Bob Loss:
Yeah. Having that having that flexibility. It used to be you use it or you had you can move it to another beneficiary. So say another kid. Right. Another kid that I have a client like she, the one kid, he's like he's a tech four county. He loves it. He was never going to college. The other one, she's studying to be like a vet. So we moved the money over from the one 529 to the, you know, from the brother or the son to the daughter or sister. And that's now paying for, I believe, almost two years worth of her tuition towards being able to be able to help animals that don't feel good. So.

Producer:
Well, there you go. At least it's a good cause. No?

Bob Loss:
Yeah. Doctors vet. I mean, I think all kinds of all kinds of health care, whether it be canine equine or human kind. We definitely want to have keep getting more good people out there to help make us all feel better when we're feeling a little bit under the weather, let's say.

Producer:
Mm hmm. All right. Well, we're up against a break. And if you have any questions or want to visit with Bob, worked with Bob visits, save money, Bob or call 9083592861. Again that number 9083592861. The website SafeMoneyBob.com smart care and your retirement that's coming up stay with us this is Financial Freedom.

Producer:
You're listening to Financial Freedom with safe money Bob visit SafeMoneyBob.com.

Producer:
All the way.

Producer:
So you know where you are now and where you want to be in retirement. So how do you plan to get there? I'm Matt McClure with the retirement radio Network powered by a MetLife.

Producer:
Do you have any other questions for me, counselor?

Producer:
There are a lot of questions to ask yourself When you start your retirement plan. Questions like When should I retire? How much money will I need? When should I claim Social Security? What about health care costs and taxes in retirement? This complicated puzzle means you're probably going to need some help coming up with a smart retirement plan.

Producer:
If you want to retire successfully, you really need to plan early. You know, Inspector, you expect and get prepared. Putting a plan in place now while you're still working is a great idea.

Producer:
Ford Stokes is founder and president of Active Wealth Management. Once you find a financial professional you want to work with, they can help you answer all the questions you may have.

Producer:
Back to what Warren Buffett said. If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you're going to work until you die. So we need to do everything we can to figure out a way to make money while we're sleeping. We talk about this human capital versus actual capital. When you're young, you have a lot of human capital, You've got a lot of a lot of room left, a lot of capital left in your career, right? But at the same time, a lot of people that are older, let's say you're 65, 70 years old, you don't have a lot of human capital left, but you should have a lot of capital that is making money while you sleep. And if you don't, then you didn't make the right decisions.

Producer:
There are also some retirement costs you may not have considered yet. Long term care, for example. Did you know it's not covered by Medicare? What about home renovations? If you decide to stay in your home instead of moving into a facility, your home might need some updates to ensure you're safe and comfortable. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. So do you have a fiduciary financial advisor or professional to help you wade through the complicated retirement planning process? That is a key question to consider. If you want to make the most of your hard earned money with a retirement radio network powered by a married life, I'm Matt McClure. Do you have a vision for what you want your retirement to look like? I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement Radio Network. Powered by a life planning for retirement can be overwhelming. A survey from Gobankingrates shows that one third of Americans don't think they know enough about retirement. And they're probably right. So if you fall into that category, how do you know where to begin? Well, you've got to know where you want to go before you start planning how to get there. That's where having a smart vision for your retirement comes in. Whether you want to be a jet setter during your retirement years. Want to take it easy in a quiet cabin in the woods or start a new adventure by opening your own business, you should set that goal and keep it in mind throughout your working years, retirement expert Dean Waguespack said during a recent TEDx talk.

Producer:
I want to challenge all of us to redefine.

Producer:
Retirement away from depart, remove withdrawal to a new definition, a blending.

Bob Loss:
Of pay.

Producer:
Passion and.

Producer:
Purpose. Still, retirement looks different for everyone. Sit down with your spouse and talk about your retirement goals. That will make it easier to determine how fiscally responsible you need to be now and how much income you'll need to make it happen after you retire. That's right, I said. Income. More and more retirees are finding that cash flow is more important than one big nest egg number.

Bob Loss:
That's when you want to say, Hey, listen, I want to start thinking about all.

Producer:
Of this accumulation.

Bob Loss:
That I've done through these decades of working. How do I begin to think about turning what I've saved.

Producer:
And what I've accumulated.

Bob Loss:
Into paychecks.

Producer:
After I retire?

Producer:
That's Lee Baker, president of Apex Financial Services, speaking to CNBC. He says annuities are a great option for most retirees to generate an income you can never outlive. That's especially important since life expectancy has grown over the years. So you'll need to plan for a longer period of time than you may think. So do you have a smart vision for your retirement years? That's a key question to consider as you start planning how to get there. With the retirement radio network powered by a Married Life, I'm Matt McClure.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to Financial Freedom with Safe Money Bob to schedule a free consultation, call Bob at 9083592861. That's 9083592861.

Producer:
Welcome back. Inside Financial Freedom. Be sure to catch us every Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 AM on WB or subscribe and listen to the show in podcast form Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. We talked last segment about the Secure Act 2.0 and Bob, you mentioned during the break, you and I off air about how there's some really good things in that secure Act 2.0 that people can take advantage of.

Bob Loss:
You know, those, those points that I just made just wanted to highlight a little bit in the CARES Secure Act 2.0. Basically it's just actually they are positives for your planning. You have two ways you can go if you have substantial retirement assets that are going to be subject to RMDs, you have a longer period of time to either convert them to Roth or use that money while letting your Social Security benefit grow by 8% all the way past your full retirement age. So all of a sudden you're sitting at 70. Maybe by then you can turn your Social Security on because you decided you wanted to wait and you're healthy. And by then you've either watched most of your qualified retirement money out of regular four, one K or IRA into a Roth IRA, which then could hopefully allow you to have Social Security benefits that aren't even taxable. So there's a lot of good stuff in there. It's refreshing. And I just wanted to talk a little bit more about that before we move on to the next segment.

Producer:
All right. Well, the legendary Warren Buffett is the centerpiece of this week's Quote of the Week.

Producer:
And now for some financial wisdom, it's time for the Quote of the Week.

Producer:
And Mr. Buffett says, quote, Someone sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. That from Warren Buffett. Warren Edward Buffett, age 92, is an American business owner, investor and philanthropist, and he is one of the most successful investors in the world. He's got a net worth right for this, Bob, 110 billion again, 110 billion with a B as of January 2023, making him the world's fourth wealthiest person.

Bob Loss:
His whole thing was diversification. Understand what you're investing in and just be consistent with what you're putting away, making adjustments as you have to go on the fly as you go through life. He's a big proponent of just putting money away and quality companies. For his portfolio, Berkshire Hathaway. Yeah, he's a legend in the business when it comes to investing.

Producer:
All right. Moving on, Bob, you touched on policy versus politics last week, and that's another event that you'll be holding in the near future.

Bob Loss:
As far as I know, right this second. We're still building out everything you can. Definitely. Here's a big thing I didn't mention before, like try to go on Facebook and like us or connect with us there. You can obviously go to policy versus politics dot org just by registering for the subscribing to any information. Also be a contributor. We want more people with different views involved because then everybody gets to understand where everybody's coming from, you know, versus not really having any information or thought process from one side versus the other, you know, and then we all can take the information that we're providing and digest it ourself without being skewed by someone's opinion. I don't want anybody's opinion when I want to know what's going on, just tell me what's going on. You know, unfortunately, there was two earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Horrible. All right. That's what happened. What are we doing about it? You know, not well, this is what happened and this is what I think. And that's what policy versus politics is trying to hopefully help eliminate. When people get information. We want you to get straight information so that you can make your own decision based on what you believe from the information you were provided. And you will always get sources. That's a big thing. We always have sources. So you know where it's coming from. It's not just something coming out of the air that somebody decided to write and say here. So you definitely get involved by subscribing like this or being part of Facebook group. You can become a donor, you can become part of the organization if you like. But thanks for bringing it up.

Producer:
I'm trying to get people to understand the policies and how it affects their financial future. That's that's key because again, clarification. Right. And that's, I think the biggest problem right now we have going in our country, especially with the younger generation, because those people aren't exactly well, maybe they're thinking about retirement, but it's at the back of their mind and it's not at the forefront and they don't really understand policy and how that policy that's being enacted could affect their financial future, their 401 K for. Oh, yeah, whatever the case.

Bob Loss:
Right, exactly. Well, think about it. Like even just the whole loan thing, the home was the loan forgiveness thing. Like think about the people that pay cash. Think about the people that worked while they were in school. You know, they didn't take loans and then all of a sudden they paid for their tuition and everything. And other people are getting a break. And, you know, they don't like that, right? They don't like that. Or someone else is like, well, this is great because I really am burdened and now maybe I can put money away for myself. But of course, whenever stuff is forgiven, it's going to affect everyone. Because guess what? We all, generally speaking, pay taxes. There's no free lunch on anything. That's why it's so important to know what policies, what policies are and what they really mean and how they affect you. Everything. You know, your financial situation, obviously, of course, because Financial Freedom would save money, Bob, here. But you just want to understand things and make your own decision. But know that there's never I'm not saying everything's right or wrong, Like there might not be a right or wrong. It'll just be whatever. But, you know, you want to understand what's going to happen because there's always a there's an action and there's a reaction, whether it's taxes, loan forgiveness, health care costs, whatever. Like there's just always a check. There's always like, think of the seesaw. The seesaw?

Producer:
Oh, exactly. Yeah. It's it's a chain reaction. And every decision that you make, at least with you're in politics. And as it pertains to your financial future, when you make those big decisions, those big investments and I'm not talking about the coffee that you get at, say, you know, you're in the Northeast, so the coffee you get at wah wah, for example, I'm talk I'm talking about big investments that you make as it pertains to the political policy, politics and financial investments. Those decisions, they have a ripple effect when you make the right decision and certainly when you make the wrong decision.

Bob Loss:
And you can make decisions now that because of policy that gets changed in the future may not be so look so good. So what you want to do is definitely control. When you can control, that's when you can control your asset, when you can have access to your exit, when you can control the taxation of your asset, control, the fees on your asset control, the risk on your asset, you know, that's that's control in your future along with controlling your debt. Right. We know our countries go into. Dead up to its eyeballs and they're still talking about raising the ceiling again in downtown Washington. But if you think about your own household, right, aren't you healthier mentally, physically, financially, emotionally when your your financial house is in order? So that's what we're here to try to help you with. So please don't hesitate. Go to save money. Bobkoff Book a call 15, 30 or 60 minutes. We'll have a chat, see what's going on. I'll throw you some thoughts based on what your you're telling me, and I'll ask you questions to get your thoughts and we'll go from there. You can also call me at 983592861 24 seven. So want get back to you normally within 24 hours we'll say business hours because if it's on a Saturday morning, it might not be till Monday. Set up a call that way and we can go through your situation further just here to help and try to get you where you want to go.

Producer:
All right. Coming up next, smart care in your retirement. Important stuff. That's coming up. This is Financial Freedom.

Producer:
Guide Questions Save Money. Bob is here to help visit Safe money. Bob Dotcom today. Are you concerned about market volatility, rising taxes, economic uncertainty, and how it all could affect your future in retirement? Then tune in to Financial Freedom with Safe Money Bob, to learn how you can protect and grow your hard earned money. Financial Freedom Weekends at 8 a.m. right here on WB AM 1490 and 107.3 FM. Protect your hard earned money today and schedule a free consultation now at SafeMoneyBob.com. You're listening to Financial Freedom with safe money Bob.

Producer:
Welcome back to this week's Financial Freedom. Thanks for making Bob and I a part of your weekend and again catch us every Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 AM right here on ABC. Be all right. Let's dive into this week's Power Tip of the week.

Producer:
It's time for Safe Money Bob's Power Tip of the Week.

Bob Loss:
All right. So we touched a little bit upon it earlier, but not officially. So I think I want to elaborate a little bit more. So we talk about investing now in retirement, pre retirement when you're young for different things in your life. What about investing and not just when you're retired? How about when you're younger? How about before anything's going on? Like invest in your own health, invest in yourself, invest in your mental health. Reading books. We talked about read books, join groups, use your mind, you know, use your mind. Don't just use your your head, your head as a hat rack. Right. Physical health. How about like the heart, You know, your physique, your body, your weight as it relates to your height. Maybe. Maybe you're somebody who needs to do a golo or a new. Maybe you're somebody that likes to just join a planet Fitness for ten bucks a month and do some of the group classes, which also not only keeps you physically in better health, the opportunity to be in better physical health, but also helps you with mental health. We talked about being parts of groups, communicating with others, and it's an easy way to accomplish two to kill two birds with one stone, we'll say, because you're basically getting your mind in a good spot as well as your body in a good spot, you know, And hopefully it helps you emotionally as well, because then you've got interaction and you're balanced.

Bob Loss:
But you still I always find it's good to have some time to yourself, to not just to read. Sometimes I'll sit here and just watch a rerun of some TV show by myself, like and you think about things not just sitting there mindlessly staring at the tube, you know, And all that helps when you have your financial health in order, because financial health, whether it be marriages, yourself, anything, if you're not in good financial spot like it's stressed, it can stress you out, which changes all your other health, your mental health, your physical health and your emotional health. So my power tip of the week is to try to keep all those aspects of your health. Where you want them to be, and we're here to help. That's why save money. Bobkoff Book a call 900 83592861. Leave a message 24 seven. Let us know when you want to talk. Give me a couple of options. And one of my associates will make it happen.

Producer:
All right. Moving on with the show, part two of our Smart Retirement plan, a follow up from last week's show. And again, if you missed that, by the way, go back in the archives and take a listen via the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you may get your podcast. Earlier in this week's show, Bob and I discussed smart health in retirement, eating right, exercising regularly, continuing to socialize, very important points to what we talked about earlier. But now we turn the page, Bob, to smart care when it comes to your retirement.

Bob Loss:
Yes. So, again, this is all important. These are all biggies, right? So it's an estimated that around 13 million Americans rely on long term care services. This includes around 7 million retirees. I'm working my favorite old couple, older couple in their mid to upper eighties. I always talk about there's an aide in the house 24 seven and you know and he's he's not he's disabled he's chronic health he just can't really take care of himself. And I can tell you from an expense standpoint, it's over six figures and that's what someone going shop and making sure the prescription is right, making sure hygiene is good food, everything. So 69% of Americans will require some sort of that type of long term care assisted living during the retirement years. You know, you don't have to plan in place. You can the burden of care may fall onto family members or friends, which you hopefully don't want to have happen. You know, your loved ones can and will then become unofficial caregivers. These unofficial caregivers are not paid or they're not paid for. Their services are also referred to as informal caregivers. So this this distinguishes them from paid caregivers, such as home health aides I just mentioned in nursing home staff. According to the National Alliance, there's a fact for you of caregiving in 2015. This is a little while back, estimated 34 over 34 million unpaid caregivers provide care to adult or child with disability or chronic illness.

Bob Loss:
Forget about the children, too, that will never be able to take care of themselves. Now there are estimated 40 million unpaid caregivers across the country. 40 million? That means family, friends, they're just helping out. Maybe they're able to, but how has that affected them in other ways? You know, caregivers such as family members or friends who provide care for someone who's unable to care for themselves can be greatly affected, as I just mentioned, for caregiving responsibilities. In some ways, they're going to be affected. I'm going to name off a few. I think I touched upon this in previous shows. You know, the physical strain, the physical strain caregiving can be physically demanding. It leads to chronic injuries or chronic health conditions because you're you're you're running yourself down when you're the person taking care of the other individual or child or elder person, you know, emotional strain. See, this caregiving can be emotionally taxing and can lead to feelings of stress, depression and anxiety. Witnessed this, lived it with my own family on one side of my family and my grandparents on one side lived to be in their mid nineties and finding someone to care for them was very difficult, very expensive. Unfortunately, I was too young to help them with the coverage type aspect of it, but it was rough watching family members help take care of them with help of even having some aides that came in. But it was just very stressful at that time.

Bob Loss:
And then there's the financial strain, right? Caregiving can be costly. It can lead to financial burden for unpaid caregivers who they have to take cover for work or don't even bother to work. They make other financial sacrifices. So that's another reason and social isolation. Again, we're back to the emotional thing here. Caregiving can be isolating, which can lead to unpaid caregivers feeling disconnected from friends and other social networks. So you can't go out and have that breakfast, perhaps with your group or go and play board games with your friends, whatever it is you do, potentially golf If you're healthy enough and you like to still do that, your activities get diminished because of the care or the time you need to be helping by giving care. And then there's burnout, which caregiving can be overwhelming and it can lead to unpaid caregivers just experiencing like they're just shot, like totally shot. Every aspect I just went over could be completely you're just like, done. But but you have to soldier on in a way because you you can't you're not going to give up. You're not going to help out if you can. So in order to avoid subjecting family and friends to these potential stresses, you should work with them and with a financial advisor like myself to make sure you're prepared in the event you should require long term care in the future. So you want to plan for this stuff.

Bob Loss:
And again, the you don't have. You don't have to, per se, pay a premium and never see it again if no one uses it. So I'm going to go into some of the ways that you can pay for long term care during retirement. So there are several ways, right? There are several ways. As I mentioned, you could purchase long term care insurance. You know, this type of coverage or insurance can help cover costs of care in a nursing home, assisted living or home health care. Now, the way things are, you don't have to just buy a policy, pay premiums and hope not hope. You hope you don't use it. But then that money's gone. There's a lot of different things, concepts, a lot of different options for you. That's why you may want to reach out to me If you're planning on these type of events in the future. Save money. Bobkoff Call 15, 30 or 60 Minutes or give you a call at 9083592861 24 seven. So it will give you a call set up a time that works for us. So there's ways to do it. You can do it with assets. I've had people that had CD money in the bank and what we would do is we move some of that CD money because we are leveraging their dollars. That's another power tip, leveraging the dollars. So if I forgot 100,000, the person stays in their sixties and somehow I can get them based on the numbers, the health, you know, you don't have to be like super healthy.

Bob Loss:
You just have to be healthy. You can generally get anywhere from 2 to 3 times your money over time in the form of benefits that help pay for long term care type expenses. You can save for those expenses, right? Setting aside money specifically for those long term care expenses that help cover costs when the time comes, problems you're paying dollar for dollar or your dollar is growing enough to keep up with the inflation area. Pressure on the cost for care, most likely not. Hence why you might want to consider some of the things that I just touched upon that we could show you using retirement savings. People do this. Many people use money from the retirement accounts to pay for long term care. It includes withdrawals and forks and IRAs. Now, here's the issue. What if you're using a lot, the majority of that money to live off of, say, you're married, you and your spouse, you're married, you're using this money, all of a sudden, you have to pull from that nest egg to pay for long term care or a home aides or whatever in your house. Let's say you move out of your house. Well, now you potentially, if you're using the same funds or pool of money bucket will call it, if you're if you're lowering the bucket total and you're still pulling out that money that you need to live off of, plus money for care.

Bob Loss:
Again, work on these all the time. You basically are looking at potentially running out of money, which you don't want to do that right? Then you have Medicaid. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program. It can help pay for long term care. Those have limited access and income. So what happens is you're basically would spend down almost all of your money. And I don't have the numbers memorized, but if you're married, it's a certain amount. And if you're by yourself, it's another amount. And then there's also veteran benefits experience. This with my father in law. You know, you're veteran. You're eligible for benefits that help pay for long term care. He passed right before the year before COVID. So probably spring of 19. He was we were paying it well, we the money was coming out of the estate and the tune of about 12,000 a month, maybe a little bit more, about 144,000 a year per year annually. And we switched into a veteran's. If you can get in, like if you can get in to a veteran facility, I think the premium or premium, the expenses went down with everything to only 5500 a month or 66,000 a year. Fortunately for him, I guess, and he just wasn't in a home that long because he was in his over 90 years old when it all occurred.

Bob Loss:
So he he wasn't here that long. But even with the short stay in the estate definitely got hit. And again, he was way too old before I got in this game to be able to help when it came to setting him up with different plans. So just to give you all those points, give you some perspective personally, not only do I experience these things with my clients, I've also experienced some of them myself personally with my family. So you just the key is that people don't plan to fail. They fail to plan. You want to wait till someone's sick and say, how are we paying for it? Or who's going to take care of them? You know, you don't want to do that. It's just not a good way to go through go through life. And I'm sure Jim, Jim will agree and tell you like you want to work with an advisor, I can help you with these things. I mean, we're here to help. It doesn't doesn't cost you anything. You can basically look at your situation, give you our thoughts, ask questions, get your thoughts, say, can I show you some some ways you might be able to be in a better spot? You have the choice to execute those or just take it in and food for thought and so be it. Whatever happens happens. But you just got to. People fail to plan. They don't plan to fail.

Producer:
Yeah, I love how you say that pretty much every week because it is so true. And today's episode connected both smart health and smart care. If you don't plan with that smart health, taking care of yourself, some of the factors that we talked about earlier in the show. And that long term care. And everybody has to go through that, I think, obviously. But that long term care could really become a burden because you fail to really prepare yourself in that smart health section of things, correct?

Bob Loss:
Exactly. And again, you can try to I find a lot of not a lot, but just certain clients. It's like they don't tell their kids anything and their kids aren't kids. They're like 50, 60 years old. I'm like, you want to you want to have your immediate family if possible. Obviously, the spouse should know what's going on with the other spouse as far as what the plan is, the kids or adult children, whatever you want to call them, should know what the plan is, be involved and what's going to happen. Like, are we planning for one of them, one of you to have somebody help you? Or who's going to do that? Like, do we have assets? Do we have ways to protect our, you know, not only your retirement but also your legacy? Like, wouldn't it be a shame that you spent down all your money to just keep you somewhat comfortable while you were not even really living the life you wanted to before you passed and leaving little to nothing? After all the years of hard work, saving, growing your money, and then you don't really have anything left for it left to leave. So again, these are things that I help people with weekly, monthly, yearly. It's what I do, you know, just like I said, I've experienced these different things.

Bob Loss:
Unfortunately, personally, and for the most part I've been able to help my clients avoid some of these situations, depending on how soon they worked with me. Some of them I just all get involved. It's kind of too late because of where the where they came from, the referral from the CPA that happened to find out what's going on from the from the adult child, things like that. So, yeah, definitely give me a call. 983592861 here to help. So I'll call you back, set you up with a time again. I would say 15 minutes is good to get to know you, but probably 30 to an hour is probably a good idea. And or if you prefer, safe money. Bob again, we'll have the link to that other webinar co-hosting with Tom headed up hopefully soon, if not already. And then, you know, it doesn't cost anything to have a chat. So let's have a chat, see what's going on, see what's bothering you, figure out what's hurting, what the pain is. I'll try to solve your pain. And again, if nothing transpires after our session or meeting or chat, whether it be one or two, we leave his friends. It's all good.

Producer:
Yeah, there are many benefits and reasons why you should meet with an advisor slash financial professional If you don't have a health care plan in place for you or your spouse's future. And if you don't have a formal retirement plan, well, what's it like to work with Bob? He provides comprehensive consultations, again, at no cost to our listeners, and there's absolutely no obligation. Only work with Bob if it's best for you. So, Bob, one more time, how can people reach out?

Bob Loss:
All right, Jim, you can definitely call my office. 9083592861. Leave a voicemail again, it's 24 seven. It's there. One of my associates will get back to you, usually within 24 hours, if it's on a monday through Friday. If it's on a weekend, it may be the, you know, the next Monday. So a couple of days. But that's one way to do it. If you do leave a message, please, just just in case. Just leave your phone number, date time you called, speak clearly. And then also, if you have preferable days or times that you want to have a chat and how long you think you want to chat, just leave that all in the voicemail and then we'll try to accommodate you on one of those dates in a time that you would like to speak and also go to save money. Bob Click the calendar link. You've got an option again, 15, 30 or 60. Hey, if we end up if I don't have something button up against the back of our call and we talk for an hour and 20 minutes, it's all good. It's fine. As long as we're kind of figuring things out and figuring out what you're what's bothering you and what your pain is and what you need to have addressed. And then I'll do my best to help you address it.

Producer:
And just a reminder, there are many benefits and reasons why you should meet with an advisor slash financial professional if you don't have a health care plan, for example, in place for you or your spouse's future. And if you don't like a formal retirement plan, well, now's your chance to work with Bob. Bob provides a comprehensive consultation at no cost to our listeners, and there's absolutely no obligation. So again, only work with Bob if it's best and suits your needs. All right. Well, hey, it was fun. As always. Be sure to join us back here every Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. on WB B And don't forget to subscribe, of course, to the podcast catalog on Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Have a great rest of your weekend and we will talk to you next week.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to Financial Freedom with Safe Money. Bob. You deserve to work with a financial and insurance expert who can offer proven strategies for protecting and growing your hard earned money to schedule your free no obligation consultation. Visit SafeMoneyBob.com or pick up the phone and call 9083592861. That's 9083592861.

Producer:
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