3.10.23: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

3.10.23: 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:
Good morning. Hi again, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Financial Freedom. Thank you for making us a part of your weekend and providing the show support each and every week on the radio side on Wbkb and in podcast form on Apple, Google and Spotify or of course, wherever you get your podcast. But let me give a warm welcome to the financial expert himself. Safe Money Bob.

Bob Loss:
Morning, Jim. How you doing, buddy?

Producer:
It's great to be here again, Bob. All right. Packed show today with the most important decision you'll make in retirement, serving as the core message for today's show. Plus, what to do with your old and unused 529 funds. New options for college savers. It's all coming up. But Bob, let's crack open this week's quote of the week.

Producer:
And now wholesome financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Producer:
Our quote of the week this week courtesy of Eleanor Roosevelt, who said, quote, It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan. Again, that quote comes to us from former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Bob Loss:
Yeah, guess her point was, you know, sitting there pondering what you should do versus taking action. I'll give you a little quote from somebody I follow. Success loves speed.

Producer:
Okay. And who's that from?

Bob Loss:
A guy by a gentleman by the name of Craig Ballantyne. He's like a success coach that I've been part of on and off for years. And basically the gist of it is like like Eleanor Roosevelt was saying, don't just wish, like, make things happen. Even if you're free. Don't be afraid of not being perfect. So if it's not perfect, it's okay. Just just action leads to action. So I think that's her point as well as Mr. Valentine.

Producer:
And of course, a quick reminder, Bob provides comprehensive consultations at no cost to our listeners, and there is absolutely no obligation. So you only work with Bob. If it's best for you, Bob will help you cut unnecessary costs in your 401. 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 (908) 359-2861 or log on to SafeMoneyBob.com. All right, Bob, let's shift gears and discuss an article that came out this week from CNBC.com talking about the new options for college savers, a plan with what to do with your old and unused 529 funds.

Bob Loss:
Yeah, this is pretty interesting stuff that's developed material. Basically any old you know, years ago, if you didn't use, let's say a two kids and one kid became a tradesman, which is great because we don't have enough and the other one and didn't need their funds and the other one went to college and needed the funds. You could actually the only thing you could really do is switch to the switch the beneficiary of those funds and use them, or you'd wait as a wealth transfer strategy and they would just have the kids pull money out. If the parents had a very high tax bracket, you know, the kid would be paying like 15% plus a 10% penalty for not using it for education. So 25%, which for some was better than 40, 25 was better than 40 on tax rates. So anyway, but now we have a whole new world here. What you could do with the unused funds inside of 529 plan and this is courtesy of CNBC.com tax free rollovers 529 plans into a Roth IRAs. So 529 plans carry tax advantages are ready for college savers. You know your earnings you know in the account contributions grow tax free and aren't taxable if you used for qualifying education expenses. Those are generally going to be tuition fees, books, room and board. Those are all generally what you pay. Used to doing it myself now for let's see, fourth semester I'm going on and basically there's about 1.7 trillion inches the federal omnibus spending package. It includes a provision that allows tax free rollovers of money in 529 plans to Roth IRAs. And that starts in 2024. So next year, the new provision you know, the new provision provides, it's a good opportunity for people, you know, whoever have those 529 college savings accounts, you know, and the money hasn't been used, won't be used.

Bob Loss:
There's nobody to transfer it to for higher education. Now, those funds can be put to use and. Different way. You can use the rollover measure which takes effect again, I mentioned just now 2024. It has some limitations, though. Among the largest is you can only do this transfer from a 529 to a Roth. Total lifetime cap on the transfers of 35,000. So the restrictions, like I just mentioned, 35,000, the lifetime transfers from from a 529 plan into a Roth. You know, those rollovers are subject to an annual Roth IRA contribution limit. So your limit would be 6500. Here in this case, 2023. You know, the laws can only be made to the beneficiaries. Roth IRA. Now, this is important. Take a note here. So not the account of the owner. So now if I'm contributing to a 529, if I did and you know, I do it differently, it would have to go to the to the child. So say my son has a 529 plan. And I own it. But the child, my son, is the beneficiary. So the money would be rolled into a child's Roth IRA. Not the parents, so not mine if I had one. And another caveat, the 529 account must have been open for at least 15 years. So those are some key facts, figures, restrictions. You know, again, you want to know what you're doing, You know, give me a call. 908 3592861. Book a call. By leaving a message, someone will call you back to set it up or go to SafeMoneyBob.com Book a 1530 or 60 minute consultation free of charge to my listeners. And we can go over, you know, the intricacies of this new legislation.

Producer:
What are some of the intricacies, Bob, of the new legislation that people may or may not completely understand? Because there's always that fine print in there that a lot of people don't always read, don't always understand. So what are some of those intricacies?

Bob Loss:
Yeah. So the keys here and I kind of just reviewed them and, you know, it could be, you know, how long these IRS codes are. So just I'm just going to recap a little bit what we just went over. So these are key, key things to remember. You know, you only got that cap, 35,000 total, 6500 a year and has to go from the. The basically the kid the kid or child's 529 account goes from 529 account into the Roth. You don't transfer it to your own Roth IRA. Like that doesn't work. You got to remember, these accounts most likely had to be open when the kids were somewhat young. Or you have to wait at least 15 years until the account's been opened that long to do this. So it's a nice little provision. You know, if you use it properly, you got to make sure you use it properly. So, you know, talk to the financial professional or myself as well, you know, safe money Bob, to, uh, you know, really understand it. If you think it's something that you definitely may want to be able to utilize. I like the idea it gives people who did put money away, you know, try to do the right thing, help their kids out where that money doesn't have to go to someone else and be used for higher education, you know, or get taxed with a penalty even if the child has a low income tax bracket. Um, so those are the things I think are very important. Again, it's, it's nice when you can change the use of something for, say, paying for higher education to help and supplement retirement income down the road.

Producer:
Yeah. And again, I think when a lot of people hear about the 529 plans with college and everything else, there's that immediate mean you're probably at times you felt this probably too. As a parent you feel that immediate panic that begins to set in and you wonder with the college fees and everything, how am I going to pay for this, this 529 plan? And a lot of it can be very overwhelming, I would think. I mean, look, you explain that very well in this first segment, but there's a lot of information in there. Again, that fine print and everything else, that 529 plan and paying for college and whatnot, it's it all can be very, very scary at times and a little bit overwhelming for people.

Bob Loss:
Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, just reading up on it in general is always a good thing. And I'll tell you something, you learn a lot when you fill out fasfa forms for your kids. No kidding? God, no kidding. Yeah.

Producer:
Yeah. How long did it take you to fill out those FAFSA forms?

Bob Loss:
Uh, well, let's see. The first time. Actually, it wasn't that bad. We actually had a course at our high school. So fortunately, you know, being in the financial services arena, some things come to me a little quicker than others. So, you know, when you're not used to looking at this lingo and jargon and they've got it all, you know, for some of our listeners out there, maybe it's not necessarily your kids, but maybe your grandkids, you know, so your kids are dealing with it. But, you know, just being thorough, being thorough.

Producer:
That makes sense. Yeah, but that's again, that's sometimes the problem with some people. It's just they they have to be thorough with these things and they're not, unfortunately. So there's a lesson to take away from this. It's to be as thorough as.

Bob Loss:
Possible, thorough as possible, and work with someone who knows, you know, that can help you with these things. The system is actually much more improved when you're doing it. And really it connects even to the IRS. A little scary, but they they pull your returns from there and put it into the FAFSA for each particular institution. Uh, I did it for my son and we did it for my daughter, so I had to do it twice in one night. What excitement. Um, but yeah, that and just again, the use of the 529 money that can now be for your I mean think about this. You could you know you're alive you fund your kids 529 plan they don't end up let's say they get scholarships. Let's say they get merit money. Right? And then you don't need it all. So then it's like, well, you can actually put it into your child's Roth IRA. And long, long, long, long after you're gone. That will be money that they can use, you know, potentially during their retirement, which would be a very gosh, could potentially be another like 50, 40, 50 years, you know, after college. Think about that. Like that's that's and and it's growing tax free roster tax free so you're never paying tax on the growth of the 529 money and even after that in the Roth during retirement and.

Producer:
That's that's key right there that's if anything if there's anything that people should hear it's what you just said about the tax. Absolutely. The point you made, that's probably.

Bob Loss:
The biggest advantage for the whole deal.

Producer:
Yeah. And of course, a reminder, we want you to live a lifestyle in retirement that you enjoy. But we also want to make sure that your money outlives you and not the other way around. So I encourage all of our listeners on the radio and podcast side to visit the website Save Money Bob.com and give us a call to schedule a complimentary consultation with Bob at (908) 359-2861. And again, there's no obligation and it gives Bob a chance to learn more about you and how he can help you live that stress free retirement lifestyle that you so richly deserve. So again, visit safe money.com to learn more. Coming up, the most important decision you'll make in retirement Financial Freedom with Safe Money Bob, stay there.

Producer:
Helping bring you one step closer to Financial Freedom. You're listening to Financial Freedom with safe money, Bob. 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 Wbcb 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. To schedule your free No obligation consultation, visit SafeMoneyBob.com.

Producer:
Welcome back to Financial Freedom. Thanks for making us a part of your weekend. Coming up, the most important decision you'll make in retirement. We'll discuss that a little bit later on. Hey, be sure to check out the show's YouTube page as well. Visit YouTube.com and search Financial Freedom with safe money Bob to watch clips from previous episodes of Financial Freedom. Bob, let's break down for the people how everybody can cut costs in their portfolios.

Bob Loss:
Yeah, fees could be a killer, Jim. I mean, you don't realize, especially we don't realize how much you're paying for things. So, you know, most people do not realize what they are paying in fees. So we find, you know, that's that's definitely an issue. And you want to understand the fees that you're paying inside of your portfolio in retirement accounts. It makes a difference. You know, if you're paying one and a half or 2% versus half a point or 0.5 or 1%, it makes a big difference on what your on your performance. It could make you really have some underperforming assets. Now, again, remember, it's your money. You know, don't you want to get the most out of it? I mean, that's what we try to do for our clients. Again, you know, reach out to me at SafeMoneyBob.com book A Call or Call 908 3592861. Leave a message 24 over seven. So we'll get back to you, set up a little chat. You know, and remember, fees can affect everyone who's saving for retirement regardless how much money you have. It's a percentage of your nest egg, you know, whether it's a million, 500,000, 2 million, it can really add up over time. You know, and also remember one thing, you know, retirement is about income, right? It's not about just building up a nest egg and reaching some kind of magic number.

Bob Loss:
1 million, 2 million, you know, 3 million. It doesn't matter. And again, a lot of people focus just on the accumulation phase. They don't think about the income phase. You actually want to think about the income phase before you actually retire. And again, it's something we can help our we help our clients with as well, you know, so when we help our clients take advantage of fee efficient strategies, we always talk about what mitigate risk, mitigate fees, get rid of unwanted charges, so on and so forth. You know, you want to just basically generate safe, predictable income that you can't outlive. And we put plans together that can do that. You know, you can basically establish your own personal pension. I'm actually doing that right now. I'm taking a pension lump sum for a client and we're putting it into a specific type of annuity with a guaranteed income rider can come for free and he's actually buying up a better one. He's choosing choosing to pay a fee for a better benefit. That's the key here. Choosing not paying a fee doesn't know why and it's not really benefiting them, you know, and we can also generate safe, predictable income that you will never outlive doing these things.

Bob Loss:
You know, fixed index annuities you've heard me talk about over the months, you know, previous shows, they're just very powerful tools that we can utilize. And again, we can have no fees or we can have fees. But the key is you decide. You pick what you think is best with our recommendations to hopefully help you do so. You know, and here's a big thing to do. You know what your expense ratio is? What is an expense ratio? It's a ratio as a percentage of expense or, you know, asset cost to your retirement. So let's say you have $1 million in a average balance of $1 million in a 401. K, and let's just say your expense ratio because of the funds you happen to have in there is high. Let's just say it's like 1.5%, not including any other bells or whistles. We'll say that's just for the money to be managed. So if that happens, basically what's going to happen is you're eroding a lot of your gains, a lot of your income, potential income, and that can add up. I mean, just think of have an average balance of a million, just average for ten years and you're paying 1.5%.

Bob Loss:
So let's see, what's that, 15,000. So you basically could be paying $150,000 of fees if you had an average balance of $1 million over the course of ten years while you're accumulating. And that's just money you're giving away. So again, reach out, save money. Bob.com book of Call. You can look at all that and see if you're getting over feed over charged. Also, you know, risk too, you know, and you can also call 908 three. 592861. Leave a message 24 over seven. One of my associates will get back to you to set up a convenient time again. 1530 or 60 minutes or last week I had a call. We went over 61 of our listeners actually, and it was all good. It was all good because I happen to have extra time after that. So it worked out well. And obviously every year they seem to be raising the limits of what you can put into I believe it's in the between the employer and your own contributions in the low 20 seconds as far as what you can contribute. And again, you can make that nest egg again. Remember that thing, too? And this is a key point, Jim, want everybody to listen to and understand is.

Producer:
This is not Bob's power tip of the week, which we will be doing later in the.

Bob Loss:
Show. It is. It is not. And the big thing is you're you're in partnership, basically, when Uncle Sam, you're in partnership with the IRS. So when you know, when you're doing things and you're funding your retirement, you're funding your IRA, you're funding your 401. K, you know, obviously you got to watch risk, right? Want to always rebalance everything I like quarterly, actually, and I like at least 6 to 8 Subaccounts Also, you want to know what your expense ratio is. You want to know what your fees are. You want to know how much you're paying, whether it's internally in the funds or even just the admin charges of the money. And again, it's it's asset based fees. So it's basically the fee may be the same in most cases for the same portfolio, whether you have 100,000 in there or a million. So this is very important. Um, you know, again, if that's your main tool to accumulate your retirement wealth, you know, nest egg, we said before, but more so to have retirement income, which is something that, you know, that we work with, with a lot of our clients, will actually turn on part of that 401. K and switch it into something that has a guaranteed income stream with no no risk. There's no downside risk. You know what's going to happen and maybe the rest of that portfolio gets split up, you know, where there's a little bit of risk on some of it, and then the rest of it is in something that, you know, can grow without fees, without expense ratios, without asset based charges, you know, and still have the ability to accumulate into a larger sum of money for your future.

Producer:
And remember, if you're one of the big name drive up financial institutions or if you've ever been told by your advisor to just hang in there with your money, you need to give us a call today. Call Bob. Visit the website. 908 3592861. Save money Bob.com. No matter how much money you have, the money you have is important to you and it's important to us. So let us protect and grow your assets. Give Bob a call again. 908 3592861. And we would love to answer the questions for all of our listeners. And a quick reminder, if you missed any part of today's show, go back and listen in podcast form Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts and you can listen to the show every Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. right here on Wbcb. Coming up, our future rate hikes on the way. That's next. We answer it coming up. This is Financial Freedom.

Producer:
Questions, Safe Money Bob is here to help visit SafeMoneyBob.com today.

Ford Stokes:
Chapter nine, you can create your own personal pension. Big idea Using an annuity to create a personal pension helps you create a lifetime income stream, but it also helps you leave a legacy for your beneficiaries. All annuities can create annuity income to supplement the income you need before or during retirement. Those who are approaching retirement are afraid that they will run out of money. But an annuity can help make sure you have income you can never outlive. An annuity can be a great investment for your portfolio, but encourage you to be careful that you don't overpay for your annuity. When you put your money into an annuity, the annuity company will pay you your money back at a date. You specify you don't want an annuity company to charge you too much to simply pay your money back to you. I'm confident that leaving a remarkable family legacy is important to you. You likely want to have money left over when you pass away to leave your beneficiaries. The goal of a personal pension is to generate lifetime income with no risk that grows your money and allows penalty free withdrawals. An annuity can create a lifetime income with market like gains and no market risk, while also allowing you to build enough wealth to leave for your beneficiaries when you pass away. Don't give the annuity company fees for doing nothing. We prefer fixed index annuities for our clients that do not have an income writer fee. But you can still create a personal pension without an income writer on your annuity.

Ford Stokes:
If you get an annuity with an income writer, but don't utilize the features of that income writer, then you are not getting what you paid for. You are literally just paying the annuity company 1 to 2% each year. You defer annuity using your annuity without receiving a single benefit for that annual fee. This income writer fee will also draw down your account value or principal, depending on how that index is performing. The growth on your entire account value could be significantly and negatively impacted. Some accumulation focused annuities are built to deliver increasing payments. Without an income writer, you should consider the features your income writer is providing you before deciding to purchase it. As an add on. Make sure you utilize the features you are paying for more ways to get the most out of your annuity. The longer you wait to turn on the annuity, the more you'll receive an annual payments. This is because your annuity will spend a longer time in the accumulation phase, meaning it will spend more time building up your account value. Your annual payments will grow as your account value grows. Believe it or not, you can generate your own personal pension by distributing no more than 5% a year with penalty free withdrawals from your accumulation based annuity policy. Many accumulation annuities are set up to be RMD friendly so you won't suffer a penalty when you have to take your RMD. It would be silly for you to be penalized for something you are required to do. Annuity companies take this into account by creating products that make taking your RMDs easier.

Ford Stokes:
Inspect what you expect with any annuity. Don't just go with what the annuity agent or adviser tells you. Read it for yourself Specifically, you should read the annuity illustration guaranteed and non-guaranteed tables included within the annuity illustration. Also, please remember that an annuity policy is a contract between you and the annuity company. So caveat emptor or buyer beware applies here. Be aware of the annuity you are buying and choose an annuity that works best for you that will help you build a successful retirement and will offer you peace of mind. Whether you choose to generate income through penalty free withdrawals or invest annually in an income rider know the consequences of both. This is a decision you will make at the beginning of the investment process. One poor decision here can cost you 1 to 1.5% of annual growth over a 30 year retirement. This could come out to be a significant loss. Educate yourself on your options and the specifics of each option you are considering. Making the right decision up front will save you a lot of frustration in the long run. Also, please remember that if you withdraw too much annually, say 10%, you will run out of money in 10 to 12 years. Make sure that you are working with an advisor who can help you choose the appropriate withdrawal amount so that your money lasts for your entire lifetime. As discussed above, we recommend no more than 5% be withdrawn each year from your account.

Producer:
Is your house too big for your current needs? What about your current budget? I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement.Radio Network Powered by Amira Life. As our circumstances change, so do our needs. In retirement, it's likely you'll no longer need the two story five bedroom home you've lived in since your kids were all in school. But it's not just the size of the home that can be a consideration in deciding whether to downsize.

Sandra Rimonato:
Some people are living in a situation where the house needs a lot of work. It's time to renovate the kitchen. It's time to put on a new roof. And they they think, do I spend that money? Do I have the energy to do that? Maybe I should just move instead.

Producer:
Real estate expert Sandra Rinomato told CBC News that selling your home and moving into something smaller can be a good way to free up cash in retirement.

Sandra Rimonato:
By selling the house that liquidates gives you the money to live a lifestyle that you've dreamt of your whole life.

Producer:
A smaller place is also cheaper to heat, cool and maintain. Moving into an apartment or living with family members is another way to potentially save money on housing expenses such as lawn care and maintenance. Experts say to maximize your profits on the sale of your old home, keep your real estate agent's commission as low as possible. And there are companies out there that can help if you decide downsizing is right for you. So could cutting the size of your home help keep your retirement budget in check? That's a key question to consider. And it's one of 23 retirement cost cutters for 2023. With the Retirement.Radio Network Powered by AmeriLife, I'm Matt McClure.

Producer:
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 to learn how you can protect and grow your hard earned money. Financial Freedom Weekends at 8 a.m. right here on Wbcb 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. Here's Bob.

Producer:
Welcome back Inside Financial Freedom. You just heard that report from Matt McClure about the 23 cost cutters for 2023. Our latest tradable report we're giving away and again, that report for free. When you book a consultation with Bob, it's packed with tips and ideas for saving money in our current economic climate. So again, book a complimentary consultation, Get this tradable information guide with an abundance of material and instruction and get started on building and optimizing your financial plans for retirement. It's time, Bob, for your Power Tip of the Week.

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

Bob Loss:
All right. So this is going to be pretty well rounded, this power tip for the week. Um, I've been thinking about it, and I think what it comes down to and it's sort of what I've been echoing for months now is you have to know your numbers. You have to know your numbers. Now, what does that mean? Well, it can mean a lot of things, right? We talked about we've talked about in the past, financial or financial health. Okay. So what's my what kind of risk am I looking at? What kind of fees am I paying? What's my tax brackets? You know, where am I at total asset wise? Have I had a review? Have I looked at all my money, where it is and what it's doing? You know? But what about your health? You know, we were talking about financial health. Well, what about your health? Know your numbers. People don't want to go to a doctor. People are afraid to go get a physical. I know people like this. I'm like, what are you what are you doing? Like, so you don't know what your cholesterol is. You don't know what your blood pressure is. You don't know what your blood sugar is, you know any of this stuff. And it's like you're asking for trouble and it's the same thing. So, you know, what do you do with your car? Do you ever get the oil changed? You just hope that the engine is not going to seize up. So here's what the most important part of this whole deal for the power tip. It's when I say know your numbers out there, know your numbers like know your medical numbers mean know your utility numbers know you're paying per kilowatt.

Bob Loss:
Right. Or per therm for nat gas. Know what you're paying your mortgage rate, your mortgage payment. What are your property taxes? What's your insurance? What's the last time you looked at your homeowner's insurance? Your auto insurance? Do you have an umbrella policy? You know, knowing your numbers, if you got kids and you got teenage kids who drive and also drive waverunners or boats, umbrella policy, not a lot of money, peace of mind, you know, knowing your your average rate of return on your portfolio, whether it be an insurance policy or an annuity or an IRA or a Roth IRA or a 529 plan or your 401. K, your 403 B or any of these accounts, you want to know what you're paying for, which we just talked about in the last segment. You want to know where you are. Like what is it tracking to? Where am I going to be? Am I going to be where I need to be? You know, what's my Social Security looking like? You know, what's my payments going to be? Do I want to take it early? Do I want to take it at full retirement age? Do I want to defer it till I'm 70? We talked about obviously you can do RMDs now, age 73 instead of 70.5 became 72, which is now 73, which becomes, I believe 75 age 75 in 2033. So again, power tip of this week is all about knowing your numbers and all parts of your life, even know your numbers, where you think you may want to retire. Where am I going to retire? Am I going to retire in Pennsylvania? Am I going? New Jersey.

Bob Loss:
Retire in Florida. Where am I retiring? What does it cost there? Am I going to be able to have a house with no mortgage or a townhouse? Do I want maintenance? Do I not want maintenance? Do I want to be near the water? Do I want to be near the mountains? Does the state have income tax? Know your numbers? Does the state have an actual income tax, state income tax? Or is a state income tax free? It's important. You know, what's the sales tax in that state? Do I spend a lot of money? Do I want to shop a lot? You know, do I want to travel? How am I going to do that? What hobbies do I have? Are they expensive? How do I afford that? Just know your numbers and try to know your numbers or figure out what numbers will be, which is what we help our clients do. Just go to save money. Bob.com book a call 1530 or 60 Minutes and they can run over depending on my schedule if it needs to because we're making a lot of progress and sharing your thoughts and insights I can give you hopefully. And then also you can call 908. Jim Remember just now. (908) 359-2861 24 seven voice mail. An associate can call you usually within 24 hours or the next business day to set up a call with me and leave your preference as far as time and date or a couple of options for us, that'll make it a lot easier for us. That's your power tip of the week.

Producer:
All right. Moving on with the show. Our future rate hikes on the way. That's the headline for this week's inflation demonstration.

Producer:
Want to know where your hard earned money is going. It's time for an inflation demonstration.

Bob Loss:
So unfortunately, inflation is still rearing its ugly head despite the sledgehammer being taken to the economy. We know that rates have gone up probably the fastest probably in the last 20 years, but basically we still have inflation. I have some numbers to share with everyone, you know, aka guess from your AP news or Fox Business, your website and publications. So I'll give you some updated prices and interest rates. So the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a 12 month, year over year inflation rate was I should let you guess, but I'm going to tell you, was 6.4% in January. So from January of 22 to January of 23, we were running around 6.4% annually. Now, that is down. That is down most likely because of the sledgehammer to the economy. It's down from a high of 9.1 in June year over year. So from like June to June of last year. So things are starting to get a little less inflated, I think. I see, you know, deflation, meaning I'm buying a box of something or a bag of something and the price didn't go up. But I think I'm getting like half or two thirds of what I used to. So that's not fun. You know, with this inflationary pressure, you know, it it's helped though consumers. It's helped us with gas prices.

Bob Loss:
They're more reasonable, lower priced, used cars and trucks. They're still you're still getting a nice penny for the for the primo ones. But you know, it's some things are slowly improving. You know we still have a lot of unemployment to come. I think layoffs and we haven't even seen the effect of the layoffs that we've had probably in the last 4 to 6 weeks yet. So but, you know, they're still feeling the sting, you know, in certain essentials. So I'm going to go over some numbers here year over year on pretty important items. So just take take note and think to yourself, am I really paying that much more or more than that? I mean, I feel like when we go to the to the supermarket, you're still spending 150 to 200 bucks and you come home. I'm like, where's what do I get? What do we buy? I ask my wife, What do we get? Like, is there any meat involved here? So anyway, that's at least how it is here in Central Jersey. But anyway, so food went up just over 11%, electricity up over just about 12%. Natural gas is a biggie. It went up. I don't know. In my case, I think it went up more than that. Um, almost 27%. And then transportation services, airline prices, mass transit, etcetera.

Bob Loss:
14.6%. Now, remember when the airline prices were like very, very depressed and I think that was towards the back end of COVID. So, you know, things in certain areas have definitely changed for the better, not a lot. And other areas, you know, we're still we're still slugging hard. It's it's tough mean it's still going to be tough. We're not we're not out of the woods yet. And I don't know how how should I say how nice of a recession we are going to have. You know, it could be pretty ugly. But so here's here's I'm going to go into interest rates. I'm gonna give you an interest rate update now. So the central bank it's raised rates since mentioned it before. It's the fastest pace since the 80 seconds. And I don't remember that much about interest rates in the 80 seconds because I was in high school and early into college. So don't have a lot experience back then from it. But yet most economists, they think we're still bringing inflation back to their 2% target, the Fed. They're going to policymakers are going to they're going to have to make more rate hikes. Um, I've read somewhere, you know, it could be a couple quarter point rate hikes over the next three meetings. They could get aggressive and do like a half a point and then maybe wait two meetings and then do another quarter point and see what's going on.

Bob Loss:
You know? So Michael Pierce, you know, lead us, economist at Oxford Economics. He wrote in a research note that he expects the Fed to raise its key rate a quarter point each of the next three meetings. That's pretty even. Um, it could possibly be that way. You know, they may go a little heavier quicker or they may go a little heavier at the back end. You know, they're trying to they're trying to find a soft landing. I don't know if it's possible, but that's what they're trying to do. That's why they're not taking baby steps. But if you remember last year, my gosh, you know, half a point, three quarters of a point. Bam, bam, bam, like said, sledgehammer to the economy. Um, and, you know, Michael Pierce is thinking, you know, he might even have additional hikes later in the year, which that's kind of aggressive. I read different publications. I'm not so sure that's going to happen. I could see us not having rates go back down for a while to really let you know, see if they've really raised them enough. You know, the Fed's hikes typically. They make? Well, not typically. They have made mortgages, auto loans, credit card rates and business lending more expensive.

Bob Loss:
It's a trend that it's supposed to the idea is supposed to slow spending and inflation, but it can also seriously threaten the economy to slide into a recession. And, you know, if you're one of the people who gets laid off or you can't keep. It's hard for you to keep up making ends meet. You have an unfortunately, you know, even though he tells you to not have any debt, sometimes you can't avoid it. You know, you've got credit card rates that are approaching 20%, 20%. I mean, just just interest alone. If you have $10,000 on a credit card, that's like $200, you know, you end up paying 2000 bucks for a year. So it's $166 a month. So, you know, all these factors can affect your financial health, can affect how the economy moves. You know, if we're going to get rate cuts eventually, you know, it seems like they never, ever go never, ever. Nothing ever seems to go back down to where it was before it went up that I seem to remember from experience once I got out of college into the real world. So that's your report, you know, on inflation and interest rate interest rate update so far as some experts see it, as well as my own thoughts.

Producer:
Yeah. And again, if you're concerned about inflation, how it could impact your plans for retirement, we would love to meet with you and stress test your current plan to see if it could withstand inflationary pressures. If you're not currently have a formal plan for retirement, you need to give us a call now. 908 3592861. Or go to the website save Money Shop.com and schedule a complimentary consultation. Coming up next, the most important decision you'll make in retirement. This is Financial Freedom.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to Financial Freedom with safe money, Bob. If you like what you're hearing, subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. 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 Week ends at 8 a.m. right here on Wbcb AM 1490 and 107.3 FM. Protect your hard earned money today and schedule a free consultation now at SafeMoneyBob.com. Thanks for listening to Financial Freedom with Safe Money Bob. To schedule a free consultation, call Bob at (908) 359-2861. That's (908) 359-2861.

Producer:
Welcome back to this week's Financial Freedom. Thanks for making Bob and I a part of your weekend. Hey, don't forget to check out our YouTube page, visit YouTube.com and search Financial Freedom. And next week we'll be discussing your retirement nest egg and how it actually could be 15 to 37% smaller than you think. It really is. We're going to tell you why that may be and what you can do to keep more of your hard earned and hard saved money.

Producer:
It's this week in history.

Producer:
This week in history. On this date, March 10th, 1964, the first Ford Mustang was manufactured. The car was originally expected to sell 100,000 models. The vehicle became the most successful car launch since the 1927 model A The Mustang is currently the largest produced car nameplate.

Bob Loss:
Well, this is close to my heart because I own three of them. Over time, I owned a 1990 Silver and a Dish Silver Anniversary edition, white convertible, top white interior, white body paint, Mustang GT. And then I ended up getting a 2000. 2000 was it 2000? 2000? Mustang GT was electric green tan top had cobra rims and tires and the cobra on the back side was a GT, but it looked like a cobra and it was really sweet. And then my last one was an zero four. Mustang was black. Black top, always convertibles, black top, black leather loaded, stick shift, black na. They all had automatics in them. Yeah. You know what, though? It was all right because I had to drive a lot back then, so I would have no left knee probably from shifting with the clutch. But still lots loud tunes, good looking cars, you know, fun cars. Not great on gas, not great on keeping tires. Very long, but fun. Fun.

Producer:
Also on this date, March 11th, 1950, American folk and jazz artist Bobby McFerrin was born. Mcferrin's song Don't Worry Be Happy was a number one US pop hit in 1988 and won Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 1989. Mcferrin later was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the A Cappella Music Awards in 2018.

Bob Loss:
I remember it. Remember that song made you feel happy, which is why it says, Don't worry, be happy. It was just like this mellow. I don't know, kind of just when you're just hanging out, you heard it. It was like, okay, why worry and be happy? That's why you want to make sure you have all of your financial matters in order. Keep it, keep track of your health. You know, we talked about with the power tip, right, Jim? It was about, you know, knowing your numbers. Well, that's how you can also, you know, have have a great life of hopefully not worrying too much and hopefully being pretty happy.

Producer:
Okay, Bob, it's time to give out and explain the most important decision you'll make in retirement.

Bob Loss:
All right. So you may you may have thought about this already and you may know what I'm going to be telling you. But basically, it's really you got to think about what you're going to do about Social Security if you haven't already done so and haven't already taken it. You know, we help people navigate the most important decision regarding the retirement, because Social Security, it's a big piece for a lot of people, unfortunately. I think sometimes it's too big a piece of the retirement income for some people. But it is what it is. And we try to, you know, work through everything and make it work, you know, So you're going to ask yourself some questions or you have been, you know, can I count I hear this all the time, too, from clients. Can I count on Social Security to be there throughout my 30 plus year retirement? Well, I think there's going to be changes to it. And I think you could see, you know, maybe as as we age, you may have to wait a little longer for full retirement. Maybe they'll they'll take away, you know, allowing it to compound if you don't take it for a few extra years, you know, and that will come into play. When you say to yourself, you know, when should I take Social Security? Well, there's a lot of factors, right? Am I healthy? You know, do I think I'm going to live another 20 years? Well, if not so likely, you may be better off taking it. If you do have a larger benefit than your spouse and your spouse is very healthy, then you may not want to take it and you may want to let it grow as much as it can be, because ultimately you only have one surviving spouse.

Bob Loss:
You can only have one of the Social Security benefits. You're not going to get both. Again, you want to you may want to wait if you're really healthy. It's kind of like you got to figure it out. We help people figure it out. Again, go to SafeMoneyBob.com book A Call, 1530 or 60 Minutes or a little longer. Perhaps if I have free time or call 908 359 2861. Leave a message 24 seven. One of my associates will get back to you so that we can have a time to chat and figure out what makes sense. You know, I just touched upon to what happens to your benefits with one of you yourself or your spouse passes away. Well, what's going to happen is and I just mentioned it, I'll repeat it, it's kind of a mini power tip will say, Jim, mini power tip. You want to take obviously the larger amount. It's rare that I see clients, you know, prospective new clients come in and both Social Security checks are virtually the same. It seems like one is always more and a lot of times not like close like ones like, you know, 2800 a month, you know, like maybe 1500 a month. So and let's just say that's both at full retirement age, for example. So it's just things you have to take into account. It's a very important part of most people's retirement decision making.

Bob Loss:
So I'm going to go over a few facts here for everybody. So in 1950, there were more. Think about this. Now let this sink in. These next these next three statements I'm going to make. Let this sink in. Um, in 1950, there were more than 16 workers per Social Security recipient recipient. And that's courtesy of ssr.gov, you know, history ratios, etcetera. But if you haven't done this already, there's another mini power tip. Go to ssr.gov, set up your secure portal. You have access to your Social Security reports. You want to know them if you haven't been taking them already, if you're not currently taking Social Security, very important. So remember 1950 16 workers per Social Security recipient, right. Contributing in other payroll today. Less than three per recipient. So 2.8 workers and it's headed in the wrong direction. Eventually it's going to be two and then 1 to 1 way down the road. So definitely just going to have to be some reform in some capacity. But I think there will always be and, you know, I'm not I'm not I'm not the one deciding, but I'm pretty confident in this statement that there will be a Social Security benefit for for all of us, you know, just made me much different than what we see now. You know, meanwhile, on top of all this, our national debt sits at almost $32 trillion. So 31.6. And to make things even worse, hate to be a poo pooing right now and everything but the nation's unfunded liabilities. What we're going to have to pay at some point is $182 trillion.

Bob Loss:
And if you want to get a little upset here, go to w-w-w plus debt clock.org because you can watch real time the debt of the country go up. It's just it's just mind blowing, you know? But here's the bottom line. You know, you can't count on Social Security as your only source of income in retirement. Now, can it be part of it? Sure. Can we figure out the way to maximize it? Absolutely. But again, you have to figure in the you know, what's going to happen if you're married, you know, you got to have a plan how you replacing the Social Security check when one spouse passes, when you're used to having two checks, checks coming in each month. So that's all part of the planning. So, again, please, you know, reach out to me. (908) 359-2861. Leave a message. We'll get back to you. One of our associates set up a time to talk about all this stuff because it's that important. And then also, if you like going to the Internet, just go to SafeMoneyBob.com and book a 15, 30 or 60 minute call with me and we'll go over all these things because this is important. Like you don't want to mess it up. You want to make sure you're making the right decision based on all the factors that we should discuss and consider regarding Social Security and when to take it. So it's that important, you know? So, Jim, just hopefully everybody understands that this is a very big piece of the retirement puzzle.

Producer:
All right. Again, there are many benefits and reasons why you should meet with an advisor or financial professional. Again, we've kind of outlined some of those things with this information we've given out today. Well, first, 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 is it like to work with us? What is it like to work with Bob? Bob provides comprehensive consultations at no cost to his listeners, and there's absolutely no obligation. So you only work with Bob if it's best for you. So, Bob, one more time, how can people reach out?

Bob Loss:
Yeah. So preferably if you want SafeMoneyBob.com. There's a calendar link there. You're able to just, you know it'll pop up with when I'm available and you can pick your amount of time you'd like to talk. You know, it could be 15, 30 or 60 minutes. I find that the initial calls should probably be a good idea to book like 60 Minutes because again, if we don't need it all, it's fine. But let's say you book a 30 and I have another 30 minute write back to back and we kind of aren't finished with our discussion. You know, we'd have we just would continue with another discussion, probably. But that's one way. The other way is just calling the office 24 over seven. Voicemail (908) 359-2861. It'd be best if you could leave your name, phone number time you call date you called. And when you think you know a couple couple options when you think you'd like to have a conversation and for how long. And then one of my associates will definitely reach back out to you either within 24 hours or the next business day to make that happen.

Producer:
All right. Don't forget, next week we discuss your retirement nest egg and how it actually could be 15 to 37% smaller than you think it is. That's next week. Join us then. Thanks for listening. Have a great rest of your week, everybody.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to Financial Freedom with Safe Money, Bob. You deserve to work with the 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 safe money bob .com or pick up the phone and call (908) 359-2861. That's (908) 359-2861.

Producer:
Not affiliated with the United States government. The annual agency does not offer tax, legal or investment advice. Consult with your tax advisor or attorney regarding specific situations. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. These opinions are not intended as investment advice, nor do they predict future performance of any product. All information provided is believed to be from reliable sources. However, we make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of any statement. This information is intended to be educational in nature and does not provide a guarantee or specific result. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. A life assumes no responsibility or liability for the content of this message. The information contained herein is provided on an as is basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information.

Producer:
Have you considered ways to cut your health care costs? I'm Sam Davis with the Retirement.Radio Network Powered by Amira Life. In retirement, you may think Medicare is free, but you would be wrong. Author Ryan Haugen recently told Yahoo Finance there are actually quite a few costs to consider.

Riann Horgan:
So the first part of Medicare to think about is there are multiple parts, and so Part A is actually free, but part B has $148 premium per month. On top of that, consumers then have to think about, you know, are they going to get a medicare Advantage plan, which really pulls all of the costs together, or are they going to add on a drug plan as well as adding on a supplemental plan to add themselves with more protection?

Producer:
Combine that with overall expenses which continue to increase due to inflation and retirees are really feeling the pinch. A recent poll by Clear Match Medicare showed that more than a third of seniors have cut down on costs in other areas of their life to afford their health care expenses. But before you go making any big decisions, take the time to do your research. You can use online tools to compare prices for prescription drugs, medical procedures and insurance premiums to get the best deal. Another good idea is to seek out the advice of a financial advisor or professional. They can help you decide what might be best for you and work your health care plan into your overall financial picture. Many are also licensed and certified Medicare agents, and if not, they often work with one who can help you learn more about your options. So have you shopped around for health care in retirement? That's a key question to consider, and it's one of our 23 retirement cost cutters for 2023. With the Retirement.Radio Network powered by AmeriLife. I'm Sam Davis.

Producer:
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 WBCB AM 1490 and 107.3 FM. Protect your hard earned money today and schedule a free consultation now at SafeMoneyBob.com.

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