PP Full Show 8.12.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

PP Full Show 8.12.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
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.

Speaker2:
Welcome to Prosperity Principles with your host, Ed Cruz. Each week, Ed and his company seek to educate Americans like you by providing real strategies for protecting and growing their hard earned money. Get it for a full hour of financial information and economic news affecting your bottom line. Ed wants you to reach the financial freedom you've worked so hard for. So now let's start the show. Here's Ed Crews.

Speaker3:
Well, thank you for tuning in to another week of prosperity principles amid when crews and I want to say a special thank you for the audience that soliciting in and I really appreciate the calls. As I receive them, I try to make sure that everything is in good order with the with the people out there. And I also want to welcome in my co host Matt McClure. Welcome, Matt.

Speaker1:
Hi there, Ed, how's it going? Good weekend so far.

Speaker3:
It's been great. You know, it's a birthday weekend. And, you know, whenever that comes up, you've got to take care of the family. So it's it's an exciting week.

Speaker1:
That's right. That's right. It has been an exciting week. There's been a lot going on with the economy, which we'll talk about as well and just a lot that is going to affect people's money. Some actually some some fairly good signs in the economy. Maybe, perhaps also, you know, we approach everything with a little bit of skepticism as far as that goes these days. But yeah, a lot to talk about busy show because we've had a busy week but happy birthday to to your your family member who's celebrating a birthday this this weekend as well.

Speaker3:
Yeah. Thank you, Matt. And, you know, when we reach out to our our audience out there, you know, this is all about their future. And we want to make sure that we can do everything that we can to give them the information to help them get to a better place. And of course, what I always like to hear from from my callers is what their greatest challenge is. And so hopefully, as we progress throughout the show, hopefully we can touch on some topics that ring a bell for people and and help them realize that they that they need someone to to speak to someone to guide them. And that's what we're here for.

Speaker1:
Yeah, absolutely. And folks, just so we can get this to you as we start the show, here it is, of course, Prosperity Principles. My Prosperity Team dot com is the website and the phone number is 3862285769. We'll say that again as we go throughout the show. So you know how to get in touch with Ed Kruse and all of the great folks that he works with as well to talk about money, to talk about your future, and to get a plan in place for your retirement years. Let's as we go along here, Ed, also I need to mention too, I almost forgot we are also available as a podcast. You can listen to us anywhere you get your podcast. It's on demand. And just any time you want to get us on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts, any of the biggies, just search for prosperity principles there. And you can also when you go to the website that I mentioned a moment ago, my prosperity team dot com. This is when we want folks to go there and get information on a full retirement plan consultation because it's so, so important. We're starting a series on the show today called The Smart Retirement Plan. And this is kind of that first step in getting people there. Right. Is is sort of exploring what their where they want to go and what their options might be to get there.

Speaker3:
Yeah. You know, when we talk about planning, it's a process. And if we follow the process, we can we can achieve our goals. And and the one thing that we want to do to help you achieve that process prior to even meeting with us, you know, we like to offer the Annuities 360 book as we generally do. But this week I also want to wanted to add in an additional incentive the annuities do's and don'ts for baby boomers. And I think it's important for people to realize that if you follow a process, you know, you can achieve what you're looking for and then add in this whole thing here, we like to include a guided planning system. And so, again, if you just give us a call and get this information, get get these pieces in your hands, I think it'll go a long way to helping you achieve your goals.

Speaker1:
Yeah, 100%. And it is a comprehensive consultation, 100% cost free obligation. Three as well. No pressure? No, none of that stuff. This would be, you know, a getting to know you kind of a situation at taking a look at your financial situation and seeing if it's a good fit for you to work together and getting a lot of great, you know, advice and and resources as well with that Annuity 360 book and also the annuity do's and don'ts for baby boomers as well. And once again, folks, the number to do that is 3862285769. That's 3862285769. It's my prosperity team. Time.com is the website. And when I say, you know that you take a look at people's full financial picture in these consultations, it's not just saying, okay, how much income do you have and what's going out? Okay, let's good, let's do that. We got enough after 2 seconds of talking to, you know, this is this is comprehensive. And that's what we mean when we say comprehensive is it is truly comprehensive.

Speaker3:
You know, you know, we want to know where all of your assets are, how it's diversified, where your income is going to come from in the future. You know, what type of Social Security are you looking forward to? And, you know, in addition to all of these all of these areas, we continue to provide you with additional documentation, additional reads for you to to to gain more knowledge, because, you know, it's one thing to tell someone something, but it's a it's a whole different story when you provide them with additional literature. Because in truth, when we sit there and speak to someone, they're only going to remember, Oh, what did I say about 20 to 25% of what was said? So, you know, the additional literature will help you refresh that memory of our conversation. And the one thing that I did fail to mention in this in this process or the the documents that I want to pass along right now, along with the book and the and the guided planning system. And we we've mentioned this in the past. Dr. Roger Ibbotson, a famed economist, he constantly talks about how fixed indexed annuities beat out bonds. I also have some literature in regards to that. It's a great read. This will help you analyze your portfolio. You know, if you have annuities already, let us sit down with you.

Speaker3:
Let us compare that annuity with what we may be able to offer if it's one of the top tier annuities. I will tell you right up front, I've run into that several times out there and people look at me a little shocked when I when I tell them, listen, you really can't improve from what you have. And so we don't want to sit there and make something up, make up a problem that doesn't exist. We want to we want to actually help you, not hurt you. So let us discover exactly what you're paying in fees. Let us help you. Unnecessary cost to your IRA for one case or any other retirement savings account. You know, let us help you with Social Security planning and Medicare. Let us compare your current situation to what's possible if you choose to work with us. And so if you actually haven't heard from your advisor lately, please talk to us. Get a second opinion. If you go to a doctor in general, they tell you if it's a surgery, you should get a second opinion. Well, when it comes to your finances, you know, you're apart from your health being number one, your finances being number two, you should receive a second opinion from someone. So let us help you reach financial freedom.

Speaker1:
Yeah, 100% focus. And once again, the number 3862285769. My Prosperity Team is the website to go to as well. Well, a lot of stuff happening this week as far as you know, we've had earnings season, of course, going on and we've had some good some bad there. But we've also seen a couple of things happening as far as inflation that are actually and I and I said this a little bit earlier, we kind of have to hold our breath just to just a tad when we get any good news on inflation, because it's like, can we believe it? Can we believe it? But the numbers are showing that it could be backing off some. And we had that that leading indicator, the producer price index, which actually fell, that's the wholesale prices. So it is a measure of inflation before it reaches the consumer. And so that's showing that maybe we are actually seeing some backing off of this. Inflation has really been sky high for seems like forever now.

Speaker3:
Well, you know, the one indicator that I look at constantly is that inverted yield curve. And for those that don't understand, you know, short term rates look better than long term rates. That's a troubling sign. Did we have some backing off from month to month? Yes. But if we look at year over year, we're still up. Inflation's up about eight and a half percent, I believe, is what I saw. So you know, yeah, I see some some signs there, but I'm still somewhat of a slight skeptic when it comes to where we are in our economy. You know, people talk about gas prices going down, but, you know, it's all based on demand. Obviously, we have not changed the supply issues, but, you know, people are traveling somewhat less. So, you know, the less we use when it comes to our oil, the cheaper it's going to get because it is highly based on demand. So, you know, there's there's a couple of pieces there and of course, there's more. But but I'm still somewhat concerned.

Speaker1:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, definitely I'm you know, I'm a kind of a glass half full kind of a guy. And, you know, I like to sort of look on the bright side of things and see the silver lining around the cloud. And, you know, there is a silver lining there. It might not be very bright at this point and it might be just really, really thin and it might be, you know, just the faintest thing. But it's there. So at least there is that kind of kind of hope to give folks that that, you know, inflation isn't going to last forever because that's what it's kind of seemed like here over the past year or so.

Speaker3:
Oh, absolutely. I mean, we all know it won't last forever. But what I will say is that listening to to the the economists out there, we're still looking at possibly another 12 months of it should be declining, of course, as we as we move along. But we're still looking at an economy that's going to probably struggle here. And it may not just all be inflation. Of course, we have to look at the stock market. We've been on a good probably three week run. But again, I just feel there's always that that calm before the storm. So I'll play devil's advocate with you.

Speaker1:
Yeah, that's right. That's good. That's good. That's a little back and forth there. But yeah, no, you're very it's very true. As volatile as things have been, you kind of have to approach it with some some skepticism and, you know, kind of some pause at times. And that's really why, you know, it really helps to have someone like you who, you know, you're watching the situation every day going on with the economy going on, not only on Wall Street and on Main Street, really all all of the above. And, you know, advising people about what to do with their finances and giving them help and pointing them in the right direction toward their retirement. And so that that's why that's why people need to to reach out and talk to you and not me, because I'll just be like, oh, yeah, everything's great. And they're like, No, no, it's not.

Speaker3:
Yeah. I will say to retirees right now, let's, let's be let's have a little patience as I speak to and listen to multiple economists. We're still looking at about 12 to 18 months. And hopefully, you know, some of that sometimes becomes retroactive, right. When they when they finally deem that a recession started at such and such time. So we could back up and make some adjustments from there. But, you know, at this point, that's what we're that's what we're hearing. That's what we're talking. It's 12 to 18 months. Be patient. The market's going to go in a cycle, but there'll be some bright, brighter days ahead.

Speaker2:
And now for some financial wisdom, it's time for the Quote of the Week.

Speaker1:
Yeah, it's that time once again, time to learn a little something here with our Quote of the week, as you just heard there. And this time around, it comes from Warren Buffett. Once again, he's a he's a popular one for our Quote of the Week. He's had he's had a lot of them. That's because he's said a lot of great things. That and this is actually, I think, one of my favorites here, because it really has to do with the things that we talk about here every week. So Warren Buffett's quote for this week is this If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die. I love that one.

Speaker3:
Yeah. You know, it's it's so true. And we constantly talk about the the power of compound interest. Right. And so in our world, we tend to lean on that, right? Make money while you sleep. We know the market's going to cycle, as I just said, shortly. And so, of course, what we want to do is put our money somewhere where where it's constantly working in some way, shape or form, whether it's globally domestic, a combination of two involving commodities, you name it. You just want to find a way to make money while you sleep.

Speaker1:
Yeah, that's absolutely right. Because doesn't that sound great to like like to me, I'm like, oh, I can make money while I sleep. Okay, that sounds that sounds good to me. I need more sleep in my life. So there we go. You know, maybe the more sleep I get, the more money I'll make.

Speaker3:
How's that? Yeah. What's the alternative? Making 1/10 of one. In a in a in a savings account at the bank.

Speaker1:
Right. Exactly. And then and then you're like, okay, well, I remember that kind of thing, too. When my my mom got me my first savings account, we went to the bank when I was like, I don't know, I was a kid. I was maybe like ten, you know? And so she opened up a savings account for me and we put in, I think at the time this was this was in if I was ten, it was the early nineties, but I was, you know, we just put in like, I don't know, 20 bucks or something, you know, something, something small. And I remember checking years later and I don't even know if I had like 21 bucks in, in my I didn't even touch it, you know, but it was like, oh, boy, look at how much it's grown. Not really.

Speaker3:
It was exciting at the time.

Speaker1:
It was. It was I felt like such an adult at such a young age. But yeah, you know, you got to have your money in the right places if you want to see it grow. Because yeah, I did a lot of sleeping in between the time that I put that money in there and the time that I checked it. But that money didn't do a lot of growing while I was sleeping.

Speaker3:
No, don't expect that. If you're hanging around with the banks, don't expect much of a return.

Speaker1:
There you go. Well, and folks, this kind of leads us right into what we're going to focus on the majority of the show here today and throughout the next few weeks. Actually, today, we're starting a series. It's called the Smart Retirement Plan Series. And, you know, that is something that might kind of sound daunting to people at first. It's like, Oh, how I know a retirement plan. I've got maybe my 401. K, I've got, you know, this IRA or something, you know, some sort of retirement savings or something like that. But how do we what do you mean by being smart about it? Well, you know, really and we discussed this some last week, people really need a better, better financial education in order to plan. First of all, like that's kind of I guess a little bit of step one is is is having a better financial education as a foundation for making a plan.

Speaker3:
Oh, that's absolutely right. And when we talk about having a smarter retirement plan, you know, sometimes we have to sit back and really think about what has what has worked for us, what has been our our largest challenges. How has how have some of the things that you've implemented? How has that affected you? What's worked good for you? What's been a total failure for you? Having a smart retirement plan is not just what somebody tells you to do. You also need to look at what you've done and what has not worked well for you. Put it all together and through the through that conversation, we're able to figure out what's going to be a smart plan for you, because we all have different levels of risk tolerance. And so in order to to get a smart financial plan for you, we need to understand these things. So there's a lot that goes into getting this. And, you know, when we think about where people are getting their financial education. This one shocked me as I as I look at the studies, 26% from high school classes. Now, I don't know about you, but I didn't get any financial education in high school and 22% from our parents and family. Yeah. You know, I heard a little bit here. They're growing up, but I didn't get much of that either from college classes. Again, it's not good financial education there either, and 18% from social media and websites there. I would say a lot of people today definitely go online to to receive this type of information. You know, can you really trust what you're reading? Some people put these articles together for their own benefit, and only 7% say they're they're receiving their information from from educated financial advisors. So, you know, it's kind of surprising where people do get their information.

Speaker1:
Yeah, that's right. And more and more from, as you say, social media and websites where, you know, has that information, is that information accurate? Has it been vetted in any way because anybody can post anything and say whatever they want, basically. So how do you know that that's the right info? Well, you kind of don't sometimes, but, you know, with with a financial advisor and someone who has been working in this field is someone who has done this work for other clients. Then you know that you're getting the right sort of education from them and learning as you go along, planning your own retirement, because it's it's something that's tailor made for you. We say it all the time. It's not a one size fits all kind of situation. This is a tailor made, you know, financial really financial education as you go along and, you know, make your own plans for your own retirement. And, you know, people really do need a smart retirement plan as well, because there was. Actually, this study aired from Fidelity Investments, the state of retirement planning study. It showed one in four Americans less confident about retirement now than they were before the events of the last two, two years, two plus years. Now, with the pandemic and the economic turmoil thereafter, 71% of Americans very concerned about the impact of inflation on retirement preparedness and for good reason, as we've been saying here in the show so far. And 31% don't know how to make sure that their retirement savings keep up. So, I mean, this is why really people need a smart retirement plan because it can help prepare them for all of these different questions that they have and help answer those questions.

Speaker3:
You know, when you think about it, approximately half of Americans are at risk of not being able to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living after they stop working, says Andy and Andy Chen, a research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. And, you know, going back to bad information, it was just about a week or two ago I read an article, and the the person writing this article stated that if if you are over the age of 50, not only can you add to your IRA, but you would have catchup contributions of an additional 7000 and soon to be 10,000. Well, again, this is where I say watch what you're reading and really get get another professional's opinion on what you've read, because that statement was was not true. And I and I can't believe that something like that was published because contributions today. Catch up contributions are a total of 7000. Right. If you're over the age of 50 and soon that's going to grow some and with with some some new passing of some legislation, we may soon be able to contribute up to 10,000 beyond that year. So again, where we get our information from is important. And again, like I always say, if you have it in writing, you really can't go wrong. But again, get a second opinion, as we said before.

Speaker1:
Yeah, that's right. You know, as you say, get a second opinion if you're going to have some major surgery. Also get a second opinion if you need some major surgery done to your finances. That is a good, good idea there. And you really, you know, help everyday people with these types of issues every day. It's not just, you know, people often think, oh, well, you know, I don't necessarily need any help planning for retirement because I don't have a lot of money set aside or I don't have the the biggest income or anything like that. Well, it's it's not necessarily about that. It's how you put the pieces together. It's all about the pieces of the puzzle and how they fit together for you as you're looking ahead to retirement. You don't have to be a gazillionaire.

Speaker3:
No, that's right. And for 24 years, I've seen it all, you know, someone with a with $50,000 and they want to start moving ahead. They're they're younger, want to start building up. And and that retiree that has two, three, $7 million, you know, it doesn't matter what you have. You know, again, it all starts with understanding what you want to do in retirement. You know, what are your goals? Who are you with? As I and I said that last week, I remember saying that, you know, is that person giving you the the right advice? Are you getting any advice from that person that's important? You know, let us help you provide stability for you and your family. Let us organize a custom financial plan, the fund, your goals and your expenses through a combination of guaranteed income strategies, Social Security maximization and more. You know, it takes a lot to sometimes I put a plan together. You know, if you just come to me and you basically have it all mapped out, you'll make it a whole lot easier for me. But how many of those are there out there? It's like one out of every ten. Someone says, Here's what I'd like to do. You know, here's here's a couple of million dollars. It's generally not that easy. So we really have to put some thought into this, figure out how we can maximize that income. You know, get to know your situation as far as Social Security. Are you going to receive any pensions, which is a dying breed of of of income?

Speaker1:
It's like a unicorn these days.

Speaker3:
Yeah, absolutely. There's there's a lot to go over. And if you if you have 30, 45 minutes of your time for an initial consultation, that's where we'll start.

Speaker1:
Yeah, absolutely. And folks, if you want to do that initial consultation, absolutely free of charge, as we say, it is my prosperity team. That's the place to go. You can also get a free copy of the book Annuity 360 by our good friend Ford Stokes. You can get that there as well. And annuity do's and don'ts for baby boomers. Ed is also offer. Bring that to you, as well as another resource to help you as you try and plan for your retirement. The phone number as well. 3862285769. Well, just about time for us to do a little bit something different before we continue on talking about our smart retirement plan. We've got a little bit more to cover as far as that goes. As we start the Smart Retirement Plan series. We're going to talk in just a little bit about smart vision, smart inspection, and then smart planning. Those are going to be kind of the first big steps as we move on toward establishing that smart retirement plan. But what I wanted to do right now, though, is actually put together a story because, you know, people are always online these days, but there are a lot of online scams out there as well with people looking to look into take your hard earned money from you and do it in very nefarious ways. But they're always changing their tactics as well because they can't just keep doing the same thing. So I did a story about this and you'll hear it in just a second and we'll come back. We'll talk about it a little bit just on the other side, and then we'll continue on with our smart vision portion of the Smart Retirement plan.

Speaker1:
So this is some of the scams that you need to watch out for online. And Ed and I will talk about it right after this. No matter what you do, there's always someone looking to separate you from your hard earned and hard saved cash. I'm Matt McClure with a retirement radio network powered by a matter of life nature. Will Robinson Danger. Online scams are nothing new. Things like fake Craigslist ads or emails from a Nigerian prince offering you his fortune in exchange for a couple thousand dollars of your own money have been around for years. But the scams do keep changing as scammers tactics evolve. Aarp recently released its list of red hot scams in 2022. One of the newest came in at the top of the list, the Google Voice scam. Here's how it works. If you're selling something online and include your phone number for people to reach out, a bad actor could call and say they want to make sure you aren't a scammer. They'll then tell you that you're about to receive a Google verification code. What's really happening is they're opening up a Google Voice account in your name so they can pose as you while cheating others out of their money. Aarp says to avoid this one, don't ever give out verification codes to anyone. Another one on the list involves fake jobs. Scammers will get your information from an online resumé and contact you with a fake job offer. Then they'll ask for payment for things like supposed home office setup fees. This one's similar to income scams that make big promises for easy money but don't deliver.

Speaker4:
Here's the reality. There's no such thing as a guaranteed way to make money. If you see an offer like that, it's a scam. Period. The FTC has sued and shut down lots of companies that have made fake claims like that.

Speaker1:
Rhonda Perkins is an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission.

Speaker4:
So before you invest in a program that says you'll make a lot of money, stop, take your time and do your research. Be skeptical about success stories and testimonials. Also, check with your state attorney general's office.

Speaker1:
Also on the AARP list, rental assistance scams, fake Amazon employees, cryptocurrency, ATM payments, imposters offering to settle your tax debt. Fake emails that look like they're from a friend asking for a gift card payment and demands through money transfer apps like Venmo or Cash App. With any of these, it's essential that you verify the identity of the person you're speaking to. Never give your personal information to anyone you don't know, and if necessary, report it to the authorities. So are you prepared to protect your money from online scams? That's a key question to consider as you try to grow your wealth for retirement. With the retirement radio network powered by a mirror life. I'm Matt McClure.

Speaker2:
If you've got money questions, you've found the place for answers. This is Prosperity Principles with Ed Crews.

Speaker1:
We are starting our Smart Retirement Plan series here on Prosperity Principles. And just a second ago, you heard something that would be very smart to be aware of, and those are the online scams that you need to avoid. And, you know, it's like as I as I sit there in the story, it was like it used to be very obvious. I'm not going to get an email from a Nigerian prince saying that, oh, I can have his millions if I send him 1000 bucks, you know, okay, I'm not falling for that one. But these days it can be quite a bit more sophisticated than that. So you've got to watch out.

Speaker3:
Absolutely. You know, I just recently got one that just said hi. And so they're waiting for a response. And when you when you give that response now, they now they kind of tune in on you and start a conversation and try to lure you in. So, yeah, you have to be careful with and it's not just in emails, we get them through text. And so scammers are out there. They've definitely evolved. You'll get these. I've seen some where they come, Microsoft or Apple or a company you may know and trust. But you've got to look at the way the spelling is. Or there might be a little twist in in one of the letters or might be missing a letter. You just have to be so vigilant, because as soon as you press where they want you to press, they really start putting you, you know, getting your information and they try to hack onto your computer. So you just before you open anything up, you know where it came from. Press on that. See if it maintains as that same name or. Or do you see an X, Y or Z? One, two, three on there, some foreign name or whatever it might be, uk or know. But yeah, that's where you that's what you should hit first. You should hit that, that segment, that area first to figure out if it actually came from the company you think it came from and you might have a problem. They might suck you in through UPS or or FedEx or something, but hit the top. You'll figure out quickly that it's not FedEx or UPS or Microsoft or Apple. You know, it's going to be some some foreign entity or some foreign person trying to grab your information.

Speaker1:
Yeah. And if it sounds too good to be true, whatever they're offering or whatever they want to do for you, that kind of thing, it probably is. The old adage still remains true. So yeah, just just watch out. Be careful. Know who you're talking to. That's the thing. Don't get so excited about. Oh, this sounds like a great thing. Okay, it's take take a deep breath, take a step back and make sure that this is some sort of legit thing, because online these days, you can never, never tell. And one thing to that, I'll just mention before we move on here quickly, is that my opinion on this is like, you know, with these scammers and stuff, they are creative people, obviously, and, you know, potentially talented people because they've got some technical know how and all this. And I'm like, if they would take that skill set and put it to some legitimate use, they probably could find that they could make a good living for themselves. It's like put put your your talents to use in a legal way to make money instead of trying to take money from other people, especially when you're talking about like vulnerable seniors or whomever may be living on Social Security and that kind of thing, who can't afford to be missing one penny out of their budget each month.

Speaker3:
You know, they have one thing on their mind and one thing only. But you're right, if they were to put that talent to good use, they could probably do some incredible things. And it's just sad that that we have to sit here and worry about, especially a nation, like I said, where these these people from these countries think that just everybody is is deep pockets.

Speaker1:
Yeah, 100%. Well, speaking of my speaking of pockets and mine are not so deep here, but we're going to talk about retirement planning as we continue on, of course, and specifically the Smart Retirement Plan, which is the series that we're beginning here on the show today. So we sort of did an overview before we took a little break there and listen to the story about the scammers. We sort of did a little overview about, so what is a smart retirement plan? What does that look like? Well, now we're going to start off on the road to the Smart Retirement plan and the first kind of, you know, section of this, the first sort of big step toward getting you there is knowing where you want to go, having a smart vision, we call it. Right. So there are several questions that you need to ask yourself to come up with this smart vision for your future, right, Ed?

Speaker3:
Absolutely. You know, it's like I have said before, you know, what do you what do you plan on doing during your retirement years? So what are your hobbies? Right. That that would help you a lot. You know, are you are you an avid golfer? Well, we know that that's going to be a little more expensive than someone that's just out there playing cards and bridge and and any of the other little games. Right. So that's important to know, you know, who you're with is going to determine where you end up. So make sure that you're with that with the right person. Who are you taking care of? You know, is it just you or are you are you a widower or widowed? Are you are you married? Do you have a disabled child that you're taking care of? Do do you have older parents? Well, you know, parents are living up to 90, 95, 100. The do you need to supply a little extra income for for that purpose? So again, what are your goals? How do you plan to fund them and do you want to retire or do you want to relaunch? You know, it's important when you retire that you're to know that your income is not going to be the same as it was when you were working.

Speaker3:
You have to be ready for a reduced income flow by by preparing before you retire. Sit down with your spouse. Think about your goals. This is going to determine your retirement. This is going to also determine how fiscally smart you'll need to be in order to be able to do what you want to do during your retirement. Retirement looks different for everyone. Whether you want to travel, spend time with family, start a new start a new business in retirement. You'll need cash flow. And I have clients that are service members, let's say, for example, and they've traveled the world and they were even married and the wives traveled and they no longer want to be all around the world. But for those that that want to travel the world, well, think about it. Those two those two examples alone will will tell you how much more one couple is going to spend over the other in retirement. So there's a lot that we have to consider and think forward. Think about.

Speaker1:
Retirement. Right. And you know, there was a survey actually recently from Gobankingrates. It showed that one third of Americans don't think that they know enough about retirement. I would I would actually say that that number is probably bigger than that. This is one third of Americans who responded to this particular survey who would admit that they don't know enough about retirement, I think is probably more more accurate there because people might think I think I alluded to this a little bit earlier that, you know, I have a401k through work and or I have my own IRA or even even a Roth IRA or something like that. So yeah, I'll be I'll be ready for retirement. Sure. That's that's you know, I've got all my ducks in a row. Fine. Great. Well, maybe not. And so and also, you know, do you have that retirement plan, if you want to call it a plan in line with that smart vision, though, where you want to go, you know, does the how you're going to get there line up with the where you want to go or is it going to take you somewhere completely different in those retirement years?

Speaker3:
No, I absolutely listen, I I've spoken to in fact, I have these two brothers that are engineers and they engineers, you know, how they are. They break down numbers to the to the infinite right now. And it's funny because they'll sit there great jobs. You know, they've contributed well, you know, have six, 600,000 or so in a41k and they're thinking that that's going to get them, you know, 100,000 of income when they retire. And and I have to let give them the bad news and let them know that they're not even in the right neighborhood. And they they base it on. They believe that going back here in recent history, if we were averaging 12%, based on what I have here and my Social Security, you know, I should be there. And so, yeah, I think that, as you said, it's more than one third of Americans that really don't know enough about retirement.

Speaker1:
Yeah, 100%. And actually, you know, there are there are about a little more than that, 37% who say actually admit that they need more education and information on retirement planning. Again, I would say that that number is larger as well. And 52% of Americans in the same survey say that they wish that they had more education on how to invest regardless of whether or not, you know, they said that they that they feel that they need more education. They just sort of wish that they had it to to help them make their own financial decisions in a more sound and a smarter way.

Speaker3:
Yeah. You know, I live in a small community and and I belong to a couple of groups here. I'm, you know, I like to lend a hand to the community. And of course, they know what I do. And it seems to me that I would say about seven or eight out of ten are constantly asking me for for advice. They're wanting more of that education. So I would definitely say that the that the general consumer out there, I definitely would say that more than 37% I would I would easily say 50 to 60% of people want more financial education out there because I see it day in and day out just from speaking to everyday people. You know, I'm also an avid softball player. I still like to travel the state, get myself all all beat up at times. But with that said, again, people know what I do and I'm constantly being asked to provide education on what they should do with their 401. Ks, how they should manage it. You know, they're constantly asking me if I could sit down with them and tell them what what I may be able to help them do with their four one KS.

Speaker3:
And and by the way, for for listeners out there that that are under the age of 59 and a half are sitting in a41k if you're not happy with that. 401k what I will say to you and most most advisors, I would say that nine, nine and a half out of ten, if you could cut an advisor in half, nine and a half, and I have no idea what an in-service, an in-service account rollover is all about. And it's a very unique way of handling a41k while you're still working at a company and and you're able to roll it out. But it does require an attorney. It's quite the process. I would say. It could take 3 to 4 months. But if you're uncomfortable, if you're unhappy with your 41k, I will tell you that I'm probably one of only two or three in the entire central Florida that knows anything about in-service account rollover. So if that's a need for you, give me a call at 3862285769. And let me help you with that 41k that you may be dissatisfied with.

Speaker1:
And you can also, folks go to my prosperity team. That is my prosperity team. That's the website for the show. And you can also get in touch with Ed there as well. Well, okay, so that's smart vision we have. We've covered that. That's basically the where you want to go in retirement. Right. So the question then becomes, okay, how do we get there? Well, the first step in in how you actually get to that destination that you've now put a stuck a pin in on the map for yourself is a smart inspection. So it's basically a financial checkup. Right. This is an in-depth look at your finances. So talk about this smart inspection here. Ed, what could people expect to to to experience when they get something like a smart inspection, a good financial checkup?

Speaker3:
Yeah, well, what we do during a financial checkup is that we're going to review, as I said before, we need to know everything. Right? Not because we're nosy, but it's the it's the right thing to do. It's the fiduciary thing to do. Know where you're where and what you have in your IRAs. 401 KS Any other assets that you may hold, including cash? We'll, we'll review those balances. We'll, we'll review the the returns over a period of time, whether it's short term or longer term. And then. We'll we'll check to see if you have an income gap or an income surplus in the future and do an x ray on any annuity or pensions that you may have. And then we'll the the one big one that I that I like to stress all the time is what type of fees you're paying in that in that plan, because the fees alone could could drain you for easily 20, 25, 30% of your of your retirement nest egg over a over a 25, 30 year plan there. So we need to we definitely need to inspect all of these things. When we think about variable annuities, variable annuities, we know for a fact that there are quite a number of fees inside a variable annuity. So if you find yourself with with with some questions in any of these areas, you know, give us a call so that we can so that we can dissect these and get the answers for you. Tax planning, you know, you might think of, well, in order to grow my money, I just need to make the maximum return. But, you know, if we're not careful and we're constantly paying Uncle Sam well, and along with your income, you're just putting yourself in another tax bracket.

Speaker3:
Well, what is your net return? And I think that's important to know. It's not just what your gross return is, but your net return. So, you know, you may have a tax problem and that tax problem is going to hold you back from having a more prosperous retirement at the end. So again, using Roth IRAs or indexed universal life plans, this is going to help reduce your your tax risk in the future. So, you know, your tax exposure has a lot to do with how you're going to end up in retirement. So let us help you review these things again. Going back to life insurance, what's the cash value in your life insurance policies? Have you considered a 1035 exchange in moving the cash value of, let's say, a whole life to a to an index universal life policy that can help protect them and grow your money. And, you know, a lot of times when I do these reviews, I tell people people are living longer today. So the the mortality tables have changed, making insurance cheaper today than it was 20 years ago, even ten years ago. So if you have a plan that's already that's been with you for some time, you know, you might you may be able to not just get a better benefit. You may be able to all in all, eliminate what you're paying into it. Or you may just be able to get a better growing plan so that you have a better income in retirement. So all these things are important, you know? Knowing how much how much money is available for for tax free withdrawals in the future.

Speaker3:
You couple that along with a with a Roth IRA and again, you're making a huge dent to your tax liability. So you want to make sure that you that you look at all this in its totality, because if you're just looking at one angle, you're really missing it. And then four, for our friends out there that have real estate assets, you may think you're you're receiving a whole lot more than than than what reality is. You know, when you consider the property taxes you have to pay, when you consider all the damages that you have to fix everything that's aging on these properties and and you have to invest all this money back into it, you know, is that really the best place for your money? It may not be. So, again, we go over these things and I say this from experience because, you know, my father had 11 rentals when we were younger. And we we had the experience of seeing how much money could be made during the good times and and how it could go terribly wrong all of a sudden when everything catches up to you, when it comes to property. So, you know, you've got to take that in consideration. Let us let us go over a Social Security maximization report. Again, let's look at the whole picture. A Social Security maximization report shows you how to best maximize your Social Security earnings in retirement. And we have tips and tricks that help you take advantage of everything that's available to you and make sure that you have a comfortable retirement.

Speaker1:
Yeah, and that's a big one there with, you know, maximizing your Social Security because people, you know, might be thinking, oh, well, you know, as I said earlier, I have a401k or whatever and and I will have Social Security and I'll be all set. Well, you know, you can't live on just Social Security these days. And chances are maintain any sort of, you know, standard of living that you have become accustomed to while you're working. Right. So you need to really make sure that that is maximized in addition to all of these these other things. And that is what the smart inspection is all about. That's what it's going to tell you when you work with with Ed, with, you know, someone who is really well versed in all of these different aspects of finances and planning for your retirement. And then speaking of planning, sort of the next step is coming up with the smart plan. It's it's the smart planning phase here. And you've got to be smart about what you are and the way, I guess, that you should manage your investments along the way. I think one of the questions that Ed that people will ask themselves is, should I manage my investments myself or should I have someone else come in and help me? I think for a lot of folks I know for me the answer to that would be no. I don't necessarily think I can handle this myself.

Speaker3:
Well, you know, it's funny because the people that think they can, they soon find out that they can't. And we get those calls all the time. And and again, one of the resources that I that I would like to provide for any of the callers today is the guided planning system. And that will give you some steps on what we do during our during our initial appointment or secondary follow up appointment. I will tell you, you know, basically, here's what we're going to talk about today on the first appointment. Here's what you need to have. This is what will help us move along. They'll stress to me what it is that they what their what they're trying to to accomplish. Because if you're calling me, it's because you haven't reached that goal or you're trying to figure out how to reach that goal. A lot of people fail to think about having a plan for their spouse or for their beneficiaries when they pass away. Right. There's a lot of things that you have to consider. And planning and probate is one of those, you know, we just don't want to pass and not have our ducks in a row. Where is this money going to go to next? Who's listed as my beneficiary? Do I have a will? Do I have a trust? So again, you have to put a comprehensive plan together in order for your entire retirement plan to go as smoothly as you hoped it would go.

Speaker1:
Yeah, and as you say, there are a lot of different aspects that go into it and some that you might not think of. I mean, we're talking things like health insurance, particularly Medicare and all the different options that are available there because, you know, do I need a medicare supplement plan? Do I do I need Medigap? Do I need any of these other things? You know, parts parts C, D, X, Y, Z, and all the above and everything else, you know, it can be so confusing. For people, it can just be a little bit like mumbo jumbo. That's one way that people will need help is when they're talking about health care. And that's one of those retirement costs that people might not necessarily think about when they're younger and healthier and don't necessarily have to think about health care every day.

Speaker3:
You know, and living as a couple is different than living on your own, especially when it comes to when it comes to the ladies. Right. If if you if you were married to a man that was handy and he took care of everything around the house and and you never really took interest in wanting to fix anything yourself. You know, who wants to unclog the sink? Who wants to do some of the dirty work that's involved? Right. So, you know, when we think about everything that comes along in planning, you know, you have to think about what's going to happen next. And, you know, I had a client that just sold her property. Why? Because her husband passed away two years ago. And, you know, things are starting to happen to her home. And now that she has it for sale, I just went and visited with her just days ago. You know, she needs a new roof. Well, she didn't know that. She needs a new water tank. Water heater. And again, she didn't know it was 17 years old or 18 years old, however old it was. There's a lot of things that that go wrong. So and that happens not just to our properties. That happens to us. Right. What happens when we start breaking down? What's what's our long term care costs going to be? Income taxes, again, going back to that, anything that you've contributed to pre-tax retirement accounts during your working years is subject to income taxes. When you withdraw funds during retirement, you know, how well versed are you when it comes to income taxes? Do you understand that at all? Do you know the different levels of taxation? Do you need non-taxable accounts in retirement? Should you have them? I would say yes.

Speaker3:
What could you use? You could use Roth IRAs. You could use health savings accounts. And again, a lot of people never think about their Social Security benefits being taxed. And, you know, again, I've run into people that say to me and I thought once I reached the over 70, I mean, I hear all kinds of wild stories out there. But I thought when I was over 70 or 75 or 80, I thought, you know, I didn't have to pay any more taxes. And that couldn't be further from the truth. The IRS is never going to let you off the hook for as long as you live, for as long as you're collecting an income, for as long as you're earning interest, they're going to want a piece of that pie. And that piece of that pie could cost you a whole lot more if it affects 50% of your Social Security or it affects 80% of your Social Security. So, you know, depending on your income, it's great to receive income. Don't get me wrong, it's better to have it than not to have it. But having a plan that will that will that will be tax free in retirement could be the big difference from having your Social Security taxed at levels that you never thought was possible.

Speaker1:
It's this week in history. Well, Ed, before we run, this is a big day, actually, in our country's history, because if you look back this day, in 1935, Congress enacted the Social Security Act. I mean, boy, talk about a huge change and a huge promise to the American people here. This, you know, went on to establish, of course, the permanent age old pension system that, you know, through employer and employee contributions. And it's still around today ever since being signed into law back in 1935 on this day.

Speaker3:
Yeah. And of course, we constantly hear the threats of Social Security coming to its insolvency here and COVID shortening that from 2036 to 2034. But with all that said, I always tell my my clients, yeah, there will be a reduction. But to see the elimination of Social Security, I don't think that's going to happen. I mean, the way that this country just throws around trillions of dollars. I think that we'll be able to keep this open. But yeah, looking at this, the law was enacted by the 74th US Congress and later signed into law by Franklin D Roosevelt. And we all know that name. And the program of course, we know is funded by our payroll taxes and has contributed to the decline in and poverty among the elderly, which obviously is a great thing.

Speaker1:
Yeah, absolutely. Huge, huge, huge change there. And again, passed into law by Congress this date in 1935. Well, I just wanted to share that with our listeners, because that's such a big thing that happened on this date in history. Before we have to run here added It is just about the time of the end of the show. Time to close things down for the Weekend for Prosperity principles. Once again, folks, my prosperity time.com is the website you go there, you can reach out for that free no obligation consultation with Ed Cruz. You can also get a free copy of Annuity 360, the book that we talk about by our good friend Ford Stokes and the also annuity do's and don'ts for baby boomers. That's another resource that at his offering to his listeners free of charge and the phone number also 3862285769. Well, just out of time here, Ed, but I have had a great time here on the show once again for this weekend, and I hope that you have as well.

Speaker3:
Yes. And we definitely want to thank all the listeners for hanging on with us through this hour.

Speaker1:
Yeah, absolutely. Have a great one, folks, and we'll talk to you again next weekend.

Speaker2:
Thanks for listening to Prosperity Principles. You deserve to work with a financial and insurance expert who can offer strategies for protecting and growing your hard earned money to schedule your free no obligation consultation. Visit my Prosperity Team dot com or pick up the phone and call 3862285769. That's 38862285769.

Speaker1:
Not affiliated with the United States government. Edwin Cruz 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 a specific result. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. A merrill 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.

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