Your Unbiased Advisor: Tax-FREE retirement is winning the 'lottery'

Tax-FREE Roth 401k or Roth IRA?

If you are lucky enough to have the Roth 401k offered by your employer, you must understand the pros and cons of both Roth accounts. In both, you never pay tax on your retirement accumulations. So if you can aggressively fund your Roth 401k, you could easily reach $1 million tax free because your $100,000 total contributions over time can COMPOUND at 10% by age 67. If you can invest just $9 a day, $250 a month, you can still have $1 million tax free at age 67, you just have to start earlier. If you can’t do a Roth IRA because of limits, try a ‘back-door’ Roth. COMPOUNDING at the long-term stock market rate of 10% means your money doubles every 8-10 years. Look at the https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/roi-calculator.aspx. Most of your tax-free balance will be accumulated capital, not contributions: FREE MONEY.

Pay tax now or much more tax later: https://www.amazon.com/401k-IRA-Tax-FREE-Tax-Deferred-retirement/dp/1475057938

Winning the $1 million ‘lottery’

$1 million tax free. You can spend it all—no taxes. Usually you must pay HALF your winnings to fed and state gov. $1 million can provide over $100,000 per year for life. Everyone who plays this ‘lottery’ will win. This $1 million lottery is not awarded every week. You must wait. Each week you buy $9 worth of ‘chances.’ You don’t win every week or month but you WILL win eventually. This lottery is a sure thing eventually because you actually are buying a piece of the profits of many successful companies. Some companies make a profit every year and some make a huge profit some years. Over time the ‘chances’ you buy get more valuable. Think about all those tickets of your past losses in the drawer. They are worthless because you did not win and every week you will lose—almost guaranteed. Thank god, you have a better chance of being hit by ‘lightning’ than winning any week. This lottery is not a lottery but a sure way to own $ million worth of all the companies you buy things from—groceries, electronics, toilet paper, electricity, cars, everything. You own Apple, Google, Microsoft, J&J, Facebook, Exxon, Morgan Chase, Disney, and more. The value of your ‘chances’ go up and the profits the companies pay buy more ‘chances’. Buy from the largest ‘chance’ seller.

Buy the lottery that you WIN: https://www.amazon.com/Vanguards-Top-Ten-mutual-funds/dp/150073909X

Are songs royalty streams right for you?
For those who have a crystal ball, buying the right to receive music royalties might be the alternative investment you have been looking for. Winning bidders typically get royalty payments on a quarterly basis, with a rate of return Royalty Exchange says is often in the double digits. The longevity of the royalty rights varies. Some royalty rights are limited to 10 years, while some offers include copyright ownership, which means the payments can last for decades. Some investors think royalties can never end. Royalty Exchange, the middleperson, launches three to five new auctions every week. Songwriters have a tax incentive for selling. Under the law, the money songwriters make from selling all or parts of their catalogs is treated as capital gains, taxed at 0, 15, or 20%. Royalty revenues, meanwhile, are treated as ordinary income, taxed as high as 39.6%. "There are people whose only real assets are their royalties," he said. "Their financial security is based around how they leverage those things."

There are better ways to receive income: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Retirement-Portfolio-Tax-FREE-Income/dp/1483994090

Does your broker/advisor live in these states?

Connecticut, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and other states have passed laws or proposed regulations that mirror some of the federal rule's requirements to treat you with respect. Even though Trump cancelled the Fiduciary Rule—you receive advice/product that is BEST for you not for the institution—these states have or will protect you from outrageous commissions and fees, inappropriate products, and misleading information. Obama said without this law, you and I could give up thousands of dollars when we moved our retirement money (401k, 403b, IRA, pensions). My industry (financial: http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/) can’t make $millions and $millions by giving you advise without putting our own high-cost products in front of you. In fact, most advisors and their firms don’t even carry the best products for you because they must make money to survive. Everything has changed in the last decade: discount brokerage, discount mutual funds, discount insurance, etc. My friends and I have left the old industry model.

Time you started saving: https://www.amazon.com/Tricks-Trade-Mutual-Insurance-Annuities/dp/1535497289

Vital steps to buy a house

Don’t even look for a house before you understand the process. No use frustrating your family if it can’t happen now. Offerings and loan rates change daily. First, check your credit scores at www.myfico.com and errors at www.annualcreditreport.com. Check rates on trial amounts at your bank and then shop around at www.bankrate.com and https://www.quickenloans.com. I used them—very fast and efficient. Big banks have 10 plus people handling your loan and it takes 3 times longer. Second, find out ‘how much can you borrow?’ The final answer depends on your income and the lender, but usually it is monthly costs (mortgage, insurance, and property taxes) can’t exceed 28% of your gross monthly income. Fannie Mae increased its maximum DTI ratio to 50 percent, up from 45 percent, in July 2017. Third, the standard down payment is 20% but you may find exceptions: Federal Housing Administration or the Veteran’s Administration. Fourth, your lender may want you to pay down debt or temporarily reduce spending. If your family helps with the down payment, let it ‘age’ in your account for a few months. Now you know what houses you can afford and can ‘lock in’ a rate/terms. I used www.realtor.com and found a 2 family to help me pay for the mortgage. Timing is everything. Get your loan approved BEFORE you shop so you can pounce.

Save on insurance too: https://www.amazon.com/Homeowners-Insurance-Beware-Coverage-Policy/dp/1480100870

Is tax lien investing right for you?

Risk you must understand for this kind of game of chance. When a property owner fails to pay property taxes, the municipality in which the property is located can sell its tax lien — the right to foreclose on a property when the owner has failed to pay taxes. So you can force payment plus costs plus profit by threatening to take your neighbor’s house away and sell it. Most tax liens purchased at auction are sold at rates between 3% and 7%. If the owner does not pay you, you get to foreclose which can cost over $10,000. “It’s complicated. You have to understand the details,” according to an observer. Each state is different, so buying and collecting on a lien is how amateurs fail. Compare alternative assets like owning diversified real estate funds: REITs.

Mandate to have health insurance still exists

If you have been without insurance this year because you heard Trump cancelled the mandate, surprise—the mandate penalty is subtracted from your refund unless you qualify for various exceptions. So if you are not owed a refund for 2018, there will never be any consequences for not paying the penalty tax. Trump won’t collect it now. Trump has dismissed comprehensive coverage in his special ‘short-term’ policies. He has made buying coverage without protections easier so that he can claim his plans are “cheaper and better.” Trump does not understand—he has always had it. It is not magic—his plans do NOT cover pre-existing conditions and have payout limits. You may be denied or cancelled. You may have premium increases. Most Americans like ACA now that they have it. If you are lucky, you live in a state that maintains the guarantees of ACA. Before ACA you could buy cheap policies—they were junk and didn’t cover you when you needed it. You can’t buy insurance after you get sick or have an accident. Like car and home insurance, it is a way to share the risk of a huge loss. You pay premiums all your life for a catastrophe you hope won’t happen. The alternative is bankruptcy or destitution.

You need full coverage: Trump has it, why not us?: https://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083

Consumer Reports: Most reliable vehicles

Your vehicle ratings by brand are not unusual but look closer at all brands for the type—SUVs popular still (even Porsche has one??). Some specific models were dropped from the CR list altogether. Biggest ranking drop: Honda, Chrysler, Volvo, and Tesla. Volvo is now Greely (Chinese), Chrysler is now Fiat and Tesla is still working out the kinks. Vehicles are now mobile entertainment units not transportation. If you need quality reliable transportation not TV screen gadgets, go for a 3 year old thoroughbred like 2016 Lexus or Toyota from $12,500 to $30,000.

Save with coverage discounts too: https://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Insurance-Beware-Double-Coverage/dp/1480027634

****************

Make

~~America~~

, “The Don”, Great Again

Senile Psychosis

Two

Americas

: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

McGahn is ‘lodestar’: Told Trump ‘NO’ - saved Mueller!

***********************

How Govt wastes our money: Congress spends $1.3 Trillion we don’t have!