Your Unbiased Advisor: January 2019

Friday, January 25, 2019

Six lessons every high schooler knows for success

What every high school student knows for money success

Only 13 states require high school students to take a personal-finance class to graduate. Among 16- to 18-year-olds, 86 percent said they would rather learn about money management in the classroom than make financial mistakes in the real world. When young people enter the working world and have to make it on their own, they should have learned these six simple lessons. As soon as they start working, they will be asked or challenged to start saving/investing. Of course employers can’t help them make the right decision about investment options. They would be liable. Most financial products are a waste of money. Unless you are running your own business, the best strategy is to follow Warren Buffett’s advice. He said buy a low-cost market index like Vanguard 500 Index monthly and don’t stop. He just proved it by beating 6 hedge funds.
The six lessons:

You don’t get rich by saving in the bank.

You don’t get rich by spending more than you earn.

You don’t get rich by ignoring investment costs.

You don’t get rich by ‘playing’ the market.

You don’t get rich by paying taxes on your investment earnings.

You don’t get rich by destroying the miracle of compounding. Compound earnings is a miracle: $3,000 a year; 33 years or $99,000 in; $1,000,000 out.

https://www.amazon.com/Buffett-Bogle-Holy-Bible-Investment/dp/1523693045

Bogle explains why market timing does not work

Emotions will always give you the wrong money signals. We need to control them or pay someone to help us control them. Why? Because the record of being in ‘it to win’ for the long haul provides our best chance of a having enough money. We can earn 10-12% per year over time. Bogle insisted we don’t need to pay a person to control us once we understand how the market works and how costs matter—fees hurt us badly. Over time, our all-in 2% fees/trades will take up to 63% of our long-term potential total accumulation. WOW. We give up over HALF of what our money can make for us. We pay for Wall Street’s wealth. Watch Bogle’s last interview:

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/01/17/ jack-bogle-in-his-last-cnbc-interview-on-why-timing-markets-never-works.html. John Bogle was ridiculed by the industry for saving us $ millions. He was an industry disruptor—and now index funds—ETFs are its choice product.

Pay less; earn more: https://www.amazon.com/Disruptors-Three-Innovators-increase-WEALTH/dp/1720857563

Watch your 401k fees and charges go up

Plan administrators and employers are worried that all the big money leaving for retirement (rollovers to IRAs) will cause them to lose profits. Younger workers have smaller balances. If you find yourself in this situation, rethink your asset allocation so you are using the low-cost funds. If your plan has little or no matching funds from your company, it may be time to reconsider. Moving out of your 401k to a self-directed IRA may seem a good value since the same assets you invest in now will likely be available in an IRA trust account. You can move your assets without a penalty by using an IRA trustee to manage the rollover transfer—you don’t touch the money. Trustees like Vanguard and other funds have Target Date offerings inside an IRA. You still can deduct contributions and grow earnings tax-deferred, but you are not paying a plan administrator a $7 figure bonanza. You need the amount you pay in fees more than they do.

Consider the alternatives: https://www.amazon.com/401k-IRA-Tax-FREE-Tax-Deferred-retirement/dp/1475057938

New standard deduction may make these deductions/credits irrelevant

In 2018, you can still deduct some expenses IF they total more than the new standard of $12,000 single; $24,000 joint; 18,000 head household. Deduct $5,500 ($6,500 over age 50) for IRA; student loan interest; alimony; health savings account; self-employment tax; self pension; self health plan; special occupation; health plan premium; mortgage interest; property tax; charity; education credit; child care credit; energy credit; premium tax credit; foreign tax credit. Confirm the info: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

Use all your tax credits: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-Credit-Class-your-credits-ZERO/dp/1539462382

Social Security and Medicare changes

The average SS benefit with COLA increase is $1,461 per month. Medicare’s 60 million beneficiaries will pay $135.50 per month, up $1.50 from last year. High earners will pay more for both Medicare Part B and Part D. However, they will only be taxed for SS on $132,900 of their earned income. Most wealthy also pay less in the new GOP tax rates—plus the 20% profits deduction for small business owners. In 2019, retirees younger than 66 can earn up to $17,640 before losing any SS benefits. The current full retirement age of 66 is increasing for workers born after 1954. Once our income including SS benefits tops $44,000, we pay taxes on up to 85% of our SS benefits. (Taxes on money we paid tax on already.) Meanwhile using tax loopholes, Jared and the Trump Mob pay less. They actually receive our tax money as rewards for using tax shelters.

Learn to pay your fair share: https://www.amazon.com/Trump-Tax-Shelter-Avoid-taxes/dp/1985448300

Where all your broker/advisor commissions, fees, charges go

Everybody gets paid very well and still the owners clear 15-25% of the revenue. A large Wall Street firm can make $ billions from helping companies sell their securities to the world, loan securities to other firms, buy and sell securities to retail and wholesale customers, loan you money to buy securities, and more. Owners like the Johnson family of Fidelity take millions of your investment dollars each year for bigger mansions, yachts, planes for each child. Abigail alone, the granddaughter of the founder, has a net worth of $16 billion. The rest of the family has to be fed too. You need it more than they.

Don’t let Wall Street take your money: https://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Cleans-Up-Advisors/dp/1517043255

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

Make

~~America~~

, “The Don”, Great Again

Senile Psychosis or Parkinson’s delusions? quetiapine and clozapine

Truth isn’t truth, his new lawyer says

Yes, he ‘coached’ Cohen for Congress, his new lawyer says

Two

Americas

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

Can’t understand why unpaid workers (slaves) need food banks

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

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

Mueller report costs us $ millions but we won’t get to see it. GOP will quash it.

Body-cameras’ annual maintenance too costly for some police to keep them going.

Wall costing a lot more than $5.7 billion—economy lost over $5.7 billion so far!

IRS can’t process paper returns/refunds—hundreds can’t get to work.

Smithsonian losing $1 million a week during shutdown: young minds go wasted.

Senate votes twice to continue the pain for American business and workers: Coulter wins

SCAMS/SPINS:

401k asset fees get paid back to your employer so 401k fees must be raised.

Stephen Davis, RI, caught giving bad advice: client lost $60K, firm ignored; fine

Gary Basralian caught stealing $2 million from clients; Royal Al. failed; jail time.

Christopher Lossing NV sued stealing ex’s brokerage money due from divorce.

How many people does your broker/advisor firm have to take care of?

Walgreens caught overcharging Medicare for insulin pens: fines, no jail

Hospital, Doctor, Drug company lobbyists prepare attack on Medicare for All

Trump’s mob can’t understand why unpaid staff need food bank: ‘just take on more debt’

Another Trump mobster arrested—Stone charged: obstruction and lying.

Trump’s AG promises NOT to release the Mueller report—Hide what from Russia?

Trump lawyer: he talked to Cohen about his congress testimony! Confirms obstruction

Mob Boss ‘threatens’ Cohen: Cohen quits his congress statement—gives it up to Mueller

Trump bluff failed: No State of the Union in House—Dictator: State of Emergency next!

USA

in chaos is just what Putin wanted Trump to do—national “marshal law” next?

GOP senate won’t vote on opening gov until The Boss says they can! Wall or end

USA

“Individual 1” could be a Russian “asset”: Why FBI opened a file on The Mob Boss.

Trump has fingers made to look longer, hair better, face slimmer, etc in media.

GOP can’t say “You’re fired” to The Boss because his voters will ‘kill’ them in 2020.

The Mob Boss can never go to jail: Trump has Kava as Supreme so no indictment.

‘No man is above the law’ … well up till now. Dictators nullify courts first, then votes.

Supremes protect Don’s ‘Orders’? – GOP: ‘Sure, pres can change Constitution anytime.’

----------------------------------

Jobs:

1,500 laid off at State Street mutual funds and stock price rose.

Our future: I got another human from my boarding house to service my robot while I take my kid to the Make a Robot Fair. I fear there won’t be many robots like mine to fix in the future.

What about running for president? Field is wide open and filling fast—20 in 2020?

Airlines have more planes so need more pilots: what about flying?

Top jobs for the next 5 years are obviously tech: $200,000 for best unless you have ‘juice.’

Who owns your account now?

Sears employees’ pension funded to 64% of promises—gov takes over paying

Thousands disabled work through federal program but sent home; no pay

Great-West Lifeco’s life/annuity biz to Dai-ichi Life’s Protective Life

Miracle:

Graeber says FDA approved 2 anti-cancer drugs with 60 in preclinical and 30 in trials.

Alzheimer’s cause: P gingivalis, the key bacteria in chronic gum disease. Cure in trials.

IAN

41 Watchung Plaza, B242

Montclair, NJ 07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

Alerts

Friday, January 18, 2019

Make sure all your tax documents come before you file

Since there is no enforcement of tax document mailings by mutual funds, banks, brokerage and advisors as well as employers, check last year’s filing to make sure you have everything to file BEFORE you go to your preparer. Few keep the deadline of January 31. Call IRS if not by February 28. If you have a kid in college, make sure they do NOT take your dependent exemption themselves. They don’t need it to get their job withholding tax refund. You need it to claim deductions and an extra $500. Kids should check the box “Someone can claim you as a dependent.” https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf. When you are ready, IRS has efile partners that have easy software programs that may allow you file for FREE. Some charge depending on your state and level of income. Most will cost less than the advertised brands ($50+$30) unless you must use a paid preparer. Trump has doubled the number of forms required to file many middle-income returns so the average price will be higher. And you won’t pay a penalty if you paid 85% of what you owe. Many of us will pay MORE than Trump promised since the wealthy and corporations pay less. January 28 is the first day of FREE ‘human’ preparation by AARP tax-aides. Make sure you have all of your docs: https://www.irs.com/articles/tax-form-checklist. Sign up at locations near you: https://secure.aarp.org/applications/VMISLocator/searchTaxAideLocations.action.

Long term care policies benefits and prices vary by 243%

If you are wealthy you may not need a policy. If you are NOT wealthy you may not be able to afford this coverage. You can buy from a new insurer with better understanding of the cost profile. Most advisors say buy at a younger age and change the benefits to meet your needs. Great for them but how to cope with increasing prices for what may be a very long time—age 55-85 means 30 years at $3-4,000 a year. AND you may not need coverage. That’s $100,000 wasted cash vs. $500,000 invested at 8%. Unless you know you will need it soon, you may be better off paying cash when the time comes. $4,750 to $2,500 per year LTC policy prices vary greatly.

Shop around: https://www.amazon.com/Long-term-Care-Insurance-Updated/dp/148274001X

A pathway to health care for all

CA new gov proposing extending ACA ObamaCare to insure more residents. This incremental move may light the way for other states concerned for its citizens. Newsom uses state funds to fill in the gaps for those without coverage and ignores the mandate. More carrot and less stick may help CA do what others haven’t up till now. About 10% of its non-elderly population lacks coverage. A study last year projected a steady rise, finding that Republicans' Obamacare sabotage and other factors would increase the un-insurance rate to 13% by 2023, with about 1 million more uninsured Californians, barring a policy shift. Massachusetts has its own mandate and subsidy program, and it has the lowest uninsured rate in the nation. Families are working hard to pay medical bills but still need help even with 4 part-time jobs and working mom.

Buy only what you need: https://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083

Are ‘Target Date’ funds right for you?

A recent survey of employees enrolled in TDF shows they are misunderstood. The industry does its best to keep those with low pension balances in the dark. The industry is a for-profit one and has no interest in explaining this low-cost high-return strategy for retirement funding. Instead of showing how this option gives employees the best shot at a successful pension fund, working folks have the idea that this strategy will assure a safe retirement income, will never go down, is guaranteed by the government and becomes a cash asset in retirement. Workers do know TDF asset allocations shift from stocks to bonds over time. Most employees have had no investing experience and so if their 401k default is TDF, they never learn what they really own. Employers are not in a position to teach investing and the fund complex they use has no responsibility to provide this service. Employers have all but abandoned paid worker pensions. And no one has stepped up to provide the basic financial education all of us need at our first job. https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Literacy-Steps-Success-Money/dp/1491044616

Avoid double taxation when you inherit an IRA

When you inherit an IRA from someone, you need to know the amount they contributed over the years as after-tax non-deductions. Since IRA accounts have been around, contributors who wanted to keep on investing even without current tax deductions because of their incomes, were able to keep building their retirement nest egg. If they started taking distributions mandated by the IRS as RMDs at age 70 1/2, they had to calculate the amount to exclude from taxation as regular income since they had already paid tax on the contributions. They should have filed a form every year (Form 8606) keeping track of this so called ‘basis’—the amount they already paid tax on. The financial trustee for this account never had to keep this information so you as the beneficiary must go back into the tax records to compute the excluded ratio. Otherwise the IRS will treat the whole distribution to you as taxable at your rate. The last tax return should have the Form 8606 so you and your tax preparer can take it from there. Of course, now we have the Roth IRA which shields all the growth in your IRA contributions from taxation. Use the Roth for your current investing or convert your old IRA to the Roth for totally FREE distributions when you take them. You do not have to take them so they are the perfect working-person’s estate plan. Heirs pay no tax.

Use the best for your heirs: https://www.amazon.com/401k-IRA-Tax-FREE-Tax-Deferred-retirement/dp/1475057938

What did John Bogle give us?

John Bogle died Thursday. John Bogle created The Vanguard Group—the mutual funds owned by us—the investors—at cost, so we could keep more of what we earned. At work in a financial firm one day, he responded to the fall of his clients’ accounts by noting that speculation was not in the best interest of the firm’s clients. Bogle fixed on the role of a firm as steward of the clients’ funds. In 1976, his new firm introduced the index fund to individuals. Indexing was run by banks for some large investors. In 1977, Bogle stopped selling funds through brokers. The company eliminated sales charges and became a pure no-load mutual fund complex—a move that would save shareholders $ billions in sales commissions and fees—increasing their gains. Stewardship is the attitude of salaried workers at Vanguard which is now the largest provider of funds to investors. Noted economist, Paul Samuelson ranked "this Bogle invention along with the invention of the wheel, the alphabet, Gutenberg printing." Jack Bogle’s legacy is rooted in the concept that investing should be conducted solely in the interest of investors. Bogle’s single mindedness on fiduciary stewardship finds its meaning in the company he founded, the (low cost and simple) product strategies and corporate governance reforms he champions, and the nine books he wrote. The industry has followed Bogle’s lead—almost every investor is now paying less and earning more because of this industry disruptor. See attached.

Industry disruptor--Pay less; earn more: https://www.amazon.com/Disruptors-Three-Innovators-increase-WEALTH/dp/1720857563

Real estate moguls lick their chops at Trump’s ‘opportunity zones’

Trump did Jared and friends a big favor. Moguls who develop real estate or fund businesses in these areas are able to defer capital gains on profits earned elsewhere and completely eliminate them on new investments in 8,700 low-income census tracts. The goal is to reinvigorate these areas. But the question is whether the 2017 tax law will, as Mogul Mnuchin predicts, pump $100 billion into places that need it most, or if investors will play it safe by funding projects in a few zones already on the upswing. But like most deals, there are hidden terms. Investing in a relatively illiquid partnership or corporation with the intent of holding the investment for as many as 10 years in order to maximize the available tax benefits requires a strong conviction regarding the merits of the investment itself. Some areas are just not ready for money without people. And state tax codes may not help. The Federal tax benefits don’t exist until the property is sold—no gains; no deduction. And be careful about rolling over their eligible gains into a QOF within 180 days. The rules are complicated.

Use your simple tax credits first: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-Credit-Class-your-credits-ZERO/dp/1539462382

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

Make

~~America~~

, “The Don”, Great Again

Senile Psychosis or Parkinson’s delusions? quetiapine and clozapine

Truth isn’t truth, his lawyer says

Two

Americas

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

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

J F Kennedy was 43 when he beat Nixon

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

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

Sec. Defense, former Boeing exec, OK paying too much for Boeing tanker for AF. Graft?

Mortgage approvals delayed by gov verification on hold; IRS, VA and FHA closed.

SCAMS/SPINS:

Deming Payne caught lying about fake $800,000 client redemptions. 3 mo suspension

Robert Kahn, MO; Andrew Schade, MI; John Wheeler, FL caught misleading clients.

VanEck Vectors BDC Income ETF (BIZD), charges 9.41% a year: you lost money?

Gary Basralian NJ caught stealing victim’s accident settlement money

Idealogs Coulter/Limbaugh cost us $25+ billions as Trump’s confessors

Trump to farmers: I’ll “make it easier” for some immigrants to come into the country.

GOP supports lifting sanctions on Putin friends: Trump rewards Russia for election win.

Trump, as dictator, puts 50,000 in slavery chains—says work without pay is good thing

Trump, as dictator, takes revenge on Dems: Pelosi secure flight cancelled: ‘stay here’

Trump, as dictator, lied about how many kids were separated: still don’t know where.

Lettuce growers begs FDA to come and inspect so no more die of E.Coli

Flight-safety systems at risk with no inspectors & fewer TSA checks.

MetLife stole pension payments to 13,500 retirees claiming they were dead. No jail time.

PA state pension fund overpaid managers $1 billion in 2017—retirees lose; cronies win.

Sterling Jewelers caught opening charge acct without consent: owns ALL jewelers

Hyundai, Kia recall 168,000 for fuel leaks and fires and software

Brokers who might owe you an arbitration settlement or award --filed bankruptcy?

“Individual 1” could be a Russian “asset”: Why FBI opened a file on The Mob Boss.

GOP can’t say “You’re fired” to The Boss because his voters will ‘kill’ them in 2020.

The Mob Boss can never go to jail: Trump has Kava as Supreme so no indictment.

‘No man is above the law’ … well up till now. Dictators nullify courts first, then votes.

Supremes protect Don’s ‘Orders’? – GOP: ‘Sure, pres can change Constitution anytime.’

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Jobs:

Work for free: TSA and flight controllers and Coast Guard need replacements now.

Jobs that pay in health care: leader in job growth.

Nissan lays off 700 in MS

Who owns your account now?

Trump to take TX homeowner’s property: Is land like a gun 2^nd amendment?

ATT has been selling my location data and I didn’t get a cent. Past royalties?

Save money 18 ways: https://www.stretcher.com/stories/11/11jan17e.cfm?DS0114-1

Your investments are back to where they were last April and climbing.

WA cancels NRA insurance for killing people: illegal “to insure criminal activity."

Sears bought by Lampert for $5.2 billion

Miracle:

Bishops ‘forgot’ everything they learned about sex. Cardinal: I forgot sex abuses !!

A gymnastic milestone and a ’10’ to Make America Feel Good Again: Twitter

IAN

41 Watchung Plaza, B242

Montclair, NJ 07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

Alerts

Friday, January 11, 2019

Don’t give your money to the wrong beneficiary!

Don’t give your money to the wrong beneficiary

This is the time to make sure the beneficiaries of your life insurance, annuity, IRAs, 401k, 403b, bank and brokerage accounts are correct. Many companies fail to pay the money you intended for your loved ones because they have tricks to keep it for profit. If your ‘bene’ does not know about the money or make a claim for it, the firm keeps it. You must make sure the insurer and your beneficiary has the correct information. You must make sure the person you want to get your money, gets it. For instance, MetLife and other insurance firms were caught keeping the funds due ‘bene’s because they claimed they did not know the payer had died or they failed to try to find or pay the benefits. Beneficiaries often do not know their benefactor had set up an account for them. In another case, MetLife used the excuse that they made the bene’s money ‘available’ but only in checks of $250 at a time. Since MetLife held $ millions of benefits in their general account, they made $ millions from the earnings with the bene’s money. Each state had to negotiate with MetLife for 3 years to get their citizens’ funds released. Prudential and John Hancock were among hundreds of insurers which had no interest in paying death benefits to their rightful owners. They did not use databases like the SS death record. The courts found that this was an elaborate game that has been going on for a long time and not just with life policy death benefits. Give your executor a list in your ‘final wishes’ letter saying who gets what from whom specifically.

Make sure your money goes where you want it to go: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Retirement-Spending-Plan-enough/dp/1461084016

More employers overcharge their workers on pension plans

Mutual of Omaha and Transamerica have been caught taking excessive fees from employees in their 401k mutual fund plans. A participant in the 401(k) plan of Mutual of Omaha sued the company and plan executives alleging violations of ERISA due to excessive fees and to the plan's use of proprietary funds. The company picks the funds that are available so the workers can have a successful retirement. Excessive fees means workers may not be successful. Other ‘service’ firm employees are in litigation with their pension plans: Prudential, Transamerica, Allianz, Jackson National, JP Morgan, Edward Jones, T. Rowe Price, WellsFargo, Franklin Templeton. An employee can lose up to 63% of their potential retirement nest egg by paying more than the costs of their pension plan. Employers can use plan providers that offer funds ‘at cost’ like Vanguard, TIAA, Schwab, etc. Instead they make employees-saving-for-retirement a ‘profit center’ for their own enhancement. They control the pension options, fees, wages, matching dollars.

Workers have options: https://www.amazon.com/401k-IRA-Tax-FREE-Tax-Deferred-retirement/dp/1475057938

Do you lose with Trump’s new tax law?

Some old deductions are gone. You may have to adjust your spending and saving to maintain your tax refund. Families with kids will double the credit. Perhaps your business will benefit from the new deduction of 20%. Here are examples for different income levels. States with high property taxes will cause many to change their tax filings.

Jared and The Don have already benefited from the new real estate credits. His new Opportunity Zone deal is even better for him and his friends/family. Some deductions are still possible.

Don’t leave your credits unused: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-Credit-Class-your-credits-ZERO/dp/1539462382

Advisors’ fees are NOT coming down

Advisors charging over 1.2% in fees per year have decided not to try to compete with lower-fee upstarts. Instead, they are re-naming the services offered. Advisors think we will pay more to them than the new kids in town because services are defined in terms of our individual needs. However automation of some services requires they all be the same. Automation makes a firm more efficiency and profitable. For example, some firms are lowering their minimum asset levels for more business on the assumption that new clients will be happy to pay 1.2% for the chance to see a real person on staff compared with the robo advisors. Model portfolios can easily be established for less cost than an actual hand-crafted one. Other firms are using targeted discounts to tempt clients from other firms. Claiming greater transparency in pricing services, some are trying the ‘flat’ fee approach to lure traditional firm clients away from the brokers with ‘hidden’ charges. In a sense the industry is trying to maintain high fees by creating ‘differentiation’—if I think I am getting more services with greater efficiency, I will stick with my broker/advisor. Don’t be fooled.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Robo-Advisor-Ultimate-Automatic-Management/dp/1537111957

Health care fees are NOT coming down either

Americans spend more than twice as much on health care per person as their peers in developed nations, according to a new analysis from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. It's not because people in the

use more medical services. Instead, it's because drugs cost more, drug firms kill generics, doctors and nurses are paid better, hospital administration is more expensive and many medical services have higher price tags, the study found. (Today drug-maker admits to national BRIBE DOCTOR scheme creating the opioid crisis.) And paying more does not result in better outcomes unless you are wealthy. The new analysis found that the

remains an outlier when it comes to spending, which was $9,892 per person in 2016. That compares to a median of $4,033 for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in 2016 and to the $4,559 the

spent per person in 2000, adjusted for inflation.

It’s time we tried Medicare for All: https://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083

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

Make

~~America~~

, “The Don”, Great Again

Senile Psychosis or Parkinson’s delusions? quetiapine and clozapine

Truth isn’t truth, his lawyer says

Two

Americas

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

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

J F Kennedy was 43 when he beat Nixon

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

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

BEWARE: Now Trump says we are not getting out of Syria. Our media is enemy now!

BEWARE: Flood area reclamation by Army Corp at risk--WALL may come from ACE.

SCAMS/SPINS:

Dictators claim National Emergency to avoid democracy: The Don builds WALL.

One Dem has guts: new rep promises to stop The Don—Congress blushes at candor!

Dictators close down gov for years and install their own puppets: The Don solution?

Citizens who live near the WALL have a much different set of facts than the Con Man.

The Don has cut funds to CA fire fighters to punish CA for not fighting fires his way!

Gov licensing of Alaska oil and gas in endangered ecosystems despite shut down.

Annuity exchanging made easy but encourages ‘churning’ to make another commission.

Daniel Todd Levine caught hiding involvement in another business

‘No Collusion’ but what about your 101 contacts with Putin’s agents: Cohen statement.

‘I never said Mexico would pay for the WALL’ OK—we don’t need the WALL!

The Mob Boss can never go to jail: Trump has Kava as Supreme so no indictment.

‘No man is above the law’ … well up till now. Dictators nullify courts first, then votes.

Supremes protect Don’s ‘Orders’? – GOP: Sure, pres can change Constitution anytime.

----------------------------------

Jobs:

Trump claims workers without paychecks are behind his scheme to close … for years?

Coast Guard workers told to use garage sales for income instead of paychecks.

Need an affordable city to start your life or start it anew? Low rents; higher salaries.

Who owns your account now?

Our for-profit health system is failing us: One family’s nightmare shows reasons.

Avoid premium increase in homeowner’s insurance by going thru dog training.

Miracle:

Pre-K prep programs working FOR equality of opportunity

Young Muslims are cleaning up our national parks: no pay--“It’s just what we do.”

IAN

41 Watchung Plaza, B242

Montclair, NJ 07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

Alerts

Friday, January 4, 2019

Save $3,000 this year on financials for a brighter tomorrow

My future nest egg is always my concern at the start of a year. Where can I find a permanent $3,000 a year to increase my future Wealth Reserve? I use my tax refund. I shop for lower car, house and liability insurance. I ask for a better price on my phone, TV and Internet deal. Yesterday I bought stamps for the year because the price is going from 50 to 55 cents—that’s 10% Mr Trump! This doesn’t save much but it is the principle I value. I told the clerk Allan that we will just mail fewer cards if he keeps raising prices. I will buy more soup this week as it is on sale—10 for $8.99. I already stopped my life insurance, annuity, accident and disability at work. We dropped TurboTax in favor of FreeTaxUSA. We shifted to gas from electric appliances. The largest cut was in moving all our high-rate debts to a HELOC at 3.49%. Our student loan interest is still deductible so we kept that. We gave up our brokerage account and non-Vanguard mutual funds and moved them all to Vanguard for their lower Admiral expense rate averaging 0.11%. We have moved most of our money to the lower end with 500 Index and Wellesley Income funds. Our brokerage and non-Vanguard funds cost over 1% or $2,500 a year. We bought stocks on sale in December for future gains.

We estimate adding another $150,000 to our Wealth Reserve over time: https://www.amazon.com/Build-Wealth-Without-Extra-Money/dp/1448677505

Check ALL your tax credits

2018 was first year of the new Trump tax rules. Don’t leave it up to your preparer to find all your credits. Use the Trump administration as your guide to pay less. Find your tax credits and pay Zero tax like Jared. One year, The Don had $916 million tax LOSS on paper so he paid NO taxes for up to 18 years. If you have any kind of business, take his new 20% pass-thru deduction against your income. Other deductions/credits include education, medical, savings, electric cars, child, etc. Trump had the IRS create 6 new Schedules so that he could boast that he made the ‘post card’ tax return. HE LIED. Truth is he just created more paper. 1040 looks like the old EZ-1040 which is eliminated. Now with more schedules and worksheets, a middle-income joint return will be over 25 pages up from 15. Since most preparers use a software package, the winners are the paid preparers who charge by the page. Our average cost is now $250-300. The least expensive way to file is to use the IRS approved preparers at Free File. Some have no income limits: File advanced and simple federal taxes for free.

https://www.amazon.com/Tax-Credit-Class-your-credits-ZERO/dp/1539462382

Another way you and I can’t avoid taxes like the wealthy do

When you are really wealthy, you can hide some of your assets and gains inside an insurance policy. For non-taxable income you use policy loans. Athletes, celebrities, and family offices are embracing private placement life insurance to avoid taxes and create a family legacy. Investments that produce earnings taxed as regular income are the best candidates to put in these policies. For insurers, these multi-million dollar contracts carry reduced fees justified by size. 0.7% on $3 million is worth more than 1.5% on $ ½ million normal life. All gains on the $3,000,000 are tax free. The Treasury estimated in October that it will lose about $166 billion over the next decade by not taxing insured death benefits. One tax shelter is available to avoid paying the taxes the wealthy avoid.

Use your tax shelter too: https://www.amazon.com/Trump-Tax-Shelter-Avoid-taxes/dp/1985448300

Is your company the best place to save for retirement?

“They did everyone dirty,” said Kilby Baker, 70, a retired warehouse worker whose pension check was cut by about 25 percent after Marsh Supermarkets withdrew from the pension. The owners got all their money back in the bankruptcy—taking the workers’ pensions with them. Even a large business like Marsh fell victim to private equity buy-outs. Maybe using your firm’s 401k isn’t so smart after all. Unless your company is providing a contribution match, an IRA with low-cost funds may be a smarter move. An IRA can provide tax-deferred savings with direct debit from your checking account. Your trustee does the investing for you by using a low-cost Target Date fund or broad stock fund. You can reduce the income that gets taxed just like a 401k. You avoid the plan fees charged by some 401k administrators. You use the investment strategy recommended by Warren Buffett. Your IRA is protected from your firm and your personal creditors. You avoid your company stealing your money. Sears pensioners may be next.

https://www.amazon.com/401k-or-IRA-Tax-FREE-Tax-Deferred-retirement/ dp/1475057938

Why are retirement plans failing most of us?

When we change jobs, almost HALF of us cash out our retirement funds. Most of us have no savings to tide us over to the next job so we spend our ‘future’ security. Cashing out is possibly the single most harmful decision to achieving a financially secure retirement that an employee can make — next to not contributing at all. The penalty and back taxes are the least of the problem. About 22% of active and contributed defined-contribution participants will change jobs each year. Of these job changers, Retirement Clearinghouse reports some 41% will cash out their retirement plan. We give up $250,000 or more by not allowing our money to compound in a low-cost stock fund. Based on the average stock market (S&P 500) earnings of 11% a year, our $25,000 cash out could have grown to $1 million if we had just left it alone for 40 years. Even at $12,500, our cash out would grow to $247,967 in 30 years at 10% even if we never added another dime. As Warren Buffett said: “My wealth has come from a combination of living in

America

, some lucky genes, and compound interest.” It is compounding over time that makes wealth.

Don’t give up your ‘future’: https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Compounding-Turn-day-into/dp/1470176513

McConnell’s GOP calls for cuts in our Social Security and Medicare

Now that the Dems own the House, GOP is worried about paying for the WALL and the tax breaks and $17 Trillion debt so they want Dems to be blamed for cuts. We can avoid the cuts by using a legal tax shelter for working people. We can avoid paying for some of this huge overspending by putting our retirement money in an IRS-approved tax shelter. We then avoid tax on the money and the earnings after age 59 ½. We don’t need a lawyer or offshore account to avoid the future taxes and cuts in SS and Medicare. We can rely on our compounded earnings. $3,000 a year goes into the account over time and $1,000,000 comes out tax FREE. We spend it all with no increased taxes. SS benefits get reduced in 2034 so we need a supplement. We avoid paying for the tax breaks for the rich too.

https://www.amazon.com/Forget-Social-Security-Medicare-Lifestyle/dp/1466394285

How did you do in 2018?

Our clients use Vanguard funds to maintain a broad diversified portfolio which has provided over 11% total returns for years. 2018 was negative 7.7%--not as bad as some years like 2008 not as good as others like 2013. Since the overall market has produced a steady 10-12% over any 10 year period, we consider it the safest place for our long-term funds. Even in retirement, our clients are counting on equities to maintain a higher return than the alternatives. Above all, we consider low-cost in any investment to be key. Our clients have learned over time that neither moving in and out of the market nor putting money in hot topics has worked out well for them. There is no guarantee for the future but inflation requires more than a bank CD.

2018 Total Return Fund Long-term Return Longevity

-4.4% 500 Index 10.7%* since 1976

-17.1% Energy 9.8% since 1984

-9.4% Extended Market 10.2% since 1987

1.2% Health 16.0% since 1984

-12.7% International Growth 10.1% since 1981

-1.9% PRIMECAP 13.4% since 1984

-9.3% Small Cap Index 10.4% since 1960

-2.6% Wellesley Income 9.6% since 1970

-12.5% Windsor 11.0% since 1958

-8.9% Windsor II 10.2% since 1985

-7.7% Average 11.1%