Your Unbiased Advisor: 529 college

Showing posts with label 529 college. Show all posts

Friday, June 10, 2022

How to build an emergency fund

Invest those graduation gifts so they have enough later

$100 can become $10,000 in time. Show your graduate how the other half lives—on dividends and stock splits. Success with money starts early—most wealthy people started in previous generations. Compound earnings over time assures your child of security. You have a great opportunity to teach your child how to become successful with money. They can learn to take care of themselves and even become wealthy from your guidance TODAY. You can show them how to take advantage of the greatest power in finance: compound interest and the time value of money. Warren Buffett, who turned his paper route savings into $ billions, credited compounding over time for his wealth. "My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest." Compounding high earnings over time is the lesson we should all have learned in school. Buffett did NOT say wealth is about picking the next 'Apple' stock or leveraging derivatives. Your child has TIME on their side and that is all they need. Compounding is money earning money on its earnings when it is reinvested. Invest their money in businesses sharing profits with them and over time they can reach $1,000,000. A special IRS-approved account makes their $1million tax-FREE. Tax-FREE is like a $300,000 bonus from Uncle Sam. $3,000 a year for 34 years gets them $1 million.

https://www.amazon.com/Where-can-your-child-invest/dp/1492164240

How to build an emergency fund

Last year many families wish they had built an emergency fund to fill the void of layoffs, extended sick time or job searches. Where can your emergency cash come from? Better to identify the source of funds now in case we have another emergency. Some of our readers have created their emergency fund by using the savings from buying their financial services—mutual funds, insurance, banking, etc—directly from quality providers, usually at a discount. If you own a home or property with equity, the least expensive source is a HELOC. We got one at no cost. Instead of using a savings CD or account, put money away in a low-cost inflation-protected bond ETF. Vanguard’s VTIP fund charges $0 commission and 0.04% annual expense. Another option is a low-cost high-dividend mutual fund like Vanguard Equity Income Fund. This fund’s returns are positive for 2022 with a 30-day yield of 2.22% and over 10% since 1988. Some readers are large-scale collectors of jewelry and other hard assets. They are prepared to sell some pieces in case of an emergency which they don’t expect to ever happen.

Be prepared: https://www.amazon.com/dont-have-money-Financial-Emergencies/dp/1537636707

Smart investors buying stocks on sale

Many great company stocks are on sale and you may pick up some real bargains. Companies that pay high dividends, even in depressed stock market, can provide your future fortune. Companies that provide products with steady demand can provide more long-term stability. Some readers use Vanguard Windsor Fund which has provided over 11% returns since 1958. Its one year return is over 15%. You own banks, insurers, as well as some tech companies. Some buy individual stocks with high dividend strength:

Name Symbol

JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM

Johnson & Johnson JNJ

The Home Depot Inc HD

Procter & Gamble Co PG

Bank of America Corp BAC

Exxon Mobil Corp XOM

Comcast Corp Class A CMCSA

Verizon Communications Inc VZ

Intel Corp INTC

Cisco Systems Inc CSCO

Buy direct and save: https://www.amazon.com/Tricks-Trade-Mutual-Insurance-Annuities/dp/1535497289

Another way the rich avoid paying their fair share

Even though the Social Security trust fund will stop paying a full benefit by 2034, the rich have already (by June) stopped paying into the SS trust. Because so little of their income is subject to the tax, a millionaire’s effective tax rate is less than 1 percent. Compare that to the 6.2 percent that any worker making less than $147,000 pays, and it is clear that the burden of paying for Social Security rests on those who make the least. This increases the number of seniors who fall below the poverty level. The average SS benefit is $1,657 a month or $19,884 a year BEFORE taxes (85% of benefits are taxed for most middle class couples). Most couples have Medicare Part B $170 deducted monthly so they each have $1,487 to start paying their other monthly medical, housing and food costs. Most middle class families are paying about 33% of their income in taxes while the wealthy like Warren Buffett are pay less than 18%. They pay less so we must pay more!

Avoid paying their taxes: https://www.amazon.com/New-American-Retirement-System-Reserve/dp/1461030072

Show your kids, grandkids how to build a $1,000,000 tax-FREE nest egg

Show them how to build a nest egg from the savings on all the financial services they buy. Most people waste $3,000 a year on overcharges. Our financial industry Insiders show you the "tricks of the trade" so you save up to $3,000 every year on banking, mortgage, education, 401k mutual funds, securities, annuity, insurance-life, health, disability, long term care, vehicle, homeowner's, lawsuit--vehicle purchase, estate legacy, wealth transfer, retirement spending . . . almost any service. You buy the best financial services and avoid high fees and commissions. Your savings builds your Wealth Reserve over time. You buy where we Insiders buy! Our Insider's Guides help you find the savings so you can build your ‘Wealth Reserve’ to protect your lifestyle, now, and into the 21st Century. Your Unbiased Advisor: "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime." Our Insiders show you how to SAVE $3,000 every year by buying your financial services online DIRECTLY—cut out the middle person’s fees, commissions, charges. Use your tax-FREE account.

https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp/143480593X/

Create a college fund early so you will have enough

Our tax code allows us to invest for college with no tax liability. A 529 tax-FREE fund can be opened at your favorite financial firm. Make sure you pick a low-cost provider so you gain as much from your money as possible. Starting at age 1, you can build an adequate amount with no taxes. $1,000 a year for 18 years invested in a low-cost stock market account can provide $60,000. A low-cost market index has provided 11% over time. Cost is usually the sole determinate of investing success so Warren Buffett bet on the Vanguard 500 Index Fund to beat 5 hedge funds. Vanguard has a low-cost 529 plan for you and your state may make contributions deductible.

https://www.amazon.com/Your-First-Mutual-Fund-FREE/dp/1976074118

You can maximize your investment returns without an advisor

Cost is usually the sole determinate of investing success so Warren Buffett bet on the low-cost Vanguard 500 Index Fund to beat 5 hedge funds. Unless you or your advisor has insider information about a special company, every advisor is taking your earnings for their profits. Advisors are in the business to make money from YOURS. When I worked at a Wall Street firm, the whole sales structure of the firm was based on the level of earnings from each product we sold. Even so-called fiduciaries must put bread on the table in their very nice houses. Look at the real statistics for Investor Returns in every asset category. Compare them to inflation and each index. The closer your account cost is to the index, the better you will do. High cost means you are giving away your money. Since no analyst can predict the winners for next year or the next 20 years, you are better off paying 0.04% expenses. John Bogle, Vanguard’s founder noted: “that little 2 percent fee will erode 63 percent of what you would have had.” Annual fees, commissions, trading timing, account charges, etc mount up to help your advisor’s firm succeed.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Predictor-Investment-Success-Cost-ebook/dp/B00O20BBBQ

?**********ACCOUNTABILITY**************?

Like 1776, this period is a test of democracy—We rejected an "American fascist" once

The Path to Dictatorship: 2010-2030

Jan 21 2010 Corporations’ election-spending unlimited

Nov 2020 Wealthy discredit election process

Nov 21 2020 Trump’s Plans for a Coup: criminal

Nov 21 2020: Trump plan: US Marshals seize voting machines

Jan 6 2021 Direct assault failed: guns & bombs ready

Trump engaged in a "criminal conspiracy" to stop new regime

Trumpist’s Supremes end personal rights except weapons

Nov 8 2022 Trump’s “national revolution”

How Govt wastes our money:

Trumpists give Congress the finger: 2 coup planners keep plot secret: rich avoid justice

GOP in CO wants to end 1 person per vote then GOP rural voters can control winners

GOP sought pardons from Trump for efforts to overturn the 2020 election: conspiracy!

Biden charges ‘soldiers’ Proud Boys instead of the instigators of coup Trump, Meadows

“There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone but your dishonor will remain."

Supremes: OK border agents to use excessive force on anyone: agent push + IRS audit

SCAMS/SPINS:

Trump lieutenant indicted: refused Congress demand for documents: hide role in coup

Trump’s secret plot to end GA legitimate vote: fake Trump electors scheme found

Murder threat: Terrorists: 'hang Mike Pence' Trump says “Mike Pence 'deserves' it."

GOP against killing fetus but not against killing real children: 30 bullets rip bodies

44 % GOP: mass shootings are “something we have to accept as part of a free society.”

A GOP that support assault rifle ban to save our kids run out of town by lobbyists

OH wants teachers to shoot AR15 terrorist with handgun instead of police: 30 rnds in 30 sec?

GOP refuses discuss taking machine guns out of hands of troubled teens: blood on hands

2 year old kills dad: gun laying around, dad playing vid game: 5 year old witness

GOP says AR-15 assault weapon “helpful in shooting prairie dogs” [and people]

Does gun victim have to be Senator daughter first: “I got the blood and put it all over me"

Weapons of mass destruction: bullets fired, decapitated, children flesh so ripped apart ...

Angeli Gomez says Uvalde, Texas cops threatened her for speaking out: parent handcuff

Paris Brothers recalling cheddar, brie and pepper jack cheese products: Midwest states

RECALL: More than Jif: peanut butter products have been recalled

SCAM: QuickBooks accounts “suspended” phishing attacks link to scam you

SCAM: USPS fake text “problem with delivery” link to scam you

SCAM: emailing/texting pictures of fake law enforcement credentials to ‘prove’ legit

DELAY: Carvana remote car buying but title or registration takes months: can’t drive it

SCAM: Investors have lost at least a billion dollars on crypto scams

SCAM: Sellers mask inflation by reducing package size and product amount: we get less

David Willingham Lentz caught mishandled exploited account lost $1.3 million suit filed

Lucita Zamoras caught Ponzi-type fraud $2.5 million in “safe investments”: jail

Drug firms keep insulin price too high for needy: CA seeks real cost info: make generic

Reserve Trust Fed master account revoked: bank account for banks to transfer money

IRS warns tax avoidance schemes taxpayers should avoid: wealthy not audited

Oil producers gouge us for record profits: Energy sector up YTD over 60%

Jobs

Walmart to open massive fulfillment center in south-central PA

Our mail by electric bikes: like EU, small no gas-guzzler postal ‘sidecars’

Ford plans to invest nearly $4 billion in the Midwest for next-generation vehicle

Dealing with inflation: average Wall Street bonus increased 20% to $257,500

Where jobs went and came: market sectors that grew

Teachers have had it: half may leave for better working conditions/pay

Putin groans: Deutsche Bank has relocated several hundred Russian IT experts to Berlin

Who owns your account now?

Which sector has your advisor put you in?

Shopping for a mortgage: start https://links.bankrate.com/e/evib

Kohl's puts up a for-sale sign

Where’s our news/fun: https://read-vip.variety.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx

Miracles:

Congress not like real parents: they never see what bullets do to our children’s bodies

New Social Security card free online: https://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/

Proteins turn adult cell into stem cell: get sight back in mice: humans next

Mick Jagger, age 78 Keith Richards 78, perform Liverpool, Stones' Sixty Tour ('62-'22).

D-Day: millions began taking back Europe from Nazis dictatorship

Cured: rectal cancer patients: dostarlimab $11,000 per dose

Building walls convert sunlight into electricity: Australian office tower runs on itself

Anthony Perry Chicago man jumps on tracks to save man: gets car to get to work on time

A little compassion: https://twitter.com/Thund3rB0lt/status/1533949157651533824

Arctic burning already: The Siberian fire season may be more severe : northern Alaska

Worms (beetles) eat Styrofoam to clean environment

Everything in universe: galaxies to stones made of subatomic energy ‘vibrations’

Light is both a particle and a wave depending on how we look at the light.

A subatomic ‘particle’ is the smallest possible vibration (quantum) of a quantum field.

Mass–energy equivalence: E=mc^2. At the smallest level; Everything is moving!

Inside protons, neutrons, it is the fields of the virtual particles that creates its mass.

“Empty space is a boiling, bubbling brew of virtual particles that pop in and out of existence in a time scale so short that you can’t even measure them.” Space expanding.

We can apply for Medicare online: https://blog.ssa.gov/apply-for-medicare-online

We can apply for Social Security online: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/

We can apply for health care online: https://www.healthcare.gov/

IAN

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/

Friday, May 28, 2021

Is getting paid to move your 401k right for you?

Are you paying too much for your 401k or 403b at work?

Most employers keep the fees hidden so many working people have no idea. Some think their pension plan is free. Larger employers must keep fees low since many have been sued for charging excessive fees and kickbacks to themselves. However, if you are working for a small or non-profit employer, you are probably being scalped. Depending on which investment option you have chosen in your plan, you could be losing money. Fixed (no loss) investments like stable value funds may earn 2% or less. If inflation is 2% as it is now, you are losing money. Worse, some non-profits offer pension plans run by insurance agents. My wife was losing money in her tax-deferred annuity plan and was charged a surrender fee when she tried to transfer it to a low-cost provider. Many plan participants are urged to invest conservatively when hired so their life-time nest egg hardly grows at all. You may end up with less than $200,000 instead of accumulating $500,000. John Bogle, founder of Vanguard, said “the tyranny of compounding costs” is overwhelming. You may be giving up 63% “of what you would have had.” If your contributions are matched by your boss, this may overcome the high costs. Otherwise you are better off using the IRS-approved tax-FREE account.

Pay less; earn more: https://www.amazon.com/Robbing-You-Blind-401k-fees/dp/1493588966

Why is it critical to start investing as early as possible?

Why are the rich getting richer during this time when so many don’t even make the minimum wage? Part of the answer comes from the idea of compound interest. Warren Buffett swears by compounding: “MY WEALTH HAS COME FROM A COMBINATION OF LIVING IN AMERICA, SOME LUCKY GENES, AND COMPOUND INTEREST.” For those of us who invest in order to have enough money for retirement, time is critical. Buy buying the stock of profitable companies, we can earn about 11% a year over time. The stock provides dividends which buy more stock. Because of profits, each share is valued at a higher level each year. These two combine to make the value of our money double in about 7 years. If we invested $9 a day for 40 years starting at age 20, our account would show $2.1 million. If we waited to start investing until age 40, it would cost $82 a day to reach that amount. Time investing takes the place of cash. The rich who already have $2.1 million at age 60 might have $4 million by age 70. If they had $4 million at the beginning of 2020 when they lost their jobs, they would have over $5 million now just by holding on to their low-cost stock index fund that increased by 45%.

Follow Buffett’s advice: https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592

Will Biden’s tax increase on capital gains hurt or help you?

This question will come to you during the next year. Consider this: the rich don’t live on wages that are taxed like we do. Many use family money to buy assets like commercial buildings. As the assets appreciate, there are no taxes on the rents. There are loans. The loan interest is paid by the rents. The loans finance the lifestyles of the rich—homes, cars, planes, servants, etc. The loan proceeds are not taxable. They actually get an interest deduction on the money they live on. To buy a bigger building, they don’t pay tax on the sale like you would because the IRS thinks the new building is just an exchange. Some like Mr Romney set up partnerships offshore so the lower taxes paid by the partnership actually offset taxes owed on other income. He also exploited the IRA rules to delay taxation on the gains from the companies he launched at Bain. The wealthy pay less than HALF the taxes we pay. The rich use gifts to charities they create or control to offset income also. The wealthy employ professional tax advisors to reduce/eliminate their income and capital gains taxes. Some use offshore tax havens to avoid the taxes we pay. If you don’t have capital and profits, Biden’s taxes may reduce all our tax increases.

Reduce your taxes legally: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-Free-Living-2012-strategies-build/dp/1477452702

Is getting paid to move your 401k right for you?

Some financial service firms will pay you up to $3,000 to move your pension to their self-directed IRA. Why do you think? Good will? Charity? No, it is because they want you to pay their fees for the rest of your life and beyond. However, read the small print—you have to let them hold your $1.5 mil to get $3,000. Such a deal! Over the next 30 years of your retirement, you may pay them 1-2% which will be over $100,000 for an average size 401k. One of my readers shared his story: $500,000 IRA rollover which costs 1% a year over 20 years in retirement equals $100,000 in fees he gave up to his advisor. I helped him transfer his money to a low-cost provider which cost him $2,000 a year not $5,000 a year. Consider better options for you not your advisor.

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

Best stocks to own for the coming years

When you look at your most recent investment statement you should be delighted. The stock market is up 45% for 1 year; 17% for 5 years; and 14% for 10 years. The long-term average is 11% before your advisor’s charges and fees. My readers are telling me that they are buying more Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, JPMorgan, Visa, Home Depot, and other large companies. They are avoiding crypto for now. They want to continue to enjoy the benefits of an expanding economy and they feel unsure about new trends. Most of my readers are investing for the long-term—retirement or retirement income for their future 20 or 30 years. Most of them are not fast traders. They take their IRS-required minimum distributions by withdrawing dividends and selling shares across the entire portfolio. They don’t know which stock to hold. The future of each stock price is unknown. They are planning to live to age 100.

https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffett-Your-Investment-Advisor/dp/1518690963

Is a 529 college savings plan right for you?

If your state does not match the Fed’s deductibility feature, you can open any state 529 plan. You pay no taxes on the earnings in your plan. You can open multiple 529 plans, and you can roll over your funds from one into another 529 plan once every rolling 12 months. Check the Morningstar Top 529 College Savings Plan Rankings. Utah and Michigan are top plans and pay bonuses. You can accumulate more in your plan by opening the account yourself—brokers take fees annually. You can set up the plan even before you or your adult children have a child. There are many options if the plan is not tapped right away for education for the intended person. Eventually, if you or someone else does not use the funds for an education, the plan is like an IRA—tax on earnings and 10% penalty. So you could use the plan to grow funds tax-deferred if you have maxed out your IRAs. Check options to pay for college: https://www.amazon.com/Education-Funding-Save-right-plan/dp/1482549956/

Minimize taxes on your retirement income

You found out that Social Security benefits are taxed—up to 85% of that income could cause you to hit the next tax bracket. A little planning can help you control when you are taxed on income in retirement. Unless you are really wealthy and can put most of your nest egg in tax-FREE municipal bonds paying 1%, you need a little knowledge to avoid the worst. The premium for the Medicare Part B program goes up at different income levels. If you try a Roth IRA conversion, you could trigger higher taxes on other income. Capital gains taxes are increased for higher income years. Reducing future IRA withdrawals (RMD) may be possible with a qualified charitable distributions QCD processed from your IRA. Control taxes: https://www.amazon.com/What-your-RMD-much-spend/dp/1718946716

Where is that refund?

The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers that the most convenient way to check on a tax refund is by using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool at IRS.gov or through the IRS2Go Mobile App.

Where is the stimulus 1 or 2? If you did not receive stimulus 1 or 2, start filing here: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/recovery-rebate-credit.

Stimulus 3? https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/third-economic-impact-payment

**********ACCOUNTABILITY**************

Like 1776, this period is a test of democracy—We rejected an "American fascist"

Dictator steals reporter’s correspondence

Ted Cruz consulted by Jan 6 terrorist beforehand

When ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’?

How Govt wastes our money:

Can the Treasury find the money of tax cheats? Congress will find new ways to help rich

Most Americans don’t want unemployed to receive extra $300 week:

Even if Biden finds source of COVID. it won’t bring back almost 600,000 dead

GOP reverses AZ vote on wealth tax: voter decision ignored; voter pays more taxes

SCAMS/SPINS:

California Auto Finance caught charging interest late payment w/o notice

AZ GOP using “auditor” that will find election count errors to ‘prove’ Trump Big Con.

Fake news circulated by conspiracy promoters to disrupt US life

Trumpists rewriting history of failed Coup: terrorist clubbed police to stop Congress acts

Trumpists planned Congress reverse electoral vote that day: not ‘riot’ or ‘insurrection’

Trumpists relieved Biden supports keeping Trump obstruction memo secret from public

Trumpist Green calls Pelosi mask protection like Holocaust mass killings of millions

COPS BEWARE: Texas allows anyone to use guns: no license, untrained, anyone!

Does Qualified Immunity rule attract bullies who like to beat people up?

Not for your kids: Vehicles that have a bad accident record

Ebay cars are for sale but not with Ebay guarantee: scams galore! Better web sources

Scam: crypto is the hottest scam around: fake currency investment at a ‘discount’

Why firms pay ransom instead of using the file backup they already paid for

CEO pay jumped 16% in pandemic 2020 while average worker compensation rose 1.8%.

What the wealthy are buying now: diagnostic toilet replaces doc visits?

Budget Hearing Aids caught making false claims for products

Affection scam: get weekly pay to be lover is not real: empty your account results

Scammers Target Families Who Post Missing Persons on Social Media

Frontier Communications caught misrepresenting Internet speeds

Edward E. Matthes caught using fake investments promised high returns; 5 years prison

Emil Botvinnik FL caught churning clients’ funds to increase his income

Driver Loan caught misrepresenting the risks associated with their deposit product

Phone apps that hog memory and drain battery rated

Work at home scams: it sounds easy but that is why it is a scam

Catholics may bar Biden from Host: his politics not God determine Heaven or Hell?

Wormuth confirmed as first woman Army secretary — then she was unconfirmed

IRS: Easy Steps to Protect Your Computer and Phone and Avoid Phishing Emails.

IRS: Free special ID protection PIN goes on your return so scammers can’t take refund

IRS: Previous tax returns available online: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript

IRS tips to avoid scams: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts

Is it a scam? Check AARP scamline 877.908.3360. BBB Scam tracker

Check IRS: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dirty-dozen-part-1-taxpayers-should-be-on-the-lookout-for-these-scams

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dirty-dozen-part-2-thieves-work-all-year-to-scam-taxpayers

Find tax preparer: https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/choosing-a-tax-professional

Check Social Security: https://blog.ssa.gov/

Safeguard data: ConsumerReports help: https://securityplanner.consumerreports.org/

Jobs

Biden fills lost positions: Gov hiring: good pay, benefits, pension, no layoffs,

Job managers spend 6 seconds per resumes: write yours for those 6 seconds!

Who owns your account now?

Health care coverage affordable with ACA special enrollment to Aug 15

Miracles:

Microscope trick helps create pic of atom despite fact we can’t ‘see’ ‘particle’ atom.

We know atom components are not particles but energy clusters that move.

Why some people are limited: any amount of alcohol causes brain damage

Nine states now have 70% of adult residents with at least one vaccine shot

Blind regains some sight using special protein and a virus

We can apply for Medicare online: https://blog.ssa.gov/apply-for-medicare-online

We can apply for Social Security online: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/

We can apply for health care online: https://www.healthcare.gov/

IAN

41 Watchung Plaza, B242

Montclair, NJ 07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/

Friday, November 1, 2019

How to get your 401k to $100 million

Obviously, we’re not talking about your 401(k) plan. There are limits to how much you can contribute to a typical 401(k) plan each year. But there are a few workarounds that the rich know about and participate in regularly. The best way to take full advantage of a 401(k) plan is to be self-employed. If your wife is an employee of your business, then each can contribute of up to $56,000. That’s $112,000 for the two of you. The full amount of the contribution will be tax-deductible to your business. $112,000 every year is a big tax deduction. Meanwhile, the investment income accumulating within the plan is tax-deferred. Also a Roth 401(k) allows you to hedge against future higher tax rates–a not unlikely prospect given the 2019 $1 trillion federal budget deficit. With a Roth 401(k) contribution, you’re paying your taxes now, at today’s comparatively low rates. Later when you take your retirement money, you can take it tax-FREE or let it grow. Roth distributions are NOT subject to RMD withdrawal rules. Great for your legacy.

Use your tax shelter now: https://www.amazon.com/Pay-No-Taxes-Retirement-legally/dp/1507527977

Why we can’t afford retirement anymore

A new study shows the average compensation of CEOs in the largest firms was $16.3 million in 2014, up 3.9% since 2013 and 54.3% since the recovery began in 2009. More impressively, from 1978 to 2014, inflation-adjusted CEO compensation increased 997%, a rise almost double stock market growth and substantially greater than the painfully slow 10.9% growth in a typical worker’s annual compensation over the same period. So, the CEO-to-worker compensation ratio was 303-to-1 in 2014, lower than the 376-to-1 ratio in 2000 but far higher than the 20-to-1 in 1965 and any time in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s. Our taxes went up while theirs went down: More of us pay 32.9% compared with less than 20% that the wealthy pay. As Buffett pointed out, he pays only 17.7% with no tax shelter. Corporations like Apple, Google, Amazon, Boeing, and GE have overseas shelters to hide their incomes. So 2/3rds of all businesses pay $0 tax. Plus we taxpayers must subsidize many profitable businesses like oil, gas, agribusiness, air carriers, energy etc. Many aren’t even American. It is time for the wealthy to contribute to this society like they once did. We need a tax shelter too. The American Dream is fading.

Use your tax-free account: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Retirement-code-lifetime-income/dp/1475206976

How much is $20 worth in retirement?

It is hard to visualize how quickly your money can grow when you invest in the stock market using a low-cost index fund. In a simple stock index fund like Vanguard’s 500 Index, your 401k contribution of $20 per week can grow to $400,000 by the time you need it. In 500 businesses, your $20 a week produces dividends and increases in value over time. You don’t see it in the first year but it is clear in this chart, which can be translated into a picture of what you will have in the future. When you receive a 401k company match, you can double your money for FREE. When you allow a person, be it an advisor/broker/agent to take 2% in fees and market timing, you give up about HALF what you could have had. That is because the average investor using a managed account earns just 3.79% over time instead of the S&P 500 index 11%. Using a low-cost index fund with no income taxes, you can count on more for later even when you can’t see it.

Use the Buffett strategy: https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592

Why doctors prescribe higher-cost drugs than equivalents

Over half of all US doctors get money from pharma each year. Is it any wonder that we have a drug addiction problem in America? Drug makers and medical device makers are still spending between $2.1 billion and $2.2 billion a year to woo doctors into prescribing and using their products, according to a new investigation by ProPublica. Between 2014 and 2018, more than 600,000 of the approximately 1.1 million doctors in the US received at least one payment from industry in any given year. Thanks to ObamaCare, we know the payments were for things including speaking fees, consulting, meals, gifts, travel, and royalties. While thousands of doctors have made $100,000 or more, more than 2,500 received $500,000 or more in the five-year period—and those payments do not include royalties. More than 700 received at least $1 million. Our doctor may make more as a drug pusher than as a healer. Is it any wonder millions have become addicts?

Check out your doc: https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/

Why we need one size fits all health care coverage

People are so confused about the costs covered by their health insurance that they're avoiding medical treatment. Polygenius survey found that 27% of respondents avoided medical care or treatment because they were unsure of what their insurance covered. The annual survey found that more than 85% of respondents didn't know the basic benefits that health insurance plans must cover under the Affordable Care Act, up from 80% in 2018 and 78% in 2017. "The survey data suggest the reason people avoid care is because they don't fully understand their insurance coverage and would rather avoid a surprise bill.” For example: my provider ‘group’ sent me a bill for part of my colonoscopy. I sent them a copy of the ACA regs since I fought a bill last time and didn’t pay a dime. Didn’t matter, they put the bill to their collectors. I finally wrote the CEO of my insurer asking him to fix it. His office called and I gave them the number of the provider ‘group’ billing located in another state. They got through and Karen of ‘group’ admitted I was right and she would cancel the collection. Most people are NOT in the business and don’t know about free screening tests: that is what the ‘professional groups’ are counting on to take more money from us. Last time, a surprise bill from a guy I never interviewed for my test sent me a bill. I just sent it back and he gave up. The ‘group’ never heard of him either. Scammers know Trump will not defend ACA so they know they will not be caught/jailed

Know what you’re buying: https://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083

Is an ‘online installment loan’ right for you?

Remember the bad headlines for the ‘payday lending’ industry? Many alternative credit providers soon began generating the bulk of their revenue from installment rather than payday loans. Yet the shift came with a major consequence for borrowers. By changing how customers repaid their debts, subprime lenders were able to partly circumvent growing regulatory efforts intended to prevent families from falling into debt traps built on exorbitant fees and endless renewals. Instead, families in need can borrow more than $2500 for longer periods up to 60 months. Of course, once trapped, families pay rates between 34% and 155%. Payday lenders are now better off with larger balances and more revenue than ever before the regs. Lenders pray on those hit by medical bills or a job loss. The surging popularity of online installment loans, combined with a growing ability to tap into big data to better screen customers, has helped boost the fortunes of many subprime lenders. The Trump administration’s decision earlier this year to delay and potentially weaken planned restrictions on payday lending that were announced in 2016 has also bolstered the industry’s outlook. Trump loves debt—he never pays his.

Avoid the Trump debt trap: https://www.amazon.com/Trump-Tax-Shelter-Avoid-taxes/dp/1985448300

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Like 1776, this period is a test of democracy—do we really want a Tzar as prez?

Elijah Cummings: We are in a fight for the soul of our democracy.

Gen “John Kelly can’t handle the genius of our great President.”

How Govt wastes our money: Congress spends another 1.7 Trillion we don’t have!

Trump gift to wealthy raises deficit 26%: Sending gift to tax havens: no new factories

“It feels like a horror movie”: Republicans feel anxious and adrift defending Trump.

Trump to pay the national debt of $23 Trillion: “I’m renegotiating all of our deals,…”

Trump is special!!: only 4 POTUS impeachment votes in history—end in sight.

Trump to shut govt to shut impeachment process: No hearing hall; no impeachment!

US president using high-level diplomacy to advance his personal political interests.