Showing posts with label auto reliability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label auto reliability. Show all posts

Friday, October 21, 2022

What kind of advisor works best for you?

 

Can a couple create an equally-pleasing retirement?

Whatever you are dreaming about for your retirement needs to be discussed with your spouse. Let’s assume you have plans; so your spouse must have plans too. Do you discuss the plans? Do you plan when best to retire? If one of you wants to continue working, this may give you both experiences about your time in retirement. Perhaps waiting to collect SS benefits will up your income by 75% over early retirement benefits. If both of you start SS benefits at the same time, your income tax may increase since benefits are taxed as your income increases. Two income households can save more IF there is mutual planning. Divorce can destroy both of your futures. Spousal IRA doubles tax-advantaged savings. Written plans make them real.

Discussion is necessary: https://www.amazon.com/Maximize-Social-Security-Benefits-Retirement/dp/1495439224

 

Pay yourself or pay credit card industry?

Credit card debt is rising at its fastest clip in more than 20 years, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Overall, we owe $887 billion on credit cards, a 13% increase from a year ago. With inflation pushing rent costs and food prices higher, will we be able to save for the future or be stuck feeding the financial industry? My credit cards charge 27.24% if I don’t pay the balance monthly so I go back to buying the house brand and using coupons. I can’t afford the pay mob loan rates and still keep investing in my tax-FREE account. I want to make sure I don’t carry a balance since at 27.24% it would take me years to pay off $20,000. We had an emergency surgery charge of $20,750 this month (after insurance!). You must pay doctor and hospital in advance now. We found a new credit card that gives us 0% interest for 21 months on purchases. Some cards charge 5% on balance transfers so those aren’t good for us. Luckily we have a good rating so we qualify to put our surgery charges on a couple of these 0% interest cards. We have 21 months to pay the balance so we can continue to buy stock shares in our tax-FREE account.

Avoid interest and taxes on future income: https://www.amazon.com/New-American-Retirement-System-ReserveTM/dp/1461030072/

 

What kind of advisor works best for you?

Advisors cost money—a lot of money. If you have $500,000, you may be paying $10,000 a year for that quarterly review or quick telephone message. Over a lifetime or long periods of engagement you may be giving up 63% of your potential total nest egg. Fees are guaranteed to the advisor no matter what they do for you. If you need help in making a plan for investing or retirement or whatever, a better deal is to find a professional planner fiduciary that charges one fixed fee. Like a lawyer, this fee usually covers an analysis and a couple of meetings to answer your questions. The analysis can be extensive. Ours was over 50 pages and showed us how our retirement income could last for over 30 years. The fee was $750—reasonable considering no advisor in our area would accept us since we did not have over $1,000,000 for them to “manage.” Most of our money is in stock qualified IRA funds which we don’t want to manipulate or buy products. We were happy with our 9% annual earning.

Look before you sign an advisor: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Robo-Advisor-Ultimate-Automatic-Management/dp/1537111957

 

As repair costs soar, reliability becomes more important.

Here are the 2022 Consumer Reports Auto Reliability Report rankings of major automotive brands:

1. Lexus

2. Mazda

3. Toyota

4. Infiniti

5. Buick

6. Honda

7. Subaru

8. Acura

9. Nissan

10. Mini

11. Hyundai

12. Chrysler

13. Porsche

14. Chevrolet

15. Audi

16. Cadillac

17. BMW

18. Ford

19. Kia

20. Volvo

21. Ram

22. GMC

23. Mercedes-Benz

24. Volkswagen (31)

25. Genesis (30)

26. Jeep (26)

27. Tesla (25)

28. Lincoln (18)

Cancel coverage you don’t need: https://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Insurance-Beware-Double-Coverage/dp/1480027634

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

The Path to Dictatorship: 2010-2030

 

Parallels of this era in the past may hint at our future: democracy breaks apart legally

 

 

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 Biden

 

“I don’t f—ing care that they have weapons”

 

Trump was “detached from reality”

 

Trump used mafia-style intimidation on the defenseless

 

Parscale: “a sitting president asking for civil war.”

 

Trump: “Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me” 

 

GOP fascism: “RINO hunt armed; no bagging limit” J6 comm threat

 

Trump’s Supremes END personal rights & state laws except for weapons WMDs

 

Fascism: GOP to stop women leaving state for abortion

 

It’s not a court. It’s a junta: Two Americas

 

Trump: President Biden is 'enemy of the state'

 

Christian Nationalist Party (CNP) replaces GOP

 

 

Nov 8 2022 Trump’s “national revolution”

 

Jan 2025 Dictator pardons himself: his Supremes Agree

 

 

How Govt wastes our money:

Wealthy avoid paying taxes so they can buy our elections: $20 million buys a lot of juice

There's No Recession In Luxury With Dior, Mercedes Sales Booming

We paid for tech sold to China that helped their advance hypersonic missile program

We give our money to Intel, etc for chip making and they lay off workers: profits balloon

 

Jan 6 Findings are history: do we prefer our version of reality: 2 versions of ‘democracy’

US sliding into authoritarian government LEGALLY just like other former democracies

Will Steve Bannon ever serve a day in jail for giving the House Committee the ‘finger?

 

9 million people and families failed to claim their IRS tax credit payments

GOP House leaders threaten cuts in SS and Medicare: But we paid in already

Supremes have another chance to undermine elections: states not voters can decide prez

 

SCAMS/SPINS:

Thousands lost hundreds of millions in crypto when scamgangs hit Coinbase acconts

Mortgage: mistakenly wire down payment to a hacker.

You may never know why you were denied that apartment: tenant screening scams

Only HALF of us are confident in fair vote counting: Trumpists think OK if win

Gen Flynn now new Billy Graham: Holy War (jihad) Politics is American’s religion

 

Catholic elites caught ignoring abuse of innocents: cardinal and bishop abuse kids

Giving a 15 year old access to a shotgun: what kind of urban society does that?

 

Genworth Life caught unfairly raising rates for 13,400 policyholders

Keith Springer caught using “deceptive marketing” push annuities high fees: defrocked

Stephen Romney Swensen, estate of, caught Ponzi after death: promised 5% guaranteed

 

American Airlines caught taking bogus bag fees: pay back $7.5M lied re credit card perk

ACTIVE Network caught tricking people into enrolling into subscription discount club

Cetera caught misleading clients share class selection/revenue sharing infractions fine

 

Credit Bureaus caught putting/keeping crap data in our credit reports: junk data abounds

 

BEWARE: Cash App Scams: learn the tricks and techniques scammers are using

7 cereals called ‘unhealthy’ by gov: too much sugar and salt

 

Social Security COLA increase may put us in next tax bracket: benefits taxable?

Teachers with emergency certifications, low-income Black neighborhoods get less again.

Twitter: like China's WeChat, a "super app" does video chats, messaging, streaming, payments 

 

Recall baby formula by Abbott who Improperly Sealed Bottles of Similac: profits soar!

 

Putin takes Ukraine kids to make them Russian just like Trump separated kids for US.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigns: her last appearance

 

 

Jobs

Good financial jobs expanding

Our vets, generals and admirals work for foreign powers after we pay to train

Remote jobs will get harder to find

 

Who owns your account now?

Can You Back out of a Real Estate Contract? Maybe—each state is different

Medicare options open for 2023: https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare/

New Abortion Underground

Texas woman nearly died: infection allowed doctors could not perform legal abortion

 

Use your home’s equity wisely: big asset you can use before you sell out

Vanguard had rare month of outflows: most fund owners in for long-term

 

Miracles:

Syria ‘rare’ preserved Roman mosaic in former rebel stronghold

On-site renewable energy: a revolutionary bladeless wind energy: quiet no solar panels

Now we can buy hearing aids over the counter: do your research for $200 value

Cancer vaccines could be ready by 2030: uses mRNA nucleic acid to target intruder

 

Two bizarre blue blobs of light glimmering in our planet's atmosphere: UFO?

 

Scotland tries different way to reform women in prison

Student loan forgiveness: https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief/application

2023 tax rates offer break for middle income payers: wealthy already have breaks

 

 

 

 

Our Universe is Mind-Blowing

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

I don’t think that there is any such thing as a position or a velocity of a particle.

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

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 a little

Physics Nobel Prize: “entanglement” 2 particles share info instantly at a distance

“It may be that gravity and quantum mechanics are exactly the same thing,” Leonard Susskind

 

There is no TIME at this level because of force fields come and go in all directions. 

Universe expanding: events may not come together like they did before.

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.

The electricity we use comes from the field around the wire not from election itself.

 

 

@

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, November 29, 2019

Where can you invest $100 for your child now?


Where can you invest $100 for your child now?
Teach your child to invest the Buffett way. Success with money starts early. Compounding 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 $60 billion, credited compounding over time for his wealth. "My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest."

What to do with your inherited IRA?
Tricky rules can create a BIG tax bill. Consult your tax preparer or planner, NOT your broker/advisor—they do accumulations not distributions. “The worst thing to do would be to cash out the plan, put it in your account.” IRS reversals are hard to get. A spouse has many choices so get help making the decision. If you inherit from parents or other non-spouse, you may be able to pay taxes over time as you make withdrawals. If you inherit an IRA that has already been tapped, other rules apply. If you inherit with other beneficiaries, be careful. If there is a trust, hang on till a lawyer give OK.

Why your broker is pushing financial planning or dumping you?
Morgan Stanley (and other brokers) has just told its sales force that they must push financial plan sales and find higher net worth clients to earn the same next year. Management wants more income after they had a banner year of 18% increase! Wirehouse brokers have enjoyed higher incomes because everyone’s account has grown 35% on its own in the last 3 years. MS raised the payout grid tiers to force advisors to find richer clients and get rid of customers with less than $250,000 in their accounts. In fact, we will earn less on our cash if we leave it at MS. If we want a hard copy—a check or statement—we will be charged up to $25. Even support staff will be rewarded for getting our recurring deposits. MS noted that brokers earn more just because the markets grew and this new grid recognizes that. Big producers will not be hurt by the changes of course. Advisors encouraged to influence credit & spending of customers’ lives now.

Which fund is best for your retirement nest egg?
We have learned that we can trim the risk of market upheavals by using a ‘balanced’ approach—stocks for growth and bonds for ballast. Since 1970 one fund has continuously provided retirees with total returns (income plus capital return) of over 9%. Since 9% is greater than inflation of 3% over time, our nest egg can maintain our purchasing power even though we may live long and prosper. Insurers sell their annuities to offer this same ‘longevity insurance’ but at a higher cost. If we don’t take the income each year, we can actually double our money in 10 years. So if we have other income (SS plus pensions plus forced IRA distributions), we can provide a legacy and or have a large medical contingency fund at the end of life. To some of us, this beats every annuity plan that brokers offer.

Is ‘alimony’ insurance right for you?
Consider that the median age of divorce is 32 years old. If you are the spouse receiving alimony and your spouse dies, how will you live? Will your income cover your family needs for the future? Life insurance is the answer if the paying spouse keeps up the payments. Your divorce decree may contain this provision but you will not know if the premiums are being paid unless you are the owner/beneficiary.

Reliable cars from Consumer Reports
Most reliable turns out to be a sports car: Mazda MX-5 Miata. Toyota Prius, Lexus, Hyundai and various models of these nameplates make the 10 top. Shocking that an American nameplate is not on the top 10 list. On the other hand, CR found 12 car models, including the Audi A6, Ford F-150, and Honda Passport, cut from the list because of problems identified in our annual reliability survey of CR members. 20 other models actually moved up on the list including Porsche Cayenne, Tesla Model 3.

How would you feel if your investments went up 30%?
That is what is facing many index fund investors this December. Growth index funds with costs of only 0.05% are up over 30% YTD. A one-third increase is difficult to accept given that most people fear investing in the stock market. However, no one can predict the movements of the markets so the only rational answer is to stay invested in all of them. The markets go thru phases: look at this chart: 2017, 2013, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003 all had over 30% returns BUT in different sectors. Even the most knowledgeable money managers like Warren Buffett cannot predict which one will grow your account by 30% a year. Use the ten best funds since they average 11% a year.




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

Like 1776, this period is a test of democracy—do we really want ‘low-IQ’ Mobster?




Trump offers bribes to Congress members: VIP perks at our Camp David: we pay!



SCAMS/SPINS:
IL McDonald’s workers sue: failure to protect from violence/managers complicit

Easy Military Travel, Edmiston caught: misled military travel clients
Samuel DelPresto MLF caught fraud 'pump-and-dump' microcap scheme fine no jail



Trump mobster: Nunes worked with Ukraine to get dirt on Biden: Nunes conspirator?
Trump challenges American constitution: GOP thinks Pelosi quits: too much Cool aide
Which money, Dems or GOPs or Putin’s will decide 2020 election?


Navy defies Trump's clemency of SEAL Gallagher to save its ‘institutional integrity’
Navy vet; worked 18 years as Customs Officer; fired because born in Mexico 51 yrs ago


Compare Ukraine and Watergate: Robert Redford reviews today yesterday today.


Who owns your account?

Jobs
75,000 stores close in future: no more entry level retail jobs: showrooms only survive
Truck Job layoffs: orders of heavy-duty trucks were down by 51% from last year
Schwab taking jobs to TX from San Fran: TD moving to TX from NE too
Small town has town employees run grocery to help town folk: socialism or just practical


Miracle:
10 yr old saved from own family pit bull attack by neighbor: quick action saved her arm
Priests finally receive justice for abuse of children but not from Pope/Bishops from govt!

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
Montclair, NJ   07042
973.746.2014
Alerts 

Friday, February 22, 2019

Trump’s own Socialism: he pays no taxes and gets all the elite perks just like Putin


Trump’s own Socialism: he pays no taxes and gets all the elite perks
In 1997, Trump paid no taxes on income of over $10 million by claiming he had losses of (deductions) of $1 Billion ($915,729,293). He could carry the losses forward to avoid taxes over 18 years. He declared that he is a hero for not paying his fair share during the election debate. In 1978 he claimed he lost $406,379 in business so he paid no taxes despite living the lifestyle of a millionaire. Now he says he is against socialism. But he and the wealthy enjoy the advantages of American socialism. He got out of his debts by claiming bankruptcy 6 times. He stiffed his workers on casino and building projects. His ties to Russian organized crime and money laundering show a mob boss pattern. He did not pay his taxes on casino profits in New Jersey. He used money others contributed to his charity to pay fees. If you or I did these things we would be in jail. Trump’s Socialism creates a society where the rich live ABOVE the law and most of us live under the law.

Is the Tax-refund Millionaire plan right for you?
If you begin this year, you could have a retirement nest egg of $1,000,000 by just investing your refund. Yes, it takes time and commitment but think of your future. Based on the historical returns of a low-cost market index fund, you can reach that goal in 34 years. If you have 27 years, you need to invest more each month or settle for $500,000. If you have 21 years, you could have $250,000. What you see here is the Miracle of Compounding. You invest the same amount $250 a month. You double your nest egg between 27 years and 34 years. You are investing the same amount during that period but the previous years’ earnings are also growing at the market rate. You can check out how money grows by using this calculator: moneychimp.com/features/market_cagr.htm. If you had started in 1990, your stock investment would have grown at 10.79%. In fact over any 10-year period, your money would have grown more than any other asset—bank, bonds, real estate, commodities, gold, silver, almost anything. All your future earnings are tax-FREE too.

Amazon with $11 Billion profits given a $0 tax bill!
How is it possible that the most profitable corporations—Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook—pay no taxes and we, making much less, pay more? Congress writes the tax code—not Trump, not IRS, not Treasury, not CIA. Your Congress person and mine. Congress gave in to their lobbyists who wrote special credits and exclusions. Amazon used various unspecified ‘tax credits’ as well as a tax break for executive stock options. This would be the second year in a row that the company has avoided paying federal taxes, despite being valued at a whopping $1 trillion. The average American pays $10,489 in "personal taxes," representing 14% of the average household's total income. This includes federal and state income taxes, as well as other taxes such as personal property taxes, vehicle taxes, and certain other small taxes. $8,367 of this amount is federal income taxes, $2,046 is state and local taxes, and $75 is other small taxes. It is no wonder we have little saved for retirement.

What do we invest in during retirement?
Let’s say you have $500,000 in your tax-deferred retirement accounts—traditional IRA, company pension, 401k, 403b, etc. (rolled over to IRA). You reach age 70 and must begin to pay tax on that money.  The IRS tells us how much we need to withdraw from our accounts so we can pay tax on it as regular income. The amount is about 3-4% of the total balance of all our deferred accounts as of the end of the previous year. Our example: $500K x.04 = $20,000. Tax may be $2,800 including state tax because this amount (RMD) may cause our SS benefit to be taxed. Our goal is to stay ahead of this Required Minimum Distribution by earning more than the 4%. Banks can’t help us so we must go to securities. Unless we are really lucky and have bonds and stocks that produce high yields and dividends, we need a solid balanced (stocks and bonds) fund. Preferably we don’t want to pay high fees and commissions for this fund so we actually keep over 4%. Several firms offer low-cost funds. Vanguard made its name on low-cost funds.

Do you need a car that goes 200,000 miles?
Consumer Report says your best bet is Camry, Accord, Prius, CR-V, Sienna, Civic, F-150, Suburban, Outback and Forester. Almost any car can make it to 200,000 miles and beyond, if you spend enough money on it. But that's not necessarily a good idea. It's better to buy a safe and reliable model, and then properly maintain it. Make sure you follow the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual, and take care of minor problems as they arise. If you need a reliable vehicle, remember that many new cars lose up to 40% of their value in first 3 years. Most unbiased advisors will tell you to find the bargain at the used car lot of a prominent dealer. I found my bargain at a Ford dealer after looking at every offer listed in my price range $12,000 on cargurus.com, truecar.com and autotrader.com. Mine had some minor flaws so I was able to know off $500. I also re-shopped my car insurance since insurers change rates so often. Check usage-based rates.

What can physics tell us about a volatile market?
I am reading Breakfast with Einstein by Chad Orzel. In his description of the how our objects can be solid if they are made up of all those subatomic particles that constantly move, he explains their relative positions can only be understood as ‘probabilities.’ The fact that steel is solid in my lifetime does not mean it will be forever. It is an alloy of elements such as manganese, chromium, nickel, tungsten, and so on. Basically, steel is an iron-carbon alloy that does not undergo eutectic reaction. It is mass produced using sophisticated processes that take advantage of how atoms and particles act together. But all matter/energy changes over time and we use the combos that have a high probability of stability for a while (unlike nitroglycerin which can release a lot of energy quickly at a little jolt). Now I understand Zhou Wang’s Quantum Uncertainty in Investing: You can earn 3.69% or 11.11%. The overall market is like the steel while following one stock is like the electron particle that moves all the time. There are so many forces acting on one particle (stock) that it can only be ‘followed’ with probability tables. The total market probabilities are higher. Over time, the market grows by 10-12% a year.

Can our society survive when the most fortunate never pay taxes?
2018 was a good year for the wealthy. One made $7.7 Billion in 2018 by charging other wealthy people 2% plus 20% of the first total earnings. Most hedge funds earned over 8% while the broad market lost 6.7%. But the owners are already wealthy and so they attract more money despite the poor long-term track record. Buffett recently beat some fund managers’ strategies with his bet on the broad market returns (11%) over time. My guess is many wealthy people stay invested in the broad market stocks like Buffett does. Even when they have a down year, they still become richer by holding on to their investments. Plus most of them have paid specialists to use tax-avoidance techniques not available to us. How could they NOT become richer? They earn more on their assets because they pay little or no taxes. We could become richer TOO if we paid ZERO taxes. Many like Trump’s friends and family pay nothing so they add another 20% to their wealth every year. The heads of our corporations now earn 312 times a worker’s pay up from 30 to 1 in 1978. They avoid tax on most of their pay while a worker pays 14% in 6 tax areas. They even obtain tax breaks from our cities on each location. Wealth inequality will eventually become untenable in America like it has in every society in history. When the winners take all—90% of all our assets—bad things happen. More workers realize the dream is closed to them.


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

Make America, “The Don”, Great Again
Truth isn’t truth, his lawyer says


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


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How Govt wastes our money: Congress spends $1.3 Trillion we don’t have! 
AZ law makers have immunity from arrest for their law breaking: how about us?
Trump lied: more troops STAY in Syria—guerillas regroup to fight again.

SCAMS/SPINS:
Forget the B.S.: Read the ‘Green New Deal’ resolution for yourself—just 1 page.
Why Trump calls ‘media the enemy of the people’: ‘Truth is not truth’ it is what I say.

Trump mob violates disclosure like Jared but just says ‘sorry’: no fine, no punishment.

21,000 give money to online ‘friend’: lost $143 million. Few caught, no refunds.
Bruce Worthington, MA, caught stealing $100,000 with fake returns, docs: fine no jail.
Franklin Templeton Funds overcharged their own employees too: $14 million fine.

Cardinal Theo McCarrick caught child sex abuse, cover up, misled us, lied: no jail time.
Survivors: You are “murderers of the soul.” Priest “made me get 3 abortions-no condoms  

Smollett fakes attack because he is “dissatisfied with his salary!” Just ask for a raise?
Who can you trust? Top Merrill broker caught overcharging $2 million for years: Jailed.
Old scam comes to ‘life’: Using ‘young’ person’s blood does nothing about aging.

“I didn't need to do this," on declaring the emergency. "But I'd rather do it much faster."
“Scam the stupidest people in his base,” according to Coulter on Emergency Border $B.
How can we re-elect this fellow? Polls say yes. A challenger might take some his 44%!
“If we could get the Klan to clean out D.C. socialist-communists” AL newspaper owner.


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

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.
----------------------------------

Jobs:

  

Who owns your account now?
Survivor help-group provides support on financials: https://www.wingsforwidows.us/
Shopping car insurance pays: 75% shop once over the past five years; 40% in the year.

Miracle:

Priests abuse & torment deaf kids: who is in charge? Pope condones abuse? No jail time!


IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
Montclair, NJ   07042
973.746.2014
Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/