How to deal with the recession
When a recession comes, you will feel more secure by being prepared. Recessions usually involve stock market volatility and this means your account will be down. Unless you sell, this is a temporary adjustment caused by folks who panic. Recessions can mean jobs lost because the economy contracts or growth is not achieved for a time. If you are vulnerable, plan by increasing your emergency fund. If you are out of work for 6 months, you may be able to claim unemployment comp. However, you will need other income since UC is never enough. You might stock up non-perishable foods. You can certainly put off buying items you don’t need just now. Some readers have decided to skip their expensive vacation for now. Inflation hurts everyone on a fixed income so paying higher prices for non essentials just makes things worse. Some are finding new stuff to do in their region. Important: don’t give up hope. Many readers actually find ways to help the less fortunate in their town. When they volunteer, they see the other side of the economy. They realize they are helping folks in a worse bind than themselves.
https://www.amazon.com/dont-have-money-Financial-Emergencies/dp/1537636707
Why do retirees stay frugal?
An EBRI survey of retirees asked why they don’t spend down their assets. The average amount of current financial assets was $200,000, with a median of $75,000. More than two-thirds — 69% — said their standard of living is the same or higher than it was when they were working, and 61% believe their spending is appropriate for what they can afford. Yet nearly half (46 percent) reported having saved less than they needed in retirement. Maintaining health and wellness in retirement was by far the most important goal. So retirees keep assets in case they have an emergency later. Most are happy at their current spending level. They like having plenty of funds in reserve. They would like to share assets with heirs. One-quarter do not want to run out of money so they are frugal. No one knows what will happen in the future and they don’t want to become unhappy with excessive debt.
https://www.amazon.com/What-your-RMD-much-spend/dp/1718946716
How can a spouse without work still build a retirement nest egg?
I was laid off in 2000 and could not find a new position. I had to transfer my 401k to a low-cost IRA at Vanguard. However, because my spouse was working, I was able to continue making contributions to MY IRA using money considered a couple’s income according to the IRS. The Spousal IRA requires you must be a married couple and file joint taxes. One spouse must still earn enough to cover both their own contributions and the contributions for the separate spousal IRA. The Spousal IRA belongs to the spouse even after divorce. The earning spouse can have a retirement plan at work but the total income could impact how much of their contributions they can deduct from their taxable income. Most couples can contribute and deduct $6,000 each. We continued to deduct the contributions since our income never reached the limit. Now that we are retired, we take our RMDs and pay taxes on the gains made possible by both of us staying in the market.
https://www.amazon.com/Retirement-Income-Annuity-Guaranteed-Life/dp/1497337313
How do you start investing?
Contrary to what the financial media advises, you don’t get a trading account. No advisor has discovered a consistent way to make money trading. On the contrary, every study of long-term investments shows that COST is the best predictor of investment success. The investment scorekeeper Dalbar.com shows that in every period, the equity and fixed income indexes surpassed advisor-managed accounts. In fact, one analyst has shown that you can give away 63% of your total potential nest egg by using an advisor. What do the unbiased money managers recommend? Warren Buffett: “Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees …” Buffett proved it recently by betting $1 million that the stock index would beat 5 funds managed by a hedge fund advisor. Buffett used the low-cost Vanguard 500 Index Fund shares to win. This fund requires $3,000 to start but the ETF version starts at under $400. Vanguard charges nothing to open a retirement or regular account and only 0.03% a year to grow your money. Over time the stock index has grown at 11% per year. That means that in about 34 years you will have over $1 million from your $250 a month contributions. Even folks on low wages ($12 an hour) can earn enough from stocks to retire in comfort.
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Predictor-Investment-Success-Cost/dp/1502524082
Why are more advisors recommending the passive investing strategy?
Don’t fight success: According to the SPIVA scorecard produced by S&P Dow Jones Indices, 83% of actively managed large-cap funds underperformed the S&P 500 Index over the past 10 years and 85% lagged the benchmark in 2021. If you bought an ETF tracking the S&P 500 at its low in March 2020, you would have more than doubled your money by the beginning of 2022. ETFs are passive funds sold by advisors—not true passive funds like the Vanguard 500 Index. ETFs are like stocks so you can buy just one in a brokerage account. However, long-term investors prefer low-cost funds that encourage a ‘buy and hold’ strategy. Advisors have trouble beating an index because of fees, commissions and costs. However, some investors believe they have found their guru and pay for the status or occasional exceptions to the rule. My readers are using both and hire a fee-only planner when they need unbiased financial advice.
https://www.amazon.com/You-Beat-Wall-Street-professionals/dp/1986031373
?**********ACCOUNTABILITY**************?
Like 1776, this
period is a test
of democracy—We
rejected an "American
fascist" once
The
Path to Dictatorship: 2010-2030
Nov 2020 Wealthy
discredit election process
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
How Govt wastes our money:
Martin-Baker
ejection seats broken: F-35 fleet down: warranty expired: we’re screwed!
House votes ban
weapons of mass destruction: killing machine--class of students in 3 min
Congress
members get more security: we
are victims of gun makers push for more ARs
Despite
Cruz fist-bump GOP anti-veterans, medical treatment for toxic exposure
passes
Congress
will NOT “close the loophole” on the wealthy: ‘carried
interest’ we
pay debt
7
FL clergy suing FL abortion law: limits ability to live and practice their
religious faith
GOP
votes no family planning. no contraceptives, no choice, fascists decide sex
for us
Using
1849 laws to punish people who provide medical help: ‘stoning’
victims is next
Do serial wildfires,
100*+ days and huge floods change the climate
deniers’ minds?
Pentagon involved in
Trump’s J6 attempted coup: ignored
police call for National Guard?
Judge refuses to
delay Oath Keepers’ seditious
conspiracy trial
Feds
sue ID for letting pregnant women die, criminalizing abortion help, no
exception
Georgia
says ‘unborn child’ counts as dependent on taxes after 6 weeks
FL
teachers told to lie about slavery to children: DeSantis’ new “civics
excellence”
SCAMS/SPINS:
More
Trumpists deleted messages re J6 coup attempt: organized crime “deaf & dumb”?
Trumpist Gaetz
assured criminal Roger Stone of pardon by “the boss.” Criminal freed
GOP AZ gov Lake already
claims election ‘stolen’ BEFORE voting: GOP theme song!
J6
terrorist brought gun to Trump’s attempted coup and got 7 years in prizon
Banks’ financial obligations to customers who lose
money in transfer scams made real
Chevron,
Exxon, Shell, BP record $ billions quarter: ‘from have-not to the haves’
Ferrari beat
profit forecasts and saw its order book swell to new highs
Supreme Alito’s
religious freedom is HIS (not yours) religion practiced OUTSIDE home
Right-wing Christian info
biz got reclassified as church: avoids probe, tax, donor list
Propagandists repeat lies over and over: Floyd
faked death; 26
Sandy Hook faked death
Four
DEBT disease:100 million have healthcare debt,42 million student debt, inflation
debt.
17 States Sending Stimulus
Checks of up to $1,500: cope with inflation of 9%
Pure profit: gas price increase NOT due to crude oil scarcity: Big oil just took
$1 more
Bankruptcy: how
people/biz who hurt families and towns avoid accountability willfully
3M placed its Aearo unit in Chapter 11 bankruptcy
to try to halt a legal process
WV cities counties share a $400 million settlement
with three largest opioid distributors.
Opendoor caught
Misled Homeowners promising higher sale than market: fine no jail
Facebook caught “improperly
obtained and collected data from Facebook Users
Bad apple-advisors: thousands
continue doing damage under state regs after Fed ban
Alan Appelbaum caught
sell complex variable interest rate structured products Lost $
Jason Kurland lawyer caught
bilking lottery winners out of $ millions: bad investments
U.S.
crypto firm Nomad hit by $190 million theft
Your
crypto fees leaving your account: Crypto Companies Spending $2.4 Billion on
Sports
Banana
Boat products may contain a cancer-causing chemical known as benzene
Canine
Heart Disease was Tied to Grain-Free Dog Food
Fake
News: 3 doctors die of Covid booster: 2 had cancer; 1 long time illness
The
chickens came home to roost: now Alex has to give up the ill-gotten gains
Fake endorsement: celebs
get used and have to sue to stop SCAM
RECALL: recall protein drinks/coffee products Aloha,
Lyons, Glucerna, Premier Protein
Jobs
LA needs 900
classroom teaching positions and 200 bus drivers
40%
of parents hosting their adult child and in many cases, financially
supporting them.
15
Car mechanics:
$71,000 - $80,000 a year NJ: full benefits
Citigroup plans 500
hires for new wealth unit - Bloomberg News
CA Teachers earn
up to average annual wage: $85,110; Employment: 156,920
Who owns your account now?
Lemonade sells Metromile Enterprise to EIS
Top states for retiree health care are CT, CO, MN, VT, MA
Annuity
payouts vary greatly: it pays you well to shop
around
Miracles:
How
one woman stands up against her own political best interests: democrat in
spirit
Sunlight
magnified by glass bottles in garbage can ignited 500-acre TX wildfire
English
universities are ending humanities education: only for rich; classes
solidify
Surviving in the
coming extreme heat: learn new
ways to live hotter longer
Hotter summers mean Florida's
turtles are mostly born female
@
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 in
universe: galaxies to stones 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!
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/
