How the Miracle of Compounding can help you

 

How the Miracle of Compounding can help you

Unfortunately, most young people don’t understand or have even heard about this Miracle. It is so important to your financial life that one of the smartest investors, Warren Buffett, gives credit to this Miracle for his reaching $100 Billion net worth from his early paper route savings: “My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest.” For most working people, the Miracle is the surest way to accumulate enough during their working lives to live comfortably in retirement of 20-30 years. Compounding is simply making money on the money you already earned. You save and invest $250 per month ($102,000 total) over 34 years and you end up with $1,111,555, or $2 million in 40 years. $250 a month is $9 a day. I am using the average gains from the stock market index over time without a salesperson taking a 1-2% cut. You can turn $102,000 into $1.1 million (TEN TIMES) without doing a thing—you must do NOTHING. Warren Buffett proved you can beat most Wall Street “professionals.” The Miracle works if you are consistent and you don’t give up 63% of your gains to your advisor. You can’t raid your fund or quit investing when markets fall.

https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Compounding-Turn-day-into/dp/1470176513

 

Here is why timing the market can’t work for you

The 14 Best Days in the Stock Market Since 1950: The S&P 500’s 5.5% surge on Thursday was its largest one-day percentage gain since April 2020 and the 15th highest since 1950. Since 1950, in fact, the market has been up a year later after 22 of the 24 biggest gains. For those trying to trade out of the market at the top and into the market at the bottom, you will miss many big swings. The ‘professionals’ who claim they can do this are lying or got lucky on one call of the markets. Timing is not the strategy of the great investors: Buffett, Bogle, Ellis, Schwab, Lynch, Neff, Templeton, Graham, etc. Timing the markets requires that you buy and sell often. This requires you have an advisor/broker and that they provide a good story. It means you are paying them out of your pocket. Buy and hold low-cost indexes have been shown over and over to provide the returns that beat traders. Looking back over the 20-year period from Jan. 1, 1999, to Dec. 31, 2018, if you missed the top 10 best days in the stock market, your overall return was cut in half. That's a significant difference for only 10 days over two decades!

https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592

 

Art as an alternative or counter balance to stocks

Some investors think art (pictures) is a fantastic alternative asset class that has outperformed the S&P 500. The average annualized growth rate on the 11 Paul Allen lots with public entry prices was just 6.2%. On average, Allen held them for 18 years before selling them. By contrast, even after its fall this year, the S&P 500 still boasts a compound growth rate of 8.9% over the past 18 years. Allen would have made more money just buying a low-cost S&P 500 index fund. This index is down 17% this year but in 2009 it was up 27.11% after being down in 2008 -37.22%; it was up in 2003 28.72% after down in 2002 -22.27%; it was up in 1991 30.95% after down in 1990  -3.42% and up in 1989 by 32%. This index provides over 11% over time and reflects every sector of the market. Recently it was dominated by the tech firms since it is structured along the current market capitalizations. But also recently, the Energy index soared. The index fund you pick must be a low-cost one so that you don’t give up HALF your gains to the seller. Art may help you broaden your portfolio but it can’t match the 500 Index as your primary retirement nest egg. Paul Allen already had his HUGE $20 B nest egg.

11% is better than bank’s 3%: https://www.amazon.com/New-American-Retirement-System-ReserveTM/dp/1461030072

 

Getting through a economic recession

1. Make a budget with your family and write it down. Most folks don’t know how much money they are wasting because old habits take work to change. 2. “Shit happens” so make sure you have an emergency fund of at least $1,000. This is no time to look for extra cash. 3. Know how much you are saving since these times are when people are likely to think “we can make it up later”. The stock market is down 17%. I promise you it will gain 17% when the market turns around so this is NOT the time to quit investing. You will kick yourself later. 4. Checking your spending every other month alerts you to the deficit you are creating when you spend more than you take in. 5. It is the habit of good saving-spending balance that you must get right to live through this period. You don’t know how long this will last so don’t cheat on your own successes. 6. Savings must become the top priority. Most folks fail to reach their savings goals—new car, home, appliances, furniture, college fund, etc—because they don’t prioritize savings. 7. Most budgeters underestimate all the little things they buy. We justify the $5-10 daily buys as rewards. We waste over $4,000 a year this way. That’s a $400,000 hole in your future retirement fund. 8. Did you account for taxes? The average tax bill is about $8,000. Property tax is another $6,000. 9. Be realistic in your budget about spending. Budgets don’t work if you cheat or misunderstand what your costs are. I sign up for a certain streaming and then I forget to stop. 10. Card companies have trained us to charge it without knowing we can pay for it by the end of the month. The average household credit card debt is nearly $9,000 with a total of $887 billion in Q1 2022. It's the fastest rise in more than 20 years. It takes 3 years to pay off IF we stop adding to the balance.

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

 

Advisors secrets to persuade you into buying

A recent study showed that your advisor’s positive statements about your future can get your attention. Scaring you is an amateur’s way. Advisors use ‘enjoyment’ for boomers and ‘plan retirement you deserve’ for millennials. Advisors using technical jargon is NOT for you. Advisors pushing a product are not appealing to anyone. Lazy advisors use slideshows and different images to overload and confuse us. Too many images of inactive retirement life sends the wrong message. Too many demographic diversity images instead of diverse active ages ruins the message. Images of older white men in suits leave many cold. Women and singles can have a rewarding retirement too. The best advisors get you to talk about your interests and needs first. Genuine open-ended questions from an advisor can help you define what you need. You may not need a product. Find a fee certified financial planner (CFP) to help you organize your strategy and goals.

https://www.amazon.com/Get-What-You-Want-FINANCIAL/dp/1514751151

 

 

 

 

?**********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

Billionaires paid $881 million for votes in 2022 midterm elections

 

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” failed

 

Nov 15 2022 Trump announces for 2024 to avoid lawsuits

 

Jan 2025 Dictator pardons himself: his Supremes agree

 

 

How Govt wastes our money:

United Arab Emirates oil money changes our policy in its favor: they decide; not us

Our smartphone applications contain hidden Russian code: Army combat unit use

We spend $millions returning to moon on a joy ride: could save Earth from asterioids

 

We bail out crypto billionaires: Congressmen paid: bankruptcy makes Trump millionaire

IRA owners age 70½ or over option to transfer up to $100,000 to charity tax-free yearly.

Biden to protect MBS Khashoggi killer from suits: leverage for more oil?

 

SCAMS/SPINS:

Trumpists cancel student loan forgiveness program: only The Leader has authority

Trump to get his Supremes to cancel subpoena to testify re: Jan 6 coup instigator

Trump has support of about 80% of white evangelical Christians: Christian Nationalism

Trumpists’ first act: set up Benghazi-type witch hunt for Biden family sins

 

UVa shooter purchased 2 guns legally after prohibition to buy removed by state

37 GOP voted against law to make marriage legal: will Clarence approve?

Maryland investigation identifies 158 abusive priests, more than 600 victims: no jail-free

 

Jan 6 committee ends without action on the instigators of the only US coup: Trump walks

 

Trump needs terrorist donors: "three-time loser" tries again: “Justice never sue candidate”

Lost: Every election denier who sought to become the top election official of a state lost

Lost: Lake lost AZ gov bid after Trump backing

AZ voters approve measure to crack down on ‘dark money’: who buys our elections?

Supremes allow illegal racial gerrymanders despite AL, LA, GA judges’ rulings

 

Do not accept packages to reship; refuse unexpected packages; refuse money to reship

We have to ask for inclusive BnB price to find all fees: ask in writing

dollar-stores caught overcharging: shelf and register price different

Patient debt: profit margins top 29% in patient financing industry: Congress allows it

 

Credit bureaus fail to investigate bad reports and mistaken ratings: you must fight them

Most discounts bogus because the same sale price was offered before: fake prices

Airlines caught cancel/delay air travel: $600 million reimbursement fines

 

Allen Hershberg caught selling his own products outside his firm’s list: defrocked

Goldman Sachs caught paying off executive who said toxic workplace for women: sexists  

 

Are home warranties worth the money?

 

Walmart caught killing thousands on opioids: $3.1 Billion fine: stock up: lawyers paid

 

Crypto sales like Ponzi scam: no actual value: as long as assets grow, can function

 

Jobs

Background checks filled with errors keep tenants and employees at disadvantage.

 

Who owns your account now?

Near-historic numbers of young people turning out to vote motivated by their issues

AZ Kelly, NV Masto hold their seats: Trumpists go home unsatisfied

Young women broke hard for Democrats in the midterms

 

Auto repair delays: no mechanics, no parts: shop around or do it yourself

4 college savings plans (529) you can avoid: use the best: MI, UT

How Safe is Your Hospital?

Toledo OH to pay off citizens’ medical debt with tax money

 

Prints of a mangled car crash fetched $85.4 million: end of ‘civilization’ or insanity?

 

 

Miracles:

Using the gene-editing technology CRISPR to treat cancer.

Electric vehicle battery breakthrough enables 10-minute charge time: stay cooler

Cancer vaccine has successfully triggered significant tumor regression

Blood test for Alzheimer’s? Cure?

 

CA survives on bottled water: price escalates: shower at a mansion’s sprinkler system

US to recognize our rights in law to same-sex and interracial marriage: Supremes act?

Iceberg on the loose: area equal to about twice the size of London, the largest iceberg

World’s largest floating wind farm off Norway has become operational: replace oil

Lab Grown Chicken Gets a Green Light From the FDA

 

Karen Bass first woman mayor of LA: 241-year history: won despite 11 to 1 dollars

 

 

 

 

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

Gravity might induce the collapse of quantum vibrations into 1 quantum state—our world

 

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/

help dealing with your nest egg after working?

 

Wealthy discover new way to avoid taxes: we pay the deficit

Rich are keeping the tax benefits of philanthropy while delaying for years actually giving to those in need. A small but growing number of wealthy Americans have discovered how to bypass rules designed more than a half-century ago to ensure philanthropists stay accountable for the billions of dollars in tax breaks they receive each year. The key is the donor-advised fund, or DAF, which is so flexible that charitable dollars can sit in one’s account indefinitely. And no one needs to know either way. In the past they set up private foundations to obtain tax benefits but they are required to pay out 5% of their assets annually and report each charitable gift; publicly. Donor-advised funds, which are considered charities, satisfy that mandate, so they’re an ideal way for foundations to postpone their giving. For example, Tesla’s Elon Musk, who built up $3 billion in a foundation, could report that he met the requirement for moving out money only because he transferred tens of millions of dollars to DAFs in recent years. We will never know if or who he gave the money to but he still gets the tax benefits. In more than 1,000 instances, foundations would have fallen short of their required payout for the year were it not for contributions to DAFs, according to Bloomberg’s analysis. We must make up the deficit or our children/grandchildren will.

You have options: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Wealth-How-laws-free/dp/1475089236/

 

 

Portfolio for a recession

Most readers are about HALF & HALF: bonds and equities. Many have their retirement funds in Vanguard: specifically the Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund. They have some in the 500 Index, energy index and other indexes as well as Buffett's firm. They did not sell all securities for cash because they plan on living longer and need growth and income to pay their taxes. They will survive the economic train wreck because American capitalism is not dead. Some still have a mortgage. Many have a large emergency fund. Some use a HELOC since they have equity in their homes. Others have rental real estate. Most have a diversified portfolio since they do not know what is coming in the future.

https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592

 

 

Careful shopping in a recession

Find the cheapest gas station since all gas comes in the same pipeline. Find the least expensive grocery house-brand. Yes, you can eat well on the same food with a new label. If you must travel try one night in the cheapest hotel/motel in the area. You can splurge at the eatery where the locals go. You are probably overpaying for car/home insurance and premiums are going up. Save by increasing deductibles and paying premium upfront. Cut out roadside and AAA if you have these credit card benefits. Cut comprehensive cover for older cars and medical if you have health coverage already. Using free streaming for entertainment or Amazon if you have Prime. Best deal: drop your advisor/broker save $3,000 a year. Invest in low-cost index funds or ETF for better results.

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

 

Where can you get help dealing with your nest egg after working?

Most people want more help from their employers, according to an Invesco study, especially when it comes to how to cope with that big pile of money they’ve accumulated after decades of stashing cash. More than three-quarters of employers claim they give their workers info about how to transition from saving to spending a nest egg, but across all age groups, almost half of employees say they’ve received no advice. Employers typically expect the retirement plan administrator to answer questions about retirement. However both the administrator and the employer don’t want to take on the responsibility or liability for employees’ money matters. Most employees don’t have a clue as to how to manage their money. Some employers favor making an annuity product an option in their retirement plans. This thrills the insurers, but this may not be the best way to accomplish one’s goals. Without an unbiased advisor, most employees will not maximize their options. Financial planners don’t rely on products so they may be unbiased.

https://www.amazon.com/Buy-only-what-you-need/dp/1720321531

 

 

Trumpists take House: vow to cut the benefits we already paid for

Some active politicos have promised to cut our benefits as soon as they oust or kill Pelosi. They will use the debt limit as leverage to arrange retirees program downsizing and continue paying subsidies to big oil, agriculture and corporate largess. Since we have already voted, there is little we can do to change this trend. One thing we must do now is plan for reduced benefits in the future. How can we save for the future? Health and food costs are unlikely to come down any time soon so we will have to slow spending and stick with saving. The history of saving and investing illustrates how investing 10% of our pay can help us prepare for the lean times. Over most periods, stocks values rise about 11%. Our strategy of investing $250 a month (avoid new car purchase loan) for 10, 20, and 30 years, can provide $55,000, $218,000, and $708,000. This assumes you use a stock market index fund costing 0.04% not an industry salesperson costing 1-2%. That can rob you of up to “63 percent of what you would have had”.

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

 

 

 

?**********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

Billionaires paid $881 million for votes in 2022 midterm elections

 

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:

Fed product safety slow to take deadly products off the market: needs court order so slow

Will election deniers be counting votes and accessing vote machines? Long recounts?

Instead of excess profits’ tax, gov raises rates to 5% so we lose jobs and stop spending

 

SCAMS/SPINS:

Only 1 GOP said he’ll “absolutely” accept the results in Tuesday’s vote

Voters rejected effort ‘to bring Trumpism to Mass.’

 

PA Supremes invalidated thousands of mail-in ballots: a Republican trick, not American 

SPIN: GOP promises cut Medicare & Social Security benefits: 300 mil Americans lose

 

Manchin wants to help GOP ‘fix’ SS and Medicare funds: fewer workers, fewer benefits

Boomers fear cuts in earned benefits more than anything in retirement challenges

 

What Christian Nationalists (new GOP) want: power to have it all their way!

Trump: “J.D. is kissing my ass; he wants my support so much,” 

CA, VT, MI, KY voters on abortion: “You got to have a little choice there”

 

5 states still to decide on slavery: Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont.

Woke: term to denigrate anyone who believes in further advancement of equality and human rights

 

American Airlines caught overcharging for bag fees: co-brand credit card “free” denied

Dollar General caught overcharging at cashier: baiting at shelves: fine

Vonage caught charging fees & not canceling: refunds from FTC more paperwork
Powerball delayed “technical reasons”: Pity the winner-overdose, divorce, theft, bankrupt

 

8 former French bishops accused of sexual abuse: sex abuse of 14 yr old girl: no arrests

Listeria killed 1; six East states illness; deli is source

 

WellsFargo caught customer mistreatment in lending & consumer deposit accounts: fine

Crypto complaints and scam records: how they do it to us: why US can’t stop it

 

Jobs

700 IRS clerk & customer service jobs: good pay; good benefits

 

Who owns your account now?

Some banks pay 3.5% but inflation is 8.2%: Vanguard Energy Index Fund ETF: up 60%

Bitcoin has fallen: $47,750 to $17,400 year-to-date, lost two-thirds of its value.

Funeral homes could soon have to post prices online: a big party costs under $7,000

 

Car bargains at half original price

“Extra” benefits are offered by individual Medicare Advantage plans for 2023

Spending over $50 a month for streaming services is now the norm

 

Many veterans are unaware of a range of other benefits

 

Miracles:

GOP pays for God to do a DeSantis commercial: leverage Christian Nationalism https://twitter.com/CaseyDeSantis/status/1588539069243473924

Dems win PA, OH, CA, NH, VA, CO, NJ, MI, WI, NY, MD

GOP win NC, GA, OH, FL

 

Fiber alters the microbiome. It may boost cancer treatment

Warming: EU trees are producing new growth even before shedding their autumn leaves.

Arctic “megafires: thaw, then greater vegetation growth and increases fuel availability

 

Doctors Treat a Fatal Genetic Disease Before Birth

 

 

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

Gravity might induce the collapse of quantum vibrations into 1 quantum state—our world

 

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/

 

life insurance right for you?

 

The only ways to get rich:

1. Marry money.
2. Inherit money.
3. Exploit a unique talent.
4. Get exceedingly lucky.
5. Own or lead a successful business.
6. Spend less than you make and invest your savings wisely over long periods of time.

 

It is really just common sense. Our grandparents learned the hard way during the global Depression of 1929-39. You were lucky to have a job. People saved: never spent more than they made. You can become rich by saving 10% of what you make and never going in debt—except to buy your home. You get richer by investing when nobody else will. Working people who get rich don’t try to keep up appearances. We have recently learned that you can’t avoid risk by saving in bank products. Banks make a lot of money from folks who fear taking market risk even though inflation wipes out their 1-2% savings tools. Over time, investing in profitable companies beats inflation and can make you rich. You don’t pay an advisor 1-3% in charges and fast trading. Cost is the best predictor of investing success. Using tax-FREE stock index accounts, you can be rich in time.

https://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Wealth-How-laws-free/dp/1475089236

 

How is your retirement fund doing?

With the fall in stock market value this year, have you quit saving? Have you automated your saving/investing? Do you track your progress annually with a calculator like Vanguard’s retirement calculator? Do you have a balanced stock/bond portfolio that allows you to sleep at night? Do you have enough saved that you can calculate a future nest egg for your needs? Automatic investment strategies help you buy more shares when prices are low and fewer when high. Will your debt be under control later? Have you made a plan for expenses and income? Have you learned about Warren Buffett’s strategy? Do you take the time to learn how to read your financial statements? Are you buying stocks on sale? According to AARP, over 57 million Americans don’t have access to a workplace retirement savings plan. This access makes you 15 to 20 times more likely to save for retirement. Use a tax-FREE investment accounts. Start a plan today. https://www.amazon.com/Best-Robo-Advisor-Ultimate-Automatic-Management/dp/1537111957

 

Who pays your bills when you are away?

Automatic investing complements automatic bill pay. My mutual fund trustee debits my checking account every month. My wife’s 403b takes her pension contributions automatically each pay day. My gas and electric are paid automatically by a set up with my bank. My mortgage is always the same amount so it is on automatic. For most bills, I set up payment on the day before the payment is due in advance so I don’t get his with $29 late charge. If I am out of town and don’t have a bill, I can pay via their website. The only time I got hit with the late charge was when I did not get the bill because the credit card had illegally force my account into “no paper statement” mode. I complained and the website removed the charge automatically. I never send money by Zelle or other hackable “peer-to-peer” digital payment services. My only problem is making sure there are funds in the account on time. Most of my income sources are dependable. When there is a goof, my bank account is overdraft protected. I share this info with my kid.

https://www.amazon.com/Give-your-child-leg-manage/dp/1096505355

 

Which is better—ETFs or funds?

ETFs are good for trading in your brokerage account. Mutual funds are for long-term accumulation. Cost is important to long-term investors since you will kill the “miracle of compounding” with high costs. Both index mutual funds and ETFs can provide investors with broad, diversified exposure to the stock market. Trading an index ETF seems a contradiction to me since the purpose of an index is to take advantage of better investing results by holding quality stocks forever, not missing the highly volatile gains in the market. Fast trading has been shown to be a losing strategy by many unbiased money professionals. Even master investor Warren Buffett recommends using only two low-cost index funds for retirement income. Plus index funds are very tax efficient since the index that they reflect doesn’t change often—buy and hold.

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

 

Which life insurance is right for you?

If you have a family or folks who count on you for their income, you need to make sure they will have income if you are not around. Term life insurance is right for you. However, in the past some folks had no way to save for a life-long income, bills, mortgage, funeral and final expenses. So they used permanent life insurance. Since the 70s, whole and universal life insurance are not as good a savings/investment vehicle as low-cost mutual funds. Why—because you get a lot more for your money and you don’t have to die to receive benefits. At average earnings of 11% per year, you can accumulate $500,000 for the same cost of a whole life premium policy. Instead of leaving an expensive death benefit to your family, you can have $500,000 in 35 years of investing. You can then supplement your retirement income and have money to pay for end of life needs. You may be able to leave a larger legacy too.

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Insurance-Need-Save-right/dp/1480002178

 

Annuities add little value for investors with income plan

A recent Morningstar study concluded that annuities add little value for investors who are well-prepared for retirement. The study looked at failure rates, or the probability of running out of retirement savings. Most retirees need a steady income and the annuity option as part of a 401k or 403b plan is the industry’s solution. However, annuity costs exceed the cost of a trustee-managed IRA payout using low-cost mutual funds. Many trustees offer steady income at no extra cost. The standard IRS tax schedule provides steady income of about 4% per annum. The RMD or required minimum distribution is specified by the IRS based on age and the previous year’s total accumulations. Using a balanced mutual fund, this strategy overcomes the problem of an annuity payout that loses value to inflation. If you have $500,000 in this kind of account, you are likely to receive $20,000 plus a year recalculated for inflation each year. Even better, if you use the tax-FREE retirement accounts, you pay NO taxes on your retirement income and probably none on your SS benefits either.

Plan for NO taxes: https://www.amazon.com/New-American-Retirement-System-Reserve/dp/1461030072

 

Did you miss FREE money from the IRS?

More than nine million people may qualify for tax benefits but didn’t claim them by filing a 2021 federal income tax return. Many in this group may be eligible to claim some or all of the 2021 recovery rebate credit, the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit and other tax credits. These and other tax benefits were expanded under last year’s American Rescue Plan Act and other recent legislation. The only way to get the valuable benefits is to file a 2021 tax return. Often, people can get these expanded tax benefits, even if they have little or no income from a job, business or other source. This means that many people who don’t normally need to file a tax return should do so for 2021, even if they haven’t been required to file in recent years. To help people claim these benefits, Free File will remain open for an extra month this year, until November 17, 2022. People with income of $73,000 or less can electronically file a return for free using brand-name software. Free online filing means you get ALL of the money you deserve.

https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free

 

Who is a real fiduciary?

Not all financial advisors are fiduciaries

Selling only their firm’s high-cost products isn’t in your ‘Best Interest’. Regulators have given into the financial sales industry in the sense that now almost every sales person can call themselves a ‘fiduciary’. A fiduciary is a person who does not profit from the advice they give. All financial people who work for a firm—brokerage, advisory or trust company—must sell only what their firm has a contract to offer. Legally these ‘fiduciary’ financial advisors can’t avoid this conflict of interest because they work under a license provided by their firm. In each of the firms I worked for, the products and services we offered were authorized by management. As a member of the product selection committee, I had to provide full due-diligence on the vendors and products we used. We picked the compensation structure we needed for our revenue goals. Sales people can be paid by commissions, quarterly fees, shared-revenue and other means. They can’t offer Vanguard products and services because Vanguard is owned by its investors. You will know you don’t have a real fiduciary when you must sign a BICE. A Best Interest Exemption gives the broker/advisor a safe harbor to recommend an investment product that may benefit them more than it benefits you, and that is a conflict of interest, no matter how much lipstick you apply. Use a certified financial planner (CFP®) for unbiased advice. Or learn from experts like Warren Buffett, John Bogle, and Burton Malkiel what you need.

https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Vanguard-Funds-Retirement/dp/1496148592

 

 

 

?**********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

Billionaires paid $881 million for votes in 2022 midterm elections

 

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:

Shell ExxonMobil selling CA wells despite high oil prices: we pay cleanup costs?

Gouging for profits: Heating oil up 60% leaves homeowners cold; NYS $5.76

Amount of taxes owed but not paid is increasing: excess profits tax now?

Corporate profits avoid tax to buy elections: no voters: $millions to GOP election deniers

 

Can any citizen get out of jury subpoena from Supremes like Lindsay? Just GOP?

 

GOP agenda: Medicare & SS entitlement reform as a way to rein in spending?

 

SCAMS/SPINS:

Trump terrorist after Pelosi: Suspect shouted "Where is Nancy?" assaults husband

Trump & Son caught avoiding being served with lawsuit paper: Judge orders ‘email it’

Trump: “Our Country is Rigged, Crooked, and Evil” Maybe he should move to Russia

 

Clarence Thomas was “key” to Trump’s plan to overthrow government of Biden

Trump gets his Supreme justices to hide his taxes from Congress inquiry: above the law

Trump sues NY Attorney General to delay her suit against his fraud biz ‘Derangement’ 

Trump to announce 2024 run to avoid indictment for overthrow of US government

 

Christian nationalism has rooted itself firmly in the Republican Party: no more GOP?

Church political endorsements used to be against the law but Supremes already OKed

The banned book list: what white religious folks are afraid of most:

 

Police have trouble with premitless open carry gun laws: which guy is the bad guy?

 

School shooter buys AR-15 privately after failed background check: out of control guns

 

We are spending $1,705 on auto insurance, up 4% from 2021, 17% from 2020: cut extras.

Plus we are being charged monthly fee for some extra features on our new car: Oh My!

pharmacy chains caught mishandling opioid painkillers: drug pushers fined, no jail

CBS Moonves caught forced multiple employees to perform oral sex on him: fine no jail

Hospital caught overcharging for procedures and services never delivered: no fine, no jail

Make sure you are ‘admitted’ not ‘observed’ in hospital visit so Medicare will pay.

 

Jobs

400 engineers for Flexport logistics startup

 

 

Who owns your account now?

New Credit Score Rule for New Home Buyers: easier or more tape?

New affordable health care: lower premiums, free preventive care, sign up Nov 1

SS 8.7% COLA paid to new claimants but starting early means less for life

 

Pick Medicare plans by Dec 7: assess your needs: optimize coverage

Best 529 college savings plans: Morningstar ratings: compare state tax benefits

44% of registered voters think US government controlled by secret cabal

 

Miracles:

Safe I bonds issued between Nov. 1 and the end of April is expected to drop to 6.89%. 

Researchers have found a new way to predict and affect how cancers behave.

This coral reef resurrected itself — and showed scientists how to replicate it

 

Tool to help find the real cost of health care at hospital, dental and services

 

 

 

 

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

Gravity might induce the collapse of quantum vibrations into 1 quantum state—our world

 

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/