On this week’s episode of On the Money with Secure Money, Brian Quaranta provides a list of strategies to think about as you face the future in a changing price environment.
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Radio Show Transcript
Announcer 00:00
These investment advisory services are offered through foundation investment advisors, LLC. an SEC registered investment advisor Brian Quaranta and his guests provide general information not individually targeted, personalized advice and are not liable for the usage of information discussed. Exposure to ideas and financial vehicles should not be considered investment advice or recommendation to buy or sell any of these financial vehicles. This information should also not be considered tax or legal advice. As performance is not a guarantee of future results. investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products, they do not refer in any way to securities or investment advisory products, fixed insurance and annuity product guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company.
Steve 00:39
Hey, welcome, everybody. This is On the Money with Secure Money and Brian Quaranta, I’m consumer advocate Steve. And we’re talking today about inflation. Well, who isn’t talking about inflation. And if you’re on a fixed income, it can really be devastating to you. The current rate of inflation 8.2%, a little bit lower than last month, but a far cry from the 1.3% of August of 2020. We will dig in and much more here On the Money with Secure Money. And Brian Quaranta, what do you think?
Brian Quaranta 01:06
Most people focus on their account balances, which is easy to do when you’re losing money. But folks, the thing you need to think about more than just losing account principal is actually losing spending power due to inflation. Now today’s show, we’re gonna offer seven ways, you don’t want to miss this, seven ways to handle inflation. in retirement, we’ll come right back with on the money with secure money.
Announcer 01:32
And now On the Money.
Brian Quaranta 01:35
Any good retirement plans starts with the foundation,
Announcer 01:39
asset protection, tax reduction, holistic planning,
Brian Quaranta 01:42
these are the things that start to move you towards having a retirement plan.
Announcer 01:46
Retirement doesn’t have to be complicated.
Brian Quaranta 01:49
You think that’s the difficult part. That’s just getting started. And now on the money with secure money.
Steve 02:00
And welcome back, everybody. This is On the Money with Secure Money. I’m consumer advocate Steve, Brian Quaranta is here. As always, he is president and CEO of secure money advisors. He’s an author, you are a published author right now. And the book is called Right Track your Retirement a simple planning strategy to help you reduce risk, build income and provide peace of mind that seems like the ticket to a solid retirement. Brian. Hi, how are you?
Brian Quaranta 02:25
I’m doing great, Steve. Yes, peace of mind, in my opinion, is the most important thing that an advisor can give to their client as they’re approaching retirement. And as they go through retirement. Bad behavior. Bad investor behavior is part of the reasons why people’s plans fail. But the other reasons why people’s plans fail is because usually they don’t have a plan. And that’s the fault of my industry. The financial planning industry has not done a good job in actually delivering tangible written mathematically calculated plans. Usually, people have a bunch of investments. They’ve got a pile of statements, but they don’t have a plan. What do I mean by a plan? They don’t have a cash flow worksheet. Why is a cash flow worksheet important? Because you got to see all your sources of income in one spot, how much cash flow is generating, what tax rate that’s going to put you in? If you’re married, you got to look at what happens if your spouse dies, and what loss of income would take. And if you’re like 90% of the people out there today, you’re probably going to need income from your retirement savings. So, if you’re pulling money out every single month to live off of what is that doing to your account balance, especially if you’re pulling money out right now, why the markets going down? Right,
Steve 03:51
folks? If that’s a question that’s in your mind, it’s 800-656-8616. That’s the number you can reach Brian and set up a time to come on in, sit down and talk about it. So, let’s talk about surviving inflation, and retirement because that’s, that’s something that a lot of folks have not had to deal with before. So, we have to look at spending patterns. And Brian, you’ve got a great explanation of how we need to sort of figure out what our expenses are.
Brian Quaranta 04:16
I mean, rather than looking at what you’ve spent in the last two weeks, you know, go through your bank and credit card statements for the last six months. Now you’re talking about taking a larger sample size and make a list of all the money you’ve spent. You’ll see if your expenses have a trend upwards during the last month you can see if they have a trend downward. This will give you an idea. So the way I handle my own personal cash flow analysis is very simple. I actually do a 12-month period. And it all depends on how you pay your bills for me and my wife. We do everything on our credit card, because we get our points, but we pay our bill off at the end of the month. If you can be responsible. You can use credit cards to your advantage and there’s a lot of great perks that come with that and we could do a whole nother show on that. But the way you want to handle the A way of actually figuring out what it’s costing you, every single month is, for example, I will add up all of our monthly transactions for each month on the credit card statement, and then I’m gonna divide by that amount of months. So, you know, if I’m doing it by 12, I’m going to add up the 12 months worth of transactions, and I’m going to divide by 12. And now I’m gonna get an average. And that’s the average you use to say, on average, this is what we spend now. There’s things that you can’t put on credit cards, like taxes and, and certain utilities. So, you’ve got to calculate that stuff into doing the same thing. If you pay your car insurance, once a year, you pay your health insurance once a year, your life insurance once a year, you got to take that number, you got to divide by 12. Because now you’re going to get accuracy. And accuracy leads to good decisions. It also leads to more importantly, peace of mind, which I write about in right track your retirement.
Steve 05:51
Right. And again, because that really it’s that’s a goal to achieve in retirement, just that peace of mind. And it’s not always easy, is it?
Brian Quaranta 05:59
Well, no. And the reason is, is because most people don’t have the information they need to make good informed decisions. And they never worked with somebody that gave them the clarity around what’s it actually really means to have a retirement plan, because the word itself is thrown around so loosely. And matter of fact, Steve, I write about the difference between an investment plan and a retirement plan. In my book, by the way, it’s chapter one is the very first chapter because most people are confused of what it really means and retirement plan. So go to right track your retirement.com. Again, that’s right, track your retirement.com. And you can get a free copy. It’s a free copy, I actually even pay for the shipping and handling. And you can start reading about what a real retirement plan looks like. And there’s so many other great chapters in there, like how to how to create your own pension, protecting yourself from big market swings, how to use technology to profit from market returns. So, folks, again, go to right track your retirement.com. And you can get a free copy of my book there today.
Steve 06:57
Well, I encourage you to check that out, folks. It’s a great little book, and I know that you’ll enjoy it. And so, we talk about doing an in depth budget analysis. Isn’t that the same as looking at spending patterns? Or is that a little deeper?
Brian Quaranta 07:08
Well, I mean, it takes some time to think about, you know, fixed and variable expenses. I mean, fixed costs tend to, you know, be relatively consistent month to month, I mean that, you know, example of that is going to be mortgage. You know, but your utility bill could change your phone bill, you know, typically is fixed these days, although I can remember back in the 80s when the phone bill wasn’t fixed. And my parents would be very angry when the bill was high, because I’d like to talk to my girlfriend so much, right?
Steve 07:35
I remember those days.
Brian Quaranta 07:37
I mean, that’s when the telephone companies just gouged us. And I mean, absolutely gouges, I mean, it would cost money for my parents to literally call my grandparents which were 20 minutes away. And, you know, it was like we only could stay on the phone with grandma and grandpa for like 10 minutes because the cost was gonna be too high to talk to them. But again, I mean, doing an in-depth analysis is important, right, because you do have fixed and variable costs. So, folks for the next 10 callers who call in right now, I’m actually going to give you a complimentary comprehensive financial review. Now, you know, I have always tried to keep a few openings on our calendar each week for people to come in, sit down and have a conversation with a fiduciary advisor who truly can guide you and possibly help you improve your situation, you really have to think, you know, you can either go at this yourself, or you can have a real guide or a coach that holds your hands. And that’s exactly what we do here at secure money visor. So, for the next 10 callers who call in right now, we’re going to perform a complimentary easy to understand financial review, that will indicate if you’re in need of a comprehensive financial plan will give you a number of different reports a risk analysis report, a tax report, a Social Security and income maximization report, and will start to help you customize a plan. And even if you’re working with an advisor right now, it’s going to give you the second opinion that you deserve. And remember folks, you can’t get a second opinion from the person that gave you the first opinion. So, for the next 10 callers, that’s a comprehensive financial review. We’re providing complimentary with no obligation.
Steve 09:03
And that is a great opportunity folks, don’t let it slip by just give us a call. It’s 800-656-8616. You heard Brian the next 10 callers are going to get that comprehensive financial review that right track retirement review. Again, no cost no obligation make the call today while you’re thinking of it 800-656-8616 800-656-8616 We need to take a quick break but we’ve got lots more On the Money with Secure Money and Brian Quaranta
Brian Quaranta 09:29
Right after this most will agree that taxes in the US will be going up not down. With that in mind we’ve put together a list of retirement income that’s not taxable and even tax free. You don’t want to miss this when we come right back with on the money with secure money.
Announcer 09:48
Are you fighting for financial knowledge? Don’t let that advice be a punch in the gut to your retirement. Take advantage of a complimentary no call is no obligation consultation with a local trusted financial coach? Call Brian Quaranta and his team at Secure Money Advisors 800-656-8616 800-656-8616.
Steve 10:20
Welcome back this is On the Money with Secure Money, Brian Quarantas, Im consumer advocate Steve. Brian, of course, President CEO of Secure Money Advisors, has been helping folks for better than 20 years. He is a fiduciary and independent, and he is an author, right track your retirement a simple planning strategy to help you reduce risk, build income and provide peace of mind. Brian, that’s kind of what we’ve been talking about it we did in the first segment in you know, talking about how inflation influences us. So now, let’s dig into some because tax taxes in retirement is a reality that we all have to face, but you have some ways that we can help minimize them not pay more than what we owe. Let’s dig in.
Brian Quaranta 10:58
Yeah, it’s important to understand how to build cashflow. That’s not taxable. Yes. And you know, before I get into this, folks, I want you to go to right track your retirement.com. Again, that’s right track your retirement.com and get a copy of my free book. That’s right, it is absolutely free. Because I pay for the shipping and handling, it cost us $7 in shipping and handling the send this book, you are not even gonna have to pay that we give you a free copy. That’s how much I want you to have this book. And I want you to read it from cover to cover. And what we’re going to share with you next in regards to setting up an income strategy I write about in depth in the book, it’s called Think like a pensioner, not a gambler. So, when you think about retirement planning, think about how are you going to live on a monthly basis? How are you going to make sure that you have enough money to do all the things you want to do the trips, you want to take the visit you want to go around the world and do the key to a successful retirement is having guaranteed monthly income. And that’s why this chapter that I want you to read my book is chapter to think like a pension or not a gambler is all about what Stephen are going to talk about right now. And that’s withdrawals from retirement accounts. So, let’s get into it. So again, taking withdrawals from your retirement accounts, can be a pretty messy thing, because for most people, the majority of people have some type of qualified retirement account meaning A 401k a 403 B. And that means every time they’re making a contribution to that plan, they’re probably getting a tax deduction. So, let’s look at a very simple scenario here. So, let’s say that you’re contributing to a regular or what we’d also consider a traditional 401 K plan. Okay. So and let’s say you’re putting in $10,000 a year, okay, well, you let’s say you invest that $10,000 into the 401k, what’s going to happen at the end of the year is, if you make $50,000 a year in income, or $100,000 a year in income, they’re going to minus the $10,000 that you put into your 401 K or 403, B doesn’t matter, they’re going to minus that amount that you put into that account from your income. So, if you make $50,000 a year, you’ll only pay taxes on 40. Now, if you made $100,000 a year, you’d only have to pay taxes on 90,000. Everybody follow me on that? Yes, sir. So very simple, you’re getting a tax deduction for putting that money out. Now, the tradeoff is this, you’re gonna save on taxes. So, let’s just say that, you know, you’re in a 20% tax bracket, well, 20%, you didn’t have to pay 20% on on $10,000. So that’s a pretty good deal, right? That’s, you know, that’s, that’s $2,000 that you didn’t have to pay. So now the $10,000, that’s sitting in your 401 K plan is now going to grow tax deferred. So, let’s suppose that 10,000 now goes to 20,000 20,000 goes to 40,000. And let’s pretend like for a minute here for this example, that you never put another dime in this account again, and that $10,000, by the time you retired, grew to a million dollars. And you now want to start taking withdrawals, you want to start taking money out every year to live off of will every time you take that withdrawal out, every dollar that you take out of that account is going to be taxable to you. So that means you got a tax deduction for putting in $10,000. But that account now grew to a million, and you’re going to owe taxes on all $1 million. So, my question to you is, was the tax deduction of $10,000 that you got in the year you made that contribution really worth having to pay taxes now, on a $1 million retirement account? Think about that, folks. So, this is this is in my opinion, the bill of goods that were being sold, and I’m not a big fan of these accounts, although everybody has them. So don’t beat yourself up if you do, because a lot of people just don’t know of alternatives. Now a lot. What are some alternatives? Brian? Well, we can use Roth. So, Roth, people go well, I don’t want to do a Roth because I don’t get that tax deduction. So, we’ll use the same scenario we invest $10,000 into our Roth plan now, could be a 401k. could be a 403 B doesn’t matter, as long as they offer a Roth component, we’re not going to get the tax deduction. So, if you made 50,000, and you made a contribution of 10,000, you’re still going to be taxes on 50,000. If you made 100,000, you made a contribution of 10,000, you’re still going to pay taxes on $100,000. Okay, so what happens now? That 10,000 Now gross to a million, just like in the other scenario, however, because it’s in a Roth, listen carefully, folks, every dollar that you take out, is 100%. tax free. So, if I want to take all $1 million out in a lump sum, I don’t have to pay any taxes on that money. Now, let me ask you this. At the beginning of this segment, we said taxes are probably going up, not down. What do you think is gonna happen? And actually, you think they’re gonna go up? Or do you think they’re gonna go down? So, if they’re gonna go up, like most people believe, would you be better off having an account that you have to pay taxes on? Or an account, you don’t have to pay taxes on? Well, clearly
Steve 15:51
the one I don’t have to pay taxes on and to make it better now with the tax rates, what they are, as you pointed out, now’s the time to seriously talk about a Roth conversion.
Brian Quaranta 16:01
Yeah, absolutely. Because taxes are cheapest, we’ve ever seen them before. And this there’s a compounding effect of this. I mean, this helps with inheritances when you leave your money to your family, and it helps, you know, when taking out large sums of money. I mean, there’s just so much that goes around choosing the proper account with the proper tax planning surrounding it.
Steve 16:19
Well, you mentioned inheritance, and that’s another area that is generally not taxable. It typically isnt.
Brian Quaranta 16:23
So it’s not usually a good idea to rely on inheritance as a retirement plan. Right, you know, right. And this is why folks, every single week, we leave time on our calendar to sit down and give you a complimentary review. It is absolutely free, complimentary, you don’t even have to pay for it, all you have to do is pick up the phone and call us and schedule a time to come in over a 45 minute to an hour meeting, we are going to help you truly get a tremendous amount of clarity. And we are going to see ultimately, if you’re in need of a full financial plan, you’ll sit down with one of our fiduciary advisors who truly can help guide you and help you improve your situation. And we’re going to give you a number of reports when you come in, we’re going to do a risk analysis, we’ll do a tax analysis. And we’ll also do an income and Social Security Maximization report to show you how to increase the amount of income that you’ll get in retirement. More importantly, though, we’ll show you a way to build a plan that gives you peace of mind. So again, for the next 10 callers. That’s a comprehensive financial review. We’re providing complimentary with no obligation.
Steve 17:25
Sounds fantastic, Brian. 800-656-8616. That’s all you got to do pick up the phone, give us a call 10 callers right now are going to get that comprehensive financial review that Brian just described all the extras that go along with it. And there’s no cost, there’s no obligation, and you’ll have a roadmap that’ll help guide you help get you to where you need to be when it comes to retirement. 800-656-8616 800-656-8616 We need to take a quick break. We’ll come right back though. We have a lot more right here on the money with secure money and Brian Quaranta.
Brian Quaranta 17:57
Many people strive to keep their current lifestyle retirement. When we come back, we’re going to outline six steps to help make that happen for you. And we come right back with On the Money with Secure Money.
Announcer 18:09
He’s letting the clock run out on his social security at age 70 For maximum benefits. And here comes the Roth conversion. He’s got some outstanding coaching with that lifetime income plan. He’s created his own pension as well. And it looks like he’s going to go All! The! Way!
Play your best retirement game call BrianQ 800-656-8616. Or text BrianQ to 800-656-8616. Call or text BrianQ two 800-656-8616.
Steve 18:43
We are back on the money with Secure Money and Brian Quaranta. And consumer advocate Steve, and this is something we have covered, I think some great highlights of really just what it takes to put the various pieces of that plan together. And you have I mean, you do it in such a way that it makes it so I don’t know, easy to understand, I guess.
Brian Quaranta 19:02
Yeah, well wait till you read right track your retirement and see how easy that is to understand. Which by the way, you can go to right track your retirement.com and get a copy of your complimentary book right there, folks, again, right track your retirement.com where you are going to get access to a step-by-step process of how to build out your retirement how to do it right so that you have the peace of mind and security you want in retirement.
Steve 19:25
And again, that’s really what it’s all about. Well, and on that note, we have people that have questions. And Brian, we’re counting on you for the answers. Let’s give it a shot. All right. Maddie is up first. And she’s wondering, she says my company offers a 401 K and a Roth 401 K. Currently I contribute 6% to my 401 K 8% to my Roth 401 K? Is this a good long term strategy? I want to contribute all to my Roth 401 K starting in 2023. Is that a better strategy? Also, can I take out my principal if needed from my Roth 401k Since it’s out after-tax dollars, just got a lot going on there.
Brian Quaranta 20:02
Whoo. Yeah. Well, first off, let me just say that, you know, we have a 401k here at secure money advisors, and I personally invest 100% into the Roth portion. Now remember, your employer contributions cannot go into the Roth portion of your 401k. So, they have to put that on the traditional side now, should you be putting a mix between both, you know, set up putting some money in the traditional 401k, along with the Roth 401? K? Well, this is where everybody’s situation is so unique and so different. The question would be Maddie, do you need that tax deduction? Because any money that you contribute to the traditional side, you’re going to get a tax deduction, any money that you contribute to the Roth side, you’re not going to get a tax deduction? So do you and are you married, do you and your husband or, or maybe you’re single, you’re single, you’re in a higher tax bracket. So maybe you need a little bit of a deduction? I’m not sure. But mathematically speaking, and just talking basic fundamentals and principles in regards to future tax rates, it’s going to benefit you to pay the taxes on the seed and not the harvest. So, pay taxes on the seed, meaning the money that you get paid on today, pay taxes on that, so that when that money that you put away into the Roth 401 K grows, when you pull it out in the future, you don’t owe any taxes on it. That’s the best way to build your retirement for the future. Pay the government right now. And make sure that the government and the IRS does not become the largest business partner within your retirement plan. Because for most people today that have traditional 401, K’s IRAs, their largest business partner, that never shows up to work, that doesn’t do any work on a day to day basis is 30 40% partners with them and those accounts, and if you don’t believe me, all you got to do is die and watch how much money they take from your family when you die from your 401 K or your IRA. And you’ll see how much of these business partner they are. So, buy out the business partner today by putting money into the Roth. However, if for some reason you get tax write off, you may want to put a little bit on the traditional but Maddie, this is why we offer the complimentary right trek retirement reviews. Or you can go to right track your retirement.com and get a complimentary copy of my book right track your retirement.com. But when you come in, we’re going to go through five key areas with you will show you how to generate income, how to pay less in taxes, how to properly choose your investments, how to make sure that you’re set up for health care, and more importantly, when the good Lord has decides to take your home. Your estate planning is done correctly. Sure. Wow.
Steve 22:23
800-656-8616. That’s the number to call folks. And you know, it just sounds like, you know, Maddie has got some great strategies going on. And she’s thinking the right way.
Brian Quaranta 22:33
Yeah. Well, she is I mean, you know, and there’s the least she’s contributing to a Roth. I know a lot of people that aren’t even familiar with the fact that their company offers the Roth. And, folks, if you’re listening to this, and you’re not sure if your company offers a Roth find out you should be contributing to it. It’s tax-free money in the future.
Steve 22:48
Yes, absolutely. All right. Shawn is up next to us. As Sean says, my advisor with a well-known company has my retirement portfolio in 20, or more funds, 30% and ETFs. And forecast funds, it’s very confusing. They claim to be a fiduciary, the money is safe, but returns this year 4.9% have not been good enough, in my opinion. I’m 65. My spouse is 64 is my portfolio spread across too many funds, given my age, probably need to know some more there. But the good question
Brian Quaranta 23:19
is yes. Well, that’s an interesting question, right? This is this is why understanding what rate of return you’re shooting for is important. And this is why I say the risk analysis is important, because I’m not so concerned about how many funds are being used here. I’m more concerned about what type of return are you getting for the risk that you’re taking? And is 4.9% going to get the job done? Quite frankly, I mean, if his portfolios returned 4.9% This year, without any losses, and it’s completely safe, I would say that that was a pretty good return for this year. But you know, it all depends on what the goals are of this money. So, you know, at the end of the day, it’s not so much about how many funds you have. It’s more about what’s the risk return ratio, meaning if you’re going to take so much risk, are you getting a return for what you’re doing and our risk analysis that we do, actually will help him map that out. So, what my recommendation Shawn would be is come on in and we can walk you through that. All right, good.
Steve 24:16
800-656-8616 is where you can start Shawn and just make that appointment. James is up next. And he’s wondering about 1031 Exchange. He said after once using the 1031 exchange, we purchased a rental home after renting it for years, we thought of moving into it. How many years does it take to revert back to personal property to avoid the capital gains? Well, there’s a lot of stuff going on there that I’ve got questions about.
Brian Quaranta 24:42
Yeah, I’ll tell you what, first off, you know, a 1035 exchange is when you can go from one annuity to another annuity without paying taxes. A 1031 Exchange is when you go from one investment property to another investment property without paying taxes. A lot of people don’t know that you now have 1031 investment So let’s suppose that you want to get out of a rental property that you have. But you don’t want to, you know, buy another rental property, but you still want to invest that money, but you want to avoid capital gains tax, we now have the ability to do 1031 investments. And the government basically says, If you roll the money from your investment property into the 1031 investment, you can avoid paying capital gains tax on that too. And these are all kinds of different strategies that you can use. These are the tax strategies that we talk about all the time with our clients to find ways to eliminate or reduce the amount that they’re paying in taxes. And you can also find out a lot of this stuff at right track your retirement.com, where you can get a complimentary copy of my book again, that’s right track your retirement.com where you can get a complimentary copy of my book, right track your retirement.com It truly is a simple strategy on how to build income and protect your retirement. So, folks, take advantage of our great track retirement review. You call us today don’t procrastinate schedule with us. We’ll see you here soon at the office
Steve 25:56
800-656-8616 Not only can you get a copy of the book, right track your retirement.com but you get to see a couple of videos from Brian. He talks you through it. I like it. Good looking site, right, by the way.
Brian Quaranta 26:07
Thank you, Steve. And folks, we’ll see you again next week.
Announcer 26:17
Investment Advisory services are offered through foundation investment advisors, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor Brian Quaranta and his guests provide general information not individually targeted, personalized advice and are not liable for the use of drip information. Discuss exposure to ideas and financial vehicles should not be considered investment advice or recommendations, buy or sell any of these financial vehicles. This information should also not be considered tax or legal advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income stream for only two fixed insurance products did not refer in any way to securities or investment advisory products. Fixed insurance and annuity product guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company.
