To see a full schedule of our TV airtimes, please click here.
Video Transcript
Rebecca Powers 00:23
All right, welcome to On The Money with Secure Money. I’m Rebecca Powers. So happy to be with you again, Pittsburgh. And this is of course, Brian Quaranta of secure money advisors. We have so many viewers now and you even have some fans, you’ve given out hundreds of copies of your book. And compliance said, I’m not allowed to give this to you. But I have a bottle of champagne for you. Because it is our 100th show!
Brian Quaranta 00:46
Yeah, all right! that’s a big deal. Good job.
Rebecca Powers 00:49
Good job you. I mean, think that 1000s of people even if they don’t come to you, or whatever I just think of, yeah, the education that you’ve been able to give them.
Brian Quaranta 00:58
We feel we’re making an impact you are you see it, you see it here and there that you’re making an impact. You know, I never thought that I would go to the grocery store. And someone recognized me it was kind of weird. But you know what it honestly is something that I’m so passionate about, you know, you love to be able to educate people every single week, is the most important thing to me, because that’s all I’ve ever wanted for people is just let’s give them good advice. Let’s give them good basic fundamentals to follow. And people are smart enough to make good decisions.
Rebecca Powers 01:26
Yeah, I feel like it’s for so many of us. It’s Greek, you know, it’s like, oh, I’m embarrassed, I didn’t really understand that I didn’t, didn’t save like, I should have blah, blah, blah, the list goes on and on. I think the biggest thing I want everyone and you’re so good at making people understand, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We weren’t taught this, you have brain surgeons that, you know, don’t even know what compounding interest even means. So, let’s talk about how people have been kind of in our society?
Brian Quaranta 01:52
Well, you know, you’ve got a lot of different types of people that we see, right, you’ve got those that have been so focused on their work, they don’t know what they have, right. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Yeah, they’ve their head has been down, they’ve been grinding day after day after day. And now they’re getting to the point where they’re going, if I want any chance to retire. And I’ve got to figure out what to do, and how to do all this. And so, coming to us is just a way for them to get organized, and actually take all the pieces of the puzzle, and actually put them together. So, you actually have a picture, right? I mean, my grandmother used to do like 1000-piece puzzles. And it would always amaze me, because it would be spread on a table. But then in a few days, this whole picture came together. And I’m like, How did she know like how to find all these little pieces, because I was not good at it. But I am good at taking all the pieces of the puzzle, the financial situation and putting them together to create that picture. And I think once people see that picture, they really start to get encouraged that, wow, this is possible, because I will hear a lot of people will come in and they’ll say, I don’t think we’re gonna be able retire, you know, I’m gonna have to work another five years. And when we get all the pieces of the puzzle put together, and we start to map out the plan, I can confidently look at them based on some small changes that we can get you retired right now. And when I show them mathematically how that would work. And I show them the very little bit amount of risk that they would have to take and the very limited amount of interest they would need. It’s a really emotional meeting, because for the first time, they’re seeing what they achieved, not even knowing what they achieved them, you know, and then you have those that come in that, you know, have been on top of it for you know, their entire career, right. They’ve they pay attention to their investments, they like paying attention to their investments. And so, you got two different extremes, right. But you got more people that don’t know than that do know. the people that do know, that’s where it’s a very small group of people. It’s a very small group of people.
Rebecca Powers 03:51
And for the last 13 years, the markets been going up. We’ve had such a bull market, it’s been easy to make money. But right now is a whole new world stocks are down bonds are down. This is the time more than ever in our lives, that we need to really focus on this. Would you agree?
Brian Quaranta 04:07
Well, look, you got the worst bond market in 40 plus years. So, since the early 80s, we’ve seen a bond market like this. Nobody’s talking about it. And nobody’s mentioned it. But I think this is going to wind up being worse than 2007 2008. You’re already seeing the housing market starting to collapse because of the higher interest rates. I mean, there was there was a news piece on the other night where they had showed last year versus this year. Open House? Cars down the street line out the door, right bring your best offer don’t even come in just bring your best offer. Right? We’re not going to talk to you. Now, not even a person there. Right, because people are concerned about paying 6 7% and home mortgage rates when they were used to pay in 2 or 3%. So, it is absolutely changed drastically inflation through the roof. I mean, there are major economic variables here that are lined up to be the perfect storm? Yes, you don’t have a plan. And order if your plan is to put your head in the sand, you better think twice before you do that, because this is not a time to say I’m not looking at my statements, I’m not going to do anything, I’m just gonna, I’m just gonna ignore it all. It’s not the time to ignore. This is a time to take action and make the changes that you need to make so you don’t get hurt. You know, people tend to forget the pain of 2007 2008. Because it’s been so long ago, yeah. But that will happen again. And you better be prepared. If it does to not put yourself in a position to be hurt again, you know, and the best advice that I can give people is make sure that you’re doing the right things. Go in, see your advisors right now. Ask them the hard questions. If you’re if you’re walking out of your advisor’s office, and you have that gut feeling that maybe you’re not getting the right advice. That’s when you want to go seek other advice from someplace else. That happened to me. I remember when I was dealing with a tax accountant. And this tax accountant, by the way, she was my college professor, I thought I was never going to need another tax accountant again, because yeah, who’s smarter? There’s nobody smarter than my college professor who? Counting right? Yeah. But as my company grew, every time I would go in, I just started getting this little bit of a feeling that maybe I wasn’t getting the best advice because I started bringing ideas to the table, I started asking questions, where, you know, she would go oh, well, yes, we can do that. Okay, well, if we could, why didn’t let you think of that? Didn’t you think of that? Yes, I’m paying you as a professional. And I had to make that hard decision to leave. Right. And it was a very difficult decision to make, because you like people, right? So, want to break relationships. But this is about people’s future. This is not about relationships, it’s about their future, and you want to get it right.
Rebecca Powers 06:43
And if you haven’t had these conversations, if they haven’t proactively called you, that should be the first red flag. Yeah. Right. If your financial planner, your fiduciary, and everyone in your offices, let’s talk about the difference. I know you’re very humble guy. But there’s a big difference. Just like there’s a difference between a CPA that does last year’s taxes and a tax planner that does the rest of your life. There’s a difference between a financial advisor and a fiduciary.
Brian Quaranta 07:06
Yeah, and you’re seeing even the accounting world change to Willy they’re providing most accountants want to get away from the CPA model, right, where all they’re doing is looking at history, filing a tax return and charging a couple $100 for it, right? They’re saying, You know what, let H&R block, do that, right, I didn’t get my CPA designation, to just put together a tax return and be paid a couple 100 bucks, I got my CPA designation to help people avoid paying taxes. So, let’s do that. Let’s build a new model gives them advice on a year-to-year basis. Now, they’re going to charge on a monthly basis to do that. But I know a lot of people would rather be charged on a monthly basis, a little bit of money to avoid taxes rather than coming to find out just once a year that I owe these taxes because we’re all we’re doing is looking at the history and not looking at the future and doing planning, right. And so, a fiduciary has your best interests in mind, by law, we’ve got to do what’s in your best interest. We’re not beholden to any specific company. We’re not beholden to any big box store, right? Or firm, I should say, Yeah, we are beholden to our clients. And that’s it. So, at the end of the day, as you’ve always said, so poetically, everybody’s like a snowflake, right? There, they all got their little shapes, sizes and prints, everyone’s got to understand each individual person’s situation to customize a plan that makes sense for them. And as a fiduciary, not having a specific menu of products that we have to choose from, we can now listen to the client and then go out to the marketplace and find the very best strategies, the various best products that are going to solve the problems and concerns that they have with their specific situation.
Rebecca Powers 08:41
Alright, so the right track retirement review is absolutely complimentary. Brian just wants to meet you maybe look at what you have, you may be perfect. And let’s say you’re great, but there’s the number 888-382-1298. What can they expect when they first come to your office?
Brian Quaranta 08:53
It’s a good question. So, the right track retirement review was designed because so many people would come in and ask, Are we on the right track? Are we doing the right things? Does our retirement plan even look good? And what I realized was most people do not know the fundamentals that make up a retirement plan. So, number one is your income. Number two is your tax strategy three is your investment. Strategy. Four is your healthcare strategy. And five is your estate planning strategy. Folks, if you have those five key areas handled every i dotted every T cross, you are going to have a great retirement. Most people have a pile of statements, they have investments that are diversified. That’s not a retirement plan. That’s an investment strategy. I talk about the difference between an investment strategy and a retirement strategy in my book, which by the way, I’m going to give you when you call today to schedule your complimentary no obligation, right track retirement review. So, pick up the phone, call us today to schedule that it’s 1-888-382-1298 My team is standing by to get you scheduled and we’ll also send you a copy of my book right track your retirement and
Rebecca Powers 09:56
Brian will even pay for the postage so there really is no sales pitch whatsoever. Here’s the QR code, if you’d rather not dial his number, just aim your phone camera to that and have your calendar ready, we’re gonna get you an appointment to come in and meet Brian and his amazing team. More right after this.
Brian Quaranta 10:11
So, everybody can tell you how to invest your money. There’s not a lot of people out there and a lot of firms that can teach you how to use your money. Most people also tell you that they’re scared. And the reason they’re scared is because they’re afraid of running out of money.
Neil Major 10:24
The last thing you want to do is have a really good job and you’re in your 60s retire, be looking for work again, in their late 70s.
Brian Quaranta 10:33
The average person might say, well, a good portfolio would be a good mix of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds can have a good portfolio is all designed around the five key areas, income, taxes, investments, health care and legacy planning.
Neil Major 10:47
Because we’re not just product pickers here, what we do best here as we build retirement plans.
Brian Quaranta 10:53
9 out of 10 people, when they walk through the door would ask us, we just want to know if we’re on the right track. And I always say if you’re not on the right track, when would be a good time to know it. Probably now.
Neil Major 11:03
People, you know, can actually see a vision once we start to really build out their plan.
Brian Quaranta 11:09
This is about you, if you’re not getting what you need. And you feel that when you walk out of the advisor’s office, it’s time to get a second opinion. And you can’t get a second opinion from the person that gave you the first the difference at secure money advisors, as a fiduciary firm, we help you manage the risk, build the income, and give you the retirement.
Rebecca Powers 11:38
And welcome back to our 100th episode, which we’re very, very proud of. And Brian, of course, has guided 1000s of people, not only his clients, but you at home watching how to keep your money, you just said the word risk in that little spot we just say so let’s talk about risk. And we talked about it a lot. Yeah, but considering they say no, inflation is at 9%. But when you go to the grocery store, you know that it’s feels more like 30. Yeah, right. Yeah. So how do people sleep at night? I’m talking to the seventy-year-old lady right now sitting at home going I’m so scared, you don’t need to be Yeah, there is a way to have zero risk, let’s talk about that.
Brian Quaranta 12:15
There is! you know, and for a lot of people, they just don’t know about the ways to have zero risk. And some people get heartburn when they hear about the ways to have zero risk. So, there’s a few ways number one, you could go to the bank. If you go to the bank, you’re gonna get a checking savings, money market or a bank CD. All right. Here’s the problem, though. If we got inflation over 9% checking account pays no interest at all, savings account pays no interest money market pays no interest in a CD, where they’re gonna give us 2%. Yeah, so that’s not a whole lot either. So even at a 2% rate of return at a 9% inflation rate, we’re losing money, right? So where else can we go for safe money? Well, we could go to an AI bond, right, the only problem is, if I buy an AI bond, right through the United States Treasury. At the time we’re recording this show, it was 9.6%, it’s supposed to go down to about 6.5. So, who knows where it’s going to be, once this show airs. But, but it’s a safe place, but you can only put $10,000 a year. And so that’s not going to help a whole lot of people with their retirement. Right. So, then you can buy annuities. Now, this is where people get a little bit of heartburn, because they don’t understand this marketplace. But it is a very powerful product to understand. Because there are something that an annuity can do that no other financial product can do. And that’s guarantee and protect your principal and provide you with income. Now, there’s about four different annuities. There’s fixed, there’s index, there’s variable, and there’s immediate. Now I like to have them, I like fixed and I like index, because they do something very important. They guarantee and protect your principal. That’s right, zero risk, but I can still earn interest. So, a fixed annuity, I can earn anywhere from 4 ½ to 5%. Guaranteed. I can have access to my money if I need it, and I can take all my money out and if I die, all the money goes to my children, or I can do an indexed annuity. Right. An indexed annuity allows me to actually participate in the growth of the market, okay, but not participate in the losses. Now, usually what I see that people will say, well, that’s too good to be true. No, it’s not, once you understand you understand how it works, it’s not too good to be true, they only let you have some of the gains. So, let’s suppose the market went up 10%, they’re gonna say, you know, we’re gonna give you 50% of the game. So that means you’re gonna get 5% out of 10%. Okay, but let’s say you have $100,000 And now your 100,000 is gonna go to 105,000. That becomes your new guaranteed balance, it can never be taken away. So, if next year the market falls by 30%, you’re still going to have 105,000 whereas the person that’s in the market is going to have like 80 something 1000 exact right? So, protecting some of your money in a place that you can earn a reasonable rate of return, where you have no loss of principle is where you need to have some of your money. especially if you’re going to need to generate monthly income. If you need a monthly paycheck, this is some of the best places you can do it. Now, whatever that number is, you can still have money in the market. But that money you have in the market better be long term money. 10, 15, 20-year money that you don’t touch. So, if the markets going up and down, you better not be touching it. It’s got to sit there because time is your friend when it comes to having money in the market. Right? What do they always say? Don’t touch it. Right? Just leave it alone. Yeah, well, how are you going to leave it alone if you’re in retirement and need money right now to live off of right? You have to have other buckets with other purposes. This is why I write about it in the right track, retirement book, our bucketing strategy so that you can still have money in the market. But if it drops 30%, you’re not panic that you might have to delay retirement and come out of retirement. We don’t ever want to see that happen to somebody.
Rebecca Powers 15:50
Absolutely. I think when a lot of people walk into your office, I know I love the holistic approach, obviously. How many people don’t have a plan? You say plan, plan plan? How many people don’t have a plan?
Brian Quaranta 16:03
I bet you about 85% of the people that walked through the door do not have a plan.
Rebecca Powers 16:06
See? That is mind blowing. Yes. I mean, I was one of those people till I met you. So I get it. But how damaging and scary is that? To know that at about 85%? You could say your common man does not even have a plan to retirement. How in the world can you expect to get there? I guess?
Brian Quaranta 16:20
Yeah, well imagine I mean, imagine just taking money out of your account blindly. Like not knowing what rate of return you need, or how the withdrawals are going to impact the balance and whether you’re going to have money or not have money later on in
Rebecca Powers 16:34
retirement, especially when you’re 85. And you’re really at the mercy of of your health of your health, your children, you’re not working anymore, right.
Brian Quaranta 16:42
And you’re if you run out of money at 85, it’s not like you’re going to have the physical capability of going back to why. Right. So, you having a plan is the most important thing. And I always say a plan should be written up no different than if you were running a business, your retirement needs to be run like that it’s money out and money in. So, think about it, if you were running an ice cream shop, or a restaurant or a retail shop, would you not pay attention to what money is going in and out every single day or what returns you need to stay profitable, you would be looking at all of that all the time. People stick their head in the sand, they procrastinate, they don’t pay attention, this stuff, they think it’s just going to magically work, right. And the more clarity you get about what your plan actually needs to do, the rate of returns that it needs, the safe withdrawal rates that you can take the ways to avoid taxation, when you start to map all that England, especially when you start to map it out with a firm like secure money advisors where we make it so simple and easy to understand. You want to know what it does, it empowers you absolutely gives you confidence. That clarity gives you confidence. And when you have confidence and clarity, you want to know what you are in retirement calm. Yeah, that is probably the best thing you can give yourself is peace of mind and calmness in retirement because who wants to be panicked. When the markets going through absolute pandemonium, nobody wants to be panic, they want to be they want to be, you know, traveling, they want to be spending time with their grandkids, they don’t want to be worried that they just lost 40% of their money in the market. And they may not be able to stay retired who wants that stress, you have just left 40 years of stress to go back into a stressful environment. But this is why I put together the right track system because I don’t want you to have that stress, I want you to have the peace of mind and security. And it’s something that I’m very passionate about showing people how to do. It’s a very simple and easy to understand process. But you’ve got to do your part, you got to pick up the phone, and you’ve got to come in so we can help bring you through that right track retirement review. And it’s going to help you get a lot of clarity and peace of mind around what you’re currently doing. So, I want you to pick up the phone. Call us today. It’s 1-888-382-1298 and schedule your right track retirement review today.
Rebecca Powers 19:00
And we’ll be right back more on how you can keep your money secure; it is possible.
Brian Quaranta 19:06
If I can help you increase your income, I can help you pay less taxes if I can help you potentially maximize the returns of your investments while reducing risk reducing fees if I can help you prepare for a health event or more importantly, when the good Lord decides to take you home to make sure that the money you’ve accumulated over your lifetime goes to your family and to your charities rather than the IRS. Would that be worth the time to come in and get a second opinion.
Rebecca Powers 19:36
All right, welcome back. I’m Rebecca powers here with Brian Quaranta of secure money advisors. We were talking about all these different tools. You know your money has to work for you. You have to tell each one what job it’s going to do health, longevity, we’re all living longer. They’re saying it’s bad because we’re all living longer. Yeah. So how do you kind of plan for a health event?
Brian Quaranta 19:55
Yeah, well, a health event has to be planned for, the problem is you don’t know when the health events going to take place. Okay, but the statistics out there that one in three of us are going to get dementia. Think about it. How many people are in this room, nine of us? I mean, somebody’s getting dementia in here.
Rebecca Powers 20:07
Right? And of course, cancer rates in the US are so high.
Brian Quaranta 20:11
Yes, it’s somewhere one and two will need some type of care. Right. So, 50% of us, it’s, that’s either me or you, right? So, one of us is going to need it.
Rebecca Powers 20:18
I’m gonna vote it’s you. Sorry, that wasn’t even, I’m sorry.
Brian Quaranta 20:23
At my educational evens, if husband and wife were there, I said, you guys can look at each other and decide who it’s gonna be.
Rebecca Powers 20:28
Who do the kids like more?
Brian Quaranta 20:29
Yeah. But that has to be planned for because in the state of Pennsylvania, you’re over $10,000 a month for long term care for facility? I mean, that’s a lot. Yeah, here’s the thing. Medicare does not pay for that. Right. Medicare does not pay for that. Here’s the really kind of bad thing about our health system. Yeah. If I have a guy that comes in here right now and drops that have a heart attack, yeah. Okay. He needs to have heart surgery, put a stent in all this kind of stuff, Medicare will pay for everything, no matter how long is in the hospital. Okay, I guess somebody that falls down, have a stroke, right? Medicare is going to pay maybe 90 days, and then you’re on your own. Wow, you see. So, it really is what health event are you going to have? If you have a heart attack, you’re fine. If you have a stroke, you’re in a different situation. So, this is the problem with our system, right? It does not take care of everybody for everything. So, if you have a stroke, and you need care now, and you go beyond those 90 days, when Medicare is not going to pay, how are you going to pay and
Rebecca Powers 21:30
it falls on your family. Yeah. And if, excuse me, it falls on your family, too.
Brian Quaranta 21:33
It does. And in the state of Pennsylvania, we have what we call the estate recovery act, where you state of Pennsylvania, literally when you die could go after your children to recover money that was spent on your care, right. And this is why we work with a great elder law partner that helps teach our clients about this, we have classes every single month at our office, where we bring folks in and we teach them about all of these things that they need to be concerned about, so that we can put the very best plan together for them. Because everybody’s Health Care strategy is different. You know, some people have the money to go afford long term care insurance, but it’s very expensive. And not everybody qualifies for it, right? Because a lot of people don’t start thinking about long term care insurance until they’re 55 or older. Well, usually by that time, they might have some type of medical issue. So, the question is, can you even get qualified to get it? And if you do get qualified, how much is it going to come right up to extend? I mean, you see, you see, you know, long term care insurance at five $6,000 a month. Now that’s hard… not a month, a year. I’m sorry,
Rebecca Powers 22:37
I was gonna say, who can afford that, it will give you a heart attack.
Brian Quaranta 22:39
But that in itself, right. I mean, that in itself, a lot of people aren’t going to want to pay that. Right. So, we have to look at these situations, though. Because if you have a health event very early on in retirement, that’s more of a problem than if you have a health event 25 years in the retirement, right. It’s almost like same thing, if you’re a married couple, it’s a lot worse if your spouse dies early in retirement versus later retirement. Why? Because if your spouse dies early in retirement, you’re living off less income, right? We know what Social Security, they’re going to take away the lowest check. And according to AARP, the average loss of income for married couples 40% at death, imagine taking a 40% hit very early on in retirement.
Rebecca Powers 23:22
And you have about the same bills, you have the same house, the same car, so you don’t say
Brian Quaranta 23:26
and people think well, it’s only gonna be it’s just gonna be me now. So, we’re gonna have one less car, we’re going to have, you know, less insurance when it says, so we’re gonna have less expenses. Let me tell you something not going to work that way. Because here’s the one thing people don’t think about. You are now a single tax filer, whoever looked at single tax rates versus married tax rates, they are much higher. And so now you got to pay the IRS more money for being widowed.
Rebecca Powers 23:49
I do not like this IRS. The more we talk about this IRS person I do not I do not like right.
Brian Quaranta 23:56
I know it’s you know, but these this is why planning is so important really is and this is why I’ve created the five key areas. It’s a checklist, right? So, you got to be able to look at your income strategy and go, Okay, have I’ve done everything I possibly could do here to maximize everything that’s available right now, to get the very best for my income. Right now. You know, one thing you and I always talk about is it always amazes me of how many people will go out there and insure their home. They’ll insure their car, their insure their jewelry, but they don’t insure their income. Yeah, that’s unfathomable to me.
Rebecca Powers 24:31
But again, we go back to the public school system, and just the way our society is we used to have pensions that went away in 78. We never adapted. It’s never been taught in school. So, it is certainly not our fault.
Brian Quaranta 24:42
And it’s the fault of my industry because my industry thinks it’s okay to take risk with 100% of your money even when you need income.
Rebecca Powers 24:49
But it does benefit them to keep us in the dark. Let’s be honest.
Brian Quaranta 24:52
Well, it does. They could charge fees on that money, right, the could charge fees, but you better hope the market cooperates 100% of the time and we know it doesn’t so If it doesn’t cooperate, this could go to this could be impacted, the income could be affected or impacted your tax strategy. That’s important. Why do we want to pay more taxes then we have to? Why do we want to leave Uncle Sam or the IRS as part of our estate plan, we can get them out of the picture right now, planning the investment strategy, people try to continue to do the same things that they were doing while they were working the same investment strategies, same diversification, they try to do that same stuff when they retire. And it’s not the same the strategies, the techniques, the investment strategies, they change once you get to your retirement years, but the big box firms don’t want you to change, they keep doing the same thing over and over. And all they do is keep telling you the same cookie cutter phrases, don’t worry about it hang in there, you’re in it for the long haul. It’s just a paper loss. I can go on and on and on. Right, yeah, your fourth thing is your health event, right? Because the health event that can really impact you big time. And the tough thing about a health event is if you go in and you have a health event, and you’re in there for let’s say a year, two years, three years, and then you get better, that’s actually a really bad thing. Because then you’re broke, you’re broke. So now they’re coming out, you’re healthier. But now you might not have any money, or you’ll have very little money left, so you better have a plan to protect that. And that’s where estate planning can come in. That’s where good Elder Law protection strategies can come in. And then of course, the estate plan itself. And in Pennsylvania, folks, you better be on top of your game on this one, because we’re like one of six states that still has an inheritance tax to deal with. And it can be anywhere from four all the way up to 15% in additional taxation above and beyond what you’re going to pay in income taxes, or federal estate taxes, depending on what level of assets you have. So, the state of Pennsylvania is always going to be part of your estate. But there are ways to eliminate some of these things that you might deal with through a good estate planning strategy. And this is why I created the right track system so that you can get the information you need to make good, informed decisions. So, call us today. Get a complimentary no obligation, right track retirement review, where we’ll go over all these five areas will show you what a real planning strategy looks like. We’re gonna sit down for 45 minutes to an hour, there’s no sales pitch, there’s no pressure. If you’re doing the right things. We’ll let you know you’re doing the right things. But if you weren’t on the right track, if you weren’t making the right decisions, if you didn’t have the right strategies in the right areas. Wouldn’t it be great for you to know that now? Call 1-888-382-1298 and schedule your complimentary right track retirement review today?
Rebecca Powers 27:40
Absolutely. There’s a holistic approach because every single one of you is different. Thanks for joining us so much for our 100th show, and we’ll see you again next week. Hope you learned a lot today.
