Recent audits show that Medicare will run out of funding by 2026. And Social Security will be depleted by 2035 and that includes the funds that pay for hospitalization, long term care and hospice. The latest data are based on the projections of an audit performed by the trustees of these funds who are appointed …

Continue reading “Medicare, Social Security, Hospice and Life Insurance”

It has now been over 10 years since the market crash of 2008.  And during the past decade, many have been lulled into believing that the high yields they have earned during that time are sustainable.  People have, once again, come to trust in dividend-paying stocks as safe and secure investments because they have forgotten …

Continue reading “If You’re Not Apprehensive, You’re Not Paying Attention”

The Federal Reserve is at it again.  Raising interest rates, as if they have some crystal ball that tells them what only God could know, what is a fair and authentic interest rate. Here’s the crux of the matter.  The U.S. monetary system depends on deposits, loans, and interest to fuel it.  If the Fed …

Continue reading “Your Retirement Plan Is Getting Shoved Around again, but here is How You Can Prevent It”

Ouch!  The market had a hiccup last week giving up nearly all the gains it attained over the summer. Now, maybe you don’t have enough in the market to worry about that hiccup or maybe you have enough invested that you now feel you need to hold on until this market recovers and you regain …

Continue reading “How to Protect Your Gains”

Wow! $42.3 Billion, according to Bankrate; that is what 3 banks, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, collected in fees during one year, $6 billion of those fees coming solely from ATM and overdraft fees alone.[i]  Of course, these are the same banks that we taxpayers bailed out in October of 2008 to the …

Continue reading “$42,300,000,000 in Fees”

Less than 2 out of 5 Americans have enough money saved to afford an unexpected $1,000 expense. Such an expense would force 1 out of 5 to charge such an unexpected expense on a credit card, leaving the rest to either scrounge it off a friend, family member or take out a personal loan.  Interestingly …

Continue reading “The $1000 Dilemma”

Ken Fisher, Founder of Fisher Investments, wrote in USA Today on June 24, 2018, “You shouldn’t worry about Social Security running out of money because in the past this same fear has “prompted politicians to act and put in simple fixes.”[i]  Then he goes on to explain that raising taxes, or the minimum retirement age …

Continue reading “The Social Security Myth”

 Five-hundred and 2 days ago, from the time of writing this blog, a new president of the United States has “slashed regulations that strangle the economy by nearly $2 trillion a year.”[i]  Which has increased the wealth of U.S. households $7.1 trillion![ii] This, all in spite of what the Economic Policy Institute or the Brookings …

Continue reading “How to Benefit from Less Regulation (Both Now and In Your Retirement)”

Attending a university or college used to provide a path to a better income.  But “In 1987-1988 the average four-year universities and colleges were charging $3,190 a year for tuition.  Today, with prices adjusted to reflect 2017 dollars, that average cost has risen to $9,970 a year.  Which is a 212.5 percent increase.”[i] But the …

Continue reading “Growth of Student Loan Debt 5 Times Faster than Wages Over Past Decade”

As I wrote this blog, the stock market posted its worst loss since 2011. Yet, the money our clients manage for themselves suffered no loss, nor did any of my money which I manage for myself! Axel Merk, chief investment officer at San Francisco base Merk Investments had this to say about the market crash; …

Continue reading “Is Your Money Dead or Alive?”