The Smart People Money Show

Today I spoke to 4 high school classes, these were Seniors and the focus was on Credit Cards, Behavioral Finance and Real Estate.  I wanted to share a few of the things with you so I just made this recording. 

Recording from my table at home, here is a short podcast with a few notes and a book request for you to pick up.  I'm enjoying A Couple's Guide to Retirement and Aging by Sara Yogev. 

A few notes & thoughts about navigating money choices and life events.  The validation of trying to justify the retirement decision... How does one answer the question of "Can I Retire?"   I'm not going to attempt to answer the question but I think it's a fair one to ponder and I discuss a little about the process.   Additionally, we discuss divorce, income for retirement, starting out as the young & penniless, fighting for every dollar and more.  The theme, it's always best to seek some guidance when making money decisions. 

Sometimes a solo-chat is the best. Good information just shows up as the topics unfold.

Item #1: Have you ever thought about the different emotions that come with not having a job? What happens to the emotions of someone when someone when they get a job? Item #2: What makes someone decide to hire a consultant? Is it the value provided? Is it to avoid potential pain? Item #3: Have you ever taken stock of the unintended outcomes that have occurred in your life? Isn't it interesting how the more prepared you were the better your unintended outcomes were. (note, you can never know this until after the fact) Item #4: It's hard to quantify the benefits of a good advisor but if you're using them right and they are good... it's going to have multiple benefits for you. Do you have a question you would like to hear on the show? Or a question for Michael? email- Michael@maranantha.com Want to get a free retirement strategy call? visit Maranantha.com

Have you ever baked a cake? Did you determine if it was made perfectly or if there might have been any changes you would have liked to make? This same reasoning can be used with your financial situation, today's show is "How Dry is Your Financial Cake?" We also ask the question, "Is Dave Ramsey Out of Touch?"

GameStop and that strategy... A few fun facts and a practical approach to long-term growth with your money. Did you have any "Fear of Missing Out" with $GME? Have you ever considered how the emotions and psychology of investing plays a roll with investing? How much did the $GME trade rely on fundamentals? Email Questions or comments to: Michael@maranantha.com

Interest Rates, Home Prices, Retirement taxes with IRA's and distributions along with Roth Conversions. To connect, ask a question or listen to previous episodes please check out Maranantha.com

Today was the kind of day where I just sat in front of the microphone and spoke for 10 minutes... didn't have notes, sometimes the ideas just flow. We discuss podcasting behind the scenes, technology late adopters, happiness~life correlation... all in 10 minutes time. Enjoy.

An annuity is a fixed sum of money paid to someone each year, typically for the rest of their life. It's a product that a lot of people don't really like to hear about. And if you don't have one, you probably won't get one. But if you do have one, um, You were probably sold one and you're wondering if it's a good product or not. I don't offer them, as a product that I have for clients, but I do help educate people on them. Oftentimes after speaking with a client, they'll find that an annuity is a good fit for them. WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR ANNUITY? It is a product that, if used for the wrong reason, it's a very inefficient vehicle. It's like using a Ferrari to take multiple children to school. A much better product would be a school bus, right? You want to use the right vehicle for the objective that you're trying to achieve. Annuity salesmen are sometimes described as contractors, that only have a hammer as a tool. And if you only have the hammer as a tool, then every client begins to look like a nail. Unfortunately, I've seen this to be true in the industry. Some salesmen only sell annuities. So regardless of your situation, you're going to be recommended to have one of these products. And that's the part where I think it's not good. FEES So the first thing to understand is the fees because the fees are what's going to impact performance. If you have a variable annuity, it's going to have fees in there. They're not hiding them, but oftentimes it's, it's going to be 1% to 2% just right off the top for the annuity and that whatever income rider or death benefit rider is included in that annuity. If it's an income rider, there could be a benefit to having that annuity. Conversely, what I often see is, people will have a variable annuity with an income benefit rider, but they'll never use the rider. They'll never use the income. They'll never actually take the benefit of what they've been paying for for a long time in those scenarios, the annuity company wins. So, you definitely want to understand what the fees are. What type of annuity do I have? Is there an income benefit rider or death benefit rider? There's much more to it than that, but that's the first step to get ahead of the game. The second thing that people will say is, “Oh, I have an annuity and I didn't pay any fees”, and it turns out they have a fixed indexed annuity or a fixed annuity. It's not that there's no fees, it's that the fees are included in the way the product is offered. So you don't have to write a check. There's no deduction of fees from what you receive. It's just baked in the cake. You don't really see it, but the insurance company is making some money off of offering this to you. With these index annuities, the salesman will tell you “Oh, this is a wonderful product you can earn”, and they'll spout out a percentage number. For example, they’ll tell you, “This is a great product. When the market goes up, you could earn 9% return from this product”. And in your head, you're thinking what 9% annually. But in reality, they're saying you could get 9% for the total of the four year product. 9% for four years, that's not anything special. That's 2.25% per year. That's hardly better than a savings account. Uh, and that's, that's, what's possible. That's the highest return you could possibly receive. You could also get zero. What I don't like about indexed annuities is that they will often get misquoted, just like the example above. Annuities are tricky. If you already have an annuity and you don't understand it, or you're considering cashing out your annuities it’s best to have a consultation with a financial advisor. I'm a fiduciary, and I'd be happy to review your accounts and talk with you about options for your annuities. If you would like you can get more information go to Maranantha.com or email at michael@maranatha.com. Disclosure: This is an educational program. I'm not giving you advice. Please, don't take advice from me on this program as I don't know your personal situation. Music by Jay Man | OurMusicBox Website: www.our-music-box.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

On this week’s episode, Mike explores the difficult conversation of death and personal finance. To learn more, go to Maranantha.com, and click the Start Here button. Music by Jay Man | OurMusicBox Website: www.our-music-box.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

In this episode, Mike shares a personal money story and what motivates him as a Financial Planner. For more information, check out Maranantha.com. Music by Jay Man | OurMusicBox Website: www.our-music-box.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

On this episode, Mike shares 4 Money Lessons to get rich, with personal finance knowledge. If you are interested in applying the 4 lessons to your specific situation, learn more here: https://maranantha.com/4-quick-money-lessons/ Music by Jay Man | OurMusicBox Website: www.our-music-box.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

When you think about how you're investing your money, maybe you have a 401k, an IRA, a retirement funds or investment account. How do you decide how much money is in cash or how much money is in something else, like stocks or in bonds? On this episode, Mike covers how to use the barbel strategy to manage your investments. Check us out at Maranantha.com to learn more. Music by Jay Man | OurMusicBox Website: www.our-music-box.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

Taxes are low and they aren't staying low is my thought! Take a look at the history of taxes in the US! (I've included a pdf). We’re at historic lows right now! The idea for everyone to consider right now, get as much money as possible into ROTH IRA accounts. Doing these Roth Conversions as they are an opportunity now that will provide very beneficial when taxes go UP. Additionally, if there is another market decline, it's going to provide a very good opportunity to do this ROTH conversion! Filling your current bracket is the KEY! I think it makes sense for older people too because they will pass on ROTH IRA that will give their heirs tax free money. What are your thoughts? Email us: Support@maranantha.com *Did you know social security wasn't taxed before 1983? In 1984 they started taxing part of social security.... Kind of scary if you think about it... https://www.ssa.gov/history/taxationofbenefits.htm Music by Jay Man | OurMusicBox Website: www.our-music-box.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

Here are 10 questions for you, would you care to share a story about money? Answer one or more of these questions by email (or click the link & record a voice mail to me.) https://www.speakpipe.com/AllocationLink 1) What scares you about money? 2) What do you wish you would have learned at age 22 about money? 3) What did you think was true but actually wasn't about money? 4) What more do you want to learn about money? 5) Are you comfortable with money? 6) What do you waste resources on with money? 7) What age does one need to be thoughtful with money? 8) What did your parents teach you about money? 9) What stories do you have about "saving for tomorrow"? 10) What stories do you have about "living for today"? For more info visit Maranantha.com

On this episode, Mike will be introducing Rachel Graves, Maranantha Financial's Operations Director II and Client Support Manager. To get more information about Maranantha Financial, check us out at maranantha.com. Music by Jay Man | OurMusicBox Website: www.our-music-box.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

Mike reflects on his Business Insider Interview from June 2019. Check out the Article Below: https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/personal-finance/why-not-invest-down-payment-savings-plan-to-buy-soon-2019-6 Music Credit: Music by Jay Man | OurMusicBox Website: www.our-music-box.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

What type of investments should I make?

Should I start funding retirement or buy my first home?