Podcasts

Managing Your Financial Future

Secure Act 2.0: Your Financial Life Is About to Change- Episode 121

January 17, 2023

The SECURE 2.0 Act is now law. The legislation was signed by the president in late December of 2022, and it provides a whole slate of changes that are designed to help strengthen the retirement system—and Americans’ financial readiness for retirement. The Act itself contains dozens of provisions, building on earlier legislation that, among other… View Article

Managing Your Financial Future

Buckets: Taking Advantage of Higher Interest Rates- Episode 120

January 10, 2023

Interest rates went up quite a bit in 2022 – did you notice?  It’s a pretty sure bet that you did, since everything from mortgages to credit cards to the value of the stock market were affected. But are higher interest rates good or bad?  Depends on whom you ask.  To borrowers, it’s not so… View Article

Managing Your Financial Future

It’s a New Year – Let’s Get Your Financial House in Order!- Episode 119

January 3, 2023

The new year brings with it some new opportunities, on both the planning and the saving sides. There are new contribution limits on your retirement plans, a fairly large cost of living adjustment on your Social Security benefits, a slight decrease in your Medicare premiums, and much more. Beyond that, there are also new opportunities… View Article

Managing Your Financial Future

How Your Pension May Reduce or Eliminate Your Social Security Benefits- Episode 118

December 6, 2022

It’s a common scenario: you decide to take your Social Security early, maybe age 62 or 63, and then at age 65 you’ll begin taking your pension benefits.  You’ve already calculated what both your Social Security and pension payments will be, and so you set up your budget and your lifestyle accordingly. But once your… View Article

Managing Your Financial Future

Are Fixed Annuities Better Alternatives to Bonds?- Episode 117

November 29, 2022

In the classic 60/40 stock-bond portfolio, the stock portion is supposed to provide the gains, while the task of the bond portion is to cushion the fall when stocks are going down in value.  This past year, though, things haven’t quite worked out that way. Both stocks and bonds are down in 2022, as interest… View Article

Managing Your Financial Future

Setting Up Your Heirs for Sudden Wealth- Episode 116

November 22, 2022

If you’re accustomed to living on a certain amount each year, with fairly stable savings account balances, it can be a real shock to the system when you suddenly receive a large influx of money that alters your current financial situation. While a small percentage of people achieve this through winning some kind of cash… View Article

Managing Your Financial Future

The Market’s Down: Is This a Good Time For a Roth Conversion?- Episode 115

November 15, 2022

A little over a year ago, when the markets were sitting at all-time highs, we addressed the wisdom (or maybe lack thereof?) of converting a traditional IRA (or 401k) to a Roth. Since taxes must be paid in the conversion process, we wondered if high valuations would make it less desirable at that time. The markets in 2022 have not been so kind to investors, as values across the board have come down, in some cases significantly. Given these circumstances, are lower stock values any better for those who want to convert? Or are other factors also at play when making this decision? Podcast host Johnny Dean speaks with his guest, “Professor” Rick Plum, CFP® about what you still need to consider when doing a Roth conversion in this week’s episode of Managing Your Financial Future!

Managing Your Financial Future

5 Financial Moves to Make Before the End of the Year- Episode 114

November 8, 2022

As the year winds down, your opportunity window is also closing to get some things taken care of in 2022.  Taxes, retirement plan contributions, RMDs, charitable contributions — these are things that need to be done before the new year. What money moves do you need to be concerned about while there’s still time?  Tune… View Article

Managing Your Financial Future

Rising Interest Rates: Good or Bad Time to Own Bonds?- Episode 113

November 1, 2022

A couple of years ago, we asked the question: why would you own bonds when they (were) paying so little interest?  Many others wondered the same thing, turning to the stock market to help potentially bolster their overall rate of return. Interest rates have risen dramatically in 2022, which changes the question just a bit: is it good to own bonds during a period of rising interest rates?  As rates go up, the value of your bonds goes down.  Wouldn’t it seem like it’s better to own bonds when interest rates are falling?  And what about bond funds? It’s a complicated world out there, but podcast host Johnny Dean and his guest, Rick “The Professor” Plum, CFP® provide you with some answers on this week’s episode of Managing Your Financial Future!

Managing Your Financial Future

What’s The Ideal Number of Stocks You Should Own?- Episode 112

October 25, 2022

One of the most well-known investing terms is “diversification.”  This is the idea that risk can be spread out by investing over a wide variety of different industries, areas, and/ or financial instruments. While this true to an extent, there is such a thing as being over-diversified, to the point where much (if not all) of your rate of return is watered down by having too many stocks with varying rates of return. So is there potentially an “ideal” number of stocks you should own, one that walks the line between the two extremes?  Find out from “Professor” Rick Plum, CFP® and podcast host Johnny Dean on this week’s episode of Managing Your Financial Future!

Managing Your Financial Future

Why Other Advisors Now Advocate Buckets- Episode 111

October 18, 2022

We’ve been strong advocates of the Bucket Strategy since the 1990s, and came to the conclusion long ago that no one should have to depend on stock market gains to fund their current living expenses.  Buckets was designed to address that issue. With the stock market going through yet another down cycle in 2022, the issue of maintaining a guaranteed cash flow in retirement is once again at the top of many retirees’ concerns. And with that, we’ve found that other advisors around the country have also determined that a Bucket strategy may be the best way to help address those concerns. This week, podcast host Johnny Dean and Rick “The Professor” Plum, CFP speak with Joe Accardi, founder and chairman of the Accardi Financial Group in Boston, MA.  Mr. Accardi speaks about how his experiences many years ago led him to the Bucket Strategy, and why his firm uses it to provide income to their clients.

Managing Your Financial Future

The Biggest Tax Issues We’ve Seen In 2022- Episode 110

October 11, 2022

2022 has been a year of stock market volatility, but it’s also been a year that’s given many people a surprise on their tax bill.  When income from stocks is down, you might think that your tax bill should be lower. But in some instances, this hasn’t been the case. Part of the problem stems from the fact that stocks ended 2021 on such a high note. Because of that, your Required Minimum Distributions for this year, which are based on your year-end balance from last December, have often been higher than many people expected. And why are some people getting a bill this year for extra capital gains taxes? These questions and more are answered this week as podcast host Johnny Dean speaks with “Professor” Rick Plum, CFP® and Lucia Capital Group Advisor Jonathan Savona, CFP® on this week’s episode of Managing Your Financial Future.