3.10.23: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

3.10.23: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Producer:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Producer:
Welcome to the Active Wealth Show with your host, Ford Stokes. Fort is a fiduciary and licensed financial advisor who places your needs first. He'll help you protect and grow your wealth. The Active Wealth Show has grown because activators like you want to activate their retirement planning with sound tax efficient investing. And now your host, Ford Stokes.

Ford Stokes:
Hey, Activators. I'm Ford Stokes, your chief financial adviser. And welcome to the Active Wealth Show. We've got Sam Davis, our executive producer. And Sam, say hi to the folks.

Producer:
Welcome to the weekend activators. Hope you're enjoying the early spring weather that we're getting here in the Atlanta area. It's been beautiful. I think it's going to be a little bit chillier this weekend. You know, we're feeling the temps come down kind of into the 50 seconds here. So get out there, enjoy it while you can, because this weather can turn in a hurry.

Ford Stokes:
No doubt. It's I'll tell you, I'm from Atlanta. I grew up in Buckhead, went to Westminster High School local here in Atlanta. Shout out to the Westminster Wildcats. And you know, when the azaleas bloom in late March and April, I just don't I'm not sure there's a prettier place. In the world to me than Atlanta, Georgia, during spring time. Obviously, we've got the Masters coming up in April as well and and Easter and everything else. It's just a great time to be in Atlanta, Georgia, with your family and friends. And, you know, I just I love this time of year and also shout out to the river club. They've they've kept that course in great shape. And I got to get out yesterday and play nine holes and start working on my new swing that I'm learning from. My guy named Kerry. He's over at the PGA Superstore. So shout out to Kerry and that whole team over at the PGA Superstore in Roswell trying to help me get better as a golfer. Sam, I'm just doing the best I can here, but we've got a great show for you today. We're going to talk about the most important decision that you will make during retirement. And also we're going to help you navigate the future of Social Security as well. We just want to welcome all of our activators to the Active Wealth Show. Listening to us, whether you're listening live here on the radio or you're listening on our podcast that's available at Active Wealth Show.com or on wherever you can get podcasts, whether it's Google, Stitcher, Spotify, iTunes, etcetera. And we just really appreciate you. Thanks for making us the number one listen to radio show on the weekends here on AM 920 The Answer We're always so proud to be part of the AM 920.

Ford Stokes:
The Answer family Super excited about where we're headed and what's going on to help and protect and grow our prospects and our clients wealth. And if you're wondering who Activator is, it's somebody who is trying to build a sound retirement. They're trying to build a retirement where they've got peace of mind. They're trying to build a tax efficient, fee efficient and market efficient portfolio. And they're trying to follow that smart retirement plan that we talk about quite a bit here on the Active Wealth Show. For our listeners, if you want to get in touch with us to get a free copy of the 23 retirement cost cutters for 2023, it's packed with ideas for hanging on to more of your hard earned money during retirement. If you want to save six figures during retirement, I would encourage you to get this 23 retirement cost cutters for 2023. All you've got to do is send me an email at Ford at ActiveWealth.comthat's Ford at ActiveWealth.comand you can also call us at (770) 685-1777. Again (770) 685-1777. To schedule your free financial consultation at no cost to you. And on this week's show, we are going to talk about the quote of the week. We've got our inflation demonstration and some interest rate updates. Also what to do with your old and unused 529 funds. We've got our cost cutter tip of the week. That's one of our 23 retirement cost cutters for 2023. We've also going to talk about how much you are paying in fees and we're going to talk about and share a little bit about the most important decision you will make during retirement. And here's a hint It's how to navigate Social Security. But first, Sam, why don't you go ahead and share our financial wisdom quote of the Week.

Producer:
And now wholesome financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the Week.

Producer:
This one comes from Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady of the United States during Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office, making her the longest serving first lady of the United States. And here's what Eleanor said. It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan. And I like this quote Ford because I think we're all guilty of procrastinating about something, at least at some point in our lives. Maybe it's mowing the lawn or calling the landscape company. Maybe it's, you know, just taking the trash out after after dinner. But, you know, when it comes to something as important as your health or your wealth, we want to help people get that plan in place and stop thinking about it and start doing it.

Ford Stokes:
Yeah, absolutely. You know, so many folks, you know, the biggest failure you're going to have during retirement is failing to plan. And so many folks are like, gosh, I wish I had done something different during 2022. If you if you feel like you could have done better, you could have better protected your assets against market loss. If you feel like, you know what, I really need to get a retirement income plan or you've got this nagging feeling like, I really need to understand all the fees that I'm paying. And I also need to understand what are the risks that I'm taking going forward in 2023. All you got to do is reach out to us at ActiveWealth.com and click that schedule a consultation button and we'll help you. All you've got to do is reach out to us, click that schedule a consult button and you'll get booked directly into my calendar. You can also just call us at (770) 685-1777. Again (770) 685-1777. Here's the five things you're going to get when you meet with us. Specifically, you're going to meet with me. You're not going to meet with one of our other advisors. You'll meet directly with me. So number one is you're going to get a portfolio analysis so you can understand the risks you're taking, the fees you're paying, the correlation of your assets and a lot of a lot more. Number two is you're going to be able to receive a retirement income plan that also includes a Social Security maximization report at no cost to you.

Ford Stokes:
Number three, you can get a financial plan to your 95th birthday with your current plan. That has nothing to do with us. Number four, you can get a financial plan to your 95th birthday with our recommended portfolios. And our recommended investment mix. And then number five is we're going to give you a retirement plan, your 95th birthday with our recommended portfolios. But on this one, we're going to include a Roth ladder conversion plan so that you can figure out how to delete the IRS from being your partner in retirement and also potentially save you six figures in retirement in reduced taxes. You're going to pay over a 30 plus year retirement. All you got to do is delete the IRS from being your partner in retirement and implement a Roth ladder conversion over a 5 to 7 year period. You're just going to move a little bit of assets over each year from your IRA to your Roth IRA. And we've got some really great strategies on how to minimize the taxes when you do that and also how to move your IRA dollars dollar for dollar over into your Roth IRA. So as you let's say, you move $100,000 in a single year, we're going to recommend that you go ahead and move that money from your IRA to your Roth IRA and then pay the taxes on that conversion for that fiscal year, for that tax year, using taxable dollars or dollars that are sitting in your checking account or dollars are sitting in your savings account or, you know, proceeds from rental income or whatever that looks like so that you can take tax deferred dollars and move it over into tax free dollars into that tax free bucket.

Ford Stokes:
So pretty important stuff today. I think it is really important for you to plan and you don't want to fail to plan also. If you've been listening to our show for a really long time and you like, you know what I'm going to make, I'm making a decision to really get control of our finances and I'm going to I'm going to be the captain of my future here and I'm going to make sure I take care of my spouse or take care of myself. And I'm going to get a handle on what I'm what my investments are and what my retirement income needs to be. And I'm going to try to reduce my expenses. But you've never called us. All you've got to do is pick up the phone and give us a call and we'll help you. Just give us a call at (770) 685-1777. Again, Tony Robbins says if you if you don't take action, you haven't made a decision. So we want to help you make that decision today and go ahead and give us a call at (770) 685-1777 or visit ActiveWealth.comand you can click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner and we're happy to book you directly into my calendar.

Ford Stokes:
You can do it yourself. You can see my calendar and book yourself directly in my calendar. I'm happy to help you navigate this fun, crazy world of retirement and help you have a little bit more fun and hopefully help you spend more time with your family and friends. And when we come back from the break, we're going to we're going to share our inflation demonstration. We've got an update on prices and interest rates. We're also going to talk about what to do with those unused funds inside of a 529 plan. We've got some retirement radio news stories for you, and we want to help you understand how much you are paying in fees and help you navigate the number one decision and the most important decision you're going to make during retirement. And that is when to take Social Security. You're listening to Active Wealth Show right here on AM 920. The Answer, come right back and really understand some of the most important decisions you can make during retirement and how we can arm you with the best education for you to go ahead and pull that trigger to do the right thing for your all of your retirement years, not just the next retirement year.

Speaker6:
Do you think I'm such a fool to believe everything you say is true? That just goes to show. That you really don't know.

Charlie Kirk:
Charlie Kirk here. If you're concerned about your investments, rising taxes from the Biden administration, then I encourage you to listen to the Active Wealth Show hosted by my good friend Ford Stokes right here on AM 920 The Answer. Listen to the Active Wealth Show Saturdays at noon and Sundays at 11 a.m. The Active Wealth Show right here on AM 920 The Answer Investment Advisory.

Producer:
Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC, BCM, a registered investment advisor, not an actual client of active wealth management.

Producer:
We have Ford Stokes, author of two important personal finance books, Annuity 360 and taxes are on sale here on AM 920 The Answer, as the host of the Active Wealth Show Saturdays at 12 noon and Sundays at 11 a.m..

Producer:
Have you considered ways to cut your health care costs? I'm Sam Davis with the Retirement.Radio Network Powered by AmirAmeriLife. In retirement, you may think Medicare is free, but you would be wrong. Author Ryan Haugen recently told Yahoo Finance there are actually quite a few costs to consider. So the first.

Ryan Haugen:
Part of Medicare to think about is there are multiple parts, and so Part A is actually free, but part B has $148 premium per month. On top of that, consumers then have to think about, you know, are they going to get a medicare Advantage plan, which really pulls all of the costs together, or are they going to add on a drug plan as well as adding on a supplemental plan to add themselves with more protection?

Producer:
Combine that with overall expenses which continue to increase due to inflation and retirees are really feeling the pinch. A recent poll by Clear Match Medicare showed that more than a third of seniors have cut down on costs in other areas of their life to afford their health care expenses. But before you go making any big decisions, take the time to do your research. You can use online tools to compare prices for prescription drugs, medical procedures and insurance premiums to get the best deal. Another good idea is to seek out the advice of a financial advisor or professional. They can help you decide what might be best for you and work your health care plan into your overall financial picture. Many are also licensed and certified Medicare agents, and if not, they often work with one who can help you learn more about your options. So have you shopped around for health care in retirement? That's a key question to consider, and it's one of our 23 retirement cost cutters for 2023. With the Retirement.Radio Network Powered by AmeriLife. I'm Sam Davis.

Producer:
To get your free copy of 23 retirement cost cutters for 2023. Give for to call today at (770) 685-1777 or go online to active wealth.com.

Producer:
Remember all of Ford's listeners receive a free financial consultation just for listening to the show visit ActiveWealth.com to learn more and schedule an appointment. Thanks for listening to the Active Wealth Show and subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts.

Ford Stokes:
And welcome back Activators, the Active Wealth Show on Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor. I've got Sam Davis, our executive producer, here with us. And Sam, let's go ahead and play our inflation demonstration for this week.

Producer:
Want to know where your hard earned money is going. It's time for an inflation demonstration.

Producer:
Yeah, Here's our inflation demonstration. So the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the 12 month, year over year inflation rate was 6.4% in January, and that's down from a high of 9.1% inflation in June of last year. And while inflationary pressure has helped consumers with gas prices and lower priced used cars, consumers are still feeling the sting of inflation on certain essentials. With year over year prices higher by double digits, particularly in these areas. And if you're driving around listening to the show and you've been paying more for these things that I'm about to list, you are not alone. So food, 11.3% inflation year over year. To me, that seems low. I think it's probably actually closer to 20%. But Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting it at 11.3.

Ford Stokes:
Especially in things like chicken and beef and stuff like that, for sure.

Producer:
Absolutely. I just think that if Americans are looking at their grocery bills year over year, it's a bit more than 11.3% electricity, 11.9% natural gas, a whopping 26.7%. And transportation Services, which includes things like airplane tickets, mass transit, etcetera, up 14.6%. And Ford, you want to talk to them a little bit about what's going on with the Fed and interest rates and how that could continue to affect pre-retirees and retirees.

Ford Stokes:
Jerome Powell went to Capitol Hill and spoke with the Senate and Congress this week. And I got to tell you, Senator Kennedy out of Louisiana, he took Jerome Powell to school. He shared a lot of things. And one of the things he shared was for every percent that you need to reduce and to get to disinflation, where inflation is not necessarily going up or down, but it's just not it's disinflation. There's been nine periods of it since 1950. And for every time you reduce the inflation rate by. 1% during these periods, you have to increase the unemployment rate by literally 2.2%. So it's over 2.2 times higher. And they're saying for us to get inflation in line, we could be looking at it between a nine and 10.6% total unemployment rate. And folks, I just want you to know, the current unemployment rate is right around 3% right now. What does it look like for the markets over the next year if all of a sudden we're at a 10.6 unemployment rate and fewer employees are putting money into 401. K plans and companies are not matching as much and they're and they're saving on that expense as well. It's just a concern because, you know, the market's a little bit of a tide lifting all boats because there's savings that go in every two weeks in the United States in the form of 401.

Ford Stokes:
K43, B, 457 SEP, IRAs and IRAs and. You know, it's really they're playing a dangerous game here. I realize that we printed a bunch of money and and put trillions of dollars into circulation and they're trying to beat it back just with monetary policy. And what they need to be doing, in my opinion, is getting more fiscally responsible and stop overspending and balance the dang budget. We got to do something about this. And it's not just some blank check all the time where, oh, well, we'll just go up on the interest rates. It'll be fine. That's not an Answer. And I've seen this before where Democrats love to just tax and spend and spend and spend, and then they haven't been able to go up and tax rates because the Republicans have kind of blocked them. Well, here we are. Here we are. The only lever they can pull is monetary policy. And that's a very difficult job for Jerome Powell to do. It's you can't do it just on monetary policy alone. And in my opinion, you know, we're going to see interest rates go up again. The central bank has raised rates at the fastest pace since the 1980s. Yet most economists think that they can bring inflation back to their 2% target.

Ford Stokes:
The Fed's policymakers will need to raise rates further and keep them at a peak longer than they had projected in December. Michael Pierce, lead us, economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a research note that he expects the Fed to raise its key rate by a quarter of a point at each of the next three meetings, and he foresees the possibility of additional hikes beyond those. The Fed's hikes typically make mortgages, auto loans, credit card rates and business lending more expensive. It's a trend that can slow spending and inflation and also threaten and send the economy sliding into a further recession. So I just want to make sure everybody understands. That this is real stuff and you really need to have a plan. You need to have a plan. What are you doing with the bonds in your portfolio? Because when you hold bonds and interest rates go up, there's interest rate risk on the bonds that you currently hold. Example Last year, if you held bonds the beginning of the in January of last year, US corporate bonds, chances are you saw almost a 1,314% decline in the value of your bonds. Now you still got paid out your interest rates on those bonds, hopefully. And there wasn't default on those bonds, hopefully.

Ford Stokes:
But it's also the cost of capital is going up. It's slowing the growth. And so you've got to be careful. The next thing I would say is you really should consider a different retirement income alternative. Consider a fixed indexed annuity or indexed universal life policy if you're in your 30s, 40s or 50s. But if you're in your 60s or 70s, I strongly encourage you to give us a call at (770) 685-1777 again (770) 685-1777. Because we can help you with a bond replacement strategy so you do not have to face this type of interest rate risk as interest rates are likely going to climb. They're telling you that they're going to go up. I mean, Jerome Powell was talking about it on the Hill this week. So you really need to do something different. And I would encourage you to visit active wealth.com, click that, schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner and we'll help you however you need us to help you. We're happy to do that. But if you're concerned about inflation and how it could impact your plans for retirement, if you're concerned about interest rates going up and how they could impact the bond portion of your portfolio and even the equity portion of your portfolio, we would love to meet with you and also stress test your current plan to see if you could withstand future inflationary pressures. If you're not currently have a formal plan for retirement, you need to give us a call or visit our website at ActiveWealth.comand schedule that free complimentary consultation at no cost to you. It's about a $1,500 value. We are happy to help you. We want to help you make an informed financial decision or a series of decisions for your retirement years. And we kind of call this resultant advance planning.

Ford Stokes:
It's a way for you to see what your retirement looks like in advance. And we've only got like a minute and a half left in this segment. So I want to just talk to you directly as you're driving around, you know, going to Publix or going to Home Depot or going to Lowe's or Kroger or you're heading to when your grandkids is soccer games or baseball games or softball games or whatever. I just want you to think about this. You really can generate income that you can never outlive. You can reduce and delete the advisory fees and portfolio fees for the income portion of your portfolio. All you've got to do is call us. All you got to do is call us at (770) 685-1777 and we're going to help you get more tax efficient, fee efficient and market efficient with your portfolio and help you worry less. And let me ask you, if I could generate income for you during retirement where you didn't have to touch the rest of your portfolio if you just carved off 40% of your portfolio and that would take care of all the income you needed and you could let the rest of your portfolio grow and I could help you delete the IRS out of being your partner in retirement. Is that something that is appealing to you? Is that something you you want or are you looking to get a reasonable rate of return without any market risk? I can do all those things with the right kind of plan. And when we come back, we're going to talk more about that and also talk about what to do with those unused funds inside of a 529 plan. You'll see Active Wealth Show right here on AM 921. The Answer, come right back.

Charlie Kirk:
Are you concerned about the Biden administration, how rising taxes could negatively impact your retirement? Then I encourage you to talk to Ford Stokes and his team at Active Wealth Management. Ford and his team of experienced financial advisors will help you understand the fees and risks involved with your current portfolio. Simply visit ActiveWealth.com to book your free financial consultation and tell them Charlie Kirk sent you.

Producer:
Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC BCM a registered investment advisor, not an actual client of active wealth management.

Ford Stokes:
And welcome back to the Active Wealth Show Activators. I'm Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor, got Sam Davis, our executive producer, with us. And what I was just talking about right before the break. It's really possible you really can generate the retirement income that you need where you wouldn't lose that income and you couldn't outlive it. So if you just take 40%, like a typical 60 over 40 portfolio, 60% stocks and 40% bonds and do something different with that 40% don't invest it in bonds. Invest it into something different. That doesn't require advisory and portfolio fees as well. So you can get immediately more fee efficient. I'm happy to help you do that. All you've got to do is visit ActiveWealth.comand click that schedule a consult button in the upper right corner. The other is you can just call us at (770) 685-1777 again (770) 685-1777. It really is possible for you to delete fees? Delete the IRS out of being your partner retirement and also generate retirement income that you can never outlive. That is not exposed to market. Risk. I promise you, this is all possible. All you've got to do is call us. (770) 685-1777. All right. Now, as promised, right before the break, we're going to talk about what to do with those unused 549 funds. 529 plans carry tax advantages for college savers, investment earnings on account contributions, grow tax free and aren't taxable if used for qualifying education expenses like tuition fees, books and room and board.

Ford Stokes:
The 1.7 trillion federal omnibus spending package includes a provision that allows tax free rollovers of money in 529 plans to Roth IRAs starting in 2024. This new provision provides a good opportunity for people to have. 529 college savings accounts and the money that hasn't been used. Now, the funds can be put to use. The rollover measure, which takes effect in 2024 has some limitations. $35,000. Lifetime Cap on transfers. Rollovers are subject to the annual Roth IRA contribution limit. The limit is $6,500 in 2023. The rollover can only be made to the beneficiary's Roth IRA, not that of the account owner. In other words, a 529 owned by a parent with the child as the beneficiary would need to be rolled into the child's IRA, not the parents. And the 529 account must have been opened for at least 15 years. As I previously stated. Now let's talk about one thing. Let me ask you a question. Do you know how much money you're paying in fees? In your portfolios? Like, do you know what your expense ratio is? Also, do you know what the risk you're taking too? Did you know that standard deviation is a measurement of risk? Do you know what the standard deviation is with your portfolio? If not, you probably need to reach out to us at ActiveWealth.comand click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner or just pick up the phone and give us a call. We find that most people we meet with do not understand the fees they are paying inside their portfolio and the retirement accounts.

Ford Stokes:
Many are paying excess fees for assets that are underperforming. It's your money. It's your hard earned and hard saved wealth. And let's face facts, folks. It was probably harder for you to save it than it was for you to earn it. Don't you want to get the most out of the money that you work so hard for and you work so hard to save? Fees affect everyone who is saving for retirement, regardless of how much money they have in their nest egg. Remember retirement? Remember, retirement is about income, not about building up a big nest egg and reaching that elusive magic number. We help our clients take advantage of fee efficient strategies while generating safe and predictable income streams that they can never outlive. Did you know that you can establish your own personal pension? I want to say that again. Did you know that you personally. Individually. Can establish your own personal pension by replacing the bonds you hold with fixed indexed annuities while also deleting the fees on the bond portion of your portfolio. Let me ask you a question. Do you know what an expense ratio is? Let me tell you what the formula definition is. So the left hand side of the equal sign, we're going to put expense ratio. And then we're going to put an equal sign. So you've got the equal sign there, right?

Ford Stokes:
You've got management fees divided by total investment in the fund. That gives you your expense ratio. And if your expense ratio is, let's say most foreign K's are between 0.6 and 1 plus percent. Those are fees that are coming out of your portfolio every single year. 1/12 of that 1% a year as an example.

Ford Stokes:
That fee reduction doesn't show up in your statements. It only shows up in the actual bottom line value of your account. It's kind of like having. You know, a hole in the bottom of a of a water bucket that you may not be able to see where it's just leaking out a little bit at a time. I would encourage you to get control of your expense ratio to understand what your expense ratio is. Also, you should do everything you can to transition mutual funds that are in your portfolio into ETFs, exchange traded funds because they're more fee efficient. They're a far superior product. They still offer same diversification. You can also trade within the intra day, within the same day, whereas you have to wait for the net asset value at the end of each day to be calculated for mutual funds and then you can trade them. I would just strongly encourage you and urge you to try to get more fee efficient with your portfolio and we can help you do that. All you've got to do is visit ActiveWealth.comand click that schedule a consult button in the upper right corner. You can also just call us at (770) 685-1777

Ford Stokes:
You're with one of those big name drive up financial institutions or with a stockbroker or you're with a bank stockbroker. And let me ask you a question. Have you ever been told just to hang in there with your money? If so, you probably need to call us today. You probably need to pick up the phone and give us a call at (770) 685-1777. Also, Diane and her team are standing by, ready to take calls. We do take calls on the weekends. So all you have to do is give us a call at (770) 685-1777. We're happy to talk to you. No matter how much money you have, the money you have is important to you and therefore it's important to us. Let us help you protect and grow your assets. Give us a call. We love Answering questions from our listeners and also, if you want, just. Tweet at us at active wealth. M The M stands for Management at Active Wealth. M Or you can visit our Facebook page at Active Wealth. We've only got a couple of minutes left in this segment. But when we come back, we're going to talk in depth about the most important decision you can make during retirement. And I'll give you a hint. It's when you're going to start taking your Social Security income benefit.

Ford Stokes:
And let me ask you this. Do you feel like you deserve more than $0.75 on the dollar? Well, if you start taking Social Security at age 62.5. Guess what? That's all you're going to get. $0.75 on the dollar if you make it to your full retirement age at 66 or 67. Then you get 100% of your Social Security income benefit. And if you wait. After age 67, after your FRA or what's called your full retirement age. You're going to get 8% more each year. It's like an 8% roll up. And it's guaranteed to get 8% higher. Now, you want to be careful about not putting too much extra pressure on your portfolio. And we'll talk more about that when we come back. If you've got a lot of questions about Social Security, we're going to Answer a lot of those here on the active Well show. We've gotten some questions from clients and prospects, and we're going to make sure that we're anticipating a few of your questions here on the Active Wealth Show and try to give you everything we know about Social Security and also try to help you with a Social Security maximization report when you come in to meet with us, all you got to do is visit active wealth.com. We'll be right back.

Producer:
With soaring inflation continuing to wreak havoc on everyday budgets, there's never been a more important time to cut costs. But do you know where to begin? I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement.Radio Network Powered by AmeriLife. There is no question costs have been soaring.

Sharon Epperson:
About one third, 34%, say they are worse off financially this year than a year ago. Almost half, 46%, say they've had to cut household spending due to inflation.

Producer:
CNBC correspondent Sharon Epperson recently reported on a survey that sheds more light on how inflation has been impacting us all. Even those who earn six figures a year.

Sharon Epperson:
These high earners say the first expenses to go are dining out at restaurants, entertainment outside the home and travel and vacations. More than half also say they'll delay big household purchases.

Producer:
That high inflation has led the Federal Reserve to respond with interest rate hikes. The goal is to increase costs to tamp down demand. Esther George is president of the Kansas City Fed.

Esther George:
Already we've seen the committee's policy actions lead to a very sharp tightening of financial conditions.

Producer:
But it hasn't done enough yet, and costs still keep rising. So what should you do? Well, we have a free resource called 23 retirement cost cutters for 2023. It's full of ideas to help you make the most of every penny. Things like take advantage of senior discounts, eliminate unnecessary subscriptions, and cut back on clothing expenses.

Sharon Epperson:
Look at your needs and wants, Figure out what's optional and what you can cut out.

Producer:
The last one on the list of 23 retirement cost cutters for 2023 is perhaps the most important. Seek advice from a trusted financial professional. That's the best way to get in-depth financial advice in retirement planning that's customized to you and your goals. Just make sure whoever you consult for financial advice has years of experience and credibility you can verify. So do you know the best way to cut costs in 2023? That's a key question to consider as our budgets get stretched to the max with the Retirement.Radio Network powered by a mirror life, I'm Matt McClure.

Charlie Kirk:
It's more important than ever for conservatives to stick together. That's why I recommend you to reach out to a fellow conservative Ford Stokes of Active Wealth Management. Active Wealth is offering listeners a free financial consultation worth over $1,500. This free report will show you the fees you're paying, the risks you're taking with your current portfolio and can help you maximize Social Security benefits. Visit ActiveWealth.com Today.

Investment.Advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC BCM a registered investment advisor, not an actual client of active wealth management.

Producer:
Listen to the number one show on the weekends on AM 920 The Answer to Protect and Grow your Hard Earned Money. The Active Wealth Show with Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor Saturdays at 12 noon and Sundays at 11 a.m..

Ford Stokes:
And welcome back Activators The Active Wealth Show. I'm Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor. This segment for we've got Sam Davis, our executive producer here. And really what what Tom Hegna, who's one of my retirement heroes, is one of my retirement income heroes. He's a big annuities and insurance guy. He's based in Scottsdale, Arizona. He's also a scratch golfer. So I'm jealous of him on that. Tom, I got to meet with Tom when he and I were both on the same panel at a financial conference in Tampa, Clearwater, Florida, And.

Ford Stokes:
Was just great. He just said, You know what? The most important decision any retiree can make is really when they take Social Security. And I agree with them. And so many folks are taking income way too early. Also, for you husbands out there when you take Social Security is going to affect your wife later. And it's likely that your your spouse is going to live longer than you. Women live typically 7 to 8 years longer than men do if they're the same ages. And if you're an older male who married a younger female, then. Chances are she could live 7 to 14 years plus after your death. You really need to have a plan for it. You need to try to really delay Social Security as long as you can without negatively impacting your portfolio. And try to get that 8% a year that you're going to get an additional income benefit. And I want to describe a couple of things to you. Number one is. Let me give you an example. You've got. A gentleman who's, let's say the husband's making $30,000 a year in a Social Security income benefit at full retirement age. And the wife is making 15 grand as 50% of his because she worked harder. She stayed in the home and raised the kids and she had a 24 over seven 365 job and he got to go work for 40 to 60 hours a week.

Ford Stokes:
When the primary breadwinner or the husband passes away on the day he passes away.

Ford Stokes:
Income benefit, but she loses hers. So in my example, you have $45,000 in Social Security income benefit coming into the home. But when she loses hers, she's losing 33%. Of the Social Security income benefits coming into the home. And yes, there are some of the expenses are reduced. You're only feeding one mouth, but the mortgage is probably still the same. If you still have a mortgage, the utilities are close to the same. The trash pickups are the same, the same cost. Generally, the water usage might be a little lower, but it's still close to the same. And unfortunately, usually the the mom has to travel more to go visit friends and family and not be lonely and all those kind of things. You need to have a plan for that if you do not have a plan. Then I would encourage you. To go ahead and visit us at Active wealth.com. Click that, schedule a consultation button. We're happy to help you. So here's how we help people navigate the most important decisions regarding their retirement. You're likely asking yourself some of these questions. Can I count on Social Security to be there throughout my 30 plus year retirement? When should I take Social Security?

Ford Stokes:
What happens to our benefits when my husband or spouse passes away? We just covered that. You've got to have a plan. And one of the best ways to do that is to have an income strategy. But also get a good understanding of what your expenses are in three different areas. Number one is what are your expenses pre retirement and how can you get them under control? Number two is what are your expenses during retirement and how do you keep those down and how do you stay on plan? And number three is. How do I plan for income when one of the two spouses passes away? How do we deal with that?

Ford Stokes:
If you can, if you've got a plan for all three of those, you're going to have a successful retirement with tons of peace of mind. Here's the facts. In 1950, there were more than 16in 1950, there were more than 16 workers per Social Security recipient. According to Ssa.gov. Today there are 2.8 workers per recipient and it's headed in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, the national debt sits at 31.6 trillion, while the nation's unfunded liabilities are a whopping 182 trillion. According to US debt clock. Org. Bottom line you can't count on social security as your only source of income in retirement. You also need a plan for when one spouse passes away and one of the two benefit checks stops coming in each month.

Ford Stokes:
Our listeners, we provide full financial plan consultations, full retirement plan consultations as well. We provide comprehensive consults at no cost to our listeners and there is no obligation. So $1,300 value we've already covered on during the show what you get, but you basically get a portfolio analysis, a retirement income plan that includes also a Social Security maximization report. Three, you get a financial plan, your 95th birthday that incorporates all of your income, Social Security, pensions, rental income, things like that, plus your assets with your current plan. Nothing to do with us. Number four is we'll give you a retirement income and a retirement plan, a full financial plan on your 95th birthday with our recommended. Portfolio mix and allocation mix, and then we'll give you the same report. But the number five is we'll give you one with a Roth ladder conversion plan to help you delete the IRS out of being your partner in retirement. So again, we'll help you analyze your financial situation. We will closely examine any annuities that you may have. We'll give you annuity x ray absolutely at no cost to you as well. We'll discover exactly how much you're paying in fees and help you cut unnecessary costs from your IRA 401.

Ford Stokes:
K or any other retirement savings account. We can also help you with your Social Security planning and Medicare planning with our partner, Medicare and other red tape. And Miss Bonnie Dobbs. And we'll compare your current situation to what's possible if you work with us. Here's just another thing for our listeners. If you're holding on to excess cash outside of a reasonable emergency fund, please get in touch with us to talk about better options for that money and whether it's a multi year guaranteed annuity that could still be paying you 4.2 plus percent. We recommend having a liquid emergency fund that can cover approximately six months of expenses. Please keep in mind a savings account is one of the fastest places to lose money as ongoing inflation erodes money and your buying power. I wake up every day to help my clients protect and grow their hard earned money. Multiyear guaranteed annuities are a better option than cash for holding on to excess safe money. Contact us today at Active wealth.com. Click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner and we're happy to meet with you and give you that free 1000 hundred dollars value of planning. Now the final countdown. It's the final.

Producer:
Countdown. So let's recap what you may have missed. It's the final countdown.

Ford Stokes:
So on this week's show, I kind of go in reverse order. We we just talked about the most important decision you can make during retirement. And that really is when to take your Social Security income benefit. Listen, Social Security was supposed to be a retirement for low wage earners.

Ford Stokes:
Out through the Roosevelt years and now today, it's either the number one or number two source of retirement income for a vast majority of Americans. You need to have a plan for it. You need to do the right thing. And if you can wait, because the more you wait with Social Security, the more you're going to make. Also, remember, we're all living longer, especially if you haven't smoked your whole life and you're trying to stay height, weight, proportionate and you're you're not overweight. You don't have type two diabetes. Chances are you're going to live. Well beyond what your grandparents did. And with modern medicine and also people taking better care of themselves. We are living longer and longer lives and you need to make sure that your money is going to help fund that longer life. And we kind of went through how to what to do with your old 529 money. And also we we shared that, hey, we've got a secure Act 2.0 report and all you've got to do is send me an email at Ford at active WorldCom to get my free report on how secure Act 2.0 can affect your retirement and get you up to speed and up to date on that. And we also talked about our 23 retirement cost cutters where you can get your free 23 retirement cost cutters for 2023.

Ford Stokes:
All you have to do is send me an email at Ford at active wealth.com. And we talked about what to do with all of your fees and how to better understand your expense ratio. We define an expense ratio. So if you don't know what an expense ratio is, I would encourage you to call us at (770) 685-1777. We're happy to help you understand the expenses you're paying, the risks you're taking in your portfolio currently. And we've also got our free report, Seven Ways on how to Maximize Your Social Security income Benefits. All you've got to do is reach out to us and send me an email at Forward at ActiveWealth.comor just call us. (770) 685-1777. I hope you really enjoyed this week's show. Coming up next week, your retirement nest egg could actually be 15 to 37% smaller than you think. Next week, we're going to tell you why that is and what you can do to keep more of your hard earned and hard saved money. Again, you're listening to Active Wealth Show right here on AM 920. The Answer and hope everybody has a great week. Be sure to listen to us next week on the Active Wealth Show.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to the Active Wealth Show. You deserve to work with a private wealth management firm that will strategically work to protect your hard earned assets. To schedule your free consultation, call your Chief Financial Advisor, Ford Stokes at (770) 685-1777 or visit active wealth.com. Investment Advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC BCM A registered Investment Advisor. Bcm and Active Wealth Management are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Past performance cannot be used as an indicator to determine future results.

Producer:
Fixed annuities, including multiyear guaranteed rate annuities, are not designed for short term investments and may be subject to restrictions, fees and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying ability of the issuer.

Charlie Kirk:
Charlie Kirk here to tell you about Ford Stokes, founder and CEO of Active Wealth Management. Right now for a limited time, Active Wealth is offering a financial consultation to AM 920 The Answer listeners. Absolutely free. That's a 1000 hundred dollars value at no cost to you. Active wealth will show you the hidden fees you're paying. How to potentially save six figures by deleting taxes on your IRA during retirement visit ActiveWealth.comtoday.

Producer:
Investment Advisory Services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC BCM a registered investment advisor, not an actual client of active wealth management.

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