The Financial Answer

Answering the Most Common IRA Questions

Wondering what you should know about your IRA? What options do you have and what strategy could pay off in the future? Find out on today’s IRA FAQ episode!  
 
Read more and get additional financial resources here: https://wp.me/paIiUZ-fQ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
0:41 - Nathan shares a bit about his recent adventures in South Dakota.
4:17 - What kind of return can you expect on an IRA?
5:56 - Should you contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA?
8:10 - When should you consider doing the Roth conversion?
13:16 - How do you know which funds to choose in an IRA?
15:20 - What kind of penalty should you brace yourself for?
19:10 - Have you heard about the multiple employer plans?

Are You Following Outdated Financial Rules?

When it comes to retirement, the rules that applied for your grandparents or parents aren’t necessarily the same for you. To find out which rules are outdated, we discuss some of the financial rules of thumb you may have heard in the past.
 
Read more and get additional financial resources here: https://wp.me/paIiUZ-fF 
 
Today's show schedule: 
2:50 - What financial rules are outdated?
3:22 - Is the 4 percent rule outdated? 
6:20 - What is the 10-5-3 rule?
7:45 - Should you move from stocks to bonds at a certain age?
9:13 - The million dollar rule to retire. 
13:48 - Do you need less in retirement than when you’re working?

Is the Customer Always Right?

When you work with a financial advisor, is the customer always right? What if your ideas don’t match? Who is really in charge when it comes to your money and your financial plan?
 
Read more and get additional resources here: https://wp.me/paIiUZ-fv 
 
Today's show schedule: 
0:42 - What’s open and what is still closed during the pandemic?
4:13 - A financial advisor’s job includes giving some pushback and feedback.
8:05 - You need to understand how each piece of your plan fits together.
9:41 - Know the difference between a good plan and gambling.
13:07 - When you work with an experienced professional, allow room to hear their advice.
14:41 - Carefully consider the details of various elements in your estate plan and insurance needs.
16:29 - You need to have long-term strategy instead of constant changes.

How To Set Financial and Retirement Goals

Are you setting realistic and achievable financial goals? How do you stick to your financial goals? Let’s discuss the steps you can take to set up goals for your retirement.
 
Read more and get additional resources: https://thefinancialanswer.com/podcasts/how-to-set-financial-and-retirement-goals/ 
 
Today's rundown:
2:01 - What are goals that everyone should be shooting for?
5:55 - How do you determine specific goals?
9:44 - Are you setting unrealistic goals?
11:50 - How do you reframe unrealistic goals?
12:43 - The person you work with impacts the kinds of goals you set.

Ben Franklin and Partial Freedom from COVID-19

What does Ben Franklin have to do with your financial plan? He is remembered for many of his famous quotes, so we talk about the wisdom he shared that still applies today as we celebrate Tennessee's partial re-opening of the economy. 
 
Read more and get additional resources here: https://thefinancialanswer.com/podcasts/ben-franklin-and-partial-freedom-from-covid-19/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
0:29 - Tennessee is experiencing a bit more freedom to get out of the house.
2:08 - What can we learn from Ben Franklin? 
2:30 - “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
6:59 - Do you remember the scare of online identity theft?
8:23 - “Investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
10:21 - Long-term bonds went down tremendously recently.
11:48 - “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
14:50 - “I’d rather go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt.”
16:45 - “There are no gains without pains.”
18:14 - “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

Cleaning Your Financial Closet – Lockdown Edition

We’re all spending a lot more time at home right now and using this as an opportunity to get organized. So let’s clean out our own financial closet by taking care of the things you’ve probably had on your list for a while and tidying up some areas of concern.
 
Read more and get additional resources here: https://wp.me/paIiUZ-ff 
 
 
Today's show rundown:
1:15 – Understanding percentages when it comes to stock market gains and losses
2:58 – Make sure you know how your portfolio is balanced.
4:04 – Stimulus checks are rolling out this week.  
5:44 – How’s Nathan been dealing with the quarantine at home?
6:33 – Let’s clean out the financial closet during our down time.  
7:47 – What organizational tips would you give someone?
8:51 – Consolidate with one advisor.
10:03 – Review your monthly budget.
11:31 – Evaluate your portfolio and figure out if you’re taking the correct risk.
13:33 – Misunderstandings of what a budget means.
16:55 – Unemployment numbers continue to rise
18:26 – Update on how Tennessee is dealing with the health crisis.
19:32 – Incentives to return to society
20:31 – Nathan shares a story of his experience with how businesses are changing.

Coronavirus Aid - What You Need to Know About the CARES Act

With stay at home orders continuing for the foreseeable future, the government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide relief for individuals and businesses. Today we’ll look at the specific items that impact retirement, financial planning, and small businesses.
 
Read more and get additional resources here: https://wp.me/paIiUZ-f4 
 
Today's rundown: 
1:30 - We’re talking about the CARES Act today and what it means.
3:13 - Let’s start with the retirement portion. No RMDs for 2020.
5:47 - If you need to pull money out of 401k or IRA, there’s no penalty for early withdrawal.
7:43 - Now is an important time to be in touch with an advisor to reassess your plan and see what you can be doing. 
11:03 - Stimulus payments
14:24 - For small businesses, there’s a payment protection program.
15:52 - Who can apply for this relief?
17:05 - Here’s what we do know about this aid for small businesses.
18:26 - Details on what payroll costs consist of.
20:27 - Details on the forgiveness policy on these loans.
22:50 - The stimulus check is a one-time payment right now
24:18 - How long until things get back to normal?
25:34 - What are the conversations like with clients right now?

Coronavirus Market Update + What’s Next

We’re all dealing with the affects of the coronavirus to financial markets around the globe and it’s a challenge to keep up with all the news updates. We’ll try to bring all the key pieces of information as Nathan together on this episode as we head into the final week of March. Plus we’ll discuss what could be next and what type of rebound we could see. 
 
Read more and get additional resources: https://wp.me/paIiUZ-eX 
 
Today's rundown: 
2:06- We are doing some in-person meetings but also utilizing technology for virtual meetings.
3:19- Nathan shares an awesome phone call he got this week from a client.
5:55- Despite the rapid market drop, clients have stayed pretty calm through it all so far.
6:33- Selling now is the worst decision you can make.
7:30- Many analysts feel it could be a v-shaped or u-shaped rebound.
9:18- How does the bucket strategy fit into planning right now?
13:45- Nathan tells the story of his friend flying into Nashville this week.
14:55- How do we move forward from this?
16:37- Are they closing in on a cure?
19:35- Nathan says he’s never seen a market bounce like we’re witnessing now.
21:01- It’s so important to have a plan now and moving forward.
22:56 - Are we in a recession?
26:28 - One thing that hasn’t change is companies are still driving to make a profit.

Coronavirus: What Pandemics Often Do To The Market

Are you worried about how coronavirus might impact the market or your financial plan? Let’s look at several past epidemics to see what the market has done historically.
 
Read more about the topic and get additional resources: https://thefinancialanswer.com/podcasts/coronavirus-what-pandemics-often-do-to-the-market/ 
 
Today's show rundown: 
1:25 - All pandemics affect the market.
3:19 - Coronavirus is definitely having an impact on the world right now.
5:00 - SARS caused a drop in the market, but it was back within a few months.
7:09 - Ebola affected the market for about eight months.
11:43 - Swine flu caused a dip on top of the market downturn we were already experiencing in 2009.
13:02 - DOW Jones market data shows that things rebound within six months.
15:20 - The Spanish flu killed millions in 1918, but the market only declined 10 percent.

Inheritance 101: Everything You Need to Know

Whether you’re trying to build an estate plan or deciding how to invest an inheritance, there are some things you need to be aware of. Let’s look at inheritances from both sides and identify the common mistakes being made, how the SECURE Act changes planning, and Nathan’s own experience with inheritances.
 
Show notes and additional resources: https://wp.me/paIiUZ-el 
 
Today's rundown: 
1:26 – Fun fact for the show: 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart.
2:51 – Today we’re talking Inheritance 101 and how the SECURE Act impacts that.
3:15 – What do people need to know about tax implications of inheritances?
5:01 – What are the major changes in the near future for people inheriting money?
6:16 – With the elimination of the Strech IRA, that really targets the children.
7:04 – Nathan had his own inheritance that was grandfathered in.
8:17 – Roth conversions might be great for some and not for others.
8:48 – What are some common mistakes Nathan sees people make with their estate?
9:51 – Leaving land and farms is a very common thing here and it can cause problems with children.  
11:25 – You need to be having conversations with the family and make plans ahead of time.
12:16 – What are some common mistakes for people on the receiving end of the inheritance?
13:17 – Nathan shares a client story about someone that received a $250K inheritance at 27 and it was gone within the year.
15:22 – If you receive an inheritance, what are the first steps you should take?
17:51 – Email question: My son graduated from college and his grandfather gave him $10,000 for a gift but it can only be used for investing. My son has asked me what he should do with it but I don’t know what to tell him. Thoughts?