https://vimeo.com/457067141
This week’s links:
Reading – https://cnn.it/3m8qui4
Watching – https://bit.ly/354CCL6
Tech – https://bit.ly/2Z4sAG1
Legal – https://bit.ly/354Kw7e
Retirement – https://bit.ly/2EYRBvb
Podcast Episode related to this week’s FFF: https://www.makeitlastradio.com/ep-111/
Replay of “Retiring in a Recession”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhmOCZJ-t3Y
Transcript Below:
You know, normally Facebook is free to use, but they’ve got a program where they might pay you to quit using it. What am I talking about? Stick with us, ’cause I’m Victor Medina, and welcome back to “Five Fact Friday.” I’m so glad you can join us for another installation of your favorite video newsletter, which is sponsored by Medina Law Group and Palante Wealth Advisors, your one-stop shop for retirement planning.
Now, before I get into the links for this week, I wanted to let you know that we had a successful set of seminars a couple weeks ago, where we invited people back onto our property. One day, we actually hosted it outside underneath the tents, but the other day, because it was scheduled to rain, we converted over to a webinar, and that is actually something that we recorded. So if you’re interested in watching what I had to say about how to retire in a recession and specifically some really cool tax planning strategies, then I urge you to follow the link to watch the replay of that webinar, so that you can learn that as well.
Let’s jump into the links for this week, and we’ll start with what I’m reading. Now, today is a solemn occasion, because we’re celebrating the 19th anniversary of September 11th attacks, and one of my favorite pieces to read about is John Stewart’s advocacy for the first responders and specifically a bill that would help cover their healthcare costs. So the first link is actually a link to a testimony that he gave previously, where he kinda took Congress to task for not supporting a bill that would essentially help cover first responders. I love what he has to say and the passion around it, and I thought that it might be a good link for you to watch.
The next link is what I’m watching, and we are all looking for a piece of bright news somewhere in our lives, and this one is about a homeowner who was noticing a kid who kept riding on his driveway. Rather than get irritated about that, he created a fantastic solution that he then recorded and uploaded as a video, and I urge you to watch the way that he brought a little bit of joy to this little boy’s life and the heartwarming actions that he took in the way that he interacted with the world.
The next link is what’s new in tech, and it’s the link that I was talking about in the beginning of this video about Facebook paying users to not use their program. It’s actually part of an experiment that they’re running as you get closer to the election, and as you would imagine, that whole world of using social media and advertising around politics and an election, it’s going crazy. It’s crazy now, and it’s probably gonna get even crazier the closer that we get to November 3rd. Well, Facebook has a program in which they’re thinking about what, I mean, they’re trying to examine what would happen if in fact they stopped having as many users, especially around a time that is related to the election and the advertisements around that. So we thought that was a good link for you to check out as well.
The next link is what’s new in legal, and more and more people are getting their estate plan done post COVID-19. Something about this pandemic is causing them to examine their legal lives and figure out, hey, they outta have a will in place. Well, the question comes, have you ever thought, what would your role be if you were an executor? What kind of responsibilities would you have? And so the link actually follows to sort of a question and answer around somebody who has been nominated or nominating somebody in the world of an executor and what they should expect. And when we design plans, we make sure that not only have you named somebody in that role of an executor, but that you’ve named a backup as well, and we urge you to have communications with them about what their responsibilities will include. In fact, one of the services that we provide for people that do estate planning with us is that we send out a series of note cards that help explain what each of the roles are. whether you’re a power of attorney agent, or you’re serving as a healthcare agent, or an executive or a trustee. It helps you understand what your responsibilities are, so you know what’s expected of you when you are called into duty.
Our last link for this week is what’s new in retirement. And the whole COVID-19 and pandemic, the lasting effects have caused people to examine retiring earlier. Now, sometimes that’s of their own choice, and sometimes they’re forced into that position because of a series of layoffs, where it might be difficult to get another job. One of the things that you have to remember is that the most important thing that you can do is work with an advisor that can create a plan for you to help navigate retirement. It’s not enough to just have an investment strategy or just to think about social security. It’s really a matter of getting all of that stuff together, so that you understand what you’ve got, where you’re going, and how you’re going to get there.
Now, we think that there are four important areas for you to examine when you’re putting together a retirement plan. You want to examine your income. Where are you gonna get money from? How guaranteed is that money going to be? You want to examine your investments. What kind of fees are you paying? What’s your risk tolerance? What investment strategy do you need in order to achieve your goal? Then you want to examine your tax plan. One of the biggest partners that you have in retirement is the IRS. They’re there collecting every year, and how much they collect is solely up to them. They could change the rules at any point in time. So how should you be navigating your tax implications when retirement? And there are strategies around that, and then fourth and finally, your estate and legacy planning. It’s important to make sure that you’ve got your legal ducks in a row and that you have the right plan for the people that you’re leaving behind, what they’re going to receive, and how they’re going to receive it. Those four elements make up a make-it-last retirement checkup, which is what we do for all of our clients. And if you’re interested in having that done for you, there’s a no obligation process. So we urge you to reach out to us, and we can begin the discussion to figure out, are we the right firm for you? Do we have the right plan? And you can help to put your plan together that’s specific to you.
So let’s recap for this week. What I’m reading is the link to the John Stewart testimony before Congress, taking them to task for not funding a first responders’ bill. What’s new in what I’m watching is a link to a gentlemen that did something really sweet for a kid who kept riding his bike in his driveway. Next is what’s new in tech, and that’s the Facebook initiative to try to get people off of their platform to see how it affects elections and advertising. Then what’s new in legal is, what is the role of an executor and what you could expect? And finally, what’s new in retirement, post COVID-19 retirement decisions, how it’s forcing early retirements, and what you can do about it.
And don’t forget, we’ve also recorded a webinar that’s available for you. All you have to do is register to watch it, and what you’ll be able to do is learn what we think you ought to be doing in retiring in a recession, as well as some really neat tax planning strategies, and you get an idea of our philosophy on how to approach tax planning and why it’s so important to consider tax planning in retirement.
Hoping you enjoy all the links for this week. Enjoy the good weather that’s coming up. I know that I’ve got all my kids back to school. It takes almost a NASA engineer to figure out the calendar ’cause some of our are on on one week, off on the other week, home at 12:30, home at three o’clock. I do not envy anybody that’s got a kid or a grandkid that’s going back to school, trying to navigate the mess that we’re gonna have and probably will continue to evolve, as we live with the consequences of what’s going on in the pandemic.