Time and your finances

 You know when you include paying bills, checking your accounts, and dealing with your budget, how much time do you spend on your finances each day? A new poll found the average American spends 104 hours a year on those things, or about 17 minutes a day. It also found around 1 in 4 people spend at least 260 hours a year worrying about money. That’s another 43 minutes a day. So combined, a lot of us are spending a full hour a day dealing with money stuff. According to this poll: here are some of our worst money habits. Buying stuff, we don’t really need. Spending too much on gifts. Not saying “no” to your kids when they ask for stuff. Spending money on unhealthy food, when you can’t really afford to. Loaning people money when you can't really afford to. Gambling, and things like lottery tickets. AND not sticking to a budget in general. Understanding how to create a budget you can stick to or for any other financial question or concern go to yoursafemoneyshow.com.

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Humor time

 

Happy Birthday to Social Security

 I missed a birthday last week, Social Security turned 86. Its exact birthday is on Saturday, August 14. It was that day in 1935 when then-President Franklin Roosevelt signed Social Security into law. There are many retirees today that their Social Security benefit is all the income they get each month. In fact, according to the Social Security Administration, “21% of married couples and about 45% of unmarried persons rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income.”

According to the Congressional Research Service, the proportion of those over 65 who live below the poverty lines would grow from 8.9% to 35.8% without Social Security benefits and assuming no other changes. It’s been in the news for a while now that the Social Security trust fund is slated to run out of money in the mid-2030s. If Congress doesn’t make changes by that time, Social Security recipients would begin receiving only about 75 cents on the dollar of amounts otherwise owed to them. Politicians have been putting off tackling this huge issue. This isn’t the first time, in 1983 when the fund was about to run out of money, Congress on that occasion didn’t make the necessary changes until there were just four months to spare. I will say this: Social Security was never meant to be someone’s only income in retirement; the fact is Social Security benefits replace about 40 percent of past earnings. It is important to have other income to draw from in retirement. My Safe Money strategies can fill in the gap in income by offering a reasonable rate of return. Principle protection, when the market rises you get the gains and when it falls you stay the same. AND if you want lifetime income, yes, a pension, this makes a lot of sense. Go to yoursafemoneyshow.com for more information.

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Your Safe Money Show highlights for August 21st

 August 21st edition of Your Safe Money Show , we'll be looking at how to rein in pricey prescription costs if you're on Medicare. We'll also discuss what is "liked" and "not liked" when it comes to Social Security. And the key to a more secure retirement starts with having an exit strategy during your working years. We'll break that down for you. Listen at 8 a.m. at Nice 95.5FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows at the podcast page at yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Need a retirement plan?

 

Your Safe Money Show Improve your credit score 8 14 21

Your Safe Money Show topics for August 14th

This Saturday August 14th we hope you can tune into Your Safe Money Show at 8 a.m. at Nice 95.5 FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com. On this weeks show your credit score is so important, I’ll have steps to improve your score. Long term rates will be edging higher. We'll look at that. And what net worth do you need to retire? If you can't listen Saturday mornings consider going to our website yoursafemoneyshow.com and listen at our podcast page.

Tax tip

 Tax tip: The standard deduction amounts were increased for 2021 to account for inflation. Married couples get $25,100 ($24,800 for 2020), plus $1,350 for each spouse age 65 or older ($1,300 for 2020). Singles can claim a $12,550 standard deduction ($12,400 for 2020) — $14,250 if they're at least 65 years old ($14,050 for 2020). Head-of-household filers get $18,800 for their standard deduction ($18,650 for 2020), plus an additional $1,700 once they reach age 65. Blind people can tack on an extra $1,350 to their standard deduction ($1,700 if they're unmarried and not a surviving spouse). Taxes along with many other factors must be considered to form the best retirement plan possible. to find out more go to yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Securing your Social Security number

 We all know how important our Social Security number is, so I thought we’d go over how to keep your Social Security number secure. First, know who really needs your number and who doesn't. There are several organizations that require your Social Security number, including your employer, the IRS and financial institutions. But there are many other organizations that might ask for your Social Security number but don't really need it, including hospitals, doctors, insurers, utilities, schools and retail stores. Don't carry your Social Security card around with you. Don't put your Social Security card in your wallet or carry around documents with your Social Security number. If you receive financial statements or other documents containing your Social Security number, lock them away in a safe place or shred them carefully if you don't need them. Don't give out your Social Security number in unsolicited calls or emails. Some seniors receive telephone calls from people pretending to be representatives from the IRS, Social Security Administration or financial institutions who say they need to confirm your Social Security number. But none of those organizations is likely to reach out to you requesting your number. One widespread phone scam involves telling potential victims that their Social Security number has been suspended, which is impossible because Social Security numbers cannot be suspended. And Create a “my Social Security account”. Workers age 18 and older are eligible to create a my Social Security account and get a personalized estimate of future Social Security payments. If you have questions we can help call 855-22money or go to yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Your Safe Money Show Calculating Social Security raises 8 7 21

Here's what we're working on for the August 7 edition of Your Safe Money Show

 Here's what we're planning for this weeks Your Safe Money Show. I’ll be talking about Social Security and how they calculate raises and why it might be time for a change. Also, seems there’s important ages to be aware of with retirement planning, we’ll look at those numbers. And “auto portability” prevents cashing out retirement funds, I’ll explain what that’s about as well. Listen at 8 a.m. at Nice 95.5FM, they stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows at the podcast page at yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Social Security trivia

Is there any significance to the numbers assigned in the Social Security Number?

A: Yes. Originally, the first three digits are assigned by the geographical region in which the person was residing at the time he/she obtained a number. Generally, numbers were assigned beginning in the northeast and moving westward. So people on the east coast have the lowest numbers and those on the west coast have the highest numbers. The remaining six digits in the number are more or less randomly assigned and were organized to facilitate the early manual bookkeeping operations associated with the creation of Social Security in the 1930s.

Beginning on June 25, 2011, the SSA implemented a new assignment methodology for Social Security Numbers. The project is a forward looking initiative of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to help protect the integrity of the SSN by establishing a new randomized assignment methodology. SSN Randomization will also extend the longevity of the nine-digit SSN nationwide.

Longevity

 You know we talk about longevity often on Your Safe Money Show and when we’re discussing plans for someone’s retirement too. It’s a really important part of a plan along with many other factors of course. None of us know how long we’ll live but we can make some guesses looking at family history, how long grandma and grandpa lived for example. I saw the other day a question “How many centenarians are living in the U.S.”? This is interesting and telling….according to the U.S. Census Bureau the United States has the most people living to 100 years old or older. There’s 97,000 in the U.S. Japan is second at 79,000. Ladies listen up, 85% living to 100 in the U.S. are women, 15% are men. The Bureau speculates by 2060 there’ll likely be 603,000 living to 100 or older in the U.S. alone. Everything will need to be considered going forward. From my standpoint of helping you with retirement planning, we need to plan for 30, maybe 40 years in retirement and make sure you have enough income to last all the way through. Call for a no cost no obligation appointment at 320-679-5183.

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