Your Safe Money Show Best Budget Method for you 5 27 23

Closed Memorial Day

 Everyone at Sjoberg & Holmstrom Financial Services and Your Safe Money Show wish you a safe and relaxing Memorial Day. We are closed on Monday. You can leave a message at 320-679-5183.

Your Safe Money Show highlights for May 27th

 Your Safe Money Show information for Saturday May 27th. You know saving for retirement is very important, it’s a big reason Todd does the show really, but to make the “saving” all worth wild you need a wealth plan to make it all work. He will go into detail on that. As High School Seniors are graduating this time of year there are 3 legal documents 18-year-olds should sign, this is good information for parents and young adults to know. And we’re all different, what works for one person might not work for another. When it comes to a budget method your personality and goals are key, we’ll find out what’s best for you. Listen at 8 a.m. at Nice 95.5FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows at yoursafemoneyshow.com on the home page.

Saving for Retirement

 

Recession conversation

 I want to look at why the word “recession” has been mentioned so much but hasn’t really happened yet. The big reason is “consumer spending”. Curt Long, chief economist at the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions says “that consumer spending represents more than half of the economy, so if consumer spending is strong, that alone, generally speaking, is enough to keep the economy from slipping into a recession.” In the first quarter of 2023, gross domestic product grew at a 1.1% rate compared to the previous quarter. This modest level of growth is an improvement from mid-2022 GDP figures, which was the reason they started talking about a recession being possible in the first place. We all know that The Fed has been raising interest rates to slow inflation. Economists at the start of the rate hikes felt that inflation would slow more quickly than it has. The Fed has raised its overnight lending rate 10 times over the last year or so. Hopefully things are evening out , if you have questions go to yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Your Safe Money Show Reservations and permits at National Parks 5 20 23

Your Safe Money Show topics for May 20th

 For this week's (5-20) Your Safe Money Show, Todd will have April’s inflation breakdown to dissect. If you are a beneficiary of a retirement plan, he explains payout rules for you. And if you are headed to a National Park this year, make sure you know about reservations and permits. You can listen at 8 a.m. Saturday's at Nice 95.5FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com.

Postage prices possibly going up soon

 I don’t think we use the US Postal Service in the same way we did years ago. We have many options to pay our bills and correspond with others. But we still send letters and the parcel side of the USPS is busier than ever. Well there’s been another federally approved price increase for postage stamps. Now might be a time to stock up before the increase goes into effect especially if you use a lot of postage for your business or personal life. While the postage stamp price increase has not officially been approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, it is very likely that the United States Postal Service (USPS) will implement the price hike on July 9, 2023. In January, the USPS Board of Governors approved the price increase on postage stamps, which the USPS claimed was a necessary maneuver to offset the rise of inflation. The price of postage stamps will increase by 3 cents. Currently, postage stamps cost $0.63, but they will likely cost $0.66 this summer—a 5.4% increase. This continues a longstanding trend of steadily increasing postage stamp prices; in early 2019, they rose from $0.50 to $0.55. If you post a lot of letters, try to buy stamps in bulk before the price hike. You can buy stamps in bulk directly from USPS’s Postal Store, as well as on Amazon or Tanga. Be sure to buy from accredited e-retailers, as postage stamp scams do exist!

Your Safe Money Show The Debt Ceiling and you 5 13 23

Highlights for May 13th Your Safe Money Show

 Here's what we're planning for this Saturday's (May 13th) Your Safe Money Show. Todd will tackle what is the debt ceiling? Why it’s important and how it affects you. There’s a legislative proposal offering a way to save Social Security and defer RMD’s, he’ll explain. And as we hit the road this summer he has gas tips that actually work . Listen at Nice 95.5FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows by going to yoursafemoneyshow.com click the tab on the home page.

Tee hee

 

Updates with the IRS

 I have some updated IRS information for you today. We have heard in recent years how the IRS has struggled to keep up, at one point having a backlog of up to 24 million unprocessed tax returns. But now the Inflation Reduction Act has put 80 billion dollars into the IRS to update technology and hire more workers. They hired a new commissioner in early April, and he says the IRS now has zero backlog. That’s a first since tax season 2019. Now that they’re caught up they plan on resuming normal debt collection, so if you owe back taxes, get ready. Here’s how that works: the IRS will first send you a CP-14 notice, or a balance-due letter, in May. Following that, the IRS may send up to three additional, previously suspended letters reminding you of your balance due. The final notice, CP-107, warns that if you don’t pay your past-due balance immediately, the IRS can seize your property, tax refunds, wages and bank accounts. If you don’t pay your taxes by the due date, you could get hit with some nasty penalties — plus interest that compounds daily. But if you owe the IRS they generally are willing to work with you — and even reduce penalties — so long as you reach out to the agency in a timely manner with a reasonable explanation (and the issue wasn’t due to “willful neglect” or fraud). Here’s my message today: if you receive a balance due letter from the IRS DO NOT IGNORE IT! The longer you wait, the higher the penalties rack up. Ultimately, the IRS can seize your property, including your car, boat or real estate, if you do not comply. But the good news is there are several ways the IRS will work with you and your situation. There are payment plans and if you get a past due letter use the contact information ASAP. You can go to IRS.gov for full details.

Your Safe Money Show Save on life insurance 5 6 23

Your Safe Money Show May 6th highlights

 Coming up on this Saturday's (May 6) Tour Safe Money Show Todd will have smart ways to teach children about money, through the years. He’ll share how to save money on life insurance. And before you decide to relocate in retirement, he has a checklist of things to think about first. Listen at 8 a.m. at Nice 95.5FM KBEK. They stream live at kbek.com. Hear recent shows by going to yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Medicare 101

Pick up your complimentary copy of Medicare 101 by stopping at Sjoberg & Holmstrom Financial Services at 139 Union Street in Mora. Call 855-226-6639 or ask at the website yoursafemoneyshow.com.

 

Cracking down on misleading Medicare ads

 I have some good news: Starting Sept. 30, if Joe Namath, William Shatner or Jimmy Walker wants to sell you on Medicare Advantage (MA), they are going to have to disclose what insurance plan they are advertising. And these television ads can’t misuse the Medicare logo or card to lead consumers to believe the celebrity endorsers represent the federal government. It’s all part of a regulation the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized in April that is designed to crack down on what Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has called “misleading marketing schemes by health insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans.” Among other provisions, Becerra said, the new rule “would prohibit overly general ads about the Medicare Advantage program that often tend to confuse and mislead those individuals who are eligible to apply for some of these insurance plans.” The new regulation requires brokers, insurance agents and others who market Medicare Advantage plans to fully explain the coverage they sell and to make sure their benefits are actually available in the state or county where a consumer lives. Another provision in the regulation limits the time an agent or other salesperson can contact a potential enrollee and try to sell them an Medicare Advantage plan. The regulation says a broker cannot keep calling someone to sell them a plan 12 months after they first asked for information or expressed interest in a plan. If you have questions Medicare go to yoursafemoneyshow.com.

Your Safe Money Show Longevity Economy 4 29 23