Jan. 9, 2026

Maximize Your Money in 2026: Retirement, Taxes & More

Maximize Your Money in 2026: Retirement, Taxes & More
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Start 2026 with a plan that works for you.

In our latest episode of Something More with Chris Boyd, we explore practical steps to make this year your strongest yet—financially and personally.
 
-Update your W-4 and review tax withholdings
-Maximize retirement contributions (new limits for 2026!)
-Understand Roth vs. Traditional strategies
-Rebalance your portfolio after strong market years
-Refresh your financial and estate plans
 
#FinancialPlanning #RetirementReady #WealthManagement #NewYearNewPlan #PersonalFinanceTips
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It's a new year.

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There's lots to think about with your planning.

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Let's talk about it on something more with

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Chris Boyd.

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Welcome to something more with Chris Boyd.

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Chris Boyd is a certified financial planner practitioner

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and senior vice president financial advisor at Wealth

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Enhancement Group, one of the nation's largest registered

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investment advisors.

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We call it something more because we'd like

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to talk not only about those important dollar

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and cents issues, but also the quality of

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life issues that make the money matters better.

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Here he is, your fulfillment facilitator, your partner

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in prosperity, advising clients on KitKat and across

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the country.

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Here's your host, Jay Christopher Boyd.

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Happy New Year, everybody, and welcome back to

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something more with Chris Boyd.

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I don't know, is it too late to

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be saying Happy New Year at this point?

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I guess it is, but I'm glad to

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have you with us again and want to

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remind everyone, if you are listening to us

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by podcast on Spotify or Apple or wherever

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you might listen to, you can also catch

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us on YouTube at the Wealth Enhancement page,

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as well as you can reach us by

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finding our webpage.

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Easy way to do it is to go

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to somethingmorewithchrisboyd.com and that'll get you right

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to our team page, which has our podcasts

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as well.

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In any case, thanks for being here.

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We're jumping right in to a new year

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and thought it's a good time to review

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some of the things that you need to

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be planning for.

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I should probably start off by reminding everyone.

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I'm Chris Boyd.

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I'm here with Russ Ball.

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Jeff Perry has the day off today and

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celebrating his birthday with friends.

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And so, happy birthday, Jeff, and we will

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look forward to having him back soon.

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So, in the meantime, we wanted to talk

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about a new year and some things for

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you to remember in your planning.

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What are some of the reminders, maybe, as

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you start a new year, things to be

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doing as part of your planning?

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Sometimes, let's start with thinking in terms of

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if you're an employee and a worker, and

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then we can cover the range of possibilities.

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So, did I mention Russ Ball?

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Did I say you were here?

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Yes.

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Okay.

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So, the two of us from the AMR

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team at Wealth Enhancement, and let's jump in,

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Russ.

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Where should we begin?

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Well, we can start off with the simple

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stuff, like updating your W-4, right, for

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the new year.

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Yeah, that's a good one because, I mean,

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just so people know, that's that form you

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fill out with your employer that says how

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much you want to withhold.

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So, if you found, you know, or maybe

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when you do your taxes, if you find

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you haven't withheld enough and you end up

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having to write a big check, it's a

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good idea to review that.

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There's a lot of talk about people expecting,

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perhaps, bigger refunds because of some of the

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recent tax adjustments that came as part of

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the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

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It may be that you want to adjust

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some of your withholdings.

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So, these are all considerations.

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If you find you have not the right

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amount, too much, too little, whatever it might

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be.

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Also, for any life changes, you know, sometimes

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that's not something that's top of mind, but

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if you get married or have kids, you

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know, those are things that would change your

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W-4.

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Yeah, some of the tax treatment and, you

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know, a number of deductions and things of

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that sort.

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So, good point.

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So, that's one.

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The other thing when you're thinking about, you

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know, your employer, might be a good time

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to review how much are you withholding for

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retirement plan money?

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You know, we choose, when we have the

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opportunity to participate in a work retirement plan

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IRA, sorry, simple IRA, 401k, 403b, all of

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these kinds of plans where you can withhold

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from your paycheck to have it go into

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a tax-deferred setting or potentially Roth.

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That may be something to come back to.

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But that notion of how much are you

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setting aside?

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We know that the power of compounding is

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enormous and the key is to doing something

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sooner.

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The sooner you can get started, the better

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the long-term implications for you that will

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have for future dollars you have to use,

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whether it's in retirement or later in life

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at some point in time.

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So, do some savings and if you are

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in a position where you can maximize, we'll

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talk about that in just a moment, Russ,

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maybe we can refer to those numbers, how

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much is the maximum you can do.

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But if most people have trouble thinking about

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maximizing, they just want to get something in

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there and doing it on a regular basis.

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We tend to talk about sort of a

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long-term ideal.

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If you could be doing 10% of

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your paycheck going toward long-term retirement savings,

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if you can do that from the beginning,

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you're going to be in great shape by

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the time you get to an age when

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you'd be expecting to retire.

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So, that's maybe a good goal if you're

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just getting started.

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Try to bring it up to that amount.

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Now, if you're not able to do that

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amount, then maybe the thing to think about

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is how much is your employer matching, if

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they match.

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And a common ballpark for that would be

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around 3% of salary.

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And so, if you're not setting aside 1,

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2, 3% of your salary, you're giving

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up income, you've chosen to take a lesser

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rate of pay than your employer is willing

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to pay you.

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So, don't do that, right?

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That means you have to set aside that

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amount to maximize that formula.

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Now, some formulas are 100% match on

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the first 2%, but 50% on the

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next 2%.

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So, that's how you get your 3, but

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you have to do 4 or whatever.

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Whatever the formula is, you got to understand

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how it works so that you maximize that

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formula.

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Now, if you can do that amount, that's,

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I think, not giving up free money, right?

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So, you want to at least do that.

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If you have been doing something, you know,

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you've gotten started, a good thing to consider

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is every year, whether it's because you get

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a pay increase or a bonus, maybe this

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comes at different times of year, but when

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that happens, when you get some increase in

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nominal pay increase, maybe you got a 3

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% raise as an example.

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Take half of that and put it towards

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your retirement plan.

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Take the other half to use for your

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lifestyle expenses.

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Maybe it's even just, oh, I got 3%,

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I'm putting 1% increment.

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So, instead of doing nothing, I'm doing 1.

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Instead of doing 3, I'm doing 4.

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Whatever it might be, you're going to increase

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that rate.

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And if you can do that annually, you

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can get to that 10% within a

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manageable time.

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So, you know, incrementally, keep increasing that each

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year as a way to try to really

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take advantage of that.

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If you're in an income range where you

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make good money and you have more than

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you might think you really have to spend,

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then try to maximize your retirement contributions.

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Let's come back and talk about Roth versus

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traditional in a second.

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But let's go over what are some of

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those amounts, Russ, that get someone to maximize

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their contribution opportunities?

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Yeah, definitely.

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So, the contribution limits have increased this year.

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So, for 2026, under 50,

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right?

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So, 24,500 this year, I believe it

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was 23,500 last year.

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Yeah, I think you're right.

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So, it has gone up.

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That's nice.

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The catch-up went up too, huh?

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The catch-up did.

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So, the catch-up, the standard catch-up,

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and I'll get back to why I say

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standard in a second, but the catch-up

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is $8,000.

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So, 24,500 and 8,000, that's 32

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,500.

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So, that would be, if you're over 50,

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there's this catch-up that you can do,

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similar with IRA or Roth IRA, where there's

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an additional amount that you could contribute to

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your 401k.

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Then, this is the second year we have

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this new super catch-up.

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That's a very tight window, but for people

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in those ages, there's an additional catch-up

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amount.

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So, it's 8,000, which is the standard

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catch-up, and then the super catch-up,

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which is an additional 3,250.

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So, to make life easy, right?

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If you're between the ages of 60 and

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63, and let's be clear, that means on

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December 31st of the year, will you be

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60, 61, 62, or 63?

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If the answer is on December 30th, you

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went and changed your age to 64, even

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though most of the year you were 63,

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you're not eligible for this treatment.

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So, just to be clear.

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So, you can do, if you're in those

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age ranges, you could do the 24,500

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maximum amount, and this catch-up, special catch

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-up, super catch-up, of 11,250, the

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base age plus the 3,250.

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So, nice if you fit into that range,

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confusing if you're in that, like, when am

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I eligible, when am I not?

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But a great opportunity to try to maximize

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what you can do.

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Now, one of the things that's challenging, if

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you're in a four, this is for 401Ks,

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403Bs, 457 plans.

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Now, sometimes people have the opportunity to contribute

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into Roth contributions as well, Russ, and people

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have to remember that the amount is the

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same amount, that that number, if you choose

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to do it in IRA, traditional sort of,

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rather not IRA, 401K, traditional tax-deferred type

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accounts, or the Roth type account, that's the

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number.

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If you do all in one, all in

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the other, that's fine, or some combination, that's

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fine too, but the maximum amount is applied,

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okay, whether it's whichever way you do it.

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Does that make sense?

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Did I say that adequately?

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Yeah, I think it's, you know, it's clearly

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nuanced, and I think, yeah, basically, if your

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employer offers a 401K, traditional 401K, and a

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Roth 401K, or 403B, the amounts that we're

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talking about, the 24,500 is the base

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limit, is going to encompass the 401K portion

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and the traditional portion.

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So, just keep that in mind, because oftentimes

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people will think, oh, well, I've maxed out

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my traditional 401K, but then I still have

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the Roth 401K as an option, and it's

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kind of confusing, so.

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If you are not a participant in a

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401K, 403B, et cetera, but have perhaps a

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work plan like a simple IRA, some of

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these numbers change, so it's a lesser threshold,

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the base amount, the not, instead of 24

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or 5, you have 17,000 that you

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can maximize your contribution if you're under age

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50, let's say.

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If you're 50 and over, you can add

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another $4,000 to that number.

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Again, here again, if you're in that window

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of 60 through 63, as of December 31st

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on a given year, you could change that

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number for the catch-up from, instead of

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4,000 as a catch-up, to 5

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,250.

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A lot of numbers we're throwing out, let's

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just put it this way, if you have

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this kind of opportunity and you need a

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little clarification, talk to your financial advisor.

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If you don't have a financial advisor, reach

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out to us.

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We'll be happy to try to be of

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resource to you.

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Incidentally, if anybody wants a helpful little cheat

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sheet, we've got, I call it a cheat

298
00:13:36,430 --> 00:13:39,130
sheet, the Wealth Enhancement doesn't call it a

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00:13:39,130 --> 00:13:41,830
cheat sheet, they call it the 2026 Personal

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00:13:41,830 --> 00:13:44,250
Financial Fact Sheet.

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00:13:45,350 --> 00:13:48,350
We've got all kinds of details, I'm holding

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00:13:48,350 --> 00:13:51,410
it up for the video, but it's two

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00:13:51,410 --> 00:13:54,490
-sided, it's got all kinds of helpful little

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tidbits, these are among them and we can

305
00:13:57,570 --> 00:13:59,570
share this with you if you'd like to

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00:13:59,570 --> 00:14:03,050
get a little bit of helping information, also

307
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has tax brackets, has gift allowances, all kinds

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of interesting, relevant things.

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So with that, we've kind of covered the

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idea of the work plan, review what you're

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contributing to your work plan.

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That also means review what you're doing with

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your investments in the work plan.

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Before we get to that, one more wrinkle

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on the 401ks this year, new this year.

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Any Roth contribution or sorry, any catch-up

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00:14:37,210 --> 00:14:42,270
contribution, if you make over $150,000, any

318
00:14:42,270 --> 00:14:46,670
catch-up contribution should be automatically, I think,

319
00:14:46,990 --> 00:14:49,210
you know, your employer is supposed to be

320
00:14:49,210 --> 00:14:51,250
able to help you do this, but yes.

321
00:14:51,610 --> 00:14:55,970
Automatically move it to your 401k, Roth 401k,

322
00:14:56,090 --> 00:14:56,190
excuse me.

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00:14:56,190 --> 00:14:58,130
I wanted to talk about this, I totally

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00:14:58,130 --> 00:15:00,030
forgot that this was, I had set aside

325
00:15:00,030 --> 00:15:03,950
a whole worksheet on this, great point.

326
00:15:05,090 --> 00:15:07,730
This is a new, it was mentioned in,

327
00:15:07,830 --> 00:15:09,670
was it the Secure Act or Secure Act

328
00:15:09,670 --> 00:15:13,950
2.0, but one of the changes was

329
00:15:13,950 --> 00:15:16,250
that you were going to have to contribute

330
00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:21,710
those under these circumstances, your income threshold, your,

331
00:15:21,930 --> 00:15:25,870
these, what are they called, excess contributions?

332
00:15:26,370 --> 00:15:26,970
Oh, the catch-up.

333
00:15:26,970 --> 00:15:30,470
Catch-up contributions, going to have to go

334
00:15:30,470 --> 00:15:32,590
toward a Roth contribution.

335
00:15:32,850 --> 00:15:37,690
So after-tax dollars, which, you know, on

336
00:15:37,690 --> 00:15:40,990
the one hand, the government likes that because

337
00:15:40,990 --> 00:15:43,650
they're getting paid now, but you might like

338
00:15:43,650 --> 00:15:44,310
that too.

339
00:15:44,630 --> 00:15:48,070
And I think a lot of times we

340
00:15:48,070 --> 00:15:51,730
get focused on the immediate gratification of a

341
00:15:51,730 --> 00:15:56,450
reduced income and a reduced taxation and find

342
00:15:56,450 --> 00:15:57,810
that that sounds appealing.

343
00:16:00,070 --> 00:16:02,610
But we see this all the time, Russ,

344
00:16:02,730 --> 00:16:06,550
with our meetings with clients and prospective clients

345
00:16:06,550 --> 00:16:12,410
who haven't developed a tax diversification, which is

346
00:16:12,410 --> 00:16:15,010
to say a lot of times people have

347
00:16:15,010 --> 00:16:19,950
almost all of their investment savings in retirement

348
00:16:19,950 --> 00:16:23,030
plan money, IRA, 401k, et cetera.

349
00:16:23,890 --> 00:16:27,110
And that can be problematic when you need

350
00:16:27,110 --> 00:16:28,510
to spend some money.

351
00:16:28,790 --> 00:16:30,930
If you, if you need to say, buy

352
00:16:30,930 --> 00:16:33,090
a car, have a lump sum expense, oh,

353
00:16:33,170 --> 00:16:34,130
we're doing home improvement.

354
00:16:34,810 --> 00:16:37,470
If everything you need to take out has

355
00:16:37,470 --> 00:16:40,750
a tax associated with it, you can end

356
00:16:40,750 --> 00:16:44,150
up being forced into higher tax brackets, which

357
00:16:44,150 --> 00:16:47,970
can happen anyway because of RMDs as you

358
00:16:47,970 --> 00:16:48,430
age.

359
00:16:49,210 --> 00:16:52,770
Or it can just be painful to say,

360
00:16:52,890 --> 00:16:54,510
oh, I want to, I don't know how

361
00:16:54,510 --> 00:16:55,650
much people spend on a car.

362
00:16:55,690 --> 00:16:57,330
I want to spend $40,000 on a

363
00:16:57,330 --> 00:16:57,690
car.

364
00:16:59,110 --> 00:17:02,110
But it's going to cost me, you know,

365
00:17:02,190 --> 00:17:06,369
$55,000, $60,000 to get the taxes

366
00:17:06,369 --> 00:17:09,010
out, then net what I need to spend.

367
00:17:09,430 --> 00:17:11,410
So, you know, these are things you have

368
00:17:11,410 --> 00:17:12,190
to think about.

369
00:17:12,569 --> 00:17:19,089
And this Roth requirement, although kind of inconvenient

370
00:17:19,089 --> 00:17:21,510
on one sense, because I'm going to have

371
00:17:21,510 --> 00:17:26,089
a tax consequence now, probably has some virtues

372
00:17:26,089 --> 00:17:29,450
because one, we get what's forcing you to

373
00:17:29,450 --> 00:17:30,890
have a little more diversification.

374
00:17:31,730 --> 00:17:35,270
And two, whether you realize it or not,

375
00:17:35,690 --> 00:17:36,990
tax rates are probably going to go up

376
00:17:36,990 --> 00:17:37,490
in the future.

377
00:17:37,690 --> 00:17:42,150
We have relatively low tax rates, historically speaking,

378
00:17:42,750 --> 00:17:45,270
and with the prospects of, I say this

379
00:17:45,270 --> 00:17:46,770
all the time, so I'm sorry if I'm

380
00:17:46,770 --> 00:17:48,890
beating a dead horse here, but with the

381
00:17:48,890 --> 00:17:52,550
prospects of Social Security and Medicare running into

382
00:17:52,550 --> 00:17:56,010
shortfalls less than a decade away, what are

383
00:17:56,010 --> 00:17:56,350
we at?

384
00:17:56,350 --> 00:17:59,330
Like six years away now?

385
00:18:00,230 --> 00:18:01,470
Something like that.

386
00:18:01,470 --> 00:18:06,270
Something like that, that we're expecting these social

387
00:18:06,270 --> 00:18:09,670
safety nets to have financial shortfall.

388
00:18:11,790 --> 00:18:13,570
And what do we have?

389
00:18:13,690 --> 00:18:14,550
I've lost track.

390
00:18:14,650 --> 00:18:17,850
$36 trillion in debt.

391
00:18:20,830 --> 00:18:23,290
Mind can't conceive of these kind of numbers.

392
00:18:23,290 --> 00:18:27,830
So, in any case, the likelihood is, at

393
00:18:27,830 --> 00:18:29,270
some point, tax rates are going to go

394
00:18:29,270 --> 00:18:33,750
up for this demographic that's facing this requirement.

395
00:18:35,450 --> 00:18:38,370
So, you're probably going to benefit from having

396
00:18:38,370 --> 00:18:39,650
paid some taxes sooner.

397
00:18:40,210 --> 00:18:42,210
I think, you know, in the immediate, it

398
00:18:42,210 --> 00:18:43,610
might, like you said, it might feel kind

399
00:18:43,610 --> 00:18:44,110
of inconvenient.

400
00:18:44,290 --> 00:18:45,310
Oh, well, now I have to pay more

401
00:18:45,310 --> 00:18:47,790
tax because, you know, I'm being forced to

402
00:18:47,790 --> 00:18:50,530
do these Roth 401k contributions.

403
00:18:50,530 --> 00:18:52,690
But at the end of the day, it's

404
00:18:52,690 --> 00:18:57,030
probably doing you a favor because, you know,

405
00:18:57,110 --> 00:18:58,830
a lot of the time we have clients

406
00:18:58,830 --> 00:19:01,830
that we talk to that have RMDs coming

407
00:19:01,830 --> 00:19:04,730
out of their retirement plans and they don't

408
00:19:04,730 --> 00:19:07,190
necessarily need the full amount of the RMDs

409
00:19:07,190 --> 00:19:08,830
and it's pushing them into higher and higher

410
00:19:08,830 --> 00:19:09,530
tax brackets.

411
00:19:09,950 --> 00:19:12,510
Particularly late, as you go through retirement, this

412
00:19:12,510 --> 00:19:14,170
becomes a challenge.

413
00:19:14,170 --> 00:19:21,190
With people who are born before, sorry, 1960

414
00:19:21,190 --> 00:19:25,650
or after, your RMDs don't start until 75,

415
00:19:26,070 --> 00:19:27,790
which is that much later in the process.

416
00:19:28,010 --> 00:19:30,930
So, if you are holding off on pulling

417
00:19:30,930 --> 00:19:33,450
from your retirement accounts until then, as an

418
00:19:33,450 --> 00:19:36,670
example, you're going to probably be forced into

419
00:19:36,670 --> 00:19:40,650
higher brackets as you go through retirement, especially

420
00:19:40,650 --> 00:19:44,270
if, you know, as a couple, you might

421
00:19:44,270 --> 00:19:46,870
find, you know, there's one of you, not

422
00:19:46,870 --> 00:19:48,750
two of you at some point in that

423
00:19:48,750 --> 00:19:51,790
retirement story and that forces you into higher

424
00:19:51,790 --> 00:19:52,130
brackets.

425
00:19:52,350 --> 00:19:55,930
So, anyway, that's another topic for another day,

426
00:19:56,070 --> 00:19:57,490
but good point.

427
00:19:57,590 --> 00:19:59,210
We should probably come back to that whole

428
00:19:59,210 --> 00:20:03,570
topic about the requirement for that Roth.

429
00:20:03,710 --> 00:20:06,650
I'm sure that'll be something we can delve

430
00:20:06,650 --> 00:20:07,710
into more again.

431
00:20:08,550 --> 00:20:11,110
Another thing, let's come back to the topic

432
00:20:11,110 --> 00:20:13,410
on hand, that is, you know, it's the

433
00:20:13,410 --> 00:20:14,250
beginning of the year.

434
00:20:14,430 --> 00:20:16,110
What are some things you should think about

435
00:20:16,110 --> 00:20:16,350
doing?

436
00:20:16,430 --> 00:20:19,970
I mentioned revisiting your asset allocation, your investment

437
00:20:19,970 --> 00:20:24,370
selections within your work retirement plan.

438
00:20:24,730 --> 00:20:26,830
And honestly, that applies to all of your

439
00:20:26,830 --> 00:20:27,670
investment accounts.

440
00:20:27,830 --> 00:20:32,150
If you're not benefiting from active portfolio management,

441
00:20:32,810 --> 00:20:35,730
it's incumbent upon you to be reviewing these

442
00:20:35,730 --> 00:20:36,950
things and making adjustments.

443
00:20:37,510 --> 00:20:39,990
And now's a good time to be thinking

444
00:20:39,990 --> 00:20:40,610
about that.

445
00:20:41,090 --> 00:20:43,130
Markets are at or near all-time highs.

446
00:20:43,570 --> 00:20:45,750
We've had three years of back-to-back

447
00:20:45,750 --> 00:20:49,250
double-digit returns from the stock market.

448
00:20:49,810 --> 00:20:52,570
Your equity exposure can get away from you.

449
00:20:52,730 --> 00:20:55,130
It can add risk to your portfolio if

450
00:20:55,130 --> 00:20:56,690
you're not being attentive to it.

451
00:20:57,230 --> 00:21:01,890
And it's a good discipline, forced discipline, to

452
00:21:01,890 --> 00:21:05,790
sell high and buy low, rebalance your portfolio,

453
00:21:06,450 --> 00:21:09,070
and that helps you maintain, manage your risk

454
00:21:09,070 --> 00:21:11,190
profile as well.

455
00:21:11,690 --> 00:21:14,510
And let's face it, as time passes, people's

456
00:21:14,510 --> 00:21:17,590
risk appetites can change, and it may be

457
00:21:17,590 --> 00:21:19,150
one of those things that's worth reviewing.

458
00:21:19,710 --> 00:21:21,830
Again, if you don't have someone to help

459
00:21:21,830 --> 00:21:24,410
you in that process, we're certainly here to

460
00:21:24,410 --> 00:21:27,790
be a resource and offer a complimentary consultation.

461
00:21:28,690 --> 00:21:30,370
This time of year is the time of

462
00:21:30,370 --> 00:21:32,650
year when people think about their portfolios and

463
00:21:32,650 --> 00:21:35,750
their investing and their financial planning.

464
00:21:36,390 --> 00:21:39,090
So don't hesitate to reach out.

465
00:21:39,230 --> 00:21:42,030
We offer a complimentary consultation and would welcome

466
00:21:42,030 --> 00:21:44,730
the opportunity to offer that to you as

467
00:21:44,730 --> 00:21:45,010
well.

468
00:21:45,490 --> 00:21:49,090
So you can connect with us both by

469
00:21:49,090 --> 00:21:54,890
email or by a phone call.

470
00:21:55,150 --> 00:21:59,210
Our toll-free number is 866-771-8901.

471
00:21:59,210 --> 00:22:01,950
If you want to email us, it's amr

472
00:22:01,950 --> 00:22:05,710
-info at wealthenhancement.com.

473
00:22:06,730 --> 00:22:08,810
What didn't I get to that you wanted

474
00:22:08,810 --> 00:22:09,350
to get to?

475
00:22:09,970 --> 00:22:11,970
Well, one thing I was thinking is like,

476
00:22:12,190 --> 00:22:14,250
because the market has done as well as

477
00:22:14,250 --> 00:22:16,690
it has the last several years, oftentimes, you

478
00:22:16,690 --> 00:22:19,130
know, we've been talking about where to access

479
00:22:19,130 --> 00:22:20,030
liquidity from.

480
00:22:20,910 --> 00:22:22,970
And in times when the market's done really

481
00:22:22,970 --> 00:22:24,950
well and it's been on a great run,

482
00:22:24,950 --> 00:22:26,410
it might be a good time to draw

483
00:22:26,410 --> 00:22:30,170
some liquidity from your riskier assets, right?

484
00:22:30,710 --> 00:22:33,870
So, you know, when people come to see

485
00:22:33,870 --> 00:22:36,530
us, they oftentimes will have accounts all over

486
00:22:36,530 --> 00:22:36,930
the place.

487
00:22:37,030 --> 00:22:38,510
Some have done better than others.

488
00:22:38,690 --> 00:22:41,410
Some have been more fund-centric, more stock

489
00:22:41,410 --> 00:22:45,570
-centric, and it's not necessarily a cohesive strategy,

490
00:22:45,670 --> 00:22:46,090
I would say.

491
00:22:47,570 --> 00:22:49,190
So what we're able to do is take

492
00:22:49,190 --> 00:22:50,830
a look at that and see, all right,

493
00:22:50,930 --> 00:22:52,310
how does this all fit together?

494
00:22:52,830 --> 00:22:54,750
And where might be the best place to

495
00:22:54,750 --> 00:22:56,730
draw liquidity from if that's something that's needed

496
00:22:56,730 --> 00:22:57,310
in retirement?

497
00:22:58,190 --> 00:22:59,190
That's a great point.

498
00:22:59,470 --> 00:23:00,690
I'm glad you brought it up.

499
00:23:00,770 --> 00:23:02,990
I hadn't thought to talk about that, but

500
00:23:02,990 --> 00:23:06,950
it is one of those challenges.

501
00:23:07,490 --> 00:23:09,370
And when markets are good, it's a good

502
00:23:09,370 --> 00:23:11,550
time to kind of skim off the top

503
00:23:11,550 --> 00:23:15,590
a little bit and reset the stage because

504
00:23:15,590 --> 00:23:18,470
when things are bad, we don't want to

505
00:23:18,470 --> 00:23:21,270
be drawing from that bucket as much.

506
00:23:21,270 --> 00:23:23,790
So refill the liquidity bucket.

507
00:23:24,670 --> 00:23:26,370
Make sure you have liquidity.

508
00:23:27,070 --> 00:23:29,390
We've had years of good market performance.

509
00:23:29,470 --> 00:23:32,950
We have a positive, constructive outlook as we

510
00:23:32,950 --> 00:23:33,650
look ahead.

511
00:23:34,150 --> 00:23:37,850
But, you know, we know that markets inevitably,

512
00:23:38,490 --> 00:23:42,730
unexpectedly, can be disrupted and we want to

513
00:23:42,730 --> 00:23:45,490
be in a position where we have resources

514
00:23:45,490 --> 00:23:48,750
to draw from when that time comes.

515
00:23:49,070 --> 00:23:52,150
For people in retirement, we tend to talk

516
00:23:52,150 --> 00:23:54,970
about three years of net spending.

517
00:23:55,250 --> 00:23:58,170
So I spend $100,000 a year, but

518
00:23:58,170 --> 00:23:59,630
I have social security and pension.

519
00:23:59,890 --> 00:24:00,650
That's 50.

520
00:24:00,950 --> 00:24:02,710
So now I need 50,000.

521
00:24:02,810 --> 00:24:06,490
Okay, 150,000, three times that number as

522
00:24:06,490 --> 00:24:13,870
a liquidity resource, emergency fund, savings accounts, CDs,

523
00:24:14,590 --> 00:24:17,930
money markets, high yield savings, whatever it might

524
00:24:17,930 --> 00:24:20,830
be, even short-term bonds would be okay,

525
00:24:21,010 --> 00:24:22,750
something that's relatively stable.

526
00:24:23,090 --> 00:24:24,510
So we want that kind of thing.

527
00:24:24,710 --> 00:24:26,530
For people who are in their working years,

528
00:24:26,610 --> 00:24:31,090
it's sort of a different rule of thumb.

529
00:24:31,170 --> 00:24:31,970
You want to hit on that?

530
00:24:32,690 --> 00:24:34,550
Yeah, I mean, the rule of thumb, I

531
00:24:34,550 --> 00:24:37,030
think, is three to six months of expenses

532
00:24:37,030 --> 00:24:39,190
to have on hand as a sort of

533
00:24:39,190 --> 00:24:42,250
emergency fund, depending on what kind of work

534
00:24:42,250 --> 00:24:45,170
you're in, if you're, you know, self-employed

535
00:24:45,170 --> 00:24:47,530
or something like that, or if you are

536
00:24:47,530 --> 00:24:49,210
a contractor of some sort, maybe having a

537
00:24:49,210 --> 00:24:50,550
little bit more of that up to a

538
00:24:50,550 --> 00:24:53,490
year's worth of expenses as a cash reserve,

539
00:24:53,510 --> 00:24:54,610
I think, makes a lot of sense.

540
00:24:56,130 --> 00:24:59,730
And then having that bucket kind of increase

541
00:24:59,730 --> 00:25:02,610
in retirement would probably be the option.

542
00:25:03,030 --> 00:25:04,010
Yeah, exactly right.

543
00:25:04,610 --> 00:25:05,730
I forgot I had that running.

544
00:25:06,150 --> 00:25:08,330
Let's think about a couple of other things

545
00:25:08,330 --> 00:25:09,570
while we're in this stage.

546
00:25:09,570 --> 00:25:13,890
So, you know, this is the time of

547
00:25:13,890 --> 00:25:16,090
year to revisit your financial plan.

548
00:25:17,450 --> 00:25:19,890
Is your financial plan on track?

549
00:25:20,610 --> 00:25:22,050
Do you have a financial plan?

550
00:25:22,410 --> 00:25:22,510
Right.

551
00:25:22,710 --> 00:25:24,850
You know, if you don't have a financial

552
00:25:24,850 --> 00:25:27,370
plan, now's the time, right?

553
00:25:28,570 --> 00:25:29,370
It's funny.

554
00:25:29,450 --> 00:25:31,550
We talk to people who are in retirement

555
00:25:31,550 --> 00:25:33,530
oftentimes, and they think, well, this would have

556
00:25:33,530 --> 00:25:34,650
been great, you know, years ago.

557
00:25:34,890 --> 00:25:37,690
But the reality is it's good now, too.

558
00:25:38,410 --> 00:25:42,210
At any stage of life, there are crossroads,

559
00:25:42,390 --> 00:25:44,750
there are decisions, there are issues we face.

560
00:25:45,270 --> 00:25:48,990
The financial plan helps us navigate context for

561
00:25:48,990 --> 00:25:52,190
our portfolio, but also the cash flow decisions,

562
00:25:52,350 --> 00:25:53,870
the challenges we might have.

563
00:25:54,350 --> 00:25:57,390
It helps us be intentional around what's the

564
00:25:57,390 --> 00:26:00,390
outlook, and if that's a favorable outlook, great.

565
00:26:00,670 --> 00:26:03,070
If it's not, it's informative to help us

566
00:26:03,070 --> 00:26:04,450
think about what do we do?

567
00:26:04,550 --> 00:26:05,610
How do we navigate that?

568
00:26:06,090 --> 00:26:08,170
Do we want to make some lifestyle changes

569
00:26:08,170 --> 00:26:08,970
or not?

570
00:26:09,190 --> 00:26:12,070
You know, what are the assumptions that go

571
00:26:12,070 --> 00:26:12,510
into that?

572
00:26:12,650 --> 00:26:15,910
So, you know, for people who are earlier

573
00:26:15,910 --> 00:26:18,950
in life, this is the key to getting

574
00:26:18,950 --> 00:26:22,830
on a path to a favorable outcome, the

575
00:26:22,830 --> 00:26:23,950
outcome you want.

576
00:26:24,350 --> 00:26:26,890
And it's not to say that it's always

577
00:26:26,890 --> 00:26:27,570
easy, right?

578
00:26:27,590 --> 00:26:29,990
We're all faced with challenging decisions.

579
00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:35,290
We all want the immediate gratification of, you

580
00:26:35,290 --> 00:26:40,370
know, the things we want today, but those

581
00:26:40,370 --> 00:26:44,030
decisions you make and the discipline that you

582
00:26:44,030 --> 00:26:47,930
bring to your financial life can have a

583
00:26:47,930 --> 00:26:53,190
huge implication for your future and your future

584
00:26:53,190 --> 00:26:54,410
financial security.

585
00:26:54,940 --> 00:26:55,970
Anything to add?

586
00:26:56,650 --> 00:26:58,990
Just like even for people who are really

587
00:26:58,990 --> 00:27:02,590
good at saving and, you know, prudent about

588
00:27:02,590 --> 00:27:04,210
that and are saving a lot of money

589
00:27:04,210 --> 00:27:05,310
year in year out.

590
00:27:05,790 --> 00:27:07,010
I think there's a lot we could add

591
00:27:07,010 --> 00:27:08,630
to the table as financial advisors as well

592
00:27:08,630 --> 00:27:13,150
because oftentimes saving alone is great, but sort

593
00:27:13,150 --> 00:27:15,290
of optimizing that is where you can really

594
00:27:15,290 --> 00:27:17,850
drive that wealth growth journey.

595
00:27:18,310 --> 00:27:20,070
We just had a conversation like that with

596
00:27:20,070 --> 00:27:20,750
someone, didn't we?

597
00:27:20,990 --> 00:27:24,150
Where they're like, well, that's why I'm hiring

598
00:27:24,150 --> 00:27:26,770
you because I know I've got the resources,

599
00:27:27,190 --> 00:27:30,830
but I'm not paying attention to it the

600
00:27:30,830 --> 00:27:34,250
way you might because I'm busy doing my

601
00:27:34,250 --> 00:27:37,070
job and what I do well, right?

602
00:27:37,730 --> 00:27:40,190
That's essentially the gist of we had a

603
00:27:40,190 --> 00:27:42,910
conversation with one of our listeners, maybe listening

604
00:27:42,910 --> 00:27:45,050
now, who just said that.

605
00:27:45,730 --> 00:27:47,270
And that's kind of what got me thinking,

606
00:27:47,350 --> 00:27:50,910
you know, sort of optimizing your portfolio from

607
00:27:50,910 --> 00:27:51,930
a number of different angles.

608
00:27:51,930 --> 00:27:53,730
So we'll look at it from a tax

609
00:27:53,730 --> 00:27:56,590
planning angle from an allocation perspective.

610
00:27:57,290 --> 00:28:00,850
Are the funds that you're holding cost-effective?

611
00:28:01,230 --> 00:28:04,090
Are they, you know, is there overlap in

612
00:28:04,090 --> 00:28:05,590
the funds that you're holding in different accounts?

613
00:28:06,170 --> 00:28:07,550
These are the types of things we kind

614
00:28:07,550 --> 00:28:09,850
of look at and analyze and try to

615
00:28:09,850 --> 00:28:12,530
streamline, optimize where we can, consolidate where we

616
00:28:12,530 --> 00:28:15,790
can and really give you a well-framed

617
00:28:15,790 --> 00:28:16,510
financial picture.

618
00:28:17,170 --> 00:28:18,950
I feel like this time of year as

619
00:28:18,950 --> 00:28:21,130
part of the financial plan as well, we

620
00:28:21,130 --> 00:28:23,290
tend to look at other things too.

621
00:28:24,690 --> 00:28:26,450
It seems lately we've been having a lot

622
00:28:26,450 --> 00:28:31,610
of conversations around estate planning questions and thinking

623
00:28:31,610 --> 00:28:36,870
with fresh eyes, you know, do I have

624
00:28:36,870 --> 00:28:37,750
the right structure?

625
00:28:37,910 --> 00:28:40,830
Is this the way I should be structuring

626
00:28:40,830 --> 00:28:42,010
my estate plan?

627
00:28:42,650 --> 00:28:44,930
How could I, there are at times different

628
00:28:44,930 --> 00:28:48,070
strategies and one's not necessarily right, one's not

629
00:28:48,070 --> 00:28:50,930
necessarily wrong, but there are different approaches and

630
00:28:50,930 --> 00:28:53,310
there can be different merits to these different

631
00:28:53,310 --> 00:28:56,930
approaches and it's worth exploring and elaborating and

632
00:28:56,930 --> 00:29:01,050
considering which path, which approach do I want

633
00:29:01,050 --> 00:29:01,390
to take?

634
00:29:01,530 --> 00:29:03,090
What makes sense for me?

635
00:29:03,450 --> 00:29:06,590
And varying circumstances that go into that can

636
00:29:06,590 --> 00:29:09,810
push you in different directions on your estate

637
00:29:09,810 --> 00:29:10,110
plan.

638
00:29:11,250 --> 00:29:13,790
And this time of year as you kind

639
00:29:13,790 --> 00:29:16,690
of take a fresh look at your financial

640
00:29:16,690 --> 00:29:19,070
plan, it dovetails with your estate plan.

641
00:29:19,310 --> 00:29:21,510
And maybe it also, which by the way,

642
00:29:21,550 --> 00:29:22,590
we're going to try and get my brother

643
00:29:22,590 --> 00:29:24,570
Keats on for a show sometime in the

644
00:29:24,570 --> 00:29:27,770
next couple weeks as well to talk about

645
00:29:27,770 --> 00:29:28,610
some of these things.

646
00:29:28,970 --> 00:29:30,390
Life insurance needs.

647
00:29:31,970 --> 00:29:35,390
When you have an annual review with your

648
00:29:35,390 --> 00:29:38,870
financial advisor, or if you're just doing it

649
00:29:38,870 --> 00:29:41,530
yourself, or if you need help, of course,

650
00:29:41,570 --> 00:29:44,290
as I said, we can help, but you

651
00:29:44,290 --> 00:29:45,090
want to step back.

652
00:29:45,250 --> 00:29:47,110
If you're in that stage of life where

653
00:29:47,110 --> 00:29:53,430
you're concerned that what if I'm not able

654
00:29:53,430 --> 00:29:55,890
to live long enough to create the wealth

655
00:29:55,890 --> 00:30:01,490
that I aspire to for myself and if

656
00:30:01,490 --> 00:30:03,470
I have a family, my spouse, my children,

657
00:30:05,030 --> 00:30:07,510
life insurance is a tool, we tend to

658
00:30:07,510 --> 00:30:11,250
use it as a temporary tool to mitigate

659
00:30:11,250 --> 00:30:12,950
that risk of what if I don't live

660
00:30:12,950 --> 00:30:16,050
long enough to create the wealth myself, here's

661
00:30:16,050 --> 00:30:18,130
a mechanism that can do it, create the

662
00:30:18,130 --> 00:30:19,410
wealth instantaneously.

663
00:30:21,570 --> 00:30:24,990
So there's other times where, you know, that's

664
00:30:24,990 --> 00:30:25,590
wealth creation.

665
00:30:25,710 --> 00:30:27,150
There's other times where life insurance can be

666
00:30:27,150 --> 00:30:29,910
used for wealth preservation, for people who have

667
00:30:29,910 --> 00:30:34,430
illiquid resources, like a business or a farm

668
00:30:34,430 --> 00:30:39,270
or, you know, real estate that isn't easily

669
00:30:39,270 --> 00:30:42,210
liquidated and they want to think about how

670
00:30:42,210 --> 00:30:45,350
to navigate their estate and so forth.

671
00:30:45,570 --> 00:30:49,210
But for most people, life insurance is about

672
00:30:49,210 --> 00:30:54,210
creating, recreating that wealth that if they're not

673
00:30:54,210 --> 00:30:56,350
able to do it themselves, the money machine.

674
00:30:57,590 --> 00:30:59,150
This time of year is a good time

675
00:30:59,150 --> 00:30:59,950
to revisit that.

676
00:31:00,550 --> 00:31:03,650
With that, you have to look at not

677
00:31:03,650 --> 00:31:06,330
only for your life insurance, but also your

678
00:31:06,330 --> 00:31:09,190
work retirement plans, if you have old ones

679
00:31:09,190 --> 00:31:10,310
and current ones.

680
00:31:10,310 --> 00:31:13,250
Your IRAs, who's the beneficiary?

681
00:31:13,770 --> 00:31:16,190
How many times have we seen an ex

682
00:31:16,190 --> 00:31:20,510
-spouse inherit a work plan that was forgotten

683
00:31:20,510 --> 00:31:23,050
about or an old life insurance policy?

684
00:31:23,850 --> 00:31:28,170
Parents of someone who've already been deceased, when

685
00:31:28,170 --> 00:31:31,630
someone dies and their life insurance is paid

686
00:31:31,630 --> 00:31:35,210
to, intended to be paid to their parents

687
00:31:35,210 --> 00:31:38,130
because they never updated the beneficiaries to their

688
00:31:38,130 --> 00:31:41,330
family, lots of things like that.

689
00:31:41,470 --> 00:31:43,110
This is the time you got to take

690
00:31:43,110 --> 00:31:44,610
a step back and look at some of

691
00:31:44,610 --> 00:31:45,170
those things.

692
00:31:45,990 --> 00:31:49,030
One thing I've recently learned about, and maybe

693
00:31:49,030 --> 00:31:50,770
you already know, you knew about it, Chris,

694
00:31:50,870 --> 00:31:53,870
but there's a new government website that helps

695
00:31:53,870 --> 00:31:54,630
you track down.

696
00:31:55,430 --> 00:31:58,570
Yeah, so it's a government website that, you

697
00:31:58,570 --> 00:32:01,810
know, you log in and you're able to

698
00:32:01,810 --> 00:32:03,850
find old 401ks that you might not know

699
00:32:03,850 --> 00:32:04,610
that you had.

700
00:32:04,790 --> 00:32:07,530
People forget about their retirement plan money.

701
00:32:07,530 --> 00:32:11,930
Not just 401ks, you know, 403Bs and similar

702
00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:12,730
types of plans.

703
00:32:13,670 --> 00:32:15,590
So through the Department of Labor, I think

704
00:32:15,590 --> 00:32:15,990
it was.

705
00:32:16,190 --> 00:32:16,330
Yes.

706
00:32:17,970 --> 00:32:19,130
That was a nice catch.

707
00:32:19,270 --> 00:32:20,850
I saw you shared that with a client

708
00:32:20,850 --> 00:32:21,470
recently.

709
00:32:22,930 --> 00:32:26,910
You know, look, this is not uncommon.

710
00:32:27,150 --> 00:32:31,110
If you find, you know, we find a

711
00:32:31,110 --> 00:32:32,890
lot of times the people who benefit from

712
00:32:32,890 --> 00:32:35,850
working with a professional like our firm are

713
00:32:35,850 --> 00:32:37,730
the people who find that they just don't

714
00:32:37,730 --> 00:32:39,010
really love doing this stuff.

715
00:32:39,250 --> 00:32:42,070
Yeah, and they're the kind of people who

716
00:32:42,070 --> 00:32:45,010
are most likely to forget about a small

717
00:32:45,010 --> 00:32:45,330
plan.

718
00:32:45,450 --> 00:32:46,630
You know, they had a work plan.

719
00:32:47,070 --> 00:32:47,790
They moved on.

720
00:32:47,870 --> 00:32:49,790
They've had three employers in the meantime and

721
00:32:49,790 --> 00:32:52,030
whatever happened to that, right?

722
00:32:52,470 --> 00:32:54,430
And that's what you're talking about.

723
00:32:54,510 --> 00:32:57,190
They say you've moved.

724
00:32:57,310 --> 00:32:58,590
They don't know how to reach you.

725
00:32:59,070 --> 00:33:02,170
Now, the plan is, you know, sort of

726
00:33:02,170 --> 00:33:04,510
in that lost property kind of mindset, right?

727
00:33:04,510 --> 00:33:06,390
You know, 401k limbo.

728
00:33:07,170 --> 00:33:08,190
Where is it?

729
00:33:08,330 --> 00:33:08,490
Right?

730
00:33:08,790 --> 00:33:10,730
So that's a resource that you can use

731
00:33:10,730 --> 00:33:12,090
to find stuff.

732
00:33:12,210 --> 00:33:14,270
But, you know, you're not alone.

733
00:33:14,730 --> 00:33:19,510
If you are in that circumstance where you

734
00:33:19,510 --> 00:33:22,810
just don't love doing this, but, you know,

735
00:33:22,830 --> 00:33:24,250
your passion is something else.

736
00:33:24,510 --> 00:33:26,850
Our passion is this and we love to

737
00:33:26,850 --> 00:33:29,210
be a resource, help people get on a

738
00:33:29,210 --> 00:33:30,610
path, be strategic.

739
00:33:31,110 --> 00:33:33,170
We find all the time people have a

740
00:33:33,170 --> 00:33:37,030
collection of investments, but would really benefit from

741
00:33:37,030 --> 00:33:43,050
a comprehensive approach, a cohesive thought process as

742
00:33:43,050 --> 00:33:44,870
to how should I approach this?

743
00:33:45,050 --> 00:33:47,310
Where should I put what kind of investments?

744
00:33:49,390 --> 00:33:50,990
And how it all fits together.

745
00:33:51,370 --> 00:33:54,090
So, why don't we kind of wrap it

746
00:33:54,090 --> 00:33:54,470
up there?

747
00:33:54,570 --> 00:33:56,670
There's probably other things to be thinking about,

748
00:33:56,770 --> 00:34:00,110
but that gives you a good set of

749
00:34:00,110 --> 00:34:03,090
priorities to go through as you're thinking about

750
00:34:03,090 --> 00:34:05,830
this to-do list as you start a

751
00:34:05,830 --> 00:34:06,390
new year.

752
00:34:06,950 --> 00:34:11,130
But, you know, if you find that you

753
00:34:11,130 --> 00:34:13,030
might benefit from a little bit of help,

754
00:34:13,310 --> 00:34:16,290
remember that we're here to be a resource

755
00:34:16,290 --> 00:34:18,949
to you and would be happy to try

756
00:34:18,949 --> 00:34:21,250
to help you either by calling us at

757
00:34:21,250 --> 00:34:28,290
508-771-8900, toll-free, 866-771-8901,

758
00:34:28,770 --> 00:34:31,250
or you can send us an email at

759
00:34:31,250 --> 00:34:36,550
amr-info at wealthenhancement.com.

760
00:34:37,090 --> 00:34:40,350
Russ, thanks for the good input and content.

761
00:34:40,929 --> 00:34:42,870
And everyone, thanks for being with us.

762
00:34:42,989 --> 00:34:44,850
Until next time, keep striving for something.

763
00:34:46,070 --> 00:34:48,389
Thank you for listening to Something More with

764
00:34:48,389 --> 00:34:49,110
Chris Boyd.

765
00:34:49,370 --> 00:34:51,550
Call us for help, whether it's for financial

766
00:34:51,550 --> 00:34:55,489
planning or portfolio management, insurance concerns, or those

767
00:34:55,489 --> 00:34:57,530
quality-of-life issues that make the money

768
00:34:57,530 --> 00:34:58,610
matters matter.

769
00:34:58,990 --> 00:35:02,250
Whatever's on your mind, visit us at somethingmorewithchrisboyd

770
00:35:02,250 --> 00:35:05,450
.com or call us toll-free at 866

771
00:35:05,450 --> 00:35:10,970
-771-8901, or send us your questions to

772
00:35:10,970 --> 00:35:14,950
amr-info at wealthenhancement.com.

773
00:35:15,090 --> 00:35:17,070
You're listening to Something More with Chris Boyd

774
00:35:17,070 --> 00:35:17,910
Financial Talk Show.

775
00:35:18,070 --> 00:35:20,510
Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services and Jay Christopher Boyd

776
00:35:20,510 --> 00:35:22,850
provide investment advice on an individual basis to

777
00:35:22,850 --> 00:35:23,390
clients only.

778
00:35:23,570 --> 00:35:25,530
Proper advice depends on a complete analysis of

779
00:35:25,530 --> 00:35:26,750
all facts and circumstances.

780
00:35:27,010 --> 00:35:28,810
The information given on this program is general

781
00:35:28,810 --> 00:35:30,830
financial comments and cannot be relied upon as

782
00:35:30,830 --> 00:35:32,430
pertaining to your specific situation.

783
00:35:32,630 --> 00:35:34,610
Wealth Enhancement Group cannot guarantee that using the

784
00:35:34,610 --> 00:35:36,610
information from this show will generate profits or

785
00:35:36,610 --> 00:35:37,730
ensure freedom from loss.

786
00:35:37,930 --> 00:35:40,090
Listeners should consult their own financial advisors or

787
00:35:40,090 --> 00:35:42,190
conduct their own due diligence before making any

788
00:35:42,190 --> 00:35:42,950
financial decisions.