Your Wealth Reserve: MAGA rules the Republicans

How Govt wastes our money:

Uvalde police not responsible for deaths after waiting 77 minutes to stop killings

NASA wastes taxes: Astronauts can’t survive in space: our microbes are changed

NASA wastes taxes: uses supercomputers to simulate future? crew landings on Mars.

NASA wasted: $2.9 billion lunar lander for crewed missions to Mars on SpaceX

Special Counsel’s Portrayal of Biden’s Memory : THE TRANSCRIPT

Congress “has just devolved into this bickering, nonsense, not really doing the job for us”

The 342 most successful corporate tax dodgers have left our kids to pay their tax bills

SCAMS/SPINS:

Trump delays payment to Jean Carroll in defamation verdict: nothing for months

Fact-checking Biden’s State of the Union address

Fact-checking Trump’s view of Jan 6 event

Trump installs his supporter/relative as head of MAGA National Committee.

Trump clinches (GOP) now MAGA nomination for third consecutive election

Trump’s Delay Tactics Paying Off in His Criminal Cases and Rallying His Supporters

Five ways to trigger an audit or a frightening notice from the IRS.

Scammers stole $1.3 billion in 2023 as pretenders of government or tech support

Scams Using Zelle Cash Transfers

Beware TikTok tax advice

Fidelity cuts 700 workers: is it time to look for another advisor or cut fees; go direct

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett found dead

Beware BofA Securities caught spoofing (fake trading to jack up price) fined $25 million

Recall: Johnsonville kielbasa sausage recalled due to contamination with rubber pieces

Recall: Hyundai and Kia to recall nearly 170,000 EVs over software charging problem

Conservative states pushing chaplains in public schools: Christian nationalism

Former Mormon bishop arrested on felony child sex abuse charges

Lamor Whitehead NY pastor caught stealing $1 million jewelry from parishioners

Joseph Desapio sold “quantitatively unsuitable trades” four accounts: regulator suspends

Law firm excessive advertising increases New York lawsuits, report says

Fake photo by Kate uncovered: fakes become propaganda for UK royals

Conservative efforts to censor 4,240 unique book titles* in schools and libraries to date.

Jobs

jobs.interestingengineering.com/

FL and TX gain populations from CA and NY

Refugees Get Fast Track for Work Permits to stop 9,000 farm closings

Who owns your account now?

"Companies focusing on [child care] from a productivity and a retention perspective"

Best Way to Secure All Your Online Accounts unless vendor is hacked

Unbreakable Rules of Personal Finance

IRS: Common tax return mistakes Why our refund was delayed

IRS Direct file open for 12 states: directfile.irs.gov/

A…n kills honest reviews of its products

Researchers have a way give our aging car batteries a shot of rejuvenation

Employees can pay off loans and receive employer-provided match to retire account.

8 Wealth Planning Insights From a Business and Estate Lawyer

66% of us are now inclined to pursue our passions and dreams in our retirement years

MAXIMIZE AFTER-TAX WEALTH: a vendor illustrates how it can be done

16 Electric and Hybrid Vehicles That Get a Tax Credit Worth up to $7,500

Retailers Closing Stores in 2024

Biden’s budget targets backdoor Roths and $10M retirement accounts

Low-risk accounts that let you sleep easy: earn back your investment after 10 years

Miracles:

Best vinyl records to own

Warmest winter on record this year

Coral reefs can be regrown in just 4 years according to a promising new trial

free internet service for some seniors

$4 drugs pharmacies if you don’t have a Medicare Advantage policy

22-copycat-recipes-from-your-favorite-restaurants: make favorite at home!

New Alzheimer’s treatment uses light and sound to clear blockages in brain

Up to 3 cups of coffee a day reduces many health risks

First-of-its-kind blood test to revolutionize detection of psychiatric disorders

GPS nanoparticle to treat basal-like breast cancers: delivers genetic punch

Blood tests could become a new option to screen for colon cancer

New strategy to attack aggressive brain cancer shrank tumors in two early tests

Pope urges Ukraine give up their freedom: supports Putin dictatorship

Lessons from successful investors

Do you need the ‘guaranteed lifetime income’ your advisor is offering?

A guaranteed lifetime income product is all the rage with advisors these days. Your advisor may have offered an annuity for that need recently. However, you have to know there are several ways to create ‘guaranteed lifetime income’ (GLI) for your retirement plan. The standard annuity is the security sales people prefer since they receive a substantial commission from it. The annuity they offer can be modified just for you at considerable higher cost. However, you need to consider other strategies that cost nothing. Most mutual funds (probably where you have your retirement funds) offer plans that provide lifetime income at any level for your retirement life period. These plans do not provide the “guarantee” that annuities provide. However, these plans also do not lock up your funds for your lifetime as annuities do. An annuity contract has restrictions on refunds and withdrawals that are not the scheduled periodic payments. Instead you can arrange to have a set monthly payment made to your bank account just like an annuity plan. Unlike an annuity, you can cancel this plan anytime you need your money for any other amount at any time. There are no commissions or fees for the mutual fund plans. As long as you set the periodic payments at a level that does not deplete your mutual fund completely, you can make the plan pay you for your lifetime. And because you are funding your period payments from your mutual fund portfolio, you may actually increase the amount available for a lifetime of payments.

Use the best low-cost strategy for lifetime income: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Annuity-Strategy-Income-Growth/dp/1497532019

Your RMD is actually an annuity: IRS requires a certain monthly amount

The IRS requires a certain monthly amount (RMD) usually calculated by your IRA and pension funds. The calculation is done every year depending on the growth or loss in your funds so that you pay tax on your deferred retirement balances. Your age is also part of the calculation. Technically challenging, the amount is best left to the professionals at your fund company. Most of us receiving our RMD also count on our Social Security benefits for income. The amount we receive is also calculated based on our age—another annuity. Thus, when a salesperson puts forward an annuity product, you must confirm they are also counting these annuity monthly income items in your need for a ‘guaranteed lifetime income’. Most of us have a good idea of how much income we need for basic expenses, thus making another annuity that is locked in, unnecessary. For most of us it is better to keep the non-deferred tax funds free of an annuity’s contract restrictions. We will always be able to fund an emergency or surprise expense. My family recently had to face a relative’s surgery not covered by their insurance. We were lucky to have had a great growth spurt in our tax-advantaged stock market fund.

https://www.amazon.com/What-your-RMD-much-spend/dp/1718946716

The most common financial mistakes

They usually have resulted in broker/advisor negligence lawsuits. Be on guard for these failures of your broker/advisor in the course of your association:

 Failure to address risk of disability.

 Failure to address risk of property loss and attached liability.

 Failure to timely process a your deposit check, resulting in the loss of potential investment gains.

 Recommending unsuitable investments.

 Recommending only those products which result in high fees for you.

 Failure to adequately educate you regarding investment risks, costs, and benefits.

 Charging fees that were not first disclosed and agreed upon with you.

 Failure to monitor investments on the schedule agreed upon in the engagement letter.

In general, you want appropriate communication with your financial consultant. You must provide the feedback if the level is not right for you since every relationship is different. You are paying for a good back and forth style and advisors can’t read your mind. Perhaps you don’t need a broker/advisor as 35% of us don’t use one. Many DIY folks learned enough to save on commissions and fees and earned more every year.

https://www.amazon.com/Avoid-Money-Scams-2014-insurance-financial/dp/1505437962

********ACCOUNTABILITY**************?

Like 1776, this period is a test of democracy—We rejected an "American fascist" once

The Path to Dictatorship: 2010-2030

Parallels of this era in the past may hint at our future: democracy breaks apart legally

Jan 21 2010 Corporations’ election-spending unlimited

Billionaires paid $881 million for votes in 2022 midterm elections

Nov 2020 Wealthy discredit election process

Nov 21 2020 Trump’s Plans for a Coup: criminal

Nov 21 2020: Trump plan: US Marshals seize voting machines

Jan 6 2021 Direct govt overthrow failed: guns & bombs were ready

Trump engaged in a "criminal conspiracy" to stop Biden