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Financial Tweaks for 2021

MoneyWise / Rob West and Steve Moore
The Truth Network Radio
February 23, 2021 7:03 am

Financial Tweaks for 2021

MoneyWise / Rob West and Steve Moore

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February 23, 2021 7:03 am

Most indicators point to continued economic recovery from the COVID crises this year.  Still there are things you can do to ensure that your own finances will be better in 2021 than they were last year. On the next MoneyWise Live, hosts Rob West and Steve Moore share some steps to strengthen your financial condition and prepare you for whatever lies ahead. Then Rob and Steve answer your calls and questions on various financial topics. Financial tweaks for 2021 on the next MoneyWise Live at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central on Moody Radio. 

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I just Doug Hastings VP here at Moody radio and we have a unique sponsor for this podcast. If United Faith mortgage the faith focused mortgage team with a very specific advantage that can save families money.

Here are two things you need to know number one United Faith mortgage was started by a dad and his son and his wife and they've grown into a team helping families all across the US and number two, they have unique advantage. Their company is an arm of a bigger company, which is a direct lender meaning there's no middleman. Their company uses its own money and makes its own lending decisions within its own walls. Again, no middleman, and often this allows them to get you a better rate on a new home purchase, refinance, or cash out refinance which could save you money over a lifetime.

Check out the faith and family mortgage team@unitedfaithmortgage.com United Faith is a DBA of United mortgage Corp. 25 Millville Park Rd., Melville, NY license mortgage banker for all licensing information, go to an MLS consumer access.org corporate MLS number 1330. Equal housing lender not licensed in Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah and those indicators point to continued economic recovery from the coven crisis later this year. Still, you can take some steps to ensure that 2021 be better than last for your finances today advises president Rob West share some steps to strengthen your financial condition. For whatever lies ahead and use of money market that your calls and questions on anything: 800-525-7000 800-5574 financial tweaks for 2021, one, I think there's one thing that everyone probably agree on today and that's that they'd like this year to be better than the last. So we probably have a captive half chance to make some financial improvements were to restart. Yeah there's no question that the number one thing you should do if you're not already doing it is to start saving 2020 showed us that the absolute necessity is there to have an emergency fund for hard times. Recent study showed that 40% of Americans have had trouble paying their bills and making the rent or mortgage payments since the pandemic began. So it's vital that you start putting away something from every paycheck into a savings account. Make a goal to start with the $1500 then keep going into you have one months living expenses. But don't stop there until you have 3 to 6 months living expenses saved up, that's for sure. Far too many people were short on savings when coven hit, and the loss of income that resulted from it obviously was devastating, so getting on a budget so you can save for emergencies is absolutely vital right. What's next, well saving covers your short-term needs. But now it's time to get serious about long-term needs. If your income hasn't been reduced to take advantage of that while you can, and do your best to max out your 401(k) or IRA that many retirement plans will let you set your contributions to increase automatically, so perhaps at the beginning of each year.

You might want to do that or whenever you get a raise. That way you'll never see the additional money and you won't miss it. And if you can't max out your 401(k), at least put in enough to max out any employer contributions you know I think that might be new to me. I didn't know you could set your 401(k) automatically to to automatically increase your contributions yeah not all of them do. So you'll need to check with your plans administrator to see if you can set it up okay. What else. Well, a lot of folks have found their spending much more time at home because of the pandemic. So this next week lets you make the most of that time. By taking web courses online learning has exploded since the pandemic began and it's easier than ever now to get a professional certification or specialization, even undergrad, and masters degrees. Working from home and often at a fraction of the cost of in classroom programs and if you're looking for a career change, or to add to your existing skill set while the pandemic is only increase the demand for tech talent. So schools have really geared up with more options for computer programming and coding classes. Yeah, that's a great idea.

Take advantage of your down time to increase your marketable skills are at anything else yet another unfortunate byproduct of the pandemic has been a surge in fraud. It's taken many forms from unemployment scans to trying to get folks to pay for vaccines, which of course are free, so you need to take steps to protect yourself from fraud. One way to do that is by signing up for a transaction or account alerts with your bank and credit card issuer that you should be able to do that online.

Once you've logged into your account.

Look for security settings and select the transaction monitoring option of the system will then text or email you whenever money is taken from the account and you can take steps to minimize the damage of fraud has occurred, but you can also put a freeze on your credit at the three reporting bureaus. We talked about this before experience Echo facts Trans Union that will prevent thieves from setting up new accounts in your name by blocking credit checks and you can now freeze your credit for free by law.

It's also a good idea.

Steve to check your reports regularly to say at least every six months to make sure there's no suspicious activity you can do that for free as well just head over to annual credit reports.com. Speaking of this kind of thing. I may have mentioned this before but it happened to me again yesterday. I have been approached three times in the last three weeks to check out my my PayPal account because it supposedly been frozen because of suspicious activity well none of that happened. They just wanted to get me to click on phishing emails very very careful about that. Now you don't have to be careful when you call us to open lines available to speak from less than 800-525-7000, 800 525. Have you with us today. It's when lies live where we remember that God owns it all. We can help you today with any sort of financial question. Would love to chat 800-525-7000. Our Facebook question of the day was or is what changes would you like to make with your finances in 2021, Charlotte says we need to do some revisions on our budget changes in income, income, revenue, render it necessary.

Matt says doing a complete reset out of debt and on a budget want to be a good steward of my of my finances. Good for you Matt than Tom says wanting to pay off some debt so if you haven't made any real adjustment so far in 2021, now's a great time to start and Rob as we were talking about saving money had to up my mind goes to our friends in Texas who really been struggling over the last week.

I mean they don't have snow and ice storms in Texas, but they have this year and a many hard-working people have been struck. Unfortunately, some friends of mine is a matter of fact, those with some savings may end up doing a little bit better, but this really is an emergency tragic situation and you can only do so much right. That's exactly right. And you know that's why we plan for the unexpected. The unexpected does come, and we know that so we need to be ready for it.

To the best of our ability being wise with God's provision living on less than our meeting so we have margin but yet real challenges there in Texas our heart and prayers go out to those folks dealing with the cleanup. There, that's beginning going to let students go to Reading, Pennsylvania hello Ella, thanks for calling today. How can we help area great.

Thanks. I'm calling trying to get ready to be turning 60, and I keep hearing conflicting things about what my husband passed away a little over a decade ago and I was told in document 16 about their partial events in a coming fall and my one friend who was telling me about it. She's a widow but then she had remarried, divorced, and said, you can still get it felt I'm getting all different kinds of stories I'm confused yeah well Ella you are right. There are survivors benefits at age 60 are typically going to get to 72% of the amount you would receive if you waited until full retirement age for each year you wait beyond 60. The benefit will increase incrementally until you reach full retirement age.

Basically, the survivor's benefit is based on your late husband's highest 35 years of income.

So if possible you want to wait till 65 or 66 your full retirement age 400% of the benefits he would have received but you can want to look into that and there are some provisions regarding remarriage that does affect this.

What I will tell you is so security ministration is very helpful. Another doing virtual meetings right now not in person so you could schedule one of those to basically talk about your situation. They could pull up his actual benefits based on what he paid in and talk to you about what you would receive at age 60 and then how that would increase over time in the years following so that there should be survivors benefits for you. The question is whether or not you want to take a reduced benefit at 60 or you want to wait each year for that incremental increase that would be coming your way.

Ella does that work for you is at height little bit helped me waiting just regularly now for that benefit.

Benefits as opposed to survivor benefits look different.

Now the question is just you. To be eligible for the higher of the two, so one option is you start collecting on your husbands.

You wait on yours to. If you've been working all these years and then you could look at perhaps switching over to your benefit.

Once you reach full retirement age so that's going to be where you're going to need to work with them based on your actual situation of what he's paid and what you will have coming down the road and you can use of the two. To maximize that benefit over time which you're entitled again to the higher of the two. As you allow this to play out so it could in fact make a lot of sense for you to go ahead and start collecting a partial benefit from him, assuming you can switch over to a higher benefit down the road so I think that's where a phone call and a visit to look into your actual situation and numbers to be really helpful to you and L. FYI, I have never visited the federal office that was more helpful than my local SSA office so encourage you to check them out if that if that works well for you and it's not too far away. I presume there more than a couple in Reading Pennsylvania. We wish you the best. Thanks so much as a phone number 800-525-7000 any sort of financial question you have for Rob West today we'd love to take it. Open lines and 800-525-7000 Cleveland, Ohio hello Tammy, what's in your heart now and me couple questions here so how long do you plan to continue to work. I'm not sure. I'm hoping I okay and on your current track based on the payment you're making to your mortgage. When would that be paid off just based on your current trajectory.

Okay. Alright.

And do you have some discretionary income over and above your monthly expenses that you could use to accelerate that payoff and I'm thinking an extra payment a year or more. Would that be possible okay are a very good and do you have an emergency fund in place the right and you have any credit card debt, or other consumer debt, student loans, I'm hoping our present okay.

All right. The jury are currently paying on those okay and when would those be paid off. Now I never thought of Tom. You have to pull out of your retirement account okay you know I really don't love the idea of you pulling money out of your retirement account to take care of this year.

You can have a penalty of 10% because you're under 59 1/2. It's all good to be added to your taxable income. So this becomes fairly expensive money to access for debt reduction. Even though I love the idea of you being debt-free over time, not to mention the lost opportunity cost of this money growing for you over the next five years until retirement and then you know if the Lord Terry's and you have good health for the next couple of decades potentially beyond that where this money is going to need to generate an income to supplement other income sources.

You have potentially unless that's covered in retirement.

So I think the best we can do to limit your lifestyle.

Take any access and and use that to pay down the mortgage, perhaps with the goal of, you know, having the mortgage paid off by the time you retire set that's in five years. May we try to accelerate that payoff to five years and it could be that as you're entering retirement over a couple year. You'd take a portion of your TSP your thrift savings plan and you pay off the remaining portion but I don't think I do that now. I would really stay focused on trying to send extra pay it down you know is is best you can out of excess cash flow. Limit your lifestyle. Let your TSP continue to grow and then let's see if we can get that paid off in conjunction with you transitioning into that next season as you really are asking the Lord what he has for you in retirement and at that point. Getting your lifestyle and your expenses down as low as possible by being debt-free, among other ways, including the fact that you're no longer saving for retirement. You know is gonna put you in a position where you don't need as much money on a monthly basis, which will take some of the pressure off your retirement savings so you know if you had an absolute conviction. You just want to be out of debt tomorrow then you certainly could do it but if you're comfortable taking some time.

I really just try to focus on paying it down on a cash flow as opposed to point out that Tammy would let you call today.

Thank you very much for listening to moneywise live with Rob West. Our phone number is 805 five 7000 were coming out 12 reminds us, and have not been faithful in that which is another's that which is nice to have you with us today is moneywise live with Rob West, I'm Steve Moore and we go to Pingree Grove, Illinois hello Brad what you question today I Brad Ravitch of human Brad that was pretty bad. Can you move one way or the other or when we take Sandra Stephen give Brett a moment to see if he can rectify in case you're driving, Brad.

You may have to pull over.

I apologize, but work with you to decide your thanks Lake Worth, Florida Sandra, how are you today were doing great, thank you very much. And your question is time that long for my parents to get a window pull my credit different from credit, yes, no, it is yeah there's something called a lender's report and then there's the consumer report and although it's based on the same information. The algorithm that's calculating the credit score is somewhat different so it's not unexpected for you to know, pull your own credit report and credit score through something like credit card or nerd wallet or even your own credit card issuer that makes credit scores available to you free and have that be different than what a lender may get back from their own credit reports that you authorize them to pull and unfortunately although they don't typically vary a ton. If one of them is lower. Namely, the lenders score and it falls just below the threshold that would allow you to access a certain loan program that perhaps you might have qualified for. If your score was in play. Now I can be frustrating, which I certainly recognize but at the end of the day that is accurate and that is the way it works. Unfortunately okay terrible anyhow set my mind. My second question is that I called the company and get the loan and it told me that the only way I can get that on mankind by that I would have to refinance my house and use that money then another way I can go but was attending what you're trying to do Sandra you're looking to buy the home for your parents.

Is that right cannot help them to get okay because they have the credit okay and were you going to do that by providing cash, or were you actually get a cosign with them. I would quote down okay well you know the only thing I would just caution you on there.

I certainly appreciate your heart, your desire to help your mom and dad and I realize it there in a tough spot. Financially it can be difficult for them to get in the home. I just want you to know you know the dangers of cosigning of the reason the Bible is pretty strong on this particular topic is because so often there is relational damage that occurs when we cosign for someone who doesn't have the ability to qualify in their own and in a situation where they're unable to make good based on their best intentions by paying the loan. It then falls back on the other party to either step in and make the payments or resulting in or have fun damage to their credit reports for for all parties.

Now you may be going into this thing Rob I fully understand that it I'm willing to do whatever I have to do, you know. Perhaps there on a fixed income. So that's not going to change and you know they'll be able to do what they can do each month and you kinda know that going in, but I just want you to understand the potential implications if for some reason you're expecting them to do something that they can't because their situation changes down the road and that's gonna fall bought back on you in terms of how to go about that. You know, the lenders going to look at this as a second property for you. If in fact you know your income is being used to qualify for it, which makes the standards a bit higher in terms of you cashing out your current property to put cash down. I don't like that at all.

Just because now were putting your home at further risk of potentially being lost if something dramatic changes in your life that would cause you to not be able to make this a higher monthly payment that you would be responsible for when you refinancing and take cash out so you know it is much as I love that you want to help. There's not a perfect situation here just based on the fact that the lenders are saying you and your parents together even don't qualify for the loan and you don't have the cash saved up kind of on the side to be able to give them so I think the key right now is perhaps rather than buying something. Let's see if we can get them into something a little less expensive perhaps a rental of some kind that's within their budget. If there on a fixed income. I realize that may be hard but let's try to find something maybe check around at your church to see if somebody has no extra parcel on the property that they would allow to be used in a below market rates, malicious pray and ask the Lord to provide here in only the way that he can to give you wisdom as you help to navigate in the let's not violate any of these principles to the best of our ability. In doing so, and make sure that we take this one step at a time and not get overextended to create a further problem beyond their finances into your own personal finances, so will be praying that the Lord will give you wisdom Sandra and provide a solution here. We will indeed and we can appreciate your love for your parents and wanting to help them and will just pray that God reveals a way to make this just a bit more acceptable and palatable. We just don't know what 2021 is going to bring in were all praying that it will be better than 20/20, that's for sure. That's where we started out as we began today's program.

Rob oh what about the money wise app these days.

I've got a question right here about husband-and-wife not seeing I die. Obviously budgeting is is pretty pretty basic. Here I would to get help with a couple who is struggling a bit mentally well. I think it can, in the sense that you are the key when were disagreeing about money is husband-and-wife is we've got a connector spending to our values and we've got to get alignment between the two of us as to what ultimately pursuing and then the plan which the budget will help you execute on is just the actualization of what the Lord is leading you to do a monthly basis app.moneywise.org check it out at.moneywise.org phone lines 3 Grove, Illinois. Let's try Brad again to seal his phone lines working hydrated. There is, that sounds a whole lot better. Thanks for your patience. How can we. Well I'm 61 years old.

My wife is 63. I'm working full time.

She makes about 350 a week. I've been home about eight 5900 a week. We have a home worth 170 wheel 128 have about 70,000 in 401(k) we don't have any debt except for the home. The issue is that I have climbed for about 12 years now and I'm not sure how much longer I can keep driving a truck and I just wonder how old do I have to be to be on Medicare and what if I if I were to quit work today at 61, approximately what percentage what I get from Social Security. Yeah, great questions here. So in terms of Medicaid and Medicare. It's available for people 65 and older younger younger people with disabilities and people with end-stage renal disease and there's a few kinda qualifiers including a few others that I haven't mentioned may also qualify so you may be worth looking into the but typically you're going to need to wait to age 65 that has of course to parts the part day which is the hospital insurance. Part B, which is the Medicare insurance and your eligible for premium free part a if you're 65 and you or your spouse worked and paid the Medicare taxes and for at least 10 years. You know you wanted just kinda look into that further in terms of your are there any other things related to your situation. Specifically, the might change things allow you to get it earlier and I would just call the Social Security Administration to inquire about that in terms of taking Social Security early. You certainly can start taking it at 62. It would result in a lower benefit than if you waited till full retirement age. Typically, you're looking about 25% reduction at 62 versus full retirement age, whatever that might be for you. 66. Probably so I think it's just going to come down to. Do you need the money now.

Do you have the ability the ability to wait and allow that check to increase and if not that it's a blessing that it's there.

Even at a reduced amount, but obviously you know you got a cover that the medical side as well, and you're still a few years away from being able to get Medicare covered at no cost. Unless you happen to qualify based on one of these other provision, so I would place a call set up a meeting with your local SSA office, it's can happen virtually and see if they can give you some specific answers read. Thank you for that. We wish you the very best. Sorry to hear about your health challenges there. Akron, Ohio. Lisa, you have a your son has a kind of a good situation. How can we help you write high school. Between our art to help and networking account and 25, five 2900. A local college drinking for about may think if you didn't get any scholarship at all. It would be $40,000 for four years, 25,000 already 29 he looks to earn practically 20 here between what he earned and what we will do to help him out. I was wondering what would you advise us to do with that many. Yeah well I think the questions you don't want to over fund that account to the best of your ability and keep in mind that money going in now at 16 when college is just around the corner.

You not going to get a lot of the benefit that you would normally get in a 529 through though the growth of the investments inside the account because you want to be in a more conservative posture.

Given that you're going to start drawing this money down you know and as soon as 24 months, so I'd probably you'll be thinking about continuing to save but looking at you know what might be the best place to do that which would give you flexibility if in fact you guys wanted to kick in. No portion of that 40,000 or it doesn't end up costing him as much because he does it. Quicker he find some grants or scholarships for his particular trade or line of work that he's pursuing which you know even though he saved a good bit of money I wouldn't you know miss out on that opportunity to try to find additional scholarships or grants that may be out there do some of that legwork to see if there's some additional funds out there, do you anticipate Lee said that you will would qualify for financial aid. Children make that battle.

Well, we had a couple different things mean you probably can and $70,000 a year. I am now okay he makes about 270,001 we had aside business that makes it out okay yeah so there there's not any financial aid here so that's not going to be a concern of the issues with saving outside of that if you were to your son specifically were to put it in an account in his name or a custodial account that you will would set up is that that would have adverse effects in terms of qualifying for financial aid. But there's you're not going to qualify anyway so I think at this point given that he's put away that money which is great. Obviously, kudos to him now. It's probably time to go ahead and continue to fund you know that ING account and I think the key will just be based on the time horizon if he expects to use 100% of it you know in the next 2 to 3 years.

He wants to stay really conservative probably just in the high-yield savings account is much as I hate to think you'd only be getting 1/2 a percent a year. Here we just don't want to take any risk that we get into a recession or the market heads down to get into a bear market. He loses money and then he's gotta pay tuition bills over the next couple years and the monies not there and is having to sell it to you know after after a loss. So I think at this point he probably just freezes that 529 and then now you know continues to save in alternate accounts that he would have full discretion over in terms of being able to use however he wishes. Lisa wish you guys the best.

Sounds like you're heading in the right direction and we appreciate your phone call today. Thank you. Sunrise Florida Apollo just a couple of minutes here. Can you give us this really quick I think to take my call.

I don't even Holmdel and Sunrise, Florida, and Victor tried to collect some money to go out. Roof repair Association and they won 8801 spot no payments at all just so that correct well yeah I mean you want to pull out the homeowners association documents, but it's going to say that they have the ability to collect assessments based on repairs and improvements that are necessary to keep the dwelling in working order. What I would have a concern about those that they're passing this all on to you at one time and asking for than one payment without any advance notice. I would hope that they would allow you to work that in over time, and I think that would be my next step is to really approach them in saying no. Can we work on this in terms of the monthly payment you know I'm I want to make good on this and willing to do my part, but obviously I don't have $8000 and you know, can we spread this out over the next 12 months or what else could be done in terms of being able to work on favorable situation for both you and the condo association, so I think that's gonna be my next step here.

I think beyond that you want to contact a real estate attorney to find out what your rights are under the terms of the HOA agreement, let us know how that turns out this is money wisely visit us online.

See all of the resources we have available. Also ways to connect with a CPA certified Pfizer in your area.

Also a budget coach radio archives of past programs. All of that and more. When you visit us today@moneywiselive.org, Cleveland, Ohio Tommy, thanks so much for your patience. Today I have a question about widow's benefits is that correct correct the redhead. Two years ago and I don't know what the eligible for yes yes ma'am. Well, a widow or widower age 60 or older can receive survivor's benefits. Although if you don't wait until full retirement age will be less than what you perceive if you wait, but it's based on your late husband's highest 35 years of income is so essentially they would take what would be normally coming to him and if you wait until it age 65, you'd be eligible for 100% of the benefits he would have received and if you're entitled to your own benefits you would be able to earn the higher of the two amounts so I think the next step for you is to you can apply online, but you can contact Social Security and have them spell out exactly what you would be entitled to, based on your age and the benefits he would have received based on his income and and what he paid into the Social Security over the years the number. Tommy is 800-772-1213. That's 800-772-1213 let them know you want to know about survivors benefits schedule an appointment and they'll tell you everything you need to know, Tommy, thank you very much for that quickly out to Montana hey David, how can we help you buy a truck while you might've answered the scenario in the past. Unfortunately only to listen to your couple times a week to sign secret David there's only 15 questions that can be answered is going around going around well might make it back around 5055.

How can I be retiring within the next five-year okay for legs retirement between parents and thrift savings Social Security and my investment in my investments.

I have about 60,000 split right down the middle loss and liquid and I was wondering if it make any sense to the liquid and fire truck out right versus financing it in all the expenses that go along with that, but then I think about the loss potential income and I get to understand. I just keep going around and around in a circle opinion on some like that. Yeah this is good, let's get to work your way through it. So tell me again your age 55 and how long do you plan to continue to work within five years.

My wife is eight years older than I am. She's ready to go this year, so she's got some plans I align all yeah alright so you got the next five years, and you're preparing for that season. Have you looked at what your retirement budget will look like, what were your expenses be when you said that. I just thought someday. I think it was going to your website and filled out the caucusing financial planners so that is in our docket. Where can wait till after we do our taxes.

Also, we have the most accurate numbers. Excellent fly think that's really the next step. David is to determine where you're going to be in terms of these four and I love that you already know this. You've obviously given some thought to you got these four income sources that will all be feeding into your ability to cover your lifestyle, your expenses in that season of life.

I'd love for you to be completely debt free. You know when you get to that point because that's going to cause you to be able to keep that to those expenses as low as possible in terms of the funds your you're considering you said half of that investment account is liquid. Do you mean it's not currently invested.

It's in like a money market or something no stocks. Okay thoughts on the other half is on the loss which obviously I can't touch. Still, 59, and put the stock portion is not insider retirement accounts which were called in taxable account.

Is that right yes okay and you have quite a bit against going on in their beginnings of health obviously went a little bit and lightly bit coin by the public yeah help a lot in the last year so I can imagine all right what here's what I would do. I probably wouldn't make this decision into you visit with these financial planners. There is an enough going on. Enough moving pieces. I suspect it's probably gonna make sense for you to go ahead and and take a portion of that. If it's not in a retirement account is to go ahead and and by that to truck out right.

Keep yourself you really lean in terms of your expenses.

You don't have to take you know this extra debt on on a monthly basis and just keep things real simple.

The key will be with the sources that remain the out the Roth the rest of the investment accounts and the other things that you're counting on Social Security in your pension. Are you on track to have enough to fund your needs in retirement and you know I think that'll be a part of what you look at as you do some of this retirement planning. So I think you could go either way. I think it's ultimately going to come down to what gives you greater peace of mind. If it were me, and they tell you yeah you're on track and it's fine if you take 20 or 25,000 every planning on spending maybe 30 from this and buy this with cash. I like the idea of you being debt free but ultimately to come down to that retirement planning David. We appreciate that call today. We wish you the best Rob you think is anyone in Montana who doesn't drive a truck that's a prerequisite. I think it is at least one truck in the family.

Yes, every year we used to go to some friends from church and the guys out to big sky skiing. We have developed a few years, but that is beautiful country. It is, there's snow there though there was not a lot of snow, but you need that for skiing.

Not so much for trout fishing, but now her off on a tangent.

Okay Martinsville and Martinsville Indiana hello Robert your final call today.

How can we help hello Robin, I was actually had a question about I've had several different places arrived on and talk with investment advisors are meeting to so for and a lot of times we'll talk about Social Security not being there in the future for someone like myself who I'm I'm 45 so I am contributing to the raw Roth IRA and also contributing to a traditional IRA, IRA as well as doing up 401(k) contributions but I'm just curious what your guide to take is on that, like whether Social Security will still be around. Is that something we should consider as part of our income in the future, or should we not yet a great question Robert a couple of things.

Obviously we know that on the current trajectory, the Social Security trust fund will be a deplete the fund by 2034 and you know that something that is looming. What I will say though is that I believe changes will be made that will sure that system up. How was I can happen will result in reduced benefits.

Probably not. Could it mean that they push the retirement Angel out a little further. It could, but most likely it's going to be new taxes and particularly on the upper wage earners in our economy that will end up shoring up that the Social Security system so it in my view, will be there in some form. The question is how much do we count on. Keep in mind foot Social Security was never intended to cover more than 45% for your retirement income. So regardless, you shouldn't be counting on that is a primary source. And if you're saving you know based on your typical meal standards, which means that you should be looking for 10 to 12 times your income as a goal in a retirement account that then is supplemented by Social Security, then you should be in pretty good shape. So even if there is some in a reduction in Social Security based on today's current estimates.

You should still be all right. So I would just say do what you can keep your lifestyle at a minimum continue giving but also be a diligent saver for the future. If you put away 10 to 15% of every check out your to be well on your way to having what you need so that even if there are some changes to Social Security. You'll be ready for the Robert, thank you very much we appreciate that. I said I said Robert was our final collar, but Karen if you there will get a squeeze to win, but you'll have to be real brief. I write my blog point in our I can actually show. I have equity I can request the removal of the PMI yes during the refinance as long as you can justify the fact in the bank will accept the source that you're using that you have 20% equity in the home you should be able to drop that private mortgage insurance are unsolicited and FHA loan where it's a requirement. So based on a value of 176 and the new amount that you're borrowing. Do you have 20% about right now though you know it's it's going to be a requirement on that and so you probably not be able to do anything about that.

But if you were to the refinance to a conventional mortgage and you can justify that you have at least 20% in equity than you could get rid of that, unfortunately, but glad to hear you to save a point on the interest rate that'll make a big difference, caring, great job.

We wish you the best with that. Thanks, Rob, is there any rule of thumb as far as refinancing is concerned number of points you can diminish anything along those line well I would really love for you to say the least. A point and 1/2 love for you to be in this home. Based on your current expectation of at least 5 to 7 years. I also really don't want you if you're going to refinance to increase the term so 30 year mortgage you been paying on the 10 years take out a new mortgage that's no more than 20 years because you could chew up all that savings in interest by extending the turnout much longer. Thanks for appreciate that a this program moneywise live. It's a part of the radio and moneywise media. Thanks so much for listening and for joining us today. Rob last time Steve Moore hoping will come back and join us again tomorrow


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