Ok now that you’ve recovered from falling off your chair after reading the tile of this blog, let me explain.
Inflation is one of the biggest challenges in achieving, and maintaining, financial independence. The low inflation we have experienced for decades has made many of us lazy when it comes to spending. Now is the time to put some great habits into place that will reduce your spending now and will help even more when inflation get’s back to historical norms.
Here are some tips:
The days of clipping coupons seems to be a thing of the past. Time to resurrect this time-tested way to save money. Now it’s done electronically. Click here for a great article on coupon apps.
Bargain shop. The meat department is the best place to shop for deals. Supermarkets would rather greatly reduce the price on meat than throw it away. I’ve seen bargains at 50% off. And not to worry, the meat is still good.
Dump the name brands. I am a big name-brand guy however that is changing. You can save 30-50% on certain items by going with the store brand such as Kroger at Ralphs. Just today we saved 30% on peanut butter and couldn’t tell the difference.
Use those credit card miles. If you fly Southwest use their Chase Rewards Card. This year alone I flew two of us to Hawaii roundtrip and flew myself to NY and used my miles. Pretty much all carriers have credit cards they use for miles.
If you shop at Ralphs use their Ralph’s Reward Card. They have a great app that shows you year to date savings. We have saved $500 so far this year. You also get fuel points that you can used at Shell Stations. I’ve saved as much as $.50 per gallon!
This one is real hard for me but try to walk out of restaurants with a doggie bag. I’m the type of person that if something is real good, I’ll clean my plate (thanks mom!). But with portion sizes so big you should have no problem making two meals out of one. Your wallet and belly with thank you!
These are just a few habits to help get you through this time of high inflation that could help your plan when inflation gets back to “normal”.
Financial advisory firms have historically endured a bad reputation – either because they were too expensive, or they only helped people with lots of money to invest, or they were trying to sell clients a product or plan that didn’t align with the heart of their goals and situation. Too many Americans don’t think they can afford a Financial Advisor and planning services. Too many of them avoid partnering with an Advisor because they don’t think they have enough money to meet some criteria. But those are often the people who could benefit from a financial coach the most! It’s also the largest population in America. That’s why we founded Trilogy Financial almost 30 years ago – to provide a true fiduciary and financial coach to everyday Americans who want to live the best life possible. Our goal at Trilogy was to create something different, something people hadn’t seen before. And over the last 25 years, we’ve been evolving the firm and honing our practices to improve the financial planning industry and make an Advisor accessible to everyone.
A Purpose Driven Financial Advisor and Coach
In Trilogy Financial’s beginnings, our vision and purpose was to help Financial Advisors be better Advisors so they could help more people. However, as time has gone on, that’s evolved into something bigger. Now our purpose is to help everyday Americans gain financial independence. They are the group of people that often struggle to achieve their financial goals, and we want to focus and help those that need advice. This is the culture we’ve built today. Our Advisors want to help as many people as they can, and we’re on a mission to make those Advisors more productive so that can help provide more for our clients. That is purpose-driven business.
How to Make Financial Advisors More Productive For Clients
Most financial advisory and planning firms have an advisor-led service model, and there’s nothing wrong with that – except that not all Advisors have service as their strong suit. As a Financial Advisor, many people perceive our job is to advise people how to save and spend their money. But we believe it takes more than that to make an impact. We’re striving to build what we call a “trust transfer” where our Advisors spend more time advising clients, building Life Plans, and making recommendations, and a service team does what they do best. This is how we’re optimizing our operations at Trilogy for the benefit of our clients. This service team consists of a group of people with a distinct culture and skillset that will deliver great, helpful service to our clients. This is contrary to what’s “the norm” for financial advisory firms – and that’s exactly why we’re doing it. This is part of our efforts to bring quality financial planning and advice to everyday Americans.
Introducing the Mack Service Center
The Mack Service Center is a robust client experience service center that was Trilogy’s late co-founder Kevin “Mack” Mackintosh’s vision for the firm. His core focus was to build a meaningful client service team to support Advisors so they could do what they do best – financial planning – and provide the clients with a high quality experience. Mack designed and developed the Trilogy Service Team based on what he learned over the years as an Eagle Scout, rowing crew member and in his time in the financial planning business. From day one, he had a clear vision of what Trilogy could accomplish when we all worked together and focused on service. A few years back, he took the ball and really got it rolling for this project. He found the right people to lead it and get it off the ground. Right before his untimely passing in early 2020, he had nearly completed building the Service Center team vision. Following his loss, under the leadership of our founder/President, Jeff Motske, in conjunction with Eric Perkins – we built out the actual Service Center, team, outlined processes, operations and more. Kevin Mackintosh instilled the right attitude, built the right culture and we’re proud to name our Mack Service Center after him so his legacy lives on.
The Future of Trilogy Financial and the Mack Service Center
Our goal is to have a well-regarded Advisor in front of every everyday American. Too many financial advisory firms want to work with high-net-worth individuals, but it’s those who are 52 years old with $400,000 in their retirement who really need our support and education to get to where they want and need to be. These are everyday Americans, and they deserve for someone to help them pursue their dreams. And we’re changing that. We rolled out the Mack Service Center team this year to support our Financial Advisors’ current planning efforts with each client. This is our way of connecting the financial planning industry back with the real-life issues of Americans and helping each of them plan and live the life of their dreams.
Planning for retirement amid changing market dynamics can be stressful, especially as retirement age approaches. Fortunately, there are a myriad of ways to prepare for it, even if you plan to retire early.
OPTIMIZE YOUR RETIREMENT INCOME
One of our top tips is to optimize your retirement income by setting yourself up with a diversified portfolio that offers a solid return. If you are in your twenties, there is a big opportunity to let compound interest work its magic. If you are in your thirties or forties, compound interest may not be as lucrative for you, but there are still plenty of ways to maximize your returns.
Here are some of the different options available to help plan for retirement:
SEP IRA – a self-employed retirement plan known as the Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA requires employers to contribute 100% of the accounts' funds and provide equal benefits to all eligible employees.
401(k) – An individual retirement plan for which contributions are not tax-deductible, but withdrawals in retirement are tax-free.
Roth IRA – An individual retirement plan for which contributions are not tax-deductible, but withdrawals in retirement are tax-free.
Each option has its differences, so it is important to work with an advisor to identify which is best suited to your situation and your goals. There’s a lot that can go into your Life Plan and we are here to help.
Senior couple enjoying happy retirement lifestyle
DEVELOP A BUDGET AND SAVINGS PLAN
Budgeting can make a world of difference. If you haven’t already, establish an emergency fund. This will give you peace of mind and will help pay for any unexpected expenses that may arise. Once you’ve set that money aside, you can plan your monthly expenses, retirement contributions and more with the rest of the income you have.
As you develop this budget and savings plan to get you to your retirement goals, ask yourself the following questions:
What quality of life do I want to experience in retirement?
What medical expenses do I anticipate?
Do I plan on working during retirement?
Will I have a flow of income during retirement?
These are all important considerations and will help you develop an actionable plan to achieve the retirement lifestyle you dream of.
DETERMINE YOUR TAX BRACKET AND MINIMIZE YOUR TAXES
In retirement, taxes can eat into your available income, leaving you with less to live on. It's important to remember that taxes don't stop once you're retired. Our financial advisors are here to help guide you take steps throughout your working life to minimize your IRS obligations now and later.
The same basic tax brackets that apply to working taxpayers also apply to retirees. Determining your tax bracket in retirement is just like determining your tax bracket while you’re working – which is determined by your filing status and taxable income (income minus deductions).
Common sources of retirement income that are taxable include:
Distributions from traditional 401(k)s and IRAs
Investment income
A portion of your Social Security benefits (in some situations)
Some pension income
Income from work (full or part time)
INVEST TO ADD ADDITIONAL CASH FLOW IN RETIREMENT
If building wealth is your goal, the stock market or other investment strategies are common options. Investments such as annuities, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and income-producing equities can offer additional retirement income beyond Social Security, a pension, savings and other investments.
DETERMINE THE AMOUNT OF RISK THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR YOU
It is important to keep in mind that all investments come with risk. If you are young, you can probably tolerate more risk. If you are in your thirties or forties, however, you might benefit from taking a lower risk approach. This is because people in their twenties have more time to correct and mitigate losses. A financial advisor can help you decide if you would like to take a low-risk, slow-and-steady approach, or guide you through a high-risk approach with the potential of yielding higher returns.
PAY OFF YOUR DEBTS
It’s important to pay off credit card debt and student loans as soon as possible. Systematically chipping away at debt now, can have a significant impact on your future debts and purchasing power.
A mortgage can be looked at as both a good debt and a bad debt, depending on your goals. Many people choose to rent a home to avoid being tied to a mortgage, and others use that property as a cash-positive asset. Depending on your goals, it’s important to discuss each of these approaches with a financial advisor so they can help guide you through something that will ultimately benefit you and your family.
MAXIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS
Navigating Social Security income can be complicated, but there are several ways to maximize your social security benefits, including:
Work for 35 years or more
Earn as much as you can right up until full retirement age (or past it)
If you can, wait until you are 70 years old to claim – this can increase your benefit by 8% a year beyond your full retirement age
The goal is to maximize the income you will receive from Social Security, but the answer for you will depend on your age, current income, marital status, spouse’s income, and the age disparity between you and your spouse. With all the complexities to Social Security planning, there is no substitute for meeting with a trusted financial advisor so you can best navigate your life in retirement.
CONSIDER ESTABLISHING STREAMS OF PASSIVE INCOME
It's important to remember that there are multiple ways to set yourself up for prosperity during your golden years.
These include:
Investing in real estate
Investing in the stock market
Starting an ecommerce business
Writing books
Earning royalties of any kind
Investing in collectibles
Investing in gold and silver
In short, it's best to invest in as many financial assets as you possibly can in order to establish streams of passive income so that you are not solely reliant on one source for your earnings and returns.
ESTABLISH MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME
You may want to consider continuing to work during retirement. This provides many people with a sense of satisfaction and purpose, AND you will be able to keep your benefits.
The earlier you establish multiple sources of income the better. Ideally, at least a few of these would be passive.
You deserve to be comfortable during retirement, and planning for this phase of life right now will likely help you achieve your goals, perhaps even surpass them. You have worked hard for most of your years around the sun, and you deserve to relax and enjoy every moment on your own terms during your golden years.
Why Choose Trilogy Financial
Planning your retirement strategy is important but not something to stress over. If you’ve already started saving, one of our certified financial planners can help you optimize your savings, investing and risk approach so you can live the retirement life you dream. However, if you haven’t started planning for retirement yet, there’s no better day than today!
Our Advisors will work with you to develop a deeper understanding of your alternatives, pinpoint practical needs and make plans for the care you and your family deserve. Please contact us to start your retirement planning today.
