On The Positive Side (Ep 93)
With 2024 almost here, this episode seeks to take a positive reflection on 2023. We'll highlight some personal and professional achievements from the year and give you some tips on how to make the most out of your remaining days this year. We'll also reflect on an issue that has gained more national attention, Social Security overpayments. Brian brought this to light on the last episode and shares additional insights with us today. We'll conclude with some money moves you can consider in the final few weeks of the year like tax optimization, charitable giving strategies, end-of-year contributions, and more...
Transcript - The following transcript was generated by a robot, so please excuse any typos or inaccuracies.
Speaker 1 0:02
It's time to make the dough rise the financial podcast with Brian.
Walter Storholt, co-host 0:11
Hey, thanks for joining us on today's edition of Make the Dough Rise, Walter Storholt here with Brian Doe of course Livingworth Wealth Advisors, Certified Financial Planner based in Greensboro, Georgia, but serving the lake country and beyond. You can find him from anywhere at living worth.com Our final episode of 2023 has arrived Brian, another year of podcasting in the books my friend, can
Brian Doe 0:33
you believe it? I literally was looking at the calendar. And as we're recording this, we're but we're a week away from Thanksgiving. Yeah. And I was trying to book some stuff for next week. I was like, oh, it's Thanksgiving.
Walter Storholt, co-host 0:47
Yeah. No. Calories already. Yeah.
Brian Doe 0:51
So it'll be it'll be a mad scramble to the end of the year. But it's good. It's all good.
Walter Storholt, co-host 0:56
Yeah, that's very true. Any big plans for you through the end of the year, we're going to try and rest and relax a little bit.
Brian Doe 1:00
It's going to be rest and relax. i It has been a gogo year and a lot, lot happening. And we're just we're gonna have my inlaw Laura's parents in for Thanksgiving, and we'll probably get together with my parents for Christmas. But remember, last year, we did the big road trip out west. And I think as much as I enjoyed it, I think the rest of my crew likes being home for Christmas. And so we'll, we'll stick around home and want to get them out of here in a few years. I'll go do what I want when I want. There you
Walter Storholt, co-host 1:33
go defer to them for now. Keep the ladies happy. That's never a bad strategy. Love it. Well, we've got a great episode on the way today, Brian wanted to make sure we try to end things on a positive note. So today's episode is all about thinking on the positive side of things plus a little check in with Social Security. Brian was apparently ahead of the curve, on some of his recent comments about Social Security and 60 minutes decided to go out and do a full story about something he'd brought to light on the past story, not saying that you caused 60 minutes to go out there. But it's possible, Brian, that they
Brian Doe 2:04
were not saying I didn't either. That's
Walter Storholt, co-host 2:06
right, exactly. So we'll dive into that in a few minutes as well. But I do feel like there is an overwhelming amount of I mean, we could have said this at any point in time during the year. But as we approach the end of the year, there does seem to be this overwhelming overwhelming amount of negative news bubbling up Brian so I'm glad that you want to turn things into a positive direction today.
Brian Doe 2:27
Yeah, I've got a bit a couple takeaways from the year and an exercise for individuals to sit down grab a piece of paper if you if you got one handy. We can do it as we go along here. And we'll any negative thoughts or burden that you're feeling? Because yeah, this has been kind of a crazy year between what's happening abroad you geopolitically with Russia and Ukraine, and we get the Hamas and Israel thing happening here lately. And, you know, the markets been on a bit of a wild ride here lately. And there's uncertainty about what's going to happen to the economy. So everybody gets honed in and focused on that we're gonna we're just gonna step back and, and pull back, pull some positives out of the year, and then figure out how to how to project those forward. But my first lesson before we do that, I had a major major advancement, shall we call it in the pizza dough front? Oh, all right. So just when you thought chain did any better. My My takeaway is never be so sure about yourself and be closed off to new ideas. Because back when I bought my original woodfired pizza oven, the guys who were selling me the oven, were like, Oh, you got to have a spiral mixer. Got to have the spiral mixer. And I was like, Yeah, I've got it mixed aren't getting perfect. I've had a really good mixer. And I just thought, you know, like everybody's got their own ego and their own my ways, the best way kind of thing. I was like, I don't need a spiral mixer. What are they talking about? They're, they're just trying to sell me another $2,000 piece of equipment while they while they've got me in here. So there's kind of a cynic about it. And for the last 10 years, I've been making my pizza dough the way I have been. And then a friend of mine got a spiral mixer and it just so you kind of understand there's there's a bar that physically goes down the middle of the mixer into the bowl, and then there's this corkscrew looking thing that needs the dough up against that bar and it really keeps the dough down. It incorporates a lot of air it gives you a better kneading, you know, technique or methods to develop the gluten. And so he had this mixer and I said hey, can I try it out and see what the big deal is if I you know if there's any difference. And again, I was the skeptic thinking because this is this is not going to be Any any different. I guess I did about three batches of dough that week. And it was a little bit different getting the hang of it. But once I did, it was a absolute game changer, the, the stickiness of the dough, the development of the gluten, the it just it looked like ice cream, almost it was so like creamy and white in there. I was like, well Darn it like that I've spent 10 years making inferior dough. And that's one thing is, you know, gonna help me take it to the next level. So I've been encouraging people to open yourself up, if you if you're in a habit, you've been doing things a certain way, for a long time. Maybe like it, maybe you think it's the best. But don't be afraid to go out experiment, try some new things. We constantly get things that come along that make the pizza better, or make our lives better. And I actually had two of them this year one was a new sourdough culture. And now I have to go by a stupid spiral mixer. So I've conceded is the way to go. And but you know, we'll have better results because of it. Another
Walter Storholt, co-host 6:06
appliance to add to the mix, but one that sounds like it's pretty useful and pretty good. So that's good to hear. And and I imagine here since we're at the end of the year, and you mentioned approaching Thanksgiving, thankful for those kinds of investments. And you've had a lot of highlights this year to be thankful for both professionally and personally, haven't you?
Brian Doe 6:26
Yeah, yeah. So one of the exercises that I got from a coaching program that I've talked about Dan Sullivan's Strategic Coach program before, as I want to make sure I give them credit. But one of the exercises we would always do at the beginning of a workshop was called a positive focus. And it was just a chance to look back in this case, it was on the previous quarter and pull back all the progress you've made and the positives that you've made. And it really puts you in the right frame of mind for you know, thinking ahead about the next quarter or where you're gonna go from here. And so I would implore everyone to do this exercise for 2023. You know, we're coming into the end of the year, you're getting together with family, hopefully, and everything's if everything is or isn't going well that the exercise works, regardless, but sit down and make a list, maybe go scroll back through your iPhone, photo real see where all you've been what you've done. And as I was doing that the other day, I can't believe how many good things happen this year. So it started off the beginning of the year with the girls to the girls and getting our blue belts in jujitsu, which was a kind of a big accomplishment that took a couple of years to get to. Of course, you've heard about it ad nauseam on here about the Taylor Swift concert that was a huge highlight for the whole family. We had the big overlanding trip out to with the kind of a guy's trip out in southeastern Utah for that week. That was just a spectacular trip and some great experiences and memories and all that. Then over the summer, we hit the beach did some spring hopping across Florida with Natalie and we've we've developed a new, fun thing to do that we actually even did a little bit more in the fall. And there's a map now that we've got of all the springs that we're going to go hid for the next couple of years. And it's turned into its whole own thing that we're gonna carry forward. And Laura, she made a trip out to Bill Johnson's church out in Redding, California, the Bethel Church. And really it was a great spiritual experience for her and was was a great progress for her. And we've been dealing with the girls with college prep, driver's license for Lilly, Natalie started her one act play and they just won regionals and are headed to the state competition this weekend. So I'll have an update for you next time as to you know, how they place it that stayed. And we hope all goes well, where we're headed right now looks like we'll have an up year for the markets. And, you know, just again, despite all the negative news, a lot of the times the market begins to rise in the face of all that. So generally optimistic for the year ahead.
Walter Storholt, co-host 9:17
Very nice. Yeah, it's fun to look back. And I think it's a great practice to reflect, write those things down. Just see what kind of year you've had. And to help put it in perspective, especially when you're Doom scrolling. I think as the younger folks call it these days on maybe social media or the news and just kind of constantly absorbing all the negative that's in the world, please, please balance it out with some positive think that's a nice actionable item that we could all do between now and the end of the year. Make that list of of all the accomplishments that you have this year, and just that the fun milestones that you might have hit? Yeah.
Brian Doe 9:48
So ask yourself, you know what, what made 2023 a great year, and then now project that forward? Are there any of those that you can build on or expand on or is it time for some new ones? and set some personal goals for 2024. You know, maybe their activities, maybe it's a health goal, maybe it's a money goal. Maybe it's a new capability that you want to acquire maybe something that you want to get involved in or make a contribution. And there's all kinds of categories. But just ask yourself the question What has to happen in 2024, so that if I'm looking back one year, from now, I can say it was a great year. And if you write those things down, I find that overwhelmingly, that just helps, either consciously or subconsciously gets you focused and moving in that direction. And then, you know, tucked away the list away, maybe pull it out once a quarter and see how your progress is going. Figure out first step, like if I want this to happen, what things do I need to be putting in place, you know, in January or February and do some planning. And I've got one client who just is so impressed with her, she's the grandmother of the Year Award, she's got a bucket list, and she's going to use her money in her time to spend with the grandkids, she went out to Napa and went touring wine country with him. And she's just having a blast, and getting to spend time with the kids and the grandkids in a way that she's very, very proactive about, she's like, I've got my list, and I'm gonna keep chipping away at it. And we're just figuring out how to make that happen and cheering her on to do it. And maybe it's time. Maybe it's money that you can apply to somebody in your life, a child or grandchild, they've got some people that are doing some gifting. And so ask also, what can you do to help another family member achieve their best? How can you encourage them or maybe enable something that could be life changing for them, that is not that big of a time or money commitment on your part in perspective, so just some ideas, and a great way to end the year. And, again, focus on the positive, it'll get you feeling right for the holidays, as we go into the end of the year. And it will help you get queued up to say, well, you know what I wanted to do this this year, but I didn't get to it, I didn't take it seriously. Put it on the list for next year and figure out how to make it a priority.
Walter Storholt, co-host 12:25
Very nice. Love that perspective, and some great ideas and actionable items for us to be all thinking about over the next couple of weeks as we end 2023 together and look on 2024 Before we close the books on all the financial stuff from 2023, as well, Brian, we tease we wanted to talk a little bit more about Social Security, one more time here at the end of the year. So recap for us what's been kind of your latest focus on social security in the 60 minutes piece that came out, kind of following up on the heels of what you were talking about previously. And give us kind of some final thoughts on Social Security for the year. Sure. And
Brian Doe 13:02
I did a longer lap around this on the last podcast maybe than I should have. But I wanted to make sure people were aware of this problem is as rare as I thought it was. It turns out, it's not rare at all. We were talking about a case with a claim of an overpayment by Social Security to a client of mine. And then we had to go through a lot of meetings, letters, arguments, contacting state representatives getting contact with some higher ups within Social Security, to challenge this overpayment. And I thought that was kind of a interesting case, maybe it was just something that people should be aware of. Well, no sooner than that podcast actually was released. Anderson Cooper did a expos a segment on 60 minutes. You can find it on YouTube, if you if you go out there and look, talking about how many overpayment claims Social Security is pursuing each year. And it's close to a million cases per year, and I think is something like $20 billion in overpayments. And some of these cases go back to people who maybe were children, and they got benefits, survivor benefits and in the past, or maybe they were getting disability benefits, and then they aged out or earned out of qualifying for those benefits. And they were even communicating to Social Security saying, Hey, this is our situation. Here's what we earned. And nobody was really checking and doing the math on the social security side and let it go. They just kept sending the money and so they thought everything was fine. And then years later, they get you know, 10s of 1000s of dollars of of overpayments that social Security wants to clawback. And that was a real, you know, blow to their financial security, what they thought they were going to do. They thought they had some saved up for retirement. And, you know, now they're basically going to have to turn over their entire retirement, and keep working just so they can pay back Social Security. So what I gleaned was that Social Security is very much taking the attitude of, well, yes, it's our fault, we overpaid you. But you know, doesn't matter pay up. And I think I mentioned in my case, when we went into the Social Security office to meet with a representative, there was almost this adversarial type of interaction that we had, where they weren't listening to what we were saying and trying to help us. It was very much jumping to a legalistic, well, this is what the law says, and you were doing it wrong, and whether we helped you or not get the right benefit, or the we didn't help you, it's still your fault. And it sounds like they there was a bit of a mandate or some training to say, hey, go recover these overpayments. And the staff was clearly trained to try to recover, go into recovery mode, not help you work with you, and, you know, resolve this. Now, since my podcast, and I think maybe this 60 minute episode contributed as well. There seems to be a tide of blowback now that this is there's some press, there are some congressional scrutiny. And Social Security has basically vowed to look into this and get to the bottom of the the overpayments. The bottom line is this, if Social Security under pays you you only have recourse for up to six months in arrears to get back the amount that the higher amount that you were owed. But if social security over pays you, they can go back as long as they have overpaid you and call that back. And so, you know, I think I think what's going to have to happen is there's going to have to be some type of statute of limitations or timeframe. That's, that's fair. And if you are not committing fraud, and I understand there's there's, you open the possibility of people trying to commit fraud, misrepresenting their case to Social Security, that's, that's different. But if you in good faith have come in and said, This is my situation, here's what I'm earning, I'm disclosing this now make sure you document it, there's got to be some point at which the same limit or timeframe is put on Social Security, as is afforded to us. So that's my recommendation. I'm not not running for office or anything. But if I was that would that would be my platform. Nice.
Walter Storholt, co-host 17:59
Very good. Yeah. It's interesting to hear kind of your your feedback on that scenario. And I'm interested to hear if you have any other things that you think people should be kind of maybe just keeping on their radar as we turn the page to 2024 and other financial items that would be good to kind of include in our year end positive side of Life Episode here. Yeah,
Brian Doe 18:18
well, a couple of things happening. Obviously, the interest rate environment is much different than it was a year ago. So a lot of people looking at cash that they've got in banks and savings accounts, or even old CDs that were paying very low rates. We're seeing money markets, you know, in the five and a quarter to five and a half percent rate, I've seen some CDs up to 5.6 5.7%. Obviously, those change day to day and week to week. So I can assure you that if you call me a month from now, those are going to be the rates, but a lot of people locking in some of those longer term rates. And that's not a luxury we've had for a number of years. So if you're trying to put put some money away emergency fund have some liquidity and safety, you can actually get paid to be conservative now. And again, I think I've made the comment. I've never been this excited about a single digit return in my in my life. It's actually a really big deal. So focus on that taxes are those continue to be a key area for adding value for my clients beyond just the the portfolio and the dividends, but what's the tax treatment of the dividends? Making sure you have paid the appropriate estimated taxes, I've got a great calculator that simplifies that tremendously. And so I've been going through returns making sure that if you've had a capital gain this year or if you've had a some type of 1099 income or you sold a house anything, have you pre paid enough to qualify for the safe harbor payment. And that number is 90% of your estimated actual tax bill. If you've if you've underpaid by 10%, they will not charge you penalties and interest. But if you under pay more than 10%, if you owe 10,000, and only pay at 500, they are going to charge you a penalty and they are going to charge you some interest on that. So it's worth going through and taking a lap around that, that calculation just to make sure I had a one off item, I didn't have a lot of withholding, I got a big bonus, whatever the case may be, just make sure you've done that prior to the end of the year that can save some unnecessary costs. And then the setting up of 401 K plans and Sep accounts. So if you've started a new business, or a lot of people that are doing gig economy or contract work, there may be some opportunities for you to open up Sep and in individual 401 K's some of that paperwork has to be submitted by December 31. Even if you don't make contributions until next calendar year. So we're doing dude, a few of those to get it to get wrapped up. And then as you do the tax calculation, you may also find that a if you're not covered by a 401 K plan, maybe a deductible for Ira contribution, or maybe even a Roth IRA contributions possible, don't don't miss those windows. And then remember that the current tax rates do expire in 2026. So we have a couple more years of the Trump era tax rates and brackets and, and deductions and exclusions. So there are some planning opportunities that that presents, if you haven't done so yet, you know, let's look at the next couple of years and see if there's some Roth conversions or realize some capital gains or take a little extra money out of IRAs, there's any any number of things to do, while also making sure you don't run afoul of causing too much of your Social Security income to be taxable are bumping into a higher Medicare Supplement bracket, there's there's all these traps that we've gone over many, many times. But threading that needle, and just getting the the amount just right is certainly helpful. And then, of course it is year end, most people wait until year end to do their charitable gifting. And so if you're over 70 and a half, don't forget that you can use your IRAs to make charitable contributions. So if you're taking the standard deduction, not getting credit for charitable gifts, but you're still you're obviously wanting to help the organizations that you're a part of, you can gift straight from your IRA. If you're over 73, that gift begins to satisfy your required minimum distribution. So there's it's 70 and a half, it's like using pre tax dollars for charitable gifting at 73. It's actually helping satisfy or minimize the amount that you have to take out of IRAs. So the that and then the donor advised fund if you've got appreciated stock, or if you want to do a lump sum into a charitable deduction today, but you want to retain control of when those assets go out. A donor advised fund those those continue to work well for for the right type of client. So there's kind of a cornucopia of ideas and possibilities, hopefully one or two of those resonate, resonated with everybody out there, and will prompt them to take a look or certainly give a call and see if we can help with that calculation. What
Walter Storholt, co-host 23:45
a great list for how to end 2023 and turn the page to 2020 for both some personal items and today's episode and some very tangible financial elements that we could take a look at to improve our situation and get into a better position in the year ahead. So how do you go about doing all of this? Well, you can certainly do it on your own. Although we typically don't advise that as the best course of action. It's always helpful. We're gonna have somebody experienced who's been through this before with many clients, helping them navigate the pitfalls of financial and retirement planning. Have that person on your side and guiding you. That's Brian doe, of course on this show here on make the dough rise, able to help you get to retirement all the way through it, making sure that you come down the other side of that mountain with a better financial plan in place and with some surety about how your retirements going to unfold and what that plan is going to look like. If you'd like to set up a time to visit to see if you'd be a good fit to work with one another and get your financial plans in order in in place. Pick up the phone, give Brian a call. 706-451-9800 is that number to get in touch if you're looking to take control of that financial future, but you don't have that best place to start. Don't forget Brian is a seasoned Certified Financial Planner with more than 20 years have expertise, he can be your trusted partner through the planning process. You can also go online to living worth.com. And when you get there, you can schedule a complimentary 15 minute call with Brian. It'll help you gain clarity on those financial goals and establish a more secure tomorrow. So again, just book a call by going to living worth.com. And the button literally says book a call so makes it pretty easy process. We'll also link to it in the description of today's show so that you can find it very easily. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional, Brian meets all the highest standards of education, training and ethics and always puts your best interests first. It's also why he we trust him to bring us great information here on the podcast each and every month throughout the year. Brian, really appreciate your guidance, help and advice on the show today was very enjoyable and looking forward to 2024 new episodes with you.
Brian Doe 25:51
Sounds great looking forward to that as well. All right. Well, Happy
Walter Storholt, co-host 25:54
Thanksgiving to you and to everyone else listening to the show and enjoy the holidays over the next couple of weeks as well and we'll see everybody in the new year. Thanks for tuning in. And we'll check you out next time right back here on Make the Dough Rise.
Announcer 2 26:16
Make the Dough Rise is brought to you by living worth Wealth Advisors with a central office in Greensboro, Georgia, but serving the Lake Country Indiana. The podcast is available on Apple podcast, Spotify and all your favorite podcasting apps. Subscribe today and never miss an episode. Just search for make the dough rise with Brian doe. You can also visit make the dough rise.com To listen to recent episodes. If you'd like to contact the show or schedule a complimentary financial review as Brian and team just go to makethedoughrise.com and get in touch through the website or call 706-451-9800 Thanks for listening to Make the Dough Rise.
Announcer 2 26:56
Investment Advisory services offered through Main Street Financial Solutions LLC. information provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment tax or legal advice. Information is obtained from sources that are deemed to be reliable but their accurateness and completeness cannot be guaranteed
