Asset Planning, Inc Blog

Come help us celebrate National Ice Cream month this Thursday, July 27th from 1pm-3pm at Churned Creamery in Cypress. We would love to see you!

I am an official empty nester: Kimberly graduated with her Masters in Communicative Disorders and accepted a job as a Speech Language Therapist with the Rialto School district! My other daughter, Kathleen is engaged! She is still living in Australia but will be married in California in 2018. And Kyle has transferred to UC Santa Barbara to complete his last two years of college. I am very proud of all their accomplishments.

Asset Planning wishes all of our clients and their familes a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

Our offices will have limited staffing on Monday, July 3rd and will be closed on Tuesday, July 4th.

We will return to normal business hours on Wednesday, July 5th.

The Fourth of July is a fun and festive time to celebrate America. Fireworks have become a natural part of these celebrations. While it is great fun for us it's not always that way for our dogs. Personally, my golden retriever Roxie, is terrified by them. I came accross a really good article that I wanted to share with you with tips on how to keep your dog safe and calm during the fireworks. Follow the link below to read the article.

https://www.cesarsway.com/dog-behavior/hyperactivity-overexcitement/how-to-keep-your-dog-safe-and-calm-during-fireworks

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July!

Sandy

The weather is getting warmer, it’s staying lighter later and there are tons of graduations happening. This can only mean one thing, summer is here. With the official start of summer being next week and this being the time that most people leave for vacation we thought it would be a great time to send a reminder about increasing your home security while you’re away. Unfortunately petty theft and home break-ins have been running rampant lately. Doing a little to protect yourself now can help you avoid this happening to you. Here are some reminders for when you’re away. (These tips can even help if you aren’t planning on taking a vacation)

• If possible, have someone stay in your home while away. This is the best option and gives you the peace of mind that your home and pets will be well taken care of.
• Make sure that the outside of your home is well lit, especially your porch and side yard/gate areas. Criminals are getting braver but most do not like to be conspicuous and bright lights may deter them.
• Put a stop on your mail and newspaper deliveries. Leaving these things to pile up is a sure sign that no one is home.
• Tell a trusted neighbor about your vacation and ask them to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.
• Don’t post about your trip on social media. While it’s fun to share with your friends you never really know who is seeing the posts and it may alert the wrong people that you are away from your home.
• Install a security system. An alarm system or cameras are a great option to help deter criminals. A few of us in the office use the Ring doorbell that has a camera and is connected to Wi-Fi. It also has an intercom so if you are home and you receive a knock from an unwanted solicitor you can politely tell them no safely from inside your home.

With the BBQs, beach days, bike rides and bon fires, summer is one of my favorite seasons. Hope you all enjoy yours as much as I do!

Melani

I came across an article about fake check scams and what to look out for if you receive an unexpected check in the mail. Unfortunately, these types of scams are happening more and more frequently. The following are some really good tips on what to do and what not do if you find yourself in this situation.

To avoid fake check scams, follow these tips:

Don’t “keep the change”- No legitimate company will overpay you and ask that you wire the difference back to the company or to some third party. Be extremely wary of any offer-in any context- to accept a check or money order in an amount greater than you are owed.

Don’t cash the “unexpected” check- Companies rarely if ever send checks that don’t include some explanation of why the check was issued. Unless you are expecting the check- and you are absolutely certain it is meant for you- do not cash it.

Call the company directly to verify the check- Remember that some fake checks will have a legitimate company’s actual account number with the correct bank routing number. Call the company directly to verify the check, using a telephone number you obtain on your own from directory assistance. Do not use any telephone number that appears on the check or any instructions you receive.

Know the hallmarks of fraud- Fake check scams typically have a number of red flags, such as:

-Typos: Watch out for online postings or emails that are riddled with typos and poor grammar.

-Mismatched names: Compare the name of the person or company posting the opportunity with the name on the check you receive- and beware if they don’t match.

Pressure to act quickly- Be aware that it can take 10 days or even more for your bank to determine that a check is a counterfeit. Don’t wire or transfer funds until you have verified with your bank that the check has cleared- even if the bank allows you to withdraw the money sooner.

If you do receive a suspicious check, contact one or more of the following organizations right away: local police, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center), or the U.S. Postal Inspections Service (if the check arrived by U.S. mail).

Source: Compliance E-News, May 31, 2017, Published by The Consortium®

In February I posted blog about websites that exposed your personal information and how to opt-out of them. I have recently been alerted to a few new ones I wanted to make you aware of so you can make sure your sensitive information isn't out there for identity thieves to grab. I have listed the webisites below. As I mentioned in my previous blog these websites do have an opt-out option. It only takes a couple minutes to visit these sites to protect yourself.

Truepeoplesearch.com

Stalkscan.com

Aboutthedata.com

If you missed my original blog on this subject you can read it here https://www.assetplanninginc.com/new-blog/entry/protect-your-information-on-the-internet

Have a great weekend!

Melani             

Many times we are asked by our clients about ways they can give back through planned gifting. In our last quarterly newsletter, Carol explained how you can donate part or all of your mandatory IRA distributions (RMD) to a charity of your choice which also reduces your taxable income for the year. Another way of doing this is by setting up a charitable annuity. The way it works is the donor gives a gift to the charity (amounts vary), the donor receives fixed payments for life and the donor is entitled to a federal income tax deduction the year the gift is made. I have included a link to one that is offered through the ASPCA to use as an example but there are many more out there to suit everyone’s unique philanthropic wishes.

https://www.aspca.org/ways-to-give/planned-giving

One thing we’re always telling our clients is how important it is to create a budget and to track their spending. Understanding how busy life is and how different things come up we realize this may seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, technology is on our side these days and there are a ton of new budgeting apps that help you keep track of all of this. I scoured the internet looking for recommendations on the best budget apps. These are the ones I found to be on many of the top lists; Mint, You Need A Budget, Level Money and Albert Budget App. Over the next couple weeks I am going to personally try each of them out and review them based on user friendliness, effectiveness and overall experience. In the meantime, I have included the links to each website below where you can find additional information on how each one works.

Mint- https://www.mint.com

You Need A Budget- https://www.youneedabudget.com

Albert- https://meetalbert.com

Level Money- https://www.levelmoney.com

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Melani

Financial Planning Magazine reached out to Sandy to get her reaction to President Trump's proposed tax cuts for businesses and the elimination of certain deductions. This is what she had to say. You can read the full article here: http://www.financial-planning.com/list/rias-support-trump-tax-cuts-for-businesses

In an effort to go green, the Social Security Administration is now only mailing Social Security statements to workers 60 years old and over who are not receiving Social Security benefits. They do however offer a convenient online service that allows you to access your benefit information, earnings records and statements as well as complete a number of other services with the Social Security Administration. You will need to create a My Social Security Account to do so. I have included some instructions taken directly from their site to set up your account along with some detailed information on the benefits of using their online services.

Go to https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount

Click on Sign In or Create Account

What does a my Social Security account let me do?

If you receive benefits or have Medicare, you can:

• Request a replacement Social Security card if you meet certain requirements;
• Get your benefit verification letter;
• Check your benefit and payment information and your earnings record;
• Change your address and phone number;
• Start or change direct deposit of your benefit payment;
• Get a replacement Medicare card; and
• Get a replacement SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S for tax season.

Recently, a family tragedy threw my much anticipated, soon-to-be empty nester plans into disarray. I was reminded of a remarkably astute and humorous line from a John Lennon song: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans". In May my daughter is graduating from high school and will be moving off to college in the fall. She is majoring in Entrpreneurship and will be attending Chapman University. My son is graduating from trade school this year as well. My husband and I could see the finish line on the horizon and we were very much looking forward to both the financial and personal freedon afforded once our children ventured out on their own in the near future. Overnight, our lives went the complete opposite direction. In February we welcomed our nephews, ages 8 and 11, into our home. They are the sweetest children and bring us much joy but we are saddened they have come to live with us as the result of the sudden death of their father, my husband's brother. I hope my story serves as a reminder that good financial and life planning expects the unexpected. But more importantly, the best planning strikes a balance between seizing the day and saving for the days we hope are ahead of us. Like Sandy said YOLO and remember to savor every bit of fun and joy you can.

During my 30 year career I have encouraged  clients to carefully save and prepare for retirement. Now I want you to reach beyond your comfort zone and embrace something new, something exciting, possibly scary. I was recently in the Galapagos and loved that portion of the trip but I also signed up for an Amazon rainforest extension that pushed my boundaries. This self-declared "prissy girl" was going to a very remote part of the world, completely off the grid. No cell, wifi, satellite, news or electricity- which was great for my daughter to be unconnected. We had dim light by solar, hunidity, heat, lots of bugs, birds, snakes, caimans and creatures. I was in a swamp with the Shaman, a medicine man, a healer of the community. To appreciate what we have, go to where they have not. View the world as exciting and try a new hobby, volunteer, give back, get involved. YOLO means "you only live once" and I have lived by that attitude for years. Take the road less traveled. Take a leap.

Most people assume that things such as, annual fees, interest rates and late fees are non-negotiable when it comes to credit cards. A new survey from creditcards.com is showing us that this is not the case. In most circumstances all you have to do is call your credit card company and ask. The survey asked 952 American cardholders and the majority received what they asked for. The problem is that hardly anyone asks.

Here are the results from cardholders who asked:

• 87 percent received a late payment fee waiver.
• 69 percent got a lower interest rate.
• 89 percent received a higher credit limit.
• 82 percent had their annual fee waived or reduced.

If you are looking for ways to reduce or eliminate fees on your credit card it doesn’t hurt to call and ask. The worst they can say is no. This can save you lots of money in the long run, if you carry balances on your cards, so it’s definitely worth a call.

We are pleased to announce that Melani has earned her Registered Paraplanner^SM designation. The coursework she completed has given her the financial knowledge necessary to assist our CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS^TM in constructing financial plans for our clients. She will work closely with our advisors and is a valuable member of our financial planning team.

Retiring comfortably is a dream for most people. Unfortunately a lot of people are not adequately saving for their retirement or, even scarier; they are not saving at all. What is preventing them from saving? Usually it’s a mind block that gets in the way. Retirement seems too far off to think of or it’s uncomfortable to talk about. Here are a few reasons that most people delay saving and some tips to overcome these excuses.

• Paying off debt and paying for current living expenses - With a lot of people burdened with a mound of student debt after college and paying for current living expenses, the idea of putting anything extra towards retirement savings can seem daunting. While it is important to pay off your debt it is also important to save for your future. Even the smallest amount that you can spare is better than nothing at all.

• Instant Gratification- Spending money on items or trips that you want to go on now is highly more satisfying then putting money into a retirement account that you can’t touch for a long time. Sure everyone loves a new purse or a shiny new set of golf clubs. But one thing to ask yourself; are these items worth my future financial security?

• Unsure of where to start- A big reason people put off saving for retirement is that they do not know how to get started. There are also many online resources that offer retirement calculators and tips to guide you through the process. You can also contact a financial advisor to help you assess your retirement needs and set up a customized plan to get you started on the right track to a successful retirement.

• Procrastination- The mindset of “I’ll do it tomorrow” and then never actually doing it can be one of the biggest disadvantages off all to your retirement savings. Most people do not understand the concept of compounding interest when it comes to savings. Basically, the sooner you start saving, your principal will not only earn interest but over time you’ll earn interest on top of previous years interest and therefore the compounding effect can be huge. If you put off starting to save until you are in your 30s instead of starting in your 20s your money will miss a decade of compounding. The end result is you will have to save significantly more money every month to get to your desired retirement goals then if you had started earlier. The easiest way to get started is through your company if they offer a 401k plan or by setting up an IRA account. With both of these options you can have contributions set up to automatically come out of your paycheck or account. The less you have to think about it the more likely it is that you will do it.

The bottom line is that there are a lot of excuses that people make as to why they can’t save for retirement. The sooner you get started, no matter how much you start with, the better. When you get ready to retire you will not regret taking those first steps you made to invest in yourself and your future.

We wanted to send out a reminder that it's not too late to contribute to your IRA accounts for 2016 as long as you are still working and have not yet met your contribution limit. The IRS deadline for contributions is April 18, 2017. Please give us a call if you would like to make a contribution or have any questions.

Be wary of a new websites that makes it very easy for literally anyone to get your personal information. There are numerous websites that offer this information but one of the newest and easiest is FamilyTreeNow.com. In a couple of clicks you can find out virtually anything you would like to know about someone including their address, phone number and possible relatives. The amount of information listed on these sites is scary and makes you a perfect target for identity theft. The sad part about it is that it is perfectly legal for these sites to post this information because it is considered public information. There are somethings you can do about it though. Here are some tips we took from the article from Cyber Security experts with the LAPD.

1) Send mail to a box rental service that lets you use a street address over a P.O. box number (since no one will believe you actually live where a P.O. box number is located)

2) Buy property through a blind trust if you can, so your name isn't linked to where you live. The downside is this is very expensive, and it also can make selling your property more challenging.

3) Give out a Google voice number instead of your actual cell phone number.

4) Opt out of information gathering websites.

Here are the opt-out pages for a few of them: 

FamilyTreeNow.com: https://www.familytreenow.com/optout

Intelius.com: https://www.intelius.com/optout.php

LexisNexis.com: https://www.lexisnexis.com/privacy/directmarketingopt-out.aspx

WhitePages.com: https://premium.whitepages.com/help#about

Spokeo.com: http://www.spokeo.com/opt_out/new

411.info: https://411.info/manage/

ZoomInfo.com: http://www.zoominfo.com/lookupEmail

PeopleSmart.com: https://www.peoplesmart.com/optout-go

BeenVerified.com: https://www.beenverified.com/f/optout/search

PeopleFinder.com: http://www.peoplefinder.com/optout.php

If you need assistance with any of these steps, please feel free to call the office to make an appointment and we will be happy to assist you.

We talk to clients everyday about how important estate planning is and how they should have a trust in place to ensure that their wishes are met after they pass away or become incapacitated. While having a trust set up is great it doesn’t really provide all of the details necessary for a spouse or loved one to take care of the day to day tasks of wrapping up your affairs. It is a really good idea to create an information folder that provides the pertinent details such as account numbers and passwords. This is also valuable to have in case of an emergency such as a car accident or house fire. You can grab this folder and go. Here is a list of information you should have in the folder.

• Assets: checking and investment accounts, private business interests, location of safety deposit boxes, annuities, individual retirement accounts and 401(k)s, trust agreements, real estate, vehicles, collectibles

• Liabilities: credit cards, mortgages, car payments, cell phone bills, other recurring bills • Social media/online accounts: passwords and login information for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Amazon, PayPal, eBay, Netflix, Hulu, iCloud or other cloud storage accounts, online photo storage accounts

• Miscellaneous subscriptions/memberships: airline rewards programs, Sam’s, BJ’s or Costco memberships, toll tag accounts, magazines, newspapers • Insurance: life insurance, long-term care, disability, home, auto

• Home maintenance: water, gas, electricity, telephone, alarm, lawn care, cable television, Internet service • Medical: medical conditions, medications, emergency contacts

• Personal: burial/cremation preferences, funeral plans, pre-paid funeral expenses, birth certificates, marriage certificates, Social Security card

• Key contacts: financial and legal advisors, doctors, family members, close friends

Each person’s folder will require different information but this is a good start and you can customize it as needed. It also may be a good idea to keep a copy of this information in a folder in your email account, that way you only need to have one password to give out and everything is backed up by the cloud.

(This list was compiled from an article on wealthmanagement.com)

Carol, Sandy and Samantha attended the 2017 TD Ameritrade National LINC Conference in San Diego last week. This conference is a great opportunity to stay up to date on the latest industry trends as well as network with their peers, industry experts and technology partners. The information that they take away from the conference helps them continue to expand their knowledge and better service their clients needs.