Your Retirement Outlook: Is It Going or Coming?

Your Retirement Outlook: Is It Going or Coming?

The National Institute on Retirement Security recently published the results of a study it conducted in a report titled Pensions and Retirement Security 2011 with the following key finding:

When it comes to retirement, Americans continue to have high anxiety. An overwhelming majority of Americans are anxious about their retirement prospects. Some 84 percent are concerned that current economic conditions are impacting their ability to achieve a secure retirement…

While this is extremely unfortunate, scary, and sad, to say the least, it doesn’t surprise me one bit. Actually I’d have been surprised to hear otherwise (and not because I don’t want everyone to have a blissful retirement). The thing is, certain principles in life will always hold true, regardless of whether it is a popular view or not.

It is no secret that a whole lot of people tend to follow the advice of conventional financial planners who believe that insofar as you pick the “right” mutual funds or stocks “over the long haul,” everything will come together well for you in the end.

So how’s that strategy working for 84 percent of Americans today? Or did they just pick the wrong funds? Let’s not forget that many of these perplexed investors have followed their financial advisors’ every suggestion for all these years – to no avail, because most of that advice, although well intentioned, amounts to little more than complete myths.

On the other hand, though, some investors wouldn’t give anyone with even a slightly different point of view a hearing chance. In such a case, when you do the same thing as everyone else, how could one possibly expect to have an outcome that’s any different from the same cookie-cutter challenges that keep befalling people time and time again?

May I suggest you try this?

If you have any doubts at all about your future retirement security, please visit with an advisor who has real-life clients living the dream you desire – obviously, his or her ideas must have WORKED. While I’m not suggesting that different may necessarily be better for you, note that in this instance better must be different.

Let me end with one of Albert Einstein’s popular quotes: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

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Contact a financial professional with Laser Financial Group today to discuss new options that can put you in the secure 16 percent who are NOT worrying about the security of their retirement plans. No obligation, and no fantasy loopholes - just real, proven strategies that work! 877.656.9111 or LaserFG.com.

On Taxes, Fairness, Politics – and You

On Taxes, Fairness, Politics – and You

Lately there’s been some (or a lot of) discussion about what is fair when it comes to paying income taxes in America. The gist of what I understand the question at stake seems to be:

Should those who have a boatload of money and can
afford everything they ever want, need, or desire for the
rest of their lives without working another day
be using so-called tax havens to avoid paying taxes?

Before we go any further, let me repeat something I’ve said several times before but that’s worth restating here for my new readers: I don’t care much for politics. By that, I mean I don’t get emotionally bent out of shape discussing it. As you might expect, I have close friends who are diehard party-line members on both sides.

As a citizen and a financial professional, I must stay informed, and of course I have my own opinions – who doesn’t? What I’m saying is that I could go either way, at any time, based on the SPECIFIC issue at stake. So if you don’t like my views, please don’t take it personally.

To Answer the Question

I don’t think anyone – rich, poor, or in-between – should be criticized for paying nothing more than what they are legally required to pay. Isn’t that what fairness is all about? Paying what you must pay?

I can understand people wanting to make sure that the Federal government gets more revenue, especially in this age when America is running unimaginable deficits all over the place, but we must not forget that Uncle Sam makes the laws for us to follow and can take pretty good care of himself when it come to taxes. Trust me on this one and never try to shortchange the IRS on your taxes, because it won’t be pretty when they catch up with you.

I may not be one of the wealthiest folks; however, I know things in the tax code which IF I follow them – LEGALLY – can incredibly reduce or completely eliminate the taxes I need to pay. In fact, some of my clients are thrilled to work with me because of how we have used our proven strategies to position them to keep more of their money, to the extent that the law allows.

Does that make me an unpatriotic, inconsiderate guy? I hope not!

When YOU file your taxes, don’t you wish your tax guy/gal would “save” you all he/she could, as long as it was done legally? Thing is, there’s no law on the books preventing ANYONE from paying more than they’re required into the treasury, or even donating all of their income to Uncle Sam. But I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who deliberately pays more than they’re required to pay.

So I’m not sure exactly whose “side” I’m on with this tax issue, but I’m definitely getting some calls and messages from friends on both sides. Feel free to weigh in and let me know what you think below.

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Contact us TODAY to schedule your complimentary, no-obligation consultation and learn how you can LEGALLY reduce your tax liability. These are proven methods – not loopholes or gimmicks. 877.656.9111 or LaserFG.com.

Think the FDIC Means Banks Failures Are a Thing of the Past? Think Again!!

Think the FDIC Means Banks Failures Are a Thing of the Past? Think Again!!

I don’t know about you, but it seems that most people regard bank failures as a thing of the very distant past. Many somehow believe that the existence of the Federal Deposit InsuranceCorporation (FDIC)   means that banks simply cannot fail. The thing is, in reality, that’s not the case at all; in fact, the complete opposite is true. The FDIC’s very existence is due to the fact that banks continue to fail to this very day.

 
I believe this misperception about the security of American banks is due to the fact that most of us tend to automatically equate the “Member FDIC” sign that most banks proudly display to mean they’re immune from failing.  Besides, when was the last time you heard or read about the failure of a bank? Rare news, right?  Well, here’s some news you may have missed.


Did you know between January and December of 2011, as many as 92 banks failed? That’s an average of eight FDIC takeovers per month last year. However, that’s better than 2010, when the number of bank failures was 157. And in case you’re wondering, 140 banks went under in 2009. So we’re talking 389 bank failures in America – yes, these United States – in just the last three years.


Is this surprising information to you? What do we really expect in an age when who wore what to the Golden Globe Awards or who’s divorcing whom is considered more important news than personal finance facts?


Hey, for the record, I’m all in favor of whatever stories any news outlet wants to feature. That’s up to the reporters and their bosses (and it’s unlikely they’d give a damn what I think anyway). 


However, based on the way things are going, I strongly believe that if you’re not really careful, you could be totally blindsided by what is really important to your financial well being. Take control of your financial destiny – start by staying smart and informed!
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Contact a financial professional at Laser Financial Group today to schedule your complimentary, no-obligation consultation to assess your savings and retirement goals. Get savvy information from advisors with a proven track record! 877.656.9111 or LaserFG.com.

Why “Year-End Tax Saving” Tips are a Fraud

Why “Year-End Tax Saving” Tips are a Fraud


That headline may seem a bit strong, but if you’ve followed my columns for any amount of time, you know by now that I don’t just make statements for the heck of it. So what exactly do I mean by my strong words?

Here’s what a ton of folks are missing. Which tax year are we talking about? Of course, it’s 2011. But, my friend, that year has ended and is gone. So the natural question here is: What good are the saving tips going to do anyone? Nevertheless, from now through about April 15, we will be inundated with all kinds of claims from so-called experts about these “year-end” tricks, from local to national media.

But really?


I’m not claiming to be a tax expert – I don’t even specialize in income-tax filing. But I’m not totally clueless either. I trained and worked professionally in the field of accountancy, and to date I’m a full-fledged member of the Maryland Society of Accountants.

So what I know is that once the calendar rolls over to January 1, your tax-fate for the previous year (2011 in this case) had already been sealed. You are smart, so you get my point by now that it’s completely bogus to talk about tax saving tips in retrospect.

Now to a much bigger point, and one that some tax CPAs are not going to like (except for the really good ones on whom you should spend your money who know I’m stating an indisputable fact): If your tax professional waits until tax-time (after year end) to tell you they saved you money on your income taxes, don’t waste your money on him or her. It makes much more sense (and happens to be correct, also) that you develop your tax-saving strategy at the beginning of the tax year and act on it throughout the year.

Tax professionals who really understand how taxes work in America and are not just entering your data into a computer program know this is the way to go. Besides, successful and financially savvy folks (at least the ones I know) have no use for year-end strategies. At the end of the year, they already know what happened and their expected tax situation.

It’s your money, but if it were me, I’d fire any tax professional whose focus is on all that “year-end” stuff !

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Start the new year off right with sound financial advice from professionals with a proven track record. Learn how to keep every penny of your retirement savings, no matter what the stock market does! Make your no-obligation appointment today: 877.656.9111 or LaserFG.com.