Be Wealthy & Smart

Listener Questions - How to Get a Spouse on the Same Page; Broker/Dealers And now for listener questions... From Jacob: Hi Linda! I just wanted to thank you. I have listened to your first 20 podcasts and I am a believer. I am a hairstylist, and I give quality service for a dollar store price, and I have been pretty unsuccessful. Your podcasts have been helpful for helping me understand why. I'm developing a brand and your information has been so helpful. The next thing I do today is to give you a 5 star rating on iTunes. Thank you thank you thank you! I also want to know, how to get a spouse on board with becoming wealthy? My personal mentoring clients have struggled with this. 1. The first thing I do is explain the difference between how women and men invest. Men comfortable with risk, women like security. You're already at odds! He wants to grow the money, she wants to protect the money. A woman's #1 fear is being homeless. So the nest - your home - is important. BTW, I believe that's why women usually want to keep the home after a divorce, which is not always a good thing to do. 2. Get on a common page with what you want. Couples often don't discuss their long term goals. Are you wanting a second home? To retire at the beach? To play golf? Ski? Agree on what you can agree on and work on compromising on the things you can't agree on. 3. Spender vs. saver One spouse is free with money, one is more careful. Set your priorities for your money. Put retirement high up - go to podcast #122 & #123, "Prioritize your money" and "Spending, saving and investing for retirement." 4. Agree to move homes infrequently. Make a long term plan for your home. Don't buy a condo downtown and then move to the suburbs to have a child, unless you can stay there 20 years. 5. Have a date night. David Bach suggested it in the book, Smart Women Finish Rich. Discuss your goals for money. Get on the same page! 6. Allow for "dream" items. She may want an expensive handbag. He may want an expensive Italian bike. Put gift budgets for 3 holidays (birthday, anniversary and Christmas or Hanukkah) together. Keep one eye on spending today and one eye on tomorrow. Next question... From Celine: Linda, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience about wealth, I find your podcast very educational and easy to follow for people with different backgrounds. so thank you and please keep up the great work! I wanted to ask if you could recommend the best 2-3 banks/brokers/investment services where to open an IRA? I know you don't endorse products or companies but I hope it's ok to ask if you can advise on what you've seen working best for IRAs. Thanks so much! IRA is like an envelope and you put investments inside. My 3 favorite brokerage firms: Fidelity Schwab Scottrade vs. Vanguard investment company. May limit your investment choices. Next question... Linda - your introductory jingle is horrible! Please get something more age appropriate and gender neutral. Ha ha! It's intentional. It's for your positivity and as an affirmation to have a rich life. The idea is to have you repeating the words over and over as a mantra. Repetition creates new neuropathways in your brain and changes your subconscious beliefs. It's intentional for your wealthy mindset. The singer/songwriter of LIFE, Beckah Shae, gave me permission to use it and I love it. I hope you do too - eventually!

First, let's see if you qualify for a Traditonal or Roth IRA. Annual contributions to both accounts are the same in 2016 as in 2015 -- up to $5,500 per person, or $6,500 for individuals who are 50 or older. You may earn too much to fund a Roth, because they're available only to individuals whose modified adjusted gross income doesn't exceed a maximum of $132,000 in 2016. For married couples filing a joint tax return, eligibility requirements end at $194,000. With a traditional IRA, you may be able to claim a full income-tax deduction for your contributions, as long as you don't have access to a retirement plan at work, such as a 401(k). Single filers who do have access to such a plan can take a full deduction if they earn $61,000 or less, or a partial deduction up to $71,000 in 2016. The income limits are trickier for married couples filing jointly. If you have access to a plan, the limits are $98,000 to $118,000; if your spouse has access to a plan but you do not, the limits are $184,000 to $194,000 for joint filers. Remember: If your employer does not offer a retirement plan, you can get the full tax deduction for traditional IRA contributions regardless of your income. Roth over Traditional IRA Why I like Roths over Trad IRAs is your money is tax-free forever. In a Roth IRA, you don't have to take mandatory withdrawals at age 70-1/2 and you can keep contributing to it. Roth IRA's a definitely the way to go, if you qualify. I was at a party and met 2 retired doctors recently who are close to age 70. When they found out I'm a financial expert, they both told me about their unhappiness with Required Minimum Distributions starting at age 70-1/2. These are required withdrawals you must make from a Traditional IRA and are based on your life expectancy. If you don't take out the required Min Distr. from a traditional IRA, there is a 50% penalty. They will be forced to take money out and likely pay tax on it, whether they want the withdrawal or not. It's a forced liquidation so the govt can collect taxes. Had they had the opportunity to invest in a Roth IRA, they wouldn't have to do Required minimum distributions, which will likely cause them to pay tax and maybe put them into a higher tax bracket. What they could have done is take distributions between age 59-1/2 and 70-1/2 to avoid any penalties. (There is a 10% penalty if you wd money prior to age 59-1/2), but you can also avoid it if you qualify for one of 9 exemptions: They include death (for withdrawal by a beneficiary), disability and qualified college bills like tuition, fees, books, supplies, room and board. Other reasons include a first time home purchase, unemployed and have medical insurance premiums, medical expenses, call to active duty in the military, IRS levy, and substantially equal periodic payments until you're 59-1/2. I'm not going to go into the nuances of each one of these, but I'll put it in the show notes on my website if you think one or more may apply to you. Go here for all the details on the exemptions: www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/02/111202.asp If you don't take tax efficient withdrawal now, the Traditional IRA will keep growing and you could have a lot of tax later when you have to take RMD's at 70-1/2. With a Roth, you don't have RMD's at any age, you can leve beneficiaries a large, tax free account and you'll be in control of your account w/o income tax concerns. You can move money from a Traditional to a Roth, but that will trigger tax on the pre-tax amount, which are the contributions that were tax deductible and any investment earnings that followed. But all Roth IRA distributions will be untaxed after 5 years and age 59-1/2.

Learn 9 things to consider before investing in a crowdfunded company, how small investors can be venture capitalists and the 2 classifications to buy shares. 2 Classifications: 1) $100k of income and $100k of net worth. Can invest up to 10% of lesser of income or net worth, up to $100k maximum. For example, $100k income, $500k net worth, could invest ($500k x 10% = $50k). 2) Under $100k income and $100k net worth. Can invest up to 5% of lesser of income or net worth, whichever is less. Compare that to $2k and choose larger number. So if you make $50k and have $150k net worth. 5% of $50k = $2,500 vs. 5% or $150k = $7,500. Lesser is $2,500 and is more than $2k so $2,500 investment is allowed. See more details at www.ZacksInvest.com for a crowdfunding portal. 9 Reasons to consider before investing in a crowdfunded company: 1) No liquidity 2) High risk of loss 3) Early stage companies are not fully tested in the marketplace 4) Long-term commitment 5) Questionable accuracy of information 6) Investing in a product or a company? 7) Is there a wide moat? 8) Dilution 9) How specialized?

Listener QuestionsChristy has 2 questions:Linda,I love your show and I've been binge-listening to old episodes.I've always been really afraid of investing and intimidated byanything related to finances. Your show is shifting my perspectiveand helping me take charge of my future with confidence. Thankyou!I have two questions. 1. What other resources (besides yourshow, and mailing list) would you recommend to someone who istrying to learn about this world with no prior knowledge. I want tolearn as much as I can as fast as I can, and there is no end to theamount of books and podcasts, and blogs about the market,investing, business and economics, where is the beginning?Thank you, Christy. I'm so glad the show is giving youconfidence and shifting your thinking! That's why I'm here! I thinkmany financial experts make investing too difficult and technicaland it just doesn't have to be that way. I also believe thatthere's a mental connection to wealth and your thinking isparamount, so I include mindset, belief, and positivity into wealthbuilding because from my experience that's also important.Everything I share with you is from my experience of wealthbuilding and not what I GUESS will work, but what I KNOW works.If you're hungry for more knowledge, then I suggest you startwith the financial books I recommend. Go to lindapjones.com/booksand get the list of 7 fantastic financial books I recommend foryour must-read library. All these authors have a similarperspective on money and investing like I do and I highly recommendthem.Part 2 of her question is:2. I've started investing in Silver Eagles. I'mPlanning on holding on to them for the foreseeable future. But ifand when I do want to sell, what is the most practical way?Thank you for all you do!As you know, I like silver Eagles for many reasons - theirincredible growth potential, low initial investment and protectionfrom problems with the dollar due to excess government debt and thecurrent cycle we're in. Good for you for investing in them!When you want to sell, the dealer you bought the silver fromwill likely buy them back from you at the "spot" silver price -what the pure metal sells for per ounce on the commodity exchange,plus commission and a profit. It's usually about a $3 extra charge,but it varies depending on the market and the dealer.I usually get asked where can you buy silver?

Learn what rewards are available with credit cards, are they worth it, which are best and why it might be something you shouldn't do. Websites mentioned to track points: Mint.com and AwardWallet.com A credit card enthusiast tells you how to use credit card reward programs to your advantage and pitfalls to avoid. Main cards discussed are Chase, Discover, Amex as well as airline cards. Points for airline miles, hotels, groceries, gifts and cash back.

What you'll learn are how investing is different from gambling,how it's similar to gambling and why real investors are far fromgamblers! I just returned from Las Vegas. I'm not a gambler, mainly because I respect how much effort it takes to make money. I didhowever sign up for a card to get a discount at a nice restaurantand along with that came a guaranteed ace. So I did find myselfseated at a blackjack table with some chips in front of me. I accepted the guaranteed ace and was dealt a 21. I left the table up $2! Lol! That shows you what a gambler I'm NOT! That got me thinking, some people have told me they think investing in the stock market is gambling and I wanted to address that and why I don't agree with it. Investing is a legitimate way to grow money and compound athigher rates. -My 5th Step to Wealth -Necessary to get higher rates to retire comfortably and build wealth. 2. You're investing in companies, not making a wager. - If done correctly, shouldn't be all or nothing -Gambling is win/lose on each wager -Investing in stock options, betting on the direction a stock's price will move, is more of an all or nothing bet because options can expire worthless. -You are limiting the amount of loss to the amount you pay for the option. -Closer to the definition of gambling perhaps. -Other option strategies include writing or selling an option on an underlying stock you own. that is a more conservative strategy. You can generate income from writing options against the stock. It's low risk and provides income. 3. People who think investing in the stock market is gambling don't understand how it really works. Some people do treat it like gambling because they haven't taken the time to learn how to invest properly. They buy a stock on a "tip" and hope it "wins", like spinning the roulette wheel. But for BWS listeners, you know thatstocks go up because earnings are increasing. You want to find a company that has increasing sales and profitability. One that's growing and can go from a small fish to a large whale over time.That's not from luck or a tip, it's from studying the numbers and understanding what makes stocks go up. If you haven't yet listened to podcast #47 about what makes stocks go up or podcast #125 about Apple and when to sell a stock, go and listen before you invest, otherwise, perhaps you are just gambling. Real investors are learning the metrics of companies - as I mentioned, sales, revenues, profits, earnings per share and net income. Warren Buffett reads the company's annual report before investing and looks at all the numbers, ratios, and statistics of acompany. If he likes the numbers and the stock price is significantly below what it's worth, he invests. It's buying stocks on sale. I will say gambling and investing do have one thing in common - that's managing your emotions and not letting them get away from you. To be a good investor, you have to keep a cool head and think like a contrarian. When stocks are down, that's a good thing, they're on sale. When they are up, it's riskier and something to monitor. Too often, investors are jumping in when a stock makes a new high because they let their emotions run away from them. A better plan would be to make sure the numbers are good, then buy on a pullback. You want to think differently than the crowd. Thinking like an investor and not a gambler will certainly serve you well in your wealth building. Your action step for today is to pick a company you might consider investing in and study it. Find out how it's earnings have been performing. Have they been rising at an increasing rate? What does their product pipeline look like? How much debt do they have compared to equity? Are they #1 in their market or a competitor that has the opportunity to become #1? Arm yourself with the facts and take the emotion - and the gambling - out of investing. If you want to get a jumpstart on a comfortable retirement and your wealth building, go over to my website bewealthyandsmart.comand get my free report "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth". There are 11 things you can do and learn about so that in less than 15 minutes you can make a huge difference in the wealth you have over your lifetime. Do these things and benefit, miss just one and it can set you back years. Go now to bewealthyandsmart.com.

Learn how to separate the stock from the company, what to look for when you buy a stock and why you don't want to judge a stock by how it's done in the past. Today we'll talk about what happened to Apple recently, as an example of why not to fall in love with the stock. What I mean is "don't fall in love with a stock just because you love the company." You'll also learn my reasons to sell a stock.

Hello and welcome to my 2nd anniversary show! Yes, it was exactly 2 years ago today when I started the Be Wealthy & Smart podcast. Today I'll share with you the best of the best episodes - that is which ones you've liked best and I'll take the #1 rated show and give you a podcast within a podcast about the most popular of all topics! Here's a little background on how far we've come in 2 years: Today BWS has listeners in #143 countries. 80% in the US, and 20% around the world. Our top countries outside the US are: Canada, UK, Australia, China, South Africa, Korea, Sweden, Philippines. But we also have listeners in such far away places as: Oman, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Peru, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan. Thank you so much for listening, tuning in and subscribing to the show! We've also gone from 0 to 101 reviews, 96 of which are 5 stars, so thank you everyone who has written a review. If you're a regular listener and you haven't left a review yet, please do that and let me know what you think of the show, or at least wish me a happy 2nd anniversary! It helps new listeners find the show and since all the content is free, it's you're way of saying thank you and I really appreciate it.

Learn why you want to start saving for retirement the moment you have income and why it should be higher on your priority list than it might be. Last episode I was talking about spending priorities and I gave you my list of 10 spending priorities. Spending priorities are a way for you to decrease impulse spending and really focus on matching your money with your priorities. If you know where you want to spend money, you'll be less tempted by purchases that are thousands of dollars and totally unplanned. Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT a fan of budgets, unless you have a very limited income and must watch every penny. But for people who have excess money every month, I think budgeting can feel like a diet - too restrictive, you want to go off it as soon as it starts and it may give you a bad relationship with money because you always feel guilty when you spend. Rather, I think you should have spending priorities and be very clear on what they are because then you are matching your money with what matters most to you. What matters most HAS to include retirement savings from the time you begin to earn income. Ten percent (10%) into a retirement plan and ten percent (10%) into savings (so it's available as an emergency fund and for more investments outside of your retirement plan), will get you on the path to building wealth and having a comfortable retirement.

Learn how to prioritize your spending following the 10 essentials and 6 questions to ask yourself. This will keep you growing your net worth and keep you away from impulse spending.