- And good evening.

You've got More Than Money.

- You've got Gene Dickison, your host, your personal financial adviser, for the next half an hour, I'm at your service, and honored to be so.

We are so very glad to be back together on another season, of course, and we're up and running.

You've got a number of our new shows under your belt and, of course, more to come.

But keep in mind that the real secret sauce of More Than Money is you.

Your questions, your concerns, your observations.

What you share with us is what we craft our entire show around.

So, if you're joining us for the very first time and you're saying, "'m not really sure I understand," well, send us your emails that have concerns, your concerns about perhaps your retirement, your investments, Social Security strategies, nursing home issues, it might be income tax issues, Roth IRAs, 401Ks, conversions, deductions, and standards.

All of those things might be of concern.

The reality is, when we bring estate planning into the process, everyone has concerns about proper documents and making sure that perhaps life insurance or long-term care insurance is just the way it should be.

If you have concerns in your life, send those to us, and we answer every single email back to you.

We have a tremendous staff, wonderful, wonderful folks who can help you specifically with what you're concerned about.

And if your question, your observation, your concerns are that interesting, that what we think are more applicable for a wider audience, we'll bring some of those, we can't possibly bring all, bring some of those right to this show.

So, you may find your question being answered on air in a future show and helping a lot of other folks who are watching.

We are very, very blessed our PBS show is seen far and wide.

We are getting wonderful, wonderful responses from states we did not know that we were reaching.

And it is an absolute pleasure to serve everyone everywhere within the United States.

I'm not really up on my Canadian tax law, or my Mexican estate law.

I'm up on everything American.

So, speaking of up on everything and you being the secret sauce, let's show you how it's done and go to our financial correspondent, Megan.

How do we start our evening this evening?

- Hi, Gene, our first question tonight says, "My 401K has dropped, like everybody's.

"But I still keep putting money in.

"I have faith the economy will come back and "my investments will go up.

"Some of my friends at work have stopped putting money into "their 401Ks and say they will start back "when the market bottoms out.

"Do you know which of these ways of doing things "will work out the best?

"I sure would like to be right for once, we all listen to your "show and have agreed that you'll settle our bet."

- Well, no pressure on Gene.

I wonder how much the bet is.

Maybe I can... All right, never mind.

You're on the right track.

Your friends, on the other hand, I think they have a real challenge on their hands if they have stopped putting money into the market, that means...into their 401K.

That means they have stopped putting money into their stock market assets within their 401K.

And, as the market has been dropping, those assets, whether it's a stock mutual fund or a stock ETF, have actually, the share prices have gotten cheaper and cheaper, and cheaper.

So if you were happy to pay, I'm picking numbers out of thin air, $150 a share for Apple, would you be happier if you could buy shares at 130, or 120, or 110?

That's what happens when you put money regularly into an investment over a long period of time.

You're taking advantage of that.

The technical term, the academic term used most often is dollar cost averaging, putting a set amount or a set percentage in regularly over a very long period of time.

When the stock market's up very nicely, the shares are a little more expensive.

That's all right.

Not great.

When the stock market drops as it has, the shares are a little less expensive.

That's the opportunity.

So, that on average, you're getting a very, very good, very advantageous price for your investments in the stock market.

So, your friends have an uphill battle.

Number one, they're not taking advantage of dollar cost averaging and they're not putting money in on that regular basis.

And number two... How were they going to know when to start back up?

For those who have come through 2022 this far, we've seen some very protracted downturn times.

We've also seen some interestingly protracted upturn times where...

Were we at the bottom?

Should they be back in?

And how are they going to know?

Well, they may possess psychic abilities.

They don't.

Psychotic abilities.

I'm sure if you work with them, you've already determined they've got psychotic abilities.

But no one is psychic.

No one knows, as we're constructing this show today, I don't know at what point today the market will be either down or up, let alone for the year, or for the next three years.

So you're on the right track.

Continue putting money in.

As you look back after the recovery, you'll be very, very happy that you did.

And for those of you out there going, "What do you mean after "the recovery?

Are you really sure there'll be a recovery?"

Winter comes, spring follows.

This has been a long, cold financial winter, but spring's coming.

I don't know exactly when.

I don't know exactly how quickly, but I know it's coming.

Megs, let's give them a little demonstration of what else I might know.

Let's see what our next question might be.

- You do know quite a lot.

This question says, "Our daughter and son-in-law "are expecting our first grandchild in October.

"They have both been working since college and have put "pretty large amounts of money into their 401Ks.

"I believe together, they have about $245,000.

"When the baby arrives, my daughter will stay home until "the baby goes to school.

"They've worked on their budget and believe they can make do "with just his salary.

"The problem is this only works if he cuts his 401K investment "down to almost nothing.

"And this really worries both of them.

"We're looking for alternatives that'll help them financially, "but just as important, allow our daughter to relax "and enjoy being a mom.

Thank you for your help."

-Well, first of all, it's beautiful.

It's absolutely beautiful.

I, just moments ago, got to see a birthday celebration of a dear friend and her one-year-old grandson, the light of her life, nothing better.

So for you, fantastic for your daughter, fantastic, for everybody, fantastic.

Don't let the financial mechanics take anything away from how joyous this all really is.

If this young couple can make it on his salary alone, her staying home for the next 5-6 years, good for her, good for the baby, good for the family.

good for Dad, good for everybody!

If they can make it with him not putting any money at all into the 401K, do it.

Do it in a heartbeat.

Do it without a second thought, and without any regrets.

What they have already done is pretty astounding.

A quarter of $1,000,000, $240,000 in their 401Ks at this point in time, I'm picking the number out of thin air and saying that they're both 30.

I'm picking the number out of thin air and saying that, because of advances in health and mental health, particularly, retirement for them, is 70.

So it's 40 years away.

If I use a very simple number, very simple number, 7% annual return.

I'm not saying it's guaranteed.

It's not, I'm not saying it's always going to be possible.

Maybe it isn't.

Maybe it'll be higher, maybe it'll be lower.

But we use that as an example.

If this $240,000 is able to achieve, over a 40-year period, an average annual net rate of return is 7%, that money will double every ten years.

So by the time they're 40, their 240 is 480.

It's very nice.

It's not great.

This is without them adding another dime.

By the time they're 50, it's just at $1,000,000.

By the time they're 60, it's at 2 million.

By the time they're 70, $4 million on what they've already saved.

The fact that they were diligent, the fact that in their early years, they put such a significant amount of money into their 401Ks is what's going to be their retirement saving grace.

And that's based on them adding nothing.

And that's not going to happen.

They will certainly add something.

If she goes back to work after 5-7 years, that means he will be able to restart his 401K.

She may get a job with a 401K, or they might set up an IRA.

We don't know, this is a time in the future.

But bottom line is, if they add not another dime to their retirement plans at age 70, they should have about $4 million.

Now, with inflation, it's not going to be worth 4 million.

It might only be worth $2-2.5 million.

Where I come from, that's real money.

So, they're going to be just fine.

If you are ultimately really, really concerned, maybe you make some gifts.

Maybe you and your husband look carefully at your financial situation and determine that you've got enough financial assets, that you can afford to part with a little, maybe a couple hundred dollars a month.

That would allow him to continue to put a couple hundred dollars a month over the next 5-6 years into his 401K.

I personally, I don't think it's necessary.

I think you'll find other ways to support them and help make sure that their finances are strong.

But their commitment so far financially, magnificent.

Their commitment to their family, having her stay home until the child, or children, we don't know... We don't know.

The first grandbaby, could be two or three, we don't know, her commitment to stay home with her children?

Fantastic.

We support them 100%.

Send them to us.

We'll make sure we get their number square.

Fantastic.

Megs, that was great.

Give me another good one.

- This one's good.

I'm excited to see your answer here.

This one says, "My husband read an article online that said "the smartest retirement idea is to sell our house "and buy an RV.

"According to what he read, we would save all that money "that we pay in taxes and upkeep and hotel bills "when we travel.

"I can't even imagine living the rest of our lives "in such a cramped space.

"And what do we do when our grandkids want to visit?

"Please help convince my husband that this is not "the smartest idea.

Thank you for your help.

- I read the same article.

It was in a prominent national financial magazine, and it was said with a straight face.

When I first read the headline, I thought, "This was written by "a divorce attorney."

Because, come on!

Who in their right mind would recommend...?

The idea in retirement is for your husband and wife, now married 35-40 years, to be really in close proximity 24/7?

Geez, it has to be a divorce attorney's idea, because that's where you'd be headed.

And you're absolutely right.

I have a litmus test, or I have a guideline that I use when a husband and wife are in disagreement, and it allows me to be correct 99% of the time.

I just agree with the wife.

"Happy wife, happy life."

This is a dreadful idea.

This is a more than dreadful idea.

This is one of those "cuckoo for Cocoa Puff" ideas that you say, "Boy, when I first heard about it, "it sounded really good."

If you think through it, it not only isn't good, it's probably damaging both to your relationship and the future of your connections, your relationships with your children, your grandchildren, as you point out.

Sure, you save real estate taxes.

You don't think you pay gasoline, or diesel?

And you don't think at today's high prices that you might eat up far more in travel costs than you eat up in real estate taxes?

You're absolutely right.

You don't have to maintain your home.

And of course, RVs never need maintenance.

Yeah, that cackle of laughter you just heard Were the RV owners from around the country hearing that last statement and going, "Yeah.

You never had an RV."

RVs are expensive pieces of machinery, and of course, they need attendant maintenance.

Of course.

So, you will be trading one set of challenges that can be relatively easily addressed, you can hire people to do maintenance, you can take care of the home, etc., etc.

In the alternative, maybe a midpoint is a continuing care retirement community, sometimes called a 55-and-over community where you can have a lot of things taken care of for you, or a retirement condo, where everything outside your home is taken care of for you.

There are a lot of ways to take care of the challenge of home ownership in retirement.

Owning an RV for the rest of your lives?

Not the best idea by far that I've ever heard.

And the magazine that published it?

It's the second ridiculous idea that I've seen published as a legitimate article in just a couple of months.

I'm starting to wonder if that's not their business model of saying things that are just ridiculous.

The second article I saw was a young woman in her late 20s who was preaching to all the rest of us that we should not buy a house.

That a house is a really bad investment.

What?

Yeah, tell that to the millions and millions, and millions, hundreds of millions of Americans who have built tremendous equity in their homes and benefited from it.

This young lady, I'm sure well-intended, I'll bet well-educated... well, academically educated.

But financially educated?

Not even close.

Goodness.

Great fun.

When in doubt, side with the wife.

It's a good rule of thumb.

Megan, what do we have next?

- Our next question says, "My wife and I are retired and "in our early 70s.

We are both in good health and love to "travel to visit our three kids in Virginia, North Carolina, "and Georgia.

The problem is our house.

"We're gone quite a bit traveling, and worry something "will go wrong, and there's no one to take care of it.

"The maintenance is getting to be a bit much, even though "we both like working in the yard and our flowerbeds.

"Some of our friends are going into 55-and-over communities.

"They sound pretty good, but we're not sure that's "the right idea for us.

"Is there something else that we could be considering?

- It's a very interesting question, on the heels of a very interesting question.

What I would recommend is that you secure an RV and... Kidding.

I was just kidding.

That's a really bad idea.

The idea of a 55-and-over community does seem to fit you, where you would have your own independent living.

In some cases, they're apartments, in some cases, they're townhouses, in some cases, they're full-scale, independent living homes.

Depends on the CCRC.

Depends on the 55-and-over community exactly what accommodations they may offer.

You may also find that the overall costs in terms of home ownership will be improved perhaps by a 55-and-over community, not just in terms of what you don't have to do yourself, but what you don't have to pay others to do.

They generally take care of all those kind of outdoor maintenance things, whether it's during the summer or winter, sidewalk clearance, etc., etc.

So if you're away for a period of time in Virginia, in North Carolina, in Georgia, and you decide to stay another week or two, there's no reason you have to hurry home to make sure that everything's okay.

In the alternative, excuse me, you might consider, might consider 1-2 other alternatives.

One is to employ a service.

A, for lack of what we used to call, a handyman service.

But a home maintenance service, where they would literally take care of everything outside the four walls of your home for you.

In some cases, those services also provide the home checks, the wellness check of the home, so that while you're traveling, you would have them checking in, as well.

There's a cost for that.

It may be a cost that fits nicely into your budget, or not, there's no way for me to know from your email.

Another alternative, and it's one that's not often used, but it's a very interesting one that you might consider, if you were to find a multifamily property, a four-unit apartment building, a six-unit apartment building, that type of size, not a 300-unit.

I don't think that's in your best interest, but a relatively small, 3-6-unit building where you and your wife could occupy one of the units and collect the rents from the others.

In that circumstance, you can actually, in almost every case, have one of those apartments be the "superintendent".

If the typical rent is $1,200 a month, perhaps you cut that rent to $900 a month, and the individual there collects the rent, oversees the property, makes sure that everything is taken care of nicely.

So, there are a number of ways that you can do this.

Staying in your home, moving to a 55-and-over community, or getting more creative and getting a property that has the opportunity for you to live more independently and have some built-in assistance for your retirement as you travel.

And travel you should.

Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, three of the most beautiful states, along with Pennsylvania, of course, but three of the most beautiful states that you have.

And you have children everywhere.

So go and enjoy.

Very, very interesting.

Those two back-to-back makes me scratch my head.

We'll see if there's another RV joke in here somewhere.

Megan, what's next?

- I'll be very impressed if you can pull an RV joke out of this one, but we'll see.

It says, "I am just retired three weeks ago, to be exact.

"So far, so good.

"I have Social Security and a small pension.

"Together, they cover almost all my monthly expenses.

"I heard you talk about annuities with guaranteed "income to cover the important expenses.

"If I had another $1,100 a month, I would be completely "covered and pretty relaxed.

"I guess I didn't realize there were more than one type "of annuity that does this.

"Which type of annuity should I be using?"

- Well, goodness, three whole weeks.

Good for you.

Good for you.

It's a good start.

You can't have a perfect retirement if you don't start with a good first three weeks.

Yes, annuities come in a lot of flavors.

And if you're looking to secure $1,100 a month, $12-13,000 a year or so, pretty easily done.

The answer of what type will depend on a couple of factors.

Mostly it'll depend on you.

The amount of money that you have put away for your retirement is, we're going to call it X.

We don't know what it is.

If you look at the types of annuities that would give you that kind of guaranteed income, SPIAs, single premium immediate annuities, will give you the highest rate of income for the lowest amount of money, but it will leave nothing for your beneficiaries.

The variable annuity contracts that have guaranteed lifetime income will give you a relatively lower rate of return.

But in many cases, you can spend the entire contract amount, I'm picking a number and saying it's 250,000, you could spend the entire $250,000 during your lifetime.

And when you pass, the entire 250,000 goes to your beneficiaries.

That's pretty interesting.

But the differential, the amount of money that you will need to invest to guarantee you $100 a month will be very, very different between the types of annuities that you might look at.

Single premium immediate annuities would start that income right away.

Single premium deferred annuity says, "Hey, you might be doing "some part time work now.

"You don't need the income for a year or two, or three.

"You can push that off, and that will give you "a slightly higher rate of return."

There are fixed-indexed annuities that have guaranteed income, and there are variable annuities that have guaranteed income streams, as well.

The only way, the only way I believe that you can confidently decide between these choices is to sit with a trusted, experienced financial advisor.

Not an annuity salesman.

Annuity salesmen are lots and lots of places, and depending on your state, Florida comes to mind, California, Arizona, and New Mexico come to mind, you can't swing a stick and not hit four or five.

And salesmen are salesmen.

They are not legally obligated to act in your best interest.

A fiduciary financial advisor is legally required to act in your best interest.

So make sure you're working with a trusted, experienced fiduciary investment advisors so that you can compare all of your options, including non-annuity options.

You may decide annuity isn't the direction you want to go, but compare all of your options first, and then, make the choice that's best for you.

Very, very good for you.

God bless.

Three weeks in.

I'm sure it'll go great.

Megan, maybe one last question?

- We do have one more question.

This one says, "I had $225,000 in my 401K, and then, I rolled "over 125,000 to an annuity at 7% as I wanted income.

"I just turned 65 and want to retire in six months, "but I don't know what to do with the other 100,000.

"What should I do?

"Should I hire a financial advisor to help me?"

- Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I've been a financial advisor for 780 years, so I may not have an objective...

I think I do, but I may not have what is apparently an objective view of whether to use a financial advisor or not.

But I think in this case, it would be very, very helpful for you, because not so much what to do with 100,000, but to help guide you in deciding what you want the $100,000 to do for you.

Because if you had come to me, perhaps we met at a party, perhaps we're just hanging out with friends and you say, same scenario, "I got this 100 grand.

"What should I do with it?"

It would be... My analogy is you're hanging out with friends and you're talking to a doctor, and you're saying, "What kind of drug do you think I should take?

The doctor certainly wouldn't answer with, "You know, "I think acetaminophen is really the drug..." No, that's silly talk because the doctor, a competent doctor, anyway, would say, "What are you trying to fix?

"What are your symptoms?

What is the direction?

"Why would you be taking a medication at all?"

And as a financial adviser, we would ask exactly the same questions.

"Is this $100,000 extra?

"The annuity that you purchased that's paying you 7% a year, "does that cover all your bills with your Social Security, "perhaps a pension, so that you absolutely don't have to worry "about using, about tapping this money?"

It's really extra, or maybe it's your shock absorber, your savings.

Are you the type of person that likes to take risk?

If the answer is yes, maybe we're looking at the stock market, maybe exchange-traded funds, maybe a variable annuity if your tax bracket is high.

if you're the person that doesn't like to take risk, and we determine you don't have to take risk, there are lots of safe investments that you can look at, as well, that will preserve that capital and allow you to have that peace of mind.

You're very, very young.

Congratulations.

You're starting your retirement at a very, very young age.

Make sure you sit with an advisor that you trust, one that can help guide you through determining what's best for you?

What will best serve your happy retirement, your confident retirement goals so when you make that decision, you're doing it fully informed, knowing that you've made it in your best interest?

Great questions this evening.

Wonderful stuff.

This is the secret sauce.

This is why More Than Money is the freshest, most precise, and most practical financial show, maybe anywhere, because you ask the questions that are important to you.

Do that, as well, send me your emails Gene@AskMTM.com.

Gene@AskMTM.com Every single question about investments or retirement, social security or long-term care, we'll answer every single question back to you.

And maybe, just maybe, you'll see one of your questions on a future show as Megan reads those off to us.

Folks, thanks very much for being part of our show.

We hope you found yourself educated for sure, maybe even a little entertained enough that you'll want to come back next week when we return right to this studio with More Than Money.

Goodnight.