10.21.22: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

10.21.22: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Producer:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs, and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Producer:
Welcome to your Retirement Unbroken with your host, Merrit Strunk. Merrit is a licensed fiduciary and financial advisor who always places your needs first. Merrit works hard each day to educate Americans like you on how to reach the financial freedom they've worked so hard for. And he can help you, too. So now let's start the show. Here's Merrit Strunk...

Merrit Strunk:
Hey, welcome to the Retirement Unbroken show. This is Merrit Strunk, President of Momentum Financial and the host of your Retirement Unbroken radio show and podcast. So welcome to all the Unbroken Nation out there. Today, we're joined by Matt McClure, our trusty co-host and producer. Hey there, Matt.

Producer:
Hello there, Merrit. How's it going so far, this beautiful California weekend?

Merrit Strunk:
I'm great. I'm great. You know, but a lot of people aren't. That's the problem. And some people aren't, and they just don't know it. And that's what we're going to be talking about here on the radio show. So we want to welcome all of our listeners to the Unbroken Nation. And if you're a new listener, then you don't know this. If you're a regular listener, you know what we're going to say here. So this is the unbroken retirement radio show. And our mission here on the show and the podcast is to transform our listeners so that they're educated, they're equipped and financially savvy individuals so you can make better decisions for you and your family in the future so you can unlock your potential financial future. Right? So the truth is, Matt and I say this all the time is many people's retirement is already broken. They just don't know it yet. So if you are one of those that have never gotten the comfort and the confidence of knowing that your plan is as strong as it can be. Reach out to us. You can go to our website which is www.retirementunbroken.com And you can reach out to us.

Merrit Strunk:
It's very easy or you can just give us a call 858 521 9700. So on the show today you got a lot of stuff for you. We're going to give you the market update and try to unpack what clearly what is happening right this second. And it's important for you, if you've got money on the market, you've got a 401. K IRA. You need to hear this. Also, we've got a COLA news break here. Cola cost of living adjustment for Social Security and what that means for you. A little touch on little Medicare again, not too much and then got some frightening inflation figures for you for just in time for Halloween. Then we'll get into the cost cutter idea for the holiday season. Our wonderful segment of right or wrong. Testing your retirement knowledge and then possibly we have time. We'll talk about what's going on in this week in history. So before we get started here, Matt, would you share our financial wisdom quote of the week.

Producer:
Now of wholesome financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the Week.

Producer:
Absolutely. Will. It is always my pleasure to do that here on the show. And of course, we like to share some some wisdom from some other folks besides ourselves so that we can get some inspiration from them. And I actually got a couple of them today to share this week that are both very, very apropos for this particular time in our history. One is from John Maynard Keynes, English economist, whose ideas really did fundamentally change macroeconomics and economic policies of governments as well, sort of Keynesian economics out there. Well, this is the guy, Keynes himself, And he said this one, quote, By a continuing process of inflation, government can confiscate secretly and unobserved an important part of the wealth of their citizens. So we've got continuing inflation right now. That one is that's a biggie as our number one quote, their merit.

Merrit Strunk:
Oh, boy. Did that hit home the truth in that.

Producer:
Yeah, exactly. Well, and the next one comes from a guy that you might have heard of as well, the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan. He was the president from 81 to 89, of course. And he said this When a business or an individual spends more than it makes, it goes bankrupt, when government does it, it sends you the bill. And when government does it for 40 years, the bill comes in two ways higher taxes and inflation, he said. Make no mistake about it, inflation is a tax and not by accident.

Merrit Strunk:
Well, Matt, that was a great quote. Yeah, well, that's my terrible Ronald Reagan impression there.

Producer:
I should have done that when I was reading the quote.

Merrit Strunk:
Video version here of our radio show, you can see my head bobbing back and forth when I'm saying, Matt, that was great. You know.

Producer:
You should be popping jellybeans.

Merrit Strunk:
I'd have some jelly beans on the side. Well, thank you so much, man. Those were two really appropriate quotes right there. And that brings us to the market update. So what's going on there right now? All the major indexes are down. The Dow has fallen over 130 points in a choppy session as investors are trying to deal with more news, more of the same on earnings and rising bond prices, yields and inflation. So it's no secret that today's events of market volatility, the unprecedented inflation, the war in Ukraine, the lingering effects of the pandemic are all having a significant impact on investors on you. Look, if you've got an IRA 401 k TSP 403 b 457 and any other flavor of retirement plan or just an investment account. Recently. You've looked at it and you're probably taking a breath going, Wow, this is pretty intense because you would have on average, if you were a growth investor, you would have lost somewhere around 22 plus percent. And if you're one of those people that put your head in the sand looking and knowing the market's down, just not looking, because sometimes it's better not to look at these times, then you're still afraid you have a reason to be concerned or raise an eyebrow about what's going on. Right. So at the recent FOMC meeting where Jay Powell and his cronies get together, expectations for November and December rate hikes are higher to reflect Jay Powell's hint that the Fed will raise Fed funds another 75 basis points in November with a potential for another 50 bips in December.

Merrit Strunk:
Now, I would have preferred it that it would have been 50 bips. Now, knowing that it takes time for these adjustments to take effects related to the economy and then with a statement forward looking that we'll just have to wait and see how things are working on inflation after that. But that's not what people anticipate. So with the thought of the darkest, it's darkest before the dawn. Category of comment here The Fed is likely closer to the end than to the beginning of its rate hike cycle. Praise of Lord. I hope that's that's a truthful statement here. The S&P. Year to date is is a -22.96 measured today the Dow year to date is down 16.84%. And the Nasdaq year to date is down a whopping 32.54%. So no good news on that. So here's the concern. And this is, you know, the kind of the breaking down of how you can think about this and make sense. So, yes, the Fed has signaled that they're going to raise rates, in my view. You can interpret this in my opinion and my you know, kind of let's let's make sense of the situation is that the Fed is going to keep raising rates until they break something.

Merrit Strunk:
Going to keep partying until we break something here that says the Fed. So then that something may actually be the market. It may be employment. It may be housing. It may be a combination of the things. They just have to try to slow down the economy. So it could be any of those things. The Fed is looking to get lending rates around 4.7%. We're currently at 3.2, and that is according to an article in Forbes, of if you just do a simple search, you can find that in Forbes there. So in our opinion, we are in a recession now. You know, there's differing opinions. Yes, we meet the technical definition of it. Two-quarters of decreased GDP kind of definition of recession here. But the administration in Washington is reluctant to give that description. I understand it's midterms, Right. They're reluctant to give that descriptions. But the upcoming Fed actions here may put the United States into a hard landing. Equal sign, hard recession, equal sign, decrease of everything market wise. So historically, that does mean market loss of value. Right. So we're in a recession then. Historically, recessions were related to the market. The value goes down.

Merrit Strunk:
So could the market lose another 20%? I don't have that crystal ball. I don't know that answer. It's a possibility based off historical references of recessions and what that does to the market. So we could just say to that question, it's possible. So you might hear if you listen to some of these financial talk shows, you might hear the word capitulation. So that's our vocabulary. Word of the day. Capitulation. Matt, you and I were joking that the old Sesame Street thing, when they teach a new vocabulary word, it was like capitulation, right? And capitulation. So what that means is you'll see the signals of unusually high trading volume, accompanied by a sharp decline in prices. Indicating what? Capitulation in this situation is indicating that investors have thrown in the towel, so to speak. They've given up. They're just like not we're we're we're exiting the market. Right? Maybe you're running to cash, running to safety. If they're smart, they're going to the options that we have reviewed on this show many times of what people have as options to get more safety or maybe guarantees. So capitulation marks a short term low. Well, that's a great, great statement, short term. So it's throwing in the towel. But for a short term, right. Short term, low in the price and is usually followed by relief rallies, which is what we've we've seen a few.

Merrit Strunk:
It was just the other day and now it's down again. Right. So up, down green, red, back, back and forth until the price rebounds significantly. There can be no assurance that the apparent capitulation won't be followed by yet another dramatic drop. There's there's no assurance. Obviously, capitulation causes a heavy turnover amongst investors and that enables a rebound, replacing risk averse investors risk. So risk of sellers in this case with risk tolerant buyers. Right. So but it can't guarantee those buyers won't eventually sell even lower as well. They may reach a point, too. So we're seeing all asset classes are down. We are seeing a movement to cash and the US dollar funds. We're seeing sentiment, consumer sentiment or investor sentiment indicators at historic lows. So it's a lot going on there. So so so far we've seen what we might say is an orderly buying of stocks, equities on speculation backed by the hope the market will rebound and that maybe we'll get out of this. And we're we're seeing that the sequence of bear market rallies are short lived. So when they go up, they are short lived and they go back down again. So there was a recent survey of asset managers globally here that Bank of America, B of A did an a survey amongst the fan fund managers, and it said the word screaming capitulation is becoming obvious.

Merrit Strunk:
Well, that is that's concerning. Screaming capitulation is obvious, I guess, on a global scale, at least from the asset managers standpoint. If this is true, then this may be a start of more down market movement. So let me ask a question. Depending and your answer is going to be dependent on your age and your how close to retirement are you or you're in retirement or you're approaching retirement, or are you younger or just simply your psychology? So your answers may be different to this, but and related to this, I tend to have a view that it's the hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Right? Be prudent, be smart, be strategic. So the question I'm going to ask you is, if the market were to go down another 20% negative, I'm sorry, go down another 20%, are you going to be okay with that? Because if the market's already down 22 plus percent year to date for S&P and Nasdaq's down 30 something, another 20% to that is going to be really significant. And we don't know that that's going to happen. Right. This question is if. Right. So if that were to be the case, are you going to be okay with that? Do you know

Merrit Strunk:
What those options are for you if you're in one of those segments I talked about of what the potential prudent hedging adjustments strategy might be for you right now. Is your advisor currently in a conversation with you about what's going on and if you need to do anything. Are they talking to you about your 401. K? Not just the funds they manage, but many cases. People have a lot of money in their 401 K. Are they talking about adjustments you can make to your 401. K? We've got folks that are clients that we have yet to onboard because they're not yet in a position to disposition their retirement funds. But retirement is coming up and we're dropping them line saying, you know, given what you have in your allocation and exposure to risk and your impending retirement, you may consider doing X, you may consider repositioning here or there. All right. Is your advisor, even though they don't manage your 41k, are they talking to you about this? Well. I hazard to say that's that's a tough one. Right. So, look, if you're if you're not asking these questions or you are and you don't have an answer to that, like, I don't know, what are those hedging things? What are those protection things I should do? Now, realize exiting the market is probably not the right thing to do based on research that says folks who stayed with it are going to do better overall. However, if you're older and you're reaching retirement or you are already in retirement, that may not be the case, right? So if you don't have these answers and you're asking the questions, give us a call.

Merrit Strunk:
You can reach us at 858 521 9700 or you can go to retirement unbroken dot com website and click the button and reserve a time for us. And look, I'll also take the opportunity to say look for any of our listeners who respond to us. We're going to offer you a retirement unbroken retirement analysis and you'll be informed. You'll be more informed than before. So give us a call or go to our website and check it out. So you may have noticed if you're at Walmart, you walk around the Home Depot or something like that and you see some older folks, retirees, you might see a little hop in their step. That's a joke, by the way. So the little hop in their step might be because they just got a whopping COLA increase on their Social Security. And for 2023, normally the government says in October that they're going to declare what the cola cola cost of living adjustment increases for Social Security. And they have declared that for 2023 it will be 8.7%. That's a whopping increase. So this is up from the previous big increase, a 5.9 in the previous year. Right. So bringing the two year increase, if you combine those things, 14.6%. Impressive, right? So we're living in the worst stretch of inflation in 40 years. So you see what I just did, It's a bit of a juxtaposition. 14.6 fantastic over two years.

Merrit Strunk:
Isn't that great? Flip it. And it is because we are living in the worst stretch of inflation in 40 years. Wow. So the good news, Social Security income benefit, you know, has a built in cola adjustment to help protect your buying power. This is the fourth biggest increase since automatic inflation adjustments were introduced in 1975. The COLA will boost average monthly checks for retirees who receive it in January on average by 146 to 1827 1827. So that's a range, right? So the most Social administration, Social Security Administration said Thursday that it builds on last year's 5.9 with the largest lump sum since 1982. Large I'm sorry, largest bump, not lump sum. Before then, COLA increased by an average of 1.7% annually from 2010 to 2020. So 2010 to 2020, the average increase is 1.7. And if you're an older listener, a senior, then you know that because you were saying the increase didn't do squat to my Social Security check, right? So now, wow, these are these are big whopping increases and it's only because of inflation and things cost more. Okay, so the bad news. Inflation is wreaking havoc on American families, particularly food costs. You know, we've got I've got in-laws in a Scandinavian country and they're talking about how cost increase. We've got family in Texas and they're talking about how everything has increased in. These are these are older folks that are over over 70 years old and they're noticing it. And so it's hitting their pocketbook. How about this? How about energy costs? Is costing more Absolutely everywhere.

Merrit Strunk:
And energy costs, in fact, because of the oil. How are the how are goods transported all around the country in the world? Well, they need fuel to do it. That would be ships, planes, big old 18 wheelers on the highway. Do you ever drive late at night? And all there is is just 18 wheelers on the road, on the highways. They need fuel. And because those fuel costs are higher to transport, that is a cost adder to almost every good that needs to be transported in those those ways. Another one, new cars. We're still dealing with a chip shortage for for new vehicles, but used vehicles as well. How about this travel cost? Yes, your travel costs will go up. You will buy an airline ticket. The cost have gone up because, hey, jet fuel is more expensive now, too. So this is part of why we want all our listeners to have a solid tested plan for protecting their growing and growing their hard earned money. Doesn't it make sense? And yet a lot of people, they're going to not have the discipline of doing it. They're not going to ask the questions, Hey, it's not an insecurity thing. Don't be that way. If you're going like, well, you know, I pride myself on knowing X, Y, Z, and I'm a I'm a do it yourself trader and everything. I was like, Yeah, but how are you supposed to know? Right? What? How are you supposed to know what you don't know? There is so much these days in modern times, right? That is hard to keep control of.

Merrit Strunk:
And our busy multi-channel life, especially in the financial industry where innovation is happening all the time. So you need to outpace inflation in order to protect your buying power. Again, one definition of inflation is it is the secret partner in your retirement that erodes your purchasing purchasing power. Right. So even if you're not retired, right, it's it's destroying your purchasing power and we're living in it. So it's going to take more of your dollars to do that. And we can help you figure out how to how to approach that in the best possible way. So again, for listeners, if you want to get the retirement unbroken analysis for all of our listeners, just do so call 858521 9700. Or you can go to our website Retirement Unbroken and get the retirement Unbroken. Report your custom retirement unbroken report. So if you feel like you've already learned something today, and I dare say a lot of people have, you know, because that was good information, then we'd love to hear from you. We'd love to help answer your questions. So reach out to us. So we're going to take the opportunity to take a break right here. And when we come back, we're going to continue on our path of giving you the information, tools and knowledge you need to navigate what's going on now and then also for your future retirement. So join us back here in just a sec. At the Retirement Unbroken show, I'm your host, Merrit Strunk.

Producer:
You're listening to your Retirement Unbroken. To schedule your free no obligation consultation with Merrit visit RetirementUnbroken.com .

Producer:
How do you plan to prepare mentally for retirement? I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement dot Radio Network. Powered by Ameriife.

Producer:
When you think of retirement preparation, money is likely the first thing that comes to mind. And while getting your financial house in order is extremely important, it's not the only thing to consider.

Riley Moynes:
The Mayo Clinic, the world famous Mayo Clinic, has studied retirees and they've discovered that there is a 40% likelihood that in retirement people are going to experience elements of clinical depression. That's an astounding figure.

Producer:
Riley Moynes is author of the book The Four Phases of Retirement. On his YouTube channel. Moynes says leaving your career behind can be a difficult thing to get used to.

Riley Moynes:
It's a time, actually, when we begin to miss the routines that we had. We miss our colleagues. We miss our our work. We miss the sense of purpose that we may well have had. And we become kind of disconnected from, it seems, the world.

Producer:
For example, before retirement, you may imagine yourself loving your newfound free time, but.

Riley Moynes:
For many retirees, it's exactly the opposite of what they expected and hoped retirement would be.

Producer:
So how do you tackle the potentially negative feelings that come along with retirement? Well, one suggestion is to try a partial retirement before you jump in with both feet. A recent article in The Motley Fool says You can do this by checking with your employer to see if they're comfortable with you scaling back your work hours. You might be surprised at their flexibility, especially if you've been with them for a long time. Now, if that's not possible, try getting a part-time job with a different company or starting your own freelance business. Doing that could give you the opportunity to still earn money, leaving your retirement accounts intact longer and see how you handle having more free time. And the article says that means you can potentially avoid mental issues like depression. So will you quit working cold turkey or take retirement one step at a time? That's a key question to consider as you prepare financially and mentally for the future. With the Retirement Dot Radio Network Powered by AmeriLife. I'm Matt McClure.

Producer:
In this part of today's show, your Retirement Unbroken is available wherever you listen to podcasts and online at RetirementUnbroken.com

Merrit Strunk:
All right. Welcome back to the Retirement UnBroken show. I am Merrit Strunk and this is for the unbroken nation here. And so the first segment of the show we talked about a lot that was going on, there's a lot going on in America and geopolitically as well. So we just hit all those things. And the big question we asked you was if the market was going to go down another -20%, are you going to be okay? And do you know what the options are for you now to be prudent and think from the paradigm of hope for the best and prepare for the worst? Right. And those are prudent moves now. Right? And depending on who you are, there could be different options for you. So here we are. We're coming up to Halloween time right in your neighborhood. Are there pumpkins? Are there are there skeletons out in people's front yards, Cobwebs? Some people really get into it. And did you know with all the inflation going on, Matt, did you did you know that what a surprising increase is related to Halloween?

Producer:
Oh, you talking about this report on on the candy prices that have gone up.

Merrit Strunk:
Candy is up a you're right, a whopping 13%. I saw it, too. I just was like, okay, so, you know, how about the seniors that are on fixed income and just can't buy as much candy this year? Can you imagine little, little Johnny and little Susie coming in and going, Oh, man, this is Granny so-and-so's house. She's got the good stuff. And she always gives more, you know, very generous giver. And this time around they're going, What happened?

Merrit Strunk:
Happened here? Okay, up 13%. So this is the largest yearly jump in candy prices that the the consumer price index has ever recorded. But can you believe it ever? This is this is an ever thing. All right. So for comparison's sake, it took nine years. That's 1997 through 2006 for candy prices to rise 13%. Sugar itself. Here's a contributing factor. Sugar itself is up 17% since last September, and flour prices have risen, risen even more. It's a 24%. So when we say everything has gone up, there you go, sugar and flour. Everything is up. Wow. So another interesting one is, you know what is Let me ask you this question, Matt. When you were a kid. Now I'm older than you. Right. So So when you were a kid, what were your costumes like? I mean, did did you guys go out to the store and buy costumes? Did you make them? What was the deal and what was your favorite, by the way?

Producer:
It was more of like we would go out and buy the costumes. But there was one one of my favorites was actually handmade, and it was there's a picture of me somewhere in it, and I couldn't have been more than like, I don't know, five, six years old, probably one of my favorites. And it was it was actually from church when I went dressed as a biblical character. I want to say Moses. I had the holding of the head thing, the scarf and all that. It was like, and I'm carrying like a blue ribbon because I won like some costume contest that we were having. Like, I'd love that one. My, my, this one was a little bit scarier, not necessarily church appropriate, but my costume of choice when I was a kid was was a vampire. And that's only because I have like, like I have my dad's hairline and so I could just draw. It was very easy to draw. That's like Widow's Peak, the whole Eddie Munster thing. So yeah, so I could do that and put in the teeth in a cape and the whole deal. But yeah, those are, those are like, I think my two favorites, the Vampire and Moses.

Merrit Strunk:
Awesome. I could just imagine in church you're in the hallway and you have Moses staff and you're like, Let me pass, right?

Producer:
Exactly.

Merrit Strunk:
As I'm parting the hallway here, you and you walk through.

Producer:
Exactly. Excuse me. Choir I'm coming through, you know?

Merrit Strunk:
Yeah. Or, you know, you could you could have been Lazarus. You could have just laid down and then got up again, know? Right? Who am I? Come, come forth

Merrit Strunk:
My older sister has a puppy dog. It looks like it's going, but just keeps coming back. You know, they call him Lazarus Ock. So good old puppy dog. So interesting. So the my point, by the way, is that costumes, the price of costumes have gone up. They've they've gone up 11%. Actually, that's 5% since last year. And the fabric and supplies are up 11%. So very interesting. So on our side, when I can remember when I was a very small child and we did the Halloween thing, I was a ghost, obviously, you know, easy one, take a sheet, cut some holes, you know, There you go. Easy, easy one. Right. We didn't go and buy costumes. You know, this of course, this is back in late sixties or early seventies. We just didn't do that. How about I was a hobo? Probably not culturally appropriate reference now, but back then they call it a hobo. Somebody who would get on a train and go from place. Place? And you had the long stick with the little bag where they kept their belongings in it. And then you basically dress kind of shabby baseball player, right? It really is. You get a catcher's mitt, maybe a ball cap, you know, maybe even more like a jersey or whatever.

Merrit Strunk:
Karate guy got to be karate guy where the guy, you know, or even later in life showing up to a Halloween party. I, I was a black eye pea. And basically you have a white t shirt, you draw a black P on it, and then you put a black circle around your eye. You're a black eyed pea. And, you know, that's that was a big hit there. That was a big hit there. Matt So that's great. Yeah. And according to the National Retail Federation, Halloween spending is expected to reach a record. So it's interesting. Costs are high, but people are spending, right? And maybe that's just the retailers pushing it or television pushing it. But $10.6 billion in spending for Halloween this year. So that's a nice shot in the arm for the economy and people who are selling those kind of things. And you can see it in the stores, they came out early and guess what's out there now to Christmas. The Christmas holidays are being out there even before even before Thanksgiving. My goodness. So the retailers get to hop on it perchance they got a start on it just to make sure they have the goods and they're sitting on the inventory. Right. With all the supply chain issues.

Producer:
Some of that some of that's very true. I just have to interject here, because I remember seeing a report not all that long ago, like retailers, one particular retailer, I believe it was Kohl's, said that they are actually so looking forward to the winter season this year because they've got all these coats that were late last year because of all the supply chain issues. They've been sitting around warehouses and now they get an empty amount and sell them to get rid of that inventory. So yeah, that's absolutely right.

Merrit Strunk:
I remember going to Kohl's and it was a sell and there was a markdown on a pair of shoes and I went to the cash register. I said, I can't believe this. I say, How can you sell tennis shoes, athletic shoes for this price? I believe I got it for five bucks. Wow. And because it had been, like, discontinued, marked down on sale. And here you go. And I'm like, I just how can Kohl's survive on this kind of thing? I guess that's just great sourcing and your positioning as low-cost seller. You know, the other effect of this recession and the market and situations and the hiking of the lending rate is increased mortgage rates. That's a big one. So I looked it up. I looked it up on bank rate. And the bank rate has a 30-year mortgage rate that is now an April of drum roll, please. Anybody can answer in their head. Can can you guess what it is, man? I mean, I'm just going to go ahead and survey you as a field of one.

Producer:
Yeah. Know, audience of one captive audience. I would say it's got to be approaching seven-ish percent now. I would I would think that.

Merrit Strunk:
Crying shame. You know, some people have a two and a three because of the historic low rates, and they were lucky to get it because now on bank rate. 30 year mortgage average APR of 7.18.

Producer:
Oh wow That's even higher than I thought. Wow. Yeah.

Merrit Strunk:
So so yes, it looks like housing cost is starting to come down maybe about 10% or so. Right. And of course, it's fluctuating. But I do believe reading something about that, the housing prices are coming down a little bit. And here you have all these people who are waiting and hoping, wanting to buy a house, but then that mortgage rate is so high. So we just left the high demand, low supply situation of housing. And now we're and people are trying to get historic rates, historically low rates. But you do have people who weren't ready and they are hopeful buyers. And now they're looking at some of the highest interest rates that have been in a very, very long time. I do believe back in the seventies, you've got a mortgage rate for something like 12, you know, that was super high and maybe we're approaching that. So I do feel for folks who are holding out, saving up money, looking to make a down payment, and especially if you're in California, where the median home price sometime in our recent past was 860,000. You know, if we talked to people across the country when we're working with folks on the financial side in and you mention like let's just try to talk somebody about in Texas and you mention the average home price of median home price in California of 860, and they just fall out of their chairs. They're like, you could buy a mansion here for that, right? Not in California. You can buy 1250 square feet for that, depending if you were close, how close you were to the ocean. Right. If you're within a mile to two miles, three miles or blocks, you're going to pay a hefty price. So with all these hikes and costs and things, how about a cost cutter consideration here?

Producer:
Here's the cost cutter of the week.

Merrit Strunk:
So we're coming up to the holidays and some people are already planning that. Maybe they're going to see mom and dad family or maybe mom and dad and family are coming out to see them. Right, depending on where you live. With this situation, folks, people are having to choose to stay home. Right. Stay home during the holidays. Maybe do FaceTime, you know, do zoom, zoom holidays. We've done it before. Or go and spend the extra money. According to NBC.com, there was an article about airlines cheap or expensive during the holidays here. And Thanksgiving airfare prices are currently averaging $281 round trip, up 25% from last year, according to Travel Booking group, which is called Hopper for Christmas travel. Airfare prices are averaging 435 round trip, up 55% from last year and 19% higher than in 2019. So those are significant price hikes. Those are the highest levels for travel during this time in at least five years, according to that website. So meanwhile, cost of jet fuel remains elevated, thanks in large part to the war in Ukraine and decrease in oil. Crude oil refining in the United States due to current administration's efforts to decrease oil production here while sourcing it from other countries seems kind of silly.

Merrit Strunk:
If we had if we had stayed in the United States oil production situation and we became a primary exporter of oil, that would have helped inflation, kept prices low, help the entire world and defunded Russia. That's where Russia makes its money. So we're basically with these high fuel prices, we're feeding Russia money to sustain their efforts in the war. Completely opposite with what Ronnie Reagan we mentioned him earlier on, I quote, completely different from what he did. He made oil cheap and basically bankrupt Russia. And this situation where we're putting financial strain on everyone with the decrease of oil that the United States is not producing. And I would think it would be reasonable to expect, if not permanent, then, Alisa, a temporary increase in oil production in the United States to help things like, guess what, People can't even travel. They have to choose in their holidays to travel. So in this case, a cost cutter for you, a solution might be we're just not going to travel this holiday. We're going to save the money because of the situation that's going on. We're going to be prudent and we're going to we're going to cut our cost here.

Producer:
Come on down as we test your financial knowledge in right or wrong.

Merrit Strunk:
Matt, you've got to be my my foil here. Okay, brother, you're going. You're going to be my foil here. And I'm going to ask you a few questions about different types of things, but related to benefits for retirees and things like that. So here's the first question. And I have the buzzer over here as well. So, you know, don't get it wrong or I'm going to Buzzy. So life insurance can only be used as a death benefit and provides really no other features unless the insured, the policyholder dies. What's your answer?

Producer:
I know for a fact that that is wrong.

Merrit Strunk:
Gosh, I hope so, because we've covered that.

Merrit Strunk:
Oh, my goodness. So Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. There you go. So actually, if you've been listening and you're a listener to the retirement unbroken show, you know, life insurance can be money for living or money for dying. Permanent life insurance policies can build up cash value like an IUL, and some policies are tied to indexes and they can provide growth potential and also tax free retirement income. I'm just going to repeat that because that phrase is melodic in my ears. It can. It has the potential to provide tax-free retirement income. Wonderful. If you don't know, if you haven't been listening and you're a new listener and you don't know how that happens. Give us a call and we can talk to you about it and see if it's right for you. It may not be right for everyone, but it may be right for you. Okay, Here's the next question, Matt. You're right. And this is very, very apropos, because here we are at AEP, which is the annual enrollment period for Medicare. And it's happening right now so people can enroll in Medicare and you can change your coverage plans at any time, right or wrong.

Producer:
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that that one is also wrong.

Merrit Strunk:
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Yeah, you're right. You must enroll in Medicare and make any adjustments during the annual enrollment period to a period EAP period which is going on right now. That period. And if your ears are picking up and this is particularly pertains to you, it runs from October the 15th to December the seventh. Okay, very good. Matt, you're doing great.

Producer:
Batting a thousand so far.

Merrit Strunk:
Yeah, back in 1000. And you know, you're a good student of all the information we cover here. So. Fantastic. Hey, once it goes in, it's in there, man. It's in my cranium, right?

Producer:
That's right. Locked away.

Merrit Strunk:
It's when you get older, it's in there, and it just, you know, I can't. Can't tap it, right? It takes me a hole. It takes like 24 hours to like. What was the answer to that? My wife will answer me, ask me a question. I'm like, I have that answer for you, but you may have to wait 24 hours.

Merrit Strunk:
Open the right door. You know, when I knock on it, it opens, particularly with the actors names. I'm like, Oh yeah, that becomes the Kevin Bacon.

Producer:
I am. I am that same way to like, we'll be watching something at home. And I'm like, okay, we've seen this guy in something. We've seen this guy inside. And I'm like, And then I'll just have to pause it and look it up because it's I will not be able to think about anything else until the movie or the show is over. If I don't know who the guy is, It's so annoying.

Merrit Strunk:
The years of you just somebody said, and you're like, Oh, it's that name. I have a friend and we're talking about a movie or something, you know, that's relative to the topic of a movie. And I'm like, Oh, it's that person that that acted in this other movie with that other person. And they're go, Oh, yeah, I think I know who you're talking about is the person you're talking about. Did they were they also in a movie with that other actor and they named the actor. It was like, Yeah, Oh, it's this person. Yeah, that's the sad so sad

Merrit Strunk:
Okay, so here's the question. Get to the get to the topic here. Merrit You can use an annuity to fund your Medicare expenses throughout your lifetime, right or wrong.

Producer:
Now, this one, if I remember correctly from I believe it was just last week, so I better remember it that that is also not wrong. That is also right. That one's right.

Merrit Strunk:
Yeah. Yeah. You're you're three for three. It was our last week's episode and there is a strategy and we call it a smart idea for some people, right? There's pros and cons to every strategy here. This is a step to ensure that you and your spouse will be able to fund expensive health care costs during your retirement. So you can use an annuity to fund Medicare expenses throughout your entire lifetime. You are right, Matt. Well done. Well done. Okay. Last one here. All right, Everybody listening at home or in the car? Your Social Security benefit can increase annually due to inflation. Boy. Folks, if you've been listening, you've got to get this right, right, right or wrong?

Producer:
Yes, I do remember from approximately half an hour ago our discussion on the show that that one is right.

Merrit Strunk:
Boy, I tell you, man, if you had gotten that.Wrong, it would have been tough. For you for the rest of the show, which is getting ever so short, too. So there have only been three years since COLAs first began, since 1975, where there was a 0% increase. 2009, 2010, 2015. And there have been increases in every other year where there has been a modicum of inflation. You bet. Fantastic. Thanks for doing that.

Producer:
It's this week in history.

Merrit Strunk:
So in this week in history, somebody who has very fond memories in my brain when I was a young, young person for a good chunk of time, actually is American comedian, the host of The Tonight Show. Can anybody in their heads come up to who I'm talking about? If you said Jimmy Kimmel, you are wrong. It is Johnny Carson. Johnny Carson was born October 23rd, 1925, and he hosted The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. And he established the the Late Talk Standard format. Right. That continues on today. I mean, how many shows are there? I remember when my parents would let me stay up late. I potentially would see the Johnny Carson. So and Johnny had so many wild and wacky. That's just wild. Wacky. That's really weird, you know? Oh, it was wild. That's wild. That's that's really wild.

Producer:
Weird, wild stuff.

Merrit Strunk:
Weird and wild. And he would do the the great Carnac. Was it Carnac?

Producer:
Yeah, Carnac, Carnac, Carnac the Magnificent. I want to say.

Merrit Strunk:
The Carnac the Magnificent. And he would put on this white turban and he would ask the question, right? Or he would give the answer. And then he had a question in a white envelope and he would hold it up to his head as if he was reading the inside of this envelope or something like that. And then he would read a wonderful question or answer. And he was really great. And, you know, he would sing and dance. And he was he was kind of like the the other member of the Rat Pack at one point. Because he could do all that entertaining and I love it. And then who was his sidekick?

Producer:
Oh, good old Ed McMahon.

Merrit Strunk:
Ed McMahon.

Producer:
You are correct, sir.

Merrit Strunk:
Yes, you are correct, sir. Yes, he would. They would do that. So fun. All right. So so that was, you know, finished up the show in a nice light tone there about Johnny Carson and all the great times he brought to us. And this this day in in history or this week in history. And so, look, we talked about a lot of stuff that's going on. And I want to encourage you that if you don't have the answers to the questions right now of what should I be doing now? How should I think about it? What's my risk exposure to market changes that could be coming? Are we going to be seeing capitulation coming up where we start seeing selling investors, throwing in the towel? And then if that's the situation that does come to fruition here, then what's the best choice of a strategy for you right now? Should you be hedging? Should you be operating under the mantra of hope for the best or prepare for the worst? And then what does that mean? What are the options for you? So if you've never had those options and somebody is not talking with you about those, call us up. Call us up and get the unbroken retirement report for you, which is a custom report on your retirement situation. You can go to our website at RetirementUnbroken.com Or you can give us a call. I meet with everybody personally and I'll be happy to have a conversation with you. The phone number is 858 521 9700. That's 858 521 9700. My name is Merrit Strunk and I am the host of the Retirement Unbroken show here. We air on Saturdays at 1 p.m. on Saturdays on 1170 AM and 96.1 FM. And you can also go to our website and listen to past episodes on our podcast or anywhere that you listen to podcasts. It's been my honor and I'm wishing you a retirement that forever remains unbroken.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to your Retirement Unbroken. You deserve to work with an experienced and licensed expert who will strategically work to protect and grow your hard-earned assets to schedule your free no-obligation consultation with Merrit. Visit RetirementUnbroken.com Or pick up the phone and call 858 521 9700. That's 858 521 9700. Advisory services are offered through Momentum Financial and Insurance Services LLC. An investment advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through Merrit Strunk an independent agent. California. License number 07510. Certified Financial Fiduciary is a FINRA recognized professional Certification.

Producer:
Fixed annuities, including multiyear guaranteed rate annuities, are not designed for short-term investments and may be subject to restrictions, fees and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying ability of the issuer.

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