The Big Idea

Mike Anderson, Quick 5 Minute Update. How have interest rates changed in past 1-2 years? What impact are we seeing in home prices and real estate in Ventura County? Are there good products for investments becoming available again because of these higher rates? Learn more from Michael Anderson as he shares insight on this podcst. Learn more online visit maranantha.com  or email Michael@maranantha.com  You can book a free 15-minute call on our website.

3 Money Lessons for High School Seniors Why do we want what we want?  Why do we spend our money on stuff?   How important is Credit and having a credit card? Knowing the Rules of the Game. (with credit & all financial decisions) Why is real estate an attractive option?  (Appreciation, Inflation with rents, interest rates, paying the loan down over time) What is a CYCLE in real estate? What does it look like?

Validation: Can I Retire?  A few notes & thoughts about navigating money choices and life events.  The validation of trying to justify the retirement decision... How does one answer the question of "Can I Retire?"   I'm not going to attempt to answer the question but I think it's a fair one to ponder and I discuss a little about the process.   Additionally, we discuss divorce, income for retirement, starting out as the young & penniless, fighting for every dollar and more.  The theme, it's always best to seek some guidance when making money decisions.

This same reasoning can be used with your financial situation, today's show is "How Dry is Your Financial Cake?" We also ask the question, "Is Dave Ramsey Out of Touch?"

Michael Anderson, Wealth Planning Interest Rates Home Prices Retirement taxes with IRA's and distributions along with Roth Conversions. Connect, ask a question or listen to previous episodes please check out Maranantha.com

An annuity is a product that a lot of people don't really like to hear about. And if you don't have one, you probably won't get one. But if you do have one, um, You were probably sold one and you're wondering if it's a good product or not.

On this week’s episode, Mike explores the difficult conversation of death and personal finance.

On this episode, Mike shares 4 Quick Money Lessons to improve your personal finances. Listen here to learn more.

Investment Management. Are you familiar with the “barbell strategy”? When you think about how you're investing your money, maybe you have a 401k, an IRA, a retirement funds or investment account. How do you decide how much money is in cash or how much money is in something else, like stocks or in bonds?  The Cost of Investment Management We want to keep your expenses low. This includes the internal cost. We can help make sure that the internal costs of what we're doing are low, so we're not missing out on performance with various fees. As far as turnover, generating high taxes also eats away at your performance. So, there are a number of things to think about when it comes to investing. One approach is the idea of looking at the whole market and saying, “Let’s diversify”, and be invested in the broader market. Within that, there are some areas  where we can target a higher expected return with some sectors, countries or companies. Within these we want to have overweight.  Stocks With stocks, it’s important to know the company size, what's the relative price that it's currently being offered at and how's their profitability. These are the dimensions of expected returns and we can look to those three areas to understand stocks.  Bonds With bonds, we look at the maturity of the bond, and when we are going to get our money back, the credit quality of the bond, and it’s currency. These are the dimensions of expected return. If it's a, not a domestic bond, but rather an international bond or an emerging market bond, sometimes you have to be sensitive to the currency it's in.  The Barbell Strategy I think it's so important to have what I'll call the barbell strategy, sometimes called the dumbbell strategy. The barbell strategy attempts to answer these questions:  What if their market returns to new all time highs in the stock market? Are you positioned to participate in that stock market run?  If it goes to all time new, all time highs. The other question people think about it. What if there's a decline from where we are today of 50% in the stock market from where we are right now. Are you positioned okay for that event?   Personal finance is more personal than financial. It's important to know where you are at, and to understand what money you need right now, for the next three months, six months, year, two years, and so on. You'll find a comfort level with saying, “I need X dollars to be comfortable in my life” or having an emergency fund in your savings account.  Long Term Investing What should I be doing with this additional money that I have?  That's when you can have a long term approach with your money and can invest it into the market, while being sensitive to the company size, relative price and profitability. We can invest it, and if the market does return to new all time highs, you will be positioned well with that money, if you're hedged you're in a good position.  I like the barbell strategy, and I'd be happy to discuss this with you for your specific situation. We can have a free 15 minute call, you just click the Start Here button at Maranantha.com. Music by Jay Man | OurMusicBox Website: www.our-music-box.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/ourmusicbox

Here's an idea to consider right now, get as much money as possible into Roth IRA accounts! Taxes are low, and doing these Roth Conversions be very beneficial when taxes go UP. Listen here to learn more.

Here are 10 questions for you, would you care to share a story about money? Answer one or more of these questions in the comments (or click the link & record a voice mail to me.)

Why You Shouldn't Invest the Money You're Saving to Buy a House

What type of investments should I make?

Should I focus on retirement OR buy my first home?

Learn more about the peace corps experience, we talk with Ryanne Bamieh, she served in Comoros for the peace corps.

Wine, Trader Joe's & Local Breweries with Nick Mehle. Have you ever heard of a hustle buy? He shares some things you probably didn't know about Trader Joe's wine selection.

Four problems a financial advisor helps to solve. Learn more in this 5 minute podcast.

We all have a story when it come to money and relationships. Our views, values and perspectives are not always in-line with our partners... This week, we highlight a few stories.

Michael Anderson, Certified Financial Planner What are the 12 Unifying Principles of Personal Finance? How can couples work better by looking at their finances with the same filter? Fun banter with Tom Spence in the lunchroom. Learn more online at maranantha.com

Being Happier - 4 life hacks We pulled this article from the internet, hope you enjoy it. #1 Negative visualization #2 As If #3 Fake that smile. Stay calm. You'll feel better faster. #4 Forgive & carry on. Learn more online at collectingwisdom.com