With stocks hovering around an all-time record high, a growing likelihood of a Federal income tax rate hike by 2021, and the deadline for end-of-year tax tactics closing in fast, this is a timely reminder to run a reality check on your retirement income plan. An unusual confluence of tax, financial-market and political factors make this a particularly good time for high-income and high net worth individuals to check their retirement income plan. Let’s get specific about current conditions: In 2019, the federal government is spending a trillion dollars more than it collected in revenue, and at the end of 2018, the national debt totaled $22 trillion Meanwhile, changing political winds could sweep in higher federal tax rates. Managing your tax bracket now — in case of a hike in federal income tax brackets — could lower your tax bill, not just for 2019 but in the year or two ahead, as well. Proactive tax planning before the end of 2019 may be especially timely for business owners with an interest in a pass-through entity, like an LLC, S corp, or sole proprietorship.

Major economic trends are always unfolding but are hidden in plain sight. Along these, only if you know what to look for would you see the spectacular After the Commerce Department released the latest monthly retail sales figures on Friday morning, the financial press and financial cable TV reported that October’s three-tenths of 1% uptick allayed fears of a recession but was nothing spectacular. The press totally missed the hidden trend in the economic picture by not adjusting retail sales for inflation. Inflation is at a long-term low and is not showing any sign of returning anytime soon to its performance in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. A low inflation rate masks strong real growth in consumer spending, but spotting it in the current investment picture requires a trained eye. Viewed from a prudent professional perspective, the newly released retail sales data helps explain why stock prices have been breaking records. Answers to life’s questions are often right in front of us, but we don’t see them. Please contact us with any questions fulbrightteam@moneyful.com or to set up a meeting at 919-544-0398, and don't hesitate to share this video with people who might benefit from our work.

When stocks repeatedly break new all-time highs, as they have done in recent weeks, you have to start wonder if investors are growing irrational, overly exuberant. Here are the facts. These four charts show the latest reading of key fundamental economic factors driving record financial market prices. Let’s start with the latest figures on the nation’s gross domestic product. Third quarter growth tallied by the federal government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis came in at 1.93%. The net of three of the four factors in economic growth — business investment, net exports, and state and local government spending — did not contribute to growth but consumer strength offset them and was the source of the 1.93% quarterly growth rate for the U.S.

If you’re retired or a pre-retiree, you probably remember a time when the world worried about the population explosion. Fears of overpopulation, we were told, would cause global food shortages in the final three decades closing the millennium. Well, that never happened! In fact, you can simply forget everything you ever heard about the coming population explosion! Across the world, nation’s are not challenged by a population boom but by a population bust! The world’s largest economic powers need more people — not less! An essay in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, a magazine published by the Council of Foreign Relations, points out a dramatic demographic shift is reshaping economies across the world. The typical pattern of modern economies is to develop a middle class that urbanizes, grows more educated, and more affluent, and then fertility rates collapse. The worldwide population bust is of more than academic interest. A nation’s demographic character is one of the two factors driving its economic growth. The size of a nation’s working age population multiplied by its rate of productivity determines its growth potential. The working age population in China — the world’s No. 2 economic power — is shrinking. So is the world’s third largest economy, Japan, as well as Germany, all of Europe, India and China.In contrast, growth in the U.S. labor force is expected to stay flat for the next decade, when the echo-boom kicks in and continues through 2049. . For the next generation or two of American, the growth in the working age population could figure prominently in the future of the wealth of the nation. The nation’s underlying demographic character is a strong financial economic fundamental for long-term investors in America but have you ever seen it covered in the financial press? We sponsor this financial advisor news service to provide independent, prudent, professional research for long term investors every week. Please contact us with any questions or to set up a meeting, email us at fulbrightteam@moneyful.com and don't hesitate to share this video with people who might benefit from our work.

Tons of government, trade association, and private company sponsored data and research about the economy are released every day. We summarize what you need to know to invest intelligently for the long run in this series of videos every week. Much of the economic research is from independent economist Fritz Meyer. Fritz was the senior investment strategist at one of the world’s largest investment companies for over a decade. In 2009, he went independent — so he has no ties to any financial products, no conflicts of interest in analyzing financial economics.

There are approximately 35 million people who are millionaires in the world. As Robert J. Samuelson states so perfectly in The Washington Post, "That's about 5 percent of the U.S. adult population (241 million in 2014), or one in 20. Rarefied, yes; exclusive, no." Though the population numbers have gone up in the last year, they still prove a point. It's totally possible for you to become a millionaire. I will tell you that a lot of people will need more than a million dollar. Wealth is nothing more than a byproduct of success. The pursuit of success is dependent upon the desire to succeed and become wealthy. Wealth, therefore, is the carrot at the end of the stick. Take away that carrot and you remove the desire to succeed. Socialism not only takes away that carrot, it renders obsolete all of the necessary ingredients that make success possible: a hard work ethic, creativity, persistence, genius, good habits, overcoming fear and the courageous pursuit of dreams and goals. Success is therefore impossible in a Socialist society – why pursue success if the carrot at the end of the stick, wealth, is removed? America’s founding fathers knew this. While becoming a millionaire rarely occurs overnight, it's still an achievable dream if you work hard and use these habits: Todays show is about Millionare’s Frugal Habits is Markeith Gentry who is the WNCU’s Production Assistant and makes sure Mastering Your Money is available to our listeners. Welcome back to Mastering Your Money, Markeith Gentry

Despite months of frightening financial news, the third quarter ended on September 30 with the stock market only 1.6% off its all-time record high. Including the bear market plunge suffered last Christmas, when the stocks lost 19.8%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 over the last 12 months , showed a return of +2.2%. In the first three quarters of the year, the S&P 500 returned 19%, overcoming a rising tide of fear about the trade war with China, an inversion of the yield curve, a growing chorus of recession predictions, and political crisis. What’s it mean? How does it affect investing? It’s notable that the stock market did not drop on worries about the China trade confrontation or the political crisis — two of the major stories in the news now. The three major stock market drops in the past year were all related to Federal Reserve Board actions. Since the Fed backed off its forecast for rising rates and inflation in January, consumer spending and income have been about as strong as they have ever been in post-War American history! So don’t despair over the various crises and keep an eye on the Fed’s actions in extending the longest economic expansion in modern history in 2020 and beyond. Please contact us with any questions or to set up a meeting, and don't hesitate to share this video with people who might benefit from my work.

The latest data indicate the economy is not falling into a recession but is growing slower. If it feels like a snail’s pace, you should probably get used to it. The growth potential of the economy is the sum of the change in the working age population plus the change in productivity. That’s straightforward math. What’s it mean? Let’s break down the equation. Here’s the productivity side of the equation, the actual and expected change in the annual rate of productivity from 1948 through 2029. Productivity growth of the U.S. labor force has been in a slow decline over the decades. CBO, a non partisan research arm of the federal government, forecasts average annual gains in productivity lifting slightly to 1.9% through 2029. On the labor force side of the equation, the working age population exploded after world war 2 in the baby boom and peaked again in the late 1970s. Over the decades, growth in the labor force has gradually slowed, and it’s expected to continue to slow over the next decade. The consensus forecast of economists for a 1.7% growth rate for the next five quarters is indeed slower than previous decades, but it should come as no surprise. On the bright side, consumer spending and wages remain strong, and no recession is expected. And productivity in recent years has been much stronger than expected and accelerated sharply in recent months, and if the trend continues, the snail’s pace could get a surprise boost. Please contact us with any questions or to set up a meeting, and don't hesitate to share this video with people who might benefit from my work.

Last Friday, after the Census Bureau reported that retail sales, which drive 70% of U.S. economic growth, rose four-tenths of 1% in August, headlines abruptly turned positive. The retail data quelled growing concerns reflected in the press about the inversion of the yield curve, the 11-month plunge in manufacturing sector activity, the trade-war with China, and a global economic slowdown hurting the U.S. economy. Retail sales increased by four tenths of 1% in August over July driven by a surge in auto sales. Total retail sales in August were 4.1% higher than in August 2018, which is a strong jump considering the low inflation rate of about 1.8%. For the three-month period from June through August 2019, retail sales were up 3.7% from the same period a year ago, showing momentum slowing only slightly. Stock market volatility increased lately. Independent economist Fritz Meyer says declines of 2% have been occurring nearly once a month. The spate of spikes in volatility started in May 2018, recurred in a 19.8% plunge in December 2018, and two more spikes in fear struck in May and August 2019. All of the spikes in fear came after Federal Reserve pronouncements on interest rate policy and none were related to the U.S.-China trade or other fears in the headlines. Please contact us with any questions or to set up a meeting, and don't hesitate to share this video with people who might benefit from our work.