6 Financial Steps You Should Consider NOW

Would you like to know why I've gotten zero freaked-out calls or emails from my clients because of the coronavirus, political upheaval or [insert your own freak-out factor]?  It's because we've already tested even worse scenarios (like the 2001-2003 recession) in their written retirement financial plans and they know they will be OK. 

However, that doesn't mean there aren't new opportunities and cautions:

1. If we have not developed your written retirement financial plan then get yourself on my schedule immediately.  I've opened my calendar up as much as possible for the next three weeks.  Call me at my mobile at 503-698-1110 or simply schedule yourself here:  https://calendly.com/g---5

Key Takeaway:  No matter what is happening in the world and in your life, there are risks to avoid and opportunities to acquire.  These risks and opportunities should be tested and executed carefully, as part of an overall plan, not by running out and buying four thousand rolls of toilet paper.

2. To make up for losses in the market-based portion of your portfolio, don't settle for inflation losses in your cash.  You should be getting at least 2.0% on your two-year money.  I've seen savings accounts paying as little as 0.07%.  Yes, seven hundreths of a percent. Increasing earnings and other benefits on your safe money will help offset these short-term fluctuations in the market and make dramatic long-term differences in your future cash flow. 

3. Does it make sense to refinance debt?  Probably.  Interest rates have tumbled with the market & I doubt they will increase this year.  Refinancing may be a great way to reduce your budget and preserve your savings. 

4. Is funding for your lifetime budget locked in?  If not, wouldn't that be worth finishing up?  Then you can ignore market hysteria.  Cash flow solves all other financial problems.

5. Do you need to put off that expected retirement date this or next year?  I won't sugar coat it; maybe you do.  But how do you figure out when you can retire?

6. Finally, taxes will probably shrink your money more this year than will the market.  What tax planning have you done?  Did you know the tax issue will become even more concerning in 2026 when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires?  I don’t see any of my peers doing tax planning.  Maybe this is the perfect time to do Roth conversions or in-kind conversions of poor performing stocks.  When the market recovers, all the gains can be tax-free.  This video is pending my review of the three “stimulus” packages.  Lots of little- and not so little -goodies for everyone.

Warm wishes during these trying times,
and get yourself on my calendar!: 
https://calendly.com/g---5
Gary
 

Your Constructive Comments are Welcome!

Propaganda is Obvious

Because it is excellent, I've cut and pasted from a fascinating- and chilling -article by Berit Anderson and Brett Horvath from scout.ai  If you wanted reasons to spend less time on line, well here you go.  The full article is at https://scout.ai/story/the-rise-of-the-weaponized-ai-propaganda-machine  This is a must read.  Thanks Tom Civiletti for your post.
The upshot:  political, social and economic propagandizers now have the capacity to customize their message to every single individual with an online presence.  They can build a total experience for you, complete with a large group of fake friends, that is emotionally addicting and intellectually manipulative.  They can construct a complete world just for you, solely for the purpose of contolling your decisions.  Which doesn't feel like control at all.
This is why I believe people who run face-to-face businesses like I do will never become extinct.  In fact, now is our time.  We must counteract this powerful, pervasive and unConstitutional manipulation of one another.

At Scout, we’ve been speaking with political strategists, technologists, and machine learning experts about how AI propaganda will spread through society in the near future. We want to work with you, the Scout community, to scenario plan what happens next. Here are some implications to get the conversation started.

IMPLICATION #1:

Public Sentiment Turns Into High-Frequency Trading

Thanks to stock-trading algorithms, large portions of public stock and commodity markets no longer resemble a human system and, some would argue, no longer serve their purpose as a signal of value. Instead they’re a battleground for high-frequency trading algorithms attempting to influence price or find nano-leverage in price position.

In the near future, we may see a similar process unfold in our public debates. Instead of battling press conferences and opinion articles, public opinion about companies and politicians may turn into multi-billion dollar battles between competing algorithms, each deployed to sway public sentiment. Stock trading algorithms already exist that analyze millions of Tweets and online posts in real-time and make trades in a matter of milliseconds based on changes in public sentiment. Algorithmic trading and ‘algorithmic public opinion’ are already connected. It’s likely they will continue to converge.

IMPLICATION #2: 

Personalized, Automated Propaganda That Adapts to Your Weaknesses

What if President Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign didn’t just have the best political messaging, but 250 million algorithmic versions of their political message all updating in real-time, personalized to precisely fit the worldview and attack the insecurities of their targets? Instead of having to deal with misleading politicians, we may soon witness a cambrian explosion of pathologically-lying political and corporate bots that constantly improve at manipulating us.

IMPLICATION #3: 

Not Just a Bubble, But Trapped in Your Own Ideological Matrix

Imagine that in 2020 you found out that your favorite politics page or group on Facebook didn’t actually have any other human members, but was filled with dozens or hundreds of bots that made you feel at home and your opinions validated? Is it possible that you might never find out?

Your Constructive Comments are Welcome!

Trees Grow to Outer Space

Well, trees don't grow to outer space.  Isn't that strange?  Why not?  Well, if you've ever tried sucking a soda up a 50 foot straw you'll see why; there is too much mass to escape the inexorable pull of gravity.  The only way giant Sequoias reach record heights is if they break off or get struck by lightening, thereby allowing water to pool in the cavity.  We find nothing odd about the fact that trees only grow to limited heights.
Conversely, we expect all things human to barrel forward and upward forever.  A good example is the economy.  In particular, one measure of it:  The stock market.  Although not a physical thing like a tree the markets are, nevertheless, subject to forces beyond our control, and "rules" beyond our perception.
Jeremy Grantham, founder of GMO funds (Grantham Mayo van Otterloo, nothing to do with genes) describes a case in point.  I quote:

What the past 25 years has done in the form of an overly inflated P/E ratio requires a 57% decline to revert or “normalize” the market’s key ratio and revert to the historic average that was present prior to Greenspan.

Grantham points out that 80% of executive comp. is stock options vs. 20% 30 years ago.  What awful incentives.  It's easier and less risky "for management to use corporate cash for stock buybacks".  They get the greatest reward for creating nothing!  Why spend money on R&D, plant and equipment when you can boost your own stock- and your own pay -by buying it up with stockholder cash?  I believe this profligate behavior will soon come back to bite us all.