Table of Contents
1. Beware of Crooks
2. Year-End Planning
3. So...
4. Get Ready Washington State
5. Conversion Time
6. New Pet
BEWARE OF CROOKS
You need to be very careful these days because there are crooks out there who will
rob you blind. They hide out in places you would never look for crooks. They are at
your local banks! Yes if you are not careful, they will rob you blind. Bank fees
are rising faster than the national debt and your blood pressure. Just to use
another bank's ATM could cost you $3.43, which is an increase of 13% from last year.
They have gond up on overdraft charges and everything else they feel they can get
away with. You will pay more in fees and charges this year than you will earn in
interest on all that money you let rot at your local bank. Yes I said rot. Based on
the small amount of interest you are earning it is rotting! Maybe it is finally time
to sit down and see if there are alternatives and it may also be time to have a good
long talk with your friendly banker and tell them enough is enough! No more stealing
from you. By the way this is not a joke!
YEAR-END PLANNING
As the end of this year approaches, it is time to make sure that you are ready for
the end of this year and the beginning of a new year. It is time to do a review of
certain items so that we don't have to deal with the problems left over from this
year next year!
TAXES:
Yes taxes are always an area that can be a carry-over from one year to another. You
need to make sure that you will pay in enough to cover the taxes due for this year.
You do not want to be paying for this year next year too. With that in mind you need
to take a good close look at the taxes that you have paid so far this year. If your
"net" income is higher this year, are your payments to the IRS higher? If they
aren't, maybe it is time to increase your estimates for the balance of this year.
This will eliminate the possibility of a shortfall in payments and also help avoid
penalties and late fees. Not sure? A good rough rule of thumb is your tax payments
should be around 20% of what you take out in personal income. Remember, anything you
purchase for your practice or any money you spend for the practice is deductible and
you do not pay taxes on that money.
EQUIPMENT:
If you are considering a purchase for your practice, would it be better to purchase
this year or next year? Which year is going to be better for tax purposes? Remember
you can take a lump sum depreciation on equipment. That can be a great benefit and
save you taxes.
RETIREMENT:
You aren't getting any younger! Maybe it is time to consider setting up a
retirement plan. If you set up an IRA, SEP, or a profit-sharing plan for this year,
the contributions to such a plan are not counted as taxable income for this year.
That could save you a few bucks, but it also might cost you a few with contributions
for your employees. There are many types of plans available and you need to consider
which ones will work best for you. An immediate tax deduction is great but don't
forget that when you retire, the income is taxable. Think about that before you jump
just to "buy" a tax deduction.
INSURANCE:
Did you have any fender-benders this year or any big losses that you made a claim
for? If not then maybe it is time to raise the deductibles on your auto policies and
your homeowners too. That can save you a bundle on your premiums and you wouldn't
submit a small claim anyway since you may end up with the company raising your
premiums. Time for a major review.
Do you have any term life insurance policies? When do they expire? Do you have an
option to convert them without having to prove insurability? When does that option
expire? Maybe it is time to review all of your life insurance too.
Do you have disability insurance? Is it a "good" policy with good definitions that
protect you? Just because it is an old policy does not mean that it is a good one
with a good premium. While you are at it, make sure you have overhead coverage too.
MARKETING:
What did you do that worked this year? What did you do that didn't work? Time to
consider what you will and won't do next year. You need to set up a plan for the
entire year if you want to have a good year. Growth doesn't JUST happen. You MAKE
it happen. MAKE it happen by planning now. Remember marketing is educating the
public on what you do, and why they need it. Become the best "teacher" there is!!
PLAN:
Do you have any long-term goals or have you done any planning? Financial planning?
Everyone needs to do some planning for the future unless you are just hoping that
somewhere some wealthy relative who you have never met will leave you a fortune!
That may not happen, I am sorry to say so it may be a good idea to start setting up a
plan that will make sure that you will be comfortable when you are ready to hang
things up and just kick back and enjoy life. The plans do not have to be elaborate.
You need a plan that is YOUR plan to fit YOUR needs. The time to do that is, as it
is with everything else, NOW. You gotta start sometime. Now is as good a time as
ever, so get to work!
SO...
What's happening in your qualified retirement plan? Your IRA, SEP, 401-k, Pension,
or Profit-Sharing Plan? How well did your investments do in this market? Did you
suffer any losses? Maybe it would be better if I ask if you had any gains? Too
bad.
By the way, my "non-qualified" insurance plan did not lose a penney. My plan only
shares in the gains in the indexes. There is a contractual guarantee that states
that it never shares in any losses.
Wish you could say that? You can if you change your plan. Interested? Give me a
call or send me an e-mail and I will tell you how easy it is to do just that.
Still want to wait for all your losses to recover? It's going to be a long wait.
In the meantime you are missing out on all the gains in the indexes and you are not
protected from any downturns that will occur, and they will occur!
GET READY WASHINGTON STATE
Yes get ready because the WSCA is going to be putting on some mini seminars in
Vancouver, Seattle, Yakima, and the Trid Cities area in February. I will be speaking
at the sessions and they will be informative and also get you CE's. The title; "HOW
TO GET RIGHT-SIDE UP IN A DOWN-SIDE FINANCIAL WORLD". It will be a seminar that you
don't want to miss especially if you are interested in getting your financial world
back on track. You will be receiving more information on this very soon. Seating
will be limited so sign up early.
CONVERSION TIME
Got an IRA? Have the assets in it taken a beating in the market this year? If so
you might want to consider converting it to a Roth IRA. If you make less than
$100,000, you will have to pay Taxes when you transfer it but you won't have to pay
the 10% penalty for early withdrawal. what is the advantage? After age 59 1/2, you
will be able to withdraw everything totally tax free. Now is the time to do it since
your assets are lower so the tax bite won't be so bad. By the way, this also
shelters future gains in the Roth from any taxes.
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