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Brian Fricke's Author Interview with Advantage Media Group
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Should I Make Extra Mortgage Payments?
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
As a retirement expert, that’s a question I get asked quite often. People want to know if it makes sense to pay their mortgages down at a faster rate. If you’re going to get rid of your mortgage within a 5 - 7 year time frame; I say it makes sense to make the extra mortgage payments to get rid of your mortgage. However, if it’s going ...read moreI’ve Been Accused Of Inciting Fear!!!
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Last month, one of my Coffee Talk calls got a little heated! The topic was “Dirty Little Secrets Annuity Companies Hope You Never Find Out About.” During the Q and A session at the end of the call, this guy called me out for “inciting fear” about annuities. Actually, to be specific, he said, “you made some pretty critical mistakes in your analysis of the way that ...read moreHow Will Greece, China And The Oil Spill Affect Your Bottom Line?
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the oil spill and the situations in Greece, China and Europe. People are wondering how these events are going to affect the market overall, and their own investments. I think the whole world is concerned about the financial solvency of the European countries. Our accounts have no exposure to Greece and none of any real significance to ...read moreBrian Fricke Quoted in Fox Business Article
Friday, June 25th, 2010
On June 21st, Brian was featured in a FoxBusiness.com article titled "When Retirement is Just Around The Corner." The article was written by Hope Holland, and she spoke with Brian and others about several retirement issues. Below is a link to the article: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/06/21/retirement-just-corner/ What are your thoughts on the article? Leave us a comment below! read moreThe #1 Mistake To Avoid If You Want Income From Your Investments
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
We see folks from time to time get fixated on generating income from their investments. They focus on investments that generate interest or dividend income, and that’s how they evaluate their investment accounts. I think this is just a huge, huge mistake. Several months ago, we got a phone call from someone who had been focused on generating income from her investments. She had put ...read moreKids And Money – Lessons That Last A Lifetime
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Our philosophy (my wife’s and mine) was that we wanted to put money in our boys’ hands at a young age. So we gave them an allowance. $1.00 for every year of age per week. So when they were 5, they got $5.00 per week. When they were 15, they got $15.00 per week. And so on. This was not simply their money to spend ...read morePrepare Your Spouse NOW To Handle Finances Later
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
I’ve been talking about a situation that most retired couples are in right now – where one person handles all the financial activities and the other one doesn’t take an interest in it. This is a big mistake many couples make, because if the spouse who doesn’t handle the finances outlives their mate who does, they won’t know what to do with their investments and other money. ...read moreWhy “Do-It-Yourself” Can Be Dangerous
Monday, April 26th, 2010
Never underestimate the value of having an expert ‘do things’ for you that you have limited or no expertise in. An attorney I know was out of work for over a week (ironically the stock market was up that week) after injuring himself, and when I got the chance to talk to him I asked what had happened. He explained he was in the process of remodeling ...read moreAre You Getting Financial Advice From…A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing???
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
I’m fixing breakfast this morning and I see a TV commercial coming on. Something along the lines of, “Have the big brokerage firms let you down? Come talk to us. We’ve got neighborhood offices. We’ll get to know you. We don’t have any proprietary or in-house products. We’re here to be your friend and help you out.” Really? About 3 years ago, a client brought some paperwork to us from ...read moreShould You Pay Off Your Home Mortgage?
Monday, April 12th, 2010
In general terms, we’re big fans of owning your home free and clear, at or before retirement. But there are always people who think otherwise. They usually argue that, “Well, you know, mortgage money today’s cheap. So keep your money invested at higher returns (or interest rates) and when the market goes up the difference if yours to keep.” The investment argument has some ...read moreOn The Waterfront – Your Safest Real Estate Bet
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
In my recent article, I posed the question, “Is real estate a good bet yet?” And the answer I came up with is, “probably not.” But there’s one area where that line of reasoning does not apply. And that’s when you’re talking about real estate with a view – a water view. You’ve probably heard that the three most important words in real estate are location, location, location. And ...read moreShould You Convert To A Roth IRA?
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
You’ve probably heard the news that this year, regardless of your income, you now have the option of converting some or all of your IRA investments to a Roth IRA . The question is, should you? If you’re planning on leaving this money to your heirs, the simplest, most obvious answer to this question is yes. If you can pay the extra income tax using non-IRA money. ...read moreWARNING: Look What Happened When… You Weren’t Looking!!!
Monday, March 29th, 2010
While everyone’s attention has been on healthcare reform, the nitwits in Washington pulled a fast one on everyone who has investments or insurance. So just about everyone will be affected… This is the topic of tomorrows (Tues Mar 30th, 2010) ‘Coffee Talk’ call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. I’ll tell you what happened and… what you need to do to protect yourself, your family ...read moreAre You Making These Mistakes On Your Taxes?
Friday, March 19th, 2010
This is the topic of next week’s (Tues Mar 23rd, 2010) ‘Coffee Talk’ call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. You've heard that old saying that you can't avoid death and taxes. On the next edition of Coffee Talk I’ll be covering some of the most common mistakes we see people make on their taxes. Including the single biggest mistake we see people make when ...read more4 Sacred Cows Of Investing That Will… Cost You Thousands Of Dollars Every Year!!!
Friday, March 12th, 2010
This is the topic of our next ‘Coffee Talk’ call (Tues Mar 16th, 2010). The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. • Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) - investing a fixed dollar amount at regular intervals – is a failure at reducing investment risk. • Got big tax losses you'll never use in your lifetime? It's not as bad as you think! What most people don't know about ...read moreIT’S TIME FOR A FAIR TAX
Monday, March 8th, 2010
In this month’s article, I talked about the estate tax, the capital gains tax, and how they seem to change every year for no good reason. The really frustrating thing is, how your assets will be taxed after your time on earth is over is only one small example of how little sense our tax laws make. The other night, my wife and I were talking ...read moreTop 5 Retirement Planning Mistakes I See People Make
Friday, March 5th, 2010
This is the topic of next week's (Tues Mar 9th, 2010) 'Coffee Talk' call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. How many times in your lifetime will you retire? Once, maybe twice!? I've 'retired' over 756 times! - via helping our clients So I'm going to share with you the most common planning mistakes I've seen people make, hopefully you'll avoid them. I'll also ...read moreIt’s Not What You Know, But Who You Know
Saturday, February 27th, 2010
This is the topic of next week's (Tues Mar 2nd, 2010) 'Coffee Talk' call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. We'll be sharing some of the resources we use to help our clients save thousands of dollars on things like Cars, Real Estate, Insurance, Legal fees, Healthcare issues, Long Term Care. Over the years we've documented savings that easily exceed $1,000,000!!! And...we'll be here ...read moreBOND Buyers Beware! Secrets Your Broker Hopes You Never Learn About
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
In my recent article, “Bond Strategies in a Rising Interest Rate Environment,” I talked about bond strategies for the current fiscal environment, in which interest rates are almost sure to rise. But while we’re on the subject of bonds, I also wanted to warn you about a specific trick bond traders use to up their commissions. The buying and selling of bonds is totally different from ...read moreDo Your Kids Need A Financial Bailout???
Friday, February 19th, 2010
This is the topic of next week's (Tues Feb 23rd, 2010) 'Coffee Talk' call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Thanks to the economy and 2008 Market Meltdown we are getting more and more questions about 'helping' (financially) family members, especially grown kids. I'll be discussing some: 1. Real life examples (details etc. changed to protect confidentiality) where it ...read moreCan Your Money Market Fund Stop You From Withdrawing Your Money… The Answer Will Shock You!
Friday, February 12th, 2010
This is the topic of next week’s (Tues Feb 16th, 2010) ‘Coffee Talk’ call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Yes, it’s true! This was a question asked by a client recently…They sent us an on-line article talking about a new SEC ruling allowing money market funds to stop you from withdrawing your money. We’ll be talking about the article…and the scare tactics the reporter ...read moreWhat’s Your Number? And Why It Doesn’t Matter!!
Friday, February 5th, 2010
This is the topic of next week’s (Tues Feb 9th, 2010) ‘Coffee Club’ call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Everyone seems to have a number. What’s your number? I’m talking about the amount of money people have in mind that they feel like they need to have (or keep), in order to sleep well at night. Thinking this way can create big mistakes that could ...read moreBond Strategies In A Rising Interest Rate Environment
Friday, January 29th, 2010
This is the topic of next week’s (Tues Feb 2nd, 2010) ‘Coffee Club’ call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min. Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172 Access Code: 825218# We’re starting to get more calls, questions and concerns about how bonds will perform (or not) when interest rates start going up. We’ll be ...read moreWarning! Best Stock Fund of the Decade Makes 18%… While Investors Lose 11%???
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
This is the topic of next week’s (Tues Jan 26th, 2010) ‘Coffee Club’ call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min. Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172 Access Code: 825218# We’ll be covering how investors end up losing money in most of the top performing mutual funds…the mistakes they make… and how you can ...read more529 College Savings Plans Are A Disaster For Most Families – Discover Better Option(s) For Your Children & Grandchildren
Friday, January 15th, 2010
This is the topic of next week’s (Tues Jan 19th, 2010) ‘Coffee Club’ call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min. Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172 Access Code: 825218# 529 College Savings plans just haven’t lived up to the hype…I’ll explain why. More importantly I’ll reveal 3 superior options! We’ll also discuss whether ...read moreHow Much Of YOUR Money Is Going To Those Fat Cat Wall Street Bonuses???
Monday, January 11th, 2010
This is the topic of next week's (Tues Jan 12th, 2010) 'Coffee Club' call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min. Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172 Access Code: 825218# Millions of unsuspecting retiree's and 'soon - to - be retirees' are giving a huge chunk of their hard earned money, unknowingly, to ...read moreA Better Way To An American Economic Boom…
Friday, January 8th, 2010
Once upon a time the idea of spending trillions of dollars was almost unthinkable. This year, we have seen our leaders throwing around hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars like it was monopoly money. It's not "play money." Where is that money coming from? The loans from other nations and investors are being secured with promises of taxes on you, your children, their children, and their children. Our national ...read moreI’m all for healthcare reform – Just not the direction we seem to be headed.
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Poor government policymaking is the root cause of both our economic and healthcare troubles. Free markets are the best solution. Free markets work better than government-dominated systems. Even if the government's ideas are well-intentioned, when put into practice, they only make things worse. Government interventions never help. We need to stop blindly allowing the government to overspend and dig us into a deeper hole. Capitalism will lead us ...read moreBIG Changes In 2010 Tax Law and How Health Care Reform Affects You!
Monday, December 28th, 2009
This is the topic of the next (Tues Jan 5th, 2010) ‘Coffee Club’ call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min. Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172 Access Code: 825218# Note: There will be NO CALL on Tues Dec 29th!!! Gridlock in Congress is going to cause a train wreck on taxes in 2010. ...read moreCoffee Club: The Biggest ‘Opportunity’ Families Miss This Time of Year and… Investment Changes We’re Making Now!
Monday, December 21st, 2009
This is the topic of tomorrow’s (Tues Dec 22nd) ‘Coffee Club’ call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min. Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172 Access Code: 825218# This time of year most families gather together to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah etc. and miss out on a wonderful planning opportunity! We’ll tell you what it ...read moreCoffee Club: Is It Time To Look At Real Estate?
Monday, December 14th, 2009
Is It Time To Look At Real Estate? This is the topic of tomorrow’s (Tues Dec 15th) ‘Coffee Club’ call. The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min. Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172 Access Code: 825218# Seems like we’ve been getting a lot of Real Estate questions lately. We’ll tell you some of the ...read moreYou’ll want to see this!
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
One of the best books of all time and now a movie is…The Ultimate Gift! The Ultimate Gift movie will be presented on the Hallmark Channel at the following times: • Wednesday, December 9th at 8:00 p.m. eastern / 7:00 p.m. central • Thursday, December 10th at 2:00 p.m. eastern / 1:00 p.m. central • Sunday, December 20th at 4:00 p.m. eastern / 3:00 p.m. central • Monday, December 21st at 2:00 p.m. eastern / 1:00 p.m. ...read moreShould You Convert Your IRA to a Roth IRA?
Monday, December 7th, 2009
Should You Convert Your IRA to a Roth IRA? This is the topic of tomorrow’s ‘Coffee Club’ call (Tuesday, Dec. 8). The information is Free, with no obligation on your part. Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min. • Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172 • Access Code: 825218# Other topics we’ll cover include Year End Tax Strategies You Need to Know About, And… The ‘Big ...read more“Everyone Told Him He Was Good!”
Monday, April 28th, 2008
As far back as anyone can remember, even when Ted was a real little kid, he loved to draw. So much, that he often drew all over his parent's nice clean white walls with magic markers and crayons. (One time, he got a hold of a paint can his dad was using to paint the shed, and painted a pretty picture of the family on the kitchen table. ...read more“Saved At The Bell! How One Family Saved Over $300,000 In Taxes With A Quick Maneuver!”
Monday, April 28th, 2008
Rose and Eric have an unusual story. They both came over from Europe in the 20's when they were small children, with their families who knew each other in the old country. When they settled here in the U.S., they lived very close to each other and saw one another all the time. When they got to be teenagers in this land of opportunity, they fell in ...read more$128,284 in Taxes Saved
Monday, April 28th, 2008
When Charlotte was about to retire after 28 years of service with a large telecommunications company, her husband was ready to put her retirement plans in a rollover IRA and start buying mutual funds. She had witnessed the ups and downs their portfolio had gone through under his watch, and decided to get some professional advice from us before she signed the transfer papers. Within her 401(k) and ...read moreHow A 52-Year Old Woman “Retired And Ended Up Making A Small Fortune Practically Overnight!
Sunday, April 27th, 2008
Back in 1978, when she was fresh out of college, Lauren wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She wanted to travel, do some volunteer work down at the local community center, hang out with her friends and so on... but she really had no idea what she wanted to pursue as a career. After a few months of goofing off, she ...read more