Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

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Retirement is No Fun if You’re Scared, Sick, or Broke

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In a great piece in The Wall Street Journal, Glenn Ruffenach answers a question by a retiree who is looking to move. She wants a safe neighborhood, and Ruffenach explains that while most retirees looking to relocate are focused on the fun aspects of life like "climate, lifestyles, housing, shopping, cultural events," they should also be paying attention to things like "taxes, health care—and crime." Face it, if you're scared, sick or broke, it doesn't matter how many restaurants or shows are on Main Street, your retirement isn't going to be any fun at all. Ruffenach continues: Beyond the … [Read more...]

America is Beating Japan in this Retirement Savings Measure, but Not for the Right Reason

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Running out of money during retirement is the greatest risk people take when they decide to stop working. The World Economic Forum has published new research that shows Americans aren't saving enough to cover the last decade or so of their retirement. That pales in comparison to the Japanese, who fail to save enough for the last two decades of their retirement. The only problem here for Americans though is that a big portion of that savings disparity comes because Japanese people are living so much longer, not because Americans are simply saving that much more. Bloomberg's Ben Steverman … [Read more...]

Thank You Sarah Huckabee Sanders

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I thought Sarah Huckabee Sanders was an incredible press secretary for President Trump—a difficult job on a good day never mind dealing with a deaf press corps in the Swamp. And the way she’s being treated by the liberal media on her way out the door is terrible. The fake news never recognizes a successful conservative woman. Here Heather Higgins, the CEO of Independent Women's Voice, gives her eye-opening take as to why: … [Read more...]

Can You Lower Your Property Tax Bill in 8 Steps?

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If you own real estate, you know that property taxes seem to rise continuously. Undoubtedly you have questioned if yours could be reduced. Fidelity has posted a guide that could help you lower yours. Sandra Block writes: Home values have risen across the country, which means many homeowners' property taxes are going up, too. The average annual property tax for owner-occupied single family homes nationwide in 2017 was $3,399, an effective tax rate of 1.17%, according to Attom Data Solutions. Nine counties impose average annual property taxes of $10,000 or more. In Westchester County, New … [Read more...]

Kamala Harris Targets Worker Freedoms

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Sen. Kamala Harris, who would very much like to be America's next president, told union members recently that she would issue an executive order banning Right to Work laws. It is unlikely the Supreme Court would ever find such an executive order constitutional, but even the idea of changing the law in 27 states to force employees into paying unions they don't support is wrong. I have written many times about the success of Right to Work laws in providing Americans with the jobs they need. If you are unfamiliar with Right to Work, you can get a sense of it here: Right to Work States … [Read more...]

Record Hiring in April

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In April, businesses hired 5.9 million employees, the highest on record. Despite filling so many positions, there are still more jobs available than unemployed workers to fill them. You can see on my chart the demand for employees has been higher than the number of unemployed Americans since March of 2018. Bloomberg's Jeff Cox reports on the strong numbers for the economy: “In sum, the labor market remains strong and poised for continued solid job growth,” Ward McCarthy, chief financial U.S. economist at Jefferies, said in a note. “Despite the 21.4 [million] private sector jobs that … [Read more...]

Despite Past Failure, Connecticut Taxes More and More

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Despite what seem to be ever increasing taxes, Connecticut's politicians can't seem to pay for all their spending. Every time taxes go up, more of the state's wealthy residents decide it's time to pick up and leave. Now, Connecticut is trying to adapt. Rather than raising headline rates on income or sales, Hartford's Regents of Revenue are creating a slew of new taxes on the edges of noticeability. The Middletown Press explains this new assault on Nutmeggers, writing: The sales tax on digital downloads — things like e-books and movies downloaded from Amazon — will increase from 1 percent … [Read more...]

Don’t Just Think About Retirement Planning, Act Now

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According to a report from the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies Americans are concerned with their retirement, but they're not actually doing much about it. I urge you and anyone who hasn't already taken action toward planning for retirement to not wait, get to work now. FEDWeek reports: The report, based on polling samples of the baby boom, generation X and millennial generations, found that majorities of all three expect to have a harder time achieving financial security for retirement than their parents’ generation, with the younger two generations agreeing more strongly; and … [Read more...]