When it comes to your living situation in retirement, there are developments (literally) that may turn your idyllic retirement community into an “anywhere in the USA” suburb. As liberal states like California, crush the middle-class, neighboring states such as Idaho, and towns west of Boise like Star, pick up the slack, explains Dan Frosch in the WSJ: Over the past nine years, Star’s population has doubled to more than 10,000. Most of the growth has come from people like the Turnipseeds who uprooted from the West Coast to the greater Boise area—known as the Treasure Valley—drawn by the … [Read more...]
You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life
My clients are ski bums. Well, not exactly, considering they own their own place in the Tetons. But rising before dawn, queuing up for the first tram, especially on powder days, is a ski bum’s life. That’s why it was no surprise to receive this email: Hi EJ! Snow over a hundred inches so far in 2020! Every day a powder day! Several more days for this storm cycle! We have been very happy with your care of our financials. Skiing has been fabulous. More powder tomorrow! Will give you a call when we come up for air! When they get home in the spring, to Lake Champlain, they … [Read more...]
Migration: Where High-Tax State Exiles Are Going
“Where are high-tax state exiles going?” asks the WSJ’s Review and Outlook. “Zero income tax Florida drew $16.5 billion in adjusted gross income last year.” It’s a trend you and I have been watching for years and will continue to see as Democrats ruin the fiscal health of the states they’re leaving. The good news is that the inflow will give states like Florida more representation in D.C. The bad is they packed bankrupting politics in the U-Haul. The Editors at The Wall Street Journal write: Many have also fled to Arizona ($3.5 billion), Texas ($3.5 billion), North Carolina ($3 … [Read more...]
Guess Which States Americans are Moving To
Every year United Van Lines performs its National Movers Study, analyzing where people are moving to, and where they're coming from, to get a picture of the trends for each state. This year, like last year, Vermont won the highest percentage of inbound traffic. Vermont Business Magazine was happy to announce this, writing "Vermont is the only state to have achieved greater than a 70 percent in-bound rate, which it has done the last two years (74.3% in 2019 and 72.7% in 2018)." You can see on the map below that Americans mostly moved out of states with high taxation (California, NY, … [Read more...]
Best and Worst Tax States in 2019: A Quick List Retirees Need to See
UPDATE: With 2019 closing, it's a good time to take stock of your financial situation. Are you being held back by the heavy taxation in your state? Is it possible for you to escape by moving to a different locale? If so, here are the lists of the best and worst states for taxes in 2019. Read with care. In retirement, there's nothing that can affect your standard of living more than taxation. Property taxes, taxes on your investment income, and even sales taxes can make all the difference in your ability to pursue the retirement dreams you've been working toward for years. Each year … [Read more...]
Gold/Silver Coins No Longer Allowed in Safe Deposit Boxes
A son of long-time subscribers to Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report emailed me last week about a letter his parents had received from their bank branch. Not a phone call to set up a meeting, a letter. According to him, the bank sent the letter to his parents stating that no gold or silver would be allowed in the bank’s safe deposit boxes. There was no explanation for the change in the letter. The note wasn’t from a small local bank on Main Street, USA. This bank is one of the biggest players in the world. Its regional branches extend like tentacles to every street corner … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: This State is Dominant Once Again
You’re familiar with my piece Rich Grandchild, Poor Grandchild. Now I want you to shift gears and think about which states are the rich states, and which ones are the poor states. “For each of the past 12 years, Arthur Laffer, Jonathan Williams and I have answered that question in ‘Rich States, Poor States,’ an index of economic competitiveness published by the American Legislative Exchange Council. Every year the top performer has been Utah,” explains Stephen Moore. Yes, that's right, the winner once again is Utah. On a recent ski trip to Utah, my family experienced firsthand why … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: “My life Has Always Been One of Very Good Fortune”
When Fred Cox retired from the NFL in 1977, the placekicker had scored 1,365 points. But his most famous score happened when he was approached by an entrepreneur named John Mattox in 1971, explains The Week. Entrepreneur Mattox wanted Cox to help create a backyard field goal kicking game. In response to Mattox’s prototype (a heavy football), Cox responded, “You’re gonna have a bunch of sore-legged kids.” “Cox asked a friend in the injection molding business to create a prototype,” explains The Week, “the resulting foam pigskin was light, aerodynamic, and a hit with neighborhood … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Rainbow Bridge Awaits You
One of the best parts of helping people in retirement is getting to be a part of their retirement life. A client recently sent me this picture, and said: "Above is a snap of Rainbow Bridge taken from a nearby alcove that held some old signatures." It was great to be able to share that moment he had worked for his whole life. The beautiful Rainbow Bridge National Monument is in Utah on the edge of Lake Powell. If you want to make it part of your retirement life, you can learn more about it here. … [Read more...]
Texans Fight to Protect Their Income from Taxation
Texans are known for their fierce loyalty to their home state, with some even considering themselves Texans first, then Americans. So it's no surprise when Texans band together to protect themselves from outside forces seeking to change the state's character and customs. Thanks to Texas' many years of economic success, people from all over America and beyond have immigrated to the state to participate in its bounty. They have brought with them ideas antithetical to Texas' traditions, including a desire for bigger government. In the face of this foreign influence on their ways, Texans … [Read more...]