This is the Haven Financial Group radio show. Each week we get together to talk about life, living and planning on living life after retirement. If you're looking for a clearer picture of your retirement plan, the team that Haven Financial Group is here to offer you clear financial guidance and help you realize that planning
for retirement can be simple and easy. Have a question for the team connect now at Havenfinancialgroup dot com or we have team members waiting to talk with you off the air at six one two four four one two four four one. And as always, thank you so much for starting your day with us. I am Bill Seller. Along with having Financial Groups founder and CEO the host of the show, Larry Kolvig. Good morning Larry, how are you my friend? Good morning Bill? Great, great to be with you always,
man, get my first cup of coffee down. We appreciate you poor and yours with us as well as we get together every week to talk about retirement, how to get there, and more importantly, how to make sure you get through it with all or at least most of your money intact right. Whatever we're allowed to hang on to and what Larry and his team at Haven Financial Group do is help you to understand what it takes to do just that. And coming up on the show today, we're going to talk about a
lot of the things that affect your money in retirement. For example, the Retirement Security Report Card is out and says the US needs work on retirement. Well, we'll talk about that, tax savings and the moves that you need to make as far as that's concerned right now, because you know, Larry correct me if I'm wrong, But if I've learned anything on this show, it's about taxes and retirement and the best way to legally pay as little as
possible. Right pay your part, but don't pay extra. Uncle Sam will take it. And the end of the day, I'm amazed to see on a weekly basis how many people really don't do any tax planning at all other than just get their taxes prepared and for retirement, that is not a good recipe. You can do better than that, and we help lots of people achieve those goals and minimize them on the taxes that they have to pay. So we're going to talk about that and the top costumes for Halloween this year.
Some of you may still be rubbing sleep out of your eyes from the early Halloween party last night. But at any rate, we appreciate you being here. I thought this was kind of interesting. I before we get into the meat of the show today, Larry United Airlines is coming up with a
new boarding process. They plan to board all economy passengers by where you're sitting, not by section, right, but if you have a window, middle or aisle seat they want, They're going to start boarding the window seat people first. It hopes that this helps to speed things up. But if you've ever flown, most people don't even care about what sections being called, including me, How are you going to keep a guy from the aisle going when
you're calling for the window people. I mean, it's just it's crazy what they're thinking they can do here. I mean, I love the idea, I really do, because that means, okay, hopefully you know, you fill from the outside end and nobody has to crawl over people and all that.
It's a beautiful idea. But I don't know. I mean, I mean, look, you still got to wait for first class, business class, active duty people with people with kids, families, right, somebody with a big guitar that they have to store whatever before you can even get on. But I thought it might file that one under a nice try. We'll
see how long that last? See how long that last? So talked a minute ago about the social security report card comes from a group called mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, and they gave the US Larry a C plus. Yeah, we came in at number twenty two in a worldwide ranking of retirement security. Do you think that's a fair assessment? I was wondering, I do I do? The US system you know, which is you know, funded mostly by iras four to one, k's employer sponsored plans and social security.
You're right, I got a C plus and it it scored sixty three out of one hundred, so not a good grade by any stretch, down from last year. You know, they actually went down in every subcategory that they look at, and that's adequacy, sustainability, and integrity. And integrity was the worst. So you know, really what that says is that Americans have lost confidence in the system, in the governance and the protection and communication you know, for for the system, and that that's not good. And
you know what we're what were they like twenty second of all countries. Yeah, you know, it makes me think of you know, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Denmark were one, two and three and they were significantly higher. So you know, that was a that's a failing number. And there's a lot of things that lends it itself to it. And you know, the you know, pensions used to be you know, part of the program where if you worked at a company for years and years, they take care
of you and monthly payments and income would be there. And you know, that was replaced by the four O one case, which really put the burden on the individual to be able to save for retirement. And you know what, the white call is doing an okay job, but the blue collar and other sectors have done a very poor job. So you know, there's a
lot of things that lend itself to this. You know, high inflation, you know, transitioning to these defined contribution plans, falling birth rates, people paying into the system, not as many people paying in, not as people having as many kids, and there's so many things. But that's a failing grade and I would agree with that. I would agree with it. And I assume too, the crush right now of all the baby boomers, what is like ten thousand a day hitting retirement age or whatever and getting to the
point of needing to collect that as well. And I was wondering though, because you see the Netherlands, Iceland, Denmark, they're at the top of the list as far as retirement quality goes. But the flip side of that is they also have really high taxes, don't they very high tech risis, you know, socialized medicine, a lot of big differences that you know,
one certainly probably doesn't agree with. Obviously, we all have our opinions, but high high taxes, so you kind of trade that out then, right, I mean, yeah, pay me now, get it later, whatever that kind of thing. Yeah, and keep us away from, you know, the ones on the bottom of the list because they really failed, like Argentina, Philippines, India, et cetera. So you know, but again it's no excuse for America. We got a lot of improvements to do.
And it's why we we talk about on a weekly basis having a plan for you, your spouse and your family situation because you know, before you know it, retirement in the golden years are here, and you know time is of the essence, and you know, start early, you know, maximize those contributions, do the best you can. Even a little bit is better than nothing. And you know, if you're at least fifty years old,
take advantage of you know, catch up contributions. You know, it's fourth quarter and we're sitting down with folks on a weekly basis and just seeing what other things that they possibly can be doing to better their situation. And then you know, carefully consider you know, your social security options. You know
when should you take it, when shouldn't you take it? And you know, being educated, you know, you and I talk about the big importance of being educated to make educated decisions rather than split decisions, and that's so important, absolutely, And you know you're talking about how fast the retirement years
get. Here. As one who's not that far away anymore, I can tell you that, you know, I kind of tell younger folks when you're thirty, when you turn thirty, sixty looks like a lifetime away, right, But when you're sixty, thirty feels like yesterday. It does, And it's just amazing how time works like that. But Larry's absolutely right, you never never too soon to get ready. So Larry, let me ask you
this. Let's assume that I'm just walking into your office. For the first time because I've made that call to set up my complimentary retirement readiness review and I'll give you that phone number in a minute, so please hang on for that. But I'm coming in for you guys to sit down and talk to
me about retirement. What's what's that process like? You know, it's the same proprietary process and whether you have a ton or very little, and we want it to be a very laid back approach, a very serious approach obviously, but we want to have as much fun with it as possible. And we're gonna sit down and we call it a discovery meeting. You get to know us, we get to know you, and because it really is mutual, and you know, to see where you're at with things, ask a
lot of questions specific to your needs. Just this last week, I had somebody say, again, Wow, nobody has ever taken the time to ask me these questions. And a lot of these are pertinent to retirements. So I don't know if they've never sat with anybody that deals with retirement, but you know, just feeling getting an idea for where individuals are at, what
their goals aspirations, you know, are they charitable? Is their family that relies on their financial decisions, and from there we can just take it a step further and make some recommendations and suggestions and you know, it's it's it's a I don't know, say a slow approach, but a comfortable approach. You know, we want it to be comfortable. There is no high pressure
or anything here. This is laid back. But at the end of the day, it's a matter of all we ask is people have an open mind, that they're open to implementations, that they listen and you know, if people are coming in, they're there to obviously address potential problems. I always say, we're not here to create a problem. We're here to address any potential problems and then fix the problem. And that's what we really thrive and
that's why we're so passionate about what we do. Yeah, and look, it's no secret that a lot of folks aren't comfortable talking about their finances with people. But you get to a certain point in your life where you have to consider getting through the next phase of your life and frankly, we don't all have the tools. Larry and his team have those tools that have in financial group. So when you go in for that complimentary retirement readiness review.
You're going to be able to sit down with folks who can help you with what Larry calls all the pieces to the retirement puzzle, right, not just investing, but healthcare, estate planning, making sure you aren't to properly, that's part of it, of course, but all of these things that affect your money in retirement. And we started the show talking about taxes. Well
that's one of the biggest things. And Larry and his team work with you to help you set up that all important plan that he's talking about, to make sure that you know the taxes don't affect you more than they should, because, as we said here a lot of times, Uncle Sam, I'm not your favorite relative, right right. Yeah. We just had John and Tammy and from Savage this past week and they're listeners. They said they listened every week and we appreciate that, thank you. And they said, we
didn't know there was so much that went into retirement. You know, certain things that we never you know, really thought of. And you know, not everybody likes this stuff, and not everybody wants to dwell on some of these topics, but you know, the coordination of these puzzle pieces, putting them all together and finishing that puzzle to the best of your ability. And you know, that's what we enjoy so much about visiting with people about and
it all starts with that complimentary retirement ready this review. Now here's the phone number I promised you. It's six one two four four one two four four one six one two four four one twenty four to forty one. Actually people waiting to answer your call right now, just to get you on the calendar. It's really important to get on the calendar as soon as you can. Again, the number is six one two four four one two four four one
for your complementary retirement readiness review with the Haven Financial Group. Get locked into that as soon as you can. Coming up here, we're gonna look into the increasing popularity of adjustable rate mortgages. Also, how volatile is too volatable? Is it a risk takers market? That more on the way with the Haven Financial Group Radio show on Twin Cities News Talk eleven thirty and one oh three point five FM. I hear the jones a go to nine, but
she us new riskers of some compensation. She's coming in in twelve thirty Fly All Waves see Welcome back to the Haven Financial Group radio show. He is Larry Calvig, founder and CEO of the Haven Financial Group. I'm just bill seller hanging out with Larry every week to ask questions we're all thinking about when it comes to retirement. And I hope you're enjoying your Halloween weekend, if you enjoyed some festivities last Light, are getting ready to go trick or treating
here in a couple of days. But you know, you would think that inflation would slow people down on a lot of things. I mean it really is, right, the cost of groceries through the roof, for sure, cost of utilities through the roof, everything. But boy not when it comes to Halloween. According to Yahoo Finance, we are spending a fortune on this holiday. The National Retail Federation's annual survey shows that spending this year is going
to reach an all time I'm high of over. Are you sitting down twelve billion dollars for Halloween stuff for Halloween? For Halloween, it's an average of about one hundred and eight dollars per household, and thirty two dollars of that is for candy. Wow, yeah, priorities, No kid now does that tell you about inflation. If you're spending one hundred and some dollars on Halloween and a third of it is candy, and you're probably buying the same size
bag you bought last year. Right, Oh my goodness, but over twelve billion, I am in the I got to start like selling halloween stuff. I'm in the wrong business man. Oh boy, So let's shift gears here a little bit. If you've ever moved, you know what a pain it is. Right. It's never a great experience. It's actually where my wife and I haven't even considered it after twenty two years in this house. But these days the state of the housing market is making it even less pleasant.
You get the combination of fewer homes on the market and the highest interest rates of the two thousand. CNN recently reported that applications for adjustable rate mortgages are way up. Larry, and I know you're not really a fan, but as an arm something maybe worth considering right now if it helps you get a
house. Well, I can only think back to two thousand and seven to two thousand and nine in the real estate, and I've been involved in real estate for a few years, quite a few years, but you know, first of all, thirty year fixed rates are you know, I think they're like at seven and three quarter. I've seen around here eight they're over eight percent. So these arms are much you know, the applications are way up.
There's like a fifteen percent increase, and rightfully so, because you know, an arm secures your rate for the first few years of your loan, which oftentimes will give you a lower rate, but then it can change periodically, and you know it's often cheaper in the early part of it. If rates go down, you know, you win and your monthly payment could go
down. But I remember when interest rates went up back in that timeframe, and as the mortgage rates increase with a higher rate, and then these payments can balloon and you know you might not be able to get out of this arm. And you know there's different types of arms, so you just know that there's you know, you know a lot of times they call them a five to one or seven to one or ten to one type of arms, and you know, you got to look at your timeline, think it,
really, think it through. I like to fix rate because it's guaranteed. But again, with these rates so high, it's enticing to look at other options and just be careful because life doesn't always go as planned. You know, if you're looking at a short term, then the arm maybe to live in this house. Maybe that makes sense. But if you look if it happens to go long term based on life circumstances, you might be in a really tough situation. And you know, that's what happened in oh seven zero
nine. People were run into a lot of problems and bankruptcies went through the roof. So think it through, talk it through, get educated on it. Back again to the education piece, and make an educated decision. I remember the second house I bought, I had an ARM and I can't remember why, but all I know is when it came time, I think it was like three year fixed and an arm I think is what happened, probably
the other way anyway at that time. But all I know is that when I signed it, I knew that in three years I was going to refinance. But it helped me get into the house at the time. So I'm scared. I was scared to death of that. I am one of those guys I need to know what my budget is. I'm I can't go on stuff floating around you know, it's also why I probably would never have made a good contractor because I need to know what I'm making every month as opposed
to hoping I get a job right. Right, it can fit into somebody's grand scheme of things, but it could also backfire because we don't know what the future holds. So you know, again, think of your situation,
make an educated decision. Absolutely, And these are the kind of things that you know Larry's team will talk to you about as well, right, I mean, so having that number written down and at your fingertips and ready to call when you've got these questions, that's what the folks that have a financial group are there for. So let me give you that number again. It is six one two four four one two four four one six one two four
four one twenty four forty one. You can set up your complimentary retirement readiness review or if you've got questions for Larry and his team about something that you've heard on the show today or in weeks past, that's the number to call as well. Six one two four four one two for one. Well, Larry, it seems like every week we're talking about this, but here comes Ai again. I don't know if you knew this, but a lot of
online sellers use what's called surge pricing. This is where where they can change their prices on the same product as much as they want, like every ten fifteen minutes if they wanted to. And now the Financial Times is reporting that now, thanks to AI, prices on some actual physical store shelves can change right before your eyes as well. Did you did you see this story? It's kind of crazy, yeah, something about electronic shelf labels where it can
change in the stores right before your very own eyes. Yes, yeah, crazy. I mean Amazon changes the prices of its products on average like every ten minutes. But now I think Walmart's gonna be one of the first companies to put out these electronic price stickers, like right now where you see the yellow sticker, you know with the big smiley face. Well, now it's going to be digital. So if I buy a cooler for ten dollars and you come in a half hour later, it could be eleven to fifty just
because the guy with a computer changed the price. Wow. Yeah, I got a kick out of that study where Britain's biggest pub companies are charging drinkers extra for a pint of beer on busy nights and weekends compared to regular nights. Yeah, I mean it's well, you know, I guess it's supply and demand. It's what makes the world go around, right, Yeah. How do you stick to a budget when they can do that right before your very own, very own eyes. I mean, crazy, Yeah, it
is. I'd be interested to. I may just go to Walmart and stand there for half an hour and see stand in front of a sticker and just see if it changes price for anything. But I just thought that was kind of crazy, And to be honest with you, I didn't even realize that it was happening online either at either. So you know, you and I were talking about mortgages not to go back, you know, the people we
sit down with, you know, especially recently. I don't know why, but there's been a comedy denominator of people heading into retirement with no mortgages. And you know what, if you ask ten different financial people, they'll say,
don't pay off your mortgage. And you know, I'm of the type that says, if you can pay off your mortgage before retirement, that is the best thing to do because less etaches less responsibility, lowering the budget, if at all possible, pay a little extra on that mortgage, get it whittled down again. Great. But it's a great way to go in retirement and really gives people a peace of mind. And I know not everybody can do that, but it's a goal that maybe some people out there should try
to should try to attain. I agree. I've always kind of felt that the less you have to be responsible for financially, the better off you're going to be. Right And as a I mentioned where my wife and I are getting closer to retirement age, our kids are finally grown and out of the
house. Right, Our youngest kids graduated high school in twenty ten, and I'm going to say it was about twenty nineteen or twenty before we finally were able to pay off all of our credit cards, right, yeah, yeah, And I just remember how great that felt and how freeing that was. I can't imagine when it's like to get to a mortgage off your plate if you can do it in a smart way, right, And any debt, any debt, obviously going in with more debt into retirement, it's just not
a good recipe. And you know, especially with credit cards. I just had a couple in this week and they were dealt some really unfortunate circumstances in their life, and they wrapped the credit card up and they actually brought their statements in. I didn't ask them to, and you know, there was twenty two percent interest, and it's like, oh, my goodness, how do you get out of this hole? So you know it'd be responsible,
be careful, do your best. But again, heading into those golden years with as less dead as possible it seems like common sense, but I understand life's calendar doesn't always cooperate with our calendar, right, But that that's why it's even more important to make sure you have some kind of plan in place
to help you get through those years. And that's what Larry and his team at have in Financial Group do. So again, the number four have in Financial Group for your complimented re retirement readiness review is six one two four four one two four four one six one two four four one twenty four forty one. Get on the calendar as soon as you can because these things fill up
quickly after the shows. So give Larry this team a call. And if you want to find out more about Larry and also about UH, you know the classes he mentioned and where they're going to be taught, when they're gonna happen. You can find out more online at haveanfinancialgroup dot com. Coming up here, we're gonna talk about taking the emotions out of financial decisions also, and everyday item that could soon become a big collectible and the most popular Halloween
songs ever. We're going to talk about that as well. It's all coming up on the Haven Financial Group Radio Show on twin Cities Newstock eleven thirty and one oh three point five FM. Come from the cities in the come small town, beat up, Cosm, guitars and drummer schools, crack food, found us, investing the state, planning taxes and more. Want your complimentary retirement readiness review, call now at six one two four four one two four four one. That's six one two four four one two four four one,
or connect with us at Havenfinancialgroup dot com. This is the Haven Financial Group Radio Show on twin Cities News Talk eleven thirty and one oh three point five FM. This it's the Haven Financial Group Radio Show. If you're looking for a clearer picture of your retirement plan, the team at Haven Financial Group is here to offer you clear financial guidance. Connect now at Havenfinancialgroup dot com or we have team members waiting to talk with you. Off the air at six
one two four four one two four four one. They did the Moms Tom It's also Graveyard sp It caught home in a five Welcome Back to the Haven Financial Group radio show with Larry Colvig, Founder and CEO of the Haven Financial Group. I'm bill Seller, and it being Halloween weekend, I thought we'd take a look at the kid some of the biggest Halloween songs of all time. This is according to Spotify. The list includes songs like Ghostbusters from the
movie Uh. Talking Heads had a hit called Psycho Killer. I know you're all over that one, Larry, Yeah, Yeah, yep, Blue Oyster Cults, don't Fear the Reaper, Werewolves of London from More We're in Zvon. The top two songs according to Spotify are Michael Jackson's Thriller and the one you're hearing right now, Monster Mash by Bobby Boris Pickett. That's the number one Halloween song of all time. I learned something today. Now your day is complete. Yes, there we go, bring it on. Oh well,
speaking of bringing it on. It is time now for the Ask Larry part of the show, and Paul from Eden Prairie send us an email Larry. He says he wants to ask about market risk. Larry, I've heard you talk about taking risk in the market, and I just saw a story from CNBC saying that we're actually in a risk taker's market. They talked to some bond experts who have a laundry list of reasons why the stock market is too volatile right now. So Paul wants to know, Larry, what do
you think about that take on the market right now. Well, I think it's a pretty obvious one. I mean, just look at all the variables
that going on in this world. Get Israel, Jumas and Ukraine and run show, and we got inflation, and the laundry list just goes on and on, and you know, I say, you know, be cautious, you know when we're always really saying that, because you know, we're dealing with folks and visiting with folks that are you know, close to retirement, the windows getting shorter or they're in retirement, so their accumulation years are more
behind them certainly than in front of them. So you know, being an aware being aware of what you're doing, having an understanding, because most people don't have an awareness and understanding of what they're doing, why they're doing it. They maybe rely on somebody and that's fine, but stress testing that portfolio to make sure that you're in the right place at the right time, which
is now, which has a lot of alltility. You know, right now, the short duration fixed income investments like you know, money market and CDs and treasury bills, and you know, those types of things are very appealing for the short term because we're finally getting some interest rates, and certainly I get that, but you know, the long term, you know, be cautious. You know, just this past week, I had Andy in from Hastings and you know, he's retiring in January. His portfolio was way more
risky than he ever ever thought. And again this happens more oftentimes than you think. And I had Nancy in from Prior Lake and she's a nurse at the Ridge's Hospital, and her whole four oh three B which is her retirement employer sponsored plan, the entire thing, which is pretty much her nest egg, was in two stocks. She had no idea, Well, the exposure is ridiculous, risky, and that could be a very bad recipe for a problem you know, this close to retirement, which she's very very close.
So understand what you're doing, make sure you're in the right splot, Explore all the options you know, look at things that maybe have some guarantees, guaranteed rates of return or guaranteed income you know, to secure that income to supplement your other income streams. And always be aware of what you're paying in fees. It never ceases to amaze me. Seventy five to eighty percent of the time when I asked the question, what are you paying in fees?
Larry, that's a really good question. I have no idea, and you know it's twenty twenty three. You should know what you're paying. Nothing's free, but what are you getting as far as the attention you're getting and the time they're spending and what added value are they bringing to your situation? Is that because folks just don't know, or they don't want to ask, or
they don't know to ask about the fees. I'd say it's a combination of both the fear of asking a question, which there should be no fear. You shouldn't be fearful of asking somebody what they're charging you to manage your money. Member, you're the customer, and at the end of the day, it's coming out of your retirement assets. So again awareness and understanding, making sure you have good liquidity, making sure you have investments that are protected,
and then make sure your risk exposure isn't more than your appetite. I mean, if you're in these volatile days with the market, if you're if you can't sleep and your emotions are you know, just raising havoc in your life, that tells me and you're not in the right spot. So make some adjustments, have a conversation and make sure whoever's you're working with they're listening to
what you're saying. Oftentimes they're not. Yeah, and it's always amazing to me that that people will, you know, have no trouble asking how much market price is when they see that on a menu, right, it's market well how much is that? Or they won't ask about certain things, but when it comes to handling your money, they don't want to ask. It's almost like they're embarrassed. But these folks are working for you, right,
That's right, That's what it comes down to. So, uh, speaking of of knowing fees and and you know, trying to save on those and other ways that we can save in retirement taxes is a big thing. We talk about that all the time. And there's really only a couple of months left to maybe you know, implement and tax saving strategies for this year. We all know a whole lot doesn't get done between Thanksgiving in the new year.
So Larry, let me ask you, what what are some things that we could be working on right now as far as taxes and retirement go. Well, you know, we weekly talk about forward thinking tax planning and you know we're major advocates of that. And you know it's now fourth quarter, or at least it's yeah, it's fourth quarter, Yeah already, how was it fourth quarter? Bill? Wow? So now was the time we're sitting down with folks and you know, talking through well, what can you do?
Can you making sure you're maxing out those retirement account contributions, you know, making sure you haven't forgot about taking those required minium distributions, whether they're your rm ds or maybe inherited R and D from a late mom and dad or something and roth conversions. Now is the time remember these tax laws sunset at the end of twenty twenty five and they go back up. And so
now is the window of opportunity is getting smaller. And you know, tax loss harvesting, maybe you have some losers in your brokerage account, you know, harvesting those to offset some of your gains. And you know standard deduction. Is there any are you charitable? You know, using charity as an opportunity to minimize taxes. You don't give just for the sake of taxes, but if you're charitable already, it gives us some leverage as to what we
can do. And you know, spending, make sure you spend those flexible spending accounts and looking at all the various things. And we're proud to have Lance as our CPA. And you know, just this week I had a couple in from Prior Lake also, and they ask some good questions because they're on the cusp of retirement and they're looking at maybe they love to go. They have a motor home and they're looking at traveling, and maybe they asked
the question about becoming a resident in Missouri the tax benefits. So they're sitting down with us and Lance and talking through what they can do with their goals and objectives to minimum the tax exposure. So again there's no edit, there's no edit costs for this. This is what the services we offer, and boy, I tell you what. It helps a lot of people out. We'll tell you what. Since you're up with us this morning and you're down in your first or second cup of coffee, go ahead and jot down the
number for Larry and his team while we're at it. It is six one two four four one two four four one six one two four four one twenty four forty one. You know, call in for your what we like to
call your three R checkup right, your complimentary retirement readiness review. And again, if you've already got a plan in place, or you're talking you have somebody else you're working with and you're just interested in the second opinion, why not right find out what another set of eyes can do for your retirement plan. And, like Larry says all the time, a lot of folks come in and and scratch their heads wondering why some questions have never been asked of
them concerning their retirement. The questions of Larry and his team are asking while you're there, may you have, you know, maybe open your eyes to something two four four one two four four one. Again it's about it's about getting ready for things that affect your money in retirement. I mean like we're
living in very unprecedented times right now. So things like the inflation that we're going through, the unrest around the world, uh, rising taxes, the cost of healthcare, everything going up that's gonna take you know, money out
of your plan that you didn't really count on. So having a solid plan in place is the way to go with Larry and his team at Haven Financial Group six' one two four four one two four four one coming up here instead of beefing up its power grid, what one state utility company is doing instead. And also we're gonna find out when you will have your last chance to buy a DVD at Best Buy. They're going away or they're gonna become
collectors' items. We'll talk about that. It's the Haven Financial Group Radio Show on Twin Cities News Talk eleven thirty and one oh three point five FM. Welcome back to the Haven Financial Group Radio Show. He is Larry Koalvig, founder and CEO of the Haven Financial Group. I am bill seller and we appreciate you being here with us every Sunday. And as we roll through this Halloween weekend, thought we'd throw out the list of the top ten costumes this
year. And Larry, you and I were talking out the air, but you and I we're not really big in addressing up following no no. But for those who are, the list includes Bunnies, Ninjas, cowboys, dinosaurs, and Wednesday Adams from the Adams Family. The top three costumes are a Princess, Witches, and at number one this year, I got to be because of the movie Barbie. Barbie's the number one costume this year, and sadly it doesn't say just for girls, so I'm not sure what that means.
Yeah, if I came out dressed like Barbie, I mean people would think I'd lost my rocker, just fell off the rocker. Really. And if you're one of those who likes to dress up your pet, Chucky is the number one costume for dogs this year. So nothing like a little, tiny, crazy doll with an axe running around with his tail wagon. So they great. Oh man, so this was an interesting story over my utility company has come up with a novel approach to helping customers when it comes to
power outages, and our Drew Nelson has those details. Some electric companies pride themselves on the size of their grid, so one down power line affects fewer people. Then there's Green Mountain Power in Vermont. The New York Times reports they want to give every customer a whole house battery. This is their plan to keep the lights on after suffering through several recent extreme weather events. They say it'd be cheaper to give everybody a battery like a Tesla power wall,
as opposed to adding more power lines and power plants. I'm Drew Nelson. Sounds like an episode of Oprah. You get a battery pack, you get everybody gets a battery pack, and when the power goes out, we can all plug in our house. But first, this does sound a little wacky. But instead of investing in the power lines and the power stations, they're going to invest in batteries. What do you think about this idea, Harry,
I don't know what I think about it, to be honest. You know, the reality is they're they're talking about building instead of building new power lines and plants. You know, They're company believes purchasing batteries and strengthening existing cables and varying power lines is the answer. And a lot of it's due to, I think, the the extreme weather in various parts of the country,
and you know, minimizing the downtime when things do happen. And you know, I'm not against it. You know, it's just when they push push certain things down our throat, and I'm not saying they are here, but when it comes to you know, electric vehicles and stuff like that. But you know, kind of makes sense. It really does make sense. But I don't know how feasible it is. I guess I'd have to know more about it. And again it seems like what is this Green Mountain Power
Company, which is a Vermont utility. So yeah, it's interesting, right, I guess, depending on the size of your house, are saying that the cost for one of these batteries could run between three to fifteen thousand dollars. I know a lot of folks who just have generators for the same reason, right, But you got to fill those up with gas, I guess. And you're talking about electric cars. I don't know if it's true or not, but I did see a picture on I think it was on Facebook
the other day about the Tesla service van filling up with gas. I thought that real or not? I just thought that was funny. But yeah, I mean, this is interesting. They do they put all their money into the battery idea versus building more lines and power supplies. But then what happens when these do these batteries run low? How do they stay powered? A lot of questions, A lot of questions. Yeah, that's what I would That's that I'd have to know that stuff before I brought into the program,
I think, so. Yeah, oh wow. Anyway, I thought that was kind of interesting. It is something else that kind of crossed my mind. Is interesting is that best Buy says that you are not going to be able to find DVDs in their stores anymore after Christmas. Uh, they're just not selling them like they used to, apparently following the same reasonings as Netflix when they discontinued there. You know, a lot of folks don't remember that
Netflix started as a mail program. That's right, I remember remember that. Yeah, you know, you sign up and pick your movie and it would show a couple days later in the red envelope in the mail. Yep, anybody under thirty has no idea what I'm talking about. That's what it used to be. Yeah, you're right, but you know, streaming is how most people get their entertainment now. And I wonder does that mean that you should hang onto these? I wonder DVDs? Could they become collector's items?
I wonder. I don't know, it's possible. You know, everything is going to streaming, and you know, I get a kick out of you got Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and Hulu and Disney Plus and you know, Apple TV and Paramount Plus and Peacock and you know, people sign up and a lot of times they're automatically deducted out of your account every month. And how does that go for the budget? You know? Yeah, so it's all gone to streaming. But you know, it's sad to see DVDs.
You know, we're aging ourselves a little bit here because you know, CDs and DVDs and LPs and yeah, you know. I remember, I was just having this conversation with with my son the other day. I said, look, for like, I don't know, I'm may be wrong on the actual years, but for like fifty years, the thing was records. You had albums, right, yes, then came along the cassette, right,
oh yeah, cassett. Yeah, popped that in your card, and then the horrible idea of an eight track but that's another story for another time. Yeah, but the cassette was around for about I don't know, fifteen years, and then came CDs, and then CDs were good for about ten years, and then it was digital. I mean, it's just so progressed so rapidly, right that the textrategy moving forward. And it's interesting. I've got
a whole bunch of old DVDs. Maybe that's one of those things you hang on to when you figure out later in life if it's actually going to be be worth anything. Who knows, right, who knows? Who knows? We talked a little bit earlier about inflation as well, and recently Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was talking and he said that two percent inflation is still the
target. A range of uncertainties, both old ones and new ones, complicate our task of balancing the risk of tightening monetary policy too much against the risk of tightening too little. Doing too little could allow above target inflation to become entrenched and ultimately require monetary policy to wring more persistent inflation from the economy at a high cost to employment. Doing too much could also do unnecessary harm to
the economy. Given the uncertainties and risks, and given how far we've come, the committee is proceeding carefully. Yeah, he was speaking before the Economic Club of New York. As for additional hikes, he indicated that would depend, which, of course, just seems to be the the ongoing answer all the time when people talk about high Larry right, right, Well, you know, there's no doubt financial conditions have tightened. You know, there's goal
is still the two percent, whether you believe in it or not. And you know, they really have to tread water here carefully, just like he said, because you know, the key indicators which they're going to be looking at here and in these months ahead, you know, is inflation, you know how is it, is it steadied, is it going up? Is it going down? They're going to look at employment, you know, the unemployment rate and other measures of the job market. You know, what is
that doing. What's the strength of the economy. You know, they look at gross domestic product GDP, the total value of goods and services. You know, how is the economy doing? And then consumer spending a key driver of economic growth here as we come into the holidays. So you know, these are the major indicators. Is that they're going to be watching. I expect one more rate hike. I do you know how feasible is two percent?
And these days, these days and time, it's not exactly sure, but you know, these are the things they're going to be looking at. And you know, it's it's it's it's tough. We got a long ways to go, yeah we do. And you know it's it's of course, like I said earlier too, and you know it's especially with everything else going on around the world, right. You know, the stuff in the Ukraine continues to affect grain around the world, right because the Ukraine was one of
the top grain producers for sure and exporters. The situation in Israel and in the Gaza area, that's, that's just another tough situation for everybody. And unfortunately, these are the kind of things that will affect all this stuff as we move forward. And I made a note to myself to bring this up to you because I knew we were going to talk about inflation today. But I went to the grocery store the other day just to get some stuff to
make a buffalo chicken dip. Okay, now we already had the chicken, so I didn't have to buy any chicken. We already had the hot sauce, didn't have to buy that. I bought some cream cheese, a couple of packages of shredded cheese. What else did I get? I got some uh, I don't know, some kind of tortilla chips to go with it. And I also had got like four halopanos and something else. Sixty dollars
for like seven things. It was incredible, Arry, I mean, I was just first time I really had sticker shock, right, How could you not? It's amazing, It's amazing. Yeah. And the one thing people don't want to talk about, you know is, you know, I understand the sensitivity for all these things going on, and then they're you know, they're terrible, the Israel Hamas and the Ukraine and Russia and you know our border. You know, at the end of the day, how much money
and how much money we're sending everywhere. You know, I get it, But eventually what gives? And nobody wants to talk about the US debt, but it is problematic and it's just not going to go away. And you know, if we close their eyes, it just doesn't disappear. But you know, a lot of sensitive things going on in this world, no doubt. Yeah, yeah there is. And uh it just seems to me. And I'm a big believer in this, even in my own personal life.
You need to take care of yourself before you can take care of anybody else. Agree. I've always felt that about my family, and I think that's how we should run our country. But nobody asked me. It's crazy. I sit here all day, Larry, nobody calls, if one doesn't ring, No ask me the questions. Nobody wants me to say. I don't know. I don't want my opinion, so whatever. But anyway, another good, good show, and I can't believe how fast this hour goes by.
But I appreciate you guys listening very much. We couldn't do this show without you and Larry always the pleasure, my friend. If you get trick or treaters, be nice to them. And remember Chucky's just a dog, so don't be really scared. I'll be nice, Bill. I promise we'll talk to you next week. Have a great week. Take care. This is the haven Financial Group radio show on Twin Cities News Talk eleven thirty and
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