Welcome to the @plannedsolutions Incorporated Podcast. The US economy is estimated to have increased by just a 1.6% annualized rate in the first quarter. The most important categories of personal consumption expenditures and investment expenditures reported reasonably strong growth rates of 2.5% and 3.2%, respectively. However, government spending, especially in national defense, fell in the first quarter and the balance of trade subtracted from growth as the growth in imports outpaced the growt...
May 09, 2024•27 min•Season 9Ep. 18
Welcome to the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast. On this episode we discuss some reports claiming that the US labor market is turning for the worse. However, most of the data cited has been anecdotal data that does not seem to be indicative of the entire market. Taking a close look at the national labor market data such as the unemployment rate (backward looking) and initial claims for unemployment insurance (forward looking) show signs of a strong labor market. Also, Short-term interest r...
Apr 25, 2024•30 min•Season 9Ep. 17
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, One year after the mini financial crisis sparked by the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, the financial stress index is at its lowest level since before the 2008 financial crisis. There are some areas of the financial system that have thrived in the last year, such as the nation’s largest money center banks, while some regional banks have continued to struggle under higher borrowing costs and losses on commercial real estate. However, ...
Apr 11, 2024•27 min•Season 9Ep. 16
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, the US tax system is complex with many moving pieces that can lead to tax surprises. Changes in income, deductions, credits, or tax withholding can all lead to a taxpayer owing more tax than expected. Some of these changes can be anticipated by taxpayers so that they can plan to increase their tax withholding, make estimated payments, or at least make sure to have the money set aside to pay the tax due at tax time. Also, The latest i...
Mar 28, 2024•27 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, In a real-life case study, we explore just one way that a financial advisor can use strategic timing along with the integration of investment and tax planning to increase the long-term financial benefits from a savings and investing strategy. Here we explore the intersection of long-term investing (the compounding of returns), counterintuitive tax strategies (tax-gain harvesting), and estate planning an efficient transfer of wealth t...
Mar 14, 2024•30 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, Interest rates are often referred to generically when referencing the Federal Funds Rate (the overnight lending rate between banks that the Federal Reserve manages). However, many interest rates are impacted by the term of a loan and the risk that the loan will not be paid back. To fully understand the bond market investors must understand the implications of the interest rate curve (interest rates paid for different terms) and inter...
Feb 29, 2024•25 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The IRS charitable contribution rules are complex. The rules differ depending on the type of property donated (cash, check, credit card, or in-kind), the amount donated, the taxpayer’s income or other tax deductions, whether the taxpayer receives goods or services in return for the donation, and how the donations are made. Therefore, taxpayers need to plan their charitable contributions if they are seeking a tax benefit. Also, The Fe...
Feb 15, 2024•33 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, Mortgage rates have declined recently from very high levels. This has caused some homeowners who purchased a new home last year during the higher interest rate environment to consider refinancing their mortgage to capture the lower rates. While mortgage interest rates are a big factor in determining whether it makes sense to refinance a mortgage other factors should be considered as well. Also, US Consumer Sentiment surged to end 202...
Feb 01, 2024•26 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The Magnificent Seven (the seven most valuable companies included in the S&P 500 index) increased in value by 75% in 2023, whereas the remaining 493 stocks in the index increased by 12%. This has captured the attention of investors and the financial press. However, what is often ignored is the large losses these stocks reported in 2022. In fact, over two years these seven stocks have had an overall performance very similar to the...
Jan 18, 2024•30 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, There is a discrepancy between the official government price data for shelter (rents) and the data reported by multiple private data providers. The US government numbers show rents increasing 6.5% over the past year while private data reports a 2.1% decrease in rents. Many economists and investors believe the private data to be more accurate and up to date causing them to price in a sharp decrease in inflation in the next three to si...
Jan 04, 2024•30 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The federal tax code offers several tax credits for the purchase and/or installation of energy-efficient property. These credits generally fall into three categories: Residential Clean Energy Credits (credits for clean energy generation), Clean Energy and Vehicle Credits (credits for buying electric or fuel cell vehicles), and Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credits (credits for improving the energy efficiency of home heating or co...
Dec 21, 2023•28 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, As the last several months have demonstrated, the future path of interest rates is unknown. However, the expected path of interest rates can be discerned by examining the futures markets where investor thinking is reflected in prices and expectations for rate changes. Currently, the market is predicting that the current interest rate cycle has peaked and the Federal Reserve will start to lower interest rates by May 2024. Also, The fe...
Dec 07, 2023•21 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The official inflation rate ticked down to 3.2%, the same level as the July report, and the lowest inflation rate in several years. All the major categories, including food, energy, and shelter declined over the past twelve months creating hope that inflation will now continue its downward trend that started over a year ago. This is also positive news for the Federal Reserve which now may be able to hold interest rates steady next me...
Nov 23, 2023•27 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The US Treasury is becoming a larger and larger focus of Wall Street as the US Government has been borrowing very large amounts from the private sector. With the current large federal deficit, the need to roll over short-term borrowing, higher interest rate costs, and reduced lending from foreign entities have caused the US Government to borrow more and more from the domestic markets. This creates a risk that there will be too little...
Nov 09, 2023•29 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, Trend following is often used by investors in an attempt to profit by predicting market price trends. The effectiveness of this is unproven at best. However, trend following may be used as an effective risk management tool by highlighting time periods when investors may benefit from reducing investment risk or investing more cautiously during periods of heightened market risk. Also, the likelihood of a recession in the US appears to ...
Oct 26, 2023•27 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, Interest rates have increased sharply in the past 18 months as the Fed attempts to slow the economy and bring inflation down to its 2% target. However, several areas of the economy have reacted in unusual ways as the job market has remained strong and single-family home prices remain elevated, while commercial real estate prices have dropped. In addition, the level of household debt, commercial business debt, and even government debt...
Oct 12, 2023•33 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The annual inflation rate ticked up to 3.7% in August which is a 0.5% increase from the 3.2% in July and up 0.7% from the 3.0% reading in June. The primary cause of the increase in prices in August was that energy deflation appeared to be subsiding while shelter prices declined but at too slow of a rate to offset the monthly increase in energy prices. In total, the inflation report is a mixed bag with some positive signs for the futu...
Sep 28, 2023•27 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, Student loan payments and interest charges are set to start once again on September 1st. However, the new SAVE Plan has expanded the rules for income-based student loan payments to reduce the payment amount for many borrowers. The definition of low-income borrowers has been expanded so more borrowers will qualify for zero payments under the new plan. In addition, those with income over the zero-payment threshold will be required to p...
Sep 14, 2023•23 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, Central banks have increased interest rates around the globe in an effort to bring down inflation. Now the Federal Reserve may be at the end, or getting close to the end, of its interest rate hiking cycle. However, the impact of higher long-term interest rates is not fully reflected in the financial or economic data, which will only occur when low-interest rate debt must be paid off or rolled over at higher interest rates. This impac...
Aug 31, 2023•27 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, There are a wide variety of employee benefits offered by different employers. In many cases, the value of these benefits may add up to a large percentage of the employee’s overall compensation. Therefore, it is important to review these benefits as well as their tax benefits or consequences to extract as much value as possible to help fund financial planning goals. Also, In the past, distributions from a 529 plan that were owned by s...
Aug 17, 2023•26 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The rate of inflation declined by two-thirds from a year ago when it peaked at 9.1%. The June inflation rate was just 3.0%, a 1.0% decline from May. The decrease in prices was led by a large drop in energy prices, while food and shelter inflation remained persistently high. However, the average inflation rate for many households that own their home, and therefore are insulated from the increase in shelter prices, is likely below the ...
Aug 03, 2023•24 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The yield curve is currently inverted meaning short-term term deposits are paying a higher interest rate than longer-term deposits. So, why would savers commit to longer-term deposits at a lower interest rate? It all comes down to the expectation for the future path of interest rates. If rates are expected to fall in the future it may be better to lock in longer-term rates today rather than roll over short-term deposits which may pay...
Jul 20, 2023•24 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The S& P 500 earnings season is right around the corner. This could be a key earnings season for the stock market following the sharp rebound in earnings reported in the first quarter. Should earnings continue to rebound, and possibly exceed their peak from the fourth quarter of 2021, it may support the stock market rally that began in October 2021. The key sectors will likely be financials and technology given their large contri...
Jul 06, 2023•25 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, Summer jobs for teens are often low-level and low paying. However, they can be an important springboard that can be used to start a career on the right track and jumpstart a financial plan. Therefore, it is important to be prepared to take advantage of the career skills and learning opportunities that a part-time job may offer. Also, Oil prices have declined sharply in the past 12 months. After peaking at more than $120 in June 2022,...
Jun 22, 2023•28 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, We decided to outsource our lead article to Google Bard this week. Google Bard is Google’s Artificial Intelligence Chatbot. We found that the article generated was mostly accurate, although not completely (see notation in the article), which raises concerns about misinformation or false information when relying on artificial intelligence. This highlights the need to audit any information received from these models to ensure their acc...
Jun 08, 2023•28 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, Technology stocks have outperformed other sectors by a wide margin so far in 2023, helping to offset the large losses in Technology stocks in 2022. This has caused some investors to allocate a large percentage of their stock portfolios into this single sect or which may result in higher risks than they realize. Instead, investors may be better served by being patient and allowing time for the market breadth (number of shares increasi...
May 25, 2023•28 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The US economy grew just 1.1% in the first quarter, a lower growth rate than the prior two quarters. However, the report had a lot of positives with household spending up 3.7% and government spending increasing 4.7%. Meanwhile, investment expenditures were a drag on growth, down 12.5%, likely due to increased interest rates and the uncertainty of the current business environment. Also, US consumer sentiment is often cited as a leadin...
May 11, 2023•29 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its economic growth forecast in recent weeks but continues to predict positive growth rates for the majority of the globe. However, the expected pace of economic growth around the globe, as well as in the US, is fairly low compared to historical rates. This appears to be a middle ground between predicting a recession and predicting a return to more normal economic growth rates. Also, ...
Apr 27, 2023•28 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, Picking the right credit card often depends on how a cardholder plans to use the card. For most people who pay off their credit card balances each month the interest rate charged by the credit card should be the last consideration. Instead, it is advisable to weigh the rewards that the credit card offers against the annual cost of the card, such as any annual fees that the card may charge. Also, The number of existing homes sold in F...
Apr 13, 2023•25 min
In this episode of the Planned Solutions Incorporated Podcast, The recent bank run that caused three large banks to fail in the US this year is a classic case of a Prisoner’s Dilemma. A Prisoner’s Dilemma is a game theory concept that illustrates how the optimal strategy for participants may lead to a less-than-optimal outcome that leaves all involved worse off. Fortunately, the Federal Reserve in the US was created to be a lender of last resort to stop bank runs from spreading and impacting oth...
Mar 30, 2023•34 min
