Our Insights

It was the poet T.S. Eliot who once lamented that “April is the cruelest month”. Ben Franklin famously said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. And then there is Pink Floyd who captured the sentiment of so many, “Money. Get Back! I'm alright, Jack, keep your hands off my stack...Money. It's a crime. Share it fairly, but don't take a slice of my pie”. Anyone who has ever looked closely at a paycheck to see the deductions can appreciate those lyrics. It doesn’t mean that we have to enjoy paying those taxes, however.

"What if?" Now, there's a loaded question! What if you had all the money you ever needed to do all the things you want to do? What would you do differently? Maybe take that Mediterranean cruise? How about buying an RV and touring America to see how many National Parks you could visit in a year's time? Take a cooking class at a chateau in France or play golf at every British Open course? Think about what it would look like if you were able to live out your dreams. In the song, What If, Matthew West sings, "I've heard them say before, to live just like you're dying. Wish I could say that's how I am, but I'd be lying. My biggest fear is waking up to find what matters is miles away from what I spent my life chasing after. Is my story going to have the same two words in every chapter? What if?"

Happy Holidays! In keeping with one of the treasured traditions of this time of year, Prosperity Wealth Planning would like to share with you, our amazing clients, what we’ve been up to in 2024. It’s been another busy, productive year!

The holiday season is just around the corner, and so the season of giving will soon be upon us. The understanding that 'charity begins at home' imparts a gentle reminder that we should all consider helping those less fortunate. Like Jackie DeShannon sang nearly 55 years ago, “think of your fellow man, lend him a helping hand, put a little love in your heart. And the world will be a better place, for you and me, you just wait and see.”

The summer of 2024 is here, and the commotion you see on the near horizon is this year's election season, almost upon us. I am reminded of the old French saying, which loosely translates to, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Need proof? Think of the words to Bob Dylan’s song from nearly 60 years ago, where he sang, “Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call. Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall. For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled. The battle outside ragin' will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls, for the times they are a-changin'”.

I was listening to a podcast not too long ago, and one of the hosts cited a study that said that most twenty-year-olds today would live to be 100 or more years old. With advances in technology and medical science, many of these experts believe that it is very likely. Of course, we all recognize that aging brings many physical changes and challenges. The need for a strong healthcare plan to navigate those “golden” years has never been more important.

The arrival of the new year brings with it a sense of change, of new vistas to explore and new friends to meet. It is a time of optimism and renewal, a time to look forward with a sense of hope. In the song Feeling Good by Nina Simone, she sings, “Birds flying high, you know how I feel. Sun in the sky, you know how I feel. Breeze driftin’ on by, you know how I feel. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me”.

It is hard to believe that another year has already come and gone! It feels like just yesterday, Prosperity Wealth Planning was preparing our 2023 calendar and determining how we would be spending the coming twelve months. And now, with the year nearly behind us, it seems like a good time to look back and consider what we were able to accomplish this past year.

One of the real challenges we experience comes from working to understand and then implement the complex investment and savings choices that exist in the world today. There are so many offered that it’s hard to keep track of what is out there sometimes. When I think about the concept of building a nest egg, one of my personal favorites, and one that has grown in popularity for a variety of reasons, is the Roth Account. Having your retirement savings made available tax-free is a great thing, and the Roth is like the “Golden Egg” when it comes to making that happen.

When George Harrison wrote the song Taxman, he did so to protest a progressive income tax imposed in the United Kingdom which saw the Beatles, who were amongst the highest earners in the country, required to pay a whopping 95% “supertax.” This led to the lyric where they sing, "There's one for you, nineteen for me." Fortunately, the income taxes in our country (and many of the individual states) have not risen that high. However, it is always a good idea to be aware of what your tax liabilities are, and, more importantly, what you can do to legally minimize those costs.

The stormy economic forecasts seem to mirror the very wet winter we experienced in California this year, which makes me think of the song Umbrella by Rihanna, where she sings, “...Now that it's raining more than ever, know that we'll still have each other. You can stand under my umbrella, you can stand under my umbrella”.

In this issue, we will examine what's new for 2023, including information that may be relevant to your own finances, as well as some updates here at Prosperity Wealth Planning.

It seems hard to believe it's October already and time to start planning for year end. As the winter season approaches, now may be a good opportunity to look back at what has happened during the past nine months and, more importantly, to begin to prepare for 2023. In the song My List, country singer Toby Keith talks about his to-do list, singing, "Under an old brass paperweight is my list of things to do today. Go to the bank and the hardware store, put a new lock on the cellar door. I cross 'em off as I get 'em done, but when the sun is set, there's still more than a few things left I haven't got to yet."

It seems hard to believe it's October already and time to start planning for year end. As the winter season approaches, now may be a good opportunity to look back at what has happened during the past nine months and, more importantly, to begin to prepare for 2023. In the song My List, country singer Toby Keith talks about his to-do list, singing, "Under an old brass paperweight is my list of things to do today. Go to the bank and the hardware store, put a new lock on the cellar door. I cross 'em off as I get 'em done, but when the sun is set, there's still more than a few things left I haven't got to yet."

When the Rolling Stones sang, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well, you just might find, you get what you need," they described our personal search for acquiring more. With those lyrics in mind, let's dedicate this edition of the Prosperity Wealth Planning newsletter to Spending and some of the issues that can affect our unique buying habits.

The holidays are behind us, and I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful time with friends and family over the past couple of weeks. For many of us, the arrival of the new year is accompanied by a reflection of the past and a desire to look forward, with a renewed interest in setting goals for the coming year. In the song, It's My Life, Jon Bon Jovi's thoughts on goal-setting remind us that "Tomorrow's getting harder, make no mistake. Luck ain't even lucky, got to make your own breaks… It's my life, and it's now or never."