Mr. Money Talks: Navigating Tax Savings and Marital Challenges (12/21/24 - Recorded 11/09/24)

12/21/24- Recorded 11/09/24

In this episode, financial expert Mark Rothstein, also known as "Mr. Money," delves into the strategies listeners can use to reduce their tax burden before the end of the year. He also explores the high divorce rates in the U.S. and provides guidance on how couples can work through financial and emotional challenges in their marriages.

Episode Transcript

Unknown (00:00):
The Information and opinions presented are for
general information only and arenot intended to provide specific
advice or recommendations forany individual you should
contact your investmentprofessional, attorney,
accountant or tax advisorregarding your individual
situation. The opinions of thepresenter do not necessarily
reflect those of independentFinancial Group LLC, its
affiliates, officers ordirectors. Mark Rothstein, aka
Mr. Money, is the owner of tristar financial LLC and tri star

(00:20):
Income Tax Services LLC. Mr.Money is a marketing name only,
and is not intended as anythingother than a marketing name for
entertainment purposes.Securities and advisory services
offered through independentFinancial Group LLC, a
registered investment advisormember, F, I N, R, A, S, I p, c,
tri star financial LLC, tri starIncome Tax Services LLC and
independent Financial Group LLCare

Mark Rothstein (00:41):
unaffiliated entities. This is Mr. Money.
Welcome to another show with Mr.Money. My name Mark Rothstein,
tax expert for the last 40 plusyears, also a financial
Certified Financial Plannerexpert also here to bring any of
my expertise to you and yourlife if you'd like to dial into

(01:02):
this money show, 5805436, is thenumber 580543, 6am. Dial, 580,
FM. Dial, one, oh, 7.5 call in.Talk to Mr. Money. Maybe you've
got some concerns around yourcredit score. You want to talk
about that. And by the way, youwould think, with interest rates

(01:24):
dropping from the FederalReserve that we've seen in
September, half a point and thenNovember, a quarter point, you
would think that drop wouldtherefore go all the way to your
credit cards, and they have notit takes a while for that
interest on credit card rate togo down, and so the rate is
still in that 20% tile. So it'sgone down just a touch touch,

(01:49):
but it's still way up there. Soif you'd like to talk about debt
and credit and budgeting, Mr.Money is ready. If you'd like to
talk about retirement, estateplanning, income taxes. What the
world will look like with Trump.We can talk about that too,
because the world willdefinitely be different in these

(02:09):
next couple years coming up. Infact, the next four years,
that's what we see. And again,what is on your mind? 5805436,
what's on Mr. Money's mind ishow Trump won. The articles are
coming out now about how theheck did Trump win and win so

(02:31):
well, so handedly, that theywon. And again, it seemed to be
that the economy was everythingto more people how they cared
about their own pocketbook,their own life, their personal
economy seemed to be the biggestpoint. Fact, roughly 40% of

(02:52):
voters said the economy wastheir top issue, far, far
outstripping any other issue.And those voters about the
economy favored Donald Trump by60% they say to 38% for Kamala
Harris. Many weren't thinkingabout the streak of robust

(03:12):
economic growth we've had, orthe Federal Reserve is slowly
already starting to dropinterest rates, and the Federal
Reserve says we're going to getto a soft landing. There's not
going to be trouble ahead, andthat should have appeased a lot
of people, but no, people werenot thinking about this streak
of good growth, lower interestrates. They were thinking about

(03:34):
their grocery bills and theirout of reach ambitions. Is what
they said in the interviews.Americans are feeling the
sticker shock from the higherprices on everything from
cleaning supplies to a cup ofcoffee to going through the
drive in and grabbing your foodto eat, etc, their anger most

(03:56):
Americans about the economyextended beyond prices to
encompass a wider discontent andanxiety over the future. It
wasn't just right now, butthey're looking into the future
and what may be ahead. Thatanxiety also had them vote
Republican. Many Americans saysthis interview, are frustrated.

(04:18):
They simply can't afford a home,they simply can't start a
family. Fewer believe that theAmerican Dream is achievable.
That's right. Less peoplebelieve that the American dream
of a family and a home isachievable, certainly not now,
when you look at the highinterest rates and you look at
the supply of homes, and peoplesimply don't want to sell their

(04:42):
home because they've got a goodinterest rate to go buy a new
home and have a much higherinterest rate. That's not what
they want. They want a smallerpayment in their life, not a
higher payment. And thosebeginning to purchase a home
want to have a comfortable rate,a comfortable payment, not one
that's so. Much higher thanyears ago. As one person put it,

(05:03):
we're just so tired. Everyone weknow is so tired, like
somebody's foot has been on theAmerican people's chest for
these last couple years. That'swhat people are saying in this
Wall Street Journal article fromtheir poll with people, what did
this one lady continue to sayshe believes Trump will enable
working people to enjoy theirlives again. I just feel a big

(05:28):
exhale. She said, like, let'smove forward, because we're
going to be okay again. WallStreet Journal spoke to hundreds
of Americans this year abouttheir feelings on the economy,
and again, the interviewsrevealed a wide disconnect
between official government datashowing an increasingly good
economy and versus persistentpessimism among Americans. While

(05:54):
Democrats touted that theeconomy strength, many voters
said the economy as they knew itwas simply broken. That for
them, their economy was simplybroken again. Another person
with nine children went on tosay the rise in grocery prices I
felt acutely. He recalls beingespecially peeved about the

(06:15):
roaring price of eggs again. Hedidn't think President, Vice
President, Kamala Harris,understands the pain, and he
resents what he sees as theliberal politicians insistence
the economy is booming while heand everyone he knows felt worse
off. So again, this is some ofthe results coming back post

(06:37):
election, of why people voted,the way they voted, and what
they're looking for goingforward. What did the Trump
voters were more motivated byeconomic issues than the Harris
voters. Half of the Trump voterssaid higher prices were the
largest factor in theirdecision, and that was from a AP

(06:57):
vote. The economy is everything.It's the way we live. It all
cycles back to how you feel inyour everyday life. And again,
it's absolutely true, and that'show people were voting. So as I
keep looking at this article,and I keep reading all the
articles for our show everyweek, I kept seeing the
resounding same answer. Trumpput the cost of living front and

(07:21):
center in his pitch, claiming inhis nomination, accepting speech
that inflation will vanishcompletely under his watch,
Harris, too said the familieswere struggling and that the
policy proposals like expandedchild tax credit would help.
Sure they both said it, it justseemed that Trump more emphasis

(07:41):
and people believed he could getit done. The run in high
inflation that followed COVID,we all remember that this high
inflation after COVID made theeconomy a concern for range of
voters. Inflation shot up duringthe Biden presidency, and
although it has cooled lately.Prices still remain. Say it

(08:04):
again. Prices still remain farhigher than they were when Trump
left office. Labor Departmentmeasure of consumer prices was
nearly 20% higher this Septemberthan in January of 21 that's the
largest increase for a singlepresidential term since Ronald

(08:24):
Reagan's first four years inoffice. So again, people were
not crazy when they said, thecosts are way, way up there.
There it is. The LaborDepartment measuring it nearly
20% higher this September thanin January of 21 so again, you
can see over this presidency,the rate increase anger over
inflation persisted despite evenlabor market that steadily added

(08:49):
jobs and they even boosted somewages a bit. But again, people
were looking at their costs andwhat life was like and what
could they afford. By the way,interest rates rose on car loans
and mortgages. The average rateon a 30 year fixed mortgage
climbed less than 3% when Bidencame into office. So that's what

(09:11):
it was, less than 3% when Bidencame into office, and 7.8% last
year. Who? And by the way,currently it's around 6.7%
so again, people saw again,mortgage rate of less than
three, then four years later,we're at 6.75 currently. Again,

(09:33):
can understand why people'spocketbook is hurting, because
they simply find it tooexpensive to buy a home, and
that's why home sales are notgreat, not to mention home
prices also shot up during thisperiod, making it harder and
harder for many families to buytheir first home. The National

(09:53):
Association of REALTORS housingaffordability index didn't know
we had that we do the national.Association of Realtors, housing
affordability index, whichincorporates median single
family existing home prices,mortgage rates, medium family
incomes, shows homes are atleast the least bit affordable

(10:15):
since the early 1980s thatbuying a home is the least
affordable level right now?Well, kind of says it all a July
Wall Street Journal poll, 15 103US adults found that 89% of
respondents said Owning a homeis either essential or important

(10:36):
to their vision of the future,while only 10% said home
ownership is easy or somewhateasy to achieve. So again, 89%
of respondents said Owning ahome is either essential or
important to their vision of thefuture, and that simply wasn't
happening under these last fouryears. And again, Trump's

(10:57):
economic record is why somepeople voted for him. They
eclipsed his personal distastefor the former president. Said
one guy, Mr. Richie, said hiseconomic record, what I think he
can do economically goingforward, eclipsed. Did not stop
his personal distaste for theformer president. So I may have

(11:18):
personal distaste for thepresident that just won, but his
economic record and what he cando for me going forward is how I
voted. So again, it's importantto know that there's a lot of
pressure. There's a lot of usvoters now looking Trump, you
got to perform. You've got to beable to show that you're going

(11:40):
to make the economy better, thatour dreams will come back and
again, that's the challenge.What does he really plan to do,
and in what order, versus justcampaign rhetoric? Because if it
was just campaign rhetoric,that's a whole lot different
than he will actually. HePresident Trump will actually
enact when he is the presidentafter taking office in January

(12:04):
2017 So Mister Money is goingway back to when Trump worked
the first time he won aftertaking office in January of 2017
Trump prioritized things thatmarkets didn't like. He moved
fast on immigration, especiallyfrom Muslim countries. He pulled
out of the Trans PacificPartnership trade deal,
renegotiated trade with Mexicoand Canada. Then he wasted

(12:28):
energy trying to ditch Obamacare. He didn't literally make
Mexico pay to build a borderwall, but he was serious about
reducing illegal immigration.Investors had to wait till the
end of 2017 to get the tax cuts,but they got them. So again,
this time, the same four bigpolicies are in play. Again. Mr.
Money wants to point out twowere broadly bad for investors.

(12:51):
Two are broadly good. Clampdowns on immigration and high
tariffs would hurt the economy,while lower corporate taxes
that, he says, and lessregulation would help economic
growth, so says the Wall StreetJournal. And again, the order
that he does it is critical, inwhat order and when do you end
up doing them? And will you dothem? Or was it just rhetoric?

(13:14):
Do social security people careabout reducing social security
taxes so they're not taxable,sure or not taxable on tips, was
another one that came through.Again, are you going to live up
to that campaign rhetoric, orwas it simply false statements
to get a vote again? Supplyshops from ejecting immigrants,

(13:38):
higher tariff, tariffs couldhave an effect on the economy.
We're going to watch and see taxcuts. We all want them. We like
the cuts that he gave us in 2017originally, they expire at the
end of 2025 so again, he saidhe's going to renew the good tax
code that's been around fromhim. And 2017 make sure you

(14:02):
change it immediately uponwinning, so the rates don't go
up again at the end of 2025 makethose changes. You have the
house, you have the Senate, youhave the presidency. Why? Why
can't you get that done sopeople are looking to see that.
Yes, this is why we voted foryou. But yes, now we watch to

(14:23):
see well, you literally takecare and implement all the
promises that were made duringthe election. Very important for
all of us to watch that when wecome back, Mr. Money is still a
tax ban, and Mr. Money has gotto between now and the end of
the year. Give you all the waysthat you can reduce your taxes.

(14:44):
So when we come back, Mr. Money,is going to start with the most
important way you can still savethis year's tax return. There
are deductions available. Do youneed to do before December 31
this year so you're paying lessincome taxes? Mr. Money just
happens to have the answers tothat all when we come back, this
is Mr. Money. Let me tell you,

Unknown (15:15):
there's one for you, 19 for me, because I'm the type.

Mark Rothstein (15:29):
This is Mr. Taxman, Mark Rothstein, enrolled
agent, tax expert, doing thisfor a lot of years, for a lot of
clients, like 1000s and 1000sand 1000s and 1000s of clients
over the years. You'd like totalk about a tax situation you
have 5805436, is the number5805436, is how you get a hold

(15:53):
of Mr. Money live in the studiosright now, and it's very
important to pay less incometaxes. Mr. Money believes tax
planning, retirement financialplanning, go together. If you
plan it right, you win verysimply, and that's what I
believe in. So I'd like to dosome tax planning, which right

(16:16):
now is pay less income taxes,keep more of your money. What's
the number one way retirementtop off your retirement plan?
Simply put top off yourretirement plans. If you claim
the standard deduction, andthese days, the majority of tax
papers do, then you have alimited number of tax breaks

(16:39):
available to you. So don'toverlook one of the most
effective ways to lower your2024 tax bill. What is it? It's
your retirement accountcontributions to a traditional
401 K, or if your plans calledthe 403 B, or your plans called
the 457 plan, whatever your planis called, the idea is reduce

(17:04):
your taxable income by puttingmoney into the retirement
account comes right out of yourpaycheck, by the way, could you
call your company and say, Iwant more of a deduction? Ask
them, can I deduct my wholepaycheck before the end of the
year I got enough savings deductmy entire money and put it into

(17:25):
the 401 K for the next twochecks. So all of a sudden your
401 K or retirement plan isgetting a huge amount put in
there, therefore not taxable,and you therefore reduce your
taxes, if not add simply to it.Mr. Money, I'm at 8% Great. Make
it 9% if you can. So again, itis one of the most effective

(17:47):
ways to lower your 2024 taxbill. But Mr. Money, isn't there
limits? There is you have untilthe end of the year, as I
mentioned, to contribute up to23,000 to your retirement plan
for the year 24 401, k4, 50 743.B, if you're younger than 50,

(18:08):
and you can put in an extra 7500if you're 50 or older by the
end. So if by December 31 thisyear 24 you hit the age 50, you
are allowed to put the extra7500 in for this year. Well,
that'll get you up to 30,500that's a nice tax reduction

(18:28):
that'll be reported on yourwages. Again, you have until
April of 25 deadline, April 15of 2025, to file your tax return
and contribute as much as sevengrand. Age 50 or under, oh, age
50 or older is the 8000 ifyou're 50 or older, as I
mentioned, so again, the IRA,which can be done up till April

(18:54):
15 of next year, and stillpossibly deduct it. Remember
that part? Yes, you can putmoney into a 401, K and yes, you
can put money into an IRA, aRoth IRA by April 15. Little bit
of rules around it, but I wantyou to know, yes, you can do
both contributions to atraditional IRA are deductible

(19:19):
if you're not covered by anemployer provided plan, or your
earnings fall below specificthresholds. Again, ask your tax
woman. Ask your tax man aboutthat. Or you can call Mr. Money,
5805436, and we can go throughthose rates and see if it's
deductible for you or not.Contributions to a Roth IRA are

(19:41):
not deductible. But if you're 59and a half or older, have owned
the Roth for at least fiveyears, withdrawals are tax free,
by the way. Mr. Money, I workfor myself. Great. If you work
for yourself and have noemployees other than your
spouse, you can save asignificant amount of money. In
a solo 401 K. These plans allowyou to make an employee

(20:05):
contribution up to the standard401 K maximum. And as you
remember, I just mentioned 401K's worth that 23,070 500 extra
if you're age 50 or older, aswell as an employer on a 401 K
can make a contribution up to20% of your net self employment

(20:27):
income for a combined total ofno more than 69,000 or 50 or
older, 76,500 so again, pleaselook at the self employed you
can do that solo, 401, K plan,or if you're an employee, look
to maximize what goes into yourtraditional IRA, and maybe a

(20:51):
catch up in there. And inaddition, look to see if you can
open up an IRA by April 15 thefollowing year. IRA stands for
Individual Retirement Account,by the way, but again, there are
plans there available to by theway, there's one other one, the
one Mr. Money uses for selfemployed person, since Mr. Money

(21:12):
does get some of his income fromself employment, is something
called the SEP IRA I refer to aself employed person. Sep. The
real name is Simplified EmployeePension. But another option is
the SEP IRA, which is generallyless expensive and easier to set
up than the 401 K solo plan. Andagain, you can contribute as

(21:36):
much as 20% of your net selfemployment income to a SEP with
$69,000 limit for the year 24you have until April of 2025 tax
filing deadline to establish andfund yourself for the year 24 so
you got till next year. Ifyou're on extension, you can
have till October 15 to putmoney into your SEP IRA. So

(22:00):
again, a SEP IRA, if you're selfemployed, or a solo 401, k are
two good options if you've got aside gig or making money on the
side pretty, pretty good.Another plan, take your RMDs.
RMD stands for required minimumdistribution. If you didn't

(22:22):
know, the government forces youto take money out of your
retirement account. They forceyou at a certain age. Now it's
age 73 why do they force me, Mr.Money? Because I want you to pay
income tax. When you take moneyout of a retirement account, you
got to report it on your taxreturn. So if you've turned 73
in the year 2024 the deadline totake the first required minimum

(22:46):
distribution from any of yourtraditional IRAs is April one of
the year 2025 so I turned 73this year. As a result, I got to
take some money out this year,but you could wait and take it
out. You must take it out at thelatest, by April one of the year
2025 next week next year.Otherwise, you must take this

(23:10):
year's RMD by December 31 24take you hit 73 this year. Take
it out this year by December 31and then take another piece out
next year for the year 25 if youdon't take any out in 24 you're
gonna have to take two paymentsout in the year 25 one of them
by April one of 25 and thesecond one for the year 25 in

(23:34):
that year by December 31 soending up taking two RMDs in 25
which could lift you to a highertax bracket. So beware, is what
Mr. Money saying about that thelaw known as the secure act 2.0
enacted in late 2022 lowered thepenalty for missed withdrawals

(23:56):
from 50% of the amount youshould have withdrawn with this
RMD, they brought the rate down.Penalty rate down to 25%
or 10% if you corrected themissed withdrawal in a timely
manner. Still, that's asignificant chunk of your nest
egg, so it's important to get itright the first time. So to

(24:18):
calculate your RMD, devise youryear end account balance from
the previous year by IRS lifeexpectancy factor based on your
birthday in this current yearagain, your plan provider can
help you do that. Or of calls,of course, call your tax man tax

(24:38):
woman. Go on the internet andjust simply say RMD required
reached age 73 or reach age 74whatever the year is, and you'll
get your number to divide it byof what they force you to take
money out at but again, this isan opportunity if you don't need
the money. By the way, on theRMD are, of course, the. It

(25:00):
forces you to take it, but youcan reduce your taxes on this
RMD, meaning not have to reportit and pay income tax on it by
making a qualified charitabledistribution before year end.
What that is called a qualifieddistribution, what that is is
where the money comes out thathas to come out because you've

(25:22):
reached the age when the moneycomes out. Instead of you taking
it, you can have it directlytransferred from your IRA to a
charity, and that will satisfythe government, because you did
take your RMD out, you just didnot keep it. You simply moved it
off to a charity, and in thisyear of 2024 you can transfer up

(25:45):
to 105,000 with this QCDqualified charitable
distribution. And so again, themoney give to the charity is not
deductible, but the distributionwill count towards your RMD and
therefore be excluded fromreporting it as taxable income.
Pretty darn good. And for thedonation to count, as I

(26:07):
mentioned earlier, the moneymust be transferred directly
from your IRA to the charity.Most Ira custodians, by the way,
will require you to fill out aform requesting the charitable
payout. Custodian will theneither send a check directly to
the charity or make a check outto the charity and send it to
you. Your job is then to say,mail it to the organization. So

(26:31):
again, these are options youhave in either circumstance, get
a receipt from the charity tosubstantiate the donation. Don't
wait until last minute. Says Mr.Money to do a QCD, because it
could take time for the money togo from the IRA to the charity.
And by way, I said, ideally,it's got to be done each RMD by

(26:55):
the end of the year, unless it'syour first year, and then you
can potentially move it to April1 of the following year, and
then take the regular one thefollowing year. So take all this
and decide if it's appropriatefor you. The year's not over. We
can still reduce our taxableincome and therefore keep more

(27:16):
of your money. Mr. Money, on thefollowing shows you're going to
keep giving you ideas. I'mloaded with them right here, so
I would like very much to beable to give you all of these
deductions that I can when wecome back, we're going to talk
about a topic that many peoplemay not want to talk about, but
it's important. Is there hopefor couples as high divorce

(27:42):
rates persist. That's right, Mr.Money's got information and
recommendation and hope forcouples. Why? Because the high
divorce rate persists. Morepeople are getting divorced.
More money is at issue with thisas a result, and Mr. Money wants
to talk about it. Um, when wecome back, this is Mr. Money.

Unknown (28:03):
Try to see it my way. Do I have to keep on talking
till I can
go while you see it your way?Run a risk of knowing that our
love mission
be gone. We can work it out. Wegotta work it out. Mr.

Mark Rothstein (28:22):
Money is here in the house, as they say in the K
i, d, O house radio station.It's kind of like my second
home. And can we work it out?Says the Beatles. And there is
hope for couples as high divorcerates persist. Thought I would
let you know what's going on inthe world of divorce right now,

(28:42):
and most specifically couplesand their money. And is that a
cause for some divorce? Ofcourse, the answer is yes, but
many of us know plenty ofcouples who are happily in love,
satisfied with their marriage.Mr. Money is one of them. This
often is expected, because astrong, happy marriage provides
numerous benefits. Mr. Moniestalked about this, a strong

(29:05):
happy marriage has benefits,including emotional support,
financial stability, a sense ofcompanionship. And as my wife
likes to say, You're my partner,you're my person. So I wanted to
talk about there. But there aretimes when a marriage goes
south, or a couple realizes theyare no longer as compatible as

(29:28):
they once were. Sometimes moreserious issues also come into
play. So when marriage is filledwith conflict or it's got abuse,
it's got chronic unhappiness,ending the relationship can lead
to well being for both partnersand their children. It's true,
when it's just consumed withnegativity, maybe the divorce is

(29:49):
the right answer. Breaking downthe percentage of marriages that
end in divorce can be tricky, asthe numbers can vary greatly by
states, by religious.Affiliation, by your race, your
sexual orientation, byoccupation and by the number of
times one has been married.Speaking of that, research shows

(30:13):
that 41% of first marriages, forinstance, end in divorce. By
contrast, 60% of secondmarriages end in divorce, and
73% of third marriages end indivorce. So be wary, if you're
dating someone that's beenmarried once already, or twice
already, or three times already,something to know going into the

(30:34):
marriage one's stage in life canalso contribute to how likely a
marriage is to end. Looking atdivorce rates, we find that over
the lifespan of a marriage,there are two primary peaks that
tell us something about whymarriages sometimes end. The
first peak occurs around thefifth year of marriage. These

(30:57):
relationships tend to end due toescalating conflict, negative
interaction of the partners bythe fifth year they've just had
enough a second peak of whendivorce rates occur is around
the 15th to 20th year ofmarriage. Can you guess why
these relationships often haveless conflict, but they're

(31:18):
characterized by couples whohave drifted apart. That's
right. Many times such coupleshave focused all their energy,
their research resources, onraising their children. And when
the children get a little olderor move out of the house, they
begin to wonder, is the marriageis still satisfying because
we've handled the kids? So thatcomes in that phase in the 15th

(31:42):
to 20th year, there is a rapidincrease in divorce rates,
beginning back in the 1960s Iwanted to mention, but that rate
has leveled off in recent yearsand even decreasing recently. So
that's good news, according tostatistics, indeed, which is

(32:02):
data from the National Centerfor Health Statistics, shows
that,
what's it showing here showsthat the divorce rate in the
United States was four per 1000people in 2000 but The rate had
dumped dropped considerably,down to 2.4 per 1000 people in

(32:25):
the year 22 so just digest thatnumber of these rates that are
going these days. Among thereasons divorce rates have
dropped are that many morecouples and individuals are
participating in counseling.Fewer people have been getting
married overall. The secondreason divorce is down, and

(32:45):
there has been a societal shifton delaying marriages until
later in life, when theindividuals or couples are more
settled in their career. Soagain, divorce rates coming
down. Just to repeat myself thatfewer people have been getting
married. Overall, there's asocietal shift on delaying
marriage until later in life,when the individuals or couples

(33:07):
are more settled in theircareer. So again, interesting to
know that marrying later in lifeimplies that the couple is more
mature, and with the increasedrelationship stressors, it's
just simply decreased. I'mgetting married later. Kind of
got my finances in order. I kindof really, really know what I
want in my partner and who Ichoose to marry. But it isn't

(33:33):
all good news for married folk,because us divorce rates are
still remain high. By the way,as much as you've seen these
current rates I just gave youthe US, divorce rate remains
high. Fact, it's the 13thhighest rate in the world.
That's according to the WorldPopulation review. What's more,
as marriage rates are nowreturning to prepredemic levels,

(33:55):
according to the US Centers forDisease Control and Prevention,
increased divorce rates maylogically follow now, and the
more common reasons couples getdivorced haven't really changed.
In some cases, they may even beincreasing. Mr. Money, what do
you mean in this digital age ofsocial media and we're inundated

(34:18):
with all the social media youand I both know that the ability
to cheat on your partner, evenemotionally, has become very
accessible, all because of thesocial media. And this is
significant because more than athird of all divorces are caused
by infidelity or a loss of trustbetween spouses. Other common

(34:40):
reasons that couples getdivorced include financial
stress, and I've seen thatfinancial stress. Thank
goodness. My clients come to me,at least for the most part, and
say, Mr. Money, we disagree. Ihad one the other day. I want a
second child, said the wife, thehusband said, No, I don't Mr.
Money. We just. Bought a $1.3million home. Mr. Money, we're

(35:03):
just putting 400,000 inimprovements. I'm not feeling
wealthy. Yes, I've got money onreserves after buying it. Mr.
Money, you taught me, butnonetheless, the whole expense
of another child, and right nowI'm self employed to a degree,
so I can come home and take careof the child. There's no way I
could come home and take care oftwo children. And that's what

(35:24):
came up where the wife simplysaid, I'm getting older. I want
my baby. What did Mr. Moneyfound in this discussion is we
found what really the husbandwas against was not really a
child. It was more of him comingback home and having to care for
the kid or kids during the day,whereas the wife said, I'll stop
being an employee, and I'llbecome self employed, and I'll

(35:46):
can begin to start doing that,sharing that, and taking it
over. The husband smiled, andmaybe we made some progress in
that. But again, they needed tospeak it out, and I guess Mr.
Money being there to say, what'sso for them, help them to do
that. So again, these commonreasons that couples get
divorced include financialstress, lack of family support

(36:11):
and increased conflict combinedwith poor resolution skills.
That's the truth I believe insometimes the wife can't hear
the husband, and the husband canhear the wife that sometimes a
third party, whether it's atherapist, whether it's a tax
preparer, financial prepare,financial person, whether it is
family members stepping in,sometimes people listen better

(36:34):
and are prepared to make somechanges. That's what Mr. Money
is here to say, the absence ofphysical intimacy or loss of
emotional connection, that'spart of divorce. Substance abuse
is part of divorce. Divergingvalues and differences in
parenting can also contribute todeclining marriage. So there's a

(36:58):
whole lot of reasons besidesjust financial stress or lack of
family support, increasedconflict, diverging values,
emotional connection, loss,physical intimacy, lost or
reduced substance abuse, etc,whole lot of reasons. So again,
the key item here is, is thereemotional neglect. This is where

(37:22):
one or both partners feelunheard or undervalued, which
can corrode the connection thatsustains the marriage. So again,
very, very key in the end, bythe way, we know that not all
marriage couples will or shouldstay together, so that should be
acknowledged, and it does herein the article I'm reading. This

(37:43):
is by Daryl Austin, and this isin USA Today that I'm looking at
as I'm speaking to you about it.So it is obvious to those who do
therapy with couples that lifein the future will be better if
a divorce occurs. So therapistsare acknowledging that staying
together is not the only answer,that sometimes not staying

(38:06):
together is the proper answer,but they would be quick to add,
as would Mr. Money to do sometherapy, do some real, real,
real talk to each other and findout what's really behind it all.
And in this case of my client,it was simply about having a
child. The man just didn't wantto keep going to the house to

(38:28):
take care of the child, and thatwas his thing. So I think we got
it resolved. Mr. Money willreport in in the future, but
that's where it stood as of thisweek. Also there add that 85% of
the people who divorce end upgetting married again within
five years. I did not know that85% of the people who divorce

(38:53):
end up getting married againwithin five years. So the
attempt to find a positiverelationships through marriage
continues even after divorce,and many people are able to do
that successfully and happily.So it's a nice ending to this
article I'm reading that simplyput, yes, there's a time and a

(39:15):
place for divorce, and there canbe sunshine afterwards, but the
key word is after you've workedon it, after you've had some
therapy, after you've face toface, said what needs to be
said, all of it, not hidingbehind anything, and saying what
the truth is. And as Mr. Moneyhas said on previous shows, when

(39:36):
it comes to money, many timesthe things you saw as a child
influence you. If you saw yourparents always yelling about
money, odds are you're not goingto be yelling about money, or
maybe it leads you to yes youyell about money. So your past
influences do influence you. AndMr. Money is here to say, watch
out for that. We've come to theend of the show. Hello, Mr.

(40:00):
Money wishes you a goodfinancial week, and we will see
you next week. This is Mr.Money. Information

Unknown (40:06):
and opinions presented are for general information only
and are not intended to providespecific advice or
recommendations for anyindividual you should contact
your investment professional,attorney, accountant or tax
advisor regarding yourindividual situation. The
opinions of the presenter do notnecessarily reflect those of
independent Financial Group,LLC, its affiliates, officers or
directors. Mark Rothstein, akaMr. Money, is the owner of tri
star financial LLC and tri starIncome Tax Services LLC. Mr.

(40:27):
Money is a marketing name only,and is not intended as anything
other than a marketing name forentertainment purposes.
Securities and advisory servicesoffered through independent
Financial Group LLC, aregistered investment advisor
member, F, I N, R, A, S, I p, c,tri star financial LLC, tri star
Income Tax Services LLC andindependent Financial Group LLC
are unaffiliated entities.