November 29, 2024 • 40 mins
Small Business Saturday and Giving Tuesday – With the holiday season being in full swing, Chris Boyd, Jeff Perry, and Russ Ball start of with a discussion on how to manage the financial pressures that many people face during the holiday season. Jeff shares his thoughts on budgeting and low-cost gift giving. Chris next emphasizes the importance of supporting local businesses during the holiday shopping season. The dialogue flows to the dominance of online shopping. The trio discuss Giving Tuesday and Chris outlines various financial and tax planning techniques which allow for the most efficient and effective charitable giving.
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For more information or to reach Chris Boyd, Russ Ball or Jeff Perry, click the following link: https://www.wealthenhancement.com/s/advisor-teams/amr
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Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
The following is paid programming.
Welcome to Something More with Chris Boyd.
Chris Boyd is a Certified
Financial Planner
Practitioner and Senior
Vice President and
Financial Advisor at Wealth
Enhancement Group,
one of the nation's largest
registered investment advisors.
We call it Something More
because we'd like to talk
not only about those
important dollar and cents issues,
but also the quality of
(00:23):
life issues that make the
money matters matter.
here he is your fulfillment
facilitator your partner in
prosperity advising clients
on cape cod and across the
country here's your host
jay christopher boyd
everybody to something more
I'm chris boyd I'm here
with jeff perry and russ
ball we're of the amr team
(00:44):
at wealth enhancement and
really glad to have you
with us for another uh
segment of our program our
show is all about uh personal finance and
those quality of life issues
as well so glad to have you
here hope everyone had a
great thanksgiving it's um
it's one of those things
that it's good to
(01:06):
temporarily every once in a
while to step back and
think about gratitude and
our blessings and all the
things that we are grateful
for sometimes those things are um
far beyond the material things.
But we're in that season of
materialism now as we're
(01:28):
moving on to a holiday season.
Well, that didn't take long, Chris.
Anyway,
did you want to comment before I
jump on to other things?
No, I'm just giving you a hard time.
Yes, yes.
It is good to be thankful
for many things and gorge
yourself on too much food.
Right.
Now the diet begins for about two,
(01:49):
three weeks and then not so
much because of all these activities.
This is like a free month.
You didn't know that?
Yeah, there's so much going on, right?
And this one's so compacted.
where Thanksgiving is late
this year and we'll be
flying through December
with all that goes on.
Now,
save your diet and good eating habits
(02:12):
for your New Year's
resolutions that you won't follow anyway.
Yeah, probably accurate.
Well,
I want to also just step back and
give a gratitude moment.
Thanks for stepping in for
me last week and you guys
with the shows you did.
um good stuff I I um have
(02:34):
started listening but
haven't finished listening
to um our podcast episodes
from last week I thought
they did really well and
russ did a great job
producing and adding some
color to the guests and if
they people haven't
listened to them they're
always available on our
your favorite podcast channel
and do check them out and
(02:56):
share and like and give us
a rating it really helps as
uh that people always point
out I have another side
note on that before I
forget because I meant mean
to do it and I forget um in
the notes of this show in
the last few shows we have
a link to a podcast survey
that we're doing good point
so if you're interested in
(03:16):
uh telling us how we're
doing or how good or bad
or what you'd like to hear more or less of,
please click the link and
provide your comments.
They're very helpful to us.
Yeah, I love that.
Good thought.
We want to know,
we want to produce a show
that you want to hear.
So we'd love to hear what your feedback is,
what kind of content is most enjoyed.
(03:39):
And of course,
if you always have a question,
you're always welcome to
send us a question as well
at amr-info-info at
wealthenhancement.com.
Well, let's jump right to it then.
As far as we look ahead,
(04:00):
it's that time of year.
It's Black Friday,
the time to go shopping.
I don't know, did you guys...
Always get up early and beat
the crowds on Friday
morning to start your
Christmas shopping off with a bang.
I feel like Black Friday has
really extended to there's
(04:22):
a whole almost month of deals.
I'm already looking at the
different deals.
So I feel like Friday is
going to come and go.
But then there's Cyber Monday.
So there's plenty of time to
do some... I agree, Russ.
A couple of days ago, our microwave died.
And so I was looking online
(04:44):
to buy another one.
And I get a Black Friday
deal on Tuesday or whatever it was.
I have the same story.
I was doing a little bit of...
early shopping and yeah, good deals,
you know, start, but you're right.
Started early.
So do you guys tend to do
your shopping online?
Do you tend to do it in person?
(05:05):
Do you, do you, are you, I mean,
I know Jeff's answer to this.
We'll ask Russ.
I was going to say,
are you really organized
and have a list and,
Jeff's probably got a list
down to the penny as to
what he's willing to budget for whatever.
Wow.
I didn't think you were going there.
Okay.
Am I wrong, though?
(05:25):
Come on.
I didn't say you were wrong.
I just said I didn't think
you were going there.
No, no.
But you're methodical.
You're very organized and well-considered.
That's a polite word for that.
Thank you.
You're very deliberate.
How about you, Russ?
Well, I can't say I'm quite like you, Jeff,
but I do have a loose idea of, you know,
(05:46):
a few different areas I
want to start looking at.
And I have a few items
listed down that I want to
see if there's any deals that pop up.
And I'll check websites
every day through Cyber Monday,
even after,
just to see if there's any
deals that I missed.
But so it's a little bit less meticulous,
but... Still sounds pretty prepared.
(06:07):
Yeah, I do prepare a little bit.
You won't be running out on...
Christmas Eve, it sounds like, huh?
No, no, no.
I do not like to do that.
If I could help it.
one big difference with us
since we've moved to
florida um but we still go
to massachusetts for and
rhode island for christmas
is we shop early because we
(06:27):
ship everything direct to
lisa's mom's house and so
it's so it's all she's our
she's gladfully uh our
mailbox there and all for
you that's right and
then when we arrive a few
days before Christmas, Lisa,
my wife goes starts and
(06:47):
starts wrapping and all that.
So we kind of have to start
early and we have to shop.
We don't have to,
but this is what we choose
to shop online and to ship
right to Freetown, Massachusetts.
There you go.
There you go.
That's good.
Good planning.
That's makes sense.
That's all the more reason
you have to be prepared.
Um,
(07:08):
Just as an aside, you mentioned Florida.
Last week, I was in Florida for the summit,
which was the Wealth
Enhancement Group Summit,
where a number of financial
advisors gathered.
And it was great, great contents,
a lot of opportunity to talk about
Wealth Enhancement Group as
a business and some of the
(07:28):
goals the business has and
our our mission and some of
the focus on one of the
things I always we've had
Jeff Deco on when we first
joined Wealth Enhancement Group.
And one of the things I
really enjoy about his
comments as CEO is he always seems to put
(07:50):
it into great context about
the it's all about the
client and what we're doing
for our clients and the
importance of um financial
planning and the lives we
touch and so I um I liked
that there was also a lot
of chance to interact with
other advisors see what
they're doing well what
their um best practices are
(08:10):
and uh the content of the
the presentations
throughout this uh this conference was um
really focused on best
practices of various types.
So the round table we talk
about with Wealth Enhancement Group,
the opportunity to interact
(08:30):
and glean information from
other experts in their area
of expertise was on full
display at the Wealth
Enhancement Group Summit.
But while I was in Florida, Jeff,
I noticed that
Boy, it was really different.
There were like all kinds of
(08:51):
the Christmas holiday
season was out in full display.
And it just seemed to be earlier here.
Our neighborhood's fully decorated and,
you know,
the clubhouse for the community
and the gates and everything.
They've been on for a little while.
So they are they do seem to
go a little earlier here.
(09:11):
Yeah, the holiday spirit, if you will,
was very present and noticeable.
And the percentage of
participation on homes is
much higher than where we
lived in Massachusetts.
Part could be that you don't stand out and
freezing cold rain to put
them up or down I don't
know yeah yeah good point
(09:33):
easier uh on yeah in terms
of the temperature the
climate to deal with that
but anyway um yeah so uh
wealth enhancement group uh
great summit and um great
uh content that came out of that I'm sure
it's going to afford us the
opportunity to talk to some
of those other advisors.
(09:53):
I will say I did get the
opportunity to go jet skiing.
Oh, you did?
I knew that that was planned.
That was new to me.
Survived, yeah.
Yeah, those things go fast.
They do.
That's why they're fun.
It was fun.
I was a little nervous at first, but, man,
that was good.
but anyway, uh, interesting when it was,
(10:15):
uh, some choppy water,
you start going to the airport.
Yeah.
Just a little bit.
Just a little bit.
Uh, fortunately it wasn't too choppy, but,
uh, yeah, had a little bit of that.
Um,
you see any dolphins or anything in the
water?
You know what?
I totally missed it.
There was behind us as we were leaving the,
um, the little Harbor area to go out into,
(10:35):
you know, a bigger Bay or whatever.
Um, there was, uh,
was a pod of of dolphins
that we I didn't even
notice they're like
following the the wakes
yeah yeah so unfortunately
uh I missed it but uh but
others others told me oh
yeah there's a whole group
(10:55):
of them so anyway um so uh
let's talk about uh small
business saturday a little
bit and the history of
these kinds of uh things
you know we think about
online shopping and I think
we've all gotten accustomed
to the convenience of just
(11:18):
right in the palm of your
hand doing some of our
shopping that way and there
is a real value to that
ease and convenience that, you know, it's,
it's appealing at the same time.
You find there are fewer and
fewer opportunities to
actually go into stores
sometimes because there aren't as many,
(11:39):
uh, you know,
local shops and stores.
And whether it's big
business or small business,
you find that the online
activity changes the way we
shop and the ability we have.
I mean, this time of year,
I used to love Toys R Us.
What's that, right?
(12:02):
So you got to think in terms
of those small businesses
that are local businesses and
being sure to patronize them as well.
Absolutely.
Keep,
keep that those local businesses that
depend on our, our shopping,
our revenues to keep them afloat.
(12:22):
This is an important time of
year for a lot of small businesses.
It is, you know,
there's also been a trend
of a lot of these small
businesses creating an online pleasant.
So if you look at like
Shopify and some of the,
companies that service small
businesses selling their
products they're doing very
well so you know people
(12:44):
adapt to the customers
wants and needs so that's
another way you can support
a mom-and-pop shop or small
businesses to shop online
if you're only shopping
online which a lot of
people do but you can also
search out for small business
opportunities while searching online.
Meaning buy your products
from the local place online.
(13:05):
Right.
Yeah, that's a good point.
I think the big part of this,
when we think about this time of year,
we want to think about
preparing and planning.
And Jeff,
I was giving you a hard time earlier.
But as a practical reality,
(13:27):
This is one of those seasons
where people get into a lot
of financial trouble that
comes back to haunt them at
the turn of the year when
those bills start coming in.
And everyone has different
resources and abilities and whatnot,
but no matter what your wealth or income,
(13:52):
It's probably a good idea to
step back and do some
deliberate consideration
about what do we want to do, how much,
how many people,
and then magnify what that adds up to.
When you have kids, naturally,
you want to give them everything.
But at the same time,
(14:13):
it can be really costly and burdensome,
and you have to be sometimes intentional.
Of course,
if you rack that up on a credit
card and don't have the resources,
to pay for that on the other end,
that's going to cost a lot of money.
It's not just the cost of the purchase,
but then, you know,
fifteen percent interest or, you know,
(14:33):
twenty percent or whatever
the credit card interest rates can be,
which can be pretty
substantial these days.
So, you know, you really need to be
deliberate in the process.
And in some cases,
people think about gifting
and very generous gifts to their children,
(14:57):
their adult children, whatever it may be.
This is another thing we
sometimes think in terms of,
let's do a little bit of
financial planning.
Are we going to do this as a
one-time thing?
Is this going to be an annual thing?
How much is really affordable?
This can be, again, one of those times,
Jeff, like you talk about,
(15:18):
it can give us permission
or it can be in a position
where we can say, oh, wait,
that might be too much.
So we want to take a moment and...
see how it plays out.
Set expectations that are realistic.
Is this something we're
going to do as a one-off?
Is this something that
people are going to become
accustomed to and grow dependent on?
(15:42):
Can we afford that?
I don't know.
I threw a lot out there.
Take it away.
Let's start with breaking news.
Christmas is December twenty-fifth.
Ideally, we'd love it when
clients or listeners are
budgeting for christmas
right or or gifting
(16:02):
throughout the year we'd
love you to start the year
every year with a projected
cash flow and you the
things that you can predict
and have an emergency fund
for those things that you
can't predict these are all
part of a you know a
comprehensive personal
financial plan that we want
you to have so hopefully
you have a you have a
budget for christmas you
have a budget for the
holidays we'll get into
(16:24):
gifting family gifting in a second
But even if you have a budget,
and especially if you don't,
there's a lot of pressure
on you during this time of year to,
as you said,
to meet those desires of the
children who see something
and they want something.
Or maybe you have a spouse
and you want to do something special.
(16:45):
Or maybe you have a new
relationship and you didn't
realize that when you did your budget.
And all these things.
But
your points are very well
taken that if you overspend
and you don't have the
ability to pay that credit
card bill comes January,
it's really going to,
not only affect your debt load,
(17:06):
but it's gonna affect your
ability to meet your budget,
because now you have credit
card payments and interest
payments into the future.
So, you know, pause for a few minutes,
don't act emotional when
you're out shopping, try to have a budget,
even if you don't have an overall budget,
try to make a budget for this Christmas,
something that makes sense.
And think about alternative
(17:26):
gifts that don't cost two hundred dollars,
right?
A thoughtful gift that's not
always the expensive gift kind of thing.
You know, like parents,
if you're giving to parents
or grandparents or family members,
they would love to have a
new picture of you and your family,
you know, in a nice little frame, a few,
ten bucks for a frame, right?
(17:47):
And that would mean probably
more to them than going out
and spending a couple
hundred dollars on some
gift that they may or may not want,
right?
That's a good point.
Yeah.
So you don't always need to
spend money to make a big
impact during the holidays
and give something meaningful.
If you have a skill or craft
or ability to make something,
(18:08):
those gifts are really meaningful.
So love that.
Right.
So you don't just have that
goes into it is like, is, is,
is more than the value of
maybe what it costs.
I think that it is.
And I, you know,
you see those gifts when they're opened,
And it just is that much
more meaningful that you
thought the time to do
(18:28):
something personal and not
just gift cards are great.
And sometimes gift cards are
the perfect thing to give somebody,
but you're going to spend
more on a gift card
probably than that
photograph of your family.
Right.
And I'm not sure it's going
to have the same meaning
that you're ultimately
trying to get of saying
something special during the holidays.
Well,
the thing about people who are
(18:49):
thoughtful is, um,
they give thought it's, you know,
it's time can it's,
it's in forward thinking.
It's a give me, it's not just a, well,
I got to run out and
fulfill an obligation.
I go get something.
It's deliberate.
It's thoughtful.
It's what's a good fit for that person.
My wife is so much better
(19:09):
than I am at this, but you know,
she's creative and thoughtful.
And I, you know,
how do you come up with that?
How do you,
but it's partly paying attention,
partly listening.
I think she's, you know,
pays attention to what's
going on and in a way that then says, Oh,
you know, I think they'd enjoy, you know,
that kind of thing.
Another example that I've
seen personally in my family, if,
(19:31):
if you have a specific interest,
if your loved one has,
or a friend has a specific
interest and you buy them a
book about that subject,
you know, a real book, a hardcover.
Yeah, a real book.
Yeah.
Old fashioned.
Yeah.
And you can go to your local
bookstore to do that as well.
And that's very helpful to
find help you find
(19:51):
something that meets the subject.
But it goes along with what
you're saying about your
wife's how she approaches it.
If if you have a World War
Two buff or a Civil War
buff or a cooking person, you know,
you can just pick a special
book and write a nice
inscription inside of it and
What a thoughtful gift for
ten or twenty dollars.
It's a great idea, Jeff.
(20:12):
Yeah.
So I know this isn't the Christmas gift.
You know what I mean?
Maybe that's an episode we
should be coming up with.
Gift ideas.
How do you come up with good gift ideas?
anyway but it's just pausing
thinking about it and
thinking about the options
and you know far beyond our
expertise which is limited
there's so many resources
(20:34):
out there if you were to
google um you know
inexpensive personal gift
suggestions for the
holidays you'd come up with
more than we're going to
come up with yeah right
yeah yeah well um so you
know when we think about
this time of year we've got
black friday today
And Small Business Saturday.
(20:54):
And then is there anything
on Sunday or is it just go
to Cyber Monday?
No,
I think they're still hoping to go to
church on Sunday and watch football.
And then we get to Giving Tuesday.
Why don't we talk a little
bit about that as well?
Because, you know,
this is also a time of year
(21:15):
when a lot of charitable organizations
organizations really find
they have a surge in their
revenue that defines their
next year's budget.
And most of, you know,
a lot of people think about
charitable giving, you know,
historically it's because they, you know,
(21:36):
we'd be thinking about
deductions and things like that.
But as we get closer to year end,
we tend to be like, oh, well,
there's a few things I
wanted to get in before the year's over.
And sometimes I was
motivated by taxation these days,
probably less so because, you know,
keep in mind that with the
standard deduction being as high as it is,
there's less of a
(21:59):
likelihood that you're
going to have itemized deductions now.
This is something we've
talked about in the past, Jeff,
the idea of bundling.
And maybe you want to just
take a minute to explain
what that's all about,
that idea of why people
might want to consider doing that.
I think it's like almost
ninety percent of the
people who file their
(22:20):
income taxes are now taking
the standard deduction.
It's since the standard
deduction amount went up
quite a bit and they
limited the caps on certain
other types of deductions like SALT,
so state and local income
taxes taxing SALT as much.
But yeah, who knows what's coming?
But so less people are
(22:40):
itemizing thus charitable
donations at night.
deductible but sometimes you
have the ability to if you
do something regularly or
even a one-time gift you
can bundle all that
together and give it all at
once and over the say
you're giving gifts over
the next three years to
(23:01):
this institution well if
you bundle those three into
one year you'll probably
start to think about all
right am I going to exceed
my standard deduction and
thus be able to deduct from
that approach of doing an
itemized deduction as
opposed to the standard deduction.
And it might be in a year
that you had some large
(23:22):
number of medical bills,
which normally you wouldn't deduct,
or maybe it was a year, you know,
that a bit, a business situation,
an off year from income
maybe or something.
So you can be,
you can be a bit tactical
with your deductions if you do plan them.
So these are all things to
give thought to when it comes to,
(23:43):
you know, planning.
But, you know, similarly,
you can think about other
types of gift scenarios
when you're thinking about
charitable giving.
Donor-advised funds are
something we talk about
this time of year.
Candidly,
we don't have a lot of clients
who have made use of donor-advised funds,
but I love donor-advised funds as a tool.
(24:08):
These are essentially an
opportunity where you want
to plan for some tax benefit.
You're going to make that
charitable gift into a fund.
Oftentimes,
it comes about as a consequence
though of someone's had a loss or
There's a reason you're
inspired to kind of raise
funds for a purpose.
(24:28):
And it could be more than
one purpose or more than one donation.
Absolutely.
Right.
And so the idea that you're
going to set money aside,
get the charitable treatment of it,
get a deduction in the year
you're giving it.
And whether it's cash,
whether it's securities
that have appreciated, et cetera,
(24:50):
there's a variety of possibilities,
but you might put that
money into this donor advised fund.
And then later on, whether it's next year,
whether it's every year,
whether it's after several years of it,
invested in accumulating and
growing in a tax sheltered environment,
which is this tax,
this nonprofit entity that
(25:13):
is an owner advised fund
that's at a foundation of some type.
then you can dole out those
funds as desired to
nonprofit organizations.
As you said, Jeff,
doesn't have to be one organization,
could be many,
can be something that changes over time.
(25:34):
I love it when families gather.
They've set up this kind of
a fund and said, all right,
now this year we're going
to make a distribution.
What should we do?
And have some family
consideration of what do we care about?
What's important to us?
Maybe it's different things
to different people and you
take turns on who gets to
decide or whatever it is.
(25:55):
But there can be some
collaborative effort.
deliberation and the idea I
think in that instance that
I love so much about it is
it's setting values in
place and saying we value
charitable giving to the
extent that we've created this fund.
And as a family,
we're going to continue
(26:17):
this practice now and into the future.
And, you know, help us.
And, you know,
I think as a parent that can
instill a certain clarity
of values that not only you
might talk about,
but now it's in behavior.
Yeah, I love that idea.
And including the children of any age,
you know,
as long as I have viewed this
(26:38):
like a board meeting.
Yeah.
A family.
And you're still the guy who
wrote the guy or gal who wrote the check,
still the chairman of the board.
Right.
But you might have no authority, huh?
Right.
Yeah, you might.
That's funny.
I think it's part of that
notion of you want engagement.
And if, you know,
if this is the ultimately
(26:59):
you're trying to say, what do we value?
What's our, you know, and, you know,
let's face it.
There aren't families don't
always have uniformity in
their views on a variety of things.
So how you resolve that is up to you,
whether it's, well,
it's your turn or let's try
to come something we all agree on.
You know,
(27:19):
there's there's different ways to
approach it.
Right.
But ultimately,
I think it's setting the
stage for the idea that
giving back to our
community in one form or
another is a value.
And we've we've set up this
fund with that in mind and
let's all do it together.
(27:39):
You know, I really love that.
So that's one possibility
this time of year.
As the end of the year approaches,
people who have required
minimum distributions from
their IRA accounts or if
(27:59):
they also have a charitable intent,
right?
Yeah.
Qualified charitable
distributions are really catching on.
as a tool that people who are,
as it turns out,
it's even before you have
distribution requirements now.
So it used to be seven and a
(28:19):
half was when those RMDs started.
well you can still use this
technique of taking ira
money that's pre-tax money
and giving it to a
charitable intent your
church your charity your
non-profit of one type or
another and make a donation
(28:40):
from your ira directly it
comes out it's no tax to
you it goes to the
non-profit they don't pay a
tax everybody benefits now
when you're seventy three and older
it will count toward your
required distribution.
So if you have a five
thousand dollar distribution,
a fifty thousand dollar distribution,
(29:01):
whatever that number is,
if you want to take a
thousand dollars just or, you know,
ten thousand dollars,
whatever the number is,
you could take a chunk of that.
And instead of taking it out
to have to spend it or pay tax on it,
and then have to then choose
to give it to something.
So you don't have that income tax event.
(29:22):
You can do what's called
qualified charitable distribution.
There's a form with your IRA
custodian and they will
send the funds directly to the nonprofit,
avoiding the income tax,
but counting toward your
five or fifty or whatever
your number is for a
distribution requirement.
And it will reduce the
amount you have to do.
(29:42):
Now,
there is a cap on how much you can do
in a given year for a
qualified charitable distribution.
QCD is how, you know, it's abbreviated.
But most people won't have
to worry about that cap.
It's a hundred thousand
dollars in a given year, you know.
God bless.
If you can do that, that's awesome.
(30:03):
But for most people,
it's a way to get money to
a cause they care about in
a wonderfully tax-efficient
way without having to incur
income tax themselves and
perhaps reduce what they
have to take out from their
distributions in a given year.
It's generally best to try
to think about these
(30:23):
qualified charitable
distributions early in the
year so that you know when
it comes to your own
required distributions.
You don't have as much that
you have to take out.
So try to do that in the
first half of the year if you can.
But there's still time,
but you're running out of time.
You know, it's...
(30:44):
it's a it's a race now to
the finish as we run
through the rest of the
year and brokerage firms
and the like custodians
will be inundated with
distribution requests at
this time of year and you
know hustle up it's time so
yeah after a certain date
which isn't far away from
(31:05):
now they won't guarantee
that they'll be able to do
it exactly and we you don't
want to be in that position
When it comes to charitable giving,
just going through a couple
of other things, Jeff, you know,
sometimes people think
about monthly gifts, you know,
just a monthly deposit,
monthly withdrawal, you know,
going to their charitable intentions.
(31:26):
Yeah.
Yeah, it gives them predictability.
It's not the most tax
desirable way to do things
might be better to gift
through a qualified
charitable distribution or
gift of appreciated assets, you know,
a mutual fund or a stock or
something that's gone up in
value significantly.
(31:47):
Um,
these are things that can be preferable
from a tax planning point of view, but,
um, any of these are appealing.
Um,
another thing that seems to be kind of
popular that is, um,
generally with a specific, um,
nonprofit are, uh,
charitable gift annuities.
(32:07):
And, uh, maybe we can talk about,
it's essentially a, uh, a,
a low budget equivalent to a, to a, um,
a charitable remainder trust,
or sometimes called a
capital gains avoidance trust.
So the idea of these kinds
(32:28):
of entities is we can take
an appreciated asset,
put it into this kind of
either a gift annuity or a
trust like this,
and have it eventually go
to the charitable intention
But in the meantime,
I can get an income for
life or me and my wife or
me and my kid or whatever it might be.
(32:50):
You can arrange for this
cash flow to be essentially
annuitized over your lifetime.
And then what the
remainderment is goes to
the charitable intention.
It's not a bad way to go.
It is a gift.
Yeah, it's true.
(33:11):
But at the same time, in some cases,
it's also cash flow.
There are other types that
are much less frequently
used where people can use
what's called a charitable lead trust.
Essentially,
they're going to take a chunk
of that money,
whether it's an appreciated
asset or whatever it is,
and put it into that trust.
(33:32):
And instead of them
receiving cash flow and the
charity getting the money at the end,
it's kind of the opposite.
The charity gets income from
it over their lifetime,
but the remainder goes on to their heirs.
So in any case,
all kinds of creative ways
you can do some things.
(33:55):
Most people, it's just this time of year,
I got a few checks I want to write.
But you know what?
It's a time to step back.
Again, let's be deliberate.
Jeff, I'm giving you a hard time earlier,
but this is the reality.
This is something that a
little bit of forethought,
you can really have impact
with your charitable giving.
And be intentional about
where do you want it to go, how much,
(34:16):
how does it affect your plan,
and are there great ways
that you can not only do good,
but you can get some benefit out of this,
whether it's tax planning or whatever.
There's a lot of
opportunities that can be a
lot of fun as a planner to
be thinking through how can
we plan for this in a way
(34:36):
that maximizes the benefits
of what you might want to do anyway.
That's right.
That's right.
But the key part of all that
is to make sure that it's
part of your financial plan.
I think sometimes when
people retire and they get
into their routine and they're doing fine,
the cash flows are fine,
and they start thinking
about their legacy and gifting.
(34:58):
And maybe it's really common
that parents or
grandparents want to give
gifts of cash while they're alive.
And Christmas is a perfect
time to write those checks.
hopefully you're working with a fiduciary,
a financial planner,
someone that can model that
out because there is a
tendency of many generous people,
(35:21):
God bless them,
but there's a tendency for
them to give too much too
early and it can have a
detrimental effect on
their success of their long-term plan,
or maybe not having,
maybe the plan looks good,
but they haven't adequately
done the what ifs, you know,
what if this happens?
What if one spouse
predeceases the other one at an early age,
(35:41):
or there's a long-term care event,
or there's some,
some need that they didn't
project or ask what if this
happens in their financial
plan and they're giving out
money that they ended up
actually needing to
maintain their quality of life.
So.
yeah just throwing a little
sound effect there that's
(36:02):
how that's how I would feel
if I was someone I was
advising if they you know
and often these gifts are
you know they're just given
for all the right reasons
out of love and wanting to
see your money used and
appreciated while you're
alive but just be cautious
(36:22):
Yeah, we say this, and we've said it a lot,
I know,
but the reason we say this is
because we've seen it on both sides.
Because we've seen it a lot.
Yeah, where, I mean,
sometimes it's a great thing to do,
and there is a lot of merit
to the idea of saying,
I want to give this while
I'm alive to see them enjoy it.
And I want it while it'll
(36:42):
make a difference.
They're out of time.
It'll have impact all these good reasons.
Right.
Um, and, and that's valid, uh,
at the same time,
we've seen it before where, um,
people are so generous.
They're generous to a fault
of the point that they find themselves,
(37:02):
um,
unable to meet their own
financial needs later in
life and uh they can be
strained for their cash
flows or god forbid like
you're talking about if
there's even you know a
long-term care kind of a
need at home in an
institution whatever it is
that their choices become
more limited they just
(37:24):
don't have the resources
that they might have otherwise had
And, you know,
our objective as planners
for our clientele is we
want to make sure that
you're okay first and foremost.
And that, you know, yes,
we want there to be
abundance and money to go
to the next generation.
(37:46):
We had a conversation like
this just yesterday.
Russ and I were talking
about this notion about
with a client that,
Um, well,
first things first want to make
sure you're okay.
And they were like, yeah, you know,
we've done right by our
kids along the way.
They're all going to be fine
if there's money left over.
Great.
Let's make sure that we plan
(38:08):
for our needs and if
there's ample resources, well,
that'll be wonderful for them.
And we'll be less worried
about the tax planning for
them as we are about making
sure what's right for us.
And I think sometimes people
have a much more generous intention
(38:29):
But they don't always do
that for themselves.
That spirit of generosity
just overtakes their decision-making.
And like I said, for all the right reasons,
but just be cautious,
call your financial advisor, model it out,
and it'll either raise a
(38:50):
red flag that you might
want to reconsider or give
you full permission.
There's the word.
to not worry about it and
still be able to do it.
Well, um, that's, that's terrific.
Um, and as we, um, wrap up,
we'll just invite everyone.
If you have need for help in this regard,
(39:11):
a little bit of financial
planning can go a long way.
Um, it's, it's a tight, uh,
end of year with, uh, appointments,
but we'd be happy to try to
be a resource to you.
You can connect with us at, uh, uh,
five Oh eight, seven, seven, one, eight,
nine hundred.
Or as I mentioned, uh,
(39:31):
You can send us an email at
amr-info at wealthenhancement.com.
With that, guys,
thanks for another great show.
Until next time, everybody,
keep striving for something more.
Thank you for listening to
Something More with Chris Boyd.
Call us for help,
whether it's for financial
(39:52):
planning or portfolio management,
insurance concerns,
or those quality of life
issues that make the money
matters matter.
Whatever's on your mind,
visit us at
somethingmorewithchrisboyd.com
or call us toll free at eight, six, six,
seven, seven, one, eight, nine, zero one,
or send us your questions
to amr-info at wealthenhancement.com.
(40:15):
You're listening to
Something More with Chris
Boyd Financial Talk Show.
Wealth enhancement advisory
services and J. Christopher
Boyd provide investment
advice on an individual
basis to clients only.
Proper advice depends on a
complete analysis of all
facts and circumstances.
The information given on
this program is general
financial comments and
cannot be relied upon as
pertaining to your specific situation.
Wealth enhancement group
cannot guarantee that using
the information from this
show will generate profits
(40:36):
or ensure freedom from loss.
Listeners should consult
their own financial
advisors or conduct their
own due diligence before
making any financial decisions.
The following is paid programming.
Welcome to Something More with Chris Boyd.
Chris Boyd is a Certified
Financial Planner
Practitioner and Senior
Vice President and
Financial Advisor at Wealth
Enhancement Group,
one of the nation's largest
registered investment advisors.
We call it Something More
because we'd like to talk
not only about those
important dollar and cents issues,
but also the quality of
(00:23):
life issues that make the
money matters matter.
here he is your fulfillment
facilitator your partner in
prosperity advising clients
on cape cod and across the
country here's your host
jay christopher boyd
everybody to something more
I'm chris boyd I'm here
with jeff perry and russ
ball we're of the amr team
(00:44):
at wealth enhancement and
really glad to have you
with us for another uh
segment of our program our
show is all about uh personal finance and
those quality of life issues
as well so glad to have you
here hope everyone had a
great thanksgiving it's um
it's one of those things
that it's good to
(01:06):
temporarily every once in a
while to step back and
think about gratitude and
our blessings and all the
things that we are grateful
for sometimes those things are um
far beyond the material things.
But we're in that season of
materialism now as we're
(01:28):
moving on to a holiday season.
Well, that didn't take long, Chris.
Anyway,
did you want to comment before I
jump on to other things?
No, I'm just giving you a hard time.
Yes, yes.
It is good to be thankful
for many things and gorge
yourself on too much food.
Right.
Now the diet begins for about two,
(01:49):
three weeks and then not so
much because of all these activities.
This is like a free month.
You didn't know that?
Yeah, there's so much going on, right?
And this one's so compacted.
where Thanksgiving is late
this year and we'll be
flying through December
with all that goes on.
Now,
save your diet and good eating habits
(02:12):
for your New Year's
resolutions that you won't follow anyway.
Yeah, probably accurate.
Well,
I want to also just step back and
give a gratitude moment.
Thanks for stepping in for
me last week and you guys
with the shows you did.
um good stuff I I um have
(02:34):
started listening but
haven't finished listening
to um our podcast episodes
from last week I thought
they did really well and
russ did a great job
producing and adding some
color to the guests and if
they people haven't
listened to them they're
always available on our
your favorite podcast channel
and do check them out and
(02:56):
share and like and give us
a rating it really helps as
uh that people always point
out I have another side
note on that before I
forget because I meant mean
to do it and I forget um in
the notes of this show in
the last few shows we have
a link to a podcast survey
that we're doing good point
so if you're interested in
(03:16):
uh telling us how we're
doing or how good or bad
or what you'd like to hear more or less of,
please click the link and
provide your comments.
They're very helpful to us.
Yeah, I love that.
Good thought.
We want to know,
we want to produce a show
that you want to hear.
So we'd love to hear what your feedback is,
what kind of content is most enjoyed.
(03:39):
And of course,
if you always have a question,
you're always welcome to
send us a question as well
at amr-info-info at
wealthenhancement.com.
Well, let's jump right to it then.
As far as we look ahead,
(04:00):
it's that time of year.
It's Black Friday,
the time to go shopping.
I don't know, did you guys...
Always get up early and beat
the crowds on Friday
morning to start your
Christmas shopping off with a bang.
I feel like Black Friday has
really extended to there's
(04:22):
a whole almost month of deals.
I'm already looking at the
different deals.
So I feel like Friday is
going to come and go.
But then there's Cyber Monday.
So there's plenty of time to
do some... I agree, Russ.
A couple of days ago, our microwave died.
And so I was looking online
(04:44):
to buy another one.
And I get a Black Friday
deal on Tuesday or whatever it was.
I have the same story.
I was doing a little bit of...
early shopping and yeah, good deals,
you know, start, but you're right.
Started early.
So do you guys tend to do
your shopping online?
Do you tend to do it in person?
(05:05):
Do you, do you, are you, I mean,
I know Jeff's answer to this.
We'll ask Russ.
I was going to say,
are you really organized
and have a list and,
Jeff's probably got a list
down to the penny as to
what he's willing to budget for whatever.
Wow.
I didn't think you were going there.
Okay.
Am I wrong, though?
(05:25):
Come on.
I didn't say you were wrong.
I just said I didn't think
you were going there.
No, no.
But you're methodical.
You're very organized and well-considered.
That's a polite word for that.
Thank you.
You're very deliberate.
How about you, Russ?
Well, I can't say I'm quite like you, Jeff,
but I do have a loose idea of, you know,
(05:46):
a few different areas I
want to start looking at.
And I have a few items
listed down that I want to
see if there's any deals that pop up.
And I'll check websites
every day through Cyber Monday,
even after,
just to see if there's any
deals that I missed.
But so it's a little bit less meticulous,
but... Still sounds pretty prepared.
(06:07):
Yeah, I do prepare a little bit.
You won't be running out on...
Christmas Eve, it sounds like, huh?
No, no, no.
I do not like to do that.
If I could help it.
one big difference with us
since we've moved to
florida um but we still go
to massachusetts for and
rhode island for christmas
is we shop early because we
(06:27):
ship everything direct to
lisa's mom's house and so
it's so it's all she's our
she's gladfully uh our
mailbox there and all for
you that's right and
then when we arrive a few
days before Christmas, Lisa,
my wife goes starts and
(06:47):
starts wrapping and all that.
So we kind of have to start
early and we have to shop.
We don't have to,
but this is what we choose
to shop online and to ship
right to Freetown, Massachusetts.
There you go.
There you go.
That's good.
Good planning.
That's makes sense.
That's all the more reason
you have to be prepared.
Um,
(07:08):
Just as an aside, you mentioned Florida.
Last week, I was in Florida for the summit,
which was the Wealth
Enhancement Group Summit,
where a number of financial
advisors gathered.
And it was great, great contents,
a lot of opportunity to talk about
Wealth Enhancement Group as
a business and some of the
(07:28):
goals the business has and
our our mission and some of
the focus on one of the
things I always we've had
Jeff Deco on when we first
joined Wealth Enhancement Group.
And one of the things I
really enjoy about his
comments as CEO is he always seems to put
(07:50):
it into great context about
the it's all about the
client and what we're doing
for our clients and the
importance of um financial
planning and the lives we
touch and so I um I liked
that there was also a lot
of chance to interact with
other advisors see what
they're doing well what
their um best practices are
(08:10):
and uh the content of the
the presentations
throughout this uh this conference was um
really focused on best
practices of various types.
So the round table we talk
about with Wealth Enhancement Group,
the opportunity to interact
(08:30):
and glean information from
other experts in their area
of expertise was on full
display at the Wealth
Enhancement Group Summit.
But while I was in Florida, Jeff,
I noticed that
Boy, it was really different.
There were like all kinds of
(08:51):
the Christmas holiday
season was out in full display.
And it just seemed to be earlier here.
Our neighborhood's fully decorated and,
you know,
the clubhouse for the community
and the gates and everything.
They've been on for a little while.
So they are they do seem to
go a little earlier here.
(09:11):
Yeah, the holiday spirit, if you will,
was very present and noticeable.
And the percentage of
participation on homes is
much higher than where we
lived in Massachusetts.
Part could be that you don't stand out and
freezing cold rain to put
them up or down I don't
know yeah yeah good point
(09:33):
easier uh on yeah in terms
of the temperature the
climate to deal with that
but anyway um yeah so uh
wealth enhancement group uh
great summit and um great
uh content that came out of that I'm sure
it's going to afford us the
opportunity to talk to some
of those other advisors.
(09:53):
I will say I did get the
opportunity to go jet skiing.
Oh, you did?
I knew that that was planned.
That was new to me.
Survived, yeah.
Yeah, those things go fast.
They do.
That's why they're fun.
It was fun.
I was a little nervous at first, but, man,
that was good.
but anyway, uh, interesting when it was,
(10:15):
uh, some choppy water,
you start going to the airport.
Yeah.
Just a little bit.
Just a little bit.
Uh, fortunately it wasn't too choppy, but,
uh, yeah, had a little bit of that.
Um,
you see any dolphins or anything in the
water?
You know what?
I totally missed it.
There was behind us as we were leaving the,
um, the little Harbor area to go out into,
(10:35):
you know, a bigger Bay or whatever.
Um, there was, uh,
was a pod of of dolphins
that we I didn't even
notice they're like
following the the wakes
yeah yeah so unfortunately
uh I missed it but uh but
others others told me oh
yeah there's a whole group
(10:55):
of them so anyway um so uh
let's talk about uh small
business saturday a little
bit and the history of
these kinds of uh things
you know we think about
online shopping and I think
we've all gotten accustomed
to the convenience of just
(11:18):
right in the palm of your
hand doing some of our
shopping that way and there
is a real value to that
ease and convenience that, you know, it's,
it's appealing at the same time.
You find there are fewer and
fewer opportunities to
actually go into stores
sometimes because there aren't as many,
(11:39):
uh, you know,
local shops and stores.
And whether it's big
business or small business,
you find that the online
activity changes the way we
shop and the ability we have.
I mean, this time of year,
I used to love Toys R Us.
What's that, right?
(12:02):
So you got to think in terms
of those small businesses
that are local businesses and
being sure to patronize them as well.
Absolutely.
Keep,
keep that those local businesses that
depend on our, our shopping,
our revenues to keep them afloat.
(12:22):
This is an important time of
year for a lot of small businesses.
It is, you know,
there's also been a trend
of a lot of these small
businesses creating an online pleasant.
So if you look at like
Shopify and some of the,
companies that service small
businesses selling their
products they're doing very
well so you know people
(12:44):
adapt to the customers
wants and needs so that's
another way you can support
a mom-and-pop shop or small
businesses to shop online
if you're only shopping
online which a lot of
people do but you can also
search out for small business
opportunities while searching online.
Meaning buy your products
from the local place online.
(13:05):
Right.
Yeah, that's a good point.
I think the big part of this,
when we think about this time of year,
we want to think about
preparing and planning.
And Jeff,
I was giving you a hard time earlier.
But as a practical reality,
(13:27):
This is one of those seasons
where people get into a lot
of financial trouble that
comes back to haunt them at
the turn of the year when
those bills start coming in.
And everyone has different
resources and abilities and whatnot,
but no matter what your wealth or income,
(13:52):
It's probably a good idea to
step back and do some
deliberate consideration
about what do we want to do, how much,
how many people,
and then magnify what that adds up to.
When you have kids, naturally,
you want to give them everything.
But at the same time,
(14:13):
it can be really costly and burdensome,
and you have to be sometimes intentional.
Of course,
if you rack that up on a credit
card and don't have the resources,
to pay for that on the other end,
that's going to cost a lot of money.
It's not just the cost of the purchase,
but then, you know,
fifteen percent interest or, you know,
(14:33):
twenty percent or whatever
the credit card interest rates can be,
which can be pretty
substantial these days.
So, you know, you really need to be
deliberate in the process.
And in some cases,
people think about gifting
and very generous gifts to their children,
(14:57):
their adult children, whatever it may be.
This is another thing we
sometimes think in terms of,
let's do a little bit of
financial planning.
Are we going to do this as a
one-time thing?
Is this going to be an annual thing?
How much is really affordable?
This can be, again, one of those times,
Jeff, like you talk about,
(15:18):
it can give us permission
or it can be in a position
where we can say, oh, wait,
that might be too much.
So we want to take a moment and...
see how it plays out.
Set expectations that are realistic.
Is this something we're
going to do as a one-off?
Is this something that
people are going to become
accustomed to and grow dependent on?
(15:42):
Can we afford that?
I don't know.
I threw a lot out there.
Take it away.
Let's start with breaking news.
Christmas is December twenty-fifth.
Ideally, we'd love it when
clients or listeners are
budgeting for christmas
right or or gifting
(16:02):
throughout the year we'd
love you to start the year
every year with a projected
cash flow and you the
things that you can predict
and have an emergency fund
for those things that you
can't predict these are all
part of a you know a
comprehensive personal
financial plan that we want
you to have so hopefully
you have a you have a
budget for christmas you
have a budget for the
holidays we'll get into
(16:24):
gifting family gifting in a second
But even if you have a budget,
and especially if you don't,
there's a lot of pressure
on you during this time of year to,
as you said,
to meet those desires of the
children who see something
and they want something.
Or maybe you have a spouse
and you want to do something special.
(16:45):
Or maybe you have a new
relationship and you didn't
realize that when you did your budget.
And all these things.
But
your points are very well
taken that if you overspend
and you don't have the
ability to pay that credit
card bill comes January,
it's really going to,
not only affect your debt load,
(17:06):
but it's gonna affect your
ability to meet your budget,
because now you have credit
card payments and interest
payments into the future.
So, you know, pause for a few minutes,
don't act emotional when
you're out shopping, try to have a budget,
even if you don't have an overall budget,
try to make a budget for this Christmas,
something that makes sense.
And think about alternative
(17:26):
gifts that don't cost two hundred dollars,
right?
A thoughtful gift that's not
always the expensive gift kind of thing.
You know, like parents,
if you're giving to parents
or grandparents or family members,
they would love to have a
new picture of you and your family,
you know, in a nice little frame, a few,
ten bucks for a frame, right?
(17:47):
And that would mean probably
more to them than going out
and spending a couple
hundred dollars on some
gift that they may or may not want,
right?
That's a good point.
Yeah.
So you don't always need to
spend money to make a big
impact during the holidays
and give something meaningful.
If you have a skill or craft
or ability to make something,
(18:08):
those gifts are really meaningful.
So love that.
Right.
So you don't just have that
goes into it is like, is, is,
is more than the value of
maybe what it costs.
I think that it is.
And I, you know,
you see those gifts when they're opened,
And it just is that much
more meaningful that you
thought the time to do
(18:28):
something personal and not
just gift cards are great.
And sometimes gift cards are
the perfect thing to give somebody,
but you're going to spend
more on a gift card
probably than that
photograph of your family.
Right.
And I'm not sure it's going
to have the same meaning
that you're ultimately
trying to get of saying
something special during the holidays.
Well,
the thing about people who are
(18:49):
thoughtful is, um,
they give thought it's, you know,
it's time can it's,
it's in forward thinking.
It's a give me, it's not just a, well,
I got to run out and
fulfill an obligation.
I go get something.
It's deliberate.
It's thoughtful.
It's what's a good fit for that person.
My wife is so much better
(19:09):
than I am at this, but you know,
she's creative and thoughtful.
And I, you know,
how do you come up with that?
How do you,
but it's partly paying attention,
partly listening.
I think she's, you know,
pays attention to what's
going on and in a way that then says, Oh,
you know, I think they'd enjoy, you know,
that kind of thing.
Another example that I've
seen personally in my family, if,
(19:31):
if you have a specific interest,
if your loved one has,
or a friend has a specific
interest and you buy them a
book about that subject,
you know, a real book, a hardcover.
Yeah, a real book.
Yeah.
Old fashioned.
Yeah.
And you can go to your local
bookstore to do that as well.
And that's very helpful to
find help you find
(19:51):
something that meets the subject.
But it goes along with what
you're saying about your
wife's how she approaches it.
If if you have a World War
Two buff or a Civil War
buff or a cooking person, you know,
you can just pick a special
book and write a nice
inscription inside of it and
What a thoughtful gift for
ten or twenty dollars.
It's a great idea, Jeff.
(20:12):
Yeah.
So I know this isn't the Christmas gift.
You know what I mean?
Maybe that's an episode we
should be coming up with.
Gift ideas.
How do you come up with good gift ideas?
anyway but it's just pausing
thinking about it and
thinking about the options
and you know far beyond our
expertise which is limited
there's so many resources
(20:34):
out there if you were to
google um you know
inexpensive personal gift
suggestions for the
holidays you'd come up with
more than we're going to
come up with yeah right
yeah yeah well um so you
know when we think about
this time of year we've got
black friday today
And Small Business Saturday.
(20:54):
And then is there anything
on Sunday or is it just go
to Cyber Monday?
No,
I think they're still hoping to go to
church on Sunday and watch football.
And then we get to Giving Tuesday.
Why don't we talk a little
bit about that as well?
Because, you know,
this is also a time of year
(21:15):
when a lot of charitable organizations
organizations really find
they have a surge in their
revenue that defines their
next year's budget.
And most of, you know,
a lot of people think about
charitable giving, you know,
historically it's because they, you know,
(21:36):
we'd be thinking about
deductions and things like that.
But as we get closer to year end,
we tend to be like, oh, well,
there's a few things I
wanted to get in before the year's over.
And sometimes I was
motivated by taxation these days,
probably less so because, you know,
keep in mind that with the
standard deduction being as high as it is,
there's less of a
(21:59):
likelihood that you're
going to have itemized deductions now.
This is something we've
talked about in the past, Jeff,
the idea of bundling.
And maybe you want to just
take a minute to explain
what that's all about,
that idea of why people
might want to consider doing that.
I think it's like almost
ninety percent of the
people who file their
(22:20):
income taxes are now taking
the standard deduction.
It's since the standard
deduction amount went up
quite a bit and they
limited the caps on certain
other types of deductions like SALT,
so state and local income
taxes taxing SALT as much.
But yeah, who knows what's coming?
But so less people are
(22:40):
itemizing thus charitable
donations at night.
deductible but sometimes you
have the ability to if you
do something regularly or
even a one-time gift you
can bundle all that
together and give it all at
once and over the say
you're giving gifts over
the next three years to
(23:01):
this institution well if
you bundle those three into
one year you'll probably
start to think about all
right am I going to exceed
my standard deduction and
thus be able to deduct from
that approach of doing an
itemized deduction as
opposed to the standard deduction.
And it might be in a year
that you had some large
(23:22):
number of medical bills,
which normally you wouldn't deduct,
or maybe it was a year, you know,
that a bit, a business situation,
an off year from income
maybe or something.
So you can be,
you can be a bit tactical
with your deductions if you do plan them.
So these are all things to
give thought to when it comes to,
(23:43):
you know, planning.
But, you know, similarly,
you can think about other
types of gift scenarios
when you're thinking about
charitable giving.
Donor-advised funds are
something we talk about
this time of year.
Candidly,
we don't have a lot of clients
who have made use of donor-advised funds,
but I love donor-advised funds as a tool.
(24:08):
These are essentially an
opportunity where you want
to plan for some tax benefit.
You're going to make that
charitable gift into a fund.
Oftentimes,
it comes about as a consequence
though of someone's had a loss or
There's a reason you're
inspired to kind of raise
funds for a purpose.
(24:28):
And it could be more than
one purpose or more than one donation.
Absolutely.
Right.
And so the idea that you're
going to set money aside,
get the charitable treatment of it,
get a deduction in the year
you're giving it.
And whether it's cash,
whether it's securities
that have appreciated, et cetera,
(24:50):
there's a variety of possibilities,
but you might put that
money into this donor advised fund.
And then later on, whether it's next year,
whether it's every year,
whether it's after several years of it,
invested in accumulating and
growing in a tax sheltered environment,
which is this tax,
this nonprofit entity that
(25:13):
is an owner advised fund
that's at a foundation of some type.
then you can dole out those
funds as desired to
nonprofit organizations.
As you said, Jeff,
doesn't have to be one organization,
could be many,
can be something that changes over time.
(25:34):
I love it when families gather.
They've set up this kind of
a fund and said, all right,
now this year we're going
to make a distribution.
What should we do?
And have some family
consideration of what do we care about?
What's important to us?
Maybe it's different things
to different people and you
take turns on who gets to
decide or whatever it is.
(25:55):
But there can be some
collaborative effort.
deliberation and the idea I
think in that instance that
I love so much about it is
it's setting values in
place and saying we value
charitable giving to the
extent that we've created this fund.
And as a family,
we're going to continue
(26:17):
this practice now and into the future.
And, you know, help us.
And, you know,
I think as a parent that can
instill a certain clarity
of values that not only you
might talk about,
but now it's in behavior.
Yeah, I love that idea.
And including the children of any age,
you know,
as long as I have viewed this
(26:38):
like a board meeting.
Yeah.
A family.
And you're still the guy who
wrote the guy or gal who wrote the check,
still the chairman of the board.
Right.
But you might have no authority, huh?
Right.
Yeah, you might.
That's funny.
I think it's part of that
notion of you want engagement.
And if, you know,
if this is the ultimately
(26:59):
you're trying to say, what do we value?
What's our, you know, and, you know,
let's face it.
There aren't families don't
always have uniformity in
their views on a variety of things.
So how you resolve that is up to you,
whether it's, well,
it's your turn or let's try
to come something we all agree on.
You know,
(27:19):
there's there's different ways to
approach it.
Right.
But ultimately,
I think it's setting the
stage for the idea that
giving back to our
community in one form or
another is a value.
And we've we've set up this
fund with that in mind and
let's all do it together.
(27:39):
You know, I really love that.
So that's one possibility
this time of year.
As the end of the year approaches,
people who have required
minimum distributions from
their IRA accounts or if
(27:59):
they also have a charitable intent,
right?
Yeah.
Qualified charitable
distributions are really catching on.
as a tool that people who are,
as it turns out,
it's even before you have
distribution requirements now.
So it used to be seven and a
(28:19):
half was when those RMDs started.
well you can still use this
technique of taking ira
money that's pre-tax money
and giving it to a
charitable intent your
church your charity your
non-profit of one type or
another and make a donation
(28:40):
from your ira directly it
comes out it's no tax to
you it goes to the
non-profit they don't pay a
tax everybody benefits now
when you're seventy three and older
it will count toward your
required distribution.
So if you have a five
thousand dollar distribution,
a fifty thousand dollar distribution,
(29:01):
whatever that number is,
if you want to take a
thousand dollars just or, you know,
ten thousand dollars,
whatever the number is,
you could take a chunk of that.
And instead of taking it out
to have to spend it or pay tax on it,
and then have to then choose
to give it to something.
So you don't have that income tax event.
(29:22):
You can do what's called
qualified charitable distribution.
There's a form with your IRA
custodian and they will
send the funds directly to the nonprofit,
avoiding the income tax,
but counting toward your
five or fifty or whatever
your number is for a
distribution requirement.
And it will reduce the
amount you have to do.
(29:42):
Now,
there is a cap on how much you can do
in a given year for a
qualified charitable distribution.
QCD is how, you know, it's abbreviated.
But most people won't have
to worry about that cap.
It's a hundred thousand
dollars in a given year, you know.
God bless.
If you can do that, that's awesome.
(30:03):
But for most people,
it's a way to get money to
a cause they care about in
a wonderfully tax-efficient
way without having to incur
income tax themselves and
perhaps reduce what they
have to take out from their
distributions in a given year.
It's generally best to try
to think about these
(30:23):
qualified charitable
distributions early in the
year so that you know when
it comes to your own
required distributions.
You don't have as much that
you have to take out.
So try to do that in the
first half of the year if you can.
But there's still time,
but you're running out of time.
You know, it's...
(30:44):
it's a it's a race now to
the finish as we run
through the rest of the
year and brokerage firms
and the like custodians
will be inundated with
distribution requests at
this time of year and you
know hustle up it's time so
yeah after a certain date
which isn't far away from
(31:05):
now they won't guarantee
that they'll be able to do
it exactly and we you don't
want to be in that position
When it comes to charitable giving,
just going through a couple
of other things, Jeff, you know,
sometimes people think
about monthly gifts, you know,
just a monthly deposit,
monthly withdrawal, you know,
going to their charitable intentions.
(31:26):
Yeah.
Yeah, it gives them predictability.
It's not the most tax
desirable way to do things
might be better to gift
through a qualified
charitable distribution or
gift of appreciated assets, you know,
a mutual fund or a stock or
something that's gone up in
value significantly.
(31:47):
Um,
these are things that can be preferable
from a tax planning point of view, but,
um, any of these are appealing.
Um,
another thing that seems to be kind of
popular that is, um,
generally with a specific, um,
nonprofit are, uh,
charitable gift annuities.
(32:07):
And, uh, maybe we can talk about,
it's essentially a, uh, a,
a low budget equivalent to a, to a, um,
a charitable remainder trust,
or sometimes called a
capital gains avoidance trust.
So the idea of these kinds
(32:28):
of entities is we can take
an appreciated asset,
put it into this kind of
either a gift annuity or a
trust like this,
and have it eventually go
to the charitable intention
But in the meantime,
I can get an income for
life or me and my wife or
me and my kid or whatever it might be.
(32:50):
You can arrange for this
cash flow to be essentially
annuitized over your lifetime.
And then what the
remainderment is goes to
the charitable intention.
It's not a bad way to go.
It is a gift.
Yeah, it's true.
(33:11):
But at the same time, in some cases,
it's also cash flow.
There are other types that
are much less frequently
used where people can use
what's called a charitable lead trust.
Essentially,
they're going to take a chunk
of that money,
whether it's an appreciated
asset or whatever it is,
and put it into that trust.
(33:32):
And instead of them
receiving cash flow and the
charity getting the money at the end,
it's kind of the opposite.
The charity gets income from
it over their lifetime,
but the remainder goes on to their heirs.
So in any case,
all kinds of creative ways
you can do some things.
(33:55):
Most people, it's just this time of year,
I got a few checks I want to write.
But you know what?
It's a time to step back.
Again, let's be deliberate.
Jeff, I'm giving you a hard time earlier,
but this is the reality.
This is something that a
little bit of forethought,
you can really have impact
with your charitable giving.
And be intentional about
where do you want it to go, how much,
(34:16):
how does it affect your plan,
and are there great ways
that you can not only do good,
but you can get some benefit out of this,
whether it's tax planning or whatever.
There's a lot of
opportunities that can be a
lot of fun as a planner to
be thinking through how can
we plan for this in a way
(34:36):
that maximizes the benefits
of what you might want to do anyway.
That's right.
That's right.
But the key part of all that
is to make sure that it's
part of your financial plan.
I think sometimes when
people retire and they get
into their routine and they're doing fine,
the cash flows are fine,
and they start thinking
about their legacy and gifting.
(34:58):
And maybe it's really common
that parents or
grandparents want to give
gifts of cash while they're alive.
And Christmas is a perfect
time to write those checks.
hopefully you're working with a fiduciary,
a financial planner,
someone that can model that
out because there is a
tendency of many generous people,
(35:21):
God bless them,
but there's a tendency for
them to give too much too
early and it can have a
detrimental effect on
their success of their long-term plan,
or maybe not having,
maybe the plan looks good,
but they haven't adequately
done the what ifs, you know,
what if this happens?
What if one spouse
predeceases the other one at an early age,
(35:41):
or there's a long-term care event,
or there's some,
some need that they didn't
project or ask what if this
happens in their financial
plan and they're giving out
money that they ended up
actually needing to
maintain their quality of life.
So.
yeah just throwing a little
sound effect there that's
(36:02):
how that's how I would feel
if I was someone I was
advising if they you know
and often these gifts are
you know they're just given
for all the right reasons
out of love and wanting to
see your money used and
appreciated while you're
alive but just be cautious
(36:22):
Yeah, we say this, and we've said it a lot,
I know,
but the reason we say this is
because we've seen it on both sides.
Because we've seen it a lot.
Yeah, where, I mean,
sometimes it's a great thing to do,
and there is a lot of merit
to the idea of saying,
I want to give this while
I'm alive to see them enjoy it.
And I want it while it'll
(36:42):
make a difference.
They're out of time.
It'll have impact all these good reasons.
Right.
Um, and, and that's valid, uh,
at the same time,
we've seen it before where, um,
people are so generous.
They're generous to a fault
of the point that they find themselves,
(37:02):
um,
unable to meet their own
financial needs later in
life and uh they can be
strained for their cash
flows or god forbid like
you're talking about if
there's even you know a
long-term care kind of a
need at home in an
institution whatever it is
that their choices become
more limited they just
(37:24):
don't have the resources
that they might have otherwise had
And, you know,
our objective as planners
for our clientele is we
want to make sure that
you're okay first and foremost.
And that, you know, yes,
we want there to be
abundance and money to go
to the next generation.
(37:46):
We had a conversation like
this just yesterday.
Russ and I were talking
about this notion about
with a client that,
Um, well,
first things first want to make
sure you're okay.
And they were like, yeah, you know,
we've done right by our
kids along the way.
They're all going to be fine
if there's money left over.
Great.
Let's make sure that we plan
(38:08):
for our needs and if
there's ample resources, well,
that'll be wonderful for them.
And we'll be less worried
about the tax planning for
them as we are about making
sure what's right for us.
And I think sometimes people
have a much more generous intention
(38:29):
But they don't always do
that for themselves.
That spirit of generosity
just overtakes their decision-making.
And like I said, for all the right reasons,
but just be cautious,
call your financial advisor, model it out,
and it'll either raise a
(38:50):
red flag that you might
want to reconsider or give
you full permission.
There's the word.
to not worry about it and
still be able to do it.
Well, um, that's, that's terrific.
Um, and as we, um, wrap up,
we'll just invite everyone.
If you have need for help in this regard,
(39:11):
a little bit of financial
planning can go a long way.
Um, it's, it's a tight, uh,
end of year with, uh, appointments,
but we'd be happy to try to
be a resource to you.
You can connect with us at, uh, uh,
five Oh eight, seven, seven, one, eight,
nine hundred.
Or as I mentioned, uh,
(39:31):
You can send us an email at
amr-info at wealthenhancement.com.
With that, guys,
thanks for another great show.
Until next time, everybody,
keep striving for something more.
Thank you for listening to
Something More with Chris Boyd.
Call us for help,
whether it's for financial
(39:52):
planning or portfolio management,
insurance concerns,
or those quality of life
issues that make the money
matters matter.
Whatever's on your mind,
visit us at
somethingmorewithchrisboyd.com
or call us toll free at eight, six, six,
seven, seven, one, eight, nine, zero one,
or send us your questions
to amr-info at wealthenhancement.com.
(40:15):
You're listening to
Something More with Chris
Boyd Financial Talk Show.
Wealth enhancement advisory
services and J. Christopher
Boyd provide investment
advice on an individual
basis to clients only.
Proper advice depends on a
complete analysis of all
facts and circumstances.
The information given on
this program is general
financial comments and
cannot be relied upon as
pertaining to your specific situation.
Wealth enhancement group
cannot guarantee that using
the information from this
show will generate profits
(40:36):
or ensure freedom from loss.
Listeners should consult
their own financial
advisors or conduct their
own due diligence before
making any financial decisions.
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