Newsletters - Past Issues

Down the rat hole Month services are covered Oct 14 2023

 

Yumm- Wires for lunch

 

 

 

 

We often go into the weeds on economic issues here in Money Matters. Today, instead of going into the weeds however, we'll go down the rat hole.

 

Literally.

 

One wouldn't think that rats have anything to do with economics, but these furry little bastards just had a sizeable economic effect on my budget when they chewed away at not one, not two, but three of my cars electrical systems.

 

I had no idea rats held an affinity for wiring, but they do, and it cost me over two grand in total to fix all three cars.

 

All three cars were covered with one of those car covers at one time or another and that was the only similarity between them. My daughter was away at college so I covered her Mazda for a few months. The two other cars I cover to preserve the paint since they don't get driven more than once a week or so.

 

I do have a monthly pest service but it wasn't until the cars warning lights came on and we got the cars up on a rack that we discovered why the various electrical systems went out. The rodents had munched through various wires and harnesses on all three cars.

 

It was then I called the pest company and they informed me that covered cars can become homes to rats seeking shelter. Rats need to sharpen their teeth and they did so on my vehicles costing me a S**T load of money.

That got me thinking about my monthly services in general and the ones I have, which are few. But it can be an economically viable in certain cases to have a monthly service versus calling a company every time you have problem.


The three monthly services I have are pest control, a home warranty and a pool service. I have good reasons for having all three.

I once had rats in a house in Marin County. And you never just have one rat. They infested the walls before I even knew what happened. I tried trapping them myself, and that turned out to be a nightmare. We tried poison, and the rats died inside the walls. What a cluster that was.

If you have a bad pest problem, or a rat or mouse shows up, you have to address it immediately. If you don't have a monthly service, you have to schedule a one-time service call. They’ll likely charge you up a “visit” charge just to come out along with the actual service charge. If they have to come back out, bang, another fee. It’s pretty much the same with a lot of service contractors.

In contrast, I pay about the pest guys $43 a month for whatever I need, whenever I need it. I call them any time and they come out the next day and they take care of everything, no questions asked, and no bill. They even have non-toxic solutions. So I'm good with that.

 

On the pool service, I guess I could do that myself, but I had small children in the house, and I did not want the chemicals around. With all the businesses I have, I am very busy. I just don't have time to balance the pH and various chemicals and I suck at it anyway.

I am told that if you get the wrong PH or a chemical imbalance, you can possibly stain the bottom and sides of the pool as well as damage the equipment. So the monthly service fee here also made sense for our family.

 

Finally, I have a home warranty service. I pay about $150 a month now, up from about $60 a month when I started 15 years back. There is a $100 charge every time you call but over the years I have had almost every appliance replaced as well a couple of well pumps, a heater and pool pump. There is no doubt I have saved tons of money and stress using this service.

 

I will continue to have all of these contracts as they make economic sense because they have saved me time, money and stress over the decade and a half I have used them.

 

Whether you decide any monthly services for your home maintenance requires a bit of research and some simple math. Taking a few minutes to see what contract services are available on a monthly basis versus calling someone out every time you have a problem may be a worthwhile endeavor.

“Watching the markets so you don’t have to”    

(end)    

(As mentioned please use the below disclaimer exactly) THANKS   (Regulations)    

This article expresses the opinion of Marc Cuniberti and is not meant as investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, nor represents the opinion of any bank, investment firm or RIA, nor this media outlet, its staff, members or underwriters. Mr. Cuniberti holds a B.A. in Economics with honors, 1979, and California Insurance License #0L34249 His insurance agency is BAP INC. insurance services.  Email: news@moneymanagementradio.com

 

Have questions on the markets ?
Call me (530) 559 1214


 

 


 

Update Oct 8 2023

 

 

Alert- with the upheaval and violence in Israel, prepare for market upset. Does your advisor have an exit point. In 50 years of doing this I know of none. Hold for the long term? Not now kids- earn 5.3% on certain Treasury fund, even MONEY MARKET FUNDS!  
Why risk a gain of 5% in the market if you could lose 20% or more!  During COVID MARCH 2020, the Dow dropped 38% in 15 trading days. A one million dollar account would mean a loss of $25,000.00 A DAY!

What would/did your advisor say to calm your panic?

Lucky for you the market came back.

I have a plan for the market upset I think is COMING as sure as darkness follows the daylight.

Hey, do you think they put me on 67 radio stations or in a dozen major news outlets for being wrong?

Call me- accepting new clients due to a bigger office staff. 
Earn 6.45% FIXED and guaranteed for FIVE YEARS.  Do you really think the FEDS can keep rates this HIGH for THAT LONG?

Dont kid yourself- They have not been able to do that for over 50 years!

Freeze todays high rates.

 Or earn over double digits every year for the rest of your life? Is that possible? Guaranteed with ALSO participation in the stock market in the UPWARD direction only?

Call me and find out!

(530) 559-1214

Disclaimer: This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. May include forward looking statements. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. No one can predict market movements at any time. Investing involves risk. You can lose money, including total loss of principal. Consult your tax advisor for all income tax related questions. Stop-loss strategies utilize stop orders which turn into market orders, so they may not limit losses. Dividends are not guaranteed and may be cut or eliminated at any time and may not prevent losses. Annuities are not FDIC insured and are insured and guaranteed by the underlying insurance company only. Early withdrawal penalties may apply. Management fees are not allowed once funds are moved to an annuity. Annuities may or may not be suitable for all investors. Indexed funds attempt to track the underlying index but are only a proxy for that index and may or may not track the index exactly. 

Special note: For those wishing principal guarantees and possible market upside participation, you may consider a fixed indexed annuity. Purchased annuities have no management fees and are 100% principal protected. These I have found are desired by those that cannot tolerate any losses whatsoever, or are extremely sensitive to any kind of loss. They also will participate (rise in value) if the market (S&P 500) rises between the applicable time periods as set forth in the contract, so they have a minimum guaranteed interest of 7.2% over the life of contract OR you get a portion of the increase in the market. The greater amount of the two is what they guarantee and always 100%


 

Money News update September 28, 2023

 

 

Are we in for more pain?

Read on and I agree

Marc Cuniberti

"Watching the markets so you don't have to"

Expect a personal market update soon!

 

 

A recession is all but inevitable for the U.S. and investors should be playing defense in that kind of environment, according to the head of the TCW Group.

“We are going to have a recession, because that’s the way the world works,” Katie Koch, CEO of the firm with $210 billion under management, said Thursday at CNBC’s “Delivering Alpha” conference. “We haven’t had a real one for over a decade and a half.”

 

While Wall Street has been bracing for a contraction for much of the past two years, the U.S. economy has stayed afloat due largely to a resilient consumer flush with cash and a labor market that has remained powerful.

However, Koch said the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes targeted at slowing the economy and bringing down inflation will start to bite. Higher rates have long been thought to work with lag effects, the timing of which is uncertain and dependent on a variety of factors.

“I do think it pays to be patient and wait to see higher rates work their way through the system,” Koch said. “We haven’t seen the pain of higher rates, but it’s coming.”

From an investment standpoint, Koch recommends a mostly conservative array of choices that includes cash. She also spoke favorably of agency debt, mortgage-backed securities and Treasurys, as well as companies that have longer-duration capital.

But Koch worries about consumers as well as companies that have used the “extend and pretend strategy” to put off paying down loans.

 

“That is the bedrock of the U.S. economy, obviously the consumer and small and medium companies, and I think they are going to struggle to finance themselves in this environment and that further leads us to a relatively bearish outlook,” she said.

 

 

UPDATED THU, SEP 28 202311:35 AM EDT 

YAHOO FINANCE  JEFF COX


 

Is your portofolio overloaded with risk? update 9 5 2023



Worried you have too much risk in the stock market?

 

 

Although I have been in the markets for close to half a century, my wife on occasion worries about the inherent risk when it comes to owning stocks. To appease the concern, I built a reduced risk portfolio using what I have learned over the years.

Starting with plain old cash, I hold at least 6-9 months of our “burn rate” in savings and checking accounts which secures financing our daily life should something happen threatening our liquidity.

 

Next comes a basket of CDs. I ladder maturity dates which means buying 3, 6, 9 &12 month issues and going out to about 3 years. I don’t go out further than that as I just don’t know what will happen in the grand scheme of things years out.

 

Treasury bills can have similar characteristics to Cds, being issued by the good faith and credit of the US government. Holding both CDs and treasuries just seems a bit more diversified then all CDs. Keep in mind, selling prior to the maturity date could result in a partial loss of principal. I won’t go into details here, just know if you buy a two year CD, for example, and sell it early, you could take a haircut on the principal.

 

Next comes a smattering of corporate bonds of solid companies. I prefer large, well-known companies. Corporate bonds are debt that pay an interest rate, and generally regarded as less volatile compared to holding a stock. Here once again, I choose the shorter duration‘s that are similar to the durations listed above in my CD portfolio. I’ll also then add tax free municipal bonds, which can be free from federal and state taxes if the correct type of bonds are chosen. Just make sure you have a crystal clear understanding of each holding’s tax implications.

 

Next are two types of annuities. The first is a “Fixed Indexed” annuity. This type of annuity may offer a partial participation in stock market increases, but protects you against down market periods. Participation rates, fees, early withdrawal penalties, and terms and conditions vary with each annuity so make sure you understand all the mechanics in any annuity you are considering. Keep in mind that annuities are not US government guaranteed but instead are guaranteed by the underlying insurance company issuing them.

 

I then add what I call an “Income” annuity. This annuity offers you a certain percentage rate, depending on what age you decide to turn on the income period. In general, the longer you wait to turn on the income, the higher the percentage will be on the payments. The payments are for life fixed at that percentage rate. Holding both a growth and income annuity, since they operate differently, can be another step in my target of a wide diversification strategy with downside protection attributes.

 

Next on my list would be adding some real estate investment trusts, known as REITS. I use the publicly traded REITS which are listed in the common stock journals. REIT payments may be higher than some dividend paying stocks which why I consider them. Keep in mind that REITS can go up and down in price like a stock and payments are not guaranteed. I look for the large REITS with good analyst reviews and strong financials. Because REITS make money from the rents received from properties they own, they may not be as susceptible to stock market movements as other securities may be.

 

Next, I’ll look at called “Aristocrat “dividend paying stocks. Dividends are periodic payments to holders of the stock. Aristocrat stocks are companies that have increased their dividend payments to investors every year for at least 25 years, and some of them have track records of 30, 40, or 50 years or more of annually increasing payments. Think of a dividend payment as a thank you from the company for owning their stock. Know that dividends can be cut, eliminated or increased by the Board of Directors at any time. Although Aristocrat stocks have impressive track records, there are many great companies that also pay dividends, but have not made it onto the aristocrat list. As a general rule, the dividends from aristocrat stocks may be less than those that are not aristocratic stocks, as you may be paying for the aristocrat track record of annually increased payments.

 

Finally, not wanting to be completely out of the more volatile part of the stock market, I tend to add a few growth stocks of solid companies that I think may have a good chance of having their stock prices rise significantly over time. There is always risk, but utilizing the above strategy may reduce risk over an all stock portfolio.

 

In conclusion, since today’s market, in my opinion, seems to be more susceptible to a volatility compared to what I have seen in previous decades, I tend to lean more into a portfolio of this type when it comes to my personal holdings.

  “Watching the markets so you don’t have to”   

(end)   

(As mentioned please use the below disclaimer exactly) THANKS   (Regulations)   

This article expresses the opinion of Marc Cuniberti and is not meant as investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, nor represents the opinion of any bank, investment firm or RIA, nor this media outlet, its staff, members or underwriters. Mr. Cuniberti holds a B.A. in Economics with honors, 1979, and California Insurance License #0L34249. His insurance agency is BAP INC. that can be contacted at (530)559-1214. Email: news@moneymanagementradio.com   

 


 

Fire Insurance and Income for Life Update Aug. 17 2023

 
Medicare
Fire Insurance Solutions

 
more...