Inflation Isn’t Over: Why It Still Hurts Your Retirement Plan

TPIR Ep 115 Full Show.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

TPIR Ep 115 Full Show.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker 1:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment, and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Speaker 2:
Welcome to Take Pride in Retirement, the podcast dedicated to helping members of the Lgbtq+ community protect and grow their hard earned money. Get set for a show full of education and insights with your host and advisor, Matt McClure. We recognize every family is unique. The goal of the show is to help you achieve financial freedom, so you and your loved ones can have the retirement you've always dreamed of, a retirement you can take pride in. No matter who you are, where you're from, or who you love. So now let's start the show. Here's Matt McClure.

Speaker 1:
Hello there and welcome to another edition of Take Pride in Retirement. Matt McClure here with you, your host, your advisor, your friend, your pal, and your confidant. Thanks so much for being a part of things, as always.

Speaker 2:
And I am Josh Rhett Noble, the attache to the advisor, aka co-host, aka Matt's Hubby.

Speaker 1:
Yes we are. You know, we have to get a very large nameplate for the desk for you with all those different titles. Um, but no, I thank everybody for being a part of the show. Really do appreciate it. Today we're talking about something that just about everybody really is feeling here. Even if the headlines say things are, you know, quote unquote getting better. Um, inflation, you know, it may be cooling on paper. Like, you know, if you look at the numbers, inflation is going down, but that doesn't mean it's going away at all. It's still elevated and it's may not be as high as it was, but it's still on up there. And for a lot of people, it still feels like everything is getting more expensive, particularly energy prices, gas prices and the like these days for LGBTQ plus folks who face unique financial challenges. Oftentimes the impact of this can be even more and hit even harder. So we'll talk about all of that. Um, also wanted to say thank you for watching us on the old YouTube machine. Um, if you are watching us on YouTube, hello on YouTube, if you would please do us a favor and like and subscribe.

Speaker 2:
Subscribe.

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We got the, we got the low version today.

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We have the base subscribe instead of the high today.

Speaker 1:
I love it. Um, you know.

Speaker 3:
Everyone please subscribe.

Speaker 1:
It's very it's very sultry. We have a very sultry Asmr.

Speaker 3:
Take pride in retirement. Subscribe.

Speaker 1:
We have a very sultry subscribe today. Um, but yes, please do like and subscribe. Go to the website as well. Take pride in retirement.com. It's take pride in retirement.com. Free consultation is what you can sign up for there. You can also learn more about me and why I do what I do. Um, and I also say some nice things about Josh there on the, on the old website, um, which he'll probably tell you is rare. Uh, I kid, I kid. But, uh, there's a lot of great stuff you can do there. You can also call me if you want to, um, 85524692118552469211. Again is the number for the free consultation. All right, housekeeping stuff out of the way. Let's get right to it. And we're going to kind of talk about the big picture of inflation here. Um you know I mean it's it's definitely something that has not gone away. Right.

Speaker 2:
Right. And I feel like I keep hearing two completely different stories at the same time. So on the news, it's inflation is cooling, you know, it's getting better and things are stabilizing. But then in real life, people are still stressed, they're still struggling. And why does it feel like those two things don't match up?

Speaker 1:
Yeah. I mean, it's a huge disconnect, right? And like, that's what we've been feeling, I feel like for years, kind of because yeah, you know, inflation will go kind of through the numbers here in a little bit, but inflation peaked at over 9% back in 2022, and things have gotten better since then. From a standpoint of inflation going down, the rate of inflation going down, right. We haven't seen deflation, which would be the opposite. That would be prices actually going down. Um, but a recent Gallup poll found that 55% of Americans say that even with the rate of inflation coming down, their financial situation is getting worse. And that's the highest reading that Gallup has actually ever recorded on that question.

Speaker 2:
Wow. And so more than half of people feel like they're actually moving backwards financially then.

Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's absolutely right. And I mean, the reason there is simple inflation slowing, as I said, does not mean that prices are going down. It just means that they are still going up, but more slowly than they were before. And so, you know, we've had several years now of some some pretty steep increases here.

Speaker 2:
So it's like the damage is already done.

Speaker 1:
Yes, my, my heart is damaged and my wallet is damaged. Um, it's a very, very good way to put that, uh, with a song and everything, but yeah, I mean, if prices did go up significantly and they've stayed there, like, it's not like they went up and then have miraculously come back down. The rate of inflation has, as I said, come back down, but the prices themselves. Absolutely not. And, and it's something that, as I alluded to in the very beginning, it's LGBTQ plus households differently a lot of times. I mean, there's less reliance in our community on generational wealth, right? Uh, you know, overall and in my personal experience, um, there's more reliance on personal savings. Uh, so you kind of have a bit more of a go it alone sort of mentality with that. And there's a higher likelihood of navigating systems without traditional family support as well. So that's something that we have seen, you know, just in our personal lives with, with friends. We had a friend I've mentioned on the show before who unfortunately had passed away. And then there was this whole situation where the family, you know, like there was an estranged, like brother or half brother or something that came into the picture after all, a lot of years.

Speaker 1:
And so, you know, those are things that that can happen. And, um, so it does hit harder in the LGBTQ plus community because of that. And you know what, if you feel like you are navigating things without, um, without a compass in, in these weird times and if you feel like your money is not stretching as far as it used to, that is not your imagination. Um, you know, it's the old SpongeBob episode imagination. It's not your imagination. It is real life. Um, you know, in, in the, uh, whether you work at the Krusty Krab or if you have a have a job here, not under the sea. Um, give me a call 8552469211. Visit the website. Take pride in retirement.com. You can schedule a complimentary review of your retirement plan because all this. Yeah, it goes into money and what you're able to spend and save now, but what you're able to spend and save now has a huge impact. Obviously, if what you're able to do in the future and I can help you understand that and how today's cost of living impacts that long term plan.

Speaker 4:
And I always say that Matt is the advisor that cares. He's going to have your best interests at heart. And unfortunately, a lot of people don't, especially in our community, because it is so unique. And that's what's great about having Matt on your side to take a look at what you should be doing or could do and, you know, just let him help you out. And it's complimentary. So why not?

Speaker 1:
I mean, free fits right into my budget after all.

Speaker 4:
Exactly. So let's talk about where this is really hitting the people though, because I think a lot of folks just feel it everywhere. Right. So what are the biggest pressure points right now in your opinion?

Speaker 1:
Yeah. I mean, it's more than a buzzword. The affordability, right? I mean, it's talked about all over the place. Um, and it is really across the board. It's just affordability across really all categories. The top concerns though for people. And this is again from that Gallup poll, 31% say inflation and high prices overall are their top concern. Energy costs are now up to 13%. And hello, we've seen the energy costs jump here recently. You know another high point in the the triple A average for a gallon of gas across the country for the recent past anyway. Housing costs also jumped to 13% in this poll. And health care is at 8%. I'm a little bit surprised health care is not higher than that because health care costs continue to go up as well. Um, and then, you know, the cost of the care goes up that makes the cost of the insurance go up as well. People are living longer. It's like a big snowball effect with health care. So yeah, health care just at 8%. But again, another big concern for folks.

Speaker 4:
Yeah. And all those things are things you can't avoid, right? You have to have those things. So it's not like just cutting back on your subscriptions or.

Speaker 1:
Drinking less lattes. Yeah. Spend a little less at the old Starbucks and, uh, you know, things will be just fine, you know? I mean, these are like the non-negotiable things, right? You can't negotiate. You gotta have health care, you know? You've got to have housing. You've got to, you know, pay for energy. And whether that be electricity, keeping the lights on, whether that's paying for gas for your car, natural gas for the house, like whatever the situation is, you can't just decide not to pay for those things. Yeah. So this is not like a budgeting issue. This is a cost of living issue. Yeah. And that's a great distinction there, right. Like the cost of living. It's not like these are things that are, you know, sort of discretionary right, discretionary spending or, oh, I'm, I want to go to the movies and buy popcorn. And I like those things that are the can do's. These are the must do's, right? And so that's a great distinction to, to look at it, you know, as, as like a cost of living versus a budgeting issue because you can cut out the extra lattes and the subscriptions, but you can't cut out the other. And housing and health care in particular, and the LGBTQ plus community Big concerns. Individuals in the community face discrimination. A lot of the times or limited options, perhaps healthcare can be more complex, um, due to different situations. It could be more expensive depending on your needs. And so these top concerns among the overall population can be even more amplified in our community. Yeah. And so beyond these numbers we're discussing, how are people really feeling about their financial situation right now? Well, you may be surprised to know or not surprised at all to know. Not great. Um, according to this poll, just 46% say that their finances are either good or excellent. So that's both of those categories combined, but a little less than half there. 35% say fair. 19% say that their situation is poor right now. So a lot of folks not, uh, not looking so hot as far as their personal financial situation at the moment.

Speaker 5:
And to me, that feels like a pretty big shift from just a few years ago.

Speaker 1:
Oh, yeah. I mean, it it is. We're back to levels that we saw around the time of the Great Recession like that. You think about that economic situation. Um, you know, it's not like we have been in this huge downward spiral economically, but we have been in a huge upward spiral of rising prices. And so I think that's, that's one of the things that's really led to these sorts of feelings among folks.

Speaker 5:
Yeah. And when people are feeling like that, I imagine it's going to change their behavior too.

Speaker 1:
Oh yeah, it does overall. I mean, you know, sure, you might take fewer vacations. Sure. You might go to the movies and have the big popcorn less often or have the, you know, large latte at your favorite coffee shop, whatever the situation might be. But it also can impact you in a larger way. You save less, you invest less, you plan for the future less. There's more hesitation around retirement decisions. I know I was just I just had a meeting with a client earlier who was like, we got like, things are crazy in the market right now. How can we move some of this money into more protection? Um, and I, you know, we went over things and I said, well, why don't we move part of your portfolio into a more conservative, uh, you know, basket of stocks rather than where you are right now, which is like kind of moderately aggressive. And he's like, okay, let's do that. And so, you know, get some more protection in these sort of crazy times that is, um, you know, something that you can do. But this is a client who's already retired. He's in his 70s. You know, it's like, it's not somebody who, uh, is still planning.

Speaker 1:
So your decision may be different and your decision may be different if you're a part of the LGBTQ plus community as well. And listening to the show or watching the show, the hesitation that you feel in these times can be even stronger if you don't have that traditional family safety net or whatever. Maybe you're relying on chosen family for a lot of these things. Uh, you're relying more on your own resources as well. Uh, you can, You can just really hesitate to, to make these big decisions. And that's exactly why having a personalized plan, one that's built for you, not anybody else, but just for you. That's why that matters. So give me a call 85524692118552469211. You can also visit the website. Take pride in retirement.com. Take pride in retirement.com. Schedule a complimentary consultation because I can help you build an income strategy for your retirement years. Help you build that nest egg? Sure, but then show you how you can turn it into income. You can actually live on in retirement. You can plan for inflation and create a retirement roadmap that reflects your real life situation. So important.

Speaker 5:
Yeah. Reach out y'all reach out. Matt will help you. So let's talk about the emotional side of all this, because I think a lot of people are carrying a lot of anxiety right now. Um, which is understandable. So what are the biggest fears people are dealing with?

Speaker 1:
Yeah. And this is, I think, where it really hits home. Um, for so many people, like they're kind of top concerns here. 62% of people in this poll worry about not having enough for retirement. Um, and that's a big number. I mean, that's, you're going, you know, it's going on two thirds of people not worrying about not having enough for retirement, 60%, again, worrying about major medical costs, a little more than half worrying about maintaining their lifestyle, the lifestyle to which they are accustomed. Right. And 41% worry about paying their monthly bills. Just literally getting by, keeping the lights on and keeping the car paid for and the insurance paid for and all that stuff. Um, it's a lot more than 4 in 10 people worry about that.

Speaker 5:
Yeah. I mean, that's, that's a whole lot. And that's not just one concern. That's everything.

Speaker 1:
Yeah. I mean, it's like, if you can sort of think about it like layered anxiety, you know, it's, it's well, you know, 62% worry about not having enough for retirement. That doesn't mean that the other what, 38%? Don't worry about that. That means that the other 38% may be just have other concerns that rank higher than that. And then a good chunk of that 62% are also in the 60% that worry about their major medical costs and so on and so forth. And so the numbers have all gone up significantly since since 2021 as well. So it's a growing amount of anxiety around all these things.

Speaker 5:
Yeah. And so even though inflation cooled, the stress didn't.

Speaker 1:
Yeah, exactly. It's like, you know, it just sort of compiles over the years. It's like I sort of use that snowball analogy a little bit as snowball going downhill. This is the bad kind of snowball you don't want to see coming at you. But and then, you know, for LGBTQ plus folks, you add in kind of long term care concerns because you might not have family members who are there or, you know, a spouse who might not be there because you're either not married or you're not partnered, whatever the situation might be. So you've got long term care concerns, you've got chosen family dynamics to deal with. You've got legal planning considerations because we do have different considerations from a legal standpoint, especially in the political climate today. And all of that anxiety can build up and it can be even more complex.

Speaker 5:
Yeah. And so this is what I would love you to do if you could walk us through what exactly what is happening with inflation. Because I think people, they hear these present, you know, the percentages and they're like, what does this even mean? How does this translate?

Speaker 1:
Yeah, this is one of those things that I had to sort of learn how to, when I became a business reporter in New York, I had to learn how to like take the reports from, uh, the, uh, different government agencies that release them, Bureau of Labor Statistics or the Commerce Department, like whatever it might be, and sort of translate them into real life numbers that people can understand. And so the quick version of this, like this is kind of based on the consumer price index, CPI, right? So the CPI measures overall, like the overall cost of goods and services. And if you look at just core CPI, that is a number that doesn't include the more volatile categories like energy and food prices, because those can kind of move all around and sort of throw things off a bit. This is looking at CPI numbers though from 2021. So right early on in the pandemic we had about 1.4% inflation. Then a little thing called Covid was still happening. And 7% inflation is what was happening in late 2021. Then in 2022, about midway through the year ish, we had a peak of 9.1%. Now it has it has steadily come down since then, and we're under 3%. Once again, it's about where we were about a year and a half ago. Still, we've sort of been hovering around that same number, but, um, yeah, it's, you know, and a lot of this was caused by a lot of supply and demand issues related to the pandemic.

Speaker 1:
You know, the supply chains just shut down. And so it took a while for all of those things to work their way through the system and, and, you know, stocks of things, especially like lumber and all that at the time, uh, you know, took a while to kind of run out of, you know, suppliers took a while to run out of what they had on the shelf and then they weren't getting anything new on the shelf. So it's like, you know, it just all sort of, um, built up from there and it's like, uh, I don't know. It's, it's something that can be very eye opening when you think about it and very frustrating at the same time because you're like, okay, these are huge problems that that occurred in the world. And what does little old me do about it? Right? Yeah. I mean, that jump, just hearing that, you know, the percentage jump and change, that's kind of crazy to hear it like that. Yeah. I mean, you yeah. Right. You went from 1.4% in 2021 to 9.1% in 2022. It's it's kind of crazy. And prices rose quickly. They stayed high and have stayed high for a long time. And as as we've said, the lowering of inflation does not mean inflation has gone away. It just means it's still happening, but slower. Yeah. And so we're not going back to those pre 2020 prices anytime soon. I'm assuming. Yeah highly unlikely. I would say, um, you know, and it's, it's like, um, I guess another analogy of this would be like, it's like going up several flights of stairs quickly.

Speaker 1:
Um, and now you're just climbing slower. It's like you're running up, you know, flights of stairs and then you're still, you know, going up the stairs, but maybe you're just, you're, you're walking, you're at a leisurely pace now, uh, of, of climbing those stairs. So that's kind of another way to think about it. You, uh, you got tired, inflation got tired a little bit, and now it's taking it easier, but it's still not as easy as it was pre-pandemic. Mhm. Now, with all of that in mind, what should someone actually do? Because all that can feel very overwhelming. Yeah, yeah. I kind of like I was saying, you know, it's like people can get overwhelmed by all the things that they can't control. So my solution to that is control the things you can. Right. And so this is where planning, especially having a plan that is built for you is absolutely critical. Number one, build reliable income streams, income streams that you cannot outlive in retirement. And we can talk about when we meet, if we do this one on one meeting, which I hope we will, because it's free of any cost and any obligation. We can build those reliable income streams using the money that maybe you already have in a 401 K or an IRA, that kind of thing. And we can look at that going forward. Plan for rising costs over time is that, you know, income stream that is reliable, that you can't outlive.

Speaker 1:
Is it set to increase as you go along? Maybe rise with inflation. Maybe it's indexed to inflation, something like that. That could be a possibility. Social security optimization. I am an RSA, a registered social security analyst. So I can give you an in-depth report on exactly how to do that again customized for you Guaranteed income strategies once again, that, you know, having reliable income is one thing. Having guarantees surrounding that income is essential to me. And also focus on tax efficient withdrawals. Because if eventually taxes are going to have to go up, so we'll have inflation rising and taxes rising at some point in the future because things are just not really sustainable at the moment with the way that the things are, according to a lot of economists out there. So you can really, um, you know, just control those things that you can control. And those are just a few of them. Yeah. So it's creating stability in an unstable environment. Yeah. That's right. I mean, it's, that's the goal here. And you know, you don't retire on optimism. You plan on reality, right? You don't retire on your hopes and dreams, which are great to have and all those goals and are wonderful. But you have to get there in a realistic way. Right? And so that's the thing, like, you know, your plan should reflect your situation. It should reflect your relationship, your protections, your healthcare needs, your chosen families needs, if that applies to you.

Speaker 1:
All of those things. And so that's why I would encourage folks, you know, if inflation has you wondering whether your retirement plan still works, let's find out. Let's do that together. Right. That consultation once again, is absolutely free of any cost, any obligation. Go to take pride in retirement.com or give me a call 8552469211. And I'll run through things for you. Evaluate that current plan that you have. Identify risks that may be there, whether from rising costs or market risk or whatever the situation might be, and build a strategy that is designed for you and for your life, not anybody else's. Take pride in retirement.com once again. Is that website. Contact him y'all. He's good at what he does. I, I do, I do try. Um, all right, so I think this is, this has been a great one. This has been a great discussion about a lot of things that are happening, you know, in the world right now, a lot of frustrations in the world right now, but still not leaving you with the doom and gloom and giving you some actions that you can take. And I think that important action that you can take is just to reach out. We'll look at a plan together and again, it's free. So I think that's a great thing for the folks to do. Um, otherwise, Mr. Noble, anything else that you had, uh, for us before we run?

Speaker 6:
No, I feel that this was a great. I love how you put this into terms even I can understand. So hopefully that helps a lot of other people, too. And as a wise woman always once said, if you stay ready, you ain't gotta get ready. And I think that's important. And everyone's going to feel better if they have a plan. And you're great at figuring out a plan for individuals because everybody's situation is different. And I think that's how you stand out with what you do. And, um, that's why I think it's, you know, it's wonderful to see what you do from people all across every spectrum, no matter who.

Speaker 1:
They are or who they love, or as you always say. Exactly. So yeah, any of the things, any of the things, no matter who you are or where you come from, who you love, how you identify, how much money you have, it doesn't matter. You deserve a retirement that you can take pride in. And that's just the bottom line. And I want to help people get there. That's literally why I do what I do. So appreciate it very much. Um, all right, so that's gonna do it for this particular edition of the show. Thank you. Uh, attache slash co-host slash hobby. Appreciate it. Of course. And thank you, uh, out there for watching and or listening to the show. Appreciate you, uh, say it a lot because I mean it a whole lot, uh, as well, but we'll see you next time. And until then, take pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you then.

Speaker 7:
Thanks for listening. To Take Pride in Retirement, members of the LGBTQ plus community deserve to work with a fiduciary financial advisor who puts their needs first. To schedule a free, no obligation consultation with Matt McClure and the team at Active Wealth Management, call 9211 or go online to take pride in retirement.com. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC. Bcm, a registered investment advisor, BCM and Active Wealth Management Incorporated are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Matt McClure, an active wealth management are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other government agency.

Speaker 1:
Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products. They do not in any way refer to investment advisory products. Rates and guarantees provided by insurance products and annuities are subject to the financial strength of the issuing insurance company, not guaranteed by any bank or the FDIC. Registered Investment advisors and investment Advisor representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interest of our clients and to make full disclosures of any conflicts of interest. Please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV two A item four for additional information.

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