Imagine making the short drive to your local grocery store. It’s a drive you’ve made so many times that you’re practically on auto pilot. So much so that you don’t see a young man riding his motorcycle towards you and you turn in front of him. The accident sees him life flighted to the hospital where he’s in the ICU for several days. He survives, but his injuries are significant, his ability to provide for his family is in jeopardy, and full recovery seems out of the question. Who will pay his medical bills? What about pain and suffering? Your auto insurer is responsible for the injuries sustained, but there has to be a limit, right? What if you selected state minimum coverages when you purchased auto insurance? In Ohio, that’s $25,000 per person to pay bodily injury. Or, your agent recommended limits of $100,000 or even $300,000 -- surely that’s enough? In this example, even $300,000 wouldn’t be enough. If you don’t have an umbrella policy, you could be responsible for whatever your auto policy doesn’t cover. Imagine your home and personal assets at risk. Because without an umbrella, they are. Put simply, an umbrella policy is a layer of liability that is excess over your home and auto insurance. Generally, umbrella policies are available in increments of $1MM. They provide a layer of protection against significant claims that could result in financial devastation. The story at the beginning of this article is true. The young man on the motorcycle is a dear friend of mine and fellow pastor of our church. He has 4 young kids, and a 5th on the way. His life will never be the same. And accidents like this happen every day. Are you properly protected? Or are you risking everything? I’d be happy to review your home and auto insurance to make sure you are properly protected. And don’t be tempted to think you can’t afford an umbrella policy. Lots of factors determine the price but, generally, an umbrella policy will only cost between $125 and $200/year, for each $1MM layer. You’ve worked hard to be wise with your money, pay down debt, invest well, and build wealth. Why risk everything, when adding an umbrella policy is only a phone call away? *Insurance products offered through Whitaker-Myers Insurance Group and licensed agents.

Tomorrow is October 1st which means that we are heading into the holiday season! This is the time of year when it seems as though there are expenses that can sneak up on us if we don't plan ahead for them. Here are a few items that you might want to add into your October budget. Decorations & Pumpkins - Whether you are decorating for the season or getting pumpkins for the kids to carve, it is the time of year to be stopping by the pumpkin patch! Family Pictures - This is the time of year that many people get their family pictures taken for Christmas cards and that sort of thing. Costumes - It's time to be buying a costume for the kids if you celebrate Halloween! Gifts - Whether you are buying hostess gifts or starting to plan ahead for Christmas, it is a good idea to add this into your budget as early as possible. We are big fans of Dave Ramsey's advice to save all year for Christmas gifts because then it isn't such a hit to your budget in the last couple of months. Apple Picking - Many local orchards have U-Pick apple picking going on and this can be a cheaper (and more fun) way to get your apples but it is more of a cost up-front since you typically buy a bigger bag than what you would in the store. Candy - Whether you are giving out candy for Halloween or just buying it for yourself, this is that wonderful time of the year where all the mini candy bars are available and they are hard to resist when you walk past them in the store. Just me?! Travel - I know we are all traveling less right now but if traveling is in the plans for the holidays, starting to build it into the budget now will help you spread out the expense over a couple of months! Hopefully this got you thinking about things you might need or want to add into your October budget. If you are looking for ways to save money and/or make extra money, check out this article from Dave Ramsey's budgeting program, EveryDollar: October Challenge: Scare up Some Extra Cash for Halloween

I recently went on New Day Cleveland to share some Quarantine Budget Tips and I wanted to share them here as well. This pandemic has impacted all of us in one way or another and as we know, money touches all areas of our lives, so here are a few tips that might help you when it comes to your life and money right now. Emergency Fund – We all know that we should have an emergency fund but when things are going well, it doesn’t always seem urgent or important to save. Unfortunately, I think this pandemic made us all realize how quickly an emergency can happen. If you found yourself without an emergency fund during this time, give yourself grace – that has happened to all of us, but use this as motivation to start the habit of saving every month, even when things are going well…. Especially when things are going well. Emergencies happen and building in this habit of saving will allow you to have a cushion between you and life the next time something happens. Continue and/or Start Meal Plan/Prep – Meal planning and prepping is a common money saving tip because it helps reduce the amount of money you spend going out to eat. I bring this up here because since many people are home more often it might seem less important to plan and prep dinner, but the reality is you are likely still working, doing virtual school, etc and dinner time can sneak up on you before you know it and if you don’t have plan, you might spend more grabbing take-out. Use Amazon Smile to donate to your favorite charities when you shop! - This tip won’t help you save money but will help your dollar go further when you are shopping with Amazon. You can go to smile.amazon.com and select the charity you would like to support and then every time you make a purchase with Amazon, they will donate a portion to that charity. It doesn’t cost you anymore do to this either! Use online cash-back and coupon programs such a Rakuten (Ebates) and Honey. - A lot of us are shopping online more often and a good way to save money is to use the cash back and coupon apps/programs. Rakuten (used to be Ebates) is a cash back program. The way to use it is by going to the Rakuten website or app first and then navigating to the website you want to shop with. If that website participates in the Rakuten program, you will earn a percentage back and that comes in the form of a check paid out quarterly by Rakuten. Honey is a program that searches for coupon codes when you go to checkout with a website. You can add it as an extension on your browser and then when you get to the checkout screen, Honey will search for active coupon codes for you to use. Hopefully some of these tips help you with saving some money during this time! If you have any questions or want to discuss your specific financial situation, please feel free to reach out to one of us. You can meet our team of advisors here.

How We View Social Security: Most people understand the basics of social security and why/how it is used, and we also understand that it has been a critical systematic financial instrument for millions of Americans for decades. The positive side of social security is that, if it was completely wiped out today, millions of Americans would have no where to go for income in retirement. It has also been a long-term way to almost “force” people to save for retirement, which should be thought of beneficially in the sense that many receiving SS today would not have planned accordingly themselves. The more negative side is that the average modern-day American should not be hoping or forecasting to eclipse his/her lifetime of contributions with the benefits that will be received, and that social security can generally and simply be thought of as a “bad deal.” Also, especially with younger adults, no aspect of social security today should be thought of as “guaranteed” for the future, especially with a recent history of pushing back what is thought of as retirement age, the impact of baby boomers, and continually increasing life expectancies. The objective here is not to host a roast towards social security or to argue whether it should exist or be treated the same in the future, but rather be dually educational and hopefully persuasive. While most understand the basics of SS, we believe that most do not have the right attitude towards it or even relationship with it, and growing in this area will be critical when thinking about social security’s tax implications. Social Security can be Taxable: What Does this Mean for You? Whether you as the reader are an existing client, a potential client, or just someone who has any sort of retirement goal/plan, we are stressing that a healthy attitude towards social security is an attitude of non-dependence that coincides with proper retirement planning. The average monthly SS benefit in 2020 is just above $1,500 a month, which equates to $18,000 in annual income. With relying on SS alone, it is very possible to put in 40 years of hard work and make an honest living, just to live paycheck to paycheck and lack financial freedom in retirement. The great thing about us and other fiduciary-based investment advisors is that we are in the business of helping YOU create and control your income and assets in retirement with your best interest always coming first. So many aspects of the investment world and finance industry are situational, and that is especially true when thinking about clients in general. It should go without saying that no two clients are exactly alike, and that all situations, goals, constraints, etc. are never going to be the same across the board. However, the nature and execution of our business is directed at producing a result opposite to relying on social security in retirement. For all of our clients, we want SS to be nothing more than a small “cherry on top” when comparing to other income-producing instruments and retirement assets. When considering this, and the fact that social security CAN be taxable on the federal level, it’s easier to understand why we actually hope and believe that all of our clients will have to pay federal taxes on social security. Next, you will see the guidelines/income brackets for the federal taxation of SS and why ‘tax’ can be thought of as an unusual positive in this sense. Tax and Income Guidelines: A portion of social security benefits may be taxable, and here are the current guidelines to follow: *For all of these situations, consider one half or 50% of annual social security for each individual and add it to other income which can include wages, pension, interest, dividends, and capital gains. Up to 50% of SS benefits may be taxable if: Annual income is $25,000-$34,000 for filing as single, head of household, or qualifying widow/widower Annual income is $25,000-$34,000 for married filing separately (have to live separately for entire preceding year) Annual income is $32,000-$44,000 for married filing jointly (consider one half of annual social security income from each spouse) Up to 85% of SS benefits may be taxable if: Annual income is more than $34,000 for filing as single, head of household, or qualifying widow/widower Annual income is more than $34,000 for married filing separately (have to live separately) Anyone for married filing separately that lived with their spouse for any amount of time in the preceding year Annual income is more than $44,000 for married filing jointly Key Points: With proper retirement planning, you can expect to pay some portion of tax on social security benefits when considering the combined income of SS and portfolio distributions (interest, capital gains, dividends) and/or pension income Again, this is a rare case when you actually want to pay taxes, because if you weren’t, it would obviously be due to your retirement income being lower than the limits A typical client is forecasted to live on a comfortable and satisfying retirement income that considers the client’s desires and wishes and the reasonability, suitability, and tradeoffs behind them that will easily surpass these limits while still allowing average portfolio growth to exceed distributions

Fall in Ohio is a magical time, isn’t it? The heat of the summer is dissipating yet the sting of winter’s cold days is far enough off that we aren’t yet worried. There is no greater place to spend your September and October months than in this beautiful state watching a high school football or soccer game. However, once every four years the beauty of God’s creation here in Ohio comes under a little stress as one of the great battle ground states in the Presential election. That often leads to a series of questions from clients around, how should my investment strategy change during an election year? The perception is, because there is uncertainty and perhaps a new President that you may or may not agree with, that will crash the stock market and along with that crash, you’ll see your savings drop. As an advisor to many families across Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Texas, we as a firm need to understand if this assumption is reality and if so, how should we react. This article hopefully helps you to see our perception of the election and stock market. Studies on Election Years and Market Returns Dimensional Funds, a respected fund company, based out of Austin, Texas did a study in 2019 showing that the stock market has been positive overall in 19 of the last 23 election years from 1928-2016. We have posted the chart below that shows the S&P 500 total returns during each election year dating back to 1928. The most recent examples of a negative stock market annual return in an election year, have been in 2008, which was not the result of an election but rather the result of a global financial crisis brought on by the one thing that we hate more than anything DEBT! The second most recent example of a negative total return for the S&P during an election year, was the 2000 election which featured President Clinton’s VP in Al Gore and his Republican counterpart, George W. Bush. More academic research on the topic, by Yale Hirsch, who wrote the book, The Stock Traders Almanac, and furthered by Pepperdine professor Marshall Nickles in a paper called, “Presential Elections and Stock Market Cycles,” has presented data that shows it’s actually best to invest on Oct. 1st of the 2nd year of presential term and sell on December 31st of year four. Therefore, their research says, don’t sell out during the election year because it’s part of what has historically been some of the best years of a President’s term. Furthermore when studying returns, data does show that returns are better in midterm election years as opposed to non-midterm years and I believe this is very explainable in the fact that the stock market doesn’t like uncertainty, so when the leader of the free world is somewhat uncertain (although narrowed down to two people) that would generally impact returns. Notice, I didn’t say, that non-midterm years were negative though. Therefore should you sell out of your investments just because the returns are not as good as they’d be in another year? Certainly Not! You Can’t Outsmart the Market Dave Ramsey says the best book for investing is Aesop’s Fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. Why? Many of us get sidetracked from our investing strategy from all these outside issues that may or may not have an impact on the market. The bottom line, many times is, if we held to our strategy, we’d do better than trying to outsmart the market. One question, you could honestly ask yourself, in March of 2020, if I could have pushed a button and said I’ll just take a 0% return for 2020 as opposed to the negative return your statement was showing at that point, would you have taken it? Many probably would, however had you stayed true to your strategy today you’re in a much better place, just six short months later. It’s hard to time, outsmart and be better than the market because there are so many factors you can’t anticipate. As you’re probably reading or hearing, the Presidential race is tight and as of today there is no clear-cut winner. Don’t let that impact of what-if’s, maybe’s or that might happen, effect the strategy you have in place for your family’s financial future. Market drops will always happen, Presidential election or not, thus your primary concern when investing should be your goals and objectives for your money, not who is moving into or out of the White House. Dave Ramsey always says, you control your outcome not the President so don’t let them dictate your investment decisions.

At Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers, we all have the heart of a teacher, and it’s important that we consider all financial planning instruments and strategies for our clients. Due to the historical lack of awareness and knowledge with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), it’s also important that we educate on what HSAs are, who is eligible to open and contribute to one, and why it could be a beneficial financial planning tool for specific clients. What is a HSA and who is eligible? A health savings account is a triple-tax-advantaged investment account that can be used to pay for qualifying medical expenses before and during retirement. The general rule of thumb is: those who qualify for a HSA are individuals or families with a high-deductible health plan. More specifically, a HSA-qualified consumer driven health plan with minimum annual deductibles of $1,400 for individuals and $2,800 for families. If one were still unsure if they would qualify or not, it is spelled out in a little more detail on our website. Features of a HSA with Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers We believe that a HSA can be thought of as a triple-tax-advantaged account that can act as a hybrid between an emergency fund and investment account. Historically and even today, most health savings accounts pay a low annual rate of interest that does not keep up with inflation, let alone the rising annual costs of healthcare. Not to mention, many potential investors are left out of this knowledge and opportunity due to the unfortunate nature of many investment advisors not wanting to put time and effort into educating and working with people who are not extremely high-net worth clients. With your eligibility and our financial planning & investment management capabilities, we can offer the accessibility of a health savings account along with the availability of high quality mutual funds with long track records that will allow your contributions and account to grow over time, with fund recommendations being based on clients’ risk tolerance and time horizon among all other factors. Finally, what is this triple-tax advantage that has been mentioned twice already? To put it briefly, contributions are funded pre-tax, the account grows tax-free, and distributions for qualifying medical expenses are tax-free. Qualifying medical expenses include most services provided by licensed health providers, in addition to diagnostic devices and prescriptions. Even acupuncture and substance-abuse treatment are two specific examples that would typically qualify. Putting your HSA to use As mentioned above, qualifying medical expenses will always be tied to all 3 tax-advantaged features. The great thing about a HSA, that is not also present in other investment vehicles and insurance products, is that the account is YOURS, with no strings attached. It is important to mention limitations, but that essentially only includes the 20% penalty that would be tied to non-qualifying medical expenses before age 65 and the annual contribution limits. Current annual contribution limits are $3,550 for individuals and $7,100 for families, with a $1,000 annual catch-up contribution at age 55. However, once you reach age 65, a HSA is treated like a separate IRA account where distributions can be taken out for essentially anything, medical or non-medical. With this feature, you were still free from taxes with the contributions and the growth of the account. Post-retirement, qualifying expenses will still be taken out without any tax, still giving the triple tax savings. We believe these features give credibility to the fact that HSAs offer amazing tax advantages and flexibility with usage. Not-so-fun facts One other aspect of HSAs that we can agree on is that this isn’t the most glorious or thrill-seeking form of investing and financial planning compared to thinking about something such as purchasing a vacation home, but neither is paying for costly medical expenses or bearing the burden of financial disaster with extreme cases. Here are some specific facts and statistics that can help reiterate this: The average couple today needs almost $300,000 for healthcare expenses in retirement During WW2 in the U.S., the daily cost of staying in a hospital room could be as low as $100 in today’s dollars Today, this cost is typically going to run you a few thousand dollars, and yes, we are still talking per day In the past 20 years, healthcare spending in America has had a net increase of over a trillion dollars The total value of all HSAs in the U.S. today exceeds $64 billion, with this number being only $1.7 billion in 2006 While it is good that this statistic shows more awareness and usage of HSAs, much of this could very well be the result of how many U.S. citizens struggled with healthcare costs and financial disaster, especially during the 2008-09 recession It’s also clear and inevitable that many will struggle with these costs with the combination of poor planning and resources and the pandemic and economic downturn we are currently facing Less than 10% of Americans use HSAs while nearly 50% of U.S. households use mutual funds in other forms (401k, IRA, etc.) Using the total value of all health savings accounts in the U.S. of around $64 billion, this number roughly equates to the total market capitalization of Cigna Corp, which is only the 27th largest individual publicly traded healthcare company This is just a specific example, but in a “fight” between common citizens and healthcare corporations, it seems like the corporations are winning Is a HSA right for you? Remember, to be eligible, you must have a high-deductible health plan. This does not mean that every person who has this type of health plan should be starting and funding a HSA with us right away. Just like with any other client or potential client, using Dave’s baby steps is the simplest yet most effective place to start. We are focusing on expressing the value of starting HSAs with us for specific clients who are on or past Baby Step 4. As a reminder, baby step 4 involves contributing 15% of annual income towards retirement, with baby steps 5 & 6 consisting of saving for children’s education and paying down a house mortgage early. Depending on the specific client’s circumstances, baby steps 4-6 can be taken on simultaneously, and some situations will cause a client’s needs to place more priority on baby steps 5 & 6 before thinking about a HSA. However, here are some hypothetical situations to put some of this into perspective: A high-income client is on baby step 4 (15% income towards retirement), is contributing up to the employer match on their 401k, is also contributing the maximum annual limit to a Roth IRA, and still has some chunk of that 15% to put towards retirement Depending on the situation, the recommendation may be to fund or increase contributions to an HSA or contribute the remaining chunk back to the 401k It is so important to consider the HSA for clients that are eligible because of the triple-tax savings and high flexibility of the account itself Employers have been shifting healthcare costs to employees over the years, but some may still be able to get matching contributions from employers for HSAs Just like with a 401k match, this needs to be thought of as free money or guaranteed 100% return on your money For those who can easily use their typical spending budget for prescriptions and routine doctor’s visits but still want to feel protected with the safety net of a HSA, you can reimburse yourself out of your HSA for qualifying expenses at a later date, even years later, which allows for your account to continue growing without withdrawal disruption Conclusion Hopefully you as the reader now have a good idea of what health savings accounts are and the suitability and benefits of using them. If you are eligible and interested in opening a HSA with WMWM or even just interested in learning more or asking questions, please contact us and we would be more than happy to help for potential and existing clients!

Creating a Will can be really intimidating. It’s one of those things that most people know they should have but it just always sits on the “To-Do” list because they don’t want to think about it, they are afraid it’s going to be expensive, or they don’t even know where to begin. You Want to Decide What Happens to Your Belongings and Your Children Ahead of Time As Dave Ramsey says, having a will and life insurance is a way for you to tell your family that you love them, even after you have passed away. This is because, when there is a will there is clarity. Everyone knows your wishes for your things and there is no guessing on your family’s part on what you would have wanted done with your belongings. If you have young children, this is especially important because you want to be the one that decides who will take care of them if you aren’t here to do so. It’s important that you decide that and have a conversation with the person you chose to make sure they are okay with being their caregiver. Also, you might want to share other important information with them including your values, financial situation (life insurance), etc. Creating a Will Might Be Easier Than You Think If you have been putting off creating a will because you are not ready to pay a large amount of money to an attorney, you will be happy to hear that there are cheaper options. Dave Ramsey recommends Mama Bear Legal Forms. You can see that on his website, here. I always describe services such as Mama Bear as a “fill in the blank” form. As in, they will send you a form and there will be blanks where you need to fill in your personal information and they will give you instructions on how to do that. If you have a more complex situation and would prefer to work with an attorney, know that there are attorneys that have more reasonable prices especially when it comes to wills. It just takes calling a few to find out their rates and/or asking family members or your Financial Advisor who they recommend in the area. If ultimately, you would prefer to work with an attorney in order to have a more personalized will but do not have the time or money right now, consider creating a will with a service such as Mama Bear and just update it later. This is because it is important to have a will sooner than later! Have Clarity on What is In Your Will In the Legacy Journey, Dave Ramsey talks about having a “reading of the will” every year with his family. This is definitely not what is normal, but you know Dave does not want to be “normal”. Too many times, families get into arguments when someone has passed away, either because there was not a will and they can’t agree on a decision or because they are shocked by what was in the will because they didn’t expect it. Once you create your will, if you made a decision to leave someone out of your will or made a choice that might surprise your family, consider having that conversation yourself. This will make it easier on the person that you chose to be the executor of your will, so that they don’t have to be the one to break the news. Fun fact, August is "National Make a Will Month" so there is still time to get a Will and go into the Fall knowing that you have a plan in place to leave a legacy for your family!

Do you or someone you know have a disability? Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) is an investment account that you can use to pay for disability related expenses. The ABLE Act was bipartisan legislation (crazy, right?!) introduced in 2013 and passed at the end of 2014. The ABLE Act amended Section 529 of the IRS code to create a tax-free savings account for individuals with disabilities. These accounts are funded with after tax dollars; while some states offer state income tax deductions. Ohio for example, allows $4,000 of contributions to be deducted for income tax purposes (with unlimited carry forward). ABLE accounts can grow tax free and purchases are tax free on qualified disability-related expenses (including education, housing, and transportation). The ABLE account may only be used for Qualified Disability Expenses (QDE’s). Here is a list of examples of QDE’s that are enforced by IRS. The Ohio Stable Account sums it up well with their three expense qualifiers: You incurred the expense at a time when you were an Eligible Individual; The expense relates to your disability; and The expense helps you to maintain or improve your health, independence, or quality of life One key attribute that ABLE accounts have that other asset accounts do not (checking, savings, IRA, 529, ESA, taxable investment account and other items of significant value) is that they do not count against any public assistance an individual with a disability may receive; such as: Medicaid Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) One exception to this is that if you receive SSI, your ABLE account balance must be $100,000 or below to receive the benefit or your benefit will be suspended. Many of these benefits require that you have no more than $2,000 in non-ABLE assets to qualify for these benefits. The legislation states the purpose of an ABLE account is to use private savings to “secure funding for disability-related expenses on behalf of designated beneficiaries with disabilities that will supplement, but not supplant, benefits provided through private insurance, Medicaid, SSI, the beneficiary’s employment and other sources”. The current law states that the individual’s disability must have been onset before the age of 26. However, there is current legislation, The ABLE Age Adjustment Act (S. 651/H.R. 1814), slated to increase the age to 46. If you meet the age criteria and are receiving SSI or SSDI benefits, you are automatically eligible to establish an ABLE account. If you meet the age criteria, but are not currently receiving SSI or SSDI, you may still be eligible if you meet SSA’s definition of disability and receive a letter of certification from a licensed physician. You can be over the age of 26 and still contribute to an ABLE account as long as your disability had an onset of prior to 26. ABLE Account Rules May Vary By State The ABLE accounts are managed by states, but each state has their own set of rules. You may only have one ABLE account per individual and it can be in another states’ plan if it allows outside residents. Ohio, California and North Carolina allow non-residents to enroll; while Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee do not. To look at your own state options, you can use the comparison tool: https://www.ablenrc.org/compare-states/. For Ohio residents the program is called the STABLE Account and an account can be opened through https://www.stableaccount.com/. For a wealth of other information on ABLE Accounts visit the ABLE National Resource Center: https://www.ablenrc.org/. If you have a question on the ABLE account and how it could affect your financial plan, schedule some time to talk to a Whitaker-Myers advisor today.

Jason was the type of manager that any restaurant employee would want to work for. Happy, energetic, funny & always positive. Every morning as he awoke, he realized he could either choose to be positive or choose to be negative. Choosing positivity, is not easy, but it was his choice and people around Jason were drawn to work for him because of it. One morning, he left the backdoor of his restaurant unlocked which is a major No-No in the restaurant industry. Three masked intruders came in and demanded he open the safe with all the restaurant’s cash. As he nervously tried to open the safe, hands shaking, he made a quick move, which scared one of the robbers, who preceded to shoot him. As he was rushed by ambulance into the hospital, he could tell by the faces of his doctors and nurses’ things didn’t look good for him. They rushed him into surgery and before they put him under, they asked if he was allergic to anything. He replied with the small strength he could muster, “YES! BULLETS!” Over the laughter of the doctors and nurses he exclaimed, “I am choosing to live, so operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.” Jason lived because of the masterful skill of his doctors and nurses but also because of his amazing attitude. His story is one that I believe we can use and apply to our finances. One of the greatest books, that has influenced me in business and life has been Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive Thinking. Negativity is addictive, even though positivity is so much nicer to feel. Forcing positive thoughts into your mind, does something to your brain that creates a mindset that allows you to see the world in a different way. People are drawn to positive people. Positive people fill their minds with positive thoughts and material. Scripture & Finances During one Sunday at church (shoutout to Westwood Alliance Church) we were studying Colossians as Pastor Luke took us through Colossians 2:1-3 which says, For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, (my emphasis here) in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In addition to this John 15:7 tells us, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My first thought was, this certainly applies to more than finance, but should we be filling our minds and hearts with scripture to improve our financial acumen and skills? As Dave Ramsey always says, a child that is constantly misbehaving is not going to be given more grace and leeway. Does God want us to have a better and right understanding of money, before he trusts you and I with more of it to manage? Very clearly the answer is yes. Now let me start with this – I am not a theologian or anything close. Additionally, I am not a prosperity gospel guy. Far be it from me to lead people to a false gospel! But as I try to understand what these passages are trying to persuade us to, it is this…. Putting the Word of God in my mind and heart can have the same effect as Norman Vincent Peale was trying to appeal to us in his book. If we are going to be better with money, we need to put in our mind the thoughts and wisdom from the best! Who better than the creator of Heaven & Earth? The Deity that owns the cattle on a thousand hills. You can argue about the reality of God (although the creation argues for our Great God every second of every day) but you can’t argue that the book of Proverbs is a Masters Degree in Finance and Business. So let me encourage you, regardless of your religious beliefs, to put some scripture in your head and your heart because it can prove to be a powerful tool in educating and changing the mindset of the one person that typically messes up your money… YOU! Here are some of my favorite Scriptures: Proverbs 22:7 – The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. Proverbs 10:4 – A slick hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. Proverbs 3:9 – Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 – As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. Proverbs 13:22 – A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. Ecclesiastes 11:2 – Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on the earth. Galatians 6:7 – Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

If you follow Dave Ramsey’s principals, then I’m sure you know how important budgeting is! EveryDollar is Ramsey Solutions’ budgeting tool that can be used on your desktop or via an app on your phone. They have a free version as well as a paid version. The paid version links to your bank account to make it easier to register your transactions. The paid version used to be called EveryDollar Plus but has been updated to Ramsey+ and includes even more features. Ramsey+ Features Ramsey+ is a subscription that gives you access to 3 categories of tools & resources from Dave Ramsey and his team: Learn (Financial Peace) Budget (EveryDollar) Track (Baby Steps) Learn: Financial Peace The “Learn” side of Ramsey+ is Financial Peace, PLUS other courses and videos from Ramsey Solutions. As someone who has coordinated Financial Peace University classes for over 6 years now, I think this is a really nice feature because I know that staying connected to the education and inspiration is key to winning with money. In almost all of my classes, the members were sad when the class ended because they were afraid that they would lose their motivation. My advice has always been to plug into Dave Ramsey (and his team’s) content… whether it is a podcast or YouTube video, it will keep you inspired and motivated. Having these classes in the Ramsey+ subscription will make that even easier! Budget: EveryDollar Dave Ramsey always talks about budgeting “every dollar” before the month even begins. This is the most important step in managing your money because without a budget it is hard to know where your money is going. The other thing that is really important is tracking your spending so that you know whether you are following the budget or not. When I was a Financial Coach, I would always tell my clients that “the budget is just a wish if you make a plan but don’t follow it.” EveryDollar connects to your bank account to allow you to track your transactions easily. It will also give you insight on your spending as well as budgeting advice. Track: Baby Steps The NEW Baby Steps tracker from Ramsey Solutions allows you to track your progress along the baby steps. It asks you what step you are on when you sign up and then helps you track that step and also lets you know what is next. If you are on Baby Step 2, it will also help you discover your estimated Debt-Free date with a debt snowball calculator! Ramsey+ is a yearly subscription that you can cancel at any time. If you were to ever decide to cancel, you can still use the free version of EveryDollar that does not connect to your bank account. If you are interested in checking it out, you can find out more about it on Dave Ramsey’s website and they are offering a 14-Day Free trial.

Every day, we help clients develop a plan to achieve their financial goals and part of that is making sure they have the right insurance in place to take care of their loved ones if something happens. Life insurance in an important part of your Financial Plan. It doesn’t sound as fun to talk about life insurance as it does to talk about saving money or investing but it is definitely important. How Much Term Life Insurance Should I Have? If you listen to The Ramsey Show, you have likely heard Dave recommend having 10-12 times your income in term life insurance. That is because term insurance is usually fairly inexpensive and you can get 10-12 times your income at a very affordable rate. At that amount of life insurance, if something happens to you, it allows your loved ones to pay off the house, any other debt you may have, and continue to live the lifestyle they are used to. That way, they are not grieving and trying to figure out how to pay the bills at the same time. Is the Life Insurance at my Job Sufficient? If you have life insurance at your job, that is great but we still recommend getting it outside of your employer as well. This is for 2 main reasons…. The amount that is offered at your employer is usually not enough to be fully insured so having additional insurance is a good idea. If something happens and you leave your employer (quit, get laid off, etc) and in the meantime you develop a medical issue that causes you to be un-insurable, then you won’t be able to get life insurance on the market. Where Should You Get Life Insurance? Just as you would shop around for car or home insurance, we think it is a good idea to get quotes from a couple insurance companies in order to find the best rates for your life insurance. Our Whitaker-Myers Benefits Team would be happy to do that for you if you are interested in having it quoted. What Term is Right for Me? When you are trying to decide what term you want for your life insurance, you have to think through when you won’t need life insurance any more. When will the kids be grown and gone? When will your debt be paid off (including your home)? When will you have enough savings that if something happens to one of you, the other one will be okay, financially speaking? Of course, you can always apply for new insurance later on and increase the term that way, but thinking through what you need now is best because life insurance is typically cheaper the younger and healthier you are. Other Things to Note… If you have life insurance (term or whole life or something else) and would like to get a quote for a different policy, it is always best to get the new life insurance in place before cancelling your current life insurance policy. Be sure you are re-evaluating your policies on a regular basis. Did your income increase and now you need to increase your amount of insurance? Is the term still sufficient for you? It is always a good idea to re-evaluate your important documents on a regular basis and this is true for your life insurance policy! Even if one of you stay home with the kids, it is still important to have life insurance on you. This is because the value that you bring to the family is tremendous and all of those tasks would be expensive to replace if something were to happen to you. Life insurance can be complex and there are a lot of questions that come up when you are thinking about how much you need, so if you have questions about your specific situation, please feel free to reach out to your Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers Advisor and we would be happy to help.

If you are an OPERS employee, you may or may not already know that you have a choice in the type of retirement plan that you participate in. OPERS has 3 choices. Traditional Pension Plan Member-Directed Plan Combined Plan In this article, we will discuss the differences between the Traditional Pension Plan and the Member-Directed Plan. The Combined Plan, as it sounds, is a combination of the Traditional Pension Plan and Member-Directed Plan. If you are well established in your OPERS career and you are already in the Traditional Pension Plan, it is likely that it will be beneficial for you to stay in that plan. If you are early in your OPERS career, it is likely that you would find that the Member-Directed Plan is more beneficial for you. Those are generalizations and there is a lot that goes into determining which is the right plan for you, so please give us a call and we would be happy to discuss the options with you and help you make a decision based on your specific situation. OPERS Traditional Pension Plan Overview The Traditional Pension Plan is a defined benefit plan that provides a fixed monthly income in retirement (pension). At retirement, your pension amount is determined by a formula that rewards you for working longer. The formula uses your final average salary (the average of your highest 3-5 salary years) and your years of service. The benefit that is calculated with this formula is what your pension would be if you chose to only cover your life (single life). Meaning, you would get that amount for your lifetime and then when you pass away, your spouse would not get your pension. Instead, if you decide to do a joint life pension, your monthly benefit will be reduced but your spouse will get your pension when you pass away. Health Care Under the Traditional Pension Plan Retirees will need to sign up for health coverage and they will receive a monthly HRA (Health Reimbursement Arrangement) from OPERS. Signing up for health coverage can be a difficult and confusing task, so if you would like help, the Whitaker-Myers Benefits Team would be happy to help you! Employee & Employer Contributions Under the Traditional Pension Plan Employee Contribution: An employee's contribution rate is the same for all three of the OPERS retirement plans. Currently, OPERS members contribute the following percentage of their salary: 10% for local and state government employees 12% for public safety employees 13% for law enforcement employees Employer Contribution: Currently, employer contribution rates are: 14% for state government employees 14% for local government employees 18.1% for law enforcement or public safety employees For members participating in the Traditional Pension Plan and the Combined Plan, the employer contribution is used to fund the pension trust fund as well as the health care trust fund. If you retire from OPERS and you chose the Traditional Pension Plan, the employer/employee contributions do not impact your final benefit since your pension is calculated based on the formula that was discussed above (using your Final Average Salary and your service years). OPERS Member-Directed Plan Overview The Member-Directed Plan is a defined contribution plan where you contribute to an account that is similar to a 401(k) and you get to decide how your contributions are invested. In retirement, your benefit is based on the amount you contributed and the growth of the account. Again, this is similar to a 401(k) in the private sector. At retirement, if you decide that you want a monthly benefit, you do have the option of turning the account into an annuity. The calculation formula for members in the member-directed plan who choose to have a monthly benefit is their final account value multiplied by an annuity factor that is determined by OPERS. Employee & Employer Contributions Under the Member-Directed Plan Employee Contribution: An employee's contribution rate is the same for all three of the OPERS retirement plans. Currently, OPERS members contribute the following percentage of their salary: 10% for local and state government employees 12% for public safety employees 13% for law enforcement employees Employer Contribution: Currently, employer contributions for those in the Member-Directed plan is 7.5%. This is deposited into the member's employer contribution account and invested as directed by the member. A percentage of the remaining portion of the employer contribution amount (determined by the OPERS Board of Trustees, based on the OPERS actuary's recommendation) will be credited to a Retiree Medical Account, which is invested as directed by OPERS investment professionals. This is currently 4%. Health Care Under the Member-Directed Plan With the Member-Directed Plan, you do not qualify for health care when you retire but you will have a Retiree Medical Account (RMA) that you can use for health care expenses. This account is funded from contributions from your employer, currently 4% of your salary as previously mentioned above. The Retiree Medical Account investments are managed and directed by OPERS. The interest rate is tied to the performance of the OPERS Stable Value Fund. If the investment return is positive, interest will be applied in the same amount as the return but will not exceed 4 percent. If the investment return is negative, zero interest will be applied. In retirement, the RMA can be used for the payment of health care expenses including insurance premiums, co-pays, medical services, and even transportation to receive medical care. You can also use it to pay for limited amounts of long-term care insurance. If you were hired after July 1, 2015 you are fully vested in the RMA in 15 years. If you were hired prior to that, you are vested in 5 years. Investment Choices Under the Member-Directed Plan Remember that if you participate in the Member-Directed Plan, you choose the investments in your retirement plan account (similar to a 401(k)). You get to select from the funds that OPERS offers which include Index Funds and Target Date Funds. OPERS also offers a mutual fund-only Self-Directed Brokerage Account through Charles Schwab's Personal Choice Retirement Account®. This means that the Advisors at Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers can be the Advisor on your OPERS Member-Directed Plan account. Once the account reaches $10,000, a Whitaker-Myers Advisor can get you access to the high-quality mutual funds that we recommend within your OPERS account. If you just switched your account over to the Member-Directed Plan and do not have a $10,000 balance yet, your Whitaker-Myers Advisor would be happy to help you in picking the OPERS funds that are available to you. If you are an OPERS member, the retirement plan you choose can have significant impacts on your retirement benefits. We know this was a lot of information, so if you still have questions, please give us a call and we’d be happy to help guide you through the decision. Everyone's situation is unique and that is why you should talk with an Advisor before making a decision on which retirement plan is the best option for you. You can meet our team of Advisors and reach out to one of us here.