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024: 2022 Year-End Financial Planning
Episode 2426th October 2022 • Retirement Equals Freedom • Josh Bretl
00:00:00 00:30:24

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They say timing is everything, which is most definitely the case when it comes to year-end financial planning. That’s why Host Josh Bretl is bringing us his Top Six End-of-Year Considerations as we bring 2022 to a close. This episode of Retirement Equals Freedom (crisply choreographed with a big assist from Erin!) features a comprehensive “to do” list related to taxes, retirement account distributions and charitable giving that you’ll want to strategize about over the coming weeks (perhaps with help from your qualified advisor).

You’ll also learn why it’s time to look at your Medicare coverage, whether now is the time to “harvest” losing stock picks and when it makes the most sense to opt for a Roth IRA conversion. The episode wraps with another round of that perennial favorite – Get to Know Josh and Dave – as well as a Dave Relates to Retirees that will leave you with a strange craving for pumpkin spice anything.

And don’t forget a very important year-end homework assignment from Josh that’s applicable to all of us, whatever our stage of life: Get busy dreaming! Each new year brings a chance to build that bucket list! 

Stay tuned for frontline reporting on whether Dave is allowed to bring his new water balloon slingshot to the offices of FSR Wealth. And if you haven’t tried it already, click here to get $25 off your first order of Cometeer Coffee. It’s the greatest!

Click here to learn more about or listen to previous episodes of The Retirement Equals Freedom Podcast. And don’t forget to join our private Facebook group, which you can find here. Don’t want to miss a thing? Visit this link to sign up for a weekly email with all the latest!

Need help figuring out your year-end financial planning strategy? Click here to explore the services that FSR Wealth Strategies offers and schedule a discovery call with one of the team’s CPAs. When it comes to living your best life, it’s never too early to get started!

Transcripts

Josh Bretl:

We make big long plans for people, and we're planning for people for 10, 15, 20 years.

Josh Bretl:

But there's things that we have to implement every single year.

Josh Bretl:

And a lot of it is very time sensitive.

Josh Bretl:

And so there's things that we need to do within a calendar year or at a certain time of the year.

Josh Bretl:

And so year end is when we do a lot of things.

Dave Schmidt:

They say timing is everything, which is most definitely the case when

Dave Schmidt:

In this episode, Josh brings us his top six end of year considerations as we bring 2022 to a close.

Dave Schmidt:

Today is a comprehensive to-do list related to taxes, retirement account

Dave Schmidt:

You're also gonna learn why it's time to look at your Medicare coverage, why now is it time

Dave Schmidt:

Woo.

Dave Schmidt:

This is gonna be a good one.

Dave Schmidt:

This is The Retirement Equals Freedom Podcast.

Dave Schmidt:

Your host, Josh Bretl, is the owner of FSR Wealth Strategies and for the last

Dave Schmidt:

Me?

Dave Schmidt:

Well, I'm Dave Josh's longtime friend, co-host and fan of water balloon slingshots.

Dave Schmidt:

So now let me let you let me, end this introduction so we can talk all about year end planning.

Dave Schmidt:

FSR Wealth Management is a registered investment advisor located in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Dave Schmidt:

Information and opinions contained in this audio have been arrived at by FSR Wealth advisors.

Dave Schmidt:

All information herein is for informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice.

Dave Schmidt:

It does not constitute an offer, a solicitation or recommendation to purchase any security.

Dave Schmidt:

FSR is not providing legal, tax, accounting, or financial planning advice in this audio.

Dave Schmidt:

These views are as of the date of this publication and are subject to change.

Josh Bretl:

Oh, David.

Dave Schmidt:

Josh loves a good slurp.

Josh Bretl:

When Landon was little, did you guys read the David books at all?

Dave Schmidt:

Oh, yeah.

Josh Bretl:

I feel like when I just said, Oh David, it was kind of like how Zach, I think

Dave Schmidt:

They always grossed me out though.

Josh Bretl:

Yeah, they're always about picking noses and...

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah, just raunchy stuff.

Josh Bretl:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

So you and I just finished lunch.

Josh Bretl:

And I have, like everything else, a needless story about it, but this is the

Josh Bretl:

This is a go-to for Missy and I I have terrible eaters as children, one of

Josh Bretl:

Just traditional ground beef tacos, like the little seasoning packet with ground beef.

Josh Bretl:

And they don't even like the shells.

Josh Bretl:

They just like the meat.

Josh Bretl:

And then chips and guac.

Josh Bretl:

Well, you have it so often.

Josh Bretl:

I mean, I don't mind that stuff.

Josh Bretl:

I grew up with that.

Josh Bretl:

I can't eat it anymore.

Josh Bretl:

We've had it so often, it's just repulsive.

Josh Bretl:

So it's gotten so bad where now if it's Taco Tuesday if we're having tacos

Josh Bretl:

And Missy and I'll actually order from this restaurant.

Josh Bretl:

We went to Guac N Tacos for lunch today and it was phenomenal.

Dave Schmidt:

Phenomenal is the right word.

Dave Schmidt:

I am no stranger to tacos as you can imagine.

Dave Schmidt:

Erin, you know I love tacos.

Dave Schmidt:

And you...

Josh Bretl:

Why would Erin know you love tacos?

Dave Schmidt:

Well, because she knows I love food.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

And so I naturally love tacos.

Josh Bretl:

Do you think she's going to make that extrapolation?

Dave Schmidt:

What does that mean?

Josh Bretl:

She's going to...

Dave Schmidt:

It's like big word Friday here in the office.

Josh Bretl:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

Today we're talking about year end planning, and Dan was just here in the

Josh Bretl:

And he apparently commented to Erin because we told him we were going to talk about year end planning.

Josh Bretl:

"What's Dave going to know about year end planning?"

Dave Schmidt:

Let me correct you.

Dave Schmidt:

I'm pretty sure his comment was, "I bet Dave is the one that knows all about year

Josh Bretl:

I think it was a facetious sound though.

Dave Schmidt:

Listen, I can pick up on sarcasm.

Dave Schmidt:

And I picked up, no sarcasm there whatsoever.

Josh Bretl:

No, I'm just extrapolating.

Dave Schmidt:

But yes, Guac N Tacos was delicious.

Dave Schmidt:

You have had a client event there in the summer.

Dave Schmidt:

And you're doing another one here in October, and I will be going to that one.

Josh Bretl:

I'm sure you will be.

Dave Schmidt:

Yes.

Josh Bretl:

Sure you will be.

Dave Schmidt:

I mean, I'll have some value there.

Dave Schmidt:

I'll maybe talk to people or give an introduction or sign autographs.

Dave Schmidt:

I'm not sure here.

Josh Bretl:

So you have a story on here that you mentioned you wanted to talk about.

Dave Schmidt:

Yes.

Dave Schmidt:

So it's pretty cute.

Dave Schmidt:

Episode 21, we talked about the secure act, but specifically during our segment of Get

Dave Schmidt:

And so I went the route of a water balloon slingshot was something that I always wanted

Dave Schmidt:

I got a text message from my dad the other day.

Dave Schmidt:

Actually, let me read it here really quick.

Josh Bretl:

This is a text message probably took him a long time to type.

Dave Schmidt:

Oh, yeah.

Josh Bretl:

Right, Big Mike.

Dave Schmidt:

I mean dad, I still have to teach you the difference between a text message and email.

Dave Schmidt:

I'll get to that eventually.

Dave Schmidt:

But this message said, "Hey, a surprise is headed your way.

Dave Schmidt:

You should receive it by Friday.

Dave Schmidt:

We are never too old to outgrow our childhood dreams.

Dave Schmidt:

Let we know when it arrives.

Dave Schmidt:

Love you."

Dave Schmidt:

And I thought, okay, my dad's the best.

Dave Schmidt:

We even talked about it in the podcast.

Dave Schmidt:

I didn't get the water balloon sling shot because my dad didn't want me to get it.

Dave Schmidt:

It's because my mom didn't want to get it.

Dave Schmidt:

So old man, if that is in fact what you sent me, we are going to have lots of fun.

Dave Schmidt:

We're going to start pegging people here outside the building when it arrives.

Josh Bretl:

There's a funeral home across the street from our office.

Josh Bretl:

Big funeral days, we're just launching water balloons.

Dave Schmidt:

Yes.

Dave Schmidt:

We could probably hit the gas station from here if you try.

Josh Bretl:

Oh, we could, but we won't don't that.

Dave Schmidt:

No, no, no, no.

Dave Schmidt:

We are nothing but professionals here.

Josh Bretl:

So what do you think he's going to send you after we talk about year end planning?

Dave Schmidt:

Well, let's hold that off until the Dave relates to retirees

Dave Schmidt:

How's that big word for you, Josh?

Josh Bretl:

In high school is when you and I became friends in the nineties, and one of the

Dave Schmidt:

Yes.

Josh Bretl:

And it was a common word between all of our friends.

Josh Bretl:

I had no idea what it was until I heard I think you use it.

Josh Bretl:

Do you know what this word was?

Dave Schmidt:

I mean, there's a few.

Dave Schmidt:

There's therefore hence.

Dave Schmidt:

There's, oh, wait, wait, wait.

Dave Schmidt:

Foreshadowing.

Josh Bretl:

No, no.

Josh Bretl:

There's a plethora.

Josh Bretl:

That was the word that I had no idea what it was.

Josh Bretl:

And I heard you guys were like, thought this was the greatest word ever.

Josh Bretl:

I thought if I'm going to hang out with these guys, and I want them to make me think I'm cool.

Dave Schmidt:

Well the verdict's still out on that whole you being cool thing.

Dave Schmidt:

But I will say this.

Dave Schmidt:

I do feel like we are the most prepared today than we've ever been for an episode.

Dave Schmidt:

I am so confident in what we're talking about.

Josh Bretl:

So today's topic, let me introduce today's topic here.

Josh Bretl:

And our office gets really, really busy this time of year.

Josh Bretl:

My dad used to always say, after Labor Day, all of a sudden the phones start ringing.

Josh Bretl:

And it still holds true because people come out of that summer mode, and they

Josh Bretl:

But it's really October and November, our office is just nuts.

Josh Bretl:

And that's because of year end planning.

Josh Bretl:

There's a lot of things that we make big long plans for people, and we're

Josh Bretl:

But there's things that we have to implement every single year.

Josh Bretl:

And a lot of it is very time sensitive.

Josh Bretl:

And so there's things that we need to do within a calendar year or at a certain time of the year.

Josh Bretl:

And so year end is when we do a lot of things.

Josh Bretl:

And the reason we do it at year end is because we know what's happened that year.

Josh Bretl:

I mean, if we did it in February, we don't know what's going to happen the next 10 months of the

Josh Bretl:

Does that make sense, Dave?

Dave Schmidt:

Well, yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

It's not called beginning of the year planning.

Josh Bretl:

No, no it's not.

Josh Bretl:

No, it's not.

Josh Bretl:

It's end of the year.

Josh Bretl:

It's much harder to extrapolate the farther out you go from the beginning

Dave Schmidt:

That is number three already.

Josh Bretl:

So what are some things that we look at for the end of the year?

Josh Bretl:

A lot of these are tax related because of their...

Alex:

Hashtag tax nerd.

Josh Bretl:

Hi, Al.

Josh Bretl:

By the way.

Josh Bretl:

I am just this close to getting him to record Taxes and Os for me.

Josh Bretl:

So if I get it, it's going to be great.

Josh Bretl:

But a lot of these are tax related, and that's because of the tax deadline

Josh Bretl:

So I want to go through these a little bit.

Josh Bretl:

And one of the first, and we talked about this a lot, in fact, we've done whole

Dave Schmidt:

Oh, I thought you were going to go with Puddin' Cakes.

Josh Bretl:

We have not done a whole episode on it.

Josh Bretl:

We haven't talked about Puddin' Cakes in a while.

Josh Bretl:

But you know what I might love as an adult more than Puddin' Cakes?

Dave Schmidt:

Taxes.

Josh Bretl:

No Roth IRAs.

Dave Schmidt:

Oh man.

Dave Schmidt:

Do I need a Hashtag Roth nerd?

Josh Bretl:

Hashtag Roth nerd.

Josh Bretl:

Let's see if I can get Al to do that But the conversion of a Roth IRA is essentially,

Josh Bretl:

And you do this for tax purposes.

Josh Bretl:

So you pay the taxes now so that you don't have to in the future.

Josh Bretl:

And the deadline is if you're going to do it in a year and have it show up in this year's tax return,

Josh Bretl:

So what we do in our office is we look and we say, okay, here's all the

Josh Bretl:

If we add 10,000, 20,000, $200,000 of Roth conversion, what does that do?

Josh Bretl:

So what tax impact does that have?

Josh Bretl:

And then we compare it to if we don't do anything, what it would be in the future.

Josh Bretl:

And we have pretty sophisticated but yet easy to understand tools that

Josh Bretl:

So Roth IRAs the first one converting to a Roth.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

Now that conversion can change every year.

Josh Bretl:

Those are decisions you have to make every year.

Josh Bretl:

So that's why doing things by the end of the year is important.

Josh Bretl:

The next one is a big deal that few people think about and probably more people should do.

Josh Bretl:

And that's tax-loss harvesting.

Alex:

Hashtag tax nerd.

Josh Bretl:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

He's going to come in a lot today with that one.

Dave Schmidt:

Okay.

Dave Schmidt:

Maybe I'll just hold off on hitting that button again.

Josh Bretl:

No, I think you might want to just hold it down.

Dave Schmidt:

Oh, okay.

Josh Bretl:

Tax-loss harvesting is only done in non IRA accounts, so they're non-qualified accounts.

Josh Bretl:

You want to think of your individual, your joint, your trust, things along those lines.

Josh Bretl:

And if you're holding equities or even anything that's gone up or down in value, now is a

Josh Bretl:

So what does that mean?

Josh Bretl:

Well, you may have these large capital gains.

Josh Bretl:

So especially if held stock for a long time, you may have some losers that you

Josh Bretl:

And there's a way to do that pretty systematically.

Josh Bretl:

And tax-loss harvesting some years can be really beneficial.

Josh Bretl:

Some years tax-loss harvesting can be not as beneficial.

Josh Bretl:

It never hurts you.

Josh Bretl:

But this is going to be a year with all the volatility that we've had, tax-loss harvesting

Dave Schmidt:

Can you give me some examples of these?

Dave Schmidt:

Did you use the word equities?

Josh Bretl:

Equities are stocks.

Dave Schmidt:

So not like my house has lost value.

Dave Schmidt:

This is nothing to do with...

Josh Bretl:

No.

Josh Bretl:

So let me put this perspective.

Josh Bretl:

So let's say someone bought Apple in 1985, and now they're a gazillionaire.

Josh Bretl:

If they were to sell that, they'd have to pay taxes on that gain.

Dave Schmidt:

Capital gains, right?

Josh Bretl:

Capital gains, Yeah, capital gains.

Josh Bretl:

But let's say they bought something, I don't know.

Dave Schmidt:

Blockbuster.

Josh Bretl:

Blockbuster.

Josh Bretl:

I don't even know Blockbuster stocks going around.

Josh Bretl:

They bought something that is way down in value, now may be a time that they can

Josh Bretl:

And they can sell some of the shares of Apple or whatever they have as a gain, and

Josh Bretl:

Now people will say, well, what if I still want to hold Apple?

Josh Bretl:

Well, there's things that we can do to talk about that and to make that happen in the future.

Josh Bretl:

But this money that you have these huge gains in, unless your sole goal is to gift it to your

Josh Bretl:

if you're going to end up spending that money, most people want to spend their money or at

Josh Bretl:

We have to find a way to pay the taxes or get it out in the cheapest way possible.

Josh Bretl:

So tax-loss harvesting is something that you have to do before the end of the year.

Josh Bretl:

And there's some time sensitivity to that.

Josh Bretl:

End of the year is also the deadline to take RMDs or required minimum distributions.

Josh Bretl:

And this year it's going to be even more important for people.

Josh Bretl:

People who have their own IRAs.

Josh Bretl:

They're over the age 72.

Josh Bretl:

They're used to taking RMDs.

Josh Bretl:

But there's one specifically that I want to point out, and that is for inherited IRAs.

Josh Bretl:

We talked a little bit about this with the Secure act in a prior episode, the Secure

Josh Bretl:

And what it said was, you had 10 years to take the money out.

Josh Bretl:

Well, originally we thought, Hey, within the 10 years, you got to take the money out.

Josh Bretl:

They don't care if you do it all in year one or all in year 10 or somehow spread it out.

Josh Bretl:

Well, the IRS has since two years later come out with guidance on how that should be done.

Josh Bretl:

And they want you to take out over that 10 year period.

Dave Schmidt:

So equal amount, right.

Josh Bretl:

Equal amount.

Josh Bretl:

So if you have inherited money, someone who passed away from 2020 on to now, you need to

Josh Bretl:

And so what they do is they tax you still as if you should have taken them out.

Josh Bretl:

And then they impose a 55.0% penalty on top of the tax.

Dave Schmidt:

Oh, my oh my.

Josh Bretl:

So you don't want to mess around with required minimum distributions.

Josh Bretl:

So that's something that we want to make sure gets cleaned up and gets taken care of.

Dave Schmidt:

One of your most popular quotes from that episode was...

Josh Bretl:

Oh, I have many.

Dave Schmidt:

Well, you do.

Dave Schmidt:

There's two.

Dave Schmidt:

But one was with the government giveth, they also taketh the way.

Dave Schmidt:

But the other one was, with the Secure Act, people could end up paying significantly

Josh Bretl:

Sometimes I just get teary eyed that you listen to me.

Dave Schmidt:

Well, Josh, just a quick little breather.

Dave Schmidt:

This came to mind because neither of us are drinking coffee right now.

Dave Schmidt:

Did you see Cometeer Coffee had some press?

Josh Bretl:

No.

Dave Schmidt:

The long story short, Goldman Sachs said no more free coffee in one of

Dave Schmidt:

So that day, Cometeer brought a table outside one of their offices and gave away

Dave Schmidt:

And they got press and Entrepreneur and Ink Magazine and all these things.

Josh Bretl:

They probably, everyone heard about it from our podcast.

Dave Schmidt:

Well, that is exactly right.

Dave Schmidt:

Goldman Sachs is a little intimidated by me being on this podcast.

Dave Schmidt:

They've been trying to recruit me as you well know to be their lead whatever they do.

Dave Schmidt:

But yeah, Cometeer man, good for you guys.

Dave Schmidt:

Don't forget the small guys like me.

Josh Bretl:

The fact that you don't know what Goldman Sachs does doesn't

Josh Bretl:

So let's move on.

Josh Bretl:

Let's keep going on year end planning here after we talk about our Cometeer.

Josh Bretl:

But

Josh Bretl:

Now is a time to talk about charitable contributions too.

Josh Bretl:

And I've always told people never give to charity for a tax deduction.

Josh Bretl:

But if you're going to give to charity, make it as tax advantageous as possible.

Josh Bretl:

But there's a couple things you should be thinking about.

Josh Bretl:

And with the new tax law's in there, sometimes charitable contributions don't help as much.

Josh Bretl:

And if you are RMD age, maybe you should be looking at something called we call QCDs, which

Josh Bretl:

And what that means is taking your RMD money, you could go up to $100,000.

Josh Bretl:

Now, I don't have any client right now that's donated $100,000 in a year, but

Josh Bretl:

And so what that means is it doesn't even show up in your tax return.

Josh Bretl:

So it gets to avoid income, which has the chance of lowering the taxation on social security.

Josh Bretl:

It has the chance of lowering how much you pay for Medicare.

Josh Bretl:

There's all sorts of benefits in these qualified charitable distributions.

Josh Bretl:

Plus, if you're only taking the standard deduction anyways, then these QCDs can really benefit you.

Josh Bretl:

So now is a time to act on that as that's there.

Dave Schmidt:

All right.

Josh Bretl:

Let's talk a little bit about Medicare.

Josh Bretl:

We don't do any Medicare in our office.

Josh Bretl:

We don't sell any Medicare policies, but most of our clients are Medicare age or at least close to it.

Josh Bretl:

But Medicare open enrollment goes from October 15th all the way through December 7th.

Josh Bretl:

So this is a time where if you would like to change Medicare policies, this

Josh Bretl:

So if you have any changes, especially check your Medicare Part D because those prescription

Josh Bretl:

Formularies is what drugs they cover, what price they change every year so do

Dave Schmidt:

That was my mistake.

Dave Schmidt:

I was looking at Form G, and I was just filling out the wrong information.

Josh Bretl:

You get that G and D all mixed.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah, it sounds similar.

Josh Bretl:

But one of the big ones here, this is kind of the last one that I want

Josh Bretl:

And I tell every retiree, now is the time that you have way more control in your

Josh Bretl:

So by doing a projection, you can determine do you want to add more income?

Josh Bretl:

Is now a time that we should be pushing income till next year?

Josh Bretl:

And that's different for every person.

Josh Bretl:

But unless you're taking the time at the end of the year to kind of do that projection,

Josh Bretl:

And by doing that projection, that allows you to make good decisions because you don't

Dave Schmidt:

And if they're in the office the same time as me, I can project their next few

Josh Bretl:

You could extrapolate how much coffee you're going to drink over time.

Dave Schmidt:

Now you're just showing off because I don't know how to use the word correctly.

Josh Bretl:

We're going to get it before the end of the year.

Dave Schmidt:

All right.

Dave Schmidt:

I'll see.

Josh Bretl:

So now the last bullet point.

Josh Bretl:

Now I said the last one I said was final, and that was the final planning

Josh Bretl:

But this one is the most fun.

Josh Bretl:

This is start dreaming of 2023.

Josh Bretl:

Start thinking big, start figuring what you're going to do.

Josh Bretl:

Do that bucket list of what are you going to do in that year?

Josh Bretl:

Because your money is not something that you put on a wall.

Josh Bretl:

And it's not art just to look at.

Josh Bretl:

It's there to make your life better.

Josh Bretl:

So what are you going to do next year?

Dave Schmidt:

It's not like my Sleepy Hollow figurines.

Dave Schmidt:

You don't just sit there and admire it.

Josh Bretl:

That is pure art.

Josh Bretl:

Dave.

Josh Bretl:

Pure art.

Dave Schmidt:

Thank you, I appreciate that.

Dave Schmidt:

So is the mural that you and I had painted a few years ago.

Dave Schmidt:

Remember you and I riding that bull through the pastures?

Josh Bretl:

I was worried.

Josh Bretl:

I was like, what's he talking about?

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

Anybody who watches Modern Family will know the bull.

Dave Schmidt:

Okay.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

2023.

Dave Schmidt:

I think that's the year of my arcade.

Josh Bretl:

Your old school retro arcade in your basement?

Dave Schmidt:

Yes.

Dave Schmidt:

Not me opening my full blown arcade for people to enjoy.

Dave Schmidt:

But yes, I think Carla might finally let me buy an arcade for the basement.

Dave Schmidt:

We don't have much room or we put in the office.

Dave Schmidt:

That's what I'm trying to actually push for.

Dave Schmidt:

And that way you pay for it and then it's here.

Josh Bretl:

That's not happening.

Dave Schmidt:

Okay.

Dave Schmidt:

So okay, the bucket list, Josh, I mean, what's on your 2023 bucket list?

Dave Schmidt:

Have you not sat down and figured it out yet?

Josh Bretl:

No, I haven't.

Josh Bretl:

And I usually do.

Dave Schmidt:

Do you?

Josh Bretl:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

I'm a big bucket list planner.

Josh Bretl:

I love that stuff.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah, I remember you were about your summer bucket list.

Josh Bretl:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

No, I have not.

Josh Bretl:

We're starting a big house remodel, fix up.

Josh Bretl:

So it's kind of like all that's on my mind.

Josh Bretl:

It's just getting to 2023.

Josh Bretl:

I think we should do a future episode on bucket list items for 2023.

Dave Schmidt:

I think that'd be great.

Dave Schmidt:

We can ask your clients.

Josh Bretl:

Oh, what theirs are.

Josh Bretl:

Oh, it's going to be fun, David.

Josh Bretl:

So Dave, I think people want to get to know us.

Dave Schmidt:

You think so?

Josh Bretl:

I think so.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

What, what?

Dave Schmidt:

Okay.

Dave Schmidt:

Hey, Mr.

Dave Schmidt:

Josh, let's take a break.

Dave Schmidt:

You've been talking for so long, and my ears are sore.

Dave Schmidt:

Let's not make them snore.

Dave Schmidt:

Listening shouldn't be a chore.

Dave Schmidt:

So let's get to know Josh and Dave and watch our ratings soar!

Josh Bretl:

Well, I don't sing along to this.

Josh Bretl:

You do.

Josh Bretl:

But you can't help yourself to dance.

Dave Schmidt:

I agree.

Josh Bretl:

Alex liked the music too, just the underlying music.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

Did he?

Josh Bretl:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

He wants just that to be able to play in his room.

Dave Schmidt:

He does have that app now that he can make his own music, right?

Dave Schmidt:

Didn't you say?

Josh Bretl:

Oh, that's right.

Josh Bretl:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

On his...

Dave Schmidt:

On his iPad or Chromebook.

Josh Bretl:

Chromebook.

Josh Bretl:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

That's cool.

Josh Bretl:

All right, Dave, I got a question for you.

Dave Schmidt:

I'm ready for it.

Josh Bretl:

Okay.

Dave Schmidt:

All right.

Josh Bretl:

And I actually don't know my answer for you.

Josh Bretl:

I know my answer to this, but I don't know what your answer's going to be.

Josh Bretl:

Do you like to plan things out in detail or be spontaneous?

Josh Bretl:

If you guys could see the concentration on his face right now.

Josh Bretl:

Yeah, it's intense.

Dave Schmidt:

It's like deep thoughts by Dave Schmidt.

Dave Schmidt:

I am not spontaneous at all.

Dave Schmidt:

I'm also not a planner really at all.

Josh Bretl:

You just exist.

Josh Bretl:

You're just going from place to place.

Dave Schmidt:

I'm just kind of there.

Josh Bretl:

Like a pinball that just goes around.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

I'm kind of just in the middle, man.

Dave Schmidt:

I'm kind of like a free agent in life, you know what I'm saying?

Dave Schmidt:

If Josh needs me to give an introduction at one of his workshops, I'll do it, man.

Dave Schmidt:

But ask me to plan a vacation or even look at the Schmidt calendar for the upcoming weekend.

Dave Schmidt:

I'm just not going to, I just don't do it.

Dave Schmidt:

Josh, are you spontaneous?

Dave Schmidt:

Are you a big planner?

Josh Bretl:

I'm a planner.

Josh Bretl:

Now I'm going to caveat this, if that's the right word.

Josh Bretl:

I'm going to...

Dave Schmidt:

Extrapolate this?

Josh Bretl:

No, this is not an extrapolation.

Josh Bretl:

But anyways, there's a asterisk next to that.

Josh Bretl:

I believe that planning allows me to be spontaneous.

Josh Bretl:

And I actually got that from, I like to listen to books and read books.

Josh Bretl:

And one I was reading was by a retired Navy Seal named Jocko Willink,

Josh Bretl:

He has a line in his book that says, "Discipline equals freedom."

Josh Bretl:

And I was like, well, that's kind of crazy.

Josh Bretl:

But by knowing what I'm going to be doing, it allows me the freedom to make changes if I want to.

Josh Bretl:

My wife makes fun of me because when we go on vacation, we'll pick out the

Josh Bretl:

But I will know.

Josh Bretl:

We went to Paris.

Josh Bretl:

I knew every subway line.

Josh Bretl:

I knew how to get from the airport.

Josh Bretl:

Anything logistical for transportation, I wanted to know it.

Josh Bretl:

And that way we could make decisions, and we could be spontaneous.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

We've always thought of you as logistically savvy.

Josh Bretl:

That was my nickname in high school.

Dave Schmidt:

Was it now?

Dave Schmidt:

Oh, well,

Dave Schmidt:

Dave relates to retirees.

Josh Bretl:

The part everyone's been waiting for.

Dave Schmidt:

Now, what I did hear is I put three bullet points in our notes.

Josh Bretl:

Didn't read them.

Dave Schmidt:

Oh, that's fantastic.

Dave Schmidt:

But they're potential ways that I can relate to year end tax planning.

Dave Schmidt:

Now, you care to guess which one?

Josh Bretl:

I don't know where you're going to go.

Josh Bretl:

I think you're going to go fall harvesting the Schmidt house.

Dave Schmidt:

Okay.

Dave Schmidt:

So here's how I can relate to you, dear retiree.

Dave Schmidt:

As soon as it gets to be September 21st, actually earlier than that, Starbucks

Josh Bretl:

Think about in August this year.

Dave Schmidt:

It was August.

Dave Schmidt:

I've already had nine of them, by the way.

Dave Schmidt:

I have a competition with my dad to see who can spend more money on Starbucks pumpkin drinks.

Dave Schmidt:

I'm leading nine to one.

Dave Schmidt:

So his blood sugar is much healthier than mine.

Dave Schmidt:

But Trader Joe's has their pumpkin palooza.

Dave Schmidt:

So I plan for the end of the year by just spending ungodly amounts of money on pumpkin stuff.

Dave Schmidt:

You go into my house right now, I have 150 bucks worth of Trader Joe's pumpkin stuff, muffins.

Dave Schmidt:

I have waffles.

Dave Schmidt:

I got pumpkin cereal bars, pumpkin potato chips.

Dave Schmidt:

Just picked up pumpkin yogurt covered pretzels.

Dave Schmidt:

So I like to plan for the end of the year by harvesting.

Dave Schmidt:

You see what I did there?

Josh Bretl:

I saw it.

Josh Bretl:

I saw it.

Dave Schmidt:

All these different things of pumpkin.

Dave Schmidt:

I have slowly gotten Landon to appreciate the pumpkin.

Dave Schmidt:

Carla is kind of annoyed with the pumpkin, but that's how I plan for the end of the

Dave Schmidt:

And that is how Dave relates to retirees.

Dave Schmidt:

And Erin loves pumpkin stuff just like me.

Dave Schmidt:

So Josh, take it away, relate to Dave.

Josh Bretl:

So year end planning is something, as I said in the beginning, that is time sensitive.

Josh Bretl:

And one of the reasons you do it now is because it's going to end, it's going to go away.

Josh Bretl:

And if you don't use it, you lose it.

Josh Bretl:

And I think you kind of get it.

Josh Bretl:

You're kind of in the same boat as retirees, but as a retiree, if they don't use that tax loss

Josh Bretl:

They can't all of a sudden do it again in the future year.

Josh Bretl:

If you don't get your pumpkin spiced gourd flavored meat or whatever you do, there's always next year.

Josh Bretl:

And it doesn't really matter.

Josh Bretl:

I mean...

Dave Schmidt:

Okay, I have a nickname for Landon and Carla.

Dave Schmidt:

They call me slumpy sometimes.

Dave Schmidt:

It's a mix between grumpy and sleepy.

Dave Schmidt:

Now, if I don't have enough pumpkin to last me through the winter, believe

Dave Schmidt:

So while it may not be as devastating to outsiders looking in by not having enough pumpkin

Josh Bretl:

I see where you're going with it.

Josh Bretl:

I'm just not buying the urgency of necessity as it comes into play there.

Josh Bretl:

But it does make sense.

Josh Bretl:

I guess that could probably be said about almost all of your Dave relates to retirees.

Josh Bretl:

So no, I could see it.

Josh Bretl:

I don't want a slumpy Dave.

Josh Bretl:

And I don't want anyone to spend more money than they have to in taxes that's out there.

Dave Schmidt:

That's fair.

Josh Bretl:

But you could always double up next year.

Josh Bretl:

If you don't get the pumpkin this year, you could always double up next year.

Josh Bretl:

You can't always double up with year end planning.

Dave Schmidt:

So I went to Trader Joe's this week again, and I came home

Dave Schmidt:

I'm like, oh, I got a couple things at granola.

Dave Schmidt:

We're running low.

Dave Schmidt:

And I left the receipt in the counter.

Dave Schmidt:

She's like, why'd you spend 35 bucks?

Dave Schmidt:

I'm like, oh, I got more pumpkin stuff.

Dave Schmidt:

She's like, David, why do you?

Dave Schmidt:

So I have no self-control.

Josh Bretl:

How do you think Carla's going to feel that your imitation of her sounded a lot like Becks.

Dave Schmidt:

Oh no.

Josh Bretl:

Every lady likes to be compared to her mother-in-law's voice.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

That's just the way it is.

Dave Schmidt:

So, Josh, if I am correct with my dad's little surprise, can I bring the water

Josh Bretl:

You can bring it, and we can talk a lot about it, but I

Josh Bretl:

I mean, in college, I have to admit I did do it, but I was just shooting other college kids.

Josh Bretl:

I don't know if I could bring myself to doing that here in good old downtown Elmhurst.

Dave Schmidt:

Well, I would just shoot it in the back against the fence or

Josh Bretl:

It would be fun.

Josh Bretl:

Maybe we get Thornton's over there.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah, tag some people.

Dave Schmidt:

Oh my goodness.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

Well, Dave, that was a fun episode.

Josh Bretl:

I'm glad Erin brought up year end tax planning and not just tax planning, year end planning in general.

Dave Schmidt:

I'm glad you brought the word propagate.

Dave Schmidt:

Or no, extrapolate.

Josh Bretl:

Extrapolate.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

It's a big word.

Josh Bretl:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

I'm glad you've learned it now.

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Dave Schmidt:

So glad.

Josh Bretl:

There's a plethora of words you don't know yet, but we'll get there.

Dave Schmidt:

Wow.

Dave Schmidt:

All right.

Dave Schmidt:

Well, we'll see what I come up with for next story.

Dave Schmidt:

Listeners, we love you.

Dave Schmidt:

Thank you for listening to our show.

Dave Schmidt:

If you could do us the big favor of sharing this with one of your friends.

Dave Schmidt:

Next time you're out for a pumpkin spice latte, open up your Apple podcast app and

Dave Schmidt:

It is life changing.

Dave Schmidt:

What do you think?

Josh Bretl:

I can't wait till somebody says that.

Dave Schmidt:

Well, people say it all the time on the streets.

Dave Schmidt:

You just are not listening hard enough.

Josh Bretl:

Well, with that...

Dave Schmidt:

Yeah.

Josh Bretl:

Debbie.

Dave Schmidt:

Yep.

Josh Bretl:

Bye.

Dave Schmidt:

Extrapolation.

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