Your Wealth, Your Legacy Prairiewood Wealth Management

The American Dream has led thousands of people to start businesses, and eventually, become successful through years of hard work and persistence. In most cases, success did not come without lean times in the early years, late nights and long weekends, and missed quality time with family.



On top of the personal sacrifices made, successful business owners typically have paid significant amounts in taxes throughout the years – income taxes, Social Security taxes, Medicare taxes, etc.



Now after decades of hard work, their goal is to pass what they’ve created down to the next generation; so it is no wonder they are frustrated to learn that their estate may also be subject to estate taxes. Despite playing by the rules and paying taxes for years, they feel like they are a victim of their own success as Uncle Sam takes another bite at the apple.



In this podcast, we discuss planning considerations for families who are concerned about estate taxes - including how estate tax rules are expected to change at the end of 2025 when many of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 expire.



If you are interested in learning more about ways to protect the wealth you’ve created from estate taxes, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!



For more details on estate tax considerations, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/estate-planning/protect-your-estate-from-taxes/

Marjorie Bloom had worked 42 years as a federal attorney. She had amassed her nest egg of $660,000 for retirement through decades of work and an inheritance from her parents. She was looking forward to her future and ultimately leaving any leftover money to her children just as her parents had for her. Unfortunately, that all changed in 2021 when her computer suddenly froze and cunning con artists stole her life savings.

This story first published by CNBC in 2023 tells a far too common story of individuals losing funds to cyber criminals. With cybercrime becoming increasingly sophisticated, all individuals need to be prepared to protect their information and accounts.

In this podcast, we discuss the prevalence of cybercrime as well as common scams and ways to decrease the likelihood of becoming a victim.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect the wealth you’ve created from cunning cybercriminals, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For more details on cybersecurity, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/financial-planning/dont-lose-your-life-savings-in-an-instant/

Between 2010 and 2030, the Baby Boomer generation (estimated at 73 million individuals) is retiring at a rate of 10,000 people per day, and while each of these individuals likely looks toward their new found freedom with excitement, they also face significant challenges. One of the most significant challenges is ensuring their money lasts throughout retirement.

When asked about the most likely reason they may run out of money, most retirees will say a significant market decline that reduces the value of their investment accounts. However, history shows that inflation and the loss of purchasing power over time is likely a more significant risk.

In this episode, we discuss how retirees can balance the risk of market fluctuations with the loss of purchasing power as they construct a portfolio to last throughout their lifetime.

If you are interested in learning more about how to invest for retirement, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For more details on investing for the future, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/investing/your-greatest-retirement-risk/

At the end of 2023, the Magnificent 7 (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, NVIDIA, Meta, and Tesla) accounted for 28% of the S&P 500 index. With many of the largest exchange traded funds and mutual funds tracking the S&P 500 index, numerous investors have chosen to passively track the S&P 500 index with a significant portion of their portfolio.

While the S&P 500 has generally been regarded as a very diversified index, many investors don’t understand the level of concentration that the S&P 500 has in the largest tech companies.

On this episode, we discuss how an index holding 500 companies can end up with 28% of its allocation in only seven companies, the risks that this can present, and whether there are better approaches that can mitigate the risks.

If you are interested in learning more about how to invest for long-term success, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For more details on the Magnificent 7 and market cap weighting, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/investing/the-magnificent-seven-and-market-cap-weighted-indexing/

Happy New Year! Looking back at 2023, it was a whirlwind year that began with bank failures in March, continued fighting between Russia and Ukraine, a new war between Israel and Hamas, consistent increases in interest rates, and retreating inflation.

In this episode, we recap 2023 market performance and consider the key changes and planning opportunities for 2024 that individuals should consider and implement.

If you are interested in learning what’s changing as we roll into the new year and how you can update your financial plan to be prepared for the year ahead, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For more details on key changes and planning opportunities for 2024, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/financial-planning/key-changes-for-2024-and-planning-opportunities/.

Beginning in March 2022, the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in an attempt to mitigate high inflation. Over the course of the last two years, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates 11 times resulting in targeted interest rates that are 5.25% higher than they were at the beginning of 2022.

In this episode, we discuss how the rapid increase in interest rates has resulted in certificates of deposit (CDs) paying over 5% to savers. With the increase in CD rates, the advertisement of CD specials has exploded with nearly every bank marketing their attractive CD rates to the public. Naturally, this has led many individuals to ask the question whether CDs are right for them.

If you are interested in learning about CDs and points to consider when determining if they are appropriate for your situation as well as alternatives that may make more sense in specific cases, we think you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening!

For more details on certificates of deposit, check out our blog post covering the same topic at https://pw-wm.com/learn/investing/cd-rates-are-over-5-should-you-buy-them/.