How Your Best Year Ever Could Happen in 2019, Ep #69

Even though by all counts, 2018 was a terrible year for investing, you can make 2019 your best year ever. I can say that so confidently because I believe that it doesn’t depend on what will happen in the markets or economy. It depends on you.

On this first episode of 2019, I want to help you make a pivot toward the kind of mindset that can make 2019 your best year ever. We’ll begin with some up to date investing headlines, look into the details of what happened in 2018 from a financial standpoint, and wrap up by thinking through how our mindset brings a vitally important resource to the table.

Here’s how your best #investing year ever could happen in 2019. #RetirementStartsToday #retirement #RetirementPodcast #RetirementPlanning Click To Tweet

Outline of This Episode

[0:38] Hope you had a great holiday season and are ready for 2019
[1:13] Retirement headlines: gift tax changes
[6:37] Was 2018 the worst year ever for investing?
[9:51] What should you do when you wrap up the worst investing year ever?

The annual gift exclusion needs a bit of explanation

As is their tendency, the powers-that-be at the IRS have made changes to the laws – this time relating to estate and gift taxes. These are typically confusing laws to begin with, so changes make it even harder for the average investor like you and me to keep tabs on what’s going on. So I wanted to put it into a nutshell for you – especially regarding the gift exclusion.

The gifting limits are annual in nature – so you can do the following each tax year…

Each spouse can give up to $15,000 to an individual.
You can do the same for as many individuals as you like.
That means a married couple can gift up to $30,000 to one individual.

Listen to this episode to hear how gifts over that amount will impact your lifetime exemption.

When it comes to #tax law, the annual gift exclusion needs a bit of explanation. I walk through it on this episode.#RetirementStartsToday #retirement #RetirementPodcast #RetirementPlanning Click To Tweet

Was 2018 the worst year ever for investing?

Many are saying that 2018 was the worst year on record for investors – most recently cited in a Marketwatch article linked in the resources for this episode. Some of the reasons experts are making the assertion are…

90% of the 70 asset classes tracked by Deutsche Bank are on track to post negative returns for the year. That’s an all-time high.
Stocks and bonds were BOTH down in 2018, the first time in about 25 years.
Even “flight to safety” investments like Treasuries and gold are down for the year.

You can see why 2018 is NOT being labeled as a roaring success, can’t you? But that’s only part of the info coming in about 2018. Listen to hear how Large cap, Small Cap, Bonds, REITs, and many others fared in the past year – and keep listening to hear how I advise you to set yourself up for success in 2019.

Your best year ever may depend entirely on your mindset

Friends from a mastermind group that I’m a part of recently recommended a book to me. It’s called “Your Best Year Ever,” by author Michael Hyatt. I decided to read the book for a handful of reasons – Referrals from people I know and trust carry a lot of weight for me. But also, I like to read with a view toward improving my own life and toward helping others improve theirs. I like to keep my eyes and ears open for lessons that hold wisdom for folks working on the transition from work to retirement – and this book seemed a great resource toward those ends.

One of the most impacting concepts Michael writes about has to do with the type of mindset you have about the future. He suggests evaluating whether you have a habit of thinking in terms of scarcity or abundance – because how you think WILL impact your actions and opportunities.

I share many tips from the author on this episode, but I want you to know 6 ways he suggests you can lean into an abundance mindset… when you discover you have what he terms, “limiting beliefs.”