Newsletters - Past Issues

BITCOIN! BITCOIN and other CRYTPO Currencies. A long awaited commentary. December 25, 2017

 

Wishing all of you the merriest of holidays and a prosperous New Year. (not a proposterous one like 2017) 

 

Hi all you fans of Money Matters and monetary truths everywhere. I get so, so, so many questions on Bitcoin and crypto currencies, I finally started commentary on them here today. Keep in mind, much like "pot" investments, the regulators as super careful about what is said by registered financial professionals. Hence the time it took for me to comment. But here is the start of many. Read below and feel free to send me an email with your questions. And it Bitcoin a part of your strategy?  What IS your strategy for 2018, your retirement and beyond? Do you even have one? Why not sit down with me and lets talk over lunch? The cornerstone of progress is education. Let's you and I start yours on your money. Call me  (530) 559-1214. It costs nothing to sit with me and chat. (Minimums apply as to your portfolio) Call for those numbers. Look forward to hearing from all of you.

Before we begin, take notes of some things taking place as to Money Matters.

1- Seminar coming!  Stay tuned for date and time, location and topics.

2-Next show is January 4th, 12:00 pm PST at noon. Look forward to a special surprise if I can swing it!

3-"Investing in Community" video series is growing by leaps and bounds. Check out my Facebook page to see all of them. Our last video recieved over 8000 views! We can profile your business, event or non-profit. Contact me for details!

 

Now keep reading and stay frosty!

marc

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Hello Money Matters fans,

I am asked my opinion about Bitcoin A LOT!  

I saw this article and thought it was spot on as to my opinion. Keep in mind this is a third party article. I have an original article forthcoming after I get it approved by the regulators. For now read this and take a long hard look at this chart below. I have furnished a real estate chart at the end of this article for your comparison. See what you think!

Good reading...

marc

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Bitcoin representative Price Chart

 

 

(An article by Matthew Carr of Energy Resources and Digest: Matthew Carr, Emerging Trends Strategist, The Oxford Club)

Bitcoin's Ambitions Are Unattainable... but That's OK                       

Let's get real... Bitcoin isn't a currency.

Not a real one. Not even a fake one.

I gave a vocal diatribe in the office the other morning, exclaiming that if you're using bitcoin as a currency - to buy things or services - you're an idiot.

You are dumb.

And you should hang your head in shame.

Why would you ever willingly spend something that was $600 in July 2016 that then shot to more than $15,000 by December 2017?

That's madness.

Bitcoin's price move over the past year must convince you that it has no value as a currency...

It has gained 1,825.5% in the past year.

As of this writing, bitcoin has shot up 152% since November 12.

That's the reality.

And no merchant or business can accept a form of payment that volatile. It makes no sense.

That's why we're starting to see companies dump bitcoin as a payment option.

Recently, the video game streaming service Steam announced it would no longer accept bitcoin. In April 2016, when the company announced it would begin using the cryptocurrency, bitcoin was trading around $450.

 

More importantly, transaction fees for bitcoin were a mere $0.20.

But as bitcoin's value increased - and volatility picked up - the transaction fees increased 9,900%! That far outpaces the uptick in bitcoin's price.

Let's remember, bitcoin's rise this year hasn't been smooth. Just in the last couple of months, bitcoin has cratered quickly (and I've pointed out that you need to buy at the dips).

From June 10 to July 16, bitcoin slid 34.1%...

From September 1 to 14, its price fell 34.9%...

From November 8 to 12, the cryptocurrency tumbled 21.5%...

That's unsustainable for a business - let alone a consumer - to accept as a form of payment. With all that volatility, there's increased risk. And those increased fees are controlled by the merchants.

On top of this, we've all heard of the $21 million pizza debacle (though it's exceptionally more than that now).

"Bitcoin Pizza Day" is celebrated in the cryptocurrency world. It's a folklore tale that proves why bitcoin can't succeed as a currency.

On May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz agreed to pay 10,000 bitcoins to have two large Papa John's pizzas delivered to his house. It was a bad deal to begin with because the bitcoins were worth $41 at the time and the pizzas cost just $25.

A little more than seven years later, those 10,000 bitcoins are worth $147,635,200.

Hanyecz is the Ronald Wayne of the cryptocurrency world. For those not familiar, Wayne sold his 10% stake in Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) for $800 in 1976. He'd be worth more than $75 billion today if he'd kept it.

Bitcoin is a fine investment - if you understand and fully appreciate the risks. But people that believe this is the future of commerce are misguided.

None of this is viable with the current volatility. A useful currency can't gain 100% in a month or a week... and then lose 34% over the course of a couple of days. That goes for all cryptocurrencies.

If you've ever used bitcoin or another cryptocurrency to purchase anything, you are a fool. You've made a grievous error and have given up way more than you received.

If you've ever sold stuff in exchange for bitcoin, you are a genius.

That in and of itself isn't a successful model for commerce. And that's why to me, bitcoin will always be "digital gold."

It's a commodity - not a currency.

Good investing,

Matthew Carr

 

 

Now compare the price action in real estate- you can draw your own conclusions

(Chart submitted by Marc Cuniberti and not a part of the original article) 

 

 

Article credit and information:

The Oxford Club: Oxford Club.com

This is a third party article penned by Matthew Carr. It is the opinion of Matthew Carr.

This article expresses the opinions of the author and are opinions only and should not be construed or acted upon as individual investment advice. Mr. Cuniberti is an Investment Advisor Representative through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Marc can be contacted at MKB Financial Services 164 Maple St #1, Auburn, CA 95603 (530) 823-2792. MKB Financial Services and Cambridge are not affiliated. 

 


 

New shows coming! Read this update! December 15, 2017

 

Money Matters airs again on January 4th, 2018 so have a great holiday!

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Hi Money fans,

I spend so much time searching the markets and keeping up with what is going on my head spins. There is so much going on I don’t know where to begin. The markets are moving and we went more positive after October ended. The fall season is historically challenging so I was careful and in hindsight, although I would do it again, the markets yielded little challenges. That being said, as we go into the new year I would expect more of the same unless an unknown event transpires in the markets. Read below some important news articles and updates. As to other things, the business is great and new potential clients and fans are coming forward almost weekly. I also have TWO NEW PORTFOLIOS for you to take a look at. The first one is a SUSTAINABLE AND GREEN FUND where we look to the environment and human health as where to invest. Guilt free investing and encouraging Wall Street to sit up and take notice of us that care about what it going on in our world and our fellow women and men. Check the ad out below.

 

 

 

Next is our Income Stream Portfolio. This is for folks that need income. Like a rental unit one might have, this portfolio holds about 25 stocks scheduled to pay dividends every so often like quarterly or whenever. Hold 25 and one might receive 100 checks a year! Think of it like owning a rental house where you just hold and get checks. Pretty neat. I choose only companies have been around years and have great dividend histories of keeping or increasing them. Check this one out here:

 

Our traditional portfolios also provide margins of safety in a variety of strategies. Why not give me a call to discuss your needs and review your holdings. Let me tell you why we are different in many ways and why the media world goes to Money Matters for their money matters! My personal cell is (530) 559-1214.

 

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Now read about the rallies in markets and about how dividend paying stocks function below:

 

 

Fed Chief Janet Yellen will finish her term soon. Will it matter? 

 

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With the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) racing to new highs almost daily, one has to ask, what is driving this market?

Certainly there are enough Donald Trump haters to cast a dim light on anything financial, where even many are doubting the civilized world itself will survive if Trump continues as President. But one cannot deny that the DJIA has loved this President, as evident by the rally that has been in place since he was elected.

With the DJIA making news headlines with every milestone it passes, the news might entice some investors to review their statements and then call their advisors to see why they haven’t doubled their money in light of this almost relentless rally.

Although the DJIA is the most talked about index in the media, it encompasses only 30 stocks of the thousands that are out there in the various marketplaces.

The question some may ask: is the Dow a realistic representation of the market in general and the economy.

On the latter, I have always said the market will reflect reality eventually but its day to day movements are only the sum of the perceptions of all the players in it at any given time. For example, late in the housing boom cycle after Bear Sterns collapsed two funds tied to mortgage products (the proverbial first domino to fall in the real estate blow up), the reality was the housing crisis was already in its early stages of implosion. That was the reality. The perception however was that real estate never falls in value and any set back would be temporary. Housing stocks therefore continued to climb as the housing market was beginning its historic collapse. The perception that all was ok drove these stocks ever higher even though in reality the real estate market had already turned. The market did however eventually reflect that reality when all the indexes worldwide eventually cratered miserably.

That being said, the perception at least up until now, is the economy is strong and the stock market is justified in roaring upwards.

Certain things however might not add up and be confirming of the apparent strength of in the market meaning not all assets are firing on all cylinders.

If the economy is galloping forward in strength, one might expect the commodities and energy sectors to be in high demand and therefore screaming upwards as well.

Such in not the case, at least in the proportions the Dow has climbed. Indeed some energy and commodities have languished badly and or gone nowhere. (Yahoo.com). Since booming economies need energy and commodities, why have we not seen these asset classes go up in concert?

Additionally the Dow index is very limited in what is has in it. Remember it only has 30 stocks out of thousands and only seven stocks make up almost half of the index weighting (42%- Forbes.com)  Some have even speculated the people who decide on what stocks go in the Dow rotate the losers out and replace them with winners in order to make it look better. This idea was put forth by QZ.com in an article by J.L Zargosky

Matthew Yglesias of Slate.com goes so far as to call the DJIA a “nonsensical index” due to how it is purposely constructed to favor more positive results.

Indeed just the fact that the DJIA contains only 30 stocks might be enough to convince the investing public to better observe how the market in general is performing by looking at a variety of indicators and markets.  Indeed many of those indicators are positive.

But because most investors hold a variety of assets in their portfolio which include assets that might move in opposite of a rising market, and because there are stocks in many areas that have actually gone nowhere or even fallen in the midst of this rally, its likely few portfolios have seen proportional increases their value that the DJIA has. Additionally because fixed income investments (bonds and preferred stocks to name a few) may have moved opposite of the rally, some portfolios may actually have lost value.

Keep in mind this is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past historical movements in any security does not guarantee future performance.

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Since the 2009 crisis, few would argue the stock market’s general trajectory has been up. More than tripling since the crisis, the most watched index, the Dow (DJIA) is approaching a quadruple.

Witnessing this historic rise, an observer would likely conclude the economy is firing on all cylinders and business is brisk. But if this is the case, the building blocks of business, commodities, should also be rising. Instead something seems amiss in the general price of commodities or perhaps in the metrics that measure them.

Commodities are a commonly traded asset class and when it comes to the simplicity of composition, few things are easier to understand then commodities. They include food stuffs like soybeans, corn, wheat, milk and sugar among others. Energy fuels like natural gas, oil and propane are consider commodities and well a variety of metals as well as agricultural items. Basically it’s the stuff that we make stuff out of. One could also conceptualize commodities as the tangible items used in manufacturing.

Since the economies of the world are made of up both service and manufacturing companies both use  tangible items in the implementation of whatever they do, if the economies of the world are indeed booming as a rising market would imply, why have commodities basically gone nowhere since the crisis ended almost 8 years ago.

In a Feb 20th, 2017 article by Forbes entitled “Commodities have been down for so long….” author Daniel Fisher, the stark reality of commodities is summed up nicely: “The U.S. Commodity Index Fund, not surprisingly, has a five-year record of negative 8.4% a year”

Read that again.

With the Dow standing at 7062.00 February 1st, 2009, and recently breaching the 24,000 mark and more, the price comparison between the Dow since 2008 and commodities is indeed baffling. 

With more than a tripling of the Dow, one might ask: where have all the commodities gone?

One might conclude apparently not into the companies that make up the stock market.

The possible explanations could be many but are they convincing?

Is there a glut of commodities and if so, is even possible for every commodity to be in an oversupply condition. Could speculators be keeping the prices down and if so, could they suppress prices for so long over such a wide market? Could falling currency values reflect lower prices because of price is only a function of the currency it’s priced in? Accepting that would mean accepting a worldwide appreciation of all currencies relative to each other, a nearly impossible scenario that indeed has not been the case.

The fact that the stock markets of the world have been headed in a concerted upwardly direction since 2009 is baffling enough, but for commodities to be going in the opposite direction almost the entire time is even more mysterious.

What may be the root of this mystery might be some unpalatable explanations of a stock rally that is fueled by something else besides basic demand. Either that or the rally is fueled by demand but not the kind of demand that consumes commodities but by the demand of stock ownership. In other words, stocks are rising because investors simply want to own stocks. Additional demand could be also coming from the companies themselves buying back their own shares. Another explanation could be the easy money and low interest rate policies of the last eight years by central bankers which is flooding the world with paper dollars and those dollars are chasing stocks.

Whatever the causes for this unrelenting rise in markets, one thing stands out: the commodity markets could be telling us there is more to this eight year rally than meets the eye. 

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Approved 205063

Dividends are payments by companies to shareholders. They are at the discretion of the company and can be changed usually at any time in a variety of ways including to increase, reduce or eliminate them.

Companies may utilize dividends to entice people to buy their shares and hold on to those shares for the payments. Some companies pay dividends and others do not. Some companies never paid them, some used to and some may even start to pay them in the future. The point being made here is companies can do whatever the heck they want as long as they don’t break the law. And fooling around with dividends is usually a common occurrence.

An obvious observation to make is in order to pay out money, the company first has to have it. And therein lies the caution. Like any other entity needing cash for whatever reason, a company short on cash could still pay out a dividend or a series of dividends by borrowing the money to do so. But having to borrow money only to turn around and pay it out might not seem like a prudent financial decision and in many case it isn’t.

When an investor buys a stock for its dividend and that dividend is increased, it makes for a happy investor. Usually it also makes for more investors buying the stock. When a dividend is cut, the reverse might be true and the stock may fall as investors head for the exits once the payments go away.

How can you tell if a company can afford its dividend or is living on borrowed time (literally) in order not to spook investors by reducing or cutting its dividend?

There are a variety of indications but unless you are on the Board of Directors making that decision, an investor can only make an educated guess based on the public information about the company’s financials.

Without getting too complicated, your question is: does the company have the cash to pay out its dividend and for how long?  If not, when will it cut or eliminate its dividend in the future?

A lot of it boils down to what is called “free cash flow”. One obvious question is if a company pays out five million in dividends, does it have the cash after paying its bills to pay the investor?

Another question would be even if the company is making enough in profit to pay, is the company banking that profit when dividend time comes around.

It can all boil down to it free cash flow. Is there enough cash left over after all expenses to pay out the dividends promised and is the cash received in time to pay the dividend when it’s due. The other issues are can the company continue to make enough money to continue to pay its current dividend over the long haul or will it eventually have to cut or eliminate it because profits and the receipt of such profits eventually fail to meet the obligation?

The ability to pay dividends hinges on many events but the first question investors can ask is the basic one: can it afford to? A good place to look for that answer starts with its cash flow. An old saying in business is “cash flow kills”, and when it comes to dividends, those words couldn’t be truer.

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All the best, we will watch the markets so you don't have to...

Marc

 

Articles express the opinions of Marc Cuniberti and are opinions only and should not be construed or acted upon as individual investment advice. Mr. Cuniberti is an Investment Advisor Representative through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Marc can be contacted at MKB Financial Services 164 Maple St #1, Auburn, CA 95603 (530) 823-2792. MKB Financial Services and Cambridge are not affiliated. His website is www.moneymanagementradio.com. California Insurance License # OL34249

 


 

Update December 2, 2017

Hi kids!

Been a while since I posted here but not too long! First off thanks for all who supported Turkey Matters my fund raising program for buying Turkeys. It’s going to cost ME over TWO GRAND myself so rather than be upset I am SO glad you all stepped up to help our needy. Many others in our community stepped up to my heavy hitters program and also cut thousand dollar checks to the food banks!

Great job and thank you again!

Our video series “Investing in Community” continues to get great comments and views in the thousands. They also help bring awareness to great events and great organizations. If you would like your business, event or organization profiled, contact me here! We will tell you how it works and any costs. (Usually there are no costs). Check out past videos on my Facebook account under Marc Cuniberti and elsewhere. These videos are targeted to our area and get thousands of views that you can count yourself under the video where the number is listed. We also have special access to many closed Facebook accounts. Also KVMR and the UNION picks up some as well. It’s a great way to expose events and organizations. Call me ! (530) 559-1214.

Money Matters airs December 7, 2017 noon PST on KVMR and moneymanagementradio.com.

Need to have your portfolio reviewed? Call me!  No cost, no obligation. (530) 559- 1214. Let’s have lunch and talk!

TV appearance coming so stay tuned for that and also a seminar with multiple speakers is in the hopper. Stay tuned!

Talk soon, contact me with any issues or questions and talk on air soon!~

Marc

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Witnessing this historic rise, an observer would likely conclude the economy is firing on all cylinders and business is brisk. If this is the case, the building blocks of business should be rising as well but when one looks at those building blocks, something seems amiss in the metrics that measure them.

Commodities are a commonly traded asset class and when it comes to the simplicity of composition, few things are easier to understand then commodities. They include food stuffs like soybeans, corn, wheat, milk and sugar among others. Energy fuels like natural gas, oil and propane are consider commodities and well a variety of metals as well as agricultural items. Basically it’s the stuff that we make stuff out of. One could also conceptualize commodities are the tangible items used in manufacturing.

Since the economies of the world are made of up both service and manufacturing companies and even those in the service industries use tangible items in the implementation of whatever service they might offer, if the economies of the world are indeed booming as a rising market would imply, why have commodities basically gone nowhere since the crisis was rumored to have ended almost 8 years ago. In a Feb 20th, 2017 article by Forbes entitled “Commodities have been down for so long….” , author Daniel Fisher, the stark reality of commodities is summed up nicely: “The U.S. Commodity Index Fund, not surprisingly, has a five-year record of negative 8.4% a year”.

Read that again.

With the Dow standing at 7062.00 February 1st, 2009, and last weeks close on November 22, 2017 at 23,576.00, the comparison between what the Dow has done since 2009 and what commodities have done is indeed baffling. 

With more than a tripling of the Dow, one might ask: where have all the commodities gone?

Apparently not into the companies that make up the stock market and indeed, looking at the drop in commodity prices as detailed by Forbes, why haven’t commodities gone anywhere at all?

The exact answer to puzzling lack of concerted movement with the markets is likely a multi-faceted answer but on a much more basic level, it doesn’t take an experienced market analyst to come to the conclusion that if companies are doing so well as the stock market would indicate, why haven’t they been consuming commodities in the process?

The possible explanations could be many but are they convincing. Is there a glut of commodities and if so, is even possible for every commodity to be in an oversupply condition. Could speculators be keeping the prices down and if so, could they suppress prices for so long over such a wide market? Could falling currency values reflect lower prices because of the price is only a function of the currency it’s priced in? Accepting that would mean accepting a worldwide appreciation of all currencies relative to each other, a nearly impossible scenario that indeed has not been the case.

The fact that the stock markets of the world have been headed in a concerted upwardly direction since 2009 is baffling enough, but for commodities to be going in the opposite direction almost the entire time is even more mysterious.

What may be the root of this conundrum may be some unpalatable causes of a stock rally that is fueled by something else besides basic demand that should also cause the consumption of commodities to rise along with the markets: the rally is fueled by demand but not the kind of demand that consumes commodities. Instead the demand is fueled not by the demand of products, but by the demand of stock ownership. In other words, stocks are rising due to investors, flushed with cash, simply want to own stocks. Additional demand could be also coming from the companies themselves, whom being also flushed with cash, are buying back their own shares by the boat loads. Either that or another explanation could be the easy money and low interest rate policies of the last 8 years by central bankers could be causing a glut of paper dollars, and those dollars are chasing stocks, driving their prices ever higher. Although higher stock prices without commensurate sales to back up those prices would sniff out the inconsistency, inaccurate inflation figures reported by the Fed whether purposely or otherwise could be the curtain that masks that aspect very nicely.

Regardless of what the reasons are for the unrelenting rise of markets, one thing stands out: the commodity markets could be telling us there is more to this 8 year rally than meets the eye. 

The referenced indexes may not be invested in directly. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities. Investing involves risk and you can lose money. Past performance is not a guarantee for future performance. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions and do your own research before investing.

 

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Sending a child off to college can be challenging in more ways than one. Not only is there heartbreak on a personal level from a loved one leaving home for good but the costs can also be break the proverbial bank as well. There are a myriad of options as to what schools one can select which run the gamut from local junior colleges, state colleges, or as in California, UC schools. Then there are the many private schools. I was surprised when we started the college selection process just how many private schools there were.

We considered many things as we compiled a list of potential schools for my 17 year old son Kyle. We retained the services of a professional college advisor to help us and in hindsight that was the best decision we made. With all the deadlines and considerations, choices and requirements, we found her services beyond invaluable.

As to school selection, for our son, junior colleges were of no interest so we eliminated that option immediately. Grades and test scores had a bearing on what schools we selected and although Kyle has never received a grade under an A, other test factors determined some schools were still out of the question.

His vocational interests steered us toward some schools and away from others. The list was by default getting smaller and we were thankful for it.  The UC `system` was less expensive than out of state schools yet they themselves offered little financial assistance unless a student was very exceptional in sports or merit.  State colleges can cost less than the UC systems but the quality of education at least to my son was in question. Not to say state colleges aren’t quality institutions, they are. But Kyle had it in his head to go to a UC school, an Ivy League school or big name private school so that’s where we focused.

Private schools offered financial assistance depending on family income, grade merit and athletic scholarship and the smaller colleges seemed to want students and went out of their way to do what they could to help families financially and through the whole process. In the UC schools process however, we felt we were just one of the many mass applicants.

Interestingly enough Ivy Leagues schools don’t necessarily cost more than others, they are just harder to get in. Acceptance rates in the single digits make trying for one of these schools discouraging but not impossible.

In our particular case, family income was sporadic and varies drastically year to year.

Since the financial evaluation `system` evaluates family income made during the time the student was a junior in high school, we basically got railed as in that year had a spike due to some one-off circumstances. That year we cashed in an annuity and sold a property so the income was a fairly high amount. Too bad for the Cuniberti family.

Although one-off income streams are just that: one time occurrences, it hurt us badly when it came to qualifying for help. Families not familiar with how these things work could, like we did, end up paying more for special circumstances. You can be sure when my next child goes into his junior year in high school, I will take every legal maneuver available to me to get my income down in that year.

As of things I did to prepare for college cost years ago, a 529 college saving plan helped and we did what is supposed to be done, mainly set one up when a child is born. These college funds have special IRS considerations which can help defer potential tax liabilities yet can offer growth while the child grows.

Saving income instead of buying a new car every year or going on lavish vacations are wise decisions and can really add to the college accounts over the 18 year span leading to adulthood. Never lose sight of how much college will cost and just how important college is to insuring a happier life for your child when he graduates into adulthood and the workforce.

And for our family, spending money on an independent college counselor (in lieu of the standard high school employees) was one of the best decisions we made. The cost vastly outweighed the potential headaches and application deficiencies we would have experienced had we not retained her services. The hunt for a college and its application process is challenging enough. To go it alone, at least in my opinion, would have been frightening.

We are not done selecting a school for our first child and are far from figuring out how we are going to pay for all of it when all three kids complete the process, but in the end, the rewards to our children and our sense of pride in their accomplishments, makes it all more than worthwhile.

you

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As many of you may know, my show and articles revolving around the theme Money Matters involves more than just money. My video series “Investing in Community” details events and organizations that exist in our area. My articles can go off topic into non-profits and plain old summer fairs. The commonality among all of them is the investment we make in what we call the human condition, no matter what it entails.

Ones greatest investment in my opinion in one investment in oneself and taking inventory of what is there in you already is a great exercise in illustrating one’s own attributes and interests. By doing this, we can build from a position strength instead of a position of fantasy. This simply means identifying what you like and what you are good at, and then moving forward. I tried this exercise below and this is what I came up. See if it draws a picture in your mind of who I am and then do the exercise it yourself to see who you are, and then build from there.

My greatest talent and skill quite frankly is interacting with people. My parents were highly interactive with people in a variety of capacities. This has rubbed off on me. Quite simply, I love interacting with others on all levels, whether it be at school, where I converse with friends and school administrators, at any of my volunteer capacities where I have the opportunity to help those that are less fortunate, with other people in general who can teach me things about life, or just with strangers I meet at a Starbucks or in some of the other places if find myself in during my day to day travels.

I love to question what I see and have others question me about what I think. I love to interact with those in other cities, schools, businesses or even countries when I have had the opportunity. I want to know why people do what they do and make the decisions they make. I want to give my input as well, which I think is a highly blended version of common sense mixed with an astute observation of what is working and what is not.

People often surprise me as to their acceptance of my ideas and at other times are surprisingly unwilling to take advice on any level. The former I take as a compliment and a confidence builder that spurs me on to even more interaction. The latter a blend of stubbornness and ignorance on their part. No matter what the outcome however, I find it all unexpected and interesting.

Life is indeed a wonder. Every morning I cannot wait for it to show me the day’s blend of simplicity yet opposing complexity.

Who will cross my path today? What will they say? What will I say? Will I contribute greatly today or simply observe and learn to enhance another day?

My greatest talent is knowing and enjoying those around me, my co-passengers of this ride called the human condition.

And now that I have who I am clearly defined, I can now take the next step in investing in myself and start earnestly building from there.


 

Money Matters Update November 12, 2017

Marc returns to South of the Border November 13, 2017 10:00 am PST on KVMR so TUNE IN!

This is a Brazilian edition and I haven’t hosted it for months!  Tune in, tune in~


 

Hello and greetings!

Yes it has been a while since I posted here but no worries mates. Been taking a break and gathering new info on the markets. Let’s get caught up:

1- Turkey Matters is soon to end. Send checks to KVMR, 120 Bridge St, Nevada City, Ca 95959. I match up to $5,000.00 (percentage of your check) and follow your check with mine. Make check out to the food bank of your choice.

2- I am looking for heavy hitters to match our $1,000.00 checks to various food banks. Business owners and just plain people that can afford it will pose for a shot of all of us with $1,000.00 checks and will likely publish in the Union and all over Facebook. Contact me to be one of the heavy hitters.

3- I return to South of the Border as indicated above! Tune in.

4- Money Matters returns November 16, 2017 noon Pacific Time to talk food banks and markets! Tune in as well

5- Our “Investing in Community” video series is big hit on Facebook with videos getting literally thousands of views. We cover events, non profits and just about anything business. Contact me if you wish to be profiled and we will tell you how it works

6- New clients keep coming on board. Will you? Why not call me for a free, no obligation consult to review your portfolio? Call me personally (530) 559-1214

Now on to some great reading!  Talk to you on the air!

Marc

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Medicare provides basic medical insurance to those over 65 but the free part only is what is called Medicare A and only if you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes according to the criteria. Medicare plans are labeled A through N and each letter has different benefits. As the letters go up the plans usually improve and/or cover something not covered in the previous plan letter. Pretty simple stuff actually but prior to getting my insurance licenses, quite frankly the whole Medicare thing was quite daunting and I don’t doubt many people feel the same way. The subsequent plans over the basic plans are commonly referred to as “gap” or Medigap insurance.

 

First off, know that all plans are federally mandated to be identical. That means no matter where you might buy a plan, they all cover same thing. But insurance companies don’t have to sell those plans for a mandated price. That means you could be paying more for the same plan depending on where you bought it. A plan bought from insurance company A could be more expensive than if you bought it from insurance company B even though it’s the same plan. So much for consumer protection from our insurance regulators.

 

Can plans differ drastically in price?

 

WeissRatings thinks so claiming “you could end up paying hundreds…even thousands.of dollars in unnecessary premiums”. 

 

Not only are the same plans sold for different amounts, the mark up for a particular value service may be increased way beyond the actual value added by the subsequent plan.

 

For instance, suppose a plan decreased a fixed deductible by $180.00. The premium should be increased by that amount. But Weiss found gross and unexplainable increases.

 

Weiss conducted an analysis of 70,852 individual premiums nationwide and estimated insurers have marked up their premiums by unexplainable $1.2 billion. Weiss also found price differences in charges based on application questions that had no bearing on actual costs to the insurance company. In other words, insurance companies were using data that had no cause and effect to the cost of services which meant premiums should have been identical but were not.

 

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) provides comprehensive information on buying Medigap coverage at: http://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/05-health/03-medsup/

 

They also have comparison information of which they state; “The rates are intended to give you an idea of what a Medicare Supplement Insurance policy may cost. The premium rates may vary depending on your specific Medicare Supplement Insurance needs and individual or group profile. The premium rate each company charges an individual or group is based on a number of different factors including your age, location, and the benefit plan you select. To find out more about one of these policies, call the company's consumer service telephone number included on the Medicare Supplement Insurance website for the policy plan that interests you”. The link for this information is:

https://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/apex_extprd/f?p=111:30

 

Shopping for Medicare/ Medigap insurance is not a scary as it seems once you know the resources that are available to consumers and those resources are actually fairly plentiful. The CDI is likely the first place you should start. There are also many paid services and booklets one can purchase for objective comparisons to make sure you are getting the best deal for your particular situation.

 

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Toys R Us became yet another retailer to go four feet up by filing reorganization and protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code late last week.

 

The toy retailer, which started back in 1948 with a single Washington D.C. store issued a statement by CEO David Brandon which summed up the move: “Today marks the dawn of a new era at Toys “R” Us where we expect financial constraints that have held us back will be addressed in a lasting and effective way”.

 

The statement illustrates both the positive and negatives in typical CEO fashion, politely indicating the company will continue on by somehow not meeting its financial obligations as originally promised. After all, that’s what chapter 11 is: renegotiating a company‘s debt while reneging on its original promises.

 

The company owes about 5 billion and said all of its 1600 stores would remain open going into the lucrative time of year, the holiday season, where toys under the tree boost most retailer’s balance sheets, especially the toy and gaming businesses.

 

The bankruptcy could indicate the rapidly changing retail landscape brought about by online competition. It wasn’t so long ago when Toys “R” Us bought out competitors FAO Schwartz and KB Toys, only to succumb to its debt load which obviously increased by such acquisitions.

 

Commentary from Forbes and new965.com indicate the obvious: pressure from online retails are causing tsunamis in traditional retail company balance sheets as consumers elect to buy from the comfort of their home instead of taking an arduous trip to the mall.

 

Other companies who have suffered similar fates include shoe store Payless and Gymboree, the children’s clothing outlet.

 

Highlighted in previous Money Matters articles entitled “Online Retail Wipe Out”

11/2017,  “Another Retail Wipe Out” 12/2017 and Money Matters Show #138 entitled Retail Wipe Out, 2/2012, the pressure from other methods of shopping becoming available with the advent of the internet is becoming prevalent and mainstream. Toys “R” Us said as much in a comment at the time of filing which said it had to improve its online services and enhance the store experience (new965) which is a fancy way of saying they have to get better in the online market place while adding more value and therefore a reason for shoppers to get out of their chairs and drive to a store.

 

Meanwhile online goliath Amazon continues to cause havoc in the retail environment by making the shopping environment of a comfy chair at home with credit card in hand in front of a computer more desirable and less hassle then getting into a car only to spend hours parking, fighting crowds, and struggling with shopping bags. Added features such as free shipping programs and hassle free returns make a strong case for the staying home with a cup of coffee and comparing hundreds of prices in microseconds. Online reviews further enhance the experience.

Although Toys “R” Us will survive for now, the reverberations from its reorganization could cause additional damage to related sectors as 5 billion in debts are restructured. No doubt Toys “R” Us won’t be last retailer to hoist the white flag and cry uncle under the weight of a rapidly changing environment caused by a shift in shopping methodology brought on by an expanding internet.

 


 

Money Matters airs October 5, 2017 Noon Read below

 

Money Matters airs tomorrow at noon, PST on KVMR FM and all related stations.

October 5, 2017

Fall Line up starts with 2 great interviews

 

Interviews with AirMedCare, the life flight folks, their helicopter service and insurance program. Then hear Pride Industries discuss their great service to give employment to those with handicaps. Great topics and great guest so tune in.

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Interested in discussing your portfolio, our new strategies and more? Email or call me for an appointment- (530) 559-1214 or mcuniberti@cambridgesecure.com.

 

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I have been wanting to do an economic piece about people with disabilities for some time now and with the month of October being National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), I couldn’t think of a more fitting opportunity to bring to light an incredible story about a local entity I discovered here in my home town of Grass Valley.

 

A recent conversation with a friend led me to PRIDE Industries, a multi-state, non-profit social enterprise that assists people with disabilities find employment. 

 

Originally founded in 1966 by a group of parents in Auburn, California, its initial focus was to find meaningful employment for their adult children with disabilities. PRIDE has offices in 14 states and in Washington DC and is still growing. With one in every five Americans having a disability, the need for such an entity is more than obvious. People with disabilities want to contribute, yet finding gainful employment can be challenging. PRIDE Industries opens a whole new world of possibilities for people with disabilities while serving the needs of businesses and the community in the process.

 

PRIDE’s main goal is employment, its mission is “To create jobs for people with disabilities.”  It accomplishes this in a win-win scenario synergistically with the community, government and the many companies they serve.

 

The PRIDE formula is a simple one: hire people with disabilities and give them jobs that complements their skill sets. From simple assembly to more complex employment, PRIDE matches the specific job to the employee.  Since the requirements of business can be complex and varied, a workforce of people with different skillsets fits nicely into whatever job may be required.

 

On the day of my visit to our local PRIDE location, I witnessed workers doing different jobs of all levels of complexity including the simplest of assembly and packaging to the more complicated job of accurately shipping product to multiple locations for a national retailer. 

 

The many supervisors present maintained a safe environment for the employees while insuring the highest level of quality control. From shipping umbrellas manufactured by a well-known national retailer to assembling medical test kits for a local company with products from Finland, the scope of customers and products was impressive.

 

The organization is truly an example of everybody wins. People with disabilities have an opportunity to learn new skills and hold employment they might otherwise not be able to. By earning their own paychecks, the assistance from public programs is minimized, their self-esteem is boosted and they get much needed mental stimulation. Their families and loved ones have time for themselves while their family members with disabilities are supervised by a loving and experienced staff at PRIDE.

 

The businesses they serve benefit by finding employees who are more than happy to perform jobs that others might find mundane all while maintaining the highest of quality due to the amount of supervision that PRIDE provides along each step of the process.

 

PRIDE’s outreach program places higher functioning adults in off-site employment and guides both the employee and employer through every step of the process. Job development, coaching, training and placement are an ongoing function of the organization. The Supported Employment Program provides additional training to help overcome barriers to employment in the community at large.

 

Although PRIDE focuses on employment, many offices go a step further. Some offer adult day services where people with more severe disabilities can have a safe yet entertaining place to go. Arts, crafts, games and daily outside excursions maintain a semblance of normalcy for those that otherwise may not experience such things due to their disability.

 

Outreach programs for self- sufficiency, improvement and education include the Independent Living Services programs which maintains an army of staff to navigate the community and make connections in a variety of capabilities and functions. Their goal is to enable an independent lifestyle for those that can, yet still have a resource to fall back on should the need arise.

 

With 51 years of experience under its belt in merging people with disabilities to employment of all kinds, PRIDE enables adults with disabilities to reach their full potential while providing the resources for businesses to bring their products and services to the marketplace. This is truly a win-win scenario for all parties involved with PRIDE Industries performing an invaluable service to the community.

 

You may view a video on PRIDE Industries here:  (https://www.facebook.com/marc.cuniberti)

The local Nevada County Pride office is located at 12451 Loma Rica Drive in Grass Valley.

Their phone number is (530) 477-1832

 

 

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It is time again for Turkey Matters. Please help me feed the poor and low income families in our county by helping me buy turkeys for their holiday meals. It’s simple to do.

Mail in a check made out to the food bank of your choice. Our local one is the Food Bank of Nevada County but any food bank will do if you prefer another. Mail it to:
KVMR FM RADIO
ATTENTION TURKEY MATTERS

120 Bridge St

Nevada City, Ca 95959

 

I will match a portion of your funds and mail in your check AND mine. In this way your money goes much farther and we feed MORE families. That’s all there is to it! My maximum donation amount will be $5,000.00 (I have kids to put through school!) but please help me reach this goal!

 

Your turkey will taste a lot better knowing you helped feed hundreds of others for Thanksgiving and Christmas and those celebrating other religious holidays around this time of year.

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart and from the many people that will benefit from this program.

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Thanks to all who came out to the Celtic Fair, said hi and had a great time. Sillyness and great music. It was fun and I saw a lot of fans of Money Matters. Yes, I know it is silly to see your financial guy all dressed up in silly gear but it is for a good cause- KVMR FM Community Radio so cut me some slack!

Interested in having me set up a financial plan for you and your family? Email me or call (530) 559-1214