1/8/26 Why LEAP IT Works: Women in Finance, Policy Shifts, and Smarter Money

The Moneywise Radio Show and Podcast Thursday, January 8th BE MONEYWISE. Moneywise Wealth Management I "The Moneywise Radio Show & Podcast" call: 661-847-1000 text in anytime: 661-396-1000 website: www. MoneywiseGuys.com facebook: Moneywise_Wealth_Management LinkedIn: Moneywise_Wealth_Management The opinions voiced in this podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which strategies or investments may be suitable for you, consult the appropriate qualified professional prior to making a decision.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  From the second floor of the historic Woolworths Building in downtown Bakersfield, here is Money Wise. Call or text into the show 661-396-1000.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA, SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through LPL Financial. LPL Financial and Money Wise Wealth Management are independently owned and operated.

• 0:40Speaker 00

  Here is Money Wise.

• 0:43Speaker 02

  Welcome to the Money Wise Show. We're live from the second floor of the historic Woolworths Building in downtown Bakersfield. For the next hour, your KGO Money Talk, 1230 a.m., 101.1 FM, and always streaming at MoneyWiseGuys.com. You can call or text into the show 24 hours a day at 661-396-1000. Again, 661-396-1000. Where are your hosts? I'm Sammy Abiyawu with...

• 1:09Speaker 03

  Dustin Weaver.

• 1:11Speaker 02

  D-Dub.

• 1:12Speaker 03

  Yes, sir.

• 1:13Speaker 02

  Happy New Year.

• 1:15Speaker 03

  Happy New Year.

• 1:16Speaker 02

  Happy Thursday to you. That Steven is trying to ignore. What was that? My Steelers cup that I'm drinking out of tastes better. Tastes so much better.

• 1:27Speaker 00

  Yeah, it'll taste good for about a week.

• 1:31Speaker 02

  We'll see. We'll see. We're gonna go deep.

• 1:35Speaker 00

  Deep into Monday night.

• 1:38Speaker 00

  I wish you guys the best. I wouldn't know. My team is not in the playoffs.

• 1:41Speaker 02

  I don't. I don't wish you the best.

• 1:43Speaker 00

  I would. I do wish you the best and all your hot dogs that I owe you, but hey.

• 1:48Speaker 02

  You wanna go double or nothing?

• 1:49Speaker 00

  Sure. Why not? I like hot dogs.

• 1:52Speaker 02

  Let's, let's, let's, let's just pick the game for tonight. Who, who do you have?

• 1:55Speaker 00

  Uh, tonight? No, I'll wait until Monday. I'm gonna, there's a, there's a Houston team, I think, that could beat the Steelers.

• 2:03Speaker 02

  All right. Hey, we have a witness today, actually. Double or nothing. Two Woolworths hot dogs. We're not playing with the dollar fifty anymore. We're in the big boys now.

• 2:13Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah. And what, what's the nickname that you get called over at Reverb?

• 2:19Speaker 02

  Oh goat.

• 2:19Speaker 00

  Okay, the goat. Yes, yes.

• 2:21Speaker 02

  The goat.

• 2:22Speaker 00

  I will get the goat.

• 2:23Speaker 03

  Why is that?

• 2:25Speaker 02

  I don't know, man. Just the boys started calling me the goat. I don't know, maybe because I'm spending too much money down there. I go two, three times a day.

• 2:36Speaker 03

  We'll take it.

• 2:37Speaker 00

  You the president of the reverb.

• 2:39Speaker 03

  Steven, did I see something about a, a coach of a team that you like?

• 2:42Speaker 00

  Yes, yes. I, I, that's why I'm smiling. We don't have a coach right now or a GM, but hey, better days for the Dolphins are hopefully in the future, the near future, but we'll see.

• 2:56Speaker 02

  Steven has been thinking that since 1984.

• 2:59Speaker 00

  Yes, sir. The last time we were in the Super Bowl, 1984 and Dustin can, uh, he, he can prove that because he saw me wearing Dolphin gears in the, in the early 90s all the way until last week.

• 3:10Speaker 03

  He's been a Dolphins fan through and through.

• 3:12Speaker 00

  We'll, we'll get there. One day, just one day.

• 3:15Speaker 02

  Um, well, we have, we have a couple of questions, Dustin. Do you want to start the show with those? I think they're really good questions and, uh, helps us dive into the show. I'll, I'll read the first one.

• 3:25Speaker 03

  Yeah, go ahead.

• 3:27Speaker 02

  When the market starts dropping or swinging a lot, how do I know if I should stay or make changes to my accounts?

• 3:35Speaker 03

  Very good question.

• 3:36Speaker 02

  Very good.

• 3:37Speaker 03

  Very good questions and, uh, it every, everybody's case by case, right? We'll start with that. Uh, but in reality, if you're working with a good long-term plan, it's just that it's a long-term plan. You're not really looking at what's happening with the day-to-day. Right?

• 3:55Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 3:56Speaker 03

  The short-term movement in the market is not a reason to adjust a long-term plan. Let's just say it that way.

• 4:04Speaker 02

  On, on, I'm, I'm, I'm about to be 50, right? I'm, I'm nearing retirement, hopefully in 15 years, if everything works out great. Or hopefully sooner, you know, if, if things work out. Does it matter at what stage of your life? The comments you just made, Dustin, or is it true and true all throughout?

• 4:25Speaker 03

  Well, I think that if you're revisiting your plan on a regular basis, you're making the changes based on the goals and your time horizon anyway, regardless of moves in the market.

• 4:37Speaker 02

  So what I'm hearing you say is, hey, you sit with your financial advisor, you create a goal that satisfies and pays for your needs, wants, whatever strategy, and truly stick to it as long as that strategy is working and giving you what you had set for yourself from the get go.

• 4:54Speaker 03

  That's a good way to say it. I've got an acronym that I memorized a number of years ago that I walk through with every client. And that acronym is LEAP IT, L E A P I T, LEAP IT. It comes down to your liquidity. How much access to the money do you need now or in the future? When do you need access? Right? The E is experience. How much experience do you have with the investments? Is it you that picks all those? Or are you outsourcing that to somebody else? Right? What's your age? Right? And that comes back to the time horizon. As you mentioned, you're 50, right?

• 5:33Speaker 02

  Not yet, Dustin. Don't be, don't.

• 5:34Speaker 03

  Almost, almost 50, almost.

• 5:36Speaker 02

  Come on, I'm turning 49.

• 5:38Speaker 03

  Right? So at 50, your portfolio might look a little bit different than somebody at age, say, 25, if they're just getting started in the workforce, right? So the answer is you should be looking at it more often, not just based on what's happening in the market.

• 5:55Speaker 02

  I see.

• 5:56Speaker 03

  Right?

• 5:56Speaker 02

  I see.

• 5:56Speaker 03

  And then I'll finish my acronym here. The P is purpose. What's the purpose for the money? And then your income situation? Are you drawing income from this portfolio either now or in the future? And then T is the taxes, right? Is this tax deferred? Is it taxable now? So it's a little bit complicated on that one because for a non-retirement account, there are some opportunities when there's volatility in the market to do what we call tax loss harvesting. It's something that we do regularly for our clients. But whether you're doing that yourself or outsourcing that, that it does create some opportunities to make some changes. But you really want to make sure you're experienced or you have somebody experienced helping you with that.

• 6:40Speaker 02

  I'll be honest with you, the Leepit thing is really, really cool. I'm digging it to the point where I want to make like some sweatshirts or T-shirts.

• 6:49Speaker 03

  I love it. Let's do it.

• 6:51Speaker 02

  Steven, what do you think, man?

• 6:52Speaker 00

  I already knew where your mind was.

• 6:55Speaker 02

  I'm telling you, man.

• 6:55Speaker 00

  I know a guy.

• 6:56Speaker 02

  Let's get some quotes, man, for our clients.

• 6:58Speaker 00

  I was gonna say.

• 6:58Speaker 02

  I mean, if you don't have the Leepit T-shirt, you're not gonna get an appointment with Dustin Weaver.

• 7:04Speaker 02

  I really like it, Dustin. I truly, truly like it.

• 7:06Speaker 03

  I'm surprised I haven't shared that with you before now.

• 7:09Speaker 02

  Yeah, no, you haven't. I'm glad you did. It's really cool.

• 7:15Speaker 02

  Great advice. Move on to the second question, Dustin. So I'm 22 years old. I have an account at Self-Help Federal Credit Union, and I need help with financial advice, investments for 1K plan, and what to do, retirement plan advice, and many more. I currently work at the Open Door Network for two years, and I'm also going to school, but I'm thinking of switching my major to something else. And I feel like I wasted my time going to community college and getting an associate's degree, and I'm stuck. I need help with my resume, and I still don't know what I want to major or do. And that's why I say I feel like I wasted my time going to college and getting something I'm not passionate about.

• 7:59Speaker 02

  What advice can you give me, or what should I do?

• 8:02Speaker 03

  Oh, that's a simple, direct-to-the-point answer, right? No, there's a lot going on there. From career advice, college education advice, to financial advice and investments for 1K. There's a lot happening there, but what stands out is what you opened with.

• 8:19Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 8:20Speaker 03

  So I'm 22 years old. Wow. I am 42 years old, and so that's 20 years that have gone by since I was 22. And my encouragement to you at first glance, just hearing this, is you've got so much time. And I don't think that the time that you spent in the college classes you've taken, it's not wasted time. You have learned a lot, and you have made other connections. And it's almost always valuable to go through that process. As you're exploring the world around you, you are learning every day. And that question that we all get, you know, what are you passionate about?

• 9:03Speaker 03

  In my experience, I feel like passion grows over time. It's not something you have figured out most of the time for most of us in high school or oftentimes even in college.

• 9:14Speaker 02

  Yeah, and I agree with you. I think if you're, you know, eighteen, twenty, twenty-two, and you've figured out what your passion is, good for you. That's, that's awesome because that, that, that could change. In my, in my experience, I'm an accidental banker. I was a banker for twenty-five years, but I wasn't born to, to do that. I went to college for a finance and economics degree. I graduated and guess what? Finished my exams by Saturday. My dad got me an internship at a bank by Monday. He didn't have the, I had to borrow his clothes and ties and suits. And twenty-five years later, I retired from banking after twenty-five years and I started a new career and a new passion and, and I'm still learning

• 9:57Speaker 02

  every day and I'm turning forty-nine years old. I don't think college or community college was a waste of time. Definitely learning experiences there, subject that, that you learned from or that you learned about, definitely not a waste of time. You know what I'm happy about from your comments, Mr. Listener or Mrs. Listener, is that you're twenty-two years old and you're thinking about investments, you're thinking about 401K when I know other twenty-some years old, a lot of the money is going into Starbucks's and, and things that are not retirement planning items. So I, I, I, I hear you talking about investments and seeking advice and it's music to my ear. This is awesome. You're, you're on the right track.

• 10:42Speaker 03

  A hundred percent. I mean, the right mindset is one that is asking questions and forward-thinking and that's what this person's doing and seeking help and not, not being afraid to ask for it or to seek out advice from others that have been down that path maybe before they have. So.

• 10:58Speaker 02

  Yeah. And, and as you're looking for what you're passionate about, continue acquiring the experience because whatever experience you're acquiring, it's going to help eventually in whenever you find that passion, uh, job.

• 11:13Speaker 02

  That you're seeking, I can assure you that. Those little things that you're learning day to day at the, at the current job. Those little experiences, the interactions with your bosses, with your peers, with your subordinates, with clients, all great experiences that are gonna accumulate and make you just a better employee. And eventually, maybe a better business owner, if that's the choice you, you, you make.

• 11:35Speaker 03

  Love it. Good stuff.

• 11:37Speaker 02

  Um, this is definitely for you, Dustin. First, how are you guys? I really enjoy your radio show and podcast. My professor at CSUB is a longtime listener and recently let the class listen to a, a past show where you're talking about the shortage of financial advisors. Uh, and light, and a light went on in my brain. This would be perfect for me. I would be 21 in July and was wondering, maybe on a future show, you can share the best steps to be an advisor. I really appreciate your time and have a wonderful day.

• 12:13Speaker 03

  I love this. Uh, I, I will say a future show where we can prep some more information would, would definitely be, uh, helpful. So we have a guideline and an agenda, but off the top of my head, I will tell you, there's a lot of different ways that you can get into the industry. And there's a lot of resources out there. I'm so thankful for the internet that we have today and the different communities that are out there that are willing to share. And so you can seek out financial advisor, uh, career conversations that are out there, be it on Reddit or other social media groups. Um, I know Facebook groups, I'm dating myself here now. I know a lot of the younger, younger folks are moving away from, uh, from Facebook.

• 12:56Speaker 00

  I mean, MySpace.

• 12:58Speaker 03

  It's, what is it?

• 12:59Speaker 00

  Did you mean MySpace?

• 13:01Speaker 03

  Oh, no. That's funny. But, uh, there's a lot of different ways to get into the industry and there's a lot more roles than just the client facing financial advisor role that are pivotal and instrumental. I mean, even here at MoneyWise, right? We have six or seven advisors, but, oh, there it is again, Sammy, six or seven. But then we've got, you know, another support staff of another 10 behind them that that can help out. There's management roles. There's you have a lot of different types of companies out there from what they call a wirehouse brokerage, which is like Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS. You've got life insurance companies like Northwestern Mutual

• 13:45Speaker 03

  and New York Life, Guardian, Mass Mutual, registered investment advisors. There's, you know, disability companies. There's what we call a discount brokerage, like Charles Schwab there on on Truckston Avenue, right? There's client facing opportunities to be able to learn. And they're all a little bit different. But so really, it comes down to trying to find out, you know, what skill set do you have as an individual? What interests you? There's that passion we were talking about earlier that grows over time. And, you know, frankly, being able to find something that's available at the right time. There's a little bit of luck involved there, too. And then one I didn't mention is credit unions

• 14:24Speaker 03

  and banks also have financial advisor or financial services related roles. So I know I said, we need more time to prepare, but there's a few ideas off the top of my head.

• 14:34Speaker 02

  So approximately, I pulled some numbers here while you were answering the question, Dustin, 330,000 to 415,000 financial advisors in the US.

• 14:51Speaker 03

  Did you find an average age?

• 14:53Speaker 02

  Average, 60% of the financial advisors are above the age of 40 years old.

• 14:59Speaker 03

  Right.

• 15:00Speaker 02

  I was trying to look and see how many are retiring in the next 10 years, but I did find something else. The sector is projected to grow at the rate of 10% per year between now and 2034, adding about 24,000 new positions every year for the next 10 years.

• 15:19Speaker 03

  Yeah, that sounds right.

• 15:21Speaker 02

  And just just to cover some of the retirements that are coming, but also the growth that we're expecting in this sector.

• 15:29Speaker 03

  And why that growth is expected is because we have an aging population. You know, we've got 10,000 people a day turning 65. And 65 is an age that a lot of folks look to retire because that's when Medicare kicks in and health insurance is a big part of a retirement plan, right? You want to make sure you have good health insurance. You've got all these clients that are showing up because of going into retirement. You also have a lot of those advisors are heading into retirement as well. So it is, there is a big opportunity for people that want to help people.

• 16:04Speaker 02

  On a demographics and diversity standpoint, a significant majority, seventy to seventy-two percent of advisors are men, with women only represented in about twenty-eight to thirty percent, which in my mind creates a lot of opportunities for women in this industry. You and I have always talked about this. We, they are not represented at the same level as their counterpart men. And here at Money Wise specifically, we've been trying really, really hard on finding a fit for us and that, and creating that diversity between men and women here at Money Wise.

• 16:41Speaker 03

  That's right. Yeah, there is a huge opportunity there and I'd love to see more women come into the industry, have an interest in it and more opportunities become available for them to transition into it because there is a lot of just, we just know that men and women do have some differences, right, in the way that we're wired. And I feel like women have an advantage in a lot of ways when it comes to conversational skills and connecting with people and having empathy and being good listeners. And I know that's a general statement, but really I've seen a lot of women rise to a

• 17:21Speaker 03

  position where they're really fulfilled in this career and have happy clients that are getting served well. And so I'd love to see more women come into the industry. You're absolutely right. There's not enough diversity there.

• 17:37Speaker 02

  We'll go one last question before we go into our break. I think this is for you, Dustin. Not to get personal, but where did you go to college twenty-five years ago?

• 17:47Speaker 03

  Are you sure it wasn't for you? I think you I think you're the one that said I went to college 25 years ago.

• 17:52Speaker 02

  Well, I 25 years ago, I finished my master's in business administration at CSUB. I did my undergrad in Morocco before I immigrated to the States, though. But I did my MBA here locally at Cal State.

• 18:06Speaker 03

  Fantastic.

• 18:07Speaker 02

  And you graduated from Cal State, too, Dustin, didn't you?

• 18:10Speaker 03

  Or? No, Fresno Pacific University is where I got a bachelor's in business. And then the college for financial planning for a lot of the certified financial planner classes. And those are master's level classes as well. In fact, I only have three more classes to get the masters. I really need to just round it out and finish it.

• 18:29Speaker 02

  Yes, yes. All right, we'll take our first break. When we come back, we'll talk about market updates and many more.

• 18:35Speaker 00

  Are you curious to learn more about how you can be money wise? Check out the Money Wise website at MoneyWiseGuys.com to get more info about what we do.

• 18:47Speaker 02

  We're back at the Money Wise Show. I'm Sammy Abiyawi with Dustin Weaver.

• 18:53Speaker 03

  Yes, sir.

• 18:54Speaker 02

  Dustin Weaver is a certified financial planner here at Money Wise. And on the first half, we've answered a bunch of questions. But I just wanted to touch base with you on the markets today, Dustin.

• 19:07Speaker 03

  Yeah, the markets were a little bit mixed today. What I mean by that, they weren't necessarily moving in lockstep, they call it, where everything's moving in the same direction. So the Dow was up about 0.6%, mostly lifting from financials, some industrials and a little defense. S and P 500 was flat. The NASDAQ, which is our, you know, tech heavy index, was down by 0.4%. So the opposite direction of the Dow. And then the Russell 2000, which is a smaller company.

• 19:40Speaker 03

  They were outperforming today, which is often a sign that there's a risk appetite amongst some investors. So yeah, a little weakness in some major tech stocks on the NASDAQ, but other than that, we saw some positive news as well.

• 19:55Speaker 02

  Yeah, it makes sense to me what you said about the defense sector, especially in light of what the government is doing, which is increasing the spending or potential spending on defense.

• 20:14Speaker 02

  Which typically ignites a lot of other side industries or ancillary industries or sectors.

• 20:20Speaker 03

  It does, because really what that, what you're saying there is money being spent typically does push things up. And so what, what we're, what you'll hear, a lot of the talking heads look for, the analysts are looking for earnings, right? They talk about the quarterly earnings reports a lot because they're looking at, are these companies making money or not?

• 20:40Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 20:41Speaker 03

  And so if the government's going to spend money there with these defense companies, right, they're, they're looking at money coming in from that.

• 20:49Speaker 02

  I know I didn't prep you or I about the next question I'm about to ask, but you and I talked about this subject in the past on, on the show, and that's the skill set necessary to compete on the global stage when it comes to manufacturing. And I hear defense, and I'm not a war mongering by any means, but it, it's always, it ignites economies, the, the defense sector. Because it, in my opinion, or historically, it created manufacturing jobs, which we are lacking today in the United States. And I think, without, without being

• 21:30Speaker 02

  political or anything, I think that's, to me, that's a good step in hopefully bringing back some of these manufacturing jobs to the United States eventually, or at least improving the skill set that we kind of lost in the last 30, 40 years, because a lot of these jobs were exported somewhere else.

• 21:49Speaker 03

  Yeah, I'm just hoping we have enough people raising their hands saying, yes, I want those jobs, right? You gotta, uh, it looks like dirty overalls and you're showing up to work, you know, and

• 21:59Speaker 02

  Yeah, I think that's a, that's a show on its own.

• 22:04Speaker 02

  Uh, for, for, for just how people are treating work in general, in my mind, maybe you and I would agree, maybe disagree. It's just the, the, the ability to show up to work and, and, and be reliable is something that a lot of business owners, especially small business owners that, that I talk to are challenged with. Um, you know, and if you're lucky to have a strong team that shows up to work every day as a business owner, that's just more than half of the battle. That's 90% of the battle.

• 22:31Speaker 03

  Absolutely. It's one of those things that time will tell, right?

• 22:35Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 22:35Speaker 03

  Look at history and say, oh, we've been here before. This looks familiar.

• 22:39Speaker 02

  Correct.

• 22:39Speaker 03

  And sometimes it looks a little different.

• 22:42Speaker 02

  And to your point, raising the hand and saying, hey, I want that job, especially when unemployment ended, we ended up the year with about 4.5, 4.6, which is not a bad number by any means, but it's above the target that typically the, the Federal Reserve is, is making one of their mandate. So I'm hoping with these changes, with hopefully some of these jobs, manufacturing jobs, especially because they are high paying jobs, come back to, to United States. The other thing is hopefully here in Kern County locally, we get more oil jobs back. Service, field servicing, ancillary jobs, uh, any, any, all those jobs

• 23:25Speaker 02

  that we lost to Texas, to Colorado, to Wyoming. Hopefully with the changes to the policy of the state, especially in Kern County, we get some of those back and reignite that industry because it helps so much.

• 23:38Speaker 03

  Oh yeah. Not just the jobs, but tax revenue that comes along with it.

• 23:42Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 23:43Speaker 03

  If you look at a lot of the major taxpayers in the, in this area, for a lot of years, it was, you look at that top 10 list and gosh, seven or eight of the names were all oil companies.

• 23:53Speaker 02

  So after the 2008 financial debacle we had, and as, as we started rebuilding the economy, I used to finance a lot of home builders when I was a banker. At that time, forty-five, fifty percent of the high-end homes, or at least the step-up homes, at that point, they were between the two-hundred-fifty and four-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars. Most of the buyers were in the, from oil fields.

• 24:22Speaker 03

  Oh, yeah, definitely.

• 24:23Speaker 02

  And we lost a lot of that. Now, we were able to maintain the, the, the sales, in my opinion, but a lot of those buyers were not from here. They were from out of the county, out of the city, coming from cities like L.A. or San Francisco, big, big cities selling their houses for a couple of millions or a million. They're cashing a bigger house here in, in Bickersfield or Kern County in general.

• 24:46Speaker 03

  Yeah, and we saw more of that activity during COVID, when all these

• 24:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 24:52Speaker 03

  remote jobs were happening. My wife's a loan officer and helps people with mortgages, and, you know, she saw a ton of movement from, you know, the Los Angeles area and sometimes in the Bay Area, where sometimes it was even, you know, one large family, you know, multiple family members or a communal kind of setup, selling a property down there and coming here and buying two or three properties instead of the one, just because the dollar went farther.

• 25:19Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, I, I, it's good for us from a real estate tax standpoint, but I would love for us to get those, or at least some of those jobs back into oil fields, because it just helps so much. And, and, and the economic impact is, is, is great. You know, you, you have, you have a, a labor tax that gets collected, of course, houses that are being built and sold. Then you have expenditures. These people are spending money here locally on both, not just, just to survive, but also charities, which we have seen, um, some of these charities have suffered in the last

• 26:02Speaker 02

  year, especially because of the cuts that we've seen.

• 26:05Speaker 03

  Right.

• 26:06Speaker 02

  So it's just the, the economic impact is so great that I personally would love to see a, a bunch of those jobs coming back.

• 26:13Speaker 03

  Definitely. Yeah, one of the things you mentioned a minute ago was about unemployment in general, and how that's impacting the Fed and their decision.

• 26:23Speaker 02

  Correct.

• 26:24Speaker 03

  You know, they're watching unemployment, they're also watching inflation, and what they're trying to do is help slow down the rate of inflation without causing too much unemployment, right?

• 26:36Speaker 02

  Yeah, so they they we had three rate cuts uh uh last year and they're projecting two more in the first half of this year. Uh and and I hope these numbers remain under control. So we can see, I personally would love to see rate cuts just because it affects smaller businesses borrowing.

• 26:59Speaker 03

  Right.

• 27:00Speaker 02

  Whether on that's working capital borrowing or real estate borrowing.

• 27:05Speaker 03

  Or both.

• 27:05Speaker 02

  Both, yeah. Small businesses paying less interest expense on their lines of credit or inventory purchases or financing their receivables, or just, you know, re- real estate. Uh, the driver for for these small businesses buying their real estate and using programs like SBA, uh, it's so great for us. It moves properties, it creates jobs, uh, and and it's just an overall positive impact.

• 27:39Speaker 03

  Definitely.

• 27:39Speaker 02

  And we lost a lot of that. Oilfield Service companies, we lost a lot of that when they moved out or closed doors.

• 27:46Speaker 03

  Yep, that's absolutely right.

• 27:48Speaker 02

  Um, we'll take our second break, Stephen. When we come back, we'll talk about some resolutions, financial resolutions for the new year with our CFP, Dustin Weaver.

• 27:58Speaker 00

  Are you an employee with a company-sponsored retirement plan? Do you fully understand how you're invested and whether or not you are maximizing your retirement plan's options? For more information on a free assessment, contact MoneyWise's 401(k) specialist, Justin Leland, at 661-847-1000.

• 28:17Speaker 02

  We're back at the Money Wise Show. I'm Sammy Abiyawi here with Dustin Weaver.

• 28:21Speaker 03

  Yes, welcome back.

• 28:23Speaker 02

  Uh, Dustin, new year, new resolutions, but I want to talk about resolutions that actually stick, not just ones that we do in the month of January and as February comes in, we forget about them or we lose interest.

• 28:36Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 28:37Speaker 02

  Like Jim.

• 28:38Speaker 03

  Mm hmm. That's the most common that comes to mind, the Jim.

• 28:41Speaker 02

  Correct, yes. Um, what what's some, what are some of the things that we can focus on, create, or to create healthy habits, financial habits going into 2026?

• 28:56Speaker 03

  I love it. There's a couple that come to mind. So first is paying down debt.

• 29:02Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 29:03Speaker 03

  Right. Any extra cash flow that can go towards paying down debt, especially high interest debt, right? I think things like credit cards.

• 29:12Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 29:13Speaker 03

  You know, it's, it's often I've gotten the question, you know, hey, if I came into a little extra money, I got a bonus from work, here's $5,000. I'm wanting to spend some of it on myself, which I understand, but I want to spend some of it somewhere else, either in an investment or paying down debt. And I've got the question, is it better to pay off my $2,000 credit card? Or is it better to invest that $2,000? And a lot of times with credit card debt in particular, it's usually better to just pay down the card because of how high the interest rate is. I want you to think about that interest rate that you're paying as a return on your investment, because you've heard the old adage, a penny saved is a penny earned. Right?

• 29:58Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 29:58Speaker 03

  If you pay down a debt that you're paying 28, 29, 30% interest or more, that's the return on investment if you're no longer having to pay that debt. Right?

• 30:08Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 30:09Speaker 03

  I mean, you're, you're a banker. Would you think about it different?

• 30:11Speaker 02

  No, no, definitely. You know, 20, let's, let's talk about it from an investment standpoint. Let's say you invest the money and let's say you have a successful investment. The return on that, if you're doing 10 to 15%, you're doing really, really good.

• 30:27Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 30:28Speaker 02

  Right?

• 30:29Speaker 03

  Yeah. So.

• 30:30Speaker 02

  Then, then you're getting that 15, let's say you invested $2,000 to your example, Dustin, and you get 15% return. Great. Awesome. You have a great investment. Then now you have $2,000 in credit card debt you're paying 30% on.

• 30:42Speaker 03

  Right? You're going backwards. You're still going backwards.

• 30:46Speaker 02

  Exactly. So paying off that high interest debt always, always in my mind is a winning formula.

• 30:53Speaker 03

  Definitely.

• 30:54Speaker 02

  Yeah. How about savings, Dustin?

• 30:58Speaker 03

  Yeah, increasing savings, you know, not sure when you have your annual review at work, but whenever that shows up, if there is a cost of living adjustment or an increase, that's the perfect time to say, hey, I'm going to take part of this increase.

• 31:14Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 31:14Speaker 03

  I'm going to save it for my future self. That's what savings is. You're setting aside for your future self, right?

• 31:21Speaker 02

  That's correct.

• 31:22Speaker 03

  And I saw a survey recently that that was actually one of the top New Year's resolutions. It was something like 64% of people in the survey said increasing savings was on their, on their list of goals.

• 31:35Speaker 02

  It's, it's, uh, it's, it's, I agree with you. I was thinking about something else, but I hundred percent agree with you. Savings to me, especially when you know that the average American family cannot afford a $400 expense or surprise expense, just, just if you have that CPI adjustment or any type of adjustment, to me, the rule of thumb is remain within the spending habits of the lower paycheck you had, if you can. Now, I know there's inflation and prices are high, but if you have the mindset of remaining within that same spending habits, you will increase your savings.

• 32:20Speaker 02

  And once you increase your savings, and again, I have a rule of thumb, three to six months of security deposits that I have at the bank, God forbid something happens, then maybe I'll start thinking about treating myself. But even then, I'm still spending, not just crazy. I'm still spending to the, to the rate where. I still have savings.

• 32:47Speaker 03

  Yep. And you bring up, you bring up a good point because I went straight to paying down debt. But I do think the value of having an emergency fund oftentimes even trumps that. You know, having money set aside for the what ifs, the curveballs that life is definitely going to throw you. There's no, no doubt about that. It's always a good idea to have a strong emergency fund. I've never seen it be a bad idea.

• 33:14Speaker 02

  Yeah, there's, there's a concept I, I learned actually from a movie. I can't repeat that language, but it's, it's blank money, right?

• 33:25Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 33:26Speaker 02

  You have to have that, in my opinion, to, to, to, to walk away from situations, jobs. Talking about our first listener question about having passion about the job you work at. If you, you're waking up and go to work and you're like already upset while driving to go to work because you don't want to be there. You definitely want to have some savings so you can afford the time or energy to maybe look for something else you're more passionate about.

• 33:52Speaker 03

  I love it.

• 33:53Speaker 02

  And, and I'll, and I'll be honest with you also, Dustin, in my experience of having lived overseas, this country allows us to do that. We take it for granted at times, but this country allows us to do that.

• 34:04Speaker 03

  Right? Hundred percent.

• 34:07Speaker 02

  We have a, now we have a listener question.

• 34:10Speaker 03

  Yeah, actually a couple of them came, came in, so hold on, let me get my pen and pad for these new year money habits. Stephen, don't take that Steelers talk from him. It could be worse. I've been a Fins fan since the seventies. Be many wise.

• 34:25Speaker 02

  I love it. Second one, our family is starting our new resolutions in April, lol, but I did cut off all our streaming services. And we did the math, that's almost $215 per month. That's already over $2,500 saved for the year. Oh my God. Yes.

• 34:43Speaker 03

  Yes. And I'll, I'll nerd out on you here a little bit and take that a step further. That's 2,500 of the money that you're bringing home after taxes, right? So really, if you contributed some of that towards your Roth IRA or traditional IRA, or if you have a, a plan at work, your 401k, that money can go even farther.

• 35:04Speaker 02

  That's right. That's right. Yeah, no, streaming services, especially streaming services, you sign up, you forget about them. And most of the time, you're only using one. And the others, it's truly a luxury that, oh, I have it. If I need it, I'll switch. Then you'll switch looking for a movie, and it got no movies because none of them make sense or you don't like them. But you still don't want to take, pick up the phone or go to the website and cancel that membership. So kudos to you, Mr. Listener or Mrs. Listener. Awesome job. I love it.

• 35:35Speaker 03

  Well done.

• 35:36Speaker 02

  Yeah, I, I, I don't have streaming services, but I do have Disney because my credit card pays for it.

• 35:45Speaker 03

  Say that again?

• 35:46Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 35:46Speaker 03

  Your credit card pays for your?

• 35:48Speaker 02

  My streaming service, I have an American Express, and I calculated my, my fee, my annual fee is substantial, but I get all of that plus with all the things that American Express pays for. It gives me $300, for instance, a year towards a hotel of my choice that I typically take advantage of. It gives me $60 towards Lululemon per quarter. My wife takes advantage of that.

• 36:16Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 36:16Speaker 02

  Gives me Disney Plus. So all in all, I pay, I get all my money back from the annual fee and plus, plus, plus.

• 36:25Speaker 03

  Plus, plus, Disney Plus.

• 36:26Speaker 02

  That's exactly.

• 36:29Speaker 03

  I love it. Well done. Hey, we got another good question. I'd like to hear your, your thoughts on this.

• 36:34Speaker 02

  Sure.

• 36:34Speaker 03

  Why do prices still feel high even though inflation is quote down?

• 36:40Speaker 02

  We have, I'll, I'll give you my opinion, not the government answer. I think between 2020 and 2023, when COVID hit, we had so much of shortages of things that retailers and manufacturers, in my opinion, took advantage of. And of course, labor cost was high during that time because people could not work, they could not find, find laborers. So their input costs went up, right? And it stayed there. If you remember 2020, 21, 22, and even 23, our inflation was in the sevens, eights, sometimes nine percent.

• 37:25Speaker 02

  Right?

• 37:26Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 37:27Speaker 02

  And those prices never went down for one reason or another. And that's us as consumers, in my opinion, is we got suckered in into the system.

• 37:37Speaker 03

  And I think too, it's helpful to bring out the definition here. When they say inflation is down, what they're saying is the rate of inflation is down. That doesn't mean that things have deflated back down in price. They're saying the rate of speed that things are increasing has slowed down. So imagine you're on the freeway, you're headed towards Los Angeles, you're driving, you know, eighty miles an hour, and then you slow down to fifty-five, you get in the slow lane, you're still headed towards LA.

• 38:07Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 38:07Speaker 03

  Right? You're not getting there as fast.

• 38:11Speaker 02

  I'll give you a, I mean, I know Stephen is gonna like this one, because it has a relation with Costco. Costco carries Hawaiian rolls, soft white bread. I love those for mini sandwiches. The bag of that used to have two packs at, I think, eighteen roll a pack. Well, go get it now at Costco, it shrunk.

• 38:38Speaker 03

  What is it now?

• 38:40Speaker 02

  And it went in price, up in price. It used to be, I think, three ninety-nine or four dollars. Now it's six ninety-nine with a lot less rolls in it. That's just an example, because I buy this so much and we like it at home. That's just a small example of what you just said. These prices that went up in twenty twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three are still baked in today. So our inflation rate went down from nine percent to maybe two and a half, three percent. But those prices that went up five years ago are still the same, are still up there. That's why you don't feel it at the store. I don't know if that answers your question.

• 39:22Speaker 03

  Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. Good questions.

• 39:28Speaker 02

  I, I, I, now I have one for you.

• 39:30Speaker 03

  What's up?

• 39:31Speaker 02

  Should I be worried about social security running out of money?

• 39:35Speaker 03

  Oh, we only have 10 minutes left.

• 39:39Speaker 03

  That's a good one. Okay, so it's complicated, but what this person is asking, there, they've probably seen a headline about the fact that in the future, there's not enough money coming into the social security system to match the amount of dollars going out. Right? So it's projected sometime, what, 2035, 2036, somewhere around there, that this excess slush fund that's been built up during the years when more money then was going out, was coming in. They built up this slush fund, right? There's, there was more money in there to cover the payouts for, for a longer period of time.

• 40:22Speaker 03

  So we have to go back to how much or where the different sources are that they get money to put into the social security fund, because the concern is it's, it's going to run out. So a percentage of your paycheck up to a certain amount, it goes into the social security fund and then your employer matches that with the same amount. One of the metrics they can change is to increase that percentage. Right? That's one of the things they can do. And I say they, it's, it's Congress, which currently the Senate is what, a six-year max? And so the group that's coming in, in November, is going to be the first group that's still going to be there and actually have to be held accountable for making this decision.

• 41:07Speaker 03

  So everybody to date has been kicking the can down the road on making this decision, but there's a lot of ideas floating around about how they're going to get it paid for. So there's the higher percentage that can be paid in. There is, they can increase the age at which you can draw or, you know, what full retirement age is considered, which right now is age 67. You can take it early, but they base all of the benefits on that full retirement age of 67. I told you we didn't have enough time for this.

• 41:39Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, but I love it.

• 41:41Speaker 03

  It's complicated and there's a lot of different moving parts, but they're going to have to make decisions in the coming years. And the reason I don't lose sleep about it is there's enough coming in at that time in 2035 to cover at least 80% of the benefits or around 77% of the benefits. And a couple of small changes is going to help them make up that other 20%. So it's not like when the slush fund runs out, everybody's check stops, right? It's just, they're not going to have quite as much and need to help come up with a plan to bridge the gap. And

• 42:19Speaker 02

  Would, would, would this help? I mean, coming, going back to our first segment of the show, we're adding new jobs, adding high paying jobs, manufacturing jobs to the US economy, would that help solve some of these problems?

• 42:34Speaker 03

  Well, it's certainly going to bring in more money from all the people contributing, right?

• 42:39Speaker 02

  Right.

• 42:40Speaker 03

  So, yeah, yeah, the more people working, you know, full gain, full employment, that's dollars flowing through payroll. And payroll dollars collect a percentage and put it into that social security slush fund.

• 42:57Speaker 03

  So, yes.

• 42:58Speaker 02

  It's awesome. We have some time, I have questions personally for you, Dustin, and I would like your answer because I think a lot of our listeners will benefit from them. How should near retirees protect themselves from market downturns?

• 43:17Speaker 03

  How should a near retiree protect themselves from a market downturn? Great question. So there's a few different ways. I know that when we opened the show, one of the things, one of the questions was similar to that. In that if there are some volatilities in the market, how do I? What, how do I know if I need to make changes or not?

• 43:36Speaker 02

  Correct.

• 43:37Speaker 03

  So, part of the way that I'd answer your question is, well, come up with a plan now before that downturn happens, right? Work with the financial professionals that you trust. There's a lot of different programs and products that can help mitigate risk. There's also different strategies you can do with your portfolio to reduce risk. There's some still tried and true things like diversification, right? But if you're diversified in all stock and then stocks go down, well, that was diversified in different companies, but if it was still all tied to the stock market, maybe you didn't have enough diversification of the right type, right? And so really, it comes down to your particular goals and what your strategy and needs are. And that's going to be between you and the decision maker of

• 44:23Speaker 03

  your portfolio, whether that's you or if you're interesting a professional to help you. So, does that help?

• 44:31Speaker 02

  Yes, yes, definitely. I want to switch gears. I read this article, I think Stephen put this in the email. Bakersfield Developers Sage Equities, which builds a lot of these high-end apartments downtown, is identified or has identified their newest project that's going to go into the old Greyhound bus station.

• 44:57Speaker 03

  Oh, yeah, I heard about that. I think they're calling it the Greyhound Flats. Is that right?

• 45:03Speaker 02

  I don't know.

• 45:04Speaker 03

  Yeah, I think.

• 45:05Speaker 02

  Is that what it is? The Greyhound Flats?

• 45:08Speaker 03

  I think so.

• 45:09Speaker 02

  That's great. At first, when they bought the building and demolished it and stuff, I heard that I didn't know who the developer was at the time, but I thought, what I heard, Starbucks is going in there. And I'm like, man, we don't need another Starbucks downtown. And now I'm hearing this and it's music to my ears, man. I mean, these guys have done a really, really good job bringing life back into downtown. And this is an additional project that's going to bring in more, in my opinion.

• 45:40Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's Sage Equities, and I think that's the developer. And then I'm not sure what the it's a joint venture along with the Mojibee family, who's Bakersfield based as well.

• 45:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, the Mojibee family who happens to run and own San Joaquin refineries, I believe. Is our partner up with Sage Equities, which is awesome. Two very good local families, in my opinion, doing really good stuff here in this community, especially downtown. And as a new downtown resident now at the Woolworths, this is just great stuff for us.

• 46:14Speaker 03

  Yeah, I mean, there's a

• 46:16Speaker 02

  The more and merrier.

• 46:16Speaker 03

  A growing demand for high-quality walkable housing is what they're saying, right in the heart of the city. You know, and it's modern, it's gonna be new, it's exciting.

• 46:26Speaker 02

  Yeah, good for them, good for them. Um, I'll tell you what I had for lunch today, Dustin, at the Woolworths.

• 46:33Speaker 03

  What was that?

• 46:34Speaker 02

  Double cheeseburger, protein style, with chili on top, jalapenos and red onions.

• 46:41Speaker 03

  I already ate, but you're making me hungry.

• 46:43Speaker 02

  Man, it was really good. Without the bread, and I'm still, I still feel fresh and awake, and that's like my go-to.

• 46:51Speaker 03

  You know, my go-to, I went down there today as well and had the, just the chili and cornbread was good. It's a, it's a no-bean chili, right? Because you've got different kinds of chili.

• 47:01Speaker 02

  Correct.

• 47:02Speaker 03

  It doesn't have beans in it.

• 47:04Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's, and it's, and he does a really good job. The chef does a really good job. And tomorrow's soup, I think he's making mushrooms, mushroom soup.

• 47:12Speaker 03

  Yeah, I think I heard good feedback on that one a couple of weeks ago.

• 47:15Speaker 00

  I will say, you know, I've always been, oh, I'm gonna try this, I'm gonna try that, and I get to, you know, the register, and I always get the double cheeseburger. But I will say, I changed it up. I finally had the Reuben, and my mind is blown. That is the best Reuben I've ever had. They, they are really knocking those out of the park, man.

• 47:37Speaker 02

  So let me, let me blow your mind a little bit more. There's a sandwich, not on the, not on the menu, called the Rachel. And the Rachel is the Reuben, but without the beef, but with turkey slices that are also homemade, like right here inside the building. So he roast his own turkey, he cuts them, he slices that and the Rachel is the result of that, that combo. And it's amazing.

• 48:02Speaker 00

  That's why you're the goat.

• 48:04Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I'm wondering if there's gonna be a Sammy or some of that.

• 48:09Speaker 02

  I'm working on one. He refuses to put one on the menu yet. I came up with one and, and he was like, nah, I'm not feeling it yet. He said, you can come and make yours if you want and give it to the employees or bring your people or your guests, but not on the menu yet.

• 48:25Speaker 00

  Well, I will say, you know, I'm working on getting Richard on the show. Once we get the, the new studio working, but I did see that they've got some specials coming up where they can mix and match drinks and wine and.

• 48:38Speaker 02

  Yep. Yeah. Some draft, draft beers at $4 during the happy hour, wine, glasses at a reduced price, and then some, some just happy hour specials.

• 48:50Speaker 03

  Yeah, a lot of people not realize they're, they're open beyond just lunch. I mean, yeah, it's a luncheonette, but it's open beyond that.

• 48:57Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's open between the hours of 11 and, and eight and the happy hour is between, what, three and six, I believe. And, and those, those, uh, those happy hour specials are addictive. I, I avoid them. They're really, really good.

• 49:14Speaker 03

  Oh, we're approaching three, Sammy. I'll meet you downstairs.

• 49:16Speaker 02

  Definitely. Great show with you, Dustin. Always great. Great to have you alongside me. I learned a lot from you. It's awesome. And I hope that the listeners do the same through our conversations and, and questions. Uh, Stephen, who do we have tomorrow?

• 49:32Speaker 00

  We have, uh, Justin and Debbie to wrap up the week. Get your questions and your comments in 24 seven at 6613961000. We'll be back tomorrow from two to three. Until then, be smart, be safe, be money wise.

• 50:06Speaker 01

  Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA, SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through LPL Financial. LPL Financial and MoneyWise Wealth Management are independently owned and operated.

• 50:16Speaker 04

  KGO, 1230 AM, 101.1 FM. 8266 CG. Bakersfield, your local leader in sports coverage.