Free Resources for a Healthy Lifestyle
A happy, rewarding life requires much more than money. At the top of the priority list is your health. Without it, you may struggle to enjoy the wealth you work a lifetime to build. There are countless free resources to help you eat healthy and exercise, which boosts your longevity and quality of life. I want to share some that I have been using for years; they enable me to consistently maintain healthy habits. I save money (and calories) by cooking meals from scratch at home, and I exercise daily without paying for a gym membership. It’s also much easier to make time for workouts when I can do them on my schedule, anytime of day and without driving anywhere.
Search YouTube for thousands of workouts of all types. Be as specific as you wish with queries such as “30-minute dumbbell workouts,” “beginner yoga,” “Pilates with weights,” or “strength workout with no equipment.”
My favorites, for the two days per week I don’t run:
You can subscribe to receive recipes daily, weekly or monthly in your email inbox. Or, simply search the web when you’re in the mood for a particular type of dish. I either print them and sort them in my recipe box, save them in the web browser in my phone (in a recipes tab group), or put a screenshot in the recipes photo album on my phone.
I’ve used these websites many times to whip up tasty meals and desserts:
I love talking about these topics, so I’m always willing to share additional tips, if you want to chat!
Next Invest in You: Yoga & Supporting LLS
My upcoming Invest in You event fits into this healthy lifestyle theme. Ladies are invited to a free, introductory outdoor yoga class 11 a.m. May 17 on the lawn at the MtM Financial Group office. One of my clients who’s a dietitian and certified yoga instructor will lead us in a 45-minute yoga practice. I’ll provide some light refreshments.
Please consider making a donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The money we collect will go to Bobby Gunther Walsh’s Visionaries of the Year campaign for LLS.
Event details and a simple sign-up form are on our website, here: https://www.morethanmoneyonline.com/events/invest-in-you-outdoor-yoga-supports-lls/.
Managing Uncertainty & Achieving Peace of Mind
Uncertainty makes us anxious, and it hurts us more than physical pain. Naomi Win, a behavioral research analyst, delivered that message during her keynote presentation at our broker-dealer’s annual conference the last week of April in Tucson, AZ. People have different tolerances for uncertainty, but many react with avoidance, denial, paralysis or agitation, Win said.
Despite that discomfort, she warns that avoiding uncertainty means settling for mediocrity and limiting your opportunities for growth. Think about the most meaningful things you’ve ever done. They definitely required more risk, uncertainty and hard work. Were they worth it?
“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters,” Win’s presentation said. She delivered this message in the context of investors coping with market volatility, but it’s applicable to many more life scenarios than this one. Focus on what you can control: “What choices can we make today that will serve us well into the future?”
Speaking of volatility…
If you’re reviewing your monthly account statement during rocky times in the stock market, remember not to take too literally the value changes shown for investments with downside protection and/or defined outcome periods. The numbers on paper may be misleading. Buffered ETFs and structured notes, in particular, are too complex for your custodian’s monthly statement to interpret their true performance. A quarterly review with your financial advisor, who can show specific reports about those more complex holdings, will help you understand how the downside protection is working. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions.
Helping You Sleep at Night
Another conference workshop I attended was about providing peace of mind: a feeling of being safe (relaxed, healthy, content, calm and/or confident). Fidelity said financial advisors can help deliver peace of mind by connecting their clients with resources in these key areas:
- Health care planning
- Family
- Estate planning
- Safety & security
At MtM, our advisors are blessed with a team of specialists who offer their expertise on these concerns. Whether you want to talk about Medicare, long-term care insurance, saving for college, or end-of-life conversations, we can help. It gives me peace of mind to provide such comprehensive support for my clients!
Strategies Galore: Learning From Client Experiences
Every person I meet has a unique set of circumstances, so I’m always learning new things and customizing strategies to fit those needs. That’s what makes our Saturday morning radio show so interesting: You never know what question the next caller will ask! These are a few nuggets from recent collaborations with clients that might help others, too.
Are You an EDB?
People who inherit an IRA after 2020 must follow the SECURE Act’s new 10-year distribution and required minimum distribution rules, unless they qualify as an “eligible designated beneficiary” (EDB). This category of beneficiaries who can elect to take IRA distributions over their own lifetime instead of within 10 years of the original owner’s death includes:
- Spouses
- Account holder’s minor children
- Disabled or chronically ill individuals
- People less than 10 years younger than the decedent
Until recently, I believed the last EDB definition applied only to people younger than the decedent, such as one of my clients who inherited an IRA from her slightly older sister. But then, a discussion with another client who inherited an IRA from his younger sister prompted further research. MtM tax preparer Sue Velardi dug up IRS documentation that explains “less than 10 years younger” does, in fact, include beneficiaries who are older, too. This gives my client much more flexibility for how to utilize these funds.
Just in Time
Timing is everything, right? One of my clients is considering selling his rental property. I advised holding off until January 2027–because that’s when his wife will stop paying for health insurance via the marketplace and will switch to Medicare. If they realize the capital gain before then, her income-based health insurance premium will increase dramatically! Since there’s no compelling reason to sell sooner, opting to wait will save this couple a lot of money.
Another couple plans to satisfy most of the wife’s required minimum distribution by giving qualified charitable distributions to various nonprofits. The donations aren’t time-sensitive, so we decided to wait until a structured note in her IRA matures. When the investment liquidates, we can use that cash to dole out the QCDs. They’d rather not sell long-term holdings to raise the cash when this opportunity will exist later in the year.
A Marriage Perk
I think people often forget about the opportunity to make spousal IRA contributions. If you are retired but your spouse still works, your spouse’s earnings make both of you eligible to put money into an IRA. One of my retired clients whose husband still works has owned a mutual fund for decades inside a taxable brokerage account. In December, its capital gains distributions produced a large, surprise tax liability. So, in January, we sold $16,000 of the mutual fund and made an $8,000 2024 Roth IRA contribution and an $8,000 2025 Roth IRA contribution, then re-bought the same mutual fund in the Roth IRA so its future growth and capital gains distributions all will be tax-free forever.
Catching Up With the Youngs
Sorry I’m so long-winded, but, it’s been a long time since I’ve written one of these. A quick update about the Young family: Our son, Andrew, just completed his sophomore year at West Chester University, and our daughter is wrapping up sophomore year at Nazareth Area High School. They both earned great grades, and Juliana is running on the cross country and track teams. Our 3-year-old, 100-pound golden mountain dog, Murphy, is a pure delight.
Later this month, I will award my first Future Females in Finance scholarship to a graduate of the Nazareth Area High School Class of 2025 who plans to study for a career in finance. Only 15% of financial advisors are women; I’d love to grow that number.
If I can serve you, please email [email protected], schedule a meeting with me or call 610-746-7007.
Talk soon,
Alyssa
Variable annuities are long-term investments suitable for retirement funding and are subject to market fluctuations and investment risk, including the possibility of loss of principal. Annuity guarantees, including guarantees associated with benefit riders are subject to the claims-paying ability of the insurance company. Surrender charges may apply if money is withdrawn before the end of the contract.
Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Please note that individual situations can vary. Therefore, the information presented here should be relied upon when coordinated with individual professional advice. This information is not intended to be a substitute for personalized financial planning, tax planning, or legal advice.
Securities offered through The Strategic Financial Alliance Inc. (SFA), Member FINRA, SIPC. Advisory and tax services offered through MtM Financial Group, LLC which is otherwise unaffiliated with SFA. 4505 Hanoverville Road, Bethlehem, PA 18020. SFA does not provide tax or legal advice. Supervising office 888-447-2444.