Your Wealth & Beyond

Over 109 million people are reaching retirement age. This means that the stresses that they’re facing, whether they’re physical or mental, are taking more of a toll on families than ever before. Finding the right care and facilities for aging adults is becoming a bigger challenge than ever before, but David Piontek is working to give back.  As a Placement Coordinator with Integrity Placement, he effectively provides comprehensive real estate services for older adults. Through an in-depth assessment process, he connects families to vetted and trusted homes and facilities in Scottsdale, Paradise, and the Phoenix Metro Area. David Piontek is a Placement Specialist with Integrity Placement. A native of northern Illinois, he is a 20 year Air Force Veteran.  After a successful military career, David went on to receive his Bachelor's degree in Health Care Administration and Master's degree in Gerontology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. As a former Case manager in long-term-care, assisted living, Hospice, a

10 years ago, the term “social media” barely existed. Now, for almost every entrepreneur, social media marketing has completely changed how business is done online. Running effective campaigns isn’t simple, and there are a remarkable number of platforms, strategies, and thoughts on how best to connect with and convert audiences. Natalie Speers is the founder of SocialAlly® Media, a full-service digital marketing agency located here in Scottsdale. She helps business owners create an online presence and voice for their companies and foster authentic relationships with their audiences - the core of social media marketing, no matter what platform you’re working on.  Today, Natalie joins the podcast to share powerful strategies for landing more appointments, closing more sales, and building a sustainable, scalable business, using highly effective platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram Stories. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:  How Natalie built a powerful, highly effective system for promoting events using

Few documents are as complicated and can have as much of an impact on your financial well-being than the US tax code. Many financial advisors don’t know the rules as well as they think they do, and this can lead to costly mistakes for their clients. This is why Ed Slott is on a mission to help you keep more of your hard earned money. He’s a nationally recognized speaker, the host of The Safe and Secure Retirement on public television, and the founder of Ed Slott's Elite IRA Advisor Group - an educational program that helps advisors learn the nuances of retirement tax rules. Today, Ed joins the podcast to share the horror stories that made him passionate about tax planning and to tell you how to take advantage of the golden era of low taxes we’re currently living in. We also get into how to avoid the unfixable mistakes so many retirees make that lead to big tax headaches - and even bigger financial losses. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: Why taxes are a much greater risk than the stock market when it

Kristin Brabant is a life and business coach who empowers female entrepreneurs and professionals to lead careers and lives on fire. With nearly a decade of experience in facilitation and coaching, she’s supported corporate executives, incarcerated youth, and mompreneurs in pursuing their life’s biggest goals joyfully.  Kristin’s approach to coaching is part structured, part spiritual. She weaves together formal training at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching with years of performance coaching experience and the spiritual practices she’s come to trust in two decades of study. Today, Kristin joins the podcast to share the story of how she created her unique coaching practice, what a great coach can add to your life, and how to launch a business that truly serves people and will give you fulfillment for decades to come.  In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:  How being bullied in middle school and her father’s guidance through this difficult time in her life led to the beginning of Kristin’

Diane Gardner is a tax superhero. Since rebranding her business during the Great Recession, she’s saved her clients over $3,070,374 in taxes by helping them strategically plan their way to lower tax liability. She’s also the author of seven books, including 10 Most Expensive Tax Mistakes That Cost You Thousands, Stop Overpaying Your Taxes, and Stand Apart. She teaches people how to save money, avoid audits, and create the best businesses they possibly can, and speaks on proactive tax planning, utilizing proper business entity types, and changes in tax law. Today, Diane joins the podcast to share the story of how she made her own practice stand apart. We then dig deep into higher level tax procedures and investments that can save you thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, down the road. If you own a business and have questions about your own tax planning, it’s a must-listen. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: How Diane reinvented her business at the height of the recession, found her voice, and

It’s impossible to deny that college is one of the biggest expenses you, your children, and even your grandchildren will ever face. To make matters worse, the costs of college tuition are still climbing rapidly, with some schools forecast to cost as much as half a million dollars to attend as soon as a decade from now. No matter how old your kids are, or if you’re planning to have children in the future, saving for this is a daunting, intimidating task. Abby Chao is the co-founder and COO of CollegeBacker - a team of college savings geeks working to democratize access to the best tools and information available to prepare financially for college and bring families together in the process. She believes in a world in which every child has a college fund and everyone knows there's a community of people that supports them achieving their dreams. She’s also seen how the burden of college debt impacts entrepreneurship, career choices, and how people live their post-college lives - and wants to change things for the

Zachary Kepes is the founder of Zak Ventures. From nearly broke in 2007 to owning more than 150 single family homes a decade later, he’s built a real estate empire by purchasing, renting, and flipping distressed and low-income property. In his 17 years in this industry, he survived the Great Recession of 2008 and emerged on the other side of it to see a massive opportunity in single family homes - but it wasn’t easy. Today, Zach joins the podcast to share the story of his journey through the real estate boom and bust of the 2000s, why so many real estate investors set themselves up to fail, how to build and expand your professional network and the advice that has helped him through both good times and bad. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: How Zachary came from a family of entrepreneurs and began his real estate career - and the moment he knew entrepreneurship was in his blood. The moment Zachary realized that the recession was going to do serious damage to his career, why attempting to diversify his

Virginia Morris is the author of How to Care For Aging Parents. Originally published in 1996, it has been described as “The bible of eldercare” by ABC World News, “An indispensable book” by AARP, and “A compassionate guide of encyclopedic proportion” by The Washington Post. With Baby Boomers approaching old age, Virginia’s book is more relevant than ever. I lost both of my parents early to Alzheimer’s, and I know that as parents live longer and further away from their children than ever before, they also can make massive financial mistakes that may impact everyone involved for years to come. Today, Virginia joins the podcast to share the story of how she went from reporting on healthcare to become the media’s go-to personality on eldercare, the complicated and changing relationships between parents and children as they age, and how to ensure a smooth financial transition through this process. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: Why Virginia, as a first-time author, wrote How To Care For Aging Parents -

Harry Clark is a highly-rated serial entrepreneur and keynote speaker. He’s overseen sales of major companies, founded two Inc. 500 companies, and travels the world speaking to entrepreneurs, family businesses, and executives. However, Harry has also learned some of the toughest lessons in business the hard way. In his book, Mistakes Millionaires Make, he tells the stories of 30 entrepreneurs - including himself - who each made and then subsequently lost $10 to $200 million. He’s on a mission to help others learn from his mistakes and discover what they don’t teach you in business school before it’s too late. Today, Harry joins the podcast to share how he became a serial entrepreneur despite not having started several companies in his teens and early twenties, the importance of mentorship and great management, and the many similarities between selling a company and preparing for retirement. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: How Harry found his first niche business, grew it to become the largest in the

Shortly after John Lanza’s first daughter was born, he and his wife decided that they wanted their children to be smart with money. With a background in animation, entertainment, and education, he set out to make learning about money fun. To do this, he created the Money Mammals, which teaches sharing, saving, and spending smarts to children through videos, products, and resources. To help parents put these lessons into practice, he wrote The Art of Allowance: A Short, Practical Guide to Raising Money-Smart, Money-Empowered Kids. Today, John joins the podcast to talk about his unique journey into childhood financial education, how he fills a much-needed educational niche for parents and kids alike, and how he’s working to teach children about the value of money in a world where so many people barely even touch cash.  In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: How John and his wife’s different upbringings and spending behaviors led him on a journey to teach his children to be intentional with money. The moment

Emily Guy Birken helps people become more financially savvy. She took a year off from teaching when her son was born, and in that time began writing for both Wise Bread and PT Money - and discovered a way to make use of her skills as both a teacher and a finance nerd. She’s written four books, including The 5 Years Before You Retire, Making Social Security Work For You, Choose Your Retirement, and, most recently, End Financial Stress Now: Immediate Steps You Can Take to Improve Your Financial Outlook. I’ve been reading her books and blogs for many years, and I’m thrilled to have her on the podcast to discuss her journey into financial education, the common issues and mistakes we both see in so many retirees, and the unique challenges facing individuals as they approach retirement. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: How Emily became an “accidental” financial guru - and how her gap year after giving birth to her son led her to focus on financial education. Why it’s so important to dream big and small - a

From the 1950s through the 1970s, most Americans found a job, then stuck with it for 30 or 40 years. When they retired, they received a pension, and it provided them with a guaranteed income for life. However, in the late 1970s, the 401(k) replaced pensions - and changed that forever. Now, many of us constantly change jobs, and can amass multiple 401(k) accounts in the process. They can be scattered across different employers and custodians, and they can have different investment strategies and fees attached to them. Making sense of where they are - and what to do with them - can be more than a little confusing. On our first podcast of 2019, we dig into the many options you have if you have a number of 401(k) accounts and the advantages and disadvantages of each, as well as the worst case scenario option that you should almost never even consider. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: How switching from pension plans to 401(k)s shifted risks in retirement from employers to employees - and why this shift f

Deepak Shukla is the founder and CEO of Pearl Lemon - an award-winning SEO agency that outranks bigger, better-funded competitors. He’s a leader in helping people grow their businesses and cultivate online reputations, and his work has been featured in TedX talks, as well as on SEMRush, the Huffington Post, UpWork, and Woorank. However, his journey to get there will surprise you - and includes the British equivalent of an Ivy League education, time spent as a tax consultant at Deloitte, pursuing a career as a rapper that led to him opening for legendary London rap crew Roll Deep, and creating tutoring companies and online education marketplaces. Today, Deepak joins the podcast to dive deep into meaningful SEO strategies that won’t get you penalized by Google, the power of influencer marketing, how to make it easier than ever for your best possible clients to find you - no matter what industry you’re in. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: How Deepak’s passion for music led to one of his first companies

You can’t legally get away from paying taxes - it simply isn’t possible. However, if you live in Arizona, like I do, and you want to help make sure that your tax dollars are going to a good place, you have a number of wonderful ways to do exactly that.  In fact in the state of Arizona, if you’re a joint filer, you have the potential to receive dollar-for-dollar credits of up to $4,800 - and this can turn into millions of dollars to fund both public and private schools, foster care for children, and relief for military families. There’s no one size fits all solution, but if you’re proactive, you have the ability to control your tax destiny - and to not do so is to miss out on a huge opportunity. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: The many tax credits available to Arizonans to support the working poor, qualified foster care charitable organizations, schools, and military families - and how to get the greatest tax reduction possible. Why you should consider taking advantage of these tax credits if you hav

Chris Ronzio is a serial entrepreneur. As the founder and CEO of Trainual, he helps small and growing businesses document what they do, delegate roles, and create scalable operations manuals to centralize and teach their processes, roles, and responsibilities. Before founding Trainual, Chris learned how to build and sell smart, scalable businesses, including a video production company he founded as a teenager that would go on to serve all 50 states. He also founded Organize Chaos, a firm dedicated to helping small businesses solve their problems. Chris is also an Inc.com columnist, a speaker, and an investor. Today, he joins the podcast to share stories from his own life in business, but also to talk about the challenges so many entrepreneurs face when it comes to growth, company culture, focus, and technology - and the actionable steps you can take today to organize the chaos within your own organization. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: How Chris started his first real, tax-paying business at the a

As planners, advisors, and CPAs, we all know that the Health Savings Account is the best retirement account out there. If you’re not contributing to one, you need to ask yourself - or your financial planner - why not, especially if you’re a high income individual or a business owner who has a high-deductible health insurance plan. The HSA is the only retirement account that offers the triple whammy of tax deduction, tax deferral, and tax free withdrawals - and there are many ways you can use it that aren’t simply as a healthcare slush fund. If you and your family qualify, there are likely surprising ways that you can take tax-free distributions. You can also quickly grow an HSA if you’re just now starting one, and though there are a couple of caveats, there is basically no reason not to make an HSA a major part of your retirement portfolio. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: What you need as an individual or a family in order to qualify for an HSA. Why the HSA is the Cadillac of retirement plans - and

Many healthcare decisions were made for you by your parents as a child and your employer as a working adult. However, once you turn 65, you’re suddenly eligible for Medicare - and there are many options, as well as mistakes you can make. One wrong decision can lead to financial penalties for life, and having insufficient coverage can completely derail your retirement plan. Worse yet, there are countless people out there looking to make a quick buck selling less than ideal plans to older Americans. That’s why Michael Clark founded Strategic Growth Insurance Associates. He works to help simplify the Medicare world, break it down to the lowest common denominator, and empower both individuals and business to take advantage of what Medicare has to offer. Michael wants you to be able to answer two simple questions about your Medicare plan: “What do I pay, and what do I get?” Today, he joins the podcast to talk about this seemingly complex system, navigate the alphabet soup of Medicare plans, and discuss the biggest

This is Part 3 in our three-part series about Required Minimum Distributions. If you missed the previous two, click here to listen to Part 1 and click here to listen to Part 2, where we discussed the basics of RMDs and big-picture strategies to help you reduce them. Now, we’re going to help you answer a huge (and tricky) question: What should you do when you inherit a retirement account? Whether it’s a 401(k), an IRA, a Roth IRA, a SEP IRA, Simple IRA, TSP, 457, a 403(b), or something else, there’s a lot to know. This is especially true because when it comes to inherited retirement accounts, the IRS is NOT known for being forgiving. They will show you no leniency if you (or your advisor) screws up, and you may lose tens - or hundreds - of thousands of dollars as a consequence. That’s why today, we’re going to teach you what you need to know about inheriting qualified retirement accounts - and the many options you and your advisor have to help you save, grow, and reinvest your money. In this podcast intervie

In 2018, security and cyber breaches are no longer a matter of if - they’re a matter of when, and how protected you are. In fact, most people have already had some portion of their data or personal information compromised, but don’t yet know it. Dan Konzon is the Vice President of Guidance and Information Technology at Advisor Armor - a cybersecurity firm especially for financial firms. Additionally, he’s spoken at Microsoft and taught parents and students about cybercrime and online best practices. Just like planning for retirement or estate planning to protect your family, protecting yourself from cybercrime is ongoing. You can’t quite just fix things forever. However, there are many small, easy things you can do in order to empower yourself and stay much safer. Today, Dan joins the podcast to share information you may not know, as well as how to protect yourself from the bad guys for years to come. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:   What is a phishing attack - and a quick and easy way to protect y

One of the goals of the Your Wealth & Beyond podcast is to arm you with the information to make sound decisions to build your retirement - and decumulate those assets to give you the income you need along the way. Because we’ve received more questions about required minimum distributions (RMDs), we’re tackling this issue across 3 episodes. If you missed it, click here to listen to Part 1, where we went over the basics of what you need to know about RMDs. In this second episode, we dig deep into strategies to reduce and minimize your required minimum distributions and show you how to keep more of the dollars you defer while you make your contributions - and live comfortably along the way. In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: How to roll your IRA into a 401(k) plan, if allowed, to save significant income if you’re still working. Why the HSA is the triple crown of retirement accounts - and how it can be hugely beneficial. How to reposition your money using a Roth to potentially bring down conversion cos