Program 12.12.09 Transcription

Please note that this is computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

This is On the Money with the Certified Financial Group, central Florida's oldest and largest independent group of certified financial planners, 401(k)'s, mutual funds, reverse mortgages, real estate, annuities, anything financial.  Your calls are welcome at 407-290-0058.  Toll free, 1-800-329-5858.  Planning tomorrow today with the Certified Financial Group.  Now here's WDBO's Curt Kiehl .

On the Money this morning.  Retiring and your company offers you a pension.  There's lots of payout options, so what do you do?  We'll talk about it.  Also today sticking with your financial diet.  We'll talk a little bit more about RMDs and we'll tell you about professionally managed 401(k)'s.  We've got the experts from the Certified Financial Group in the studio with us this morning.  With us two of the 10 certified planning practitioners from the Certified Financial Group.  Good morning to Denise Kovach and Joe Bert.  Hi.

Good morning.

Good morning.

It's so nice to see you both.

Good to be back.

And you're all bundled up.

Well, yeah.

For the moment, yeah.

-- this afternoon.

Kind of feels like it, doesn't it.

Looks like it.

arthritis is kicking in there.  So what's this show all about, Joe?

Well, Denise and I are here this morning to entertain any questions that you, our listening audience, might have regarding your personal financials.  We'll be glad to talk about of course mutual funds, stocks, bonds, real estate, long-term healthcare and , life insurance, reverse mortgages, pensions, all that and more.  Denise is ready, fired up.  She's got her file here and if you have any questions on those issues or anything I haven't discussed or mentioned, you can reach us right now because the lines are wide open, you could jump right to the head of the line by calling

407-290-0058.  Okay?  407-290-0058. and toll free the number is 1-800-329-5858.  100-329-5858.  And of course, if you want to send an e-mail question, you could do that.  How do they do that, Joe?

You can do that.  Just e-mail us at ask@financialgroup.com, we'll get your e-mail, we'll get right to you and we will read it on the air.  Of course, everything is confidential; and if you want us to follow up with you in detail, we'll be glad to do that as well.

I do have an e-mail that we can share with folks this week, that came to ask@financialgroup.com.  And this question] says:  I lost my job, so I have -- let me get my glasses on here.  I lost my job, so I have my retirement savings in three separate 401(k) accounts with three different employers.  Should I leave them there, roll them over into an IRA account or should I do something else?

Well, if by something else you mean just cashing out.  Let's just take that option off the table.  Aside from the fact that a move will trigger income taxes and perhaps a 10% penalty, taking the cash now could really jeopardize your retirement security.

Uh-hum.

I personally am not a big fan of leaving any money in the 401(k) plan of a company where you no longer work.  Simply because these types of plans are, first of all, limited to investment options.  And second of all, people have a bad habit of just forgetting about them and they remain on autopilot.  So it's a good idea to roll them over into a traditional IRA and consolidate the accounts into one and then you're going to have thousands of mutual funds available to you.  I want to add that there may be some situations where you may want to leave it in a 401(k), at least temporarily.  For such reasons as if you have company stock and there may be something as net unrealized appreciation or if you need to take some money out and you're under age 59.5 and over 55 and blah blah blah.  These are things we need to talk about.  So don't just make these decisions on your own, talk to a certified financial planner and give Certified Financial Group a call and have somebody professionally review your options.

And you don't want to just have them send you the check and then put it in an IRA; right?

Oh, no, because they automatically take 205 out and they'll send it to Uncle Sam.

Ouch.

So don't do that either.  Just, again, get professional help, get good advice and do the right thing.

Speaking of professional help in regards to 401(k)'s, this is something that not a lot of people have, have an option to get, and the Certified Financial Group is offering professional help with people's 401(k)'s.

You are correct, Radio Brett .

What's it all about?  Yeah, I want to know what it's all about.

Thought you would never ask.

Yes.

Well, what we see time and time again is clients come into our office and when we review their financials and talk about what planning's all about and how we're going to get from Point A to Point B, they oftentimes have a 401(k) and one of the first questions is: I don't know what to do with this.  I mean, I get advice from my brother-in-law, from my co-workers, I look at my statements, I try to pick out what's good, I read my magazine, yadda-yadda, but it never seems to work and the thing really drifts.  And what we've been able to do, thanks to technology, is to help those folks, your money stays in your 401(k) plan and we don't take custody of it, but it stays within the plan.  And what we do is we look at all the choices that you have in your portfolio and that are available to you in your plan and create a portfolio for you from those ingredients to make a 401(k) design or model, if you will, that will work specifically for you and then we monitor that.  We look at that every 90 days to determine whether or not any changes need to be made.  And why would you make changes?  Well, you make changes for several reasons.  Number one, maybe the fund that you selected today or we recommended to you today, three month, six months, a year from now that top manager that was doing so well has gone.  And you don't know it.  And that's what we find out.  We get to the bottom of it to determine whether or not we want to stay in that fund; maybe the performance is beginning to lag its peers, maybe their expenses have gone up, maybe they have what we call style drift.  So these are all the things that you have to look at when invest in mutual fund and what you have to monitor to be sure that fund is still appropriate for you.  So we do that for clients today.  The minimum accounts that -- we do that for a fee.  The minimum account size is $100,000.  If you want more information on that, you can reach us at 407-869-9800 or plan@financialgrpoup.com.  Joe Bert and Denise Kovach are both certified financial planning practitioners with the Certified Financial Group, and thank you both for coming in today and taking phone calls.  And if you have anything financial on your mind, call right now.  407-290-0058.  Like Margaret in Orange City.  Hi, Margaret.  You're on WDBO.

Hello.  Good morning.

My question is: Is there any centralized place -- centralized, I mean like one entity, where everybody that owns anything is in there, where someone can go and search to see if you own property, if you have bank accounts, CDs, savings account, whatever.  But that applies just to the United States; I don't mean overseas.  Just the United States.  Is there any place that anybody can go, including the government or persons, individuals --

Oh, yeah.

There is?

Oh, yeah.

Where is it?

It's done all the time.

Yeah, what you're asking for is what we call an asset search.  Attorneys are well versed in that.  If you ever get -- bring a claim against somebody, the first thing that the attorneys do is look at what the assets are to see if there's anything to get.  But all that stuff is public information.  They can find out what bank accounts you have, what real estate you own, what kind of cars you own, the value of your home, what kind of mortgage do you have.  I mean it's all pretty much public record.  There are services that provide that kind of information.  I can't give you that over the air, but all that stuff is pretty much available.

You can go online and get --

Yeah, you can.  I mean, there are services.  We're required to know the people that we do business with, to some degree, and when we bring on an employee, a planner in particular, we have to do an in-depth search on them to determine if there's anything in their background that we need to know because they're in a position of trust and so we have the ability to do that.  We don't do that capriciously or just for kicks, but you have to know who you're doing business with today.  It's one of the requirements that the firms in our industry have to maintain.

Again, Joe Bert , Denise Kovach are in the studio.  Good morning.  It's 9:16 on WDBo.  Coming up, more of your calls.  Also sticking with your financial diet and how you can get a free consultation, a complimentary consultation with the Certified Financial Group.  Again, if you want to join us now, the telephone number, 407-290-0058.   On the Money is brought to you\ in part by the After 55 Housing and Resource Guide.  It's the housing service's guide for central Florida.  You can pick up a free issue today at your neighborhood Publix.  Hey, we're planning tomorrow today with the Certified Financial Group.  On WDBO.

Good morning, it's 9:21 on news/talk am 580 WDBO.  This is Ask the Experts Saturday continues.  Coming up in 9 minutes at the bottom of the hour, we'll have the morning's top Local and National stories, a look at traffic. Your weather forecast and more. Bob Johnson is in the WDBO Newsroom. This is On the Money with the Certified Financial Group and in the studio we have two of the certified financial planning practitioners with the group. We have Denise Kovach and Joe Burt and you could talk to both of these experts right now. Joe what kind of questions do people call you and ask?

Well listen I am here to entertain any questions that you might have regarding your personal finances. We're here to talk about a mutual funds, about stocks, bonds, real estate, annuities, life insurance  long-term health care, reverse mortgages, all that and more. We are here and there are a couple of lines open so you could reach us right now by calling

407-290-0058. Toll free 1-800-329-5858. Coming up we'll talk about sticking with your financial diet with Denise. But first let's go to Skip in Kissimie. Skip you're on WDBO.

Good morning.

Good morning sky .

I had a question about my Roth IRAs, my wife and I both have one and I was. I know there's REITs available that you can get into. I wanted to know if there was any vehicle that I could get into that would allow me to purchase investment property.

Yes, I mean your Roth IRA can do that if you have a custodian that will allow that kind of thing, sure.

Well I mean I'd have to find a custodian that would allow, I mean I could go out and buy rental property and manage it and do the whole thing through my Roth IRA.

Yes you can.

Wow.

Now let me tell you the other side of this here. When you put real estate into your IRA you got to be careful. Because you've got ongoing expenses with that real estate. For instance, you be a rental real estate and you know you've got property taxes you have insurance you have maintenance, all those kinds of things that if the rental income doesn't cover that, you cannot put over and above what your annual contribution is to your Roth in there to cover those expenses. So you want to be careful that you don't use up all the assets to acquire the property and then don't have any working capital to keep that thing alive.

Right, so there's no commingling I guess of outside money back into.

Yeah that's one, you got to be very very careful of how you manage that. You got to remember it's an entirely separate entity now. You can direct what that Roth IRA does for you in terms of sending the money to the various entities. You know, property taxes and insurance and maintenance and so forth, but you can't be writing checks into that. Now there is a way for you to own a portion of the property yourself and for your Roth to own a half of it if you want to do that. But you have to be very careful there once again. It can be done.

Okay and is there anyway to combine my wife and I's Roth IRAs.

Well she can own half the property you can own half the property. Yep?

Oh okay.

But now here once again you got to be careful, let's say that you go into this thing depending on the size of your accounts, not 50/50 because that's too easy let's make a 60/40 or 70/30 where it's an unequal ownership. You got to be careful when those bills are paid that 70% is paid out of the one side and 30% is paid out of the other. Depending on what the percentage ownership is. So you got to think in those terms. If you don't own it 100% somebody owns it with you. So they are responsible for their share of whatever those expenses are.

You know let me just say something quickly Joe if you don't mind. Skip there is another way to do this, through perhaps a non-publicly traded real estate investment trust. So there's a way to purchase real estate outside of actually going out and doing it yourself as the only investor. You know, team up with other investors and do it that way as well. So it's another option it's a lot easier and you're not going to get yourself into any trouble.

I am sure there's a lot of people that don't know that you can do that because I didn't but what a perfect time in the market to be able to do that and catch the real estate when it's low.

Yeah it is but like Denise says the thing that you've got to worry about is you know with real estate it's location location location and as with any type of investment strategy is diversification diversification diversification. Denise's comment about the real estate investment trusts, especially the, what are called, the unlisted un traded REITs that the objective is within four to six years ultimately be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and be acquired by a larger REIT. These are the ones today that are acquiring capital, acquiring cash and they are buying properties in today's distressed prices. But what you get with that is you get diversification. You may have an ownership interest in 300 to 500 different properties across the country in different locations with different criteria. They could be stand alone retail, they could be office buildings, they could be warehouse, it could be shopping centers, and all that management has done for you. So if you are the kind of person that likes the passive management as opposed to worrying about the plumbing and the heating and the tenants, that might be an option for you. Some people like to get their hands dirty, some people say I think it's a good time to buy real estate but I don't necessarily want to be a land lord. So those are a couple of options for you.

That is a great option and I guess you'd have to investigate the REIT to find out.

Of Course! You don't want to go into these things

Markets other than buying, I mean they could have stuff from three or four years ago that would .

That is correct. So you got to know what you're doing in that regard.

Right.

You never want to go into an investment blind. But if you want some more information on that give us a call on Monday.

Very good, thank you for your time.

Alright Skip, thanks for calling. Alright thank you Skip and we'll move on next and talk to Mike in Orlando. Hi Mike, you're on WDBO.

Oh hi, good morning.

Good Morning.

I own a small business and I am considering having a health savings account. Can you talk a bit about the tax advantages of having such an account and how to maximize it?

Sure. What you want to have Mike, what it is, for our listeners that aren't familiar with it, you have to have what's called a high deductible plan and I am trying to remember what the deductibility limits are because we're going through this right now with our company. But it's like a $5,000 for single $10,000 for a family and an HSA account will allow you to put certain dollar amounts into your account on a pre-tax basis. I think for an individual this year is going to be over around $4,000. You write a check to an account and it's pre-tax money. So you take a tax deduction for it on your 1040 as an individual and the money stays in the account and depending on how it's set up they will send you a check book. So if you have to go to the doctor and pay the doctor for the visit because you have a high deductible covered you write a check for that. The beauty of this is, if you don't ultimately use it for your health care, that money can ultimately be used for retirement. So it's a good idea, in fact I think it's something that more and more people ought to give consideration to but God only knows how this is all going to play out with the new health bills.  Joe Burt Denise Kovatch are both certified financial planning practitioners. You can talk to them about anything financial on your mind. The number 407-290-0058. Coming up, anybody including me if I was so inclined, could hang a shingle that says financial advice available. I think we all know the difference between a certified financial planner and a financial advisor like me you know. So when we get back from the news, how you can get your self a free, free means it's complimentary, no charge, consultation with a certified financial planning practitioner. Right after we go to the WBDO newsroom and Bob Johnson. Again, the number 407-290-0058. This is On the Money where we're planning tomorrow today.

Information presented on this program is believed to be factual and up to date but we do not guarantee it's accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. Discussions and answers to questions do not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice but is limited to the dissemination of general information. A professional advisor should be consulted before implementing any of the options presented. Certified Advisory corp is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC and only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or is excluded or exempted from registration requirements.

Bob Seagar Plays.

Coming up right after the WDBO Morning News at 10:00 it's Florida Homes and Gardens with General Contractors Rick Eden from Eden Construction and Jim Hidish from Accurate Window and Door. Today we've got some home fix up ideas to share with you. This is On the Money with the Certified Financial Group brought to you in part by the after 55 housing and resource guide. It's the housing services guide for central Florida seniors. We pick up I'm almost 55 I don't want to be called a senior Joe.

Well, when are you officially a senior?

It depends on what restaurant you go to.

Oh okay.

Good answer.

Well you can pick up a pre-issue today at your local Publix or your doctor's office or a senior center we're also online. You can check out the website at www.senioroutlook.com

Alright, Denise Kovach is in the studio, Joe Bert is in the studio with us. And you can talk to both of these certified financial planners at 407-290-0058. Perhaps it's your 401(k) you have a query about, a roll over IRAs mutual funds, stocks, bonds, real estate, long-term health care, reverse mortgages. You name it, anything financial 407-290-0058. Toll free 1-800-329 58 Toll free 1-800-329-5858 and before we go to this company offer about a pension and the pay out options, I wanted to ask you Joe and Denise, as I mentioned earlier, everybody I think is aware of what a CFP is. The difference how long have I been doing this show with you?

Too long.

Okay.

So that makes me qualified folks to be able to burn myself a little shingle that says financial advisor available. I have no training. But I have a modicum of an idea.

Yep.

And so what's the difference between a certified financial planner and just somebody who says that they can help you financially.

Well today to earn the certifying financial planner designation requires years of study and passing a two day exam that has a, as I understand it, a less than 50% pass rate. A college education and a few years of internship in the financial services industry. So you just can't get your card printed up and for CFP after your name, right Denise?

And continuing education as we know. So there are requirements to do that today what that simply means is that you have at least studied the courses that are required to earn those three letters. And you've got a code of ethics that you have to ascribe to and that's about it.

Well that couples with our accredited investment fiduciary designation.

Yeah you know that's interesting you bring that up. The accredited investment fiduciary designation is one that is relatively new. Fortunately all the planners CFPs in our office are also what are called AIFs. And this is started by the Center for Fiduciary Studies many years ago to create fiduciary standards for investment advisors which Denise and the other planners in our office are. And there are requirements that you have when you work with a client as a fiduciary. As a fiduciary you have to demonstrate that you are working on the clients behalf not on your company's behalf. And that's the difference or distinction between an advisor and a broker. Stock brokers, and there's nothing wrong with them. We've got them. You are licensed to do that kind of stuff. Are generally paid by commissions and their loyalty is of course to their company. The only requirement they have when they put you in an investment is that it's suitable for you. Whereas an advisor who works on a fee has to demonstrate, if he's ever called on the carpet that he or she is working as a fiduciary and in your best interests not in the company's best interest. And so all ten of us are AIFs as well.

Now there are some great certified financial planning practitioner firms in Central Florida. I would suggest that you look for that CFP right? And if you want more about the CFP designation you can go to our website under the FAQ section and there's a whole area there that'll talk about what's required to become a CFP today and all that stuff. website is www.financialgroup.com frequently asked question section and we'll tell you more than you want to know.

Okay, now I would be if I didn't point out to you that Forbes magazine came out not too long and rated the Certified Financial Group incidentally Central Florida's largest and independent. The largest and most independent certified financial planning practitioner firm.

We are, just to let you in on a little secret here. We're in this months issues of Forbes Magazine and national recognition. I'll tell you about that next week. Well congratulations.

Woo hooo, well that's good to know. I know Forbes rated you in the ten most trusted in the state of Florida. That's good to know. I am proud to be affiliated with you man. 407- see anybody can hang onto coat tails 407-290-0058. Here's something we were going to talk about with Renease. Retiring and your company offers you a pension. Well there's lots of payout options. What's a person to do?

Well I'll tell you what. Pension is very rare today but it does still exist and when it is your time to choose which option is best for you. You need to be very careful because it can't be undone once you make that selection. So you know typically the options include straight life, life with five ten .

What does straight life mean?

Meaning you're getting your hand

Means you're not going to drink when your .

Oh no.

Just wanted to clarify that with .

That's a good question Joe. Straight life simply means you're getting an income stream for the rest of your life and the day you pass away is the day it goes away. So I get that first check and get hit by a bus it's over.

Done, absolutely.

Now let's talk about life with 5,10, or 15 years. That means you're getting an income for life but if you were to pass away tomorrow than your beneficiary will continue to get that income for that term that you select. Although the income that you're receiving will be somewhat less than you would receive if you selected the Straight Life.

Because you're taking a gamble on the Straight Life.

Absolutely you are.

And you're getting a guarantee if you elect the life with some period certain. Got it.

Another selection is joint with a survivor benefit. Let's say I am going to take this particular payout and if I pass away my spouse will get either a percentage of it or the whole thing. It will carry on to him or her. So, if you're single, perhaps the straight life might be appropriate for you. Depending on the situation. But what if you marriage . Now you got something to think about because as I said, if you take straight life it goes away. Basically if you, as we've talked about, if choose life with guarantees you'll get a decreased benefit but you know the income will continue for that period of time.  Let me just tell you about a case that I'm working on in the office and why it's important before you make the selection. Because my client has been presented a package where his monthly pension for life would be almost $2,000. That's him if were to pass away tomorrow, bada bing bada boom, done

Straight life, single life, straight life.

In a month or a week?

That's a month, correct.

But if he chose joint and survivor that payment would be reduced to a little over 1,600. So you're paying for that. This is 100% payout. So once again if he takes a straight life he's going to get $2,000 a month. If he drops dead tomorrow it stops.

Absolutely.

The joint survivor he says okay I'll take $1,600 if I drop dead tomorrow my spouse get's 1,600 so 100% joint survivor.

Right.

Okay so alright. either one of them for both their lives.

Absolutely. Not $3,200 a month but 16. I want to be clear on this because I know clients get confused. So he takes a 1,600 a month, he dies tomorrow, she gets 1,600 a month for her life.

That income stream

Those are two choices.

Correct, okay? So instead of looking at that 1988 or the $2,000 a month for him, because of that risk, why not take the difference between 1,600 and 2,000 a life insurance policy in case he does pass away. So take the higher income. Because what if he lives longer then her. She then he's taken, you know if you visit joint and survivor and I'm trying not to make this too complicated. If you took the joint and survivor that lower payment and she passes well he's still stuck with that lower fee .

Basically he gave up $400 a month when he did that.

Absolutely.

So he's given up automatically you're giving up $4,800 a year. If you take that $4,800 a year and then say okay I'm going to take the 2,000 but I am going to take that difference and how much life insurance can I buy. What's the benefit of owning a life insurance policy as opposed to taking this joint option. Well the benefit is that you continue with that income stream in the event that he continues to live and she doesn't right.

So if she dies tomorrow, he'll still continue to get to 2,000 and the he could drop the insurance policy if he wants to. Because he's got that as oppose to living with the $1,600. Or, he can keep the insurance and keep paying on it and leave it for his survivors. Because when they're both gone the pension stops.

Right.

But if you have the life insurance you can leave it to your kids or grandkids.

Right.

That's what we call pension maximization.

So, in the even that he passed before her, guess what, the life insurance which should be enough to buy what I call an income stream. Perhaps an immediate annuity. To continue on with that $1988 or $2000 a year for her. So it's a win win situation but the thing is, again, don't make a decision to take the higher pay out before you qualify for insurance

Crunch the numbers.

And in the margin between what the joint survivor would be and the life, that payment wont pay follow up that life insurance.

Exactly. You know I've had clients that have heard about this strategy in the past and they've come to see us a week before they're going to retire. And you can't do that because you have to get qualified for the insurance. So if this is in your planning, three months six months a year before you retire be sure that you can qualify and get the insurance. Don't want until the last minute because health changes and what may have been a good idea when you're health was this is no long an option because you had a stroke six months before you retired.

And as you get oldest, the cost goes up.

Boy am I glad there are certified financial planning practitioners. Aren't you? I lost you in the kitchen there. Ahn when you went to the kitchen I lost ya. I am sorry. But this is why you have somebody like Denise or Joe help you out with because you guys keep up with all of this stuff on a daily basis. This thank goodness for you. Alright we got some folks that want to talk to you. I tell you what, let's talk first to -- and we've got to take a break -- but tony's been hanging in there for a while.  Let's see if we could squeeze Tony in there.

Good morning, Tony.

Tony, is Tony ready to go?  Alright.  Tony, you're on WDBO.

If I could first compliment all the practitioners at the Certified Financial Group on their ultimate professionalism and knowledge.  I've been a listener to this show for several years now and it's refreshing and very much appreciated.

Well, Tony, that's very kind of you.

Thank you.

Your checks in the mail.

You'll double the -- has two extra zeros in front of a decimal place and behind and --

Whatever you need.

Oh, golly.  My question today relates to interest rate and effect on bonds, bonds, mortgage bonds, things of that nature.  My general understanding is that the Federal REserve has been purchasing a lot of mortgage paper and bonds and notes and things like that.  A fair amount of Treasuries and what-not, but they're going to be winding down and maybe ending those purchase programs at the end of March of next year, and when that happens, maybe particularly in the mortgage arena where maybe they've been a major purchaser or those bonds, that we could see a significant interest rate increase, prior to or after March, on mortgage bonds.  And so that if you have a mutual fund that it primarily invests in mortgage bonds or Ginnie Mae, things like that and even maybe corporate bond mutual funds would be affected, that you could see a decrease in NAV of those mutual funds.  So you could -- if I invested some money today or in January, I could see a significant loss in the next six months.

You're 100% right.  The basics are when interest rates go up for whatever reason -- you just mentioned one of them.  But for whatever reason when interest rates go up, the value of your bonds will decrease, and that holds true whether it's a bond that's issued by the federal government, even though it's guaranteed to maturity, until it matures, the value can go down.  Corporate bonds, municipal bonds, all of them are all bonds are subject to interest rate risk.  So that is the problem.  Now, what you want to look at if you're investing in a mutual fund is why are you investing in that fund.  Y

If you're investing in it for the income, I wouldn't worry about it because that's what basically bonds are for, is to generate income, not necessarily to generate growth or capital appreciation.  So that's the thing, the most important thing that you want to remember, I think, when you invest in bonds.  If you invest, of course, in individual bonds, if you hold them to maturity, assuming that the issuer were still in business when they ultimately mature, you will ultimately get your value back even though the value has changed between now and when it ultimately matures.  And in a mutual fund, because that portfolio is constantly changing, you're going to get fluctuations in that asset value, just like you said; but once again, the bottom line is you have to ask yourself why am I investing in this bond or bond fund; is it for the income or is it for the growth.  And generally you don't get growth in a bond fund unless you caught it at the right time, you bought when interest rates were high and interest rates dropped, you can get a nice bump in increase in your bond or bond fund.  Like now, if you buy it now when interest rates are low and interest rates begin to go up, you're going to find the value of that bond or bond fund is decreased, but the income will probably still pretty steady.

One of the funds that I use, Joe, and this is talking about its effective yield last week, it was 7.33%.  This is what we're looking for when we're in that fixed income.  Plus, year to date this particular fund has returned over 18%.

Tony, stick around and I'll tell you a little bit about the chicken and egg in bonds after we take this break.

Alright.  Yeah, we are behind.  Kyle says we need to take a break, so we do what Kyle says.  By the way, Kyle Casandra , our producer here on the program, extraordinaire.

He's great.

9:50, 10 minutes to the hour.  Good morning. We'll have more of your phone call.  We'll also talk about sticking with your financial diet and how you can get a free consultation with the Certified Financial Planners at the Certified Financial Group.  Of course, the number, 407-290-0058.  On the Money is brought to you in part by the After-55 Housing and Resource Guide.  We are planning tomorrow today with the Certified Financial Group on WDBO.

Good morning.  It's 9:56 on WDBO.  This is On the Money with the Certified Financial Group.  Listen, if you can't get through or you'd rather have a private consultation, Joe, what do folks do?

You can call, hey, Jude.

Good morning.

Good morning, Judy.

How is everybody?

We're fine.  And you are in the office for what purpose?

I'm in the office to take calls from those of you who perhaps do not want to be on the radio or you haven't been able to get through to Joe and Denise.  I'm here until the end of the morning and if for some reason I do not answer, it's because I'm visiting with someone else and you can leave a message and I will get back to you today.

And how do they reach you?

They can reach me at 407-869-9800 or 1-800-execute.

And those numbers, again, are?

407-869-9800 or 1-800-execute.

Okay.  Have a great morning.

Thank you.  You, too.

Bye.

Bye-bye.

Thanks.  We're fast running out of time here on this program; so if you're on hold, stay there because you're going to get a private consultation right after the program is over.  Meantime, Joe Byrd was talking with Tony about interest rates and other things.

Yeah.  We were talking about how interest rates affect the price of bonds and we've got to remember that when you invest in bonds, generally you do that to generate income.  When I talked about bonds or bond funds to my clients, I make it very simple.  You're looking for at the bonds to generate eggs and the eggs are the income and the chicken is the value of the bond, and that chicken sometime is going to be fat when interest rates go down, it's going to get skinny when interest rates go up.  But the eggs will pretty much generally be there.  So if you're looking for the eggs, forget the size of the chicken.

I like that.

Does that help you out there, Tony?

Eggs are good for you.

There you go.

Unless you plan to eat the chicken, don't worry about the size of the chicken, just be sure that the bond or the bond fund will continue to generate the income that you want.

Alright.  Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you, Tony.

Ross in Orlando, I'm going to ask you to hang on and you're going to get a private consultation off the air here and anybody else who's on the line, just stick around.  If -- meantime, I you would like that private consultation with Judy Sanborn, she's also a certified financial planning practitioner and she's back at the office right now.  And you could call and ask her questions.  She'll be there for about how long, Joe?

She'll be there for the rest of the morning.  You can reach her right now at 407-869-9800 or 1-800-execute.  And once again, if the line is busy means she's talking to someone else; just leave your number and I promise you she will call you back.

Okay.  And Denise, it was so nice to see you in the studio today.

And, Curt, it was my pleasure to be here.

The next time you come back, let's talk about that financial diet.

We can do that.