Financial advisor Darryl Ruffen joins the program once more to share tips on small steps you can make now to start saving money and working towards building assets and preparing for retirement. With host Willie P.
WBCA Podcasts
The Village
(upbeat music) ♪ She takes a look around ♪ ♪ She makes her face a frown ♪ ♪ She takes a breath to keep her feet up on the solid ground ♪ ♪ She don't like what she see ♪ ♪ She don't know what she need ♪ ♪ But she can tell that she ain't ever gonna file it here ♪ ♪ She doesn't make a sound ♪ ♪ She just keeps looking down ♪ ♪ But the way she grips her chairs like her body screams no ♪ ♪ And I don't know her name ♪ You're in the village with Willie P. This is, we are WBCL, P-102.9 FM community radio and the village. And we are back. We are back with Darryl Robbins. Hi Darryl, thank you for coming back. - Always a pleasure. (laughing) Usually people enjoy, I'm gonna say a fib. People enjoy my show. (laughing) They enjoy coming on telling spooling their guts, you know? So, but I hope you enjoy your time in the village. - Always. - Always, thank you. Less delve right in and talk about, talk about, how can we help people? You're a financial planner for people who did not know, Darryl Ruffin is a financial planner. And his goal is to help you with your financial goal. So, whatever that goal is, he's here to help you. So, we're gonna talk about how he do his job. (laughing) So, Darryl, jump right in. Tell me, go where you wanna go. Talk about financial planning. - Okay Willie, thanks for the intro. You know, the most important thing is understanding, you know, what you make and what you're spending. Very basic. If you don't write it down, you know, that's gonna make it hard on you. In the reason you write it down, so you know whether you're spending more than you make, or you have a surplus after you pay your bills. - 'Cause if you don't write it down, you're not gonna know, trust me. - And I mean, you go, yeah, the easy stuff is, you pay your rent, you have a car payment. If you commute to work, you probably got a tee pass. Those are fixed expenses, food, to name a few. Then, you know, you might drop off, you might head over to Starbucks and dunk it down on us every single day. Well, how much does that cost in you? Daily, weekly, monthly. You know, personal care, that needs to be there. A lot of the things that you do, how you live, you need to write that down, you know, so you can quantify what your expenses are. And again, your income, what's hitting your bank account minus what you're spending from that bank account, you know, is a great start, right? Then from there, of course, if you're spending more than you're making, more than you have to, you know, cut, stop doing some things, cut back on some things. - And you know, that those things you cut back on is not hard to do. - That's right. - It's not hard to do. - That's right. You know, I used to always make an example of, you know, for a little coffee drinkers every day. You know, you walk in and get a cup of coffee, well, that's probably three dollars a cup now. Three dollars a cup, every one cup times five is 15 bucks. A week times four, 60, okay? So is it cheaper to go get yourself a coffee maker and buy your own coffee? You know, how much is that? - Cut out coffee. - Or cut it out all together. You know, I'm not here to tell you what you should be doing, you know, as far as intake or, but just an example of how you find money, right? Money that you could be utilizing toward your financial objectives, right? And it's, it's, it's, you know, I think it's pretty basic in that, you know, if you're able to save, whether it's to a savings account or to your employer's retirement savings plan, 401k, 403b, whatever that is, you should be making every effort to make that happen for yourself. - Yeah, I did mine through a Christmas savings club. - That's right. So whatever, you know, avenue you can, you know, identify, take it. Because what, what that does is establish a habit for you. Okay, good habits, good financial habits. And once you learn how to save more of what you're making little by little, the next thing is, okay, you start to accumulate assets, investment assets, real assets, house, right? Today you might look at that and think that's a overwhelming or unattainable objective. Yeah, it's not gonna happen overnight. But if you establish the goal and you, you know, establish the habit and actually begin to save, you can achieve anything, right? - But a part of that is sacrifice too. You need to throw in sacrificing for the good because I know a lot of people were paying thousands of dollars for cable, a cable to watch TV, sacrifice that for at least six months. I think you can read a book, that's me, that's coming from me. And that is very important, you know, I'm the kind of guy, I'm not buying a new car. Having bought, I think about one new car in my life and that's what I just got out of college 'cause I didn't know any better, all right? Today, I'm not interested in a $500 a month car payment. Give me a $250 a month car payment. I don't need a Benz, I just need something that's gonna give it for me to be, be reliable, dependable, that's it. Because the difference between that big car payment and the smaller or no car payment is opportunity to invest and move toward the financial goal. That can be achieved in many areas of your life. You know, do you need to spend the big money or does, can you get by, you know, without the luxury, all right? Can you get by by having what you need versus what you want? That's what it's all about. That's truly the difference with accumulating wealth. And then, you know, hey, real estate has always been a pretty sound investment. And I know most people that I know always want to buy a house, well, you can get there. You just need to know how to get there. And again, your habits financially will put you in position to be able to take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself. - Good, and also, what other advice would you give people who just really, and I know we talked about at the last show I'm thinking about, we talked about it at the last show, starting when to start. And we talked about young. When should people really start saving? And is it ever too late? - Well, it's never too late. And, you know, that first job. So if any young people are listening, you know, I know you're going to school and you got a little part-time job. What are you doing with that money? You're spending it to look good, or you're saving it. You know, so that, you know, you can begin to build because it takes time. You know, little by little by little, then you got a lot. Then you're able to make some moves with what you've been able to do over time. The sooner you understand, the sooner you learn, the sooner you begin to develop those good habits financially, the better off you're going to be. Trust me, throughout your life, all right? So another area that I will suggest that you avoid is debt. That's not good. It's only good that is, that on mortgage debt, mortgage debt. - Just that house is a good debt. - Because a car is not a good debt. It's depreciated, it keeps depreciated, and it keeps depreciating. - That's right, that is absolutely right. No sense of buying an asset that's going to be worth less, you know, in a few years. Why spend a ton of money on it? You know, houses, they usually go, the values, appreciate it. - And land, I think people don't talk about land a lot. - Same, you know, pretty much, you know, same area, real estate. - Real estate. So you know, again, it's the habits that, you know, you develop around money that make the difference. And, you know, there's a book that was suggested to me years ago called The Millionaire Next Door. - Oh yeah. - You know what The Millionaire Next Door is? You're not even gonna know he's a millionaire, 'cause he drives a junk box, wears the same clothes every single day, got a modest house, you know? Nothing flashy. But, he's a millionaire, but you don't know it, 'cause his money's not in front of your face. His money is making money. His money's working for him. He's not working for it anymore, right? - I think we young kids or young people, not all, I'm not just saying all the young people, but for the majority of people, they want instant gratification. That instant, you know, the car, the clothes, the go eat out. I have a niece who's, I am trying to get her to change her thought process, because you're still young. You're still young, you have time. And even for people who start late in their fifties, you still have time. - Absolutely. - You just don't have as much time as someone who's young and can put a few dollars away and never miss it. - That's right. And, you know, Willie, you did a key point. 50 years old, right? The average balance in retirement account for a 50 year old is less than a hundred grand today. 50, no. I said, that's all well. The earliest you can retire, which we call the full retirement age, as far as Social Security is concerned, claiming your full benefit is age 67. So if at age 50, you know you're gonna work till age 67. That's 17 years where, you know, you can begin to try to make up for lost time. If you've developed the right financial habits, right? Now, we're living longer. People are working longer, you know, not because anything other than they're healthy, they feel good, they wanna continue to do, you know, something productive. Those are years whereby accumulation, wealth accumulation can still be worked on, still be attained. So if you start at 25, can you imagine where you'd be at age 50? And then later on at age 65, 70? Yeah, your money's working for you now. - Take an early retirement. - That's right. - And you, and people don't realize that Social Security doesn't pay a million dollars a year. - No. - No, we are near. - No. - No. - So if you're thinking that, oh, I'm gonna live off my Social Security, you're in for a route, I really, I was the same way. When they told me what, I'm like, I'm gonna get my Social Security, I'm gonna retire. And I, somebody told me exactly what that figure looked like. I'm gonna, you kidding me, I make more in a week than I'm gonna make in a month. That's crazy. - That's right. So it's, you know, Social Security, you know, when it was created, it was in a different time, right? - Right. - And it's still, I think it's still needed. - Yes. - It's still needed. - Right, but you know, when people went on Social Security, you know, back then, you know, if you retired at 60, you were dead by 65. That's just, because Madison just had advanced. You know, today, you know, you get to 65, 66, 67. People are still very active. - Yeah. - People are still very much alive, 70, 75, even 80. So, the only thing I can tell you is, you develop good financial habits, and that starts with understanding what you make and what you're spending. And you create a plan to save and invest. And I'm telling you, it doesn't take much, 100, I mean, you can, for those of you who work for an employer, you know, you can contribute 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% of your pay, every pay period, into that 401(k) plan. So you can't tell me, you can't afford it. And some jobs, employee, give you matching. - Right, the employer, that's right. - So, not only are you making saving money, they're helping you say with that, 4, 5, B, whatever the help plan. - 4, 2, B, 4, 1 case. - Yeah. - You know, if the employer is matching, and you're not getting the match, you're leaving money on the table. Talk about what that looks like for tax. Like, I know upfront, when you're doing that 401, it lessens your tax that you pay. - Right, right. - So that's another benefit. - Right, so keeping more of what you make is one of the objectives everybody should try for, which means you're giving less to the IRS. So you gotta know something about deductions, and contributing to the 401(k) for all 3B on a pre-tax basis is doing just that. It's reducing your taxes. Why? Because the IRS allows you to make that contribution first, then they tax what's left, okay? Example, you make 1,000 bucks a week. And you decide to put in 10%. So now, from the 1,000, you put in 100. What's left is 900. That's what the IRS is taxing. They're not taxing the 1,000, they're taxing the 900. It's less tax, 'cause it's taxing it on a lower amount. - Right. - Okay, now, that's an example. It could be 500 a week, I don't care what you're making, the math works out to say, and you know, the result is relatively the same, where you're saving money for your future. And if you can do that, and not touch it, you'll be better off as the years go by. So you're listening to WBCALP102.9 FM Boston Community Radio. - commentary does not reflect the views of the staff and management of WBCA or the Boston Neighborhood Network. If you would like to express another opinion, you can address your comments to the Boston Neighborhood Network at 3025 Washington Street Boston Mass. 02119, Attention WBCALP102.9 FM. If you would like to arrange a time for your own commentary, call WBCA at 617-708-3241 or email us at radio@bnntv.org. - This is what Terrell does for living, advising people on their finances. And putting a plan together for you. So what does a typical plan look like? Like if you were, say I came to your office and I said I had X dollar. What would you look at first? What you make me do my homework and do a budget? Is that what you would do? Walk me through kind of what you talk to, what you would tell a client. - First thing is to identify the goal, right? All goals, right? And you know, most people, you know, their goal is to retire or be able to understand whether or not they're gonna have a comfortable retirement, enough money to be able to, you know, live comfortably when they decide to retire. Well, yes, I'm gonna send you home and you're gonna do a lot of homework. And that homework, one of the most important pieces of that homework is the budget. How you living today? You know, how much money do you make? How much do you spend? How much have you saved? How much will you continue to save? And, you know, for a retirement plan, all that detail, all that detail is the old numbers are crunched. And then the end result is being able to understand from a probability perspective whether or not you're gonna be able to live comfortably in retirement. And when I say from a probability perspective, I mean, the plan will show you, hey, there's a 90% probability, you know, just using the number that you'll be able to live comfortably every time, based on how you're living today, all right? And some assumptions are made that when you're 75, you're not gonna be as mobile or doing as much travel as you were doing at 65, you know? Or a JD. So your expenses start to slow down a little bit, but the name of the game is, will you have enough money? So that's what a plan takes real data, real information, real inflation rates, you know, and crunched it all so that the end product will show you, hey, if you're deficient, or if you keep on the same track, you're fine, pretty much. And what do you need to do to make up or what are the other areas in your life that we can strengthen that may today have need some attention, right? So going forward, you're gonna be much stronger and you continue to work for the end result. - So I know that financial planners do portfolio. Do you normally put people investment into stocks, bonds, or is it some type of security that you offer them? 'Cause it is a product that you're offering them for their savings, right? Not just a regular savings account. - Remember, when people invest in employer-sponsored plans or in portfolios of mutual funds? 'Cause that's what's available in your employer plan. They're mutual funds. And most portfolios of mutual fund portfolios, mutual funds are made up of stocks and bonds. But you gotta understand what the mix of stocks and bonds is, how aggressive, or conservative funds are. So when you talk investments, you're not talking necessarily individual securities and individual bonds because mutual funds, which are retail products. And I'm sure everybody has heard of a mutual fund. You can look it up. That's the most common way people invest. And in mutual funds you do have, you have the opportunity to own various companies, stocks and various types of bonds. You just have to look at the detail that comprise these mutual funds, look under the hood, but they're there. - But your job as a planner is to help them make good decisions on what's the best product that will meet their needs in the longer short term, right? - That is correct. That is correct. So not only do I provide the advice, provide the guidance, all right? And provide, you know, identifying risk relative to return, time to goal, et cetera. So there's a lot that goes into helping clients choose various investments and different types of portfolios because it's different for everybody based on their risk tolerance, based on how much time they got, you know, before they need to utilize the funds, et cetera, et cetera. So there's a lot that goes into that, but that's my job. - Yeah, I think it's a great job. I mean, people who like say some people inherited and they throw it into a bank account which might not give them the year, the yield that they need. So talking to a financial planner can give them a more insight on how best their money can serve them, interest-wise, long-term. And it has to be based on some need. People forget that. I mean, without a plan, you have no plan. (laughs) - Well, that's true. - So you kind of do willy-nilly stuff. - That's true. So I can sit here and honestly say all of my clients I have a relationship with. So I know what they're trying to accomplish. I understand what their risk profile is, you know? And, you know, willy, you talked about money in the bank. I don't know if you looked, but the bank, interest rate, on a savings account or checking account is not a lot of money. - No, point, point, point, zero, zero, zero. - You're not gonna make money by having your money in the bank. - No. - It just doesn't work. Yes, you do need money in the bank? Yes, there is a level that you do need in the bank, but everything else should be working for you. - Yes, say that again. Money should be working for you. - Money should be working for you. Now, you working for money. - Right, at some point you're working for your money. But there's gotta be that crossover where your money starts working for you. - Yes, yes, yes. And finding those, what they call them, platforms. Finding those platforms where the money does work for you is what you, what you need. - That's the job I do is, you know, help people understand and then guide them, and then, you know, continually work so that we're making changes when we gotta make changes. But more importantly, helping your money work for you. - Work for you. I had a call up, but I can't take calls, so. - Well, I guess that's a good thing for the bad thing, but that means some people are listening. - Yes. - Thank you, Taro, for coming on and sharing this information with us. I think it's so needed. - Yeah. - It's so needed, and I'm hoping that you'll be able to find a platform. So, what's the information if people wanna find you? What's your information? - Oh, I'm on LinkedIn. So, you know, my name, D-A-R-R-Y-L. Last thing, are you double F is a Frank E-N as a Nicholas? You know, you will see me pop up. And then, you know, if you're familiar with how LinkedIn works, okay, we're linked. - We're linked. - We're linked. And then, you know, all my contact information is there, and hey, if, don't be scared. - Don't be scared. - You can always give me a call. Don't be scared. Because, you know, we are coming to the end, and I wanna thank Darryl again, Darryl Ruffin. He is a financial planner. So, thank you for coming in and sharing all that good information with us. Thank you, thank you, thank you. - My pleasure. - And maybe next time you'll come back. - Always. - Always, always. It's good to help someone, just because it's the right thing to do. It's good to honor someone that makes an impact in your life or the life of others. Seek and you will find the village helps to redefine the things that treat you unconscious. It take a village to make a difference. So be that difference. And so, you have been listening to WBCALP102.9 at them. Community radio, and you were in the village. We're Willy Peep. So, pass it on. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)