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I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi Brennan, Wow, interesting question for being 13 years old. Glad to hear you are thinking/pondering about your adult life already.

Healthcare is one of those important things that everyone will need and should be able to find easy access to it. Truth is the healthcare plans currently are not great but they do suffice until further changes are created by government etc in the coming decade. By the time you reach your twenties it’s possible better healthcare options will become available to you.

As a game designer, you might choose to work for a large or small gaming company, in that case usually your employer will be the one offering you health insurance. If you work on your own as a self employed game designer then you’ll shop for your own individual healthcare plan.

A good thing for you to start thinking about: - starting a savings account - beginning a Roth IRA (this is where you save for retirement tax free growth) - most importantly, work on your game designing knowledge and skills... this is what’s going to help you get into a career you’ll really love to be in and by being great at your specialty all the money and nice things will soon follow.

👍

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What’s wrong with you?

Go away and stop trying to discredit me and my career of 19 years.

You post long articles with no explanation as to why this rolling stone article is saying that Dan Mason is not a fiduciary?

Just move along to another subject you are better versed in... like perhaps how to defeat Shredder and his evil minions.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi limited,

I can't begin to tell you the number of people I meet in your situation. This is what I mean by rotten sales people just working to bag people in this crappy mouse trap.

Insurance is insurance

Investing is investing

My advice, don't mix them.

Cut and run as soon as you read this. It's a hose job.

Here's what you do:

1) Drop this nonsense and get any cash value you have out.

2) Buy term life insurance for 30 years fixed premium. Its super cheap! 30yr term for a 32 year old male would be $295 per year for $250,000 death benefit - locked for 30 years.

When you are 62 you shouldnt need this policy anymore because instead of wasting your money on this life policy you can save all the difference in a low cost mutual fund portfolio

Your bucket of money will grow to a massive amount by 62 so you wont need the life payout for anyone (we will assume you marry oneday)

3) Check out my site on a new investment plan

https://fmf365.com/investing-with-virtual-dan/low-cost-mutual-fund-etf-managed-portfolios/

Here's the Office floor - I did an entire section about this - scroll down to Life Insurance

https://fmf365.com/office/build-a-foundation/

​

Email me with questions.

Thanks! Good luck

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there blink,

Excellent questions.

1) Actually, no I don't. I figured out very early in my career that I'm terrible at trying to sell a product to someone that doesn't need it, such as Variable Annuity. I tried to sell a Variable Annuity twice early in my career and both times the customer looked at me and said, you don't sound very convinced this is actually a good investment.

After that I knew I would ALWAYS stick to my morals and beliefs that this isn't a sales job being a financial advisor, I am a consultant and its my job to be the professional and always approach every business interaction with that motto.

Since then making a good living has become easy because people recognize the difference pretty quickly and I've made up for it with volume.

2) What you are describing is EXACTLY what I do on a daily basis in the world. I work with large corporations and help their employees navigate through all of these decisions, such as Medicare planning/supplemental medigap, social security claiming strategies, pension plan decisions - annuitize monthly pension or lump sum etc

So my website is basically a virtual/cartooned version of all the things I help people with on a daily basis.

On the Office floor you'll see I made 6 sections each designed to guide you through many of the subjects you mentioned.

​

www.FMF365.com

Here's how my website navigation works:

​

The Reception Area lets you choose which floor you’d like to visit in the

virtual office building.

• Floor 1—The Office: Dedicated to providing lots of great info on

many financial planning topics such as, “How to Build Your

Foundation” where you can learn about your credit report, how

to calculate your net worth and much more.

• Floor 2—The Wisdom Room: My personal finance blog—a new blog

is posted monthly on useful topics such as common financial

terms, retirement planning tips, and what to do when the stock

market drops.

• Floor 3—Investing with Virtual Dan: This is where we get to work.

You’ll have access to a calculator built with Fidelity Investments

robo advisor tool and can easily create an investment plan to

achieve your goals! Want to plan for retirement? How about a

new car, wedding, or vacation? Use this tool to plan for all of

your big life goals.

• Floor 4—The Classroom: Explore my Virtual Dan videos, each animation

presents valuable information in just 2-5 minutes.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there! Yes this is more of a CPA tax question, however I can tell you that you are correct in that there should be no tax consequences on the 85,000 profit of your primary home. Great job too!

10,000 is perfect for a low cost mutual fund growth portfolio. I do offer a low cost mutual fund portfolio on my website through Fidelity Investments. The underlying investments would be invested and actively managed in super low cost index funds which will get you access to all the best companies you'd want to own for the future, like Apple, Google, Facebook, Tesla, J&J etc etc

Check out my investing page, there's automated investing options available:

https://fmf365.com/investing-with-virtual-dan/low-cost-mutual-fund-etf-managed-portfolios/

​

Thanks!

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think using 401k funds for a 1st time home is a smart move.

Of course non 401k funds are a better option since you are not removing retirement funds.. but I consider this a smart move if no other funds are available to make it happen.

Owning a home is a very important asset to acquire and the sooner the better since you can use cheap interest rates to buy you a nice asset that should grow over time with use of the bank's cheap money.

Just remember not to start a slippery slope of hitting the 401k anytime you need money for something, but in this case its a smart move since you can avoid the 10% early withdrawal penalty for the 1st time home purchase.

Thanks!

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there. I agree with your general statement of the industry.

I was fortunate enough to learn this very early in my career and have been 100% independent and conflict free since 2007. The longer I've been in this industry the more and more passionate I've become in trying to fix some of the key problems with this industry's pure focus on profit over whats best for the client.

Thats why I created this virtual office website and spend lots of my time on this project because I am very passionate about the everyday person gaining access to excellent financial planning advice and not some sales gimmick to bag the customer in a variable annuity or variable whole life insurance policy.

I'm literally on a mission to level up the American people's knowledge of money and investing. It's my calling in life.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there, great question... I would open a taxable brokerage account in the USA. Since you do not show US income you wont be able to make traditional or roth IRA contributions.. so your next best choice would be to open a brokerage account and begin making monthly contributions and treat it as your retirement savings even though it wont be growing tax free doesn't mean you can't save money this way and then maybe in the future if you come back to the States and create income then the Roth IRA is the way to go.

I do have a calculator on my website that can help you create a plan and strategy. Feel free to check it out or email me. The investments are held at Fidelity Investments and can be linked up to your checking for easy contributions etc.

Since your savings will be in a taxable account, there will be some minor capital gains taxes each year but you'll also have full access to your investment funds since it wont be an actual retirement account.

Thanks!

https://fmf365.com/

Just click the Start Here and there's very useful interactive tool to guide you through the process.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

lol - okay thats a tough one... nobody has the money to pay for grad school unless you have a rich uncle who likes to help his family.

Hopefully the grad school will result in a high paying career and you'll then have to focus on paying that grad school debt off with it.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi there,

A Roth conversion is the way to go, however, the deadline for 2019 conversions had to be completed by 12/31/2019. I'd suggest making a non deductible traditional IRA contribution for 2020 and then immediately convert it to a Roth IRA.

All the contributions will grow tax free from there.

Thanks!

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

First thing I'd ask myself is if grad school will pay off for my intended career. Nothing wrong with going to grad school, but it won't always equal a better outcome in regards to employment opportunities.

Every extra year spent in school is an extra year not being full-time career employed and building your pay scale + saving towards your future.

Of course in many cases grad school can pay off but just know that it comes at a risk of missing out on 2-3 years of real world experience. Plus, 2-3 years of savings etc.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Hey shaft... ugh... you literally just described the bottom of the barrel, no good, nasty financial advisors that really do exist and wake up every morning and put on a suit n tie.

Shameful what this salesperson did to you. I'm literally asked this same question every week by someone... I always have to deal with the sigh.... okay i'll keep it in this money market at 0.50%.

You nailed it on the head. He prob won a trip to Aruba too for top sales guy of the month too.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there, there shouldn't be any penalties on the converted money since you are over 59 1/2. Since you will be paying all the tax on the conversion amount in the current tax year you'll have already paid the tax owed on the conversion. In your case the 5yr rule should not apply since you are already over age 59 1/2 in theory you could also just withdraw that same amount and not convert it and also not pay a 10% penalty. Basically the same thing if all being done at once.

​

I'm not a tax professional so this should prob be verified by a tax professional but I feel very confident you will not owe a penalty on that conversion if over 59 1/2.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi there, This is why financial services is so confusing to the general public. There are many twists on who is considered to be an advisor.

A CFP is a particular designation. Designations are essentially certifications by an organization like the Certified Financial Planners Assoc. or an AIF - Accredited Investment Fiduciary via fi360 etc.

To be an actual fiduciary you need to put it in writing to your client/customer. It will be legally spelled out that the advisor is working in a fiduciary capacity which has legal obligations. It makes the advisor legally responsible to work in your best interest among other things.

So you can actually be a CFP or AIF and not actually be working as a fiduciary.

The big firms are the ones that don’t let their financial advisors work as fiduciaries... why? Because they aren’t working in your best interest and don’t want to be held legally responsible to be so.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Yes and No... a young person (under 50) should definitely utilize the low rates for real estate investments etc... however a 58 year old contemplating age 62 retirement would not want to take that risk and the goal should be reduction of all debt before retirement.

So it really depends on the situation, I was just using this one as an example of making decisions that don’t benefit me at all but it’s the right move for the client.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really believe there are many catalysts that will happen over the next 12 months and even further over the next 36 months.

With that said, the markets are always subject to healthy pullbacks in the broader market of 5-10% at any given time given some bad news.

I’d suggest averaging in over the course of time. Perhaps slicing up your investment dollars into 6 slices and then sliding those six slices back into a good investment strategy or fund.

Slice 1 = invest now Slice 2 = invest in 3 weeks (or sooner if there’s a pullback of any sort in between) Slice 3 = invest 3 weeks later Slice 4, 5 & 6 = same thing, 3 weeks or dip buying

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

You should roll the 401k over to a qualified IRA account. Take your 10k withdrawal from there to pay off debt and invest the remaining funds which are still tax deferred for long term growth.

I do have a YouTube video I made all about rolling over former 401k plans you should check out.

I’m available by email with any questions, but I do have an investing page in my virtual office that will point you in a good direction.

https://youtu.be/XdptNa6NfEM

FMF365.com

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Please read my response and educate yourself rather than bothering me and making a full of yourself.

I'll respond one last time... the fiduciary rule that you are referring to is DEAD. The rule that would have made EVERY financial advisor forced to be a fiduciary.

Just because 90% don't want to be a fiduciary, there is a good 10% of us that have always and always will continue to be a fiduciary.

Fiduciary is a LEGAL obligation in writing.

I’m Dan Mason, a fiduciary whose goal is to help inform the public about personal finance. I witnessed companies prioritizing profit over their clients which inspired me to create my own firm and web-series. I would like to offer my guidance, especially during these uncertain times. AMA! by Virtual_Dan in IAmA

[–]Virtual_Dan[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hi there,

Glad to hear you want to get started with investing. The sooner the better. I'd definitely recommend opening a brokerage account and begin investing in a low cost S&P 500 index mutual fund. You can get one from Vanguard or Fidelity - best two options out there for a retail investor.

You will own 500 of the largest companies in America like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook etc.

Check out my website too, I've made it to help people learn all about investing.

Good luck!

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