Winning at Life with Gregory Ricks

01:19 - Elon Musk is in the headlines again for smoking what appears to be pot on the Joe Rogan podcast, and Tesla stock is taking a beating. There's a cool backstory to the Boring Company's flamethrowers. 13:29 - The media coverage of Tesla is a reminder how important it can be to maintain a positive public appearance. 25:34 - The jobs report shows strong wage growth, while the unemployment rate...

01:12 - In 2015, a survey of Phd economists had the majority predicting a recession in 2018. A financial blogger at Zero Hedge said they would be wrong, simply because PhD economists are almost always wrong. He was right. 07:10 - Kevin Garnett claims he was scammed out of $77 million. In a lawsuit he filed against his former accounting firm, the 15-time NBA Allstar appears to be yet another profes...

01:12 - Was there a steak in your Labor Day Weekend? Gregory and James review a report on what may be a positive economic indicator: Americans are eating more steak than ever before. Gregory updates you on his quest for the ultimate chicken sandwich recipe. 07:08 - Tropical Storm Gordon is headed for the Gulf Coast, and the radar looks like it's hitting close to Mobile. 9:02 - Scott in Mandeville...

0:01:18 - It's Labor Day Weekend! Gregory shares some history of Labor Day. In what may be a positive economic indicator, Americans are eating more steak than ever before. Gregory updates you on his quest for the ultimate chicken sandwich recipe. 0:14:32 - Charles in Mandeville asks Gregory Ricks how the taxes work if he's going to take an in-kind distribution on stocks from his IRA to settle his...

00:32 - Drew Brees has invested in Untuckit, the shirt company who plans to use Drew's capital to expand. As part of a local promotion, Drew Brees also paid for a free Untuckit shirt for every kid in a few elementary schools in the area, including the one for our co-host James' kids. 03:47 - Financial news of the day: No trade deal with Canada yet, but talks are going well. 08:05 - Trump signed ex...

01:12 - Yet another study confirms women are better drivers than men. There's a good reason men pay higher car insurance premiums than women. 05:50 - On one side, we have Trump criticizing Facebook, Google, and Twitter by name, and questioning the legality of how they run their business. On the other side, we have Bernie Sanders criticizing Amazon by name and questioning the legality of how they r...

01:53 - How do Social Security Survivors benefits work? When you pass away, your Social Security record can provide benefits to your spouse, ex spouse, children, and even sometimes your parents! One of the primary concerns you should have when it comes to financial planning is: how are your loved ones going to be taken care of if something happens to you? We walk through the 08:18 - How does Socia...

0:01:17 - Money really can buy happiness. A new study shows a strong correlation of money and happiness. It doesn't have anything to do with accomplishments, either. If a person won the lottery or inherited money, the results are about the same as earned financial success. Gregory points out that the more money you have, the more options you have, and that's a huge contributor to achieving real ha...

02:48 - Gregory reviews the story of a man in his late 60s who is fairly irate he didn't know he could be drawing a Social Security benefit off of his deceased ex wife's record before switching to his own. 14:07 - Chicago wants to try and fix its pension hole by issuing a different kind of bond that allows them to chase more yield with the principle. It could be disastrous if they incur significan...

01:10 - Gregory's trip to Kansas was full of financial planning studying and great BBQ. 07:26 - Denisein Ocean Springs is on Social Security Disability, and her husband is about to turn on his Social Security retirement benefit at his full retirement age this year. What are her options? Would she get more by switching over to his record? Does waiting to switch give her a bigger benefit? 09:54 - Th...

0:01:19 - We review the top financial headlines of the week, and James tells the story of how he came home from a charity gala last night with two new guitars. 0:13:45 - Gregory goes into a lot more depth on how a 7702 plan works. How is it structured? How is it funded? How can it be used for tax free income? How is it different than a Roth IRA? Gregory gives some numbers on how a 7702 plan was se...

00:40 - The financial world is clearing up from the initial uncertainty from the tariff hikes across most of the US trading partners. The EU has already come around, Mexico is expected to announce a deal soon, and both Canada and China sound like they want to work things out soon. Gregory and James recognize some of the classic negotiating tactics taught in business school, and it seems to be much...

01:07 - Tesla gets a subpeona from the SEC, and it's reported to be over the events that caused Tesla's stock to be halted last week. If you're a do-it-yourself investor, it's important you know what the laws say about sharing inside business information. 07:35 - Turkey has been selling off about half of their holdings in US debt. Gregory thinks it could be because they needed the money, and may n...

00:53 - Gregory explains the different fees that may come with a variable annuity. 14:03 - How can you get started young for retirement savings? Donald in Slidell is 21 and setting up his first 401k. What guidance does Gregory have for a young guy just getting started in the working world who wants to get an early start on saving for retirement? 24:55 - A guy asks Gregory if he can get a spousal b...

02:01 - Winning at Life lost a friend of the show today. He was a good example of a guy who worked hard to develop his expertise, and used his success to help others. It's always impressive to see a guy who constantly stayed up-to-date in his field his entire career. Gregory stresses the power of constant self improvement, and how investing time in your own ability is crucial. 13:46 - Will a Saudi...

0:01:08 - The Space Force tasks will include protecting the banking system's reliance on GPS. All of our lives have become incredibly reliant on the technology floating above us in orbit. Gregory reacts to a guy from NASA saying: if our satellites get hit, there won't be milk in the grocery store in three days. 0:14:23 - Gregory talks about the two biggest catastrophes he thinks could happen. Some...

20 Things Rich People Do Every Day (that poor people don't). 22:42 - David in New Orleans wants to know if there's an age at which he can stop paying taxes. 32:21 - JD in Ocean Springs has been working for a municipal system in Mississippi that doesn't participate in Social Security. He asks Gregory how this could affect his benefits with the Windfall Elimination Provision.

00:44 - Elon Musk may be in hot water over his bizarre behavior yesterday in connection with Tesla stock being halted. There's still some missing details around the incident, and some analysts are making a pretty convincing case that Elon Musk ran afoul of the law. A big issue is whether or not Musk had really secured funding for a buyout as claimed in his tweet. 07:18 - A Congressman is charged w...

01:14 - What the heck happened with Tesla stock today? Elon Musk tweeted about taking Tesla private, the stock trading was halted, and then it was resumed for the last 15 minutes of the trading day. Something doesn't seem right about this whole situation, and there's a chance this may end up being huge news down the road. 16:29 - Gregory and James preview an upcoming show topic on 20 things rich p...

02:00 - We recap some of the highlights from Saturday's show, including the discussion on how people so often get themselves into a situation where they are years behind on their taxes. 05:19 - What's up with REITs? Are they good investment tools? Gregory shares how to know which kind of Real Estate Investment Trust is a good investment. A primary consideration when evaluating a REIT is the exits....

0:01:34 - A proposed reform to the Capital Gains Tax looks promising. It would index the cost basis for inflation, thus saving on taxes at the point of sale. 0:04:49 - The Paul Manafort trial is all about hiding income to avoid taxes. Years before working for Trump, Manafort made millions in the Ukraine and surrounding areas, but hide it from the IRS to avoid taxes. Gregory believes its better to...

02:05 - The GDP grew at 4.1% for the second quarter. This is a great number, and all but guarantees the Fed will continue raising rates. The tariff battles with China still loom large over future economic growth. Gregory also points out some weakness in the tech sector staining an otherwise positive earnings season. 0:13:21 - Mark in Pearl River asks Gregory: Does Louisiana tax distributions from...

01:37 - The GDP grew at 4.1% for the second quarter. This is a great number, and all but guarantees the Fed will continue raising rates. The tariff battles with China still loom large over future economic growth. 15:29 - Is Social Security going broke? Gregory gets asked often if Social Security will be going away at some point in the future. Gregory explains how Social Security may look a little...

01:41 - Venezuela is expected to have 1,000,000% inflation this year, and GDP growth of -18% according to the IMF. It's a real humanitarian crisis that has deteriorated to one of the worst hyperinflation collapses in history. 06:42 - Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says we could have a new trade deal worked out with Mexico soon. The new President-Elect of Mexico already has a team working with a te...

01:01 - Trump and the head of the EU announce an agreement to end the tariff battles between the United States and European Union. Juncker, the EU President, added they would also up their purchases of US soybeans and natural gas. This appears to help us ecnonmically with Europe, and put the squeeze on Russia and China. We hear some audio from Trump and Juncker going into more details about the ag...