As children, our elders programmed us with certain “core” beliefs. As adults, finding contrary evidence to those beliefs creates discomfort called “Cognitive Dissonance.” Psychology Today defines: “Cognitive dissonance is a term for the state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradict each other. The clashing cognitions may include ideas, beliefs, or the knowledge that one has […]
» Read moreBest of Dennis… Dennis is tending to his health and hopes to be back writing very soon. The following article is the most viewed article on the Miller On The Money website and is very interesting to read again 3 years later. This article appeared on February 22, 2018. An Inconvenient Truth About Social Security Did I achieve a journalistic […]
» Read moreThe Senior Citizens League reports, “Social Security COLA (Cost of living adjustment) For Next Year Could Be 6.2%.” Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst tells us: “With one third of the data needed to calculate the COLA already in, it increasingly appears that the COLA for 2022 will be the highest paid since 1983 when it was 7.4%.” This […]
» Read moreWhen it comes to guarantees, don’t assume anything! A guarantee is a promise or assurance. While a written contractual guarantee strengthens your legal position, it’s only as solid as the person, government, company, insurer and court system standing behind it. In our article “How Good Is Your Comfortable Retirement Guarantee?”, I assumed some investments were guaranteed, safe and worry-free; I […]
» Read moreWhen it comes to true social security reform, forget about it. The politicos will never fix the real cause of the problem. If the Republican party tried to right the social security ship, the democrats and liberal media would roast them and they would be drummed out of office. On the other side, we hear candidates espousing more giveaway programs, […]
» Read moreBest of Dennis… Dennis is recovering from his chemo/radiation treatment and hopes to be back writing soon. This article appeared on January 12, 2017. Can Americans Really Depend on Social Security? In 1935 the government passed Social Security into law setting up a government managed retirement plan for the majority of US workers. To fund the plan, they passed the Federal […]
» Read morePoliticians of all flavors continually remind us social security is in danger of going bankrupt. Now our esteemed leaders want to fix it by increasing benefits. What could possibly go wrong? Newsmax Finance reports on a recent interview with former fed head (Big Al) Alan Greenspan: (my emphasis) “Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warns that cuts may be needed […]
» Read moreI recently interviewed, Aja McClanahan, who told us how she and her husband built a plan that took seven years to pay off $120,000 in debt. At a young age, they are now debt-free! While they should celebrate, becoming debt-free is just one major milestone in a longer journey. It’s exciting and frustrating to finally get to the top of […]
» Read moreDid I achieve a journalistic milestone? I got my first tip from an insider. What I learned is darn important for our readers. Our article “The Social (IN)Security Charade”, discussed how the government gave us a COLA increase and took it right back by increasing medical premiums. The tipster confirmed I was spot on – however, I barely scratched the […]
» Read moreI’m frequently asked, “Should I count on social security when doing retirement planning?” The best approach is to discuss what my wife Jo and I have experienced. I compared our 2018 benefit statement with 2015. Our Cost of Living Increase (COLA) was 2.3% – (1.15% annually). Our net payments dropped approximately 1.75% – we are clearing less today than we […]
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