In the 1983 film, ‘Trading Places’, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy, Aykroyd’s character, Winthorpe, is haggling with a pawnshop owner over the value of the wristwatch he is desperately trying to pawn in order to get cash.
When the pawnshop owner offers $50 dollars, Winthorpe indignantly tries to prove its value:
“This is a Roche Vouceau. The thinnest water-resistant watch in the world. Singularly unique, sculptured in design, handcrafted in Switzerland, and water resistant to three atmospheres. It tells time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Rome, and Gstaad. This is ‘THE’ sports watch of the ’80s. Six thousand, nine hundred and fifty-five dollars retail.”
The pawnshop owner says to him, “In Philadelphia, it’s worth FIFTY BUCKS!!”
The real value of any asset is how much it’s worth when you use it.
What about real estate? Same thing: what’s its value when you need it?
Think about it this way, which is the more important value: the gross value of your income or the net after taxes?
How about real estate? The “gross value” on the books or the net after taxes?
Most people think about their IRA or 401(k) as the gross value. The problem is that there are costs to access your hard-earned money: TAXES.
A one-million-dollar IRA is not worth one million dollars. Taxes can claim over one third, reducing the amount you can use to live on to $650,000 or less!
Those taxes have to be paid not only by you and your spouse, but also by your children and grandchildren, if you pass that IRA on to them.
It’s called Hidden Estate Tax. It’s something we specialize in. We’re here to help you with your retirement strategy, to reduce the risks of these hidden taxes!
Please start with our financial guide to retirement, just fill out the form below!
