Protecting Yourself Online

10/28/20 • 32 min

Today, Rick Bloom is joined by Melanie Duquesnel, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Eastern Michigan. With many of us working (and schooling) from home, our online presence is more prevalent. This means it's also a bigger target.

Rick and Melanie cover many different types of scams you should be aware of, including:

Phishing Scams
Password Scams
Text Scams
Government Scams
Utility Scams
and more

Also, Melanie explains why you need to protect your computer and other devices and also your kids' as well. Update your passwords, your software, and your security often.

Finally, Rick answers listener questions covering both Bitcoin and Snowbirding.

Note: Bloom Asset Management is now Bloom Advisors. Find Rick and the team at https://www.bloomadvisors.com/ or call (248) 932-5200.

Find Melanie and her team at the Better Business Bureau here: https://www.bbb.org/detroit or call 1.866.788.5706

Rick and Melanie cover many different types of scams you should be aware of, including:

Phishing Scams
Password Scams
Text Scams
Government Scams
Utility Scams
and more

Also, Melanie explains why you need to protect your computer and other devices and also your kids' as well. Update your passwords, your software, and your security often.

Finally, Rick answers listener questions covering both Bitcoin and Snowbirding.

Note: Bloom Asset Management is now Bloom Advisors. Find Rick and the team at https://www.bloomadvisors.com/ or call (248) 932-5200.

Find Melanie and her team at the Better Business Bureau here: https://www.bbb.org/detroit or call 1.866.788.5706

Previous Episode

The Dow Jones, Explained

In today's episode, Rick Bloom is joined by Bloom Asset Management team member Jack Riashi, Jr, to answer listener questions about the Dow Jones Indusrial Average, or DJIA.

We start with the misnomer that is "industrial average." The Dow may have started that way, but Jack explains why it's not really "industrial" anymore. Also, the index is an average of only thirty industry leading companies.

Next, Jack and Rick explain how the Dow Jones Industrial Average is calculated, and how that compares to other indexes. They also cover how - and why - the Dow changes. What does that mean for companies that are added or removed?

In fact, three companies were recently removed from The Dow - Exxon, Raytheon, and Pfizer. They were replaced by Amgen, Salesforce, and Honeywell. Jack and Rick talk about what that means.

In terms of practical use, Jack explains how everyday investors should use The Dow. We cover the dangers of basing a porfolio around one index, and we discuss why percentage is more important than points.

As always, Rick answers listener questions from you. This time, he starts with an email regarding bank accounts' FDIC insurance and interest rates.

Rick also answers listener emails regarding withdrawing retirement funds and Coronavirus-related exceptions in 2020, as well as fees advisors charge.

Resoiurces:

Bankrate: https://www.bankrate.com/

As always, if you have a question for Rick, you can email him at:

[email protected]

Find Bloom Asset Management on the web at http://www.bloomassetmanagement.com/

Next Episode

Year End Tax Planning with CPA Jonathan Goldberg

With 2020 (finally) drawing to a close, many have you have emailed Rick Bloom questions about year-end tax planning. So today, Rick is joined by Jonathan Goldberg, a CPA, financial advisor, and member of the Bloom Advisors team.

Remember, the goal is not to reduce your income; it is to reduce your taxes.

Jonathan and Rick cover many topics, including:
The $300 above the line deduction for charitable contributions available in 2020.
Contributions of investments that have significant gains to charities.
QCD's, or Qualified Charitable Distributions
Deductions of investment losses and wash rules.
The pause on Required Minimum Distributions (RMD's) in 2020.
Roth Conversions
Tax deadlines returning to normal
Maximizing retirement plan contributions by end of year.
NOT deducting home office expenses if you began working from home in the pandemic.

Rick closes today's show by answering listener emails about charitable donations and paying off home mortgages.

Note: Bloom Asset Management is now Bloom Advisors. Find Rick and the team at https://www.bloomadvisors.com/ or call (248) 932-5200.