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Welcome to Financially Fluent with Ray Godleski from Southeast Wealth Partners, LLC. Whether you're already retired or planning for the future, navigating financial advice can be overwhelming. This podcast cuts through the noise, bringing real insights from experts who specialize in every aspect of a successful financial plan—including how to adapt when things don’t go as expected. Join us as Ray Godleski answers audience questions and shares actionable strategies—not just empty clichés.
Speaker 1 (00:02.444)
Welcome to Financially Fluent with Ray Godleskiiof Southeast Wealth Partners. Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate your financial journey with greater ease and efficiency. Well, hello, Podcast Universe. Hi, Cindy.
Hello everyone and welcome to the very first episode of financially fluent. I'd like to welcome our host and CFP professional, Ray Godleski.
Hey, this is exciting. Doing a podcast. I've kind been on the mind for a couple of years and I'm glad to get this officially started. The show is called Financially Fluent. Cindi, you remember how we came up with that name or some other titles maybe we considered?
I remember it's been a little bit and we came up with several ideas and bounce them around a little. Ray, what would you say the purpose of this show financially fluent?
Yeah, so the main purpose of the show is we want to be very informative and I'm hoping people are gonna find it interesting too. So if you don't find it interesting, no matter how informative it is, you're probably not gonna listen. So our firm, see a lot of financial planning questions and a lot of these, some of them just come up more frequent than others. So we're be able to address those. And then I tell you trends, they seem to develop lot faster in today's world.
Speaker 1 (01:31.376)
than it really ever has. And so we want to be able to share those trends as we observe them. Some of these trends are real good opportunities for people, but there's other trends that I think are kind of a problem for plans. So that's kind of the purpose.
Okay, so are we going to do Q &A for each podcast?
Yeah, we want to do questions and answers. We want this to be kind of interactive. So we want people to be able to send in questions, we to be able to answer them. These are recorded, right? So it's not like a live stream or something like that. Who knows, maybe in the future, but not to start with. many times people just want answers. And I'm a big believer of giving answers versus giving platitudes.
So what are some topics you think will be covered in the first year of this podcast?
Yeah, I think one of the main themes I'd love for our listeners to learn is how to do different types of accounts and strategies, meaning how do they get taxed differently? I don't feel like a lot of people get into that, whether you're accumulating money or whether you're taking money out of accounts. Different types of accounts do get taxed differently. So say a tax deferred growth account versus an account maybe gets taxed every year.
Speaker 1 (02:55.826)
Like today, we're all making more interest in those high yield savings. you actually get an interest tax form on it. And then you got these types of accounts where it can grow and you can take the money out tax-free later. So different types of accounts, we want to just understand that. And if you have these different types of accounts, the freedom that you get from it when you are retired or maybe you're almost retired,
So yeah, I'm a big believer in financial planning. And of course, our three C's for our clients is also kind of a big pillar of our planning.
Okay, so what are the three C's for Southeast Wealth Partners?
Yeah, so the C word comes up a lot in financial planning, but as far as the three Cs go, the first one would be clarity. It's really important that people understand what accounts do you already own? What is the purpose of those? What policies do you own? are those? What's the purpose there? The second C is communication. So over the years, I've found people respond differently to different styles of communication. So, you know, for...
For example, for dealing with a couple, one might really like spreadsheets, maybe graphs, and then the other one might be a little more responsive to using a whiteboard, throwing up some pictures to really get some concepts across. so communicating with clarity is kind of essential to successful financial planning. And then that third C is confidence. So this is also important.
Speaker 1 (04:36.404)
And so the first two kind of are important, right? Because if I don't know the, you know, if I don't know, have a clear picture of where somebody's at and there's not a good communication, then even the advisor may not have confidence. So, but when that confidence is there, that's where taking action is important. And so think about opportunities that come up, for example, good opportunities. They don't happen nearly as often as we'd like, but
when they do appear, even if it's just for a brief moment in time, it's really important to have confidence and take action of those opportunities when they do arise. And then I'd say conversely, knowing the whole picture, it's so important when it comes to risk management, that kind of gets back to clarity and really understanding the situation so that you can have confidence in being able to reduce the kind of likely risks that are
around really any plan. And so when you think about like, know, risks, you know, it could be health related, it could be tax related, it could be investment related, but we wanna try to avoid the kind of, like I the unnecessary risks that are out there.
Okay, so the three C's are clarity, communication, and confidence, right?
Exactly. So if you think about it, we've learned this in math, right? C times C equals C squared, right? Meaning clarity and communication. So if we have good clarity with each other, good communication with each other, then that's going to mean we both have confidence, the advisor as well as the client.
Speaker 2 (06:21.858)
All right, so when it comes to confidence, do you ever see confidence that's not built on a great foundation?
Unfortunately, yes, I see that a lot. And so whether someone has an advisor or they're doing financial planning on their own, often I see someone that doesn't have a real true understanding of their current positioning, they don't have a good understanding of their accounts and how they work in their financial plan.
Why do you think that is?
I think some of it is because there's a lot of noise on the internet and social media. Some of it is because of the tax code is complicated and does seem to always be changing. So really either extreme could be a problem. If you don't have enough confidence and you do not take action when you need to, there's a risk of that plan not working. Or if you have overconfidence,
You may be taking action, but then you find out kind of years later that you're not getting the results you were hoping for.
Speaker 2 (07:25.454)
Okay. Well, I know what you mean about ever changing and confusing tax code. What are other topics might we see in this podcast series?
Yep, so we're going to get into social security analysis. We're going to go over some trends in the investing world, estate planning, and there really is no Medicare as well. There's really no lack of content when it comes to financial planning. So we've got plenty to talk about.
Okay, sounds good. Do you plan to have a guest on future shows to go over these topics?
Yes, we'll have a guest on every show. I love collaborating with other professionals on these important financial topics.
All right, well since this is our first show, I would love for you to share a little bit personally with our audience about you and your background a little bit.
Speaker 1 (08:24.526)
Yeah, sure. Yes, I was born and raised here in the suburbs of Atlanta. I've actually been here all my life, which is rare, but my parents, they've been together for about 51 years. Mom gave birth to four kids. I'm the oldest. My younger brother and sister, they're married. Also had another sister. Unfortunately, her name is Christy. Unfortunately, she died before her second birthday. I was almost six.
Growing up, I loved playing basketball. I did play multiple sports, but that was my passion. And I really wanted to play college basketball. So I did play two years of college basketball at a pretty small college. And as for today, I'm part of a blended family. So I got two daughters from a previous marriage, one's a senior, one's a sophomore, and they are both on track to graduate on time. So I'm happy about that.
And I got married again about 10 and a half years ago and told people I inherited two more kids with that marriage. so professionally, when it comes to communication, that scenario I think is so important when it comes to clients. And I put a lot of emphasis on the importance of that communication. And so, and this show is not about getting new clients for us, right? It's really about...
folks that are listening, whether you have an advisor or don't have an advisor, it's about helping you with your communication with people that you care about and if you have another advisor, helping that communication out. So as far as my work background, I found that it's easier to communicate with clients and even prospective clients that have a different career background because my background is very different.
Ray, what do you mean about your work background?
Speaker 1 (10:18.318)
Thankfully, I've worked in various places when it comes to the size of companies, cultures. That experience has helped me relate to others. So, you know, coming out of college many years ago, I worked for a giant multinational company. I believe they sold about a billion bucks worth of building materials across the globe. So I kind of got to learn that corporate world and how to climb the quote, you know, the corporate ladder.
And then I kind of went to the other extreme, being in small business, owner in residential real estate, and went through some tough times. If people remember that real estate market in 2008 and 2009, I was there. So, you know, by reflecting and learning from those two very different types of careers, I just feel that it helps me relate to clients in financial planning because they've probably been somewhere in those two extremes or in between.
What's your experience been like in financial services industry?
Yeah, I mean, right now, I mean, I wake up every morning excited to communicate with clients, share knowledge and strategies to have a positive impact on themselves and people that they care about. Early on, I wanted to pass all the tests and from the very beginning, I really wanted to take on a fiduciary standard when it comes to investment advice. I will say the first four years in the industry, a lot of advisors don't make it.
It is a grind, but at some point, kind of was able to break through and so now feel more confident about the future. Now I'll say this too, while I wouldn't advise an advisor to change companies every year or every other year, I do believe that, you know, just staying at one financial firm your entire career, I feel like you kind of miss out on a chance to gain a little perspective, have an opportunity to kind of reset.
Speaker 1 (12:22.37)
How do you run a practice? So I'm thankful that I haven't stayed at just one place for my entire career.
Alright, well when I first met you, you already had your CFP designation. What should the general public know about advisors that carry that CFP designation?
I mean, the first part to understand is that the CFP designation is, you know, how do you get it in the first place? Right. It takes a lot of learning and education. got to go through coursework and we cover a lot of important topics such as retirement planning, tax strategies, state planning, investment management, go through protection issues such as insurance. The second part would be there is a very tough exam.
I do know quite a few folks don't pass it the first time, but yeah, I was able to pass it the first time and there is a CFP board code of ethics. So, you know, that just basically means, you know, you got to always be acting in the client's best interest, kind of that fiduciary standard, you know, as we provide services, you know, it's important that we do it with integrity, objectivity and fairness.
And when someone becomes a CFP, do they carry that designation forever?
Speaker 1 (13:45.266)
no, there are people that drop the designation for various reasons. nothing wrong with that. One thing that's gotta be done to keep it is you gotta do 30 hours every two years for continuing ed. And, I think that's one reason maybe some people drop it. I like the ongoing education. I feel like it helps me stay on top of new laws. You know, what are the latest financial tools? And, it's a great network, right? You know, kind of keep in touch with any new.
planning strategies as well.
All right, well, that's good stuff. So before we conclude our first podcast, do we have time for one Q &A?
Yeah, that'd be great. Let's do it.
Okay, this person started off with a trivia question from the 80s. You ready? What was the first music video ever played on MTV and, for a bonus, named the group?
Speaker 1 (14:35.416)
See you
Speaker 1 (14:46.478)
Well, yes, the video would have been video killed the radio star. I do know that as far as the group name. No idea. I think there's a ton of one hit wonders in the eighties. Do you know? Okay. Yeah. Well, I will say we love trivia. And so as we collect question and answers from people,
I do not.
Speaker 1 (15:15.734)
or questions, get the answers on the podcast. I would love for people that submit those to add a trivia question like this person. And, you know, what are the topics that we would enjoy? That would be sports, or if it's decade related, know, 80s and 90s would love that. Not opposed to 60s and 70s and 2000s, so that would be okay too. And then,
The other topic we would accept or for trivia would be anything that's kind of state related. You know, what's your state bird or something like that? Any kind of state history or even US history? Kind of like that. So yeah, would love that.
Well, this is going to be fun. Okay, here's the question. I do a married filing joint tax return and believe our AGI for 2024 is 250,000. I am 49 years old and maxed out my 401k contribution last year with 23,500 of salary deferral. I only have W-2 income.
and my employer put approximately $6,000 as a match into my 401k. So can either my spouse or I make a Roth contribution plan for 2024 tax year?
Okay. Well, the short answer is no. However, I think this is a great question to get into some of the details around that. And so what I'll typically do is look at our little tax worksheet. I'm going to try to put that in the show notes for this. So let's kind of break this down and kind of piggyback off of it.
Speaker 1 (17:02.638)
So as far as 2024 tax year goes, if you're doing a married filing joint tax return, if his modified adjusted gross income was under $230,000, let's say they made $200,000, then they could do that. And if they'd have been between $230,000, $230,000, $240,000, it's called a phase out. So let's change this example a little bit.
So let's pretend for a minute they were at 200,000 bucks. So in that case, he's 49. So he could have put $7,000 into a Roth IRA. And the wife or the spouse, let's say that they were 50 years old last year. Let's say they just turned 50 in December. So in that case, and let's say the spouse didn't even work.
their MAGI, which is Modified Adjusted Gross Income, let's say it's 200,000 combined. In that case, the spouse could actually have an $8,000 Roth contribution. So it's interesting how these income limits are. It's really important to understand those. And what I'd like to do is expand even more on that. Since we're into 2025 now, those limits or income limits have increased.
So if someone was curious, like, well, how much can you make? Let's say you're doing a married file joint return and your magi is under $236,000 in 2025, you can do a Roth contribution. And the phase out is between 236 and 246. And if you're not married, you're doing a single return or a head of household return.
That income limit, you got to make 150,000 or less as far as your modified adjusted gross income goes. And the phase out there is 150 to 165K. And then if you're married filing separate returns, I don't think the IRS wants you doing any Roth contributions because you've got to make $10,000 or less. let's say this couple, now they've gone through some planning for 2025.
Speaker 1 (19:26.158)
And what we're finding out is, hey, if they're putting more into their 401k, that may actually have them be eligible for their Roth IRA outside of their plans. For example, now he's over 50, so he's putting not just the 23,500 bucks in a 401k, but also the $7,500 ketchup contribution is going in there. So that's about 31 grand.
Not to mention, let's say the person was under utilizing their HSA. And so maybe they're increasing that to the max for a family, which is 8,550 bucks for 2025. So doing those moves could make them be more eligible to get under that $236,000 adjusted gross income limit to be able to put money into the raw. Certainly don't have to, but it's nice to have some options.
And something that's different this year is let's take that person as a coworker and let's just say this coworker friend is turning 60 this year in 2025. Well, they got something new and it's called the, I call it the super catch up, which means if you're the ages of 60 to 63 this year, you can actually put in $11,250 away instead of
only been able to put $7,500 catch up. that's inside of a 401k. I I left that. I think I mentioned that. we were talking about... I may have gotten confusing there. So let me back up a second. So the Roth IRA is $7,100. And what I was talking about is the catch up provision. So if you're inside of a 401k and you're doing $23,500,
as a salary deferral, that's how much somebody under 50 could put in. And your catch-up provision for being over 50 would be that 7,500 bucks. So I know that maybe, I I said that a little bit confusing. hopefully we can edit this. If not, I'm describing it now. And then that super catch-up I was talking about, that's inside.
Speaker 1 (21:47.374)
That's 11,250 that's inside of a 401k. Let me pause for a second. Send in an illusion yet.
No, I'm still here.
Okay. So that's what's new about 2025. The other thing I'll mention is the total amount of money that could go into a 401k is $70,000 in 2025 is that basic limit. And so one thing that people may not be aware of, and we're going to cover this in a future episode, is somebody might put in $20,500 into the
401k at their employer and you might want to split that up. Let's say your adjusted gross income is well above 250,000. So you might just in your employer offers the Roth 401k. You may choose to put a portion of that amount into the Roth 401k and a portion into the pre-tax side. So hopefully I've answered their question. Like I said, I know I talked
try to look at it a few different ways, because I think there's people that may listen that are under 50 as well as over 50.
Speaker 2 (23:02.318)
All right, I see. And thank you for that explanation. So Ray, do you think we achieved our purpose today?
Well, I hope so. We definitely did as far as getting the first podcast recorded. think it's kind of the tough one. Will people find it informational? Will they find it interesting? Only time will tell. But, you know, even just a few people get something from this podcast, think that would be great and hope they continue to listen or share it.
Yes, and speaking of sharing, please subscribe and share with others. We would love for others to join. Your friends, family, great information that will be coming from this podcast.
Yeah, please do. And we're going to have this episode to be posted on social media, be posted on our website. That's SoutheastWealthPartners.com.
So Ray, what will be the topic of your next podcast?
Speaker 1 (24:04.418)
That's a good question. So the topic for the next podcast is going to be, if you're a 50 year old and let's say you haven't played basketball in 20 years, how do you make it to the NBA? For real? No, definitely not. Not going to be the topic, but we're probably going to be talking about estate planning. The Secure Act has changed that quite a bit. So that should be the topic of our next podcast.
Well, that's going to be a good one and everyone will learn a lot from that. There's lots of information that people are not aware of and I can't wait for you to share it.
Yeah, yeah. Thank you, Cindi. And that concludes our episode today. Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week.
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content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional investing advice. Always seek the advice of your advisor or other qualified financial service provider with any questions you may have regarding your financial planning questions. Securities and investment advisory services offered through OsaicWealth Inc., Member, FINRA, SIPC, OsaicWealth is separately owned and other entities and or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of OsaicWealth.