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Welcome to "This is Health, Wealth, and the Pursuit of Happiness" your source for insightful discussions with economist and author, Dr. Murray Sabrin. Join us as we challenge convention, expand minds, and pursue truth.
Murray Sabrin (00:01.354)
Welcome to Health, Wealth and the Pursuit of Happiness. I'm Murray Sabrin, B A, A Ph D. There's no BS in my background, never has been and never will. Our goal here on health, wealth, and pursuit of happiness is to improve your health, increase your wealth so you can pursue your happiness as time goes on. Today we have a guest that I've known for many, many years, and we're switching gears. The first two shows were on health.
Now we're going to be doing some shows on investing and improving your wealth. So let me introduce my guest tonight. Today, I should say, Paul Majanovic is an author, national speaker, consultant, and educator. He was a certified financial planner for 36 years from June 1985 to March 2021. Since 1981, his specialties have been investing, financial planning, and home business issues.
During those 40 plus years, he has helped thousands of students and readers build wealth through his nationwide seminars, workshops, conferences, and coaching program. Since 2000 Paul since the since 2000, Paul has authored several dummies books and other books so to increase your wealth. He has done many popular seminars such as the $50 Wealth Builder, Ultra Investing with Options, and the Home Business Gold Mine, among others. Since 2000,
He has built a reputation as an accurate economics and market forecaster. Paul's long record includes accurate forecasts for the housing bubble, energy crisis, the Great Recession, and the rise of precious metals. As a national speaker, Paul has done over 2,500 national seminars and workshops since 1983. Paul Majanovic from the great state of New Jersey, welcome to Health, Wealth, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Paul (01:54.535)
my goodness, thank you for for that. It's a pleasure to be on your show, Murray, because you and I have a lot of commonality and it's a pleasure to be on because look, I'm not much in the area of of health, but in the area of wealth and finance. I love this area. And in a way it it is tied to health. I think you have a good theme to your site because we want people to have a healthy nation, a healthy economy, a healthy government, etc.
And we want them to be really succeeding with their prosperity, which is a form of financial health as well. So I think you have an excellent theme locking those two things together. So it's a pleasure to be on. And and and helping and hopefully being a service to your to your audience and to you. a man, I've been a fan of yours for my God, since the last century when I think about it.
Murray Sabrin (02:33.282)
What
Murray Sabrin (02:45.102)
Thank you for that, Paul. I appreciate it. Let's get to it. Since last week people across the country had to file their income taxes, and now people are thinking about, maybe they're not thinking about it, but you'll help them think about what can they do in 2026 to reduce their tax liability, which would be one way to increase their wealth. So give us your thoughts about the tax code and how people can improve their tax situation this year.
Paul (03:12.403)
Thank you. This is a great first question. I appreciate it. And I just finished doing at the College of Financial Planning for their school an overview of the one big beautiful bill, which has some nice goodies in there. And if I had to tell people two things to do, because you know we we have limited time, so I want people to have write this down or jot it down on your smartphone. Two things I want you to consider immediately for your taxes. First of all, number one, most people look at taxes in the rear view mirror.
You know, they finish up the year, they bring their documentation to the tax preparer, you know, do it, pay the preparation fee, etc. But not as many people are looking forward. The easiest taxes to save on are are the year that you are in right now. Everybody just finished looking at 2025, but they're not looking at 2026. Now is the time when they can look at it. Now is the time when they can.
Do things in their portfolio like accelerate their losses and defer their gains to the following year. Not enough people are reviewing this with their tax person, so they can make changes now when it's possible to change. Last now, I'm always the type you should always be treasure hunting in the world of taxes. For 2025, yes, find everything you can, all the deductions that are due you and everything else. But the point is about treasure hunting in 2025.
You can't change the year. You can only locate deductions and and and everything in it that you have the possibility of having an impact with. But you cannot change what happened in 2025. But you have a lot of power to change 2026. So right now, you should be reviewing your taxes for 2026. You should be making forecasts. Two things that I want people to do immediately. And of course, your tax person will have much more.
Suggestions. But number one, you should do a projection of your taxes, you know, for 2026. And I mean, what is going to be your total income, your gross income, wages, business income, rental income, dividends, interest, capital gains? You should be making that projection now. And you know, you may want to do it several times this year, not only now, but do it again in in November, so you know what to expect. But in addition,
Paul (05:37.863)
One thing that I hate, and I know I'll tell you right now, I guarantee you Murray hates this as well. When we overpay our taxes during the year with withholdings or higher estimated payments, and then we get a huge refund next year. Look, it's always good to get money back, big or small. But the thing is that if you're doing a projection for 2026, you can also be able to project your taxes and project your withholdings. For example,
At the IRS website, you can download Form 1040 ES, which tells you what the current tax rates are right now. And of course, many of you you know you can use AI and you can use tax calculators and tax projectors that are online now. You have more power than ever before to easily project what your income is, what your taxes will be, and what your withholdings are going to be. So I hear how often people have gotten big refunds.
And what you're doing is you're loaning the federal government an interest-free loan. my god, why would you do that? I I you're so you should get that money now because and I like I tell people they should even project their income in January, because many people have easily projectable income, like W-2, because the moment you have your first pay, you basically know what your income is going to be like for the rest of the year. So if that's the case.
You can be able to then adjust your withholdings very easily. Your payroll department can help you. And then what? When you would lower your withholdings starting in January, now this is money you can invest because you shouldn't get a huge refund next year. That means you've loaned the government money for at least a year and a half. And of course, some people are on extension, which means another six months, so it's way north of a year and a half, interest-free.
That money should be coming back to you now so you can invest it immediately. Because that way, next year you would have had growth and interest and dividends that you otherwise wouldn't have had. You know, Murray, one thing I find interesting: if the only thing people did was to get back there, withhold their their their refund a year earlier and invest it and did this year in and year out for the average middle income taxpayer, that means that it can add into their nest egg.
Paul (07:57.565)
An additional hundred and thirty eight thousand dollars for the average middle income person. One hundred and thirty eight thousand dollars. That's like free money, that's a kicker to your long term abilities to be able to build wealth and financial freedom. Because that's what money is about really, right? Financial freedom, right?
Murray Sabrin (08:15.309)
Absolutely. Paul, let me just follow up a little bit because one of the things you're very c keen on is home based businesses. What are some of the tips you have for people regarding a home based business to supplement their income, especially for retirees who find out their budgets are being stretched because of inflation and other factors?
Paul (08:18.207)
Yes.
Paul (08:34.43)
That ties in perfectly, Murray, because I said two things that people can easily do this year that'll have a huge and positive impact. Number one, projecting their taxes. But number two, I'm a huge proponent for my guy. I have like eight or nine reasons now why people should have a home-based business. One of them is that when you have a home-based business, you have the power to legitimately deduct a home office. This one alone is worth thousands of dollars to the average person.
The home-based business, I mean, most people look at this because they they're looking for extra income. And that's great. That's reason number one why you have it. But there are many reasons why you should have a home-based business. First of all, many people don't realize when you have a home-based business, even if you're a one-person operation working from your kitchen table, you have the power to open up brand new pension tax advantage pension plans that could accelerate.
And turbocharge your ability to invest and build your wealth and be able to have you have more re more power later on to retire early or have more money during retirement. So I want everybody to have a home base business because not only of the income capabilities and the tax capabilities and the pension capabilities, but also one thing is you're diversified in terms of your finances. Now, Murray, you you know, you you and me know that.
In the world of financial planning and financial advisors, everybody talks about diversification. But that's with their portfolio with their assets. To me, I know a lot of people, they generate their money from their job, but if the only thing they have is their job, what if they lose their job? Many people have lost jobs over the years for a variety of reasons. The COVID pandemic catastrophe, the crisis of 2008. And some people are worried about their jobs because of AI.
Well, if you add a business to your portfolio of of time, your act your active wealth building strategies, that means you don't just rely on your job. If you have a business that diversifies your income capabilities away from your job. And then in your job, AI becomes an asset to help you build wealth instead of being a threat in your employment capabilities. So a part-time business is a powerful reason for many powerful reasons to help them build wealth.
Paul (10:58.77)
and gain financial freedom. So thank you for that question, Murray. I appreciate that.
Murray Sabrin (11:02.208)
Just a a quick follow up and then we'll go on to some wealth building strategies that you've talked about over the years. What type of home businesses can people get into with very little capital and very little knowledge, if you will, of how to start a business from their kitchen table or their study t desk? where are the ideas for s for for home based businesses?
Paul (11:24.426)
Everybody has at least one good business idea inside of them. And one thing that I tell them, by the way, Murray, I gotta tell you something. June is my 40-year anniversary of my home business gold mine. I was telling people about how to about launching a home-based business 40 years ago, you know, long before even financial advisors found it on their radar screen. And the thing is this, everybody has time, has hobbies, talents, skills, capabilities.
background experience. I remember telling one gentleman who was a mailman a and he hated his job, but because he knew how the mail how postal services work, he became a mail order consultant because he had that information and that became a business. Everybody has the ability to be a consultant, a tutor. You can be an affiliate. You know Murray, one of the books that I wrote was affiliate marketing for dummies. You referring people to others can be able to make money
from that type of of dynamic. So one thing that people can be able to do is why not, because your tax dollars pay for this, the Small Business Administration gives free office space to a a group called SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives. You can sit down with them and discuss your business ideas. There are tons of home business ideas, literally hundreds and even thousands. And with AI helping you to do this, people, those of you who have a lot of experience, you could be a consultant.
Those of you have a lot of experience or interesting stories, you could write a Kindle book, which now with the help of AI, you could do one in less than a day, upload it to Amazon, and you could have passive income coming in weeks and months after you complete it. If I had to tell you, it could easily be a five-hour class just on this aspect of it. But home business, real power. All of you have power inside to generate income, things that you'd love to do. And by the way, one last point about the home business.
The home business becomes an asset later you can sell to others and be able to add to your nest egg from the sale of that business another four, five, six, seven figures or more, depending on on how valuable the market sees your business. So all of you, become a raving capitalist, start a business to help turbocharge your ability to have wealth and freedom in your situation.
Murray Sabrin (13:48.001)
Thanks, Paul. Let's talk about some investment strategies that you've written about over the years, especially for young people who are getting started and they need to know, what do I invest in? Given there's so much noise regarding that. The v market is volatile, but people in their twenties have a thirty, forty, fifty year time horizon. So what are some of the things that they young people should be looking at in order to have a nice nest egg when they retire?
Paul (14:11.86)
Well, the great thing for those of you folks that are in your 20s and 30s, you have the benefit of time. And by the way, as you know, Murray, I have two boys that are in my in their twenties and I'm helping them guide their way and they're building wealth. And I'm very grateful because I think that they have are are much further along in their finances than than many of their peers. And for those in their twenties and thirties that are here now, you're in a time when hopefully you you're generating good income to help pay for your expenses.
But between your 401k and whatever income you have above and beyond your expenses that are investable money, you can be able to grow over the long term. And let me tell you about a couple of things that for your consideration for you to discuss with your financial planner or whoever is helping you. And that is this. You know, one of my favorite ways for people to build long-term wealth and be able to do so with minimal risk is the following.
You know, I some of you know I wrote the book Stock Investing for Dummies, so it's a little bit beyond the scope of this conversation about how to choose an invest a stock. But one of my favorite things to do is to choose winning industries. Choosing winning industries is very easy, and many of you out there now have the ability to invest in a winning industry with the ease of a single investment, which is like an exchange traded fund and ETF that mirrors that industry. If you had your money diversified among
The two or three top growth industries that are out there, you know, high tech, I think energy is one. I love commodities, you know. I there are many areas of growth. I so I think that for people in their 20s and 30s, 80% into growth and 20% into one thing that I think everybody should have at least a portion of their of their assets in. And that's write down the following two words: human need. Many people in my classes know that I'm a big one on human need. In other words,
You can invest in stocks and ETFs that long term obviously can be in in things that people want or people need. And one thing I f I found out that no matter how good or bad the economy is, people will always buy what they need food, water, beverage, etc. And for me, that should be the part a part a part a portion of everybody's foundation. Now it's a small part of somebody in the twenties and thirties, where twenties and thirties there could be your 80% growth and twenty percent human need.
Paul (16:35.358)
But as we move along, getting into our 50s and 60s, a greater percentage of your long-term foundation should be into investments that at eat stocks and ETFs that are tied to human need. Because again, no matter how good a bad economy is, people will still continue to buy what they need: food, water, beverage. And these become a very powerful foundation. And most of these also have dividends involved, so it becomes a a fantastic area.
To invest in. So I will always be looking at these because a human need, you know, and and if if anybody understands the economy, how you have good and bad times, and you have things such as inflation and depressions, etc. The thing is, in all of these things, human needs survive. So this is where your common sense can help you, and your financial advisor can be able to be more specific about which stocks and ETFs. I personally have a lot of favorites.
And I I I'll I'll I cover all of those in my course, the fifty dollar wealth builder. And I thank you for mentioning that, my friend. What else?
Murray Sabrin (17:41.208)
let's talk about people who are on the cusp of retiring, people who have maybe ten, fifteen years to retirement. Are anything what should they be thinking about in terms of how to navigate retirement because there's more and more evidence coming out that people have having a hard time making ends meet with just their Social Security, which is supposed to be only one third of their retirement income, but for thirty percent of America Amer retirees, that's all their income. So what suggestions do you have for people to
to do something today so they have a decent retirement, even if they haven't earned a lot of money i in their career.
Paul (18:17.78)
Well, two things I want to focus on again, and I can give you eighty seven things, but for now, one thing I built on earlier was the point about a home based business. Seniors are excellent for home based business because they have a lifetime of experience and expertise that they can share as consultants, as writing of books, et cetera. So for those of you who are strapped and you're not making enough income from what you're doing already, then of course you have to expand on the things that can make you money. So so that business is very important.
And the other thing is, is I want you also to focus on some passive income strategies that I love. One thing that I tell people when they're like, you know, five, six, seven years, you know, to go to their retirement years, I tell them to be focused on dividend growth, exchange traded funds. I mean, I I'm getting very specific here. There are many excellent ones out there. But the reason I tell them that is because you've heard this, Murray, when people are in their retirement years.
They're like they're stuck, you know, on fixed income. Fixed income. And I and I understand fixed income, you know, you're sitting duck for things like inflation and price increases out there, like Medicare and all the rest of these things. But this is why for me, dividend paying stocks and dividend paying ETFs are good considerations for several reasons. Let me let me tell you why. Number one, most dividends paid by American companies or international companies.
Listed on American exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange, many of them the dividends that they pay are referred to as qualified dividends. Qualified dividends are not taxed at the full level. Qualified dividends are tax are taxed at the long-term capital gains rate. And the interesting thing is, I did this as an ex an example. Imagine the following example. Imagine two people who are a couple married filing jointly on their federal return.
They're looking at retirement. And let's just make believe that the only income they're getting is dividend income, qualified dividends. Where do you know that a couple married filing shortly, if the only income they had was qualified dividends, then guess what? They could earn up to, and I'm I'm I'm I'm gonna like just estimate this. I'm off like a couple hundred bucks, but like.
Paul (20:37.311)
They could earn up to like $127,000 in qualified dividends and pay zero federal income tax. Plus, dividends have a long-term track record of, you know, among many of the dividend payers that are out there, they have a track record of meeting or exceeding the rate of inflation. In other words, many companies they tend to raise their dividends yearly, you know, as frequently as yearly, and many times their dividend increases.
meet or exceed the rate of inflation. So besides Social Security and whatever other fixed income they have coming in, like many pensions, they have a fixed payment, etc., you know, which means purchasing power risk is a huge risk for people. But what if they had as part of their income mix, they had income that has very favorable tax advantages, so you pay very low tax, plus they are growing faster than the rate of inflation, you have your then a situation
Murray Sabrin (21:07.723)
Mm-hmm.
Paul (21:35.765)
Well you have greater financial security during those years when you need it more than ever.
Murray Sabrin (21:42.165)
Paul, y you wrote a book called High Level Investing. What what's a basically a a good summary and if people are interested they can look up that book on Amazon, I assume.
Paul (21:52.094)
Love that book, and let me tell you when the book when I did the book Stock Investing for Dummies, my publisher said that they want to do like an advanced version of stock investing for dummies. So, what high-level investing does, and I would love to do an update, it's overdue for an update. I should even do a course based on the book, but high-level investing goes into those things that people could do that are a little bit more advanced than regular stocks or regular ETFs to help them take advantage of.
Of whatever life or the markets throw at them. For example, in there in that book, I have an entire section where I talk about options where you can do them prudently. Like, for example, some retirees, you may have stocks that don't give you much of a dividend, but if that stock is optionable, imagine writing a covered call against it. I've seen people increase their retirement income by another five, six, seven, eight percent, or even more.
by deploying something called writing covered calls. I've done them, I've helped clients and students done that. And I I had one client that I was coaching a few years ago where she was able to make an additional $55,000, $60,000 from her portfolio without selling stocks and without any added dividends, all because of covered call writing. So high-level investing for dummies teaches them how to do that. It also goes into leveraged ETFs.
You know, other words, leverage bearish or leverage bullish. In other words, if you think a market crash is coming, imagine a way for you to be able to make money if the market crashes, or if the market is soaring, a way to be able to do better than the stock market. So high-level investing goes into advanced strategies that I have personally used and I've done with my clients and associates, where they will make tremendous money so that no matter what the economy or the financial markets threw at them, they had something to
pull out of their bag of strategies to deploy so that they keep on making money, survive and thrive, and keep on going, no matter what the world offers.
Murray Sabrin (23:57.172)
Fantastic. You also did a a popular seminar called the Fifty Dollar Wealth Builder. Tell us about that.
Paul (24:03.605)
Well, let me tell you something. I just found out very recently that my course, the $50 wealth builder, is the longest running themed course in the marketplace today. Like many people realize other authors are there, like Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and a few other folks that are out there, they came out mostly during the 1990s. The $50 Wealth Builder was the very first course I ever did. It was in August of 1983. And I've been running it successfully.
nationally, both online and personally for now going on 43 years. And I'm very proud of that course. And that course tells people that even if you're starting off with twenty-five or fifty dollars, you can start successfully investing in stocks and ETFs and other vehicles with small amounts of money. So then if you're disciplined and ambitious, you can start off with small amounts of money, investing them, doing it month in and month out, and over the long term,
You will accelerate your path to financial success and financial independence, you know, if you understand that these things are available to you. So the $50 wealth builder is my longest running course. I'm very proud of that course. And that is telling people, I don't care if you're starting from zero. And by the way, Murray, you and I know this as well. Most people don't realize that all wealth, directly or indirectly, starts off at poverty, which means that when the world of investing.
I if you have nothing or very little money, you can get started, build, learn, earn, and keep growing. And the $50 Wealth Builder was a course that I did since then that I still do today to help people with small amounts turn them into big amounts so that they can achieve health, wealth, and success the way you know your show teaches them as well. So thank you for letting me share that.
Murray Sabrin (25:54.57)
How can people access that course, Paul?
Paul (25:57.313)
Well, my website Raven Capitalist, it's it's listed there. And it's also listed on other platforms as well. Like Udemy or Udemy is has it running as well. So it's easy it's easy to find it. But the best place of course is where I originated, which is at Ravencapitalist.com. Thank you, Kali, for letting me say that.
Murray Sabrin (26:16.734)
Fantastic. We only have a couple minutes left, Paul. You you've delved into the world of finance for so many decades. You've seen markets go up with their own crash, the 87 crash, the housing bubble crash. What what led you to conclude that there was a housing bubble un unfolding in in 2007-2008?
Paul (26:39.786)
Very easily because one thing I find that with bubbles, many times bubbles start, you know, with there's a an expansion of demand through money currency and they're chasing assets. And so many times, like first of all, for more bull markets are great and they're always there, but once you start seeing that the value of assets because of inflation are pushing them high to extreme levels, that tells me that it's overpriced and now you're having a problem.
Murray Sabrin (26:52.521)
Hm.
Paul (27:09.216)
People forget, and I know, and by the way, Murray, I'm looking forward to you doing a your own program when you're talking about the Federal Reserve. People forget, like, you know, when you're talking about market crashes, 1929 was not born a month before, you know, October of nineteen of nineteen twenty nine. It started years earlier because the Federal Reserve was inflating money. Because people know that whenever the government pre prints up money and creates dollars.
And whatever th those dollars chase, you're going to inflate them. When those dollars are chasing products and services, you have inflation, consumer inflation, which people see most readily, and that's what most people associate with inflation, consumer inflation. But they forget bubbles are asset inflation. When that money is flowing into assets and they push them beyond their realistic levels, fundamental and otherwise, then they are being set up.
For a crash. So many times I look at my own indicators to see what assets are overpriced. So for me, sometimes as a speculator, I might bet, you know, through buying puts or leveraged inverse ETF. So I make bets on that. But at a minimum, for people out there who are investors, you should recognize these things so you can do safe strategies to protect your assets and have make sure you have financial advisors who have
have many years of experience who've seen these things before who can help you sidestep these things as well because market crashes, depressions, and everything else, those are just where you see the symptoms in the market. The real problem ends up being government policy, which warps many things, ba everything from assets to the the currency supplies. When you're watching the government and you see the problems they're inflicting, then you can be able to properly plan
your finances and protect your money over here when those problematic things, whether it's taxes or inflation, end up flowing into markets and those things affect your assets, well there's a variety of things you can do, but this is why you have to understand economics. All right. And and understand that that the it's the government that causes many problems that you and I face in financial markets and the economy. And the more aware we are of that, the more we can implement tactics and strategies to both
Paul (29:35.456)
protect our assets and to continue to survive and thrive.
Murray Sabrin (29:39.167)
Paul, this has been great. I wish we had more time but we'll have to have you back again. Get an update on the markets, get an update on home based businesses, get an update on all the things that you do to help people improve their wealth. And as we know, good health is really wealth as well because without good health, even all the money in the world is not gonna make you feel any better because getting ev getting up every morning and enjoying
your your family, your environment, your colleagues is an important part of life. So I want to thank you for being with us and the the website is ravingcapitalist.com, ladies and gentlemen. Please visit ravingcapitalist.com to find out what Paul's doing and see h his seminars w w where they're being held. So I want to thank you for listening and remember make Americans financially independent. That's what Paul has been helping people do over the last 40 years.
with his seminars, with his writings. So get his books, go to his website. And next week we're gonna follow up this discussion with Mark Thornton, economist at the Mises Institute, senior fellow who'll g give us his state of view of the economy and where he thinks financial markets are going based upon his long term analysis that he's been writing about for decades. So Paul, thank you. It's been a great honor to have you with us today and we look forward to
more more shows in the future. So in the meantime, folks, pursue your happiness, increase your wealth, improve your health, and will have that good life that you deserve in the great United States of America.