A Place of Possibility
by Richard Del Monte and Angela Wright
Welcome to A Place of Possibility™, where we dive into the world of your wealth management, but not in the typical sense. For decades, Richard Del Monte and Angela Wright have been unpacking creative strategies to help clients understand how to make the most of their financial resources. To Richard and Angela, A Place of Possibility means assisting you in making all of your goals a reality - even if sometimes, they aren't money-related. Now they are taking their expertise to the next level by bringing these out-of-the-box solutions straight to a streaming service near you. Tapping into decades of experience in the finance and business sectors, Richard and Angela will tackle timely topics and connect with like-minded industry professionals to educate, inform, and help you literally take the next steps forward to live more of the life you want to live today, tomorrow and for the rest of your lifetime. It's time to find more than just wealth management. It's time to find your Place of Pos
Episodes
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050: Your Guide to an Out-of-State Retirement Relocation
The New York Times reported that people leaving California outnumbered newcomers by more than 700,000 people between April 2020 and July 2022. A further breakdown shows that over 407,000 people left between July 2021 and 2022, plus an additional 343,000 people left California in 2022 alone.…
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049: Tips to Unlock New Financial Successes in 2024
With the roller coaster of inflation, interest rates, and more, 2023 was a wild ride. But the real driving force seems to be the dramatically pessimistic media. If one of your goals for 2024 is to improve your financial health, then you're in the right place. In our opinion, the first step is to...
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048: Your Ultimate Guide to 2023 Year-End Tax and Financial Planning
As the calendar pages flip towards the imminent 2024, it's the perfect moment to execute those strategic financial maneuvers that will set the stage for a successful tax season and ensure you leave the year on a high note. If you've been tuning in regularly, you already know we've been through…
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047: What's Going on in the Bay Area Housing Market?
Discussions about the housing market are always a hot topic. Here in the Bay Area, the housing market has been interesting, to say the least! Local reports say that since August of 2023, home prices are back on the rise after a 14-month decline, the longest period since 2012. And yet demand is...
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046: Preventing and Recognizing Elder Abuse
Elder abuse - it's a topic often avoided because the reality of it is difficult to face. However, it's a vital conversation and brings forward the importance of combating mistreatment through education and advocacy. Unfortunately, the elderly population is more susceptible to being taken…
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045: Want to Retire on a Lump Sum? Here's How
Retirement is a milestone we all aspire to, and for many, choosing a lump sum can be the key to financial freedom. However, it can also be daunting. While enticing, the prospect of receiving a substantial cash payout from your employer can come with a particular responsibility and the need to…
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044: Senior Living Options: What's Right for Me?
With aging comes many difficult decisions. One of those is determining the best living situation for your later years, specifically, choosing a senior living community. In fact, the US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the number of adults 65 and older who will need to move...
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043: Why is Pre-Need Planning for Funeral and Cemetery Arrangements So Important?
Contemplating what will happen to you after you die can be emotionally challenging, so it's no wonder most of us avoid it at all costs. However, certain end-of-life choices have to be dealt with one way or another. 82% of people don't pre-plan their funeral and cemetery details, which means their...
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042: Could a Family Legacy Documentary Help Preserve Your History and Family's Future?
Have you ever heard of the adage "shirtsleeve to shirtsleeves in three generations?" It refers to the inability of children and grandchildren to manage family wealth that has been passed down. And it starts with the classic American dream story. One of the first generations hits it out of the…
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041: Planning for Retirement? Avoid These 10 Investment Blunders
In simple terms, retirement planning is what we do to prepare for life when we stop working – financially and via lifestyle choices. It's about determining specific goals for this future time in our lives and how we can achieve them by identifying income sources, estimating expenses, building...
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040: Is a Home Maintenance Plan Worth It? Will it Save You Money?
If you're a homeowner, how often have you been overwhelmed by home repairs and maintenance? You find a problem, like a leak, and before you can even begin hiring someone, you must research to find out who to call. But how do you know where to start? And who can you really trust in your home? And…
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039: What Legal Documents Does My 18-Year-Old Need?
It's a phone call no parent wants to get. Their 18-year-old child has gone off to college, leaving the nest for the first time, and despite being the most level-headed and responsible teenager imaginable, they've landed in the hospital. Every parent's natural inclination is to do everything...
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038: How Do Investors Drive Positive Social Change Through Sustainable Investing?
Creating and sticking to an investment strategy that considers our personal values and the welfare of the planet and its people might seem like a relatively new concept, but it has been around for quite some time. In fact, centuries ago, the Quaker religion not only forbade its members from...
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037: What are the Seven Critical Times in Life That Require Estate Planning?
If you think that estate planning is something that can wait until your more "mature" years, you're not alone. Unfortunately, many people share this same impression. After all, what is there to plan for if you have no spouse, no children, and only modest assets? Plenty! There's much more to…
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036: Do We Really Need Stock Market Predictions
In most industries, you can generally rely on a legitimate professional's opinion for guidance. But the investment industry — or more specifically, the investment PREDICTION industry — is an altogether different animal. That seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? It sure feels like that trade would…
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035: How Do I Protect My Money During a Banking Crisis?
The recent failure of three regional banks has been front and center on our news screens. It has caused some substantial volatility in the financial markets, though not as much as you expected, given the circumstances. After all, it's pretty rare for FDIC-backed banks to fail, but here we are.…
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034: Rossmoor Financial Forum: The 3 I's – Inflation, Interest Rates, and Investing
Inflation and interest rates. They've been in the news quite a bit lately, and with good reason. Both have a profound effect on our everyday lives. We cannot help but feel inflation's sting every time we buy groceries or fill our gas tanks. And even those seemingly trivial items we once purchased...
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033: The Secure Act 2.0 is Here: How Does it Affect My Retirement Plans?
More retirement changes are here, as the Secure Act 2.0 passed Congress in the waning days of 2022, almost three years to the day after version 1.0 of the Act became law. Most of us harbor enough cynicism where the government is concerned to expect little in the way of "purpose-built"…
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032: The Top Financial Strategies That May Seem Illegal, But Aren't
"If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is." This axiom has been drilled into our heads — often since our youth — and most of the time, it's absolutely true. But, like many of the adages we've grown up with, there are exceptions. With its austere, "cut and dried" sensibilities, the...
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031: The Promise & Pitfalls of Debt & Credit
Many of us — if not most of us — have had it drilled into our heads since we were old enough to become consumers that carrying any debt, regardless of what kind of debt it is, should be avoided whenever possible. We see this belief constantly reinforced via shelves of financial "self-help" books,...
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030: IPOs – Road to Riches or Path to Poverty?
Fear of Missing Out — better known as FOMO these days — is a strong human emotion, to begin with, and when money is involved, its already considerable influence becomes even more powerful. You can make a pretty strong case that nothing taps into this alchemy of money-fueled emotion quite like…
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029: What Tax-Saving and Financial Planning Moves Should I Make Before Year-End?
The end of 2022 is upon us, and boy, has it been a bit of a roller coaster this year with inflation. But with only a few weeks left, it's time for us to make some important financial decisions and adjustments before that December 31st deadline. The heart-to-heart you have with your finances now...
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028: What You Need to Know When Picking Your Medicare Plan
Medicare Open Enrollment – a term that may be very familiar to you and nearly everyone else, but especially to those who are already on Medicare and want to drop or switch plans. October 15th through December 7th of each year is the period known as open enrollment and allows individuals ample...
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027: The Current State of Property Insurance — Are You Really Covered for a Loss?
Property insurance. Even if you consider yourself responsible, it might not be something you give much thought to — a "set it and forget it" item. At one time, you probably went out and bought the coverage you THOUGHT you needed, likely based on an incomplete set of considerations. And we're…
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026: Powerful One-of-a-Kind Strategies to Help You Amass Your Own Real Estate Empire Now
You've probably pondered the idea of investing in real estate, but with today's high prices, you might feel that it has become the exclusive territory of the wealthy. Or maybe the prospect of becoming a landlord brings more anxiety, with visions of late-night calls from tenants, water leaks, mold...
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025: How to Improve Your Investment Returns and Lower Your Tax Bill with Tax-Loss Harvesting
Where stocks and other liquid assets are concerned, nearly all of us are familiar with the time-tested axiom, "Buy Low, Sell High." But, as much as we try to adhere to that principle whenever possible, there are times when it does make sense to sell at a loss, specifically, when tax time rolls...
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024: The Real Estate Market Has Hit a Turning Point. Changes in the Home Buying and Investing Game
years, and it seems like it's taking us out for another ride as it works its' way back to "normal." Today, the seller's market is cooling down as interest rates begin to rise. In fact, mortgage applications are down 75% from a year ago—the lowest in 22 years. If you're in the market to purchase a...
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023: Downsizing, Relocating, or Assisted Living? How to Prepare for a Senior Move
More and more older adults are choosing to sell their homes or downsize as they enter retirement. There are a number of reasons for this trend. For one, many find that they don't need as much space as they did when raising a family. Additionally, maintaining a large home can be expensive and...
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022: Reverse Mortgages: When Do They Make Sense & What You Need to Know
Did you know that the average American holds 70-80% of their net worth in their home equity? For most retirees, it is their largest asset. Did you also know that you can use home equity to help boost your income during retirement? You may have heard of a little thing called a reverse mortgage.…
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021: Recession 101: History, Indicators, Planning, and More
Raise your hand if you're on the edge of your seat right now because of all the recession hype on the news? Don't be afraid. Let those hands fly. Many people are nervous right now because of inflation, high-interest rates, and the slightly negative growth we saw last quarter. And, yes, if it...
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020: Yes, Cash is Still King and Here's Why You Shouldn't Leave it in the Bank
In this day and age, who needs cash, right? You've got your debit card, credit card, and digital wallet. That should cover it. Well, sort of. We're here to shut down all the myths and tell you that cash is making a comeback. Yes, that green paper with presidential faces and numbers, the dollars…
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019: Make Sure Your Estate Plan Still Works for You and Your Family
According to a 2022 survey done by Caring.com, 1 in 3 Americans who do not have a will or a living trust claim they don't have enough assets to leave behind. We call that crazy! Now we get it. Estate planning is not something that is top of mind. No one wants to think about dying or a future...
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018: Former US Ambassador to Germany Talks Russia Invasion, Your Portfolio, and Market Impact
It's hard to turn on the T.V., pick up the newspaper, or look at social media without seeing something about Russia, Ukraine, sanctions, gas, oil, etc. The list goes on. There's so much noise and so much misinformation that it's hard to know what's what and how the Russian invasion is and will...
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017: Using a Family Meeting to Explain Your Estate Plan to Your Children
You may have heard this statistic from us before, but if you haven't, did you know that 90% of families fail to keep their wealth for three generations? Why? The top reasons include lack of communication, lack of trust within the family, unprepared heirs, and no purpose for the money or family...
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016: How to Have the "Money Talk" with Your Partner
Talking about money is difficult for people. If you've listened to our previous podcasts, you've probably heard us say that many of us grew up being taught not to talk about money. The problem is that it can lead to conflict, especially in relationships. As you may know, money is a top cause of...
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015: Standing Your Ground: Navigating Market Meltdowns Like a Champ
Podcast family gather round. Richard and Angela are back with another stock market reality check. As investors, many of us know that the stock market fluctuates daily. That's just what it does. It can be a hard thing to wrap your head around when you have a well-diversified portfolio, and all you...
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014: How to Keep Money from Ruining Your Marriage
More often than not, financial conversations tend to be a challenge. After all, money has been proven to be a significant stressor on marriage and familial relationships. Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, and one of the two biggest reasons is that darn green stuff. And when we're…
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013: One Week Left to Save a Bundle on Your 2021 Taxes
The holidays are coming to an end, and tax season is just around the corner. That means there are documents to gather, figures to add up and accounts to get in order. This can be an overwhelming task for even the most prepared individual, but it's so important to help you save some big money and...
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012: A Course in Mortgages with Erin Ekstrum
If you're thinking about purchasing a home or refinancing, chances are you've got a ton of information flying at you. And with that, you probably have many questions, like: What's the current mortgage rate? What type of loan is the best deal for me? What exactly do I need to know about Fannie Mae...
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011: Planned Successes, Unplanned Failures
A couple of typical questions we always get is, "what are other people doing, what's going on with your other clients?" Or "what can I be doing better? Is this not a smart direction to go?" Which is valid because there's always a learning opportunity to be had, right? Intelligent people know that...
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010: How to Pick the Right Investments for YOU!
As we all know, asset allocation is the implementation of investing in different types of assets like stocks, bonds, cash, etc. It is a strategy that balances risk and reward, but it is primarily based on you, the investor. Before you even think about asset allocation, you should really have your...
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09: Alphabet Soup: A Medicare Tell-All to Get You Ready for Enrollment
For the most part, everyone's heard about Medicare, right? The problem is that many people don't understand exactly what it is or how it works, which is crazy because everyone who turns 65 signs up for it. You would think that because it's a government program, for virtually everyone, they would...
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08: Annuities: Everything You Never Wanted to Know
Annuities sound great, right? Who doesn't want a guaranteed income stream for the rest of their life? Yes, that may sound great, but these insurance contracts actually come with A LOT of warnings. Many people don't understand them with all the confusing terminology and dozens of pages to go...
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07: Vacation Daddy: Integrating Your Values with Your Financial Decisions
When it comes to financial planning, we always start with the goal in mind. What do we want to do, where do you want to go in life, etc., and then we apply capital to achieve that goal. We have many clients who talk about setting goals for higher net worth, and that's a great goal to have. We…
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06 What's Up with Inflation? Watch or Listen in to Deflate Your Anxiety
Ah, inflation, the age-old monster in the money closet. It also happens to be a HOT topic of conversation these days. But right off the bat, we're going to say, word to the wise, dial your panic down. Sure, there has been lots of press about it this year, but it's also been a very different year...
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05: Retirement Plan Options for Small Businesses
Being a small business owner, working for a small business owner, or even being self-employed certainly has its perks, but there is also more of a thought process behind benefits like medical coverage, for instance, or more specifically, in our case, retirement plans. In fact, when it comes to...
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04: Biden Tax Proposal
You know what they say, "Nothing lasts forever," which is especially true for tax changes. How many have you seen in your lifetime? If you're older, then probably quite a few, and if you're younger, then saddle up. It's quite the roller coaster ride we're all on. Updating our estate plans,...
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03: Roth IRA: How to Build a Tax-Free Retirement
We all work hard for our money, right? So we can do all the things we want to do, but most importantly, we do it so we can retire comfortably. There's this "savings account" and that "retirement plan," but many people miss out on opportunities to maximize their savings. One of the most coveted...
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02: Why Should I Invest in Real Estate?
With pensions becoming a thing of the past, what is one relatively steady income stream that will increase over time without having money in the stock markets? This is sort of a trick question because the answer is in the title, real estate. Yes, we understand this can be a bit of a hard and fast...
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01: How to Retire on a Lump Sum
Let's be real, the last thing any of us want to do after retirement, is end up working as a greeter at Walmart when we're 85, right? If you want to get out and have something to do, that's great, but usually, that's not where we may see ourselves down the road. You've worked your whole life…
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About this show
Welcome to A Place of Possibility™, where we dive into the world of your wealth management, but not in the typical sense. For decades, Richard Del Monte and Angela Wright have been unpacking creative strategies to help clients understand how to make the most of their financial resources. To Richard and Angela, A Place of Possibility means assisting you in making all of your goals a reality - even if sometimes, they aren't money-related. Now they are taking their expertise to the next level by bringing these out-of-the-box solutions straight to a streaming service near you. Tapping into decades of experience in the finance and business sectors, Richard and Angela will tackle timely topics and connect with like-minded industry professionals to educate, inform, and help you literally take the next steps forward to live more of the life you want to live today, tomorrow and for the rest of your lifetime. It's time to find more than just wealth management. It's time to find your Place of Pos
Hosted by
Richard Del Monte and Angela Wright