Category Archives: Investing/Financial Planning

Financial Bottleneck Update – Getting Worse, Do Not Procrastinate …. FHFA Conforming Home Loan Adjustment New Amount …. 18% Increase to $647,200 … Wow … Compared to 2020 Increase of 7.5% …. Inflation? … Maybe … Friday

Posted on December 3, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Warning: Financial Bottlenecks are ….. well getting MORE bottlenecked

Do not procrastinate on transactions, especially ones planned, like donations, tax issues, account adjustments or necessary known in advance needed movement of money…

Do it now and avoid the stress if at all possible!

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled, a bit heavy Friday Post: FHFA Stunning Value Increase

A conforming or NON-jumbo Mortgage loan tends to have easier qualification terms, lower rates and lower down payment options … Of course each situation is different, but just on the normal margin, the preceding tends to be true…

FHFA Ups new confirming amount by 18% .. Wow

Earlier this week the FHFA here in this announcement, made the large increase announcement…

On a side note, just really enjoy the connections of the dots via our Government Agencies…OK, Digressing…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/30/2021

​Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the conforming loan limits (CLLs) for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) in 2022. In most of the U.S., the 2022 CLL for one-unit properties will be $647,200, an increase of $98,950 from $548,250 in 2021. 

Prior Year Release of 7.5%

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Baseline Limit Will Increase to $548,250

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE11/24/2020

​​Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2021.  In most of the U.S., the 2021 maximum conforming loan limit (CLL) for one-unit properties will be $548,250, an increase from $510,400 in 2020. 

Some takeaways:

  • Great for homeowners as they fight higher prices
  • Especially for possible new young homeowners that would not have otherwise qualified
  • Inflationary?
  • Possible, another, not cheap asset class

Did not mean to get all heavy on a Friday, but thought it worth noting……

Have a Great Friday, Super Weekend and Talk Next Week!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

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Posted in Debt - Debt Management, General Financial Planning, Investing/Financial Planning

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November 2021 Financial Planning and Capital Market Review – By John Kvale

Posted on December 1, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Hello and Welcome to our November 2021 Financial Planning and Capital Market Update!

If you are too busy to read, feel free to listen as we describe our post and thoughts in friendly podcast audio format as well as Video!

Newbies –

We like to articulate our thoughts and review on a Monthly basis our Financial Planning Tips, Capital Markets thoughts and current events!

Hope you enjoy!

Break In: The Brain is at it again….

Some very nice publicity for Donald, aka “The Brain” here in this post along with a neat link to the industry article.

November 2021 Video

YouTube

Financial Planning Tip(s)

New Retirement Limits

In this post titled “401k Plans Year 2022 Limits ($20,500 + $6,500 Catch Up), IRA Stay Same ($6,000 + $1,000 Catch Up) … Hmmm?” We go over the new limits and discuss why the catch up provisions are staying the same… the Hmmm part!

We go over not only the 401k and similar limits, but also the IRA and Roth limits and catch up provisions as well.

All of this from a handy IRS announcement found here at this link.

Capital Market Comments

TSA Throughput Update

One of our favorite monitoring of information is the individual TSA numbers that check passengers at the point of entrance.


Here in this post we discuss the latest updates and take note of the TSA’s new easier to graph for us, formatting… NICE!

Have a Great Day, Talk to You at the End of December!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Leave a comment

Posted in Audio, Clients/Clients Only, General Financial Planning, In The News, Investing/Financial Planning, Market Comments, Monthly Review, Podcast, Retirement Planning, Video

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Margin Debt Analysis … All Time Highs … Users and Take Away

Posted on November 29, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Debt, or more specifically Margin Debt which is used to add more gasoline to an investment position is at all time highs…

For the record, we rarely use or recommend the use of Margin Debt, but watch it for tells of investor behavior.

Margin Debt Analysis

Margin Debt is the lending of money in an investment account against securities owned, for the additional purchase of more securities. Think leverage and gasoline on an investment portfolio…

Margin is mostly used by professional investors, but has gained some attention of the new, very young investors…

While amplifying returns on the up side, it does just the opposite on the down side as well.

This Data from the Margin Debt portion of FINRA a broker regulatory agency

While a long term monthly graph, again from FINRA and not adjusted for GDP or Inflation, it is easy to see downward moves in capital markets cause Margin to decrease.

While at an all time high, many investors who may have never felt a real down capital market may be over their skis….

Not to worry, we will keep you posted on this, as we have in the past!

Have a Great “Margin Debt Update” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Leave a comment

Posted in Debt - Debt Management, Investing/Financial Planning

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BREAK IN – Financial Processing Bottlenecks Continue to be Delayed, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE … Party Tomorrow … Crooks are Still Out, Credit Card Fraud X 2 … Friday Before Thanksgiving Week … Office Hours Next Week, Technology Tethered Mostly

Posted on November 19, 2021 by | Leave a comment

BREAK IN – Financial Processing Bottlenecks Continue

We mentioned earlier, but want to reiterate that we are seeing slowing of processing especially manual (think human touch processes) as we near the end of the year.

DO NOT PROCRASTINATE any unique financial transaction as there is likely a slow player somewhere in the Financial Food chain! Curve balls happen, but really try to anticipate any unusual Financial movements you may have from here to years end… it will make for a much less stressful ride to the finish line!

Party, it’s a Party Party – Tomorrow DAC 3-5 pm

We look forward to seeing all of you at the party tomorrow at DAC from 3-5 PM…

We lucked out on the weather and as such will have an indoor and outdoor area to meet and greet… Moving closer to Norm once again! YAY

Crooks are NOT on Holiday

As mentioned here, the travel schedule has happily fired back up, for the record in a very quick time…

With a two day turnaround trip to another state about two weeks ago, the large Fraudulent charge was not a surprise and caught immediately….

The second immediate charge of slightly different amount but to the same company slipped through the cracks as a slow processing of the original charge…. Well done there Mr. Crook…. but no harm done…

Needless to say, the Crooks are out in full force…. Oh… and for the record a new Travel Only Card is in the works for just this type of defense …

Friday Before Thanksgiving Week – Office Hours

Ahhhh…. Today is a Friday heading into a Thanksgiving Day Week…

With the kids off the ENTIRE week for the first time ever, we will be loosely covering the office in alternating shifts, thanks to tethered technology… (None of us are 100% on where we will actually be, thanks again Mr. Technology!)

Expect MAYBE one last posting of the most popular video EVER, Blooper’s Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a GREAT Friday, enjoy your day, weekend, and restful Holiday Week Next Week!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Leave a comment

Posted in Clients/Clients Only, Cyber, General Financial Planning, Investing/Financial Planning, John Kvale, Personal, Reminder

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401k Plans Year 2022 Limits ($20,500 + $6,500 Catch Up), IRA Stay Same ($6,000 + $1,000 Catch Up) … Hmmm?

Posted on November 15, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Great News for corporate and similar retirement plans as we get a 5% (actually 5.13%) bump in contribution limits…yay

Not sure what happened to the cost of living adjustments (COLA) for regular IRA’s, Roth’s and our catch up provisions as they are stuck once again at the same levels? Maybe they are only going to increase them every four years which puts an increase next year? Maybe they (IRS) does not want to confuse us? Either way, here are the updated rules from the IRS latest release for year 2022 !

The following from this IRS.GOV announcement and hot links are live back to the IRS website if you have deeper questions on each subject!

Deferral limits for 401(k) plans 

The limit on employee elective deferrals (for traditional and safe harbor plans) is:

  • $20,500 in 2022 ($19,500 in 2021 and 2020; and $19,000 in 2019), subject to cost-of-living adjustments

Catch-up contributions for those age 50 and over

If permitted by the 401(k) plan, participants age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can also make catch-up contributions. You may contribute additional elective salary deferrals of:

  • $6,500 in 2022, 2021 and 2020 and $6,000 in 2019 – 2015 to traditional and safe harbor 401(k) plans

Deferral limits for IRA Roth 

For 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019, the total contributions you make each year to all of your traditional IRAs  and Roth IRAs can’t be more than:

  • $6,000 ($7,000 if you’re age 50 or older), or
  • If less, your taxable compensation for the year

Traditional IRAs

  • Retirement plan at work: Your deduction may be limited if you (or your spouse, if you are married) are covered by a retirement plan at work and your income exceeds certain levels.
  • No retirement plan at work: Your deduction is allowed in full if you (and your spouse, if you are married) aren’t covered by a retirement plan at work.

These charts show the income range in which your deduction may be disallowed if you or your spouse participates in a retirement plan at work:

2022

2021

Roth IRAs

This table shows whether your contribution to a Roth IRA is affected by the amount of your modified AGI as computed for Roth IRA purpose.

If your filing status is…And your modified AGI is…Then you can contribute…
married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)< $204,000up to the limit
single, head of household, or married filing separately and you did not live with your spouse at any time during the year< $129,000up to the limit

Have a Great “Year 2022 Retirement Limits Update” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Leave a comment

Posted in General Financial Planning, Investing/Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Tax Related

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Donald Capone aka “The Brain” Interviewed Again for his Expertise … Well Done “DC” !

Posted on November 10, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Those of you that have ever been on a call with “The Brain” (aka Donald) ….and have heard him clicking the keyboard doing scenario analysis, such as exact tax implications post a move as well as detailed allocations and historical analysis, may wonder how he has all of this information at a moments notice….

The technical name is IRebal, a super powerful portfolio and investment tool! Donald has mastered the program, helped update the views and also given valuable input on the most important future direction of the tool…..

Donald “The Brain” Gets Flattering Publicity

This is directly from a major industry publication Wealth Management

“The landing page [of the dashboard] tells you all the info you need right off the bat … and allows you to make that quick decision on a visual level and ask yourself ‘do I need to dig into something deeper?’ That ‘yes’ or ‘no’ just did not exist in the old view,” said Donald Capone, the main portfolio manager in the two-advisor shop of J.K. Financial, Inc. based in Dallas. In the older version, getting to that step required him to run a seperate query. 

He said that the firm used the right term when calling the re-design of the interface a “modernization.”

“It definitely looks like you would expect it to now—it’s doing the exact same thing we’ve been doing with it from the beginning but now it matches with what expectations are of what software should look like these days,” said Capone. That should make it easier for new users to adopt the tool, he said. 

“It looks more inviting, less daunting,” he said of the new grid interface, which allows advisors to drill down more deeply right from the screen without losing their place and having to navigate back. There are also improved filtering features and simpler navigation, he said.

Well done Donald, just great!

Have a Great “The Brain Does It Again” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Leave a comment

Posted in Donald Capone, Investing/Financial Planning, Personal, Quote, Retirement Planning, Tax Related

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TSA Throughput Update … Are We Traveling Again? Sorta …

Posted on November 8, 2021 by | Leave a comment

As mentioned last Friday, with travels under the belt. wonder of the actual number of bodies headed back to the airports was born.

No doubt, there are fewer flights, less direct and certainly less convenient from a personal sample standpoint… oh and a lot more delays and changes….

A click over to the TSA government website for an updated graph…oh, thank goodness the formatting is better, making the graph much easier to create in short order and accurately (hat tip JP) … those with permanent memories of our posts may recall a web site mentioned here that was neat and had all sorts of cool features…. which is now subscription based…. grrr …. Not to worry, new TSA Formatting to the rescue…

Updated TSA Throughput as of 11-6-21 – Getting Closer

While at a Halloween get together, the night before a trip, mention of the up coming trip(s) garnered multiple comments from former road warrior travelers (weekly) that they were permanently grounded and had no plans or intentions to move from the Virtual meeting to the actual in flesh….

Wonder if my small sample size means the difference noted in the graph above is from the Business Traveler… were not very many on my small sample size!

Have a Great “TSA Updated Traveler” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

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Posted in Investing/Financial Planning, John Kvale, Personal

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Holiday Party RSVP Reminder … Slower Processing Near Year End … Time Change … Donald “The Brain” Shines Preview … Friday

Posted on November 5, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Our 25th Annual Holiday Party is shaping up to be great fun…. We have a neat surprise at the event, VR (Virtual Reality) for those that have not seen the possible future of meetings, gaming and communication… Thanks to the 14 year old for setting this up!

RSVP Deadline is Monday November 8, but we have a little wiggle room if you have reason for a late decision!

Slower Processing Time Warning

A while ago here, we mentioned the commencement of RMD’s (Required Minimum Distributions), next week these will occur in full force as we are detecting early softness in processing times, very similar to year end last year…

Do not wait till the last minute for any year end processing similar to the RMD i.e. Donations, contributions, time sensitive matters of any sort… there are still tons of remote workers in all parts of our transaction food chains….

Last minute processing will most certainly lead to added stress…. who needs that, so jump now and avoid the stress! We are heeding our own words!

Fall Back – Time Change

While not our favorite time of the year, being glass half full, with the Sunday November 7th time change, those morning outdoor workouts will be a bit brighter, of course as the expense of earlier sunsets….

Don’t forget to go to bed a bit earlier on Saturday night as your Sunday morning will come Fast Fast… heck, hardly any clocks need changing as most do it automatically,…. well Microwave and Car don’t but the trusted Cell and many other do!

Donald “DC” The Brain Shines Preview

Some of you call him the Wonder Kid, that fits too and he doesn’t mind at all….

You guys hear of my triumphs all the time, so certainly want to give “The Brain” his well earned cover as well…even though he probably would not have it if it was up to him…luckily I have the keyboard…haha (Maybe too much coffee this am .. sorry)

Next week, will include some national media “The Brain” has garnered from his continued expertise with some very technical portfolio tools that he has not only mastered, but been an important voice in the updates, changes and look of for future improvements…

Well Done and congratulations on the Recognition!

TGIF

With some travels under the belt, today, Friday feels nice…. looking forward to a recharging weekend….

Get ready though, back at it strong next week…

Enjoy your Friday and weekend!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Leave a comment

Posted in Donald Capone, General Financial Planning, Investing/Financial Planning, Personal

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The Great Bottle Neck – Port of Los Angeles – Visual Capitalist

Posted on November 3, 2021 by | Leave a comment

No doubt, in some form or fashion you have experienced some delay in a product.

Maybe a home furnishing?

Maybe a part or tool?

Maybe a vehicle?

Maybe clothing?

This great chart and comments from our friends here at Visual Capitalist helps explain:

Stuck at Sea

As of November 2, 2021, the Port of Los Angeles reported that it had 93 vessels waiting in queue. Altogether, these ships have a maximum carrying capacity of roughly 540,000 containers (commonly measured in twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs).

On the other side of the equation, the port processed 468,059 import containers in September (the most recent data at the time of writing). Because the port does not operate on Sundays, we can conclude that the port can load roughly 18,000 containers each day.

That capacity seems unlikely to reduce the congestion. Over a two-week timeframe in September, 407,695 containers arrived at the Port of Los Angeles, which averages to around 29,000 containers arriving each day.

Have a Great “Delayed Supply Explanation” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

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Posted in Economy, Investing/Financial Planning

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October 2021 Financial Planning and Capital Market Review – By John Kvale

Posted on November 1, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Hello and Welcome to our October 2021 Financial Planning and Capital Market Update!

If you are too busy to read, feel free to listen as we describe our post and thoughts in friendly podcast audio format as well as Video!

Newbies –

We like to articulate our thoughts and review on a Monthly basis our Financial Planning Tips, Capital Markets and current events!

Hope you enjoy!

BREAK IN – HONORED BY D MAGAZINE NOMINATION

Important Disclosure

October 2021 Video

YouTube

Financial Planning Tip(s)

Cell Text Spam and Calls

With the handy, cell phone which is almost like carrying around a powerful computer, replacing our land lines, in this post we remind all to be very careful in which calls you answer and most importantly clicking on a hot link of a text you may have received on you cell… DO NOT BITE!

Here is an example of a very dangerous spam text – do not click on that hotlink as you will be directed to a bad place that may cause your cell harm…

Grant Williams Podcast with Sam Zell

A new found favorite way of continued learning and education, frequently while jogging or walking, in this post, a review of a fantastic hour long podcast with Sam Zell via the Grant Williams Podcast series…

Favorite Notes:

Staying Power is the name of the game… No surprises!

Real money by long term holdings, be patient.

Will you slow down?  People ask me that all the time…”Slow down from what…I like what I do,”

Capital Market Comments

Bonds, Interest Rate Headwind Reminders

In 2018 as interest rates smartly began rising, we reminded folks, those especially with more conservative allocations (larger allocations to bonds) that the immediate effect of higher interest rates are a slight headwind to bond portfolios. For the record, they are big headwinds to very long dated bond portfolios i.e. 30 years, which is why we stay away from such portfolios…

Fast forward to the beginning of the year and very recently, we felt the need to remind again here. The fantastic news is that with shorter dated portfolios as mentioned above, this headwind turns into money in our pockets in the form of higher income as rates again smartly rise on the expectation of greater economic growth prospects.

Have a Great Day, Talk to You at the End of November!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Leave a comment

Posted in Audio, Clients/Clients Only, Cyber, General Financial Planning, Interest Rates, Investing/Financial Planning, Market Comments, Monthly Review, Podcast, Video

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