There are two old sayings, the more things change, the more they remain the same and time is money! My translation for the first saying is “The ONLY thing that is constant is change!”
We are in the middle of massive changes now as technology doubles every 5 years, cars drive themselves, automobiles are transitioning to electric vehicles, airports have robot baristas making coffee, and phones are voice-activated and have become very smart!
I thought this would be a good time to look back 100 years ago to the Roaring ’20s to see how time IS money, as well as the increase in costs of goods.
Here are some statistics from 1922:
*The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
*The United States population as of July 1, 1922, was 110.05 million.
*Fuel for cars was sold in drug stores only.
*Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
*Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
*The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
*The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
*The average US wage in 1922 was 22 cents per hour.
*The average US worker earned between $200 and $400 per year.
*A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year.
*A dentist earned $2,500 per year.
*A veterinarian earned between $1,500 and 4,000 per year.
*More than 95 percent of all births took place at home.
*Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they
attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in
the press AND the government as “substandard.”
*Sugar costs four cents a pound.
*Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
*Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
*Most women only washed their hair once a month and used Borax or egg
yolks for shampoo.
*Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering their country for any reason!
The Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
*The American flag had 45 stars…
*The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30.
*Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.
*There was neither a Mother’s Day nor a Father’s Day.
*Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write and only 6 percent
of all Americans had graduated from high school.
*Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!”
*Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help…many times it was a spinster Aunt or an immigrant relative newly arrived in America.
*There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.
Forty years later there were futuristic science fiction movies and TV shows such as:
“Financial Wave” readers can take advantage of time and money as multi-year guaranteed (MYG) fixed annuity rates are now over 5 percent. By the time you read this column, there is a good chance that the Federal Reserve will have raised short-term interest rates by 50-75 (between ½ and ¾ percent) basis points at their November 1st and 2nd meeting.
The Federal Reserve generally meets 8 times per year, about every 6 weeks. The last meeting of the year is December 13-14. The odds are good of another 50-basis point (1/2 percent) increase in December.
Fixed Annuity interest rate increases usually lag the Federal Reserve rate increases by 2-4 weeks. What this means to you is that by the end of January or the beginning of February, you would be able to lock in at a 6% guaranteed tax-deferred rate for the next 5-7 years regardless of future rate increases.
Fixed Annuities are superior to CDs (Certificate of Deposits) because they are tax-deferred and CD income is taxable (even if you don’t withdraw money) using the Rule of 72, 6% divided into 72 = 12 years that it takes for money to double because there is no tax levied on fixed annuities.
Now that is Time = Money! If you want to learn more about which insurance companies have the highest fixed multi-year guaranteed tax-deferred annuity interest rates, feel free to reach out to me at Rob@InsuranceDoctor.us