During this holiday season we wanted to provide you with tips/resources to prevent scammers from getting your personal information as you increase your online activity for the holidays:

Phone Tips

·        Never provide personal information such as social security, credit card or bank account numbers to anyone even if they say they are a government worker, especially if they called you.

·        Government agencies like the IRS, SSA and the FBI will not call you on the phone if they need to communicate but rather send you a letter or email.

Internet Tips

·        When making online purchases, use only one credit card for all purchases

·        Ensure that websites have secure payment process prior to submitting payment

·        Never open or respond to an email that you are not familiar with or recognize

General Tips

·        Get and review a free copy of your credit report at least every 12 months from each credit report company @ www.annualcreditreport.com

·        Monitor your credit statements monthly for any fraudulent activity.

·        Report unauthorized transactions to your bank, financial firm or credit card company ASAP.

Learn more on the Bloomington Police Department website @ www.cityblm.org/police or www.facebook.com/cityblmPD. They have several informative brochures that you can download.

Haiti covets your prayers as it endures a dire political, security, economic, and humanitarian crisis. As gangs now control much of the country’s food, water, and fuel, access to these commodities is difficult and evermore unaffordable leaving the thin buffer between life and death tenuous, and about to slip away for many.

Against significant odds, God is sovereign and has allowed Midwest Food Bank Haiti to deliver and distribute 5 sea containers of food in 2022 (100+ tons, nearly 1.2m servings), and a 6th container currently sits in port. While distribution is arduous and dangerous, faithful partners and pastors, some walking 20 miles for a couple of boxes of food, are living out Matthew 25:35, “I was hungry and you fed me”.

In addition to leaning on our network of partners to share the gospel and feed the hungry, due to faithful support from donors like Joyfully Scattering Blessings, MFB Haiti continues to support 32 child feeding centers (1,600 kids aged 0-5) that we co-sponsor near Pignon. And we have a new partnership near Les Cayes to package our healthy, MFB Tender Mercies product in-country, purchasing locally grown beans and rice and adding protein, vitamins, minerals and seasoning.

To learn more about Midwest Food Bank, click here.

Nobody likes taxes. They are burdensome, expensive, and seem to rise every year. Why do we pay so much? For those in Illinois, this question might come up more than those who live elsewhere. So, what does it really look like for those of us who live here? What can you expect moving here? Where should I retire? And how do we rank compared to other states in the Unites States? I hope to generalize most of these complex questions into simple terms, and help you understand what it means to live in this expensive state.

State Tax Breakdown

There is no denying that we live in one of the most tax-oppressive states in the country. Chicago, being one of the largest and most populous cities in the U.S., dictates the majority of our state’s major taxes. Let’s jump right in. What does it cost to live here? How does this compare with other states in the U.S.?

• Income tax – Simply, this is the amount of money that the government takes from your paychecks from hours worked at your job.

  • Illinois currently has a flat 5% income tax rate for every state resident. This means that if you were to make $100,000 in the year 2021, 5% would be removed as income tax by the state of Illinois. An additional federal effective tax rate of 15% would apply to this salary in Illinois, equating a grand total of 20% being removed in income tax. This makes Illinois one of the most expensive income tax states in the United States for those with lower or average salaries, but a reasonable state for those who make higher or much higher than the national averages.

  • Let’s compare this to other states’ averages. California, New York, Oregon, and New Jersey have maximum state income brackets near or over 10%. Even Iowa has a 9% income tax bracket for moderate to high earners. These states do not work in the best interest of their top earners but may be beneficial for those with average income or below.

  • Currently nine states have no income tax at all. A few of these include Florida, Texas, Washington, Nevada, and Alaska. These states could save you thousands of dollars per year in income tax alone

• Property tax – Many people believe that states with no state income tax make up for this loss by raising property taxes, or taxes on land and home ownership. And this may be true, however:

  • The increase in property taxes from states with no income tax pales in comparison to the Illinois property tax average. At over 2.25%, Illinois has the second highest property tax in the United States.

  • Compare this to Florida at 0.89% and Texas at 1.80%. Clearly, the benefits of living in a state with no income tax continue to pay off more so than living in

    Illinois.

  • A moderate average across the country lies around 1% or less, with the lowest rate at 0.28%

• Social Security and Medicare tax – All 50 states require a 6.2% Social Security tax rate, and an additional 2.9% Medicare rate, but only a few of them tax benefits as income when they are taken out.

  • Fortunately, Illinois is not one of these states

  • The states that do include a Social Security withdrawal tax include CO, MN, WV, KS, CT, RI, UT, NE, MT, and VT.

• Gas tax – A gas can be implemented to strengthen infrastructure, including public recreation, general roads, and highways. However, this can be taken advantage of as a means to simply tax more for less.

  • Illinois currently has the fifth highest gas tax in the United States at $0.39c/gallon, doubling from 2019’s $0.19c/gallon rate prompted by Governor Pritzker’s $45 billion infrastructure initiative.

  • This lags behind only California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Washington, who see gas taxes anywhere from $0.45c/gallon to $0.51c/gallon

  • The national average lies around $0.20c/gallon

• Sales tax – Sales tax involves the taxation of goods and services.

  • Illinois ranks #37 in the nation for best sales tax, at a rate of 6.25%. Only 13 states have a higher sales tax.

  • Some of these include CA, RN, RI, MS, NJ, MN, NV, WA, KS and a couple more.

  • The national average for sales tax lies around 4%, with states such as Oregon, New Hampshire, Montana, Delaware, and Alaska having no sales tax at all.

  • Local taxes play a significant role in sales tax as well, with Illinois having one of the highest average local taxes on sales in the country, shooting its combined sales and local tax into the fourth worst in the nation.

• Capital Gains tax – This tax is federally implemented across all states for investment gains but is taxed additionally at varying rates across the state level.

  • The federal government will tax capital gains at a rate of 0%, 15%, or 20% for long-term investment sales (over 1 year) according to brackets. Low income earners may not be taxed on capital gains at all, while a high earner could be taxed 20% on gains.

  • Illinois will tack on an additional flat 4.95% tax to capital gains across the board, meaning that the highest earners for capital gains in this state would be taxed at least 25% on their long-term profits.

  • Short-term gains (<1 year) will be taxed as income according to tax bracket, which ranges from roughly 10% to 35%, meaning that a short-term sale from the highest earners in Illinois could have gains taxed at 40% or more.

  • Compare this to other states, and Illinois is roughly right in the middle of the pack. For large earners, the 5% additional tax may not be to terrible, especially if you consider states like California and New Jersey, who tax an additional 13.3% and 10.75%, respectively.

Hopefully this document opened your eyes to different taxes that come out of your paycheck. It is imperative to be educated about what your state is doing with your money, so that you can make responsible decisions with the money that you make. This may also help you realize that living in Illinois is a financial challenge. Living and working in this state is not cheap, and it a useful tool to compare differences across states to see if moving either for work or retirement is a good idea for you.

You may want to consider adding a trusted contact to your account. A trusted contact is simply someone disconnected from your accounts that you believe will act in your best interests in special circumstances. This person could include a family member, a close friend, or legal counsel. Locate this agreement form on Wealthport place #25 to designate a Trusted Contact or on the Client Financial Suitability Form.  This option authorizes us, but does not require us to reach out to your trusted contact if exceptional circumstances arise, such as:

·        Questions about your well-being or health are immediately raised

·        Potential financial exploitation has been recognized

·        We cannot reach you

Here are some important things to know regarding your decision to set up a trusted contact:

·        The trusted contact for a single client may DIFFER for two separate account types.

·        A trusted contact IS NOT authorized to contact the advisor or Cambridge to transact business or obtain private information related to the client without legal (e.g. POA)

·        A trusted contact will be used primarily as a RESOURCE in cases of financial exploitation. It is highly recommended that the person NOT be someone already authorized on the client’s account, such as a joint owner. The purpose of a trusted contact is to permit Cambridge to notify someone that is not already a party to the information in case they suspect financial exploitation.

·        Cambridge needs the following information on a trusted contact: name, address, relationship, and phone number.

If you would like more information regarding the Trusted Contact process, please reach out to your advisory team.

Dear friends,

One of Dave’s favorite historical fun facts is that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day, July 4 th , 1926 – exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. These two great Presidents and Founding Fathers shared a common goal of American independence but differed vastly on the role government would play in maintaining that independence once secured. Despite these differences in approach, they were able to provide an impressive model to all citizens to follow on how to work together to accomplish mutual goals for the greater good of our country. It seems appropriate that they would leave this earth on the same day.

Likewise, Darrell and Dave share a commitment stated in our DFS mission “to help our clients experience freedom in their financial lives and then impact those whom they care about the most.”

Nevertheless, we undoubtedly approach this goal differently not only because we have different personalities but because each client plan should be tailored to each client’s unique situation.

As we gather to celebrate the 4th, let us remember and never take for granted the freedom our country continues to afford each of us. Let us look at the wonderful example of Adams and Jefferson’s partnership as our guide in approaching issues and problems of the day; that is to commit ourselves to their ideals of grace, compromise, respect, and trust serving to unite us rather than pull us apart.

Happy Independence Day everyone!!!

Darrell & Dave