This lesson made Warren Buffett a billionaire:
— Matt Allen (@investmattallen) January 31, 2024
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Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
Citi AAdvantage Executive World Credit Card
Frequent American Airlines flyers have one big reason to consider the Citi AAdvantage Executive World credit card with its $595-a-year fee: It comes with access to the carrier’s exclusive airport lounges, wrote Gregory Karp and Craig Joseph.
The advantages of the card include:
Pros
- Admirals Club® membership for you and access for up to two guests or immediate family members traveling with you.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases.
- Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases.
- First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 8 companions traveling with you on the same reservation.
- $100 credit on Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years.
- 25% discount on in-flight food and beverages on AA flights.
- Priority boarding, check-in and screening on AA flights.
- Luxury perks
One of the easiest ways to get an Admirals Club membership is to get the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard. The credit card includes access to nearly 100 Admirals Club® and partner lounges worldwide. Immediate family (spouse, domestic partner and/or children under 18) or up to 2 guests may join you. Up to $850 value.
This card has some great perks that would interest anybody looking to frequently fly with American Airlines, such as: 2X on purchases on American Airlines, free baggage, and priority boarding privileges.
Priority check-in offers you a special counter area for you to check in at many airports. These check-in areas (seen below) can have much smaller crowds than the standard check-in areas so you can save a lot of time.
Priority boarding privileges
The priority boarding benefit will display on your American Airlines boarding pass as “Group 4.”
This is the final group in the priority boarding group, so you’ll be boarding before all the economy passengers but you’ll still have some first class and elites in boarding in front of you.
Additionally, American Airlines implemented a fully dynamic award chart, where the number of miles required for a free flight changes based on demand.
For low-demand periods, you can reportedly find flights within the lower 48 states for as low as 7,500 miles each way.
The bottom line is if access to Admirals Club airport lounges is a high priority for you, then this is your card.
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TRICARE Fit with Medicare
At age 65, TRICARE health care plans morph into the TRICARE For Life Medicare supplement plan, also known as TFL. For TFL to function, you must have Medicare Parts A and B. Health care providers bill Medicare as the primary payer and TRICARE as the secondary payer.
If you’re entitled to premium-free Medicare Part A, you must also have Medicare Part B to keep TRICARE, regardless of your age or place of residence (exceptions to this rule are discussed in the Delaying Medicare Part B Enrollment section).
Once you have both Medicare Part A and Part B, you automatically receive TRICARE benefts under TRICARE For Life (TFL). TFL is the health plan for TRICARE benefciaries who have Medicare Part A and Part B. Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage plans) and Part D (prescription drug coverage) aren’t required for you to have TFL coverage.
Regardless of your age or the age of your spouse, you will not lose TRICARE medical coverage if you do not signup for Medicare. Simply enroll in Medicare and TRICARE For Life. Your window to apply starts three months before the month you turn 65. It lasts seven months.
But don’t wait. Two or three months before your birthday, visit Medicare.gov and enroll. Early enrollment ensures you receive your Medicare card in the mail. Your TFL coverage begins the first day you have both Medicare Parts A and B; there is no separate enrollment paperwork for TRICARE For Life.
Medicare Part A has no premium. Part B has a monthly premium based on your income level. The Part B premium is per person, per month. Medicare uses the last reported tax filing, two years ago, from the IRS to determine your income level. Search “Part B Cost” at Medicare.gov to find your current cost.
If you travel overseas, your TFL converts to TRICARE Select Overseas. You’ll be covered at TRICARE Select rates. You will pay for services overseas out of your own pocket and be reimbursed by TRICARE after you file a claim.
Understanding all the nuances of health care can be tricky. MOAA has subject-matter experts on hand to assist Premium and Life Members. Call (800) 234-6622 or email msc@moaa.org and we can properly direct you to assistance.
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Straight Bourbon Requirements
Wood and time are the two most expensive items to producing bourbon, and that the most valuable commodity at any distillery is experience.
The terms, KENTUCKY – STRAIGHT – BOURBON – WHISKEY, all mean something on their own, and when they appear together..
Read a bourbon label can be challenging. But if you know the procedures and all that is involved, a bourbon label typically gives you the age, state, and brand.
On May 4th, 1964, Congress passed a resolution designating bourbon as the native spirit of the United States. This resolution codified the industry standards for production and claimed that anything labeled and sold as bourbon had to be made exclusively in the United States. And, this legislation differentiates bourbon from Scotch, Irish, Japanese, and other types of whiskeys.
Here are a few of the basic categories, terms, and general whiskey vocabulary on your bourbon label:
A bourbon whiskey must meet the following qualifications to be considered bourbon:
- It must be distilled from a grain mash consisting of at least 51% corn.
- It must be distilled at a maximum of 160 proof, and barreled at a maximum of 125 proof.
- It must be aged in a new, charred oak container. Additionally, the oak must be virgin, meaning that the container cannot have been used for any other purpose prior to the whiskey entering and the barrel used to age bourbon may only be used once. The industry standard is an American white oak barrel, usually 53 gallons.
- Additional flavoring or coloring may not be added to the distilled spirit. Only water, to cut the proof, or bourbon from other barrels may be added to the whiskey.
- It must be made in the United States.
The term “straight” bourbon is a legal reference to the liquor’s age. Straight whiskey is aged for a minimum of 2 years. It is rare that a whiskey develops any depth of flavor prior to that 2-year mark.
Proof
Proof, or alcohol by volume (ABV), determines a lot about the juice inside the bottle: flavor profile, mouth feel, aroma and overall strength. Distillers can’t legally sell 100 percent alcohol as Bourbon, so they dilute it with water to the desired ratio. The proof changes slightly while the Bourbon is in the barrel and some evaporation occurs. ABV – Alcohol by Volume, proof (which is 2 times the ABV in the U.S.)
Mash Bill
Mash bill tells you the type of grain the Bourbon is made of. To be Bourbon, whiskey has to contain between 51 and 80 percent corn; distillers augment the corn with various amounts of malted barley, wheat and/or rye,
Single Barrel
This product is a bottling which consists of whiskey from one barrel. No other barrels go into bottling. When purchasing single barrel whiskeys, there will be significant variances between barrels.
Cask Strength
This indicates that water isn’t added to the whiskey after aging, prior to bottling. Typically whiskeys of this sort will be sold at higher than 46% ABV, but there isn’t a minimum. Most other whiskeys are sold between 40-46% ABV as their standard proof.
NCF (Non Chilled-Filtered)
Chill-filtration is the industrial process by which some companies remove congeners from their products. At lower temperature and/or when water is added to whiskey which hasn’t been chill-filtered, the whiskey becomes cloudy. Additionally, there are small particles which are removed by this process to ensure the whiskey is clear of debris. However, these congeners and particles contain flavor and texture and removing them affects the end result.
Age Statement
Increasingly, NAS (no age-statement) whiskeys are a product makes a claim that their whiskey is x number of years old, not a drop of whiskey in the bottling can be younger than that age statement. The product can be older, but it cannot be any younger. With whiskey, if a bottling is stating their whiskey is x number of years old, you can be guaranteed that it is at least that old.
Straight
This term is only used with American whiskeys. It means that the whiskey is aged at least two years in charred new oak barrels (straight corn whiskey can be aged in used charred oak barrels or un-charred new oak). It can be a blend of more than one straight whiskey type (i.e. bourbon, rye, wheat, corn), provided all the whiskey comes from the same state.
Understanding the meaning behind words and phrases on a bourbon label helps the consumer make more informed choices when looking to purchase a valuable product.
Bonded or Bottle-in-Bond
A term which is only used in the United States. Whiskey which is aged for a minimum of four years under government supervision; distilled from one distillery, one distiller, and from one distilling season. The whiskey is also bottled at 50% ABV..
- The product of one distillation season and one distiller at one distillery
- It must have been stored (i.e., aged) in a federally bonded warehouse under U.S. government supervision for at least four years
- Bottled at 100 proof (50% alcohol by volume).
- The bottled product’s label must identify the distillery (by DSP number) where it was distilled and, if different, where it was bottled.
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U.S. Money Supply Drives Inflation
“Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.” – Milton Friedman
Economist Steve Hanke view has been that the volatile and non-transitory inflation of recent years is chiefly due to changes (a significant increase) in the US money supply, not other factors such as supply-chain disruptions and swings in energy and metal prices.
Hanke, a former economic advisor to Ronald Reagan, served as the president of Toronto Trust Argentina when it was the world’s best-performing market mutual fund in 1995.
“As Milton Friedman taught us long ago, inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon,” Hanke said. “That’s why our forecast, based off the quantity theory of money, has been so accurate.”
“Inflation is taxation without representation.” ~ Milton Friedman
The veteran economist Hanke and a colleague, John Greenwood, predicted in July 2021 that the headline Consumer Price Index would rise as quickly as 9% on an annualized basis; it peaked at 9.1% a year later. They later forecast the inflation measure would fall to between 2% and 5% by December last year, and it ended the year at 3.4%.
“Money [supply] is the economy’s fuel,” Hanke and Greenwood warned the US economy was “running on fumes” and “on schedule to tank” given its money supply had contracted since March 2022, after growing by a historic 27% in part due to fiscal stimulus measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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WWII Hero Charles French
Navy Mess Specialist 1st Class Petty Officer Charles Jackson French, hailed as the “Human Tugboat”, single-handedly pulled 15 injured sailors through shark-infested waters after a Japanese destroyer attack.
A future U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer DDG-142 will be named USS Charles J. French, after Navy Mess Specialist 1st Class Petty Officer Charles Jackson French.
Known for his heroic actions in the Pacific Theater of World War II, French saved 15 of his shipmates after their high-speed transport was sunk in combat during the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Hailed as the “Human Tugboat” and “Hero of the Solomons,” Charles French joined the Navy as a mess attendant before the United States formally entered World War II, and served four years aboard the Hawaii-based heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA 30). French left the service after his tour aboard Houston, but reenlisted four days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. He was assigned to USS Gregory (APD 3) in March 1942.
On the night of Sept. 4, 1942, in the vicinity of the Solomon Islands, three Imperial Japanese destroyers and one cruiser opened fire on the Gregory and its sister ship USS Little (APD 4). With his ship sinking and his fellow Sailors in shark-infested waters, the uninjured French gathered injured shipmates on a nearby raft and tied a rope around his waist in order to pull the survivors to safety.
Ensign Robert Adrian, who gradually came to after suffering injuries to his legs and blast fragments in his eyes, attempted to persuade French to join them aboard the raft and out of the shark-infested waters, Adrian later recalled.
French refused, responding that he was more afraid of the Japanese than the sharks. Against a strong current, French swam all night — away from enemy gunfire and the Japanese-held shoreline.
French swam through the night until at sunrise, French and the raft of sailors were spotted by scout aircraft.
For his actions, French was recommended for the Navy Cross. However, due to his race, the cook only received a letter of commendation from Adm. William “Bull” Halsey, the commander of the Southern Pacific Fleet.
After the war, however, French’s story was largely forgotten and omitted from Navy history.
“French is now getting some long-overdue recognition.” ~ SECNAV Carlos Del Toro
“For too long, we did not recognize Petty Officer French appropriately, but we’ve begun to correct that. Recently, we renamed the training pool at Naval Base San Diego after him,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. “Today, with profound conviction and a heart brimming with long-overdue recognition, I am proud to announce the name of our newest destroyer, DDG 142, will be the USS Charles J. French.”
Previously, Secretary Del Toro posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to French in May 2022.
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Berkshire-Hathaway vs. S&P 500
“An investment of $10,000 in Berkshire Hathaway stock in 1965 would have grown to approximately $355 million by 2022.” ~ Nasdaq
In 2022, Berkshire Hathaway outperformed the market, gaining 4% versus the S&P 500’s 19% drop.
Since Buffett took over in 1965, Berkshire Hathaway has beaten the market 39 out of 58 years. It has underperformed the market the other 19 years.
Since 1964, Berkshire Hathaway stock returns has outperformed the S&P 500 by a significant margin.
According to a report by Nasdaq, an investment of $10,000 in Berkshire Hathaway stock in 1965 would have grown to approximately $355 million by 2022, a compounded annual gain of 19.8%.
In contrast, an investment of $10,000 in the S&P 500 over the same period would have grown to approximately $2.3 million, a compounded annual gain of 9.9%.
Since that time, Berkshire Hathaway stock has gained more than 153 times the S&P 500’s gains over the same time period — good enough to give you roughly $355 million based on a $10,000 investment. That translates to a compounded annual gain of 19.8%, or nearly double the S&P 500’s 9.9% compound annual gain.
It’s worth noting that the above figures are based on past performance and do not guarantee future results.
Additionally, investing in individual stocks can be risky and requires careful consideration of one’s financial goals and risk tolerance.
Warren Buffett, Berkshire-Hathaway’s Chairman and CEO, is an advocate of buying stock in businesses that will last.
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Baby Boomers’ Wealth Transfer
“Experts say baby boomers will transfer over $50 trillion in wealth to their heirs. But for many, health care costs will claim the bulk of that wealth.” ~ NBC News
Baby boomers have experienced decades of wealth-building through real estate and the stock market, but skyrocketing healthcare costs will drain those resources faster for those who aren’t extraordinarily wealthy, according to NBC News.
Healthcare costs for elderly Americans and baby boomers are incredibly expensive and frequently wipe out people’s life savings. Thus, many people hoping that the “wealth transfer” will leave them with a substantial inheritance will end up disappointed because health care for older people in America is very expensive and destroying the transfer of wealth from baby boomers to subsequent generations.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people under the age of 65 reported spending an average of $5,209 per year on their health care in 2022, while those over 65 reported $7,540 annually.
By 2050, there are expected to be 84 million people over 65, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s almost 50% more seniors than there are today.
Thus, the widely held belief that baby boomers are going to transfer tens of trillions of dollars to their heirs over the next few decades may not be entirely true.
The “generational wealth transfer” from Baby Boomers to Generation X and Millennials may not be as large as previously forecasted due to the rising costs of healthcare. The overwhelming cost of health care for older people means most people in those later generations won’t inherit much, even if their elders seem well-off today.
Cerulli estimated that 68% of the wealth transferred between 2020 and 2045 — which includes boomers as well as older generations — will come from U.S. households with at least $1 million in investable assets. And only 6.9% of households have that kind of wealth to begin with, Cerulli added.
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