In this episode of the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily, host Mike Milligan delivers a heartfelt tribute to his late grandmother, Granny Elizabeth, on what would have been her 100th birthday. He recounts how her resilience after becoming a widow inspired him to start One Oak Financial. Using a conversational, kitchen‑table style, Mike explains current financial conditions to his imagined audience of his grandmother. He breaks down the difference between nominal and real returns, showing that a 3.5% money‑market rate in 2026 only yields about 1.1% before taxes and about 0.6% after taxes when inflation runs at 2.4%. He compares that to the national average money‑market rate (0.43%) and the best available rates (up to 4.22%). He then reviews CD rates (≈2% for 1‑year, 1.6‑1.7% for longer terms) and highlights annuity products as higher‑yield alternatives: multi‑year guaranteed annuities (5.5‑6%) and fixed‑index annuities (≈7% YTD) with academic and celebrity endorsements. Throughout, he urges listeners to contact One Oak Financial for personalized plans that address inflation protection, tax efficiency, retirement income, and legacy planning. The episode ends with standard regulatory disclosures, contact information (phone, text, website), and a promotional tagline.
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It's the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily with your host, Mike Milligan. And it's a very special day for me and my family. It is, uh, today Granny Elizabeth, who was my grandmother, would have been 100 years old. She passed away in 2018, uh, but today, uh, at the age of 92, today she would have been her 100th birthday. And so this past weekend on the One of a Kind Financial Show, I I actually wrote a letter to her just telling her of things that were going on in the current economy. And her story inspired me to build One Oak Financial. So I took some time on my radio show to explain to her some key things about interest rates and banks and insurance companies as if she were alive today and she could implement those. It was deeply reflective on me and her life. And so thank you for letting me share this with you today. There is some financial lessons in this, especially around interest rates and how to earn money to build a true legacy. So enjoy this, A Letter to Granny Elizabeth, next on the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. Welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show.
This is Mike Milligan on this Holy Week. Easter weekend is here. And, uh, I want to hear from you, uh, our listeners, because, uh, spring is in the air. Easter is here. I'm alone, solo on the show this weekend. So right at the top of the show, I want to tell you how to reach out to us. I want you to be able to text the word IDEAS, I-D-E-A-S, to 600-700 on your cell phone, or call me directly at 757-403-5078. I would love to hear from you this week or this Easter weekend. For those of you who are new to the show, Uh, my name is Mike Milligan. I am the founder of One Oak Financial located on Colley Avenue in Norfolk, Virginia, with over 26 years of experience in financial services from Wall Street and major banks to insurance companies to independents. We help individuals like you build one-of-a-kind financial plans for your one-of-a-kind life. I want to take you over the next few minutes and talk to you in a way I would talk to my grandmother. See, Granny Elizabeth, if you've ever listened to the show or you don't know, she's on my Mount Rushmore of most influential people in my life. She helped raise me, but at the age of 64 years old, she got some tragic news where she was all of a sudden, suddenly alone, something that's going to happen to many of us. 80% of men die married, 80% of women die single. But my grandmother was part of that. She found herself single because my grandfather Walter got cancer and died in his mid-60s. But Granny Elizabeth didn't let that knock her down. There was grief obviously involved in that, but she got up and she started a collard sandwich business and brought me, an 11-year-old, Preteen with a lot of ambition, a love of numbers, and a love for family alongside of her.
And that's—
she was my first client. I counted dollars. I put them in Folgers coffee cans. We wrote them in a journal. We shined up pennies. Man, some of the best memories of my life are with Granny Elizabeth. But I want to talk to you the way I would talk to her if she was still here today, because sometimes all this financial stuff, the rates, the products, the Acronyms. It just sounds like a foreign language. So I'm going to put all of that away and just have a real conversation with you to start the One of a Kind Financial Show today. A person-to-person conversation, like we're sitting at a kitchen table. You ready? Because here we go. So I was talking to a banker this week, a nice guy, sharp guy, and he was genuinely excited. He was beaming. about something he wanted to share with me. He leaned in at Elation Brewing, which is right down the road from our office. And he said, Mike, our bank is now offering a 3.5% money market account. Can you believe it? And I smiled because I could tell that he was really proud of it. And that, here's the thing, when money market accounts were paying 0.4%, 0.5%, 0.6%, 3.5% would've looked like a miracle. The most recent numbers from February of 2026, the US inflation rate was running at 2.4% year over year as reported by the government. Now, here's the math, Granny, if I was talking to her. If your money is earning 3.5% at the bank, inflation is eating away at that money, at that interest at, at least 2.4%. So you're really only gaining about 1.1%. There's something else eating away at that money market too, and it's called taxes. The real return is not 3.5%. It's really like 0.6%. So if your savings aren't beating inflation and covering the tax bill by a meaningful margin, you're not growing your money. You're slowly losing ground. And that to me is not acceptable. For the harder money that my granny earned, but also you have earned over your life. Uh, before I continue on with this, I'd love to again give you the opportunity to connect with us. If you find yourself in this situation where you've got more money in the bank that is, that you're losing purchasing power on to inflation, or your tax bill this time of the year is higher than you expected, I invite you to call us at 757-403-5078 or text the word ideas to 600-700. Now, let's look at what actually is available right now, because I want you to see this clearly. The national average money market account is paying 0.43%. So that banker who's paying 3.5%, That's 8 times the national average. And that's what they tell most people sitting, that have that money sitting in the accounts. The best you can find in money markets anywhere as of, uh, in April of 2026 is 4.22%. CD rates, what, uh, what your bank calls locking in your money for safety, that national average is just about 2% for 1 year, 1.6% for 3 years, and 1.7% for 5 years. So even the best, CD shoppers, the Warren Buffett of CD shoppers are topping out around 4.2%. Meanwhile, here's where things get interesting. Americans, consumers poured a record $464 billion in 2025 into fixed rate, fixed interest, or variable annuities. And I know people like Dave Ramsey and others will say annuities are bad, but I will tell you right now, there's a lot of folks, including Tony Robbins and Shaquille O'Neal and others, who will say fixed rate, fixed interest, or fixed index. Uh, look at the academic work of Ronnie Sacka, Dr. Wade Pfau, um, Tom Hegna, and others who say that fixed indexed and fixed rate annuities Are much better for you than banks. The, your percentage of success in your financial plan are higher with those instruments that we're looking at. So right now you can get a MYGA anywhere from a multi-year guaranteed fixed annuity from anywhere from 5.5% to 6%. And then even fixed index annuities are, when we're doing returns on those or reviews on those with clients, we're showing up 7% Year to date. When the stock market is down 3 or 4, we're showing 7. We're showing a 10% difference in the market. Now, uh, just like my granny, when I helped her, when she was my first client, I'd love to connect with you on money sitting in banks, what you would call your safe money, money that's not at risk.
And the One of a Kind Financial Plan addresses that with you.
So if you're interested in having a conversation about how your money can keep up with inflation, how taxes can be paid when you want to, or, you know, even increasing your retirement income, putting a legacy plan in place, or diving deeper into your investments, One Oak Financial, my company, uh, builds one-of-a-kind financial plans for your one-of-a-kind life. I look forward to talking to you today.
You can text in ideas to 600-700 or call 757- Again, this is Mike Milligan with the One of a Kind Financial Show. This has been the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily with your host, Mike Milligan. Uh, I am an investment advisory rep with Advisory Alpha LLC. Ideas by Mike, doing business as One Oak Financial, is an unaffiliated entity of Advisory Alpha LLC. All material on the One of a Kind Financial Show and the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily is done for educational purposes only. Please consult with your accountant or enrolled agent for tax planning advice, a licensed financial professional for investment or insurance advice, and an attorney to complete your estate documents. Or you can reach out to our team at One Oak Financial. That's the number oneoakfinancial.com and request an appointment for yourself. Thanks. Look forward to talking to you soon.
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