7 Things You Need to Know About Term Life Insurance

My Comments: It’s very easy for financial professionals of all stripes to get into heated arguments about the merits of life insurance. Or the lack of merits, depending on your perspective. A story I tell is about someone who in all seriousness asked “When is the best time to buy life insurance?”. And the answer …

Continue reading 7 Things You Need to Know About Term Life Insurance

Smart Retirement Income Strategies

My Comments: This comes from the staff at Financial Planning, a well known magazine that appears monthly and is subscribed to by financial professionals. It contains valuable information for anyone soon to be retired or even already retired. These are summaries and if you want to read the full article, reach out to me and …

Continue reading Smart Retirement Income Strategies

A Crisis Less Extraordinary

My Comments: For those of you who can stomach economics and the sometimes arcane language of investments, this is an interesting analysis. It comes from a source called Seeking Alpha where I have a membership. Their articles are also infused with lots of charts which I often choose to leave out. So if for any …

Continue reading A Crisis Less Extraordinary

Long-Term Care Update: 6 Trends to Watch

My Comments: The baby boom generation is going to be hit hard by this phenomena, and most of us know it. We just aren’t sure how to deal with it. This is not a solution but a needed reminder that pretending it will go away is not likely. While I disagree with their conclusion about …

Continue reading Long-Term Care Update: 6 Trends to Watch

Hidden Bonus: Taking Early Social Security Payments

My Comments: I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again: when to claim Social Security benefits is a complex question. On one hand, if you know you will live to life expectancy, it’s a fairly simple math question. But on the other hand, if you don’t know when you will die, or …

Continue reading Hidden Bonus: Taking Early Social Security Payments

When It Comes to Claiming Spousal Benefits, Timing Is Everything

My Comments: The questions surrounding Social Security are almost endless. It’s a complicated system and as more and more of us reach eligibility, it is clear that simply signing up as soon as you are eligible will cost you and your family lots of money and options over the years. Philip Moeller / Sept. 9, …

Continue reading When It Comes to Claiming Spousal Benefits, Timing Is Everything

Do Retirees Need Long-term Care Insurance?

My Comments: As a financial planner with thinning grey hair, my clients tend to be already retired or soon to be retired. A major worry we all face is the chance that we will slow down to the point where we need help to get from one day to the next. Sure, family members will …

Continue reading Do Retirees Need Long-term Care Insurance?

Rural Hospitals Pressured to Close as Healthcare System Changes

My Comments: Most of us have long since put ObamaCare in the rear view mirror. We’ve acknowledged there are flaws and there will be unintended consequences, but for the most part, it’s the law of the land. Some of us have long since determined that it’s existence will be in our best interest over time. …

Continue reading Rural Hospitals Pressured to Close as Healthcare System Changes

Central Banks Pump Up the Volume

My Comments: The US Federal Reserve took a very different approach to helping the economy recover from the financial crisis that began in the fall of 2008. Pushed by Mr. Bernancke, the Fed provided what came to be called QE, which stands for quantitative easing. It kept interest rates low and effectively flooded the economy …

Continue reading Central Banks Pump Up the Volume

Seven Trust-Based Asset Protections Strategies for Clients

My Comments: This comes courtesy of a local friend and attorney who includes me among those with whom he shares insights. I'm unsure who should get credit for writing the actual text. Over these many years I've had many clients with trusts of one kind or another and clients who needed trusts but didn't have …

Continue reading Seven Trust-Based Asset Protections Strategies for Clients