My Comment: I began my career as an insurance agent in 1975. I found a way to offer health insurance to employees of the university that provided similar and/or better coverage for less money every month. I watched and listened during the Clinton years to efforts to remedy the health insurance problems facing this country. …
Category: Retirement Planning
Ideas to help preserve and grow your money
Designing and Evaluating A Strategy on Alternatives
My Comment: Alternative investments, in my opinion, are a key ingredient in contemporary investment portfolio design. The one hiccup that caught the attention of financial advisors like me was the extent to which bonds and stocks both declined in value in the fall of 2008 and early 2009. We've always tried to diversify a portfolio …
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If Taxes Rise, Should You Form An LLC or Incorporate?
My Comment: I was asked a similar question the other day, posed by a distant cousin in England. You have an idea for a business enterprise and among the questions you ask yourself is how it should be structured. This is sometimes an convenient excuse to avoid asking whether the idea has the necessary potential …
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What’s Behind those Higher Gas Prices
My Comment: Yesterday, at my usual barbershop, there was a vigorous discussion between the person next to me and his barber about how it was Obama’s fault that gas prices were so high. When I asked how it was possible for him to so aggressively influence the price of oil, I was told that it …
Social Security and the Single Retiree
Health and longevity play a big part in deciding when to claim benefits My Comment: The questions surrounding Social Security, when to apply, what you can expect, etc. are legion. I was fortunate in that I was able to wait until I was 65 and 8 months, which was my target age, and I can …
Stand-Alone Living Benefits – Guaranteeing Lifetime Income Without an Annuity
My Comment: As a financial planner for many, many years, I've watched my clients age along with me. As the years have passed, our priorities have changed, our resources have changed, along with our fears and worries. There are dozens and dozens of answers out there and while the internet has made it easier to …
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How Long Must Your Money Last?
My comment: It’s common for me to express that I have no idea what the next several years are going to look like since right now, I have no idea what I’ll be having for lunch today. All I can do is help my clients position their money so as to increase their chances of …
Why Are People So Resistant to Reverse Mortgages?
by Beth Paterson, MLO #342859 My Comment: Beth Paterson lives in Minnesota and has specialized in reverse mortgages since 1999. She has a blog devoted to the subject Beth's Reverse Mortgage Blog. While this financial tactic is not for everyone, under the right circumstances it makes very good sense. If you think it might make …
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How Blue America Subsidizes Red America
My Comment: Several years ago, a comment by Barack Obama, long before there was any real discussion about his running for President, he more or less said in a speech that “... we are not red Americans, or blue Americans, but simply Americans”. It was an idea that resonated with me. As an immigrant and …
The Cost of Living Longer — Much Longer
A 78-year-old woman walks into an agent's office to buy life insurance. "Have you ever had cancer?" asks the agent. "Oh, yes, dear," says the woman. "Breast cancer." "Do you have a family history of heart disease?" "Oh, yes, dear," the woman says, nodding. "My father died of a massive heart attack in his 60s." …
Helping Define Your Financial Future 