My Comments: Some of the folks who attend my workshops on SS benefits planning reveal that they have virtually no other resources to fund their retirement. That’s a challenge, especially for those whose lives were spent in physical labor of some kind and simply can’t continue working that way. There is real pain in their …
Continue reading How to Have a Comfortable Retirement on Social Security Alone
My Comments: A phrase I’m known to use from time to time is that ‘life in this country is better with more money than it is with less money.” While this might seem too obvious for you, there are many people whose efforts to have more money have fallen flat. Here’s a few ideas that …
Continue reading Investment Strategies for Your Retirement Accounts
My Comments: We are now starting a periodic review of the basic assumptions about how our lives should be governed, and a review of the fundamental values that define our society. It’s probably overdue, and while I disagree with the tactics so far used to push the doors open to let in a different light, …
Continue reading Our life in three stages – school, work, retirement – will not survive much longer
My Comments: This chart shows the decline, in relative terms, of the number of people who define the US labor force over the past 30 years. Without population growth, it's very hard to maintain economic strength. So I find myself strangely untroubled by President Bannon, the avowed Leninist now more or less running the White …
My Comments: Today is Tuesday and I normally post something about Social Security. But health issues in retirement are a major concern for many of us. So paying for timely and necessary medical help becomes another critical issue. While it might be necessary to tweak the system from time to time, the headlines coming out …
My Comments: This falls into a ‘did you know’ category. You'll find an explanation of the term ‘fiduciary’ in paragraph four below. Many of my followers are employed by universities and colleges, cities and counties, and other not-for-profit organizations across the country including churches. If this is you, then you may have money in a …
Continue reading Have You Heard About The New Fiduciary Rule?
My Comments: I found this several months ago and found it again this morning. It’s still very relevant. As someone who attempts to help people make the transition from working for money, to retirement when the goal is money working for you, a big challenge is dealing with expectations. Many advisors have spent the last …
Continue reading Coming Soon: The Worst Investing Returns In 30 Years
My Comments: This is about a soon to be imposed rule that applies to those of us who provide professional advice about the money you are accumulating for your retirement. It’s called the Department of Labor Fiduciary Standard rule and it’s long overdue. As a financial planner, my role is to identify the existential threats …
My Comments: The past 70 years have seen a remarkable transformation from what was essentially a sophisticated tribal approach to security for a given group of people, to one that begins to recognize we are one planet and all of us, to some degree, are intricately connected as we attempt to survive and thrive as …
Continue reading America’s Rise of Nationalism Has It Barreling Towards a Crisis
My Comments: Sometimes simple is better, much better. I found these words recently and am sharing them here since so many people are now making the transition to retirement. It’s a stressful time for a lot of reasons and the more you understand the financial dynamics involved, the less stressed out you’ll be. January 11, …
Continue reading How To Maximize Your Social Security Benefits
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