My Comments: I grew up in WW2 England, in my uncle’s house, and he had a car in the garage. My father was in the Royal Tank Regiment, doing what soldiers do in a war. My life as a small boy was relatively normal. Petrol (gasoline) was rationed but I recall going for a drive …
Continue reading The End Of The Fossil Fuel Age As We Know It
My Comments: The default decision for many is to simply sign up for benefits when they reach age 62. The argument is they’ve put money in the system for years, the system might go broke, and it’s time to get rather than give before it's too late. But the demographics suggest this may not be …
Continue reading Social Security Recipients May Regret This Decision
My Comments: In days past, estate planning was associated with having lots of money. This was because the IRS had their fingers in your financial pie if you died owning what is today considered a modest estate, anything more than $550,000. Since that existential threat has largely diminished for almost all of us, estate planning …
Continue reading How To Talk to Your Family About Your Estate Plan
My Comments: I’m not fond of debt. But over the years, I’ve certainly had my share. But that is personal debt which is very different from institutional debt. My dynamics are finite ( I will die some day ) and defined by micro-economic rules; institutional debt is not necessarily finite and if you are speaking …
My Comments: There is a significant difference between avoiding taxes and evading taxes. Not less an authority figure than a former Supreme Court justice expressed that “…there is no obligation to pay more in taxes than absolutely necessary”. But evading taxes will perhaps land you in jail. That being said, the IRS is NOT going …
My Comments: The more things change, the more they stay the same. You’ve heard that before. Is it also true that the more things stay the same, the more things change? It’s said that the world you live in as a teenager largely determines who you will be throughout your life. And since the world …
My Comments: Is the glass half full, or is it half empty? That’s a classic question, to help determine if someone who answers is optimistic or pessimistic. Personally, my natural response is to suggest the glass is half full. For me the past is past; the only criteria becomes the present and the future. To …
My Comments: I try to not post anything with political implications. And while this post looks like one, there are larger issues with implications for Republicans, for Democrats, and Libertarians. I’ve argued for years that the current chasm between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ in this country must be bridged. This article from the …
My Comments: Next month I start a series of workshops about Social Security. I’m somewhat fearful since this past weekend, I had questions from a couple of folks and while I thought I knew the answer, I wasn’t sure. One solution is to have you become a free member of an organization called the American …
My Comments: Every choice when it comes to filing for Social Security benefits comes with trade-offs. Whether one works for you to a large extent is determined by how long you live, and for most of us, that’s the elephant in the room. But if you assume you and your spouse will live to a …
Continue reading A Social Security Claiming Strategy to Consider
Helping Define Your Financial Future 