Most of us attempt to save money. We know there will come a time when what we save today will be needed to pay for things tomorrow. Our choices about how to do this are varied, mysterious, and confusing. Too often we take the easiest path and hope for the best. We congratulate ourselves for …
Tag: Gainesville FL
Lawmakers Are Talking About Comprehensive Retirement Reform
Yes, I sometimes sound like a broken record, but… I’m doing all I can to persuade a younger generation that thinking about a future retirement is important. And then actually do something to make success more likely. In terms of reform, I see an initial effort by Congress to move the goal posts. This is …
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Why This Popular Retirement Advice Actually Makes It Harder to Save
My Comments: There’s a reason the term ‘mid-life crisis’ is in common use among everyday people. Many of us have had one. And then there is the ‘end-of-mid-life crisis’ that is yet to rear it’s ugly head. It happens when someone is about to retire and discover to their horror they are completely unprepared. For …
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Confused? 10 Social Security Terms You Need to Understand
Just 10? Nah, there’s lots more but let's start with these. If you’ve been paying FICA taxes ( see #3 below ), and have done so for at least 40 quarters, then you can expect to qualify for retirement benefits at some point. None of these 10 tell you when to claim benefits, or what …
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Health costs in retirement: 5 things you should know and plan for
My Comments: How much money do you need for a successful retirement? It depends… Unless you already KNOW how your life is going to play out, you can only play the odds. And the odds say that if you are now 65, there’s a 70% chance, based on current statistics, that you’ll need some kind …
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Secrets Of A Successful Retiree: From A Retirement Professional
My Comments: Retirement is an increasingly critical topic as more and more of us are closing in on it or are already in transition. The questions are legion: Are we ready for it? Will we have enough money? How safe are our investments? How will we pay our likely medical bills? Will Social Security be …
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The Basic Types of Annuities and How They Work
My Comments: Like so many financial products, annuities come in a variety of forms that have surfaced over the years in attempts to both solve peoples financial problems and to make money for the companies offering them. As you can imagine, the spectrum along which any one of them can be judged is wide, with …
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Why Your Health Insurer Doesn’t Care About Your Big Bills
My Comments: This is a long and detailed story. But if you care about the national debate about health insurance and whether it’s in our best interest to push toward a system of universal health care, this is interesting. There are basically five stakeholders in the healthcare debate. They are (1) the consumer, (2) the …
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Republicans Hate Deficits. Or at Least That’s What They Claim
My Comments: First my apologies for those of you who have little understanding of economics. You are clearly not alone as this article suggests. I’m reasonably well versed, having studied it since I was a college sophmore some 50 plus years ago. I consider Paul Krugman among the foremost authorities on global economics and his …
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The Crippling Cost of Self-Insuring Long-Term Care
My Comments: Long Term Care, often reduced to the acronym LTC, means that someone, perhaps you, have developed mental and/or physical limitations that require the assistance of others to get through a 24 hour day. Care may come from a family member or from professionals, but unless you plan to die soon, you may need …
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Helping Define Your Financial Future 