10 things I’ve learned 10 years after I finished medical school

Friday’s Random Thoughts: I’ve long argued that the health care system in America is a mess. (How Did Health Care Get to Be Such a Mess?) These next words from Kevin Tolliver, a physician with a strong exposure to economics and finance, is a welcome addition to the debate. It’s taken a long time to …

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What Is Missing From Most Retirement Advice

Tony’s thoughts about this: For those of you who have not yet ‘retired’, know that it will be dramatically different from your ‘before retired’ years. Planning for those years, if you expect to enjoy life and consider your retirement a success, is essential. My days as an active, looking for new clients financial person are …

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Social Security’s Primary Insurance Amount: What Is It?

Tony’s Comments: Since today is  Tuesday, this is about Social Security. For those of you who plan to retire one day, a basic understanding of Social Security and how it works is a critical element of your overall retirement planning strategy. This article appeared in Motley Fool, and for whatever reason, does not have an …

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This Is Why People Flunk Retirement

My Comments: Few of us realize as we pass through young adulthood that life is finite. We may lose an elderly family member and we acknowledge the inevitable but few of us are able to get our arms around what it might mean for us. I describe retirement as that point in your life when …

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The Truth About Social Security: Setting the Record Straight

My Comments: Retirement at some point in your life is both a goal and an outcome. It may happen voluntarily or it may be forced on you. Regardless of how you get there, chances are you’ll still have bills to pay. Those bills will be paid from money you’ve saved and accumulated or from Social …

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Here’s The Proof That U.S. Stocks Are Experiencing A Massive Bubble

My Comments: To say I’m uncertain what tomorrow will bring is an understatement. For every article like this one that is pessimistic, there is another with presumably compelling logic that the next market crash of consequence will not be here until 2030 or later. At my age, I'm inclined to be cautious. Yes, I have …

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Here’s What the Average Retiree Spends on Healthcare Each Year Hint: It’s not a small number.

My Comments: As you approach phase two of your adult life, please understand that the economic and financial dynamics can change dramatically. Retirement is when you have effectively turned off the ‘work for money’ switch and have turned on the ‘money works for you’ switch. That implies you have money and credits in place to …

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Trump Is Losing His Trade War

My Comments: The article I share with you here appeared in Forbes, which no one thinks of as a liberal rag. The reality is that free markets evolve over time, with some markets proving resilient and profitable, and some going the way of the dodo bird. Putting limits on free trade makes little sense to …

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The Stark Reality of Social Security: Someone Has to Take a Pay Cut

My Comments: As a financial planner focused on retirement, I counsel people about where the money is going to come from when they’re 85 and still have bills to pay. And 85 is simply a symbolic number. A critical source for most of us is Social Security. And it’s under attack by those we’ve elected …

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Behold the ‘scariest chart’ for the stock market

My Comments: By now you’ll perhaps realize that whatever I say about what is likely to happen in the markets is wrong, and that you’d be better off doing just the opposite. That’s OK. And if you are young and retirement is a few decades away, it’s OK to ride it out. But if you’re …

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