My Comments: There are good annuities and there are bad annuities. Most of the bad ones have been created and aggressively sold by insurance companies whose sole objective is to generate revenue for the company and their agents. The study results described below tell us why they have been successful. It’s not easy to find …
Continue reading Annuities are key to American retirement. So why are so few Americans buying them?
My Comments: For many, getting serious about retirement doesn’t happen until someone reaches their 50’s. There’s too much other stuff going on. But sooner rather than later, you have to make sure you’ll have enough money to sustain yourself for the next 30+ years. This is critical if you don’t want to find yourself climbing …
Continue reading 8 Proven Investment Options to Safeguard and Grow Your Retirement Money
My Comments: If you’re still working and expect to continue living, chances are you’ll decide at some point to retire. That’s when you stop working for money and money starts working for you. The trick is to have enough to maintain your chosen standard of living. I’m hoping you’ll read the few words below and …
Continue reading Can You Pass This Retirement Literacy Quiz?
My Comments: This comes from a publication called The Motley Fool that I follow. This article describes averages that may or may not apply to you. But the framework is real and if retirement is in your future, there may be thoughts here that resonate with you, especially if you are 20-25 years away from …
Continue reading The Most Important Retirement Table You’ll Ever See
My Comments: Retirement can be just as stressful as working 8 to 5 or more for decades. That's because retirement brings about a shift in mindset and financial dynamics. The transition from working for money to having money work for you can be a source of significant stress for many of us. Planning and adopting …
Continue reading In Retirement, Put Your Eggs in These Three Baskets
My Comments: Over recent months, I’ve received negative comments from readers suggesting I don't know what I’m talking about when it comes to investing money. One recent comment suggested I clearly had no clue what I was talking about; the comment was just buy and hold with no attempts to time the markets. However, that …
My Comments: My hope is all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and/or friends. Yes, it’s Friday and for some still a holiday, but I’m trying to keep to my blog post schedule. Most of my investable money today is in a Vanguard cash reserve money market fund. It’s current yield is about …
Continue reading This Is One of the Worst Stock Market Mistakes You Could Make Right Now
My Comments: I prioritize the following this way: #1 - #4 - #5 - #2 and #3. Yes, some of this is self-serving as I’ve been in the retirement planning business for almost 50 years. And yes, I’ve created an online course that features 8 critical questions you must ask of yourself, and answer, if …
My Comments: Despite being a financial planner and investment advisor for almost 50 years, earning a living and growing a family, the reality is I didn’t do a good planning job for myself. Looking back I now realize my clients did better with their money than I did with ours. I had too many choices …
Continue reading An Uncomfortable Truth About Aging and Retirement Planning
Your Balance Sheet Your household has a balance sheet. As you may recall from accounting courses you took along the way, a balance sheet has the assets listed on the left with liabilities listed on the right. That balance sheet for someone approaching or already in retirement might look like this: Assets: Human Capital …
Continue reading How to Spend Your Nest Egg ~ Probability vs. Safety First
Helping Define Your Financial Future 