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 …
Tag: Retirement planning
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 …
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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7 Myths About Variable Annuities: Exposing Their Dark Side
My Comments: Anyone now retired or thinking about retirement spends time and energy coming to terms with how to manage their money. Increasingly, fees charged by advisors and/or their companies are perceived as a threat somewhere along the way. However, unless you have the skills to do it all yourself, you are necessarily going to …
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3 Myths About Your Social Security Filing Age
My Comments: Social Security benefit payments are critical for millions of Americans. When you apply and the amount of money you are entitled to is a decision fraught with uncertainty. Since none of know how our life is going to play out, all we can do is develop an understanding of our choices so that …
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Vanguard’s Chairman Sees Muted Decade for Stocks After Long Rally
My Comments: Little is said these days about those who are investing for the future and are still working vs those investing for the future who are no longer working. Think of it as being defined as the accumulation phase of your life vs the distribution phase of your life. Different rules apply. Vanguard Funds …
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Welcome, Immigrants. The U.S. Really Needs You
My Comments: For the past 18 months, there has been a war on immigration, fostered by Donald Trump and most Republicans. It portends an economic disaster for the US economy. Yes, open borders will inevitably allow some bad people into the country. But it will also allow some really good people in as well, and …
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Social Security’s future
My Comments: Followers of my comments know that I’ve talked in the past about how to fix the projected ‘crisis’ of the Social Security system. I remember the last one, and in 1983 it was fixed. At least for the time being. What happened then was the upper threshold of income subject to what we …
The Bull Market Could Be Speeding Right Into a Brick Wall
My Comments: I’ll admit to having done poorly as an investment advisor these past few years. My history was and has been shaped by our collective experience following what became known as Black Monday on October 10, 1987. On that day, we were glued to the radio or TV as the DOW dropped over 22% …
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Helping Define Your Financial Future 