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 …
Continue reading Why This Popular Retirement Advice Actually Makes It Harder to Save
My Comments: Chances are you’ve heard of ETFs (Exchange Traded Fund). They are not to be confused with EFTs (Electronic Fund Transfers). Though I suppose it’s possible to have both involved in a given transaction. Given that most of us now realize that fees imposed by Wall Street firms, and non-Wall Street Firms, can be, …
Continue reading What are ETFs? Are They Different Than Mutual Funds?
The risk of non-performance, ie running out of money, has been shifted from the employer to the employee. (That's YOU...) My Comments: There are two basic types of pension income: Defined Benefit (DB) and Defined Contribution (DC). For most of the 20th Century, the DB option was most common across the United States in the …
Continue reading There’s An Estimated $210 TRILLION Shortfall Waiting For You
My Comments: The latest budget proposal from the current White House suggests there will be a new effort to partially defund Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. What exactly do they expect to achieve politically from this effort? Those of us already receiving Social Security benefits plus the many millions more who are aging and becoming …
Continue reading 3 Social Security Rules We Can All Agree We Hate
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 …
Continue reading The Basic Types of Annuities and How They Work
My Comments: My entire professional focus these days is helping people retire. To that end I’ve created two online courses that I’m marketing nationally. This article from nextavenue.org points to one of the channels I’m trying to reach. At the local level, I’m prepared to hold workshops for any organization that sees this as an …
Continue reading Retirement: Most Employers Don’t Have a Clue
My Comments: Most of you know that I’m now semi-retired. My transition to full retirement is ongoing and may not happen until my lights go out. This outcome is more and more common these days. Many millions of us are not ready to fully retire and we find ways to continue doing what we’ve done …
Continue reading Got a will? Here are 11 more end-of-life documents you may need
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 …
Continue reading The Crippling Cost of Self-Insuring Long-Term Care
My Comments: The woods are full of people attempting to help you prepare for your retirement. Almost all of them want to give you investment advice which may or may not be good advice. It’s an accepted fact that life in 21st Century America is better with more money than it is with less money. …
My Comments: These words from Nicholas Hopwood of Plymouth, Michigan, echo the lessons I teach in my online courses at Successful Retirement Secrets. The challenge for everyone who expects to someday retire is to prepare themselves without becoming obsessed with what has to happen first. He stresses, as do I, the need to fully understand …
Helping Define Your Financial Future 