Nothing makes me more stressed than listening to Alison Janey on those Kaiser Permanente commercials encouraging preventative care so that we all “Thrive.” She’s a highly paid actress. What about the rest of us who worry about our money lasting through retirement? First, a terminology lesson. Life Expectancy, a term that’s used a…
Annuities are a big business. In 2019 $57.8billion in annuities were sold according to the Insured Retirement Institute. What’s the appeal? First, let’s remember that there are many kinds of annuities: Fixed, variable, immediate, and deferred are the main categories. There are about 1,000 permutations under those categories. Second, I don’t sell any…
The financial services industry has for years been collectively handwringing about how to measure clients’ real feelings about stock market volatility. The problem starts with the language we use. It continues with the overconfidence of people when markets are good. When the stock market is climbing, everyone is an investing genius and has no…
Some people really want to retire. Umbrella drinks on the beach, unlimited time to knit, tee times during non-peak hours, and never skiing on a weekend again. Sounds great, right? Not for everyone. More and more, clients tell me they don’t really want to retire. After all, retirement is what old people do, and…
We’ve all heard the phrase “hindsight is 2020.” There are tons of memes floating around alluding to getting the year 2020 in our rearview mirror, and I have to agree. One thing you may be feeling lately is fragile. Your finances, sense of self, confidence in our social systems, routines, hobbies, and plans have…
If you ever thought your friendly neighborhood financial advisor knows it all, think again! I learn new things from clients all the time. This little nugget came to my attention a few weeks ago. It will apply to very few people, but you might check it out if your 401(k) has an after-tax contribution provision.…
Recently a prospective client sent an e-mail with some questions he wanted answered before engaging a financial adviser. I thought others might share these same questions, maybe about me or even other advisers they have. Here, with permission and a few edits, is a copy of our correspondence. Q: I wanted to learn more…
Many people are looking at a drop or loss of income due to the coronavirus shutting down 25% of the economy. I’ve been reading about hardships for everyone from optometrists to restaurant workers to minor league baseball players. If your business shuts down, there is no income whether you are butcher, baker, or candlestick maker.…
After the usual partisan haggling, Washington has presented citizens with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, cleverly known as CARES.* What does it mean for you? Here, as usual, are the very broad strokes of the Act that affect most people, along with my snarky comments. For more technical information, please read this…
If this pandemic has taught us anything it is that everyone has questions, problems, goals, victories, losses, fears, gains, excitement, despair, greed, generosity, and insecurity about money. You don’t have to be poor to worry about money or rich to deserve financial help. That’s right, everyone can use a financial adviser, and you don’t…
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