Have you ever wondered why your financial advisor describes your retirement readiness in terms of a known gambling mecca? Is he or she so uncertain of their advice, that they are actually saying it’s all just a crap shoot? It might help to explain the progression of retirement projection techniques by giving a little history.…
The Oracle is not me. It’s always good to hear wise words from someone who has been there and done that. When world news seems ever more dire, you may be wondering how to handle your investments in the face of uncertainty. Who better than Warren Buffett to soothe our collective worried brow? Here are…
A huge red flag when I’m talking to potential new clients is when they are upset at their current advisor about their returns. Especially when I hear things like, “I’ve been with this guy 2 whole years and haven’t made any money.” Two years? That’s a blip in time in an investor’s return history. As…
This month, I am going to rudely interrupt your sunny summer activities with a reminder that financial storms can always happen. However, to build emotional resilience against investment losses, it’s good to exercise your “I can ignore it and not make bad investment decision” muscle before you need to use it. When calculating financial projections…
I get an e-newsletter by a smart financial advisor named Jay Mooreland. His focus is not on beating the markets or beating our clients into submission about saving enough. It’s about recognizing how our brains work, often contrary to our best interests, to sabotage our progress in personal finance. Jay recently addressed a Wall Street…
It’s October, and like candy corns, witch hats, and tacky people putting up their Christmas trees already, you have come to expect the annual review on the best and worst performing sectors of the economy so far this year. As ever, I put the parental advisory warning that this is informational only – kind of…
Super-fast blog today! If you are looking to generate regular payments out of your portfolio and find yourself in a quandary of what securities to sell, try this: Turn off the dividend/interest reinvestment feature in your mutual funds. Those distributions will go to cash and can build up your liquid position without selling shares. Caution: …
Retirement in America is not for wimps. For most people, gone are the days when you hang up your tools one day and then go home to a steady pension for the rest of your life. Nowadays, we must consider Social Security claiming strategies, required minimum distributions rules, ever shifting tax brackets, and changing…
Yep, your investments are down and so are your spirits. Those looking for a silver lining may be talking about tax loss harvesting. What does that even mean? Warning, if your money is all in retirement accounts (IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, this concept doesn’t apply. Tax loss harvesting is only for accounts where capital…
Maybe inflation isn’t all bad. Social Security checks are going up 8.7%, you can buy a 1-year CD earning 4.5% interest, and (for those who aren’t spending every last time on more expensive groceries) we are seeing a big jump in retirement contribution limits for 2023. To summarize: 401(k), 403(b), 457 plans: Under age…
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