A question that I am asked to address in many financial plans for pre-retirees is, “in what order should I take out my assets?” In other words, does it make sense to tap tax-deferred plans first or last? When should I start taking Roth money out? How about my taxable (non-retirement account) investments? First, the…
In the May, 2015 print edition of Money Magazine, there is an article called 101 Ways to Build Wealth. These list-type of articles come around often and say many of the same things, but a few interesting ones I found were these: “Tip #15: Don’t Tend to Your 401(k) After a Rough Day at Work.…
People must be feeling good about the economy because second home ownership is on the rise again. Vacation home sales increased over 10% in 2012 and 11% of home purchases were second home in that year.* Some folks find their second home is all they hoped for and more. More time with family in a…
Let’s take a moment of silence to remember the pension. We dearly miss that well-loved, but ultimately unstainable stream of lifetime income that employers used to supply loyal workers in retirement. Now what? Employers have punted the responsibility of lifetime income and medical care to their employees. They feel really good about providing a 401(k)…
Many people envision retiring to a beachy paradise. And, it’s true, warm states like Florida, Arizona, and North Carolina are seeing an influx of new faces, many of them retired. However, according to US census bureau data, only about 4% of Americans aged 65 and older move each year. What are some things to consider…
If you look back on my past blogs, I explain the different types of bonds with a fun example. To summarize, bonds come in different maturity dates and different credit qualities. The longer the maturity date, the better the interest you are paid, but the more risk to the bond price if interest rates go…
I’m going to spend the next couple of blogs talking about the horrifying (sarcasm) specter of rising interest rates. This is in hopes that I won’t have to talk about it for the rest of the year. Yeah, right. If you spend any time watching/reading financial news prognosticators, (which you shouldn’t because it’s bad for…
There must be some physical component in the human brain that relentlessly drives us to compare our lives to that of our friends, enemies, co-workers, or ex-boyfriends. We do it with the cars we drive, the age we marry, our children’s’ SAT scores, and the granite on our countertops. As a financial planner, I often…
One of the perils of working in financial planning is that you speak in this weird language that you think others understand, but they don’t. This is where I rely on my friends to let me know when I am writing in financial-babble. So, this blog goes out to my good, honest friend Dana Lynch. …
Here’s a little secret that most investment salespeople will not tell you: The actual investments you choose aren’t really that important. Buying Whole Foods or Walmart or Kroger stock is the least important financial decision you will make. What? How can that be, you say? My adviser is an expert at picking money making investments. …
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