Did you know that there is such a thing as too much savings? It’s true! Some people over save in their emergency fund. Or even in retirement accounts. Not everyone is the chronic over-spender the media would have you believe. There should be a balance to saving for the future and enjoying your life today. …
Don’t hit the panic button; I’m not predicting a recession this month/summer/year/decade. I don’t know when the next recession will be any more than the talking heads on TV (trust me, they don’t know either). But, as the scouts say, it’s always good to be prepared. Prepared for a recession means different things at different…
So much is written/discussed/screamed about regarding the Social Security trust fund running out by…name the date – it keeps changing! I think most recently I heard 2034. Does that mean Social Security will no longer be paid? No, but if Congress doesn’t get in gear, there could be some cuts for retirees. Bigger ones for…
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: …
I think of creating retirement income plan in terms of funnels and buckets. The funnel is the decision-making process. The buckets are where your various accounts are placed and invested for income. First, the funnel. Start wide at the top with the overall retirement projection. This informs how much you can safely spend in…
Welcome back. For those of you who have stuck with this series, you are rounding 3rd base! Almost through the quick tutorial to help decide what order to tap your savings for retirement. Withdrawal Method #3: Pro Rata. Take withdrawals each year proportionately from the 3 types of accounts. Example: Joe and Sue have 50%…
Welcome back to the bite-size tutorial series about retirement withdrawal methods. This week we look at Method #2. Method 2: Tax-Deferred accounts first, Taxable (aka non-retirement accounts) second, Roth last. Pros: Spreads taxes owed on deferred accounts over a longer period of time. Get ahead of Required Minimum Distributions, possibly keeping yourself in a lower…
In last week’s blog, I introduced some thoughts and methods of tapping into your savings to create a retirement paycheck. This week, we will look at the Method #1. This is the first method just because it’s kind of the standard one people default to. It’s not necessarily the best for you. Method 1: Taxable…
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…
…in the first year? That is a question. Not THE question – surely there are more important questions in life. But, with the new SECURE Act 2.0 moving the Required Minimum Distribution start date out yet another year, that old question may pop up again. To recap, the rule has always been that in the…
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