Work with me on this analogy. There are many pieces to a puzzle. Imagine that the puzzle you are putting together is your financial well-being. When you are putting the first few puzzle pieces in place, it is challenging...
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Retirement is changing. There is a shift taking place on how we retire and who can help us get there. Gone are the days of working somewhere for 40 straight years and leaving with a pension to live on. ...
The last two months have brought continued market volatility to both stocks and bonds. It can be hard to stomach at times, yet it’s also expected. The long-term investor knows that markets on average, go up 7 out of...
Many people are ready to make the transition to retirement. They envision living a less stressful, carefree lifestyle. Where they can be adventurers, live next to the ocean, hear the waves crash. Enjoy the warm sunshine, swim in the...
How much can retirees withdraw from their nest egg each year? This is a question that many thought was answered by the 4% rule, first articulated by Bill Bengan in 1994. Bengan is a retired financial planner from Southern...
Whether you’re already retired or thinking about retiring within the next few years, a second act might be on your mind. Have you given thought to what you’ll spend your time on in retirement? Many older adults view retirement...
U.S. stocks are cresting to all-time highs, almost daily. These are the times when investors look forward to opening their monthly statement. The anticipation is high, you open the envelope (or electronic statement) and wow, is that right? Shouldn’t...
It sure seems like we’ve had our fair share of investment volatility of this century. There have been two major market disruptions; The Dotcom bubble in 2000, where the Nasdaq composite lost 78% of its value, followed by the...
Inflation since 2008 has been very low. The average since 2008 is a paltry 1.48%. The numbers annually are as follows: Year Rate of inflation 2008 .1% 2009 2.7% 2010 1.5% 2011 3.0% 2012 1.7% 2013 1.5% 2014 .8%...
Last blog we shared some ideas about how boomers may be able to retire on less money than many experts suggest. One of the topics we mentioned was lowering the cost of housing. We will explore that topic in...