Helping pave the way towards financial freedom
In planning for retirement, one topic is often top of mind: What if Social Security goes bust? As we covered in a related 2022 post, When Should You Take Your Social Security, most of us have been paying into the program our entire working life. We’re counting on receiving some of that money back in…
Ever heard of the 80/20 rule? It suggests 80% of an outcome is often the result of just 20% of the effort you put into it. This doesn’t always work. Sometimes, it’s worth going the extra mile. But often, by prioritizing the 20% of your efforts that make the biggest splash, you can reduce excess…
If you are like me, you were hoping to get a break from political news after the mid-term elections just ended. The break didn’t last long. The presidential campaign season is well underway, with former President Donald Trump already declaring his candidacy. In the coming weeks, we are sure to hear about other Republicans joining…
Do you remember when a million dollars used to be the gold standard for the amount to have saved at retirement? Well, as we all know, a million dollars is not what it used to be! Knowing how much you need to save is certainly important, but your target should not be arbitrary. It could…
The average American checks their phone 96 times a day. While phones may have become a central piece of our lives, this is once every 10 minutes! Entirely too much, wouldn’t you agree? This has also made it easier for people to check on their portfolios. Whether it’s pulling up news and quotes on Yahoo…
Even though we know it was just dumb luck, can we get a round of applause for seeming to forecast last month’s surprisingly strong market returns? It’s almost (but not really) as if the market were reading our mind when three broad U.S. stock indexes ended July 2022 with their best returns since 2020—up 9.1%,…
Often, all you need to be an excellent investor is a healthy dose of common sense: A penny saved is a penny earned. Buy low, sell high. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. That said, the best way to achieve these simple goals isn’t always as obvious. In fact, many of our favorite…
The yield curve is flattening (or growing steeper)! … Yield curve spreads are widening (or narrowing)! … The yield curve has inverted (or normalized)! Headline-grabbing yield curve commentary somehow sounds important, doesn’t it? Specifically, the media has recently talked about an INVERTED yield curve. But what is a yield curve to begin with, and what…
How often do you think about retirement? According to studies, most of us think about it a lot — at least four times a week! We think about when we’ll retire and how we’ll spend our time in retirement. And as exciting as that can be, it can also be nerve-racking to think about trying to…
My post today was inspired by some recent conversations with clients about using an appropriate time horizon for their retirement plan. With financial planning, we often have to input certain data assumptions into a software program. Amongst the assumptions are the expected age my clients will live. This not an easy discussion to have, and…