Warning Signs About Your Money

Written on .

Most retirees who have saved a significant amount of money for retirement rely on a financial professional to help them make the best decisions with their money. What your advisor does, and says, will tell you if you should feel confident with his/her advice. Here are some telltale warning signs:

#1- You don’t have a comprehensive written retirement income plan, nothing is in writing.

#2- You are told to “Ride It Out” or “Hang In There” when you are suffering through large losses.

#3- Your advisor acts like your dad, he/she acts like your money is their money. 

Continue reading

Are You Blind to Your Own Possible Financial Future?

Written on .

Have you been led to believe that everything is great in your finances? Maybe you trust your advisor who says everything is okay. Perhaps you believe the news that everything is okay because the stock market keeps hitting all-time highs? Maybe you’re an optimist and just believe things will work out somehow and nothing bad will happen?

Here is your wake-up call: You can’t plan and handle your retirement finances this way. You’re putting your finances, and your family’s finances in jeopardy by hoping that you’ll get lucky.

Continue reading

Your Advisor is Not Your Friend

Written on .

One of the biggest mistakes one can make is thinking of your financial advisor as your friend, instead of looking at it as a business relationship to provide you with sound financial advice.

A friend would actually listen to you when you say you want to take less risk.

A friend wouldn’t put in writing how much risk you’re really taking.

A friend wouldn’t put in writing, how much you could lose in the next stock market crash.

A friend wouldn’t tell you not to worry and ride out all stock market losses.

A friend wouldn’t put all the fees you pay in writing, even the hidden ones.

Continue reading

Are You Having to Handle Money All By Yourself?

Written on .

Whether you are divorced, widowed, or a lifelong single person, planning your retirement finances and having to handle money all by yourself can be extremely challenging when you only have yourself to rely on. You only have one Social Security, maybe a pension, and the assets you as an individual have saved.

Establishing a written plan is crucial to ensuring your future financial success. A solid written financial plan should include the following:

  • An Income Plan detailing how much income you will receive each year and where each income source comes from so that you can be confident knowing your income will not run out.
  • A Risk Analysis stating how much risk you’re taking currently and how you plan on eliminating or managing any possible large losses to your savings. 
  • A Fee Analysis showing how much you’re paying in fees, both direct and hidden, as well as a way to reduce them.

Continue reading

Your Financial Planning Checklist for the New Year

Written on .

financial planning
How to Use an Annual Financial Plan to Stay on Top of Your Goals

A common error in financial planning is to assume that you can do it once and be finished. In truth, though, even a well-conceived plan built with the help of a financial advisor should be reviewed annually. This allows you to stay on top of what you have and have not accomplished so that you can ensure you’ve covered all the bases on both your short-term and long-term goals.

Creating an annual financial planning checklist is a useful way to track your progress, as well as to ensure you remain vigilant about making adjustments if your circumstances or your goals should change.

Continue reading

Ways to Reduce Your Household Expenses

Written on .

reduce household expenses
Eight Tips for Cutting Your Monthly Spending

Everyday household expenses can quickly add up and, if you’re not paying attention, they can end up consuming a large portion of your income. When this happens, saving enough for financial goals like buying a house, paying for a college education, or saving for retirement can become difficult. Below are eight ways you can reduce your monthly household expenses.

Continue reading

Social Security Survivor Benefits and How They Work

Written on .

social security survivor benefits
A Primer on the Benefits Available to You When Your Spouse Passes Away

Losing a spouse is an especially painful time. Unfortunately, many people find their grief compounded by the complexities of figuring out their finances. The process for collecting Social Security Survivor Benefits can be particularly confusing, but we hope this primer will help you wade through the confusion and better understand the benefits you may be eligible for.

Continue reading

How to Estimate How Much You’ll Need to Retire

Written on .

Four Steps to Arriving at Your ‘Enough’ Number

It’s tempting to think about retirement savings in black and white: there’s a “right” number you need to reach, at which point you have enough money saved to sustain your retirement. The trouble is, there is no right number because every retiree has a different picture of what their ideal retirement looks like. That means the amount of money you’ll need to retire could be vastly different – either far more or far less – than others your age, or even in your social circle. In order to truly understand what your retirement savings goal should be, you need to forget arbitrary numbers and come up with you own personal estimate.

Continue reading

Are You Risking Your Retirement with These Two Investment Myths?

Written on .

successfully-retired-couple
Pervasive Misinformation Could Cost You in Retirement

In our many years working with clients, we have noticed a disturbing trend: most people are investing based upon two faulty premises, both of which are pervasive myths and neither of which are in an investor’s best interest:

  • The Myth of “Riding Out the Market”
  • The Myth of Getting a “10%+ Annual Return”

Have you heard these? Are you investing based upon them? If so, you’re not alone. However, we’re here to tell you that these myths are old-school and outdated, and they aren’t serving you as well as you may believe.

Continue reading

Questions You Must Be Able to Answer to Have a Successful Retirement

Written on .

successfully-retired-couple-on-bench
Do You Have Responses to these Critical Retirement Planning Considerations?

All retirees have their own unique beliefs about what a successful retirement looks like, yet too many are unable to answer important financial questions about achieving that success. And, when you can’t find answers to your most pressing money questions, it’s difficult to feel financially secure.

In our 50+ years of experience, we’ve come to realize that there are nine specific questions you need to be able to answer about your money in order to plan – and achieve – a successful retirement:

  1. How much money can you safely take out of your assets for income?
  2. How long will your money actually last?
  3. Can you guarantee you will never run out of money?
  4. How can you protect your assets from volatility and losses?
  5. How much income tax will you pay on your income distributions?
  6. How much will you lose if the market takes another big drop?
  7. Is it OK to start spending some of your money?
  8. What are the total fees you are really paying and how can you reduce them?
  9. What is going to happen if you or your spouse pass away?

If you can’t answer these nine questions, it means your retirement planning is based on hope and luck – not the best recipe for success. Read on to learn Momma’s Secret Recipe, instead.

Continue reading