Changes needed for Social Security to be better funded often ignore a simple point – who benefits from the change? Short answer – anything done, to improve funding, benefits our children and grandchildren. Social Security is a multi-generational program … people forget this when they view it as a government program and mentally picture government (bad) […]
From home-schooling our children to shopping at Home Depot, we’re increasingly a do-it-yourself culture, bypassing professionals to save. Why pay for professionals or experts when investing? DIY can play a role when you handle your money, just maybe not the role you think. Original blog … Do It Yourself (DIY) Investing? … that inspired my syndicated article below. […]
Short answer, it depends! I’ve written about reverse mortgages here before – mostly about how they can blow up the best laid plans by people not fully understanding what they’re doing – thus, unexpected consequences from misunderstanding. So this piece is about getting to understand them so you may be able to use the untapped […]
Pragmatic Capitalism. This is a great summary of many difficult topics to get your arms around normally. Roche does a good job summarizing many complex interrelations such as what is money, what you really do with your money in the economy, what the banks do and how the Federal Reserve, our central bank works in […]
Time is Money. Thus, time is another valuable resource often overlooked when it comes to another resource – money. So … let’s take a look at what this may translate to. This should be insightful for you – or your children, grandchildren, or any other person important to you too. We like to spend as much […]
How you view your past, present and future appears to have an impact on your financial health. Here’s a great summary “The Personality Trait That Predicts Financial Health – Study finds it’s critical for financial advisors to understand how their clients think about time” By Gil Weinreich, ThinkAdvisor . Key points in Weinreich’s article: “Zimbardo — an emeritus […]
Gone are the days of work, golden watch and retirement with a pension. Few companies offer pensions today and government workers are also being shifted to retirement savings plans where they contribute instead of being solely employer based. Longevity was shorter when pensions were the rule so the pension plan was on the hook for […]
Most people mentally picture getting to, and then through, retirement as a straightforward and linear path. Of course, that is desirable. But is this a realistic expectation? Some advisers may suggest the top path is possible by emphasizing “safety first.” This comes from Social Security and/or a pension (if you have one like your grandparents had). […]
You’ve done a good job and have your estate plan in place with all your needed documents. What else needs to be done? Nothing – unless – you have young adult age children (over the age of majority, depending 0n your State, age 18-21+). What happens when they’ve had a serious accident or worse? I know – hard […]
School’s out. For most, after about the second week, they’re bored! I’m often asked what are good resources for parents to help teach their children about money and personal finance. Here are 7 ideas compiled by Wall Street Journal: Financial Reading Your Teen Wont Tune Out – WSJ.com. Books on Amazon: 1000 Smart Money Secrets […]
