The age at which most people claim Social Security (green line) is opposite to the age at which they SHOULD claim Social Security (purple line in graph above). According to The Retirement Solution Hiding in Plain Sight: How Much Retirees Would Gain by Improving Social Security Decisions, “retirees will collectively lose $3.4 trillion in potential income […]
As the Coronavirus continues to put people of all walks of life in hospitals and on ventilators, the necessity of incapacity planning is starting to hit home. The question now isn’t so much “what if I die?” (although there’s that, too), but “what if I’m unable to speak for myself? Who will take care of […]
Pandemics, like the diseases themselves, run their course. The coronavirus will also run its course, as will its impact on global markets. This article isn’t about COVID-19, though it is important to know What to do if your sick … by the CDC. Rather this piece is about human nature and investing, and by extension, […]
The SECURE Puzzle This article will discuss HOW a heir may distribute Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) over the 10 year period that results from the SECURE Act of 2019*. The pertinent details of the Act relevant to this article will be discussed later. The below applies to any qualified retirement funds an heir may inherit. […]
You’ve probably got a dinner invitation in your mail. Free dinners are popular marketing ploys. “The hook” is the free meal. You bite. The salesperson reels you in with a compelling presentation. They land you when you buy what they’re pitching. No surprise – typically it’s an annuity. Why typically? Because they have high commissions, […]
“Tariffs are one of the oldest trade policy instruments, with their use dating back to at least the 18th century. Historically, the main objective of a tariff was to raise revenue (my emphasis). In fact, before ratifying the 16th Amendment in 1913 and formally creating the income tax, the U.S. government raised most of its revenue (taxes) from tariffs. Even so, […]
When it comes to debt, there are many different kinds. There is mortgage debt (primary mortgages, second mortgages, lines of credit, etc.), vacation home or secondary residences, credit cards, education loans (both owed by students, or by parents and/or grandparents), vehicle debt, and other miscellaneous debts (e.g., loans against pensions or life insurance). I’ve written […]
WOW! The DOW “plunged*” 602.12 points on the 12th of Nov 2018! (at the time I write this) That translates to JUST 2.32% down from the previous market close. So … not so wow after all. Here’s what I mean … you need to begin thinking in terms of percentages, not points, when the DOW […]
You may hear, when markets get “volatile,” that there are more sellers than buyers. Can that even happen? What does that phrase even mean? BTW, you hear it too in any market, including the real estate market. The article below, “A Question of Equilibrium,” explains the basics of how buyers and sellers always agree […]
A crucial part of retirement income planning is helping you estimate health care expenses in retirement, both in the first year of retirement and over a your life expectancy. These costs are notoriously difficult to estimate because they depend on: 1) a client’s health care usage (i.e., health status) both now and in the future; […]
