1-minute video: How Can You Take Care of Your Spouse Just in Case Something Should Happen to You? Still working? About to retire? Retired? How might you replace lost income for the survivor? Money needed – a lump sum – may come from savings/investments set aside, life insurance, a standby reverse mortgage line of credit, or […]
Archive | Financial Planning
1-Minute Video: How to Set and Keep Financial Goals
Please enjoy this 1-minute video (for those receiving this by email: please click on the blog title line above to view). The video discusses the fundamentals of goal setting. But where (what) is the goal post for retirement planning as a goal? There’s more to it than simply saying I’ll retire and income will come […]
What’s the AIM of both investing and planning?
The aim of retirement planning while working is to accumulate shares. The aim of retirement planning once retired is to conserve shares! Both working or retired, the aim is share management! The value of each share goes up and down over time. Shares are the store of wealth. Dollars are simply a measure of spending […]
1-minute video: Is (a Little) Debt a Good Thing?
1-minute video: Is (a Little) Debt a Good Thing? Please enjoy this 1-minute video (for those receiving this by email: please click on the blog title line above to view). I make a subtle, but important distinction, with debt categories in the post “Basic Steps to Reducing Debt.” I refer to both education and car […]
A Bank Statement Approach to Budgeting – but NOT used like you’d think!
Please note: The purpose of this simple exercise is to get the BIG PICTURE about your lifestyle and the total amount you spend … in the first place! Go from general impressions of your lifestyle to informed insights via the easy exercise explained below. Why is this important? Because it is easy to fall into […]
What’s the Difference Between Advisers?
You’ve probably had experiences with different “advisers” without even realizing it (even at your bank). “Adviser” is a broad term ill-defined in the financial services profession. A key part of financial education is to become more aware of what kind of “adviser” are you talking with (not only me, but with any other as well)? […]
Journalism 101 Meets Personal Finance 101
Most people invest willy-nilly (without any planning or order). Taking some basics from journalism may help most people get better results (expectations) when they approach investing. Answers to questions about Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? “…are questions whose answers are considered basic in information gathering or problem solving.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Ws . They’re very fundamental […]
A few things Roth
There are a few things you can do between 401k’s, Roth 401k’s, Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs … but the rules are tricky so don’t try these at home without the assistance of an experienced tax preparer! You don’t want to crack any nest eggs moving them between baskets! If your 401k has both after-tax […]
Home buying: Prequalification? Debt ratios? Rent vs Buy?
Home buying can be daunting, even for those who’ve done it before. The question of getting loan approval can be tricky. Having your debt to income ratios evaluated for loan qualification is also confusing to some. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a good short description as to the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval. […]
How do you use APR to calculate loan costs?
Lately it seems that many people are receiving offers to refinance their mortgages. Should you refinance? What does that offer tell you about expenses? It does say something about expenses. Here’s how you may determine what they’re saying those expenses are. Online there is a lot of discussion about the APR, but not a lot […]