It may not come as a surprise that higher contribution rates lead to greater wealth accumulation for retirement plan participants. But a recent study found that the size of the difference a few percentage points can make over time is dramatic. A study by the Putnam Institute, “Defined Contribution Plans: Missing the forest for the […]
Kitces blog (Long Term Savings, Relying On Returns, And Retirement Date Risk – Kitces | Nerd’s Eye View) makes the excellent point that the traditional method of investment planning (save an amount and rely on compounding to work its magic) has some, heretofore unrecognized risks. Mainly it relies on the compounding magic to work in the […]
What is the dynamic effect of saving more? It is how you reach your retirement goal sooner than expected. Why? Because most retirement calculators fail to make a key adjustment when calculating when you may retire. When you save for retirement the calculator basically tells you how long it will take to reach a target […]
Spending and saving are the inverse of each other. Spend more means you save less. Save more means you spend less. People let their “Present Self” over power the needs of their “Future Self.” This conflict within yourself is what financial planning is all about … how to balance the two. My article displayed below, syndicated […]
The past is not prologue for the future, however it is instructive to see how markets were affected by past government shutdowns. This USAToday graphic, Item # 6, shows the Dow index did go down. However, it also shows a recovery after the shutdown ended. The chart may help put any downward activity into a […]
Many people have the goal to pay off their debt. But, which debt to pay off first? It is helpful to understand that there are three (3) categories of debt: Bad Necessary Good You want to pay debt off in that order (and not add anymore debt in that order too). Read more about these […]
Most people rely on growth of their investments to reach their savings goal. But … it depends on how old you are to make that work. Why? Because, compounding doesn’t really kick in until the later years. When you are older (than 45), you don’t have those “later” years anymore. True, what you have saved […]
“Any investment portfolio has two engines of growth: the contributions made by the investor, and the rate of return generated by the portfolio. But which has the greater impact?” says Dr Craig Israelsen in Financial Planning article titled “Best Way to Bulk Up.” His findings echo those of mine that I posted in a blog […]
This syndicated column of mine through AdviceIQ discusses why saving for college in the student’s name is probably a bad idea because doing this may reduce student aid. Please see the other short blogs about the topic of saving for education, the options compared, repaying student loans, and other considerations like taxes. Advice iq don’t […]
Life insurance replaces lost income when you go below the ground. Lost income to who? To those who depend on that income (which is now lost). In general, retirees don’t need life insurance UNLESS their pension or Social Security is depended upon by the survivor. In general, if nobody else depends on your income then […]
