When it comes to our children, for many of us, there is almost nothing we wouldn’t do for them when we’re needed. But when it comes to our adult children, sometimes the best way to help is to pull back and teach them to help themselves. This is especially true when it comes [...]
A couple of years ago, our family made the collective decision to get a family dog. I wasn’t particularly sold on the idea, but my wife and all of our children clamored to have a dog at home, so I agreed. During the process of finding a dog and the subsequent process of [...]
You have more choices than you think. Is creating a college fund on your to-do list? Consider these options. 529 plans. Anyone can contribute to these savings vehicles. Some let you prepay college tuition; others allow you to accumulate and invest education funds. Earnings on investments in a 529 plan grow tax-deferred, and [...]
What questions do you need to answer before you're sure you're financially ready? The day is finally approaching. You've been saving and investing most of your adult life for this moment, but now you're not so sure you're really ready to retire. It's a predicament faced by many employees that we work with. [...]
Could you possibly arrange multiple income sources? On average, women receive 23% less Social Security income than men. In 2014 (the most recent year of data available), the average yearly Social Security benefit for a woman 65 or older was $13,150, compared to $17,106 for her male counterpart.1 This is one example of the [...]
In trying to do it yourself, there’s the chance you could do it all wrong. Many successful people refrain from trying to plan their financial futures. They delegate that job to professionals, as they lack the time, inclination, or knowledge to do it themselves. This makes sense. It takes years to gain [...]
Some key financial steps that you could take. Your twenties are the perfect time to save and invest. Do it now, and you will have a great ally—time—on your side. Think about doing the following things if you’re not doing them already. Put money into a retirement plan. Save and invest through a 401(k), [...]
The risks to your wealth aren’t only in the financial markets. The wealthier you become, the more liability protection matters. We live in a litigious world, one in which even friends and neighbors can be convinced to see opportunity in the wake of misfortune. A (larger) umbrella liability policy may be an excellent idea. [...]
The Social Security Administration has stopped mailing out most yearly statements, but you can estimate your retirement benefit online. With growing uncertainty about the future of Social Security funding, the Social Security Administration (SSA) suspended most mailings of its annual statements. Previously, the SSA had sent all working Americans an annual statement about three months before [...]
One of the oldest market sayings is: “markets climb a wall of worry”—needless to say, it is sometimes good to be cautious. We listed some of our worries recently in What Might Scare Markets, but the action in the S&P 500 Index over the past year—and so far in November—has that list growing. [...]
