“What kind of retiree are you?” An interesting concept that we had some fun diving into, and wanted to share it with you.  Are you “The Adventurer”? Do you want to stay active, are you in good health, and have you always wanted to fill up your passport pages?  Are you “The Philanthropist”? Do you enjoy giving back and want to dedicate more of your time to worthy causes?  Are you “The Dynamo”? Do you love your career and pride yourself on being productive and useful?  Are you “The Homebody”? When you’re done with work do you dream of gardening,

How should couples save for retirement if only one is working? Saving for two when one is the primary or sole breadwinner can be challenging. It takes proper strategizing that goes beyond just watching your spending. Often, couples think that there will never be a time when they can actually just enjoy life. Thankfully, that’s not necessarily true.  There are strategies and options that can help you protect and save more income for retirement–or potentially even retire early. We know of some options you might not have even considered. Get in contact with us to learn more.

Sometimes there is value in knowing. Social Security was never meant to cover all your expenses in retirement, and, unless you work in the public sector, pensions are rare. Knowing there’s another payment coming in like clockwork every month, or that your savings have some protection from a volatile market, can ease possible worries about not having enough to support yourself, especially during times of economic uncertainty. If you’d be interested in learning about some alternative sources of retirement income, get in contact with us. We know about some options that might fit the bill.

We read an article recently examining more than 800 locations in America, comparing everything from housing costs to taxes to health care, air quality, and natural hazard risk. What they found were some of the best places to retire in 2024.  The town of Las Cruces, for example, a town of 116,000 people, has a median home price of only $284,000 (which is 28% under the national median).  Interestingly, their only choice down in Florida was Pensacola, a city of 53,000 with a median house price of just $262,000–the rest of sunny Florida apparently had too high of hurricane risks

Nobel laureate, the late Daniel Kahneman, proposed a question; “How does the experience of a loss compare with the experience of a gain?” There were four possible answers to choose from:  Which answer would you choose? Kahneman’s research study concluded that losses are twice as painful as gains are pleasurable:  “This phenomenon—known as loss aversion—suggests the pain we might feel from losing $100 is disproportionately more intense than the joy we would experience from gaining the same amount. One implication is that people tend to go to far greater lengths to avoid a loss than they would to rack up

It’s been a while since the Secure Act of 2022 came about, but it’s time to refocus on its impact in 2024. Did you know that, beginning in 2024, Roth 401(k)s are no longer subject to RMDs? This means that Roth savers, whether in a 401(k) or an IRA, can keep their contributions invested their entire lifetime.  Did you know that the penalty for failing to take an RMD drops from 50% to 25%? And, the penalty can be further reduced to 10% if corrected in a timely manner. Did you know that the RMD age is now 73, and

Strategists who work with couples have found there to be a few conflicts that are most common between them. Different priorities: financial management done predominately by one partner, helping adult children, and disagreements over an inheritance. Each seems to resonate in different ways as we all know how common it is to have one partner be more of a spender than the other, or more inclined to save than the other. Or, perhaps one partner finds it easier to take the reins of being in charge of the money while the other finds it overwhelming or confusing. As it relates

We’ve been asked a few questions regarding what happens to those portions of your estate that aren’t treated consistently with what you say in your will.  Many people assume wills and trusts are the pillars of a perfect estate plan. However, asset titling–the way you own an asset–is just as critical. Conflict instructions can create unintended consequences for your heirs, and results that may not be the ones you wanted.  If you state in your will that you want your home to be given to, for example, your children from a previous marriage, but the property is titled with your

Having just taken a look at your traditional IRA, you may be wondering if the time is now to convert it to a Roth IRA.  Choosing between a Roth and a traditional IRA requires you to estimate what your tax situation will be when you start drawing from the account. This analysis is different from person to person, and there is not a right or wrong answer necessarily.  For some, the immediate tax break of the traditional IRA might make that type of account more appealing; for others, the prospect of tax-free income in retirement makes the Roth the clear

What does retirement really, truly mean? What are your plans for after you retire? We’ve been thinking about this recently. Many would define it as “retreating from the ‘busyness’ of life.”  When do you plan on retiring? How old will you be? How long do you think you’ll spend in retirement? Getting away from all the “busyness” costs money; you need to afford to not just support yourself but enjoy your retirement to the fullest.  Call us. We may have some ideas about where and how you can have sources of income you can’t outlive, an income stream that will