How to Avoid a 50% Mistake

December 18, 2013

Every year, the Ward family gathers around the table to share a traditional Thanksgiving meal together.  Each of us takes turns sharing what we are thankful for and before long, the whole dining room is alive with laughter and joyous conversation.  After the kids are excused, the adults sit closer together to talk about more serious issues, and inevitably the subject of money enters the discourse.  Fortunately, there is a financial planner among them, so everyone knows who to ask when financial questions arise. Continue reading “How to Avoid a 50% Mistake”

What You May Want to Discuss Around the Thanksgiving Table

November 20, 2013

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and if you are like most traditional American families, you’ll probably eat too much, watch a game or two on the TV, and simply enjoy spending some quality time with each other. For some families, spending quality time together happens regularly, but for many, including my own, it usually only happens around the holidays.  If that is the case for your family, one thing you may want to do this holiday season is discuss long-term financial goals. It may not seem like the most enjoyable topic of conversation around the dinner table, but with more and more uncertainty about the future, it may be one of the more important conversations you will ever have in your life. Continue reading “What You May Want to Discuss Around the Thanksgiving Table”

“Rules of Thumb” Can Make Financial Planning Simpler

November 13, 2013

One of the many hats I wear around the Financial Finesse office is that of a fact checker.  Before we publish an article or release new content, I am frequently asked to verify any factual information it may contain.  In some instances, the information I am asked to verify is absolute. For example, the IRS has recently released 401(k) and IRA contribution limits for 2014: $17,500 (or $23,000 if age 50+) and $5,500 (or $6,500 if age 50+), respectively. At other times, the information we include in our publications is based on generally accepted financial planning principles—what we typically refer to as “rules of thumb.” Continue reading ““Rules of Thumb” Can Make Financial Planning Simpler”

Will Social Security Be Around For Your Retirement?

July 15, 2013

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of completing a mid-year financial checkup. One of the activities that I completed as part our family’s recent financial checkup was the activity of running a basic retirement planning calculator (yes I do occasionally try to actually follow my own advice).  I used both a basic retirement plan estimator and ESPLannerBASIC.  Continue reading “Will Social Security Be Around For Your Retirement?”

Four Key Questions For Your Retirement Plan

May 06, 2013

In last week’s blog post, I introduced my idea of creating a list of forty things to do before I reach my 40th birthday. The ultimate goal in creating my 40 by 40 list was to establish goals across important areas of the life experience while at the same time, helping define my own vision of an ideal retirement. Regardless of what your retirement vision may look like, there are four basic questions that should be a driving force behind your retirement planning activities: Continue reading “Four Key Questions For Your Retirement Plan”

The College Fund You Don’t Know You Have

March 14, 2013

I talk to many parents of students approaching college age who fret about having little or nothing saved for college. They know how important a college education is and want their children to be able to go to the school of their choice while graduating with as little debt as possible but at best, they only have a few thousand dollars set aside for college expenses, barely enough for one semester’s worth of meals. The rest of their money is tied up in emergency savings, retirement accounts, and a home with little or no equity. Yet, there is one potential bright spot… Continue reading “The College Fund You Don’t Know You Have”

Financial Education Can Help Your Pre-Retirees With Their Pension Distribution

January 29, 2013
With growing concerns about retirees outliving their retirement savings, one crucial decision that some workers have to make can have a huge impact on their chances of not outliving their nest egg, and that is which pension payout option they select at retirement. This important choice, which is irrevocable once selected, is often misunderstood by employees.  I’ve heard many employees who were planning to overlook a period certain option because they thought the payments would end at the end of the period (such as a 10 year certain and life annuity) if they outlived the time frame or employees who simply ask “What do most people pick?”. Continue reading “Financial Education Can Help Your Pre-Retirees With Their Pension Distribution”

A Centenerian Workforce?

January 15, 2013

Sadly, the oldest U.S citizen in our country died this month at age 114.  The Gerontology Research Group, which verifies age information for Guinness World Records, listed Mamie Rearden’s date of birth as Sept. 7, 1898, and her birth was recorded in the 1900 U.S. Census.  She didn’t spend much time in the workforce since she left her teaching job after having her third child, but she led an interesting life doing volunteer work. According to her daughter, Mamie always counseled that her 11 children should treat others as they wanted to be treated and that included never gossiping or speaking ill of others. We should all follow this motto if that’s what was the secret to her long life.  Continue reading “A Centenerian Workforce?”

How to Find an Extra $2 Million in Your Coat Pocket

December 21, 2012

A few things happened today and somehow when I pieced them together, it all made sense (to me, at least).  As I was putting my coat on this COLD morning (for the first time in nearly a year), I found a $20 bill in the pocket.  Talk about a great way to get your day started!!!  I was thinking that it was going to be a good day.  Continue reading “How to Find an Extra $2 Million in Your Coat Pocket”

Can This Retirement Be Saved? Case Study Age 40

December 17, 2012

When I was a kid, I used to love to read the Redbook magazines my mother had lying around the house.  My favorite column was “Can this marriage be saved?” since it gave the wife’s point of view, the husband’s point of view and then finally the therapist’s point of view of the marriage and what could be done to improve it.  I realize I am like that therapist now but for finances.  Continue reading “Can This Retirement Be Saved? Case Study Age 40”

Taking Back Control of Your Retirement Income

October 24, 2012

One of the key issues debated this presidential election season has been Social Security. Regardless of who’s in the White House come January, Social Security is not enough to cover more than the most basic living needs. With the average monthly Social Security benefit of $1,230 only increasing by 1.7 percent next year, this fact isn’t going to change anytime soon. For some, a government or corporate pension may provide additional, regular income.  The majority of Americans, however, will have to maximize what they themselves have set aside in their retirement plans to sustain their standard of living throughout retirement. Continue reading “Taking Back Control of Your Retirement Income”

How Much Should Employees Have Saved Up For Retirement So Far?

October 09, 2012

I’ve just come off of a 3 week road trip, where I zig-zagged across the western half of the U.S., speaking to a variety of workforces on planning for retirement.  One common question I heard again and again from many of the mid-career employees was “how much should I have saved up so far?” towards their retirement nest egg.  Similar to my journey as I traveled from one workplace location to another, I knew what the final destination was on the map, but it was just as important to know how many miles I had driven and how many more miles to go, so I would know when I had to stop for gas or take a pit stop.  Continue reading “How Much Should Employees Have Saved Up For Retirement So Far?”

7 Steps to Your Financial Independence Day

July 04, 2012

This week America celebrates its 236th birthday.  To honor the occasion, why not declare your own personal “Financial” Independence Day.  To me, financial independence equates to not having to worry about money, so if you are worried about your finances, take these seven steps to economic freedom: Continue reading “7 Steps to Your Financial Independence Day”

Mark Your Calendars: National Retirement Planning Week is April 9-13, 2012

April 03, 2012

Last week, I wrote about the importance of running a retirement calculator or a retirement preparedness assessment.  With National Retirement Planning Week coming up April 9 -13, 2012, there’s no better time to highlight the necessity of your employees knowing where they stand regarding their own retirement readiness.  This year’s theme is “Retire On Your Terms” and is sponsored by the National Retirement Planning Coalition.  The NRPC was formed by a group of prominent financial industry and advocacy organizations to raise public awareness of the need for comprehensive retirement planning and to recognize that the need to educate Americans on retirement planning is an ongoing effort and is committed to making this a national priority.  Members of the NRPC include the Jumpstart Coalition, the American College, EBRI, the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, and the American Savings Education Council, along with many others. Continue reading “Mark Your Calendars: National Retirement Planning Week is April 9-13, 2012”

Old School Money Tips That Stand the Test of Time

April 02, 2012

“Are you in entertainment?” I asked the older gentleman next to me as we got news from the pilot we were in a “holding pattern.”  The flight was from LAX to Salt Lake City with a stopover in Las Vegas. I was headed home to Utah but the gentleman sitting next to me was obviously going to get off in Vegas.  He resembled a mix of Johnny Cash with his dark black hair and leather suit jacket with a black shirt and a cast member of the Godfather with the way he carried himself.  In other words, I did not mess with him – no one did. Continue reading “Old School Money Tips That Stand the Test of Time”

5 Financial Rules You May Need to Break

March 15, 2012

There are certain guidelines that we financial planners tell people to help keep them out of trouble. Most of the time, they’re right on. But there’s almost always an exception to the general rule. Here are some of those rules, why they usually make sense, and when they might not. Continue reading “5 Financial Rules You May Need to Break”

Rental Property in an IRA?

February 22, 2012

The second week of April is Spring Break for our kids so this year we planned a family vacation to Amelia Island, Florida.  We’ve never been there before so after perusing several possible forms of accommodations, we settled on a condominium close to the beach.  As expected, the owners of the rental property requested one half of the rent up front and then the remainder at the time of occupancy.  What made this particular request a little different was who, or in this case what, we made the check payable to.  Usually you make a check out to a person or to a rental management agency but in this instance we made our check payable to the property owner’s individual retirement account (IRA).  Huh? Continue reading “Rental Property in an IRA?”