Spring cleaning need not – and perhaps should not – be limited to your home. Rather, you might be well-served to extend your spring cleaning into your financial life. The author of today’s article identifies seven areas of your financial life to consider including in such an undertaking (including estate planning, investments, debts, and old retirement accounts), tasks to complete…
Retirement calculators are a dime a dozen. Which calculators are worth your time and effort and actually provide useful – and actionable – feedback? The author of today’s article recommends checking out one particular retirement calculator, which he assesses to be one of the best of the bunch and which provides you with two assessments, gauging your “chances of a…
While the years right before – and just after – retirement can play an especially critical role in one’s financial security in retirement, the author of today’s article points out that “a number of planning steps and strategies arise in the decade or so before retirement—that is, in one’s 50s usually—that can have a big impact before the start of…
Can a little gold help secure your golden years? The author of today’s article notes that “regardless of the cause, inflation can wipe out seniors and savers buying power very quickly” – and believes that one of the best ways for individuals to protect themselves against inflation is by owning precious metals. But what’s the best way to go about…
The popular ‘70% rule’ suggests that retirees will need to replace 70% of their pre-retirement income in order to fund their retirement. The author of today’s article, however, outlines several critical reasons why that formula is likely no longer an acceptable guideline for retirees – and why, today, “it’s not inconceivable that, for some retirees, their income replacement need could…
How can you earn $100,000 in retirement and only pay an effective tax rate of less than 3%? The author of today’s article outlines how, noting that “When it comes to your income, the government doesn’t tax every dollar equally. In fact, some dollars don’t get taxed at all. If you know the rules and are able to structure your…
Retirees face two possible worries, depending on how the market performs during their retirement: they could generate above-average returns and risk having underspent in retirement, or there’s the bigger worry: they could generate below-average returns and risk running out of money. In regards to the latter risk, today’s article outlines two research studies that provide retirees with techniques to reduce…
After an extended period of near record-low volatility, the market has seen a number of marked declines in recent weeks. Market declines can be terrifying – especially for those just starting retirement. As the author of today’s article notes, “retirement success is influenced by the returns that an investor earns when their portfolio is largest (presumably right at retirement). Therefore,…
With REITs being hammered by rising interest rates, the author of today’s article sought out REIT ETFs that attempt to mitigate the effect of rising rates – and found that no such funds currently exist. So, he went about building his own REIT ETF “that in theory responds better to interest rates, lowers volatility and eliminates ultra high yield companies…
Much of the market volatility of late has been the result of concerns over inflation creeping up – and the prospect of the Federal Reserve continuing to raise interest rates in response. The author of today’s article looks at what rising rates mean for your money, depending on the positioning of your portfolio in terms of bonds and stocks. Will…