If, like many Americans, you find yourself behind when it comes to having enough saved for a financially secure retirement, one potential way to increase your retirement savings is by taking advantage of catch-up contributions. The author of today’s article cautions “Don’t fall into the trap of underestimating how much these extra contributions can potentially benefit your upcoming retirement” –…
Achieving alpha in the financial markets is no easy feat. As such, the author of today’s article advocates that, in seeking alpha, “all of us need to look in our backyards, where all our personal financial decisions are waiting to be optimized.” How? He outlines a number of strategies pertaining to Social Security benefits, retirement accounts and taxes which, combined,…
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…
Is 2.6 the new 4? When it comes to your financial plan’s safe withdrawal rate in the low-return environment that many institutions are forecasting for traditional asset classes going forward, that may be the case. However, rather than just accepting lower withdrawal rates, there may be things investors can do to overcome this situation. Today’s article offers a number of…
Budgeting may be the cornerstone of financial success but two-thirds of Americans don’t have a budget (and the one-third that do undoubtedly don’t enjoy managing it). Given this, the author of today’s article outlines an alternative to monthly budget tracking: the First Step Cash Management System, “a cash flow system [that] almost runs itself.” For how this bucket-based system works,…
There’s no question that the wealthy have a major advantage when it comes to retirement – but that doesn’t mean that the less affluent can’t learn a thing or two (or three) from the rich about how to achieve a financially secure – and overall fulfilling – retirement. Today’s article looks at some retirement planning lessons that can be gleaned…
If there was one simple thing that you could do that could help you be better prepared financially for – and boost your confidence in your ability to maintain your desired lifestyle in – retirement, would you do it? Well, as today’s article highlights, there is such a thing – yet less than a quarter of Americans have done it.…
Think you’re financially and emotionally ready to retire? According to today’s article, you may still have to postpone retirement, thanks to the House Republicans’ proposed Obamacare replacement bill – the American Health Care Act – and its provision that would allow insurers to charge older customers five times as much in premiums as younger customers – compared to the three-to-one…
There is no end of lists purporting to identify the best cities or states in which to retire – but, for those planning on relocating to a warmer or less expensive locale in retirement, today’s article cautions there are a number of factors to consider that could lead to unexpected consequences – both financial and non-financial. The big one? Taxes…
When it comes to retirement planning, today’s article provides a case study in what not to do. In fact, it provides seven of them, as relayed by the financial planners who have seen people make these big retirement planning mistakes first-hand. From being too optimistic (or, conversely, too pessimistic) about one’s financial situation, to underestimating the impact taxes will have…