The Trump tax reform plan has gotten a lot of attention (both positive and negative) of late. One aspect of the plan that has not gotten much notice, however, is a provision that the author of today’s article notes “would mark a landmark shift in the way that the government handles a key issue” – and this shift could ultimately…
When it comes to calculating your “magic number” for retirement (how much you need to save in order to retire comfortably), various formulas have been suggested (Fidelity, for example, recommends that you save the equivalent of 10 times your final salary). The author of today’s article, however, sees this approach as “fatally flawed” and recommends using a “magic dividend number”…
There are many actions (and inactions) that can wreck retirement plans. As such, while the author of today’s article acknowledges that the $1 million figure frequently cited as how much one needs to amass for a comfortable retirement may be arbitrary, he stresses that “what is not arbitrary is it takes discipline and it requires avoiding mistakes and pitfalls to…
Despite renewed strength in – and interest in owning – gold, the author of today’s article believes that few people have a good understanding of why the precious metal behaves the way it does – and thus what role (if any) it has to play in an investment portfolio. As such, he proceeds to examine the case for and against…
Which is the better choice for retirees (or any other income investor): building a portfolio of individual dividend stocks or buying a dividend exchange-traded fund? The author of today’s article argues that, “while total return is certainly a very important consideration, there are a number of other factors that can swing the decision one way or the other” – and…
What’s more important (and therefore which should you be focusing on more): saving or investing? The answer, according to the author of today’s article, is that it depends. Specifically, the author outlines how the answer to this question depends on where you are in your investment life cycle. What simple calculation does the author suggest for determining whether you should…
When it comes to determining how much to spend from a retirement portfolio each year, the author of today’s article states that, while there is no perfect strategy, “there are many perfectly fine spending strategies. So the goal is to understand the pros and cons of each strategy, then pick the one that suits you and move on with your…
When it comes to assessing risk, the author of today’s article argues that “most people don’t really understand what their true risks are.” He proceeds to identify what he believes is the greatest risk most retirees face – one that is not getting the attention from retired (and retiring) baby boomers that it warrants. The risk in question is associated…
Forget bland and boring bond funds – the author of today’s article highlights three bond exchange-traded funds that he sees as “off-the-beaten-track [picks] with world-class qualities.” To learn about these three bonds ETFs – including a “fallen angels” play that owns “once highly touted corporate bonds [that have] slipped down the credit ladder – and how they can be best…
“Though some people end up spending less in retirement than they estimated, odds are you won’t be in this group,” cautions the author of today’s article. In order to avoid spending more in retirement than estimated – and thus drawing down your nest egg more quickly than planned – the author recommends beginning to live the retirement life well before…