How do you compare to the average American when it comes to your household income (and household debt), charitable giving, 401(k) balance, personal savings rate, and other key financial metrics? Today’s article outlines “10 Financial Statistics of the Average American” – including the aforementioned five – so that you can find out. To see where you are financially average, above…
They correctly forecasted last decade’s financial crisis and its devastating effects on many Americans – and now they are getting nervous about another meltdown when the current bull market ends. Today’s article goes to three market skeptics – including Yale economist Robert Shiller, who warned of a “catastrophic collapse of the housing and stock markets” three years before the ’08…
With retirement comes a shift from receiving a consistent paycheck to needing to tap your various income streams to cover your various expenses – and the author of today’s article argues that “this shift requires a new investment strategy and mindset.” In order to develop this strategy and mindset, she advises to think of retirement as consisting of three unique…
If you’re close to retirement you can thank them for helping to give the return on your retirement savings a boost. But if your retirement is still a ways off, the author of today’s article warns that “you’re going to have a devil of a time getting a decent return on your retirement savings” because of them. The “them” in…
Robo-advisory services are increasingly getting attention from baby boomers looking for retirement guidance. As today’s article notes, robo-advisors now go beyond simply helping clients save for retirement, offering “tax-efficient strategies for turning nest eggs into steady streams of retirement income, as well as recommendations on Social Security, Medicare and long-term-care insurance.” To see what those in or approaching retirement can…
“Once you’ve won the game, what’s the point of still playing?” asks the author of today’s article. If you amass the amount of money that you believe you need in order to live comfortably for the rest of your life, should you quit the stock market (and avoid the risk of losing money)? While the financial media tend to focus…
When it comes to investing for a retirement that could last decades, the author of today’s article states that “you need to invest in a way that has a documented history of success in a variety of different scenarios….choosing the wrong strategy could actually lead to portfolio depletion before your retirement ends.” He proceeds to outline how some of the…
When it comes to all the interconnected pieces of successful retirement planning (taxes, Social Security, health care, etcetera), the author of today’s article points out that, ultimately, everything goes back to one fundamental question: How much money do I need to retire? Unfortunately, when it comes to answering this question, there are a number of misconceptions that people are prone…
Half of retirees don’t need to worry about it at all. Others will have no way of avoiding it. And more and more retirees will fall victim to it in the coming years. It’s the ‘tax torpedo’, which the author of today’s article explains is “a name given to the unexpected way that Social Security can get taxed, depending on…
The GOP’s new tax bill – the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) – is far from a done deal (see the GOP’s failure on healthcare reform). Still, the author of today’s article advises that “those living in retirement and saving for retirement should start to review their sources of income, their expenses, prior tax returns, and conduct what-if analyses…