With the average life expectancy in the U.S. approaching 80 years, the long-advised strategy of shifting away from riskier (but higher-returning) assets like stocks and towards safer (but lower-returning) assets like bonds as you near retirement is not without its own risk: the risk of running out of money. The trick to navigating this risk/reward quandary, according to today’s article,…
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…
“We’ve invented a new approach to money management,” claims Matt Fellowes, Founder and CEO of United Income – which is pitching itself as a one-stop shop for helping Americans tackle all of the difficult financial questions that surround retirement. What does United Income’s comprehensive, personalized, “big data” approach to retirement planning offer that other firms, online retirement calculators and financial…
Are your savings working as hard for you as they can? Noting that “if you don’t save diligently, you are highly unlikely to amass a decent-size nest egg,” the author of today’s article proceeds to outline 10 questions to ask yourself in regards to your savings and saving practices – and identifies steps you can take to improve your savings…
There is a cobra that could potentially poison your retirement – and that cobra is bonds. The author of today’s article highlights the so-called cobra effect – how “individuals making decisions to cause one outcome to occur can accidentally cause the opposite” – and explains how this phenomenon can occur with retirees and bonds, increasing the probability that they will…
The author of today’s article notes that the “standard prescription” for most retirees these days is “a combination of working longer, living on less, and reducing expectations for their retirement dreams.” But for those who either cannot – or refuse to – comply with that dreary prescription, there is a more creative retirement solution to consider: retiring abroad in a…
The current environment is a tricky one for income seekers – whether they be individuals in (or approaching) retirement, or anyone wanting a steady income component to their portfolio – to navigate. To provide some assistance in this regard, today’s article looks to a number of ETF strategists and asset managers for their favorite income-generating strategies – and specific vehicles…
How much money will you need in order to keep living like you live today in retirement? Various formulas for coming up with this number have been devised, but today’s article outlines one particularly simple rule of thumb that can be used in making this determination: the Rule of 300. How does the Rule of 300 work, how much does…