STEP 1 – Make a Plan If you wanted to build a house, you wouldn’t start with a pile of bricks and tools and then try to figure out how to build your home based on the materials lying in front of you. You would first have a blueprint that offered exact dimensions and specifications about how your house should …
10 Things You Should Know about Medicare Part D
1. What is Medicare Part D? Medicare Part D is optional, prescription drug coverage. It helps pay for out-patient prescribed medications. Part D is sold by private companies that are approved by Medicare. 2. Am I eligible for Part D Coverage? If you have Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B, you are eligible to get prescription drug coverage through …
Ten Retirement Lessons From the Smartest People I Know
I recently happened on a thought-provoking article by, Paul Merriman, in Advisor Perspectives. He called it “Ten Retirement Lessons from the Smartest People I Know”. From my unique vantage point as a financial advisor, financial radio talk show host and financial mentor to thousands, I too have the good fortune of knowing and watching a lot of really smart people. …
Why Buy Term Life Insurance and Invest the Difference
If you were to die tomorrow, who would suffer financially? This is the planning question you use to decide whether or not you need life insurance. If the answer is no one, it’s simple. You don’t need life insurance. If the answer is someone – your spouse, children, parents or business partners – you do. When the answer changes from …
Is running out of retirement money a fate worse than death?
Imagine this – the year is 2040. You are 80 years old, in reasonably good health, and you have just spent your last penny of retirement savings. You have no other sources of income. For the rest of your life, you will rely on government handouts and the charity of others. Sit with that image for a moment and then …
What to do with your 401(k) or 403(b) if you leave your job
A while back, I had the radio on in the car, listening to an investment show on the radio: “Hi. My name is Ron. I am a first time caller.” “Hi, Ron. What can I help you with?” “I was laid off from my employer due to downsizing. I was wondering whether to leave my 401(k) where it is or …
Protect against inflation or preserve capital?
A man is lying in his hospital bed, surrounded by friends and family, reflecting on his recent near death experience. “I always thought it’d be the ulcer that killed me. I did everything the doctors told me. I drank the cream, ate the butter, drank the milk. And now I have a heart attack!” This was a scene from the …
The role of luck in a financially secure retirement
A new type of mutual fund was introduced in late 2007, by the fund industry, called managed-payout funds. The goal of these funds is to give retirees a steady stream of income. At the time, they were touted as being an easy way for investors to get regular income payouts, professional money management and relatively low fees. Early players in …
For better or for worse … when life changes
Think back on the seminal events in your life. How many would you say were fortunate? How many unfortunate? Financial planners have a term for those changes. We call them transition events. Examples of transition events include: marriage, retirement, career change, divorce, loss of a spouse or parent, a windfall or settlement, bankruptcy, the sale of a business and inheritance. …
Step #5 – Retirement Preparedness Checklist: Create Enough Cash Flow to Cover Retirement Expenses
Think about this. Most companies don’t go bankrupt because they are not profitable. They don’t go bankrupt because the value of their assets has declined. They go bankrupt because they do not have sufficient cash flow to pay their creditors and employees. A company can lose money, on paper, but stay in business indefinitely so long as it has sufficient …
