Building Your Retirement Nest Egg
In previous articles we explained how to estimate the amount you’ll spend each year once you stop working, and the size of the nest egg you’ll need to support that spending. The next step is to figure...
View ArticleInvesting for Retirement
Our last article addressed how much and how you should save in order to accumulate your retirement nest egg. Now we’ll discuss how to invest those savings. Since we can’t predict the future no one...
View ArticleThe New Retirement
For many Americans, the concept of a traditional retirement, thirty or more years of leisure after a productive career is neither realistic nor appealing. Increased life expectancy, better health, and...
View ArticleSales Pitch or Sound Advice – Part One
Individuals trying to plan, save and invest for their futures are increasingly seeking out professional advice. Unfortunately, many are forced to search through over 200 financial services designations...
View ArticleSales Pitch or Sound Advice – Part Two
In my last blog post I talked about the basic differences between brokers and Registered Investment Advisor (RIAs) including how they are governed, their compensation arrangements and their legal...
View ArticleThe Retirement Crisis Next Door – Part One
Since the 1950s academic and financial industry researchers have developed an impressive literature on the financial readiness of American workers for retirement. The general conclusion is that a large...
View ArticleThe Retirement Crisis Next Door – Part Two
In my last blog post, we talked about why many Americans are not prepared for retirement. In the new book, “Falling Short: The Coming Retirement Crisis and What to Do About It” (Oxford University...
View ArticleElder Caregiving – Part One
Love, respect, and devotion to one’s spouse or parent manifests itself in many ways but perhaps most meaningfully as the sense of obligation to care for that person throughout their old age. Based on...
View ArticleElder Caregiving – Part Two
In our previous post, we talked about how the increase in the nation’s elderly population has placed much of the responsibility for long-term care, squarely onto family members. Now let’s discuss the...
View ArticleA wake-up call – Part One
There is a common belief that greed and fear drive the financial markets. The harsh reaction to recent events shows how quickly investors can shift from one to the other. Reports of a slowdown in...
View ArticleA wake-up call – Part Two
In my last post, I talked about some of the issues that triggered the recent sell-off in the U.S. stock market. Now let’s talk about how we can use this experience to provide some investing insights...
View ArticleNo time like today to save for tomorrow – Part 1
A long, healthy life is a blessing. The good news: Americans are living longer than ever before. Life expectancy has increased dramatically in the last few decades as a result of major advances in...
View ArticleNo time like today to save for tomorrow – Part 2
In my last post, I talked about the importance of making good financial decisions when planning for retirement. Although people have good intentions about how and when to save, left to their own...
View ArticleWhat is Life Cycle Finance?
Life cycle theory is one of the more exciting and useful areas of research in personal finance. In broad terms, it represents the body of economic theory and knowledge that examines how individuals can...
View ArticleThe Value of Human and Financial Capital
The financial life cycle model involves the process of managing two distinct, but related assets that individuals have on their personal balance sheets. If managed properly both can be used to fund a...
View ArticleThe Cost of Retirement
Retirement is expensive. How much money you will need each year when you stop working depends on your individual circumstances and the kind of lifestyle you expect to live. Your estimate will be the...
View ArticleCompound Consequences
Underestimating the impact of compound growth on a household’s finances can lead consumers to make poor economic decisions including borrowing too much and saving too little. There are three main...
View ArticleHow investors beat themselves
“Surprise! The returns reported by mutual funds are not actually earned by mutual fund investors.” This is how John Bogle, founder of Vanguard Mutual Funds begins the chapter titled The Grand Illusion...
View ArticleBeware of “expert” financial advice – Part One
As information has become more easily accessible through the Internet, consumers are more inundated than ever before with personal finance advice from every imaginable source. Because much of it is...
View ArticleBeware of “expert” financial advice – Part Two
In my last post, I talked about the newest book written by self-help coach Tony Robbins, “Money: Master The Game.” A portion of the book is dedicated to his human performance and achievement philosophy...
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