Your medical care is one of the most important decisions you need to make as a retiree. Getting these top 5 Medicare considerations right could keep you from making a huge mistake. Medicare is a major part of the retiree healthcare equation.
Planning around Medicare is essential for your financial planner or advisor to consider too. Your decisions on medical care can have significant impacts on your retirement expenses.
You’ve put your time in, and now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Retirement is all about taking it easy and living life on your terms. No more keeping a tight schedule, no more putting those celebrations and life experiences off until later. Now is your time.
If this is how you picture your retirement, you’ve clearly got good goals in mind and you know how you plan to spend that time. Without a significant amount of planning, however, you may find it somewhat challenging to achieve your ideal retirement. Here’s a guide to ensuring you have that happy and healthy retirement you’ve worked so hard for all these years.
So, how many different companies have been at in your working career? If you’re like most people today, you’ve probably switched jobs at least a couple times. It seems like some people can switch every six months while others can stay for years.
Regardless, it’s extremely rare to see someone who stays with the same employer for life. Things have certainly changed from the baby boomer generation.
This post was last updated on January 15, 2021, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
When it comes to making investment decisions, sometimes our emotions take over for common sense. While we usually rely on our knowledge and experience to point us in the right direction, investing doesn’t always work that way.
By now, you’ve probably heard of the FIRE movement. FIRE, which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early, is everywhere. As a matter of fact, there is even a new movie coming out called Playing With Fire. The film itself documents a young family’s journey into the FIRE subculture as they look for a way to cut down time spent working versus time spent with their family.
Financial freedom is a term used loosely, along with financial independence, and while they are very similar, they aren’t quite the same. The difference? Financial freedom allows you to completely walk away from your career without owing anyone a thing.
Have you ever been afraid to log into your bank account or check your credit card balances? If you’re losing sleep over your personal finances, you’re not alone. According to a Bankrate survey, 36 percent of Americans are losing sleep over money troubles.
While money anxiety can be more common than we realize, it’s important to address it sooner rather than later. Ignoring your finances will hurt you in the long run, even if it feels better to bury your head in the sand right now. Money troubles never go away unless you take charge of your situation and address them head-on.
This post was last updated on January 15, 2021, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
When entering the job market out of college, the concept of retirement seems like a lifetime away. Most people can't even fathom thinking about retirement which leaves neglected and unleveraged retirement accounts.
Whether you’ve been married five years or 25 years, divorce presents many challenges - including financial issues. This is likely a difficult time as you navigate uncharted waters.
Friends and family may try to give you helpful information, but having a trusted attorney, tax professional, and financial advisor are essential to protect what you have and help you make informed decisions.
This post was last updated on July 30, 2022, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs.
If you’re trying to save for retirement, it helps to have an employer-sponsored plan so that you’ll have access to funds once you stop working. Although 401(k) plans are the most common option today, some companies still offer pensions. Now you're probably wondering what the outcome of a pension vs. 401(k) is, don't worry; we cover this a bit later on.
Below is a fantastic guest from Certified Coach, Samantha Lane. We hope you enjoy and be sure to reach out to either Samantha or me with any questions. Happy Halloween!
There can be a lot of spooky things when change is on the horizon. Rather than goblins, mummies, or ghosts looming around the corner, it’s often anxiety, perfectionism, and despair rearing their ugly heads.
When the stock market takes a sudden turn downward, it can be easy to get worried about your investments. Market turmoil can cause even seasoned investors to take pause. Watching the value of your investments go down can certainly be disheartening.
In fact, a 2018 study found that Americans are more stressed by money issues than by personal relationships or work. Stock market volatility is nothing new so finding the best way to cope with the swings will help give you peace of mind. Getting your finances in order will help you weather the inevitable ups and downs of your investment portfolio.
For many of us in life, regardless of what it might be, we typically try to figure how to do things by ourselves. It could be fixing the car, something around the house, or as we’ll be covering here, managing your own investments and finances.
At some point in our life, though, lack of time and knowledge becomes an issue. Most of us can figure out the basics of investing and financial planning, but eventually, you simply don’t know what you don’t know if it’s not your profession.
If you’re approaching retirement and looking for ways to beef up your monthly income, there are many strategies to consider. You could pick up part-time work or start a side hustle like tutoring or delivering groceries. Or, you could just rent out your home or part of your home for cash and travel the world.
If you think that final suggestion is intriguing, you’re not alone. Thanks to technology brought to use by companies like Airbnb and VRBO.com, it’s more common than ever for senior citizens or anyone approaching retirement to use their home as an income-producing asset so they can do…well….whatever they want.
If you are retired or getting close to retirement, chances are you are familiar with budgeting. There are many techniques for budgeting out there, but the basic idea is to balance your income and expenses. One way to do this is to think about your expenses as percentages.
Budget percentages, as made popular by radio personality Dave Ramsey, help you understand where your money is going. The goal is simple: keep your expenses in each category within a certain percentage of your income. Most people who follow this method adhere to 10 common categories.
The business world uses the term 401(k) often. Many employers offer their employees these retirement accounts as a benefit to working there.
Some employers even offer 401(k) matching. This benefit is exactly as it sounds. An employer matches the amount of money that you contribute to your 401(k). So, you put money into your 401(k), and then your employer does the same.
Retirement should be fun, and make life a bit more simple. You shouldn’t be struggling to live off of the money you have.
How do you expect to get by after retiring? You may only rely on a small income from your social security.
Only 32% of Americans are investing in 401(k) plans. Even though 59% of American companies offer these plans to their employees, many U.S. citizens opt out of one. If you work for a company that offers a 401(k), it is in your best interest to sign-up, especially if you want to live comfortably after you retire.
While having a 401(k) is a great investment, people go through rough patches and need additional financial support to help pay for expensive situations. If you have a 401(k), you can get a loan to help you with your finances. Before applying, we want you to know how much a 401(k) loan will actually cost you.
Saving for retirement is a big deal. The average American will spend nearly a million dollars between the time they retire and their death. Social Security payments won’t cover those expenses, so having savings and investments is essential.
One of the most common retirement plans is the 401(k). It’s a benefit that some jobs offer. You and your employer generally get some sort of tax advantage, which makes it a popular choice.
No matter how old you are, it’s never too early to start planning for retirement. While you should start saving as soon as possible, one of the best ways to build a substantial nest egg is to work somewhere that offers employer contributions, like a 401(k). However, for those working in nonprofit organizations, a 401(k) plan is not usually an option.
Fortunately, many of these entities may offer what’s called a 403(b) retirement account. In this article, we’ll discuss the finer points of a 403(b), as well as compare it to an alternative, the individual retirement account (IRA). Here are the details you need to know.
When it comes to retirement, one of the most valuable questions you can ask yourself is, “how much is enough?” Unfortunately, it can be challenging to determine the right amount because there are many variables to consider.
In this article, we’re going to discuss the finer points of saving for retirement so that when it arrives, you can feel secure in the size of your nest egg. Ideally, you shouldn’t have to limit your lifestyle or cut down on expenses during your golden years. So, the more planning and preparation you can do now, the better off you’ll be later on.
