A Brief History of Money
As credit and debit cards gradually take over the sphere of purchasing, money becomes less and less a physical thing. Whereas a decade ago satirists were drawing images of moguls ... Read MoreRead More
As credit and debit cards gradually take over the sphere of purchasing, money becomes less and less a physical thing. Whereas a decade ago satirists were drawing images of moguls ... Read MoreRead More
This is a recent article from Dan Solin. He is right on! “Who can quarrel with the value of experience? We want to be sure our doctors are well experienced ... Read MoreRead More
Here is a small clip summary of Mark Matson’s book “Main Street Money” “You may not know me – but I know you. Or, at least, I know of most ... Read MoreRead More
Everyone wants to be their own boss, make the rules, stop living under the proverbial “man,” but it can be a scary plunge to take. Owning your own business requires ... Read MoreRead More
For first-time investors, putting money into the stock market may seem like an intimidating task. You may be asking yourself, what happens if you put your money in at the ... Read MoreRead More
With the proliferation of the Internet and continued expansion of online investment tools, the role of a certified investment advisor is now of crucial importance. Personal investors have access to ... Read MoreRead More
Realistic Retirement: Leveraging expectations with reality. Our culture builds a certain degree of optimism around the concept of retirement—people always ‘can’t wait until they can retire’ and it’s a constant ... Read MoreRead More
Mortgage Matters: The Streamlined Modification Initiative In spite of a decade characterized by nearly every housing catastrophe possible under the sun becoming a reality, the Federal Government is giving their ... Read MoreRead More
The Internet Sales Tax: What to look out for. May 6th has come and gone, and with it the passage of the internet sales tax through the US Senate. The ... Read MoreRead More
In the first part of this article, we discussed several elements that often comprise the shape and tone of a retirement picture, and stressed the importance and absolute need to put some serious thought into how important each element is to you if you want to achieve a pictureperfect retirement. With the guidance of the Insured Retirement Institute’s (IRI) “Retirement Expectations Checklist,” we have already explored several needs you must weigh as you think about and ultimately set into motion a solid and realistic plan. But we also acknowledged that determining how much you would need to save — and later, to earn — to reach your retirement number, how old you wanted to be when you left the workforce,how you planned to treat investments and guarantees were just the beginning of several considerations you must ponder. And just for perspective, we noted how the baby boomer generation weighed in on the importance of these topics. In keeping with that tradition, we’ll now list a few more issues for you to place in your retirement picture — you just need to determine how prominently featured they will be. Your Debt Situation: The past several years have not been economically kind, and many Americans have been forced to incur more debt than they would like. In fact, for a whopping 48 percent of boomers, even the essentials, things such as food, medication, and gas, often had to go on the old credit card. Do you have any debt resultant from the recent economic strain or any other reason? No one wants to retire in debt, so start paying down what you can, and start now. You may find it helpful to ask an advisor to help develop a budget (that includes retirement savings) to which you could adhere until your debt is eliminated. Leaving a Legacy: Have you given any thought to whether you’d like to bequeath any funds to your loved ones after you pass away? How important is that, and importantly, how much money would you like to leave behind? Many baby boomers (62 percent) feel that leaving an inheritance is either “very” or “somewhat important.” If you are of a similar mind, you would do well to mention that goal to your retirement planner. Considering Long Term Care: To avoid burning through your savings or burdening one of your children should you become ill or somehow impaired, long term care insurance is one type of coverage worth exploring. The earlier you plan the better, since 47 percent of boomers worry they won’t have enough funds to cover the expenses associated with long term care. Talk to a professional agent or advisor to determine if long term care insurance will complement your ... Read MoreRead More