When Is Enough, Enough?

Compounding has its limitations. The ancient stoic philosopher Seneca, spent years pondering this issue and concluded: “If you wish to make Pthocles rich, do not add to his store of money but subtract from his desires.” The Daily Stoic modernized this sentiment. “Changing your understanding of what it means to be rich might be more…

It’s Monday Again…..When Is My Retirement?

Retiring without a plan is like sailing across the ocean without a map. Either case, you end up lost- or worse. Start finding your way by reading this week’s terrific retirement links. Why are 401(k) balances so low? MarketWatch The dangers of having too much stock in your retirement portfolio. Morningstar Using your retirement portfolio…

No Advisor Can Serve Two Masters

Misleading investors using confusing jargon is a feature, not a bug of financial services. Introducing: Fee-based financial advice! This is not as bad as the infamous “fee-free” moniker but still misleading at best; unethical at worst. Investors face a mind-blowing array of bewildering acronyms regarding advisor credentials. Do they need a new designation to ponder?…

It’s Monday Again…..When Is My Retirement?

If your long-term retirement plan depends on the slope of the yield curve. you need to make a new plan. Read about what’s really important for your retirement in this week’s edition of our awesome links. It’s really hard to think long-term. The Irrelevant Investor Cheating on the FAFSA form is a great way to…

Two Steaming Piles Of 403B.S.

Teachers in Pennsylvania and Texas are waking up screaming from a midsummer night’s 403(b) nightmare. Traditionally, large insurers enjoy blasting teacher’s retirement accounts with high fees and unnecessary products. Two states are willing accomplices to mass financial exploitation. Pennsylvania and Texas passed some of the most blatant anti-consumer 403(b) legislation in modern history. Deciding it…

It’s Monday Again…..When Is My Retirement?

Saving for retirement isn’t easy, neither is living your golden years without enough money. Make the right choice. Start by reading this week’s terrific links. Here are 10 awesome retirement charts. Retirement Field Guide Is a personal trainer more important than a financial advisor for retirees? MarketWatch The new Texas 403(b) law is pretty heinous….

Don’t Let China’s Devaluation Permanently Devalue Your Portfolio

Markets can be very scary. China Devalues Its Currency To 7 Yuan To The Dollar And Markets Plunge! – scream the headlines. The media loves throwing kerosene on investors combustible emotions. When markets fall 5% in a week, it’s pretty frightening. Even scarier is not knowing why. We have hundreds of teacher clients and other…

The 1 Minute and 17 Second Financial Plan

Rule #1: Everything ends. Rule#2: Remember Rule #1. Keep this in mind the next time you find yourself freaking out about the markets. (Or anything else) Recognizing proper perspective about our puny existence is simultaneously shocking, and comforting. Humans have existed a little over one minute in a 24-hour context. That includes everyone from the…

It’s Monday Again…..When Is My Retirement?

Retirement can be filled with work – just make sure it’s stuff you love doing. Start your plan by reading this week’s terrific links. Roth 401(k)s and 403(b)s are very underused. CNBC A Democrat has a plan to fix Social Security. Financial Advisor You better watch your 401(k) if Congress gets its way. Bloomberg It’s…

Historical Amnesia Can Be Fatal

Over 800,000 Italian soldiers died during World War l; another million were horribly wounded. Like many other nations in “The War to End All Wars”, these casualties resulted from: The arrogance of the commanding officers; Hopeless tactical procedures running wild; The savagery of military justice; The horrors of friendly fire; and Diseases generated in the…