Reflect, but Remember to Act

Dina here … Crises of any kind usually require all of our attention at once. After the immediate emergency or threat passes and the brain stops pinging, reflection is possible; such was the case for me in the months following September 11, 2001. It had taken a while for the shock to wear off, but…

Financial Salespeople Need to Stay in Their Lanes

Investors desperately need advice they can trust. Most have no idea how to go about finding it. At Wealth/Stack, Babara Roper, Nicole Boyson and Dina discussed this timely, and disturbing issue. Legalese confuses retail investors, even when used by their advocates. While minutia matters in a court of law, Victory was declared in the court…

Monday’s Coming Like A Jail On Wheels…..When Is My Retirement?

Unlike Antonio Brown, most of show up for work and respect our bosses. This won’t guarantee a successful retirement but reading this weeks’ terrific links might. Low-interest rates aren’t good news for pensions. MarketWatch Not knowing the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA can lead to very expensive mistakes. The Wall Street Journal Parents…

The Antonio Brown of Annuities

Timeshares and investment never belong in the same sentence. Replacing Timeshare with Indexed Annuities leads to similar results. Many are marketed with the calling card of Charlatans since the beginning of time – Low risk, high returns. 95% of funds invested in Indexed annuities go into bonds. The rest is allocated to derivates, or call…

Get Busy Living, Or Get Busy Dying

Why can’t we plan our working lives the same way we plan for retirement? Waiting for 75% of life to pass by before doing stuff you enjoy is a pretty dumb strategy. The concept…the very idea…of retirement is dumb. Waiting until some arbitrary age to enjoy life PLUS stopping all meaningful work all at once…DUMB….

“Monday’s Coming Like A Jail On Wheels”…..When Is My Retirement?

Every year there’s Labor Day, Retirement Day is up to you. Learn how to make this day happen by reading this week’s terrific links. Most Americans pay a steep social security penalty. MarketWatch Moving near grown children in retirement may not be a good idea. next avenue Pre-retirees need to stress test their portfolios. Morningstar …

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…