Articles and Videos

Is There Really a Charitable Giving Strategy With No Downside?- Episode 178
Managing Your Financial Future

Is There Really a Charitable Giving Strategy With No Downside?- Episode 178

June 4, 2024

How much money does it take for you to retire in comfort?  Is it $1 million? $2 million? Far more than that?  Far less?  Large investment firms and many media outlets often throw out big “retirement” numbers based on small surveys they took of people who may or may not have any clue about how much money they actually need. But it’s a fair question.  And it’s one that everyone should be asking themselves, especially if they’re within 5 to 10 years of actually retiring.  But if everyone’s circumstances are different, how do you know how much is potentially enough for you?
How Much Money Do You Need to Retire Comfortably?- Episode 177
Managing Your Financial Future

How Much Money Do You Need to Retire Comfortably?- Episode 177

May 28, 2024

How much money does it take for you to retire in comfort?  Is it $1 million? $2 million? Far more than that?  Far less?  Large investment firms and many media outlets often throw out big “retirement” numbers based on small surveys they took of people who may or may not have any clue about how much money they actually need. But it’s a fair question.  And it’s one that everyone should be asking themselves, especially if they’re within 5 to 10 years of actually retiring.  But if everyone’s circumstances are different, how do you know how much is potentially enough for you?
What Is Your Wealth Distribution Strategy?- Episode 176
Managing Your Financial Future

What Is Your Wealth Distribution Strategy?- Episode 176

May 21, 2024

There are two distinct phases of your financial life.  The first one is the years (decades) that you spend accumulating assets: building your savings, investing in retirement plans, etc. The second phase is when you begin taking those accumulated assets as distributions and live off of that income in retirement. The first phase is usually the one that gets all the attention.  Books have been written on how to accumulate millions of dollars.  But it’s the second phase that is far more important.  How do you distribute your assets so that you don’t run out of money before you run out of time?
5 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Social Security Benefits – Episode 175
Managing Your Financial Future

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Social Security Benefits – Episode 175

May 14, 2024

Social Security is vital part of many people’s retirement income. It forms the foundation of a retirement plan and helps to determine how much (if any) money an individual’s portfolio will have to provide throughout their retirement. But it’s also extremely complex.  There’s much more to it than simply turning on an income stream once you’re eligible: spousal benefits, survivor benefits, family benefits and disability are just a few things to consider, as well as any potential taxes you may have to pay on those benefits.

Your Pension Options: Which One May Be Best for You? – Episode 174
Managing Your Financial Future

Your Pension Options: Which One May Be Best for You? – Episode 174

May 7, 2024

If you have a pension, the decision of how and when to take the payments is an important one.  Are you offered the choice to take the entire amount as a lump sum?  If so, is that option potentially better than a stream of monthly payments? What about your other choices? For married people who want to get as much as they can now, are they sacrificing the financial stability of their surviving spouse down the road?  Maybe.  But there may also be a solution to that dilemma.

How to Overcome Your Single Biggest Financial Fear – Episode 173
Managing Your Financial Future

How to Overcome Your Single Biggest Financial Fear – Episode 173

April 30, 2024

What are people’s most prominent financial fears? There are many: losing a job, not saving enough for retirement, financial emergencies, and many others. But it all seems to boil down to one basic concern: Not having money available when you need it the most. This creates a lot of anxiety for people – especially for retirees, who rely on a steady stream of cash flow to meet their short-term spending needs. Without that cash flow, you would have to rely on your portfolio, which is a big problem if the stock market isn’t behaving well at that time. How do you overcome that one big fear? It’s all about having a strategy.
Why “Blending” Your Buckets May Produce Better Results – Episode 172
Managing Your Financial Future

Why “Blending” Your Buckets May Produce Better Results – Episode 172

April 23, 2024

You may have heard that a basic Bucket Strategy® consists of a 3-, 4- or 5-Bucket plan, with each bucket separated into groups of short-term, mid-term, and long-term assets.  What you may not have heard is that a good Bucket Strategy will often “blend” buckets to potentially give a retiree a much better overall outcome. What do we mean by “blending” the buckets? In essence, it means to blend the income stream to try to get a desired outcome.  Where do you take your income stream from? Your IRA? Your 401k? Your personal money? Roths? This is where blending buckets can potentially be very helpful.
Tying Your Social Security Benefits Into Your Investment Portfolio- Episode 171
Managing Your Financial Future

Tying Your Social Security Benefits Into Your Investment Portfolio- Episode 171

April 16, 2024

When you get to retirement, your portfolio – that is, your savings – will presumably provide you with the money you need.  The more guaranteed income you have from other sources (like Social Security and pensions), the less your portfolio will have to kick out to you. This is a crucial part of the financial planning process.  The time when you begin taking those benefits, and how much they will provide, gives you an idea of what needs to happen with the rest of your money.  How does this all play out with the Bucket Strategy
Could Value Averaging Be the Key to Surviving Market Downturns?- Episode 170
Managing Your Financial Future

Could Value Averaging Be the Key to Surviving Market Downturns?- Episode 170

April 9, 2024

It’s just a fact of investing life that the stock market is unpredictable.  There will be months or years where the market exceeds expectations, and there will be other times when it underperforms and winds up below where you expected it to be – sometimes, way below.   If you don’t have a strong risk management approach to investing, as years like 2022 showed us, you might be leaving yourself open to some dangerous and damaging volatility. But how do you prepare for it if it’s impossible to predict exactly when the next upswing or downturn will occur?    One way, potentially, is through a strategy known as Value Averaging. Could this be the key to surviving market downturns?