RETIREMENT AND FINANCIAL INSIGHTS
We post weekly blogs to help you better understand your needs to unlocking confidence in your retirement future.
2 Ways to Take Care of Debt in Retirement
The unfortunate reality is that many Americans are now headed into retirement with some amount of debt.[1] In 2016, almost 61% of Americans were moving into the retirement stage of their life with unpaid debt.[1] And while you may think that your expenses will decrease once you retire, that isn’t always the case.[1]...
The Role of Charity in Your Retirement
Everyone wants to give back in one way or another. After you’ve spent your whole life working, you may find that in retirement, you want to give some money to charity. But if you are living off of income streams from sources like your retirement accounts and Social Security, you may be worried about finding a way to...
A Strategy Guide for When to Claim Social Security
Deciding when you claim Social Security is a key part of the puzzle for your retirement plan. You can withdraw as soon as you turn 62, but you can also delay your claim until you are 70 years old. There are pros and cons to each, so how do you know which age is right for you? Withdrawing at 62 People who withdraw...
Should I Convert My 401(k) To A Roth IRA?
Let’s say you’ve just changed jobs. What are you going to do with your 401(k)? You may be able to convert your 401(k) to a Roth IRA, but is that a good option for you? In this article, we’ll talk about what happens when you make this conversion and give you some examples of different financial situations for when...
A Refresher on Estate Planning Basics
Estate planning is a big deal. It’s a way for us to leave what we’ve built over the course of our lives to our loved ones. Gifts of property and belongings can pass on a sense of family, care, and love and can also help your loved ones financially. So, what is the first and most important thing to do when it comes to...
Understanding Your Savings Goal – How Much Do You Really Need to Retire?
“How much do I need to retire?” This is one of the most frequently asked questions in the world of retirement finance. If you don’t have a lot of retirement planning experience, it can also be a tough question to answer. This article will hopefully give you some sense of where you might want to be headed in terms of...
How to Achieve Financial Freedom
The difficult thing about “financial freedom” as a concept is that many people define it in a vague way. Most people think of it as not having to worry about money and being able to have the things they want without having to scrimp and save for them. But there are all sorts of things that cause worry in regard to...
Defined-Benefit vs. Defined-Contribution Plans
The following two types of retirement savings methods may sound similar, but there are a lot of important differences that might be useful for you to know if you’re looking to get a better understanding of what retirement might look like for you. Defined-Benefit Let’s start with a defined-benefit plan. These types of...
Inflation May Finally Be Slowing Down!
Inflation has been a hot-button issue in finance and politics lately. You may have noticed changes in inflation yourself if you went to buy something and it was much more expensive than you expected. Eggs are a great example of this.[1] In 2022 the price of eggs went up by 59.9% due to an outbreak of avian influenza....
Retirement Tax Strategies to Consider
How you handle taxes and when you are taxed are two of the most important factors when it comes to retirement planning. If you are putting together the puzzle pieces of your retirement plan and you are curious about some strategies related to taxes and retirement, here are some possible options: Consider a Roth IRA...