Back in 2006, a couple of U.S. Senators took it upon themselves to create a national retirement security awareness week, set for the third week in October. As you can imagine, the intervening twists and turns in the stock market — the 2008 Great Recession and the Covid crash in 2020 — only served to… Continue reading →

Many people, prompted to think about how long they might stay at work, fall back on statistics they hear in the media. You know, the ideal retirement age is 65, maybe a few years more, tops. The thing is, that number made sense only briefly around the time the government was setting up Social Security,… Continue reading →

You may have heard about a type of tax-advantaged college savings plan known as a 529 plan. Similar to an IRA or 401(k), money put into a 529 is “qualified,” meaning it grows tax-free and can be used tax-free in the future. You will find 529 plans sponsored by all 50 states and the District… Continue reading →

The past year certainly has been tumultuous in many ways, including for retirement savers trying to keep up with tax planning.  There have been a number of changes to your taxes on the legislative front in regard to the pandemic, of course. Add to the confusion an understaffed IRS and questionable mail service and you… Continue reading →

Overspending can be as much a part of the holidays as latkes and caroling. While it’s easy to say “make a budget” there are ways to simplify the process and stay on track. First, go ahead and make that budget, but think beyond your immediate household. The budget should be as broad as possible to… Continue reading →

“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary knows how startup businesses succeed — or fail. Most businesses make it past that crucial first year by finding investors while controlling costs tooth and nail. If only retirement investment advice had that same approach. “If you want to find financial freedom, you need to retire all debt — and… Continue reading →

As we enter the next few weeks of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the headlines are sure to disorient and worry us all. Federal, state and local responses will unfurl in real time with varying degrees of effectiveness, further confusing matters. It’s a difficult time to plan logically and efficiently on many fronts. In terms of… Continue reading →

Tumultuous times like today’s COVID-19 pandemic tend to bring out the best in us, and you don’t have to look far to find examples: Canned food drives for local food banks, a surge in blood donation, and otherwise idled restaurants providing donated meals for healthcare workers. There’s no lack of need, more so given the… Continue reading →

I’m a big fan of Jason Zweig, the Wall Street Journal investing columnist. His recent piece on bear market investing is a classic of financial communication: Use an easy metaphor to explain a difficult concept. In this case, Zweig explains the widely known but mostly misunderstood concept of a bear market, times when stocks fall… Continue reading →