In the first piece of this 3-part mini-series, I covered the importance of good retirement planning and offered a practical approach to it. In the second piece, I covered the 4 critical questions you need to consider, some “conventional wisdom” formulas, and unconventional insights from Wade Pfau, professor of retirement income at the American College […]
Do you know how well you’re doing preparing for retirement? Unless you’re in the distinct minority, I’d guess you don’t. Not really, and that’s no surprise because good retirement planning is hard. Unfortunately, much like going to the dentist, it’s as crucial as it is unpleasant. Why Retirement Planning Is So Hard First, you have […]
How much income do you need in retirement? It’s one of the most important questions in financial planning. Given its importance, it gets relatively little attention. The standard way to determine how much income you need in retirement is called the replacement ratio. The replacement ratio tells you how much of your income you need […]
Challenging the “4% Rule” Suggests Caution, But Also Offers Hope The venerable 4% rule isn’t as unassailable as many people think (as Ben Le Fort points out in this article). Definitions and Origins of the 4% Rule The 4% rule says you can expect to safely withdraw 4% of your retirement portfolio in your first […]
Like many freelancers, I tend to have an inconsistent income. Most months my income is fairly stable. Some months it can be double (or half) what it was the previous month. Most months I don’t know at the start of the month exactly what my income will be over the next four weeks. I definitely […]
But if none of them apply to you, do yourself a favor and buy. I was a renter from the time I left my parents’ home until I was 38. From that point forward I owned a home, As of 3 years ago, I’m also a landlord, leasing out my previous home. Based on that […]
(Or, how I just saved hundreds of dollars by paying attention, and how you can too.) I just saved hundreds of dollars. All it took was paying attention, and acting on what I realized. Before I give you all the details, I’d like to take a small detour to set up the context. A Joke […]
It was predictable. I’m not talking about the spike in used-car prices, though that too isn’t surprising. No, I’m talking about the doomsday drumbeat about “through-the-roof” new-car prices. Here’s a representative sample of half-a-dozen pieces harping on that theme: Business Insider: “Why used and new cars are so expensive right now, explained in 3 charts” […]
Whether you find budgeting a boring chore, or sexy as hell, there are a few ways you can make the process more rewarding. Review first Doing an annual review will help you prepare your budget for the coming year. While most people budget on a monthly basis, it’s important to remember that not all months […]