You’ve worked diligently and paid your taxes along the way. When retirement finally arrives, you deserve to collect at least some tax-free retirement income without Uncle Sam coming back for more. With a bit of strategic planning, it’s possible to enjoy much or even most of your retirement income tax-free. The following seven sources are…
The Ulysses Strategy (Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus) is a method financial planners developed to keep savers and investors from listening to the sirens’ call that could wreck their financial ship. The Story of Ulysses and the Sirens In “The Odyssey,” the great adventurer Odysseus spends ten years trying to get home safely…
They say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The bad news is that the last 50 years have seen 5 major financial, market, or economic crises. The good news is that each crisis has lessons that you can apply today to help you build more wealth and feel…
A study from a team of researchers at Oregon State University shows that the longer you wait to retire, the longer you will likely live. So if you are planning to put off retirement until after 65, get your retirement plan ready — you’ll want to make sure you have planned to afford the extra…
When most people think about financial and retirement planning, feelings of stress, worry, and anxiety rise in our throats. This stress — while unpleasant — exists for good reason. Stress serves a purpose. Less than 50% of people have a written retirement plan. The majority of people simply don’t have enough saved for this time…
If you are in the countdown to retirement — marking the days until you can launch into the next stage of your life – this checklist is for you. In the past, many people thought of retirement as a time of life when things slowed down. Now, retirement is more of a blast off into…
Episode 45 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Alan Donegan — founder of PopUp Business School and host of the Rebel Entrepreneur with ChooseFi — and discusses Donegan’s own journey to financial independence and the people that he’s met along the way. They also go in-depth on how to start a business. Spoiler:…
You worked and saved for years, and now you can sit back satisfied with a job well done. You built a network of friends and colleagues, and you may have had children who have had families of their own. Will you leave something to the ones you love? The Best Inheritance? Knowledge and Values The…
After a nearly devastating set of personal crises – cancer, near bankruptcy and a suicide attempt by his father – Bruce Feiler spent five years talking to people about their biggest life transitions. He analyzed what patterns people experienced and what was the key to thriving after a big event. The result is a method…
Understanding the difference between the future value of your money versus the present value of your money can be tricky. (Using a future value retirement calculator can make it easy though.) Once you get your head around the concepts they are pretty simple, and you’ll see why understanding this way of thinking about cash is…
As you prepare for retirement, it’s essential to understand what your taxes will be. You may think your Social Security benefits are tax-free. After all, why would the government pay you money with one hand and take it back with the other? But the truth is, you may pay taxes on your Social Security benefits…
Episode 43 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Christine Benz — author and Morningstar’s director of personal finance — and discusses the big financial and life lessons Benz has picked up over her 25-year career at Morningstar. They also talk about Benz’s works, 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances…
Terror about retirement spending is not uncommon. In fact, most people are worried about spending their nest egg and running out of money. After all, you have been conditioned for decades to earn, not spend. You were probably a teenager when you opened your first paycheck and officially started the cycle of earning and spending…
To build wealth, most people think you need a Wall Street job, good luck or just being born into advantageous circumstances. Those things definitely help, but building wealth can happen by following a few best practices and habits consistently. And, you can even begin building wealth in your 50s. It is definitely not too late.…
Your brain is not necessarily set up in a way that makes it easy to plan a secure retirement. You have cognitive biases — faulty ways of thinking that are unfortunately hardwired into your brain — that work against you. Behavioral finance and behavioral economics are the study of these phenomena. Understanding behavioral finance and…
Life expectancy has mostly been rising in the United States — overall. However, recent research has found that there are significant differences in life expectancy by county. In fact, in many counties, the average life expectancy is 20 years — TWENTY years — shorter than in other areas.The good news is that some areas of…
Before retirement, life has a predictable routine. Work takes priority, and oftentimes everything else is scheduled around it. From laundry to mowing the lawn, many people plan and keep a routine so that everything gets done. After retirement, there’s nothing but time! So, it might seem that schedules aren’t crucial. But a routine might be…
While financial and health concerns are a major part of every person’s retirement decision, it’s important to ask yourself questions that go beyond financial preparedness to help determine at what age retirement is right for you. Americans are living longer than ever. This means that many individuals will actually spend more years in retirement than…
Figuring out if you can retire securely can sometimes feel like the most complicated word problem ever. Just figuring out which retirement number to worry about can be perplexing. And then there is the further complication of knowing how they all fit together. Here is your guide to the 11 retirement numbers that are most…
When you hear the phrase “preparing for retirement,” you probably think about savings and budgeting. However, your finances are just one aspect that you need to consider. Sure, you need to have your financial situation in check when you retire, but other aspects of your life could use some prepping as well. Here are seven…
Would you believe some people give retirement financial planning less attention than planning a vacation, choosing a restaurant, or buying a television? It’s a bit scary, but it’s also true. Retirement isn’t an event, and it’s not something to buy. If you want to keep your current standard of living for the long haul, you’ll…
Chances are you’ll live longer than your parents, and much longer than your parents’ parents lived. While that sounds like a gift at face value, a longer life expectancy brings with it some special concerns, too. According to the Society of Actuaries, an actuary professional organization in Illinois, one of out three males and one…
If you want to achieve retirement security, it may not be adequate to just have enough money saved and have a detailed retirement plan. Even if you have guaranteed retirement income, you’ve maximized your social security, you have terrific supplemental medicare insurance, and you know exactly what you want to do in your golden years,…
When to retire. Getting the answer to this question is — by far — one of the biggest decisions of your life and a choice that can cause a lot of stress.
You’ve been working for over 40 years and now you’re approaching retirement. You have friends who have retired. Some seem happier than others, and you wonder what it will take for you to be happy in retirement. To help us understand the psychology of retirement, here is an interview between Gary Foreman of the website…