This week brings us U.S. Independence Day. It’s a reminder of several conversations I’ve had with clients and friends lately. In each case it was mostly the same conversation with different details: What will retirement look like? How will they know when they are able to make the move? We do not typically talk about retirement in the traditional …
Retirement
8 Things to Ask A Financial Planner
One of my favorite quotes is: “If you ask great questions, you’ll get great answers.” To get the best experience from a financial planner, you really need to know what questions to ask. Whether it’s your existing advisor, or a person you have just met and are considering, here are eight good questions to ask. …
How to decide where to live after retirement
Over time, we all face choices about where and how we live as we age. Below are 10 options for retirement living options. Aging in place The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) says that 87 percent of retiree homeowners want to stay in their current home for as long as possible. Benefits: The homeowner gets …
Should I take Social Security at age 62?
As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, I will tell you that deciding whether to take Social Security benefits early is a big decision. It’s important to get professional advice to be sure you make the correct call for you and your family. Since I’m in the financial advice business, it’s not a big surprise that I see …
How should I start preparing for retirement?
As a financial advisor, I don’t think it’s ever too early to start planning for retirement. Ideally retirement planning starts as soon as an individual starts earning money, even on their very first job. However, specific planning really ramps up in the years and decades just before retirement. That’s when it’s important to start visualizing …
Why would anyone buy an annuity?
I bet you have seen some cool marketing about great “guaranteed income” retirement products. Conversely, I will also suppose that you have seen a few marketing messages that talk about annuities being the spawn of the devil and that nobody should ever own an annuity. Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised when …
