Need to Tap into your Retirement Funds? Here’s How to Minimize the Damage
It is not surprising to learn that smart investors understand early on that saving for retirement is crucial to ensure a successful retirement, and in particular the benefits of allowing your savings time to grow over decades. The power of compound interest, when allowed to perform over the long haul without interruption, can allow you to accumulate significant savings by the time you retire without having to sacrifice your standard of living during your working years. And financial experts agree almost unanimously that the funds you set aside for retirement should be revered and left untouched.
Empower the Girls In Your Life With These Financial Lessons
What is important to note here is that for women to be truly empowered, they need to be informed – and financial education is a critical component for their success. Jill and I have been adamant that we teach our own girls about the importance of being fiscally responsible because it’s one life skill they need to master, yet it’s rarely taught in schools. Understanding how to earn, save, and spend responsibly sets the foundation for their financial independence and success.
Over the years we have used opportunities that crop up in everyday life to share lessons in a practical way. And with our time together this week, I’d like to share with you my Top Five Money Tips for Girls.
Markets Making You Nervous? You Can Plan for That.
To say that this year has started with an economic climate that many folks are not familiar with, well, that would be an understatement. The news headlines have been filled with attention-grabbing topics that raise more economic questions than answers. After a year marked by geopolitical realignments, wars, and uncertainty around inflation, interest rates, immigration […]
It’s Not About How Much You Make. It’s About How Much You Keep
When I entered the world of finance, I found myself drawn to the idea of comprehensive financial management. Budgeting, planning, saving, investing, all of it was exciting to me and I worked with many clients who were high-earning professionals in their own right. But I was struck by how many of them, despite earning six figures or more, saved very little. They spent almost everything they made.
Your Favorite Retirement Plan May Be Losing Its Appeal
For decades, we’ve been encouraged to contribute as much as possible to these plans, with the idea being that you will be in a lower tax bracket when you retire – and therefore you’ll pay fewer taxes on these funds than if you’d forgone the tax break upfront. Of course, our economic landscape has changed since the traditional IRA and 401(k) first gained widespread use, with IRA’s first becoming popular in the 1970’s and the 401(k) following in the early 1980’s. The highest tax bracket in the 1970’s was 70% and it dropped to 50% in the early 1980s, so we can see how workers believed they’d pay less once they retired and were taking less income.
When Should I Start Saving in my 401(k) Plan?
In a world filled with distractions, procrastination, and competing priorities, it can be all too easy to put off important tasks or decisions, believing that there will always be a more opportune moment in the future. However, the wisdom of this adage challenges this assumption, asserting that the most opportune moment to act is often the present.
New Year’s Resolutions–Let’s Thrive in ‘25
Making positive changes doesn’t have to be hard. Resolutions don’t need to be grand or life changing. One-time steps and small adjustments can add up to real change and give us a sense of accomplishment too. So, I’d like to spend our time this week reviewing some areas you might focus on to position yourself for greater success, both financially and health-wise, without requiring a serious time commitment.
New Retirement Rules and Tax Changes to Ring in the New Year
With the 2024 Holiday season in full swing, I find myself looking forward to the joyful weeks ahead. From spending time with my family (especially those we see only a few times each year) to good food, beautiful snowfalls, thankful for the birth of our Savior, and lots of laughs; this is truly a wondrous time of year.
Retirement Planning Mistakes to Avoid
Most of us spend decades dreaming about and preparing for that magical day when we will retire. When we walk out the door from our job for the last time and enter a new phase of our lives. One filled with freedom, fun and adventure. We dream of things like sleeping in, socializing with friends, focusing on a hobby, and perhaps traveling or spending more time with the grandkids. We have sacrificed, saved and invested for that day, and are excited to finally enjoy the fruits of our labor.
Retirement Rules and Tax Changes You Need to Know
It’s been said that the only constant in life is change. Some changes are fixed, like the change of seasons, while other changes are evolutionary and progressive, tossing new circumstances our way as time goes on. It was ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus observed that the natural world was in a constant state of movement. People age, develop habits and move environments.
