How do you know if your retirement is living up to its potential? There isn’t a standard definition of a successful retirement. (Maybe there should be, but there isn’t.) It is interesting to see how different people define it. Maybe income is the yardstick. Make that income replacement. A recent article in Financial Advisor Magazine put…
Read MoreWhen the Supreme Court voted to repeal Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on June 26, it opened financial doors previously closed to same-sex couples. Unfortunately, not all of these doors may open in certain states. A major complication must be resolved: while the high court’s opinion stated a legal principle, it…
Read MoreDoes your company have 50 or more full-time employees? Then it will not be required to provide affordable health insurance for those workers next year. On July 2, the Obama administration announced it was postponing the start date of the employer mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act until January 1, 2015. If you own…
Read MoreA gift to charity may prove to be a great financial favor to you. Some charitable gifting methods offer you notable tax advantages. Here’s a brief look at some popular options. Charitable remainder trusts (CRTs). These trusts can be useful estate planning tools. People with highly appreciated assets – such as stocks or real estate…
Read MoreIf you are coming into an inheritance, there are several issues you should be aware of. Here are some things you may want to keep in mind if it comes to pass: Take your time. If someone cared about you enough to leave you a sizable inheritance, then likely you will need time to grieve…
Read MoreWhat should you do if you win the lottery? A few weeks ago I was invited to be on the Katie Couric show to discuss the financial and psychological sudden wealth effects of winning the lottery. You can read some of my financial advisor lottery tips titled “7 Tips if You Win Big” and I…
Read MoreWhy do so many retirement savers underperform the market? From 1993-2012, the S&P 500 achieved a (compound) annual return of 8.2%. Across the same period, the average investor in U.S. stock funds got only a 4.3% return. What accounts for the difference? One big factor is impatience. It is expressed in emotional investment decisions. Too…
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I recently wrote a column for CBS Moneywatch titled “Why Athletes Go Broke” that discuss seven common issues that impede good financial and investment decisions for professional athletes when trying to manage their sudden wealth. The NFL Players Association is trying to educate their players and provide them with unbiased financial advice. At the helm…
Read MoreThe end is in sight for QE3. On June 19, the Federal Reserve let investors know that “easing without end” will eventually end, perhaps as early as mid-2014. Wall Street had anticipated such a signal, but investors still reacted emotionally to the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ceding all of its May and…
Read MoreConsumer inflation just hit a 50-year low. So indicates the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge – the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index maintained by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Besides tracking consumer inflation, the PCE price index measures household purchases, a major factor in GDP growth. The core PCE index does the same thing…
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