A good advisor will talk about the meaning of money in relation to your goals and dreams. You need to share such things before the talk turns to finances, or an advisor can’t truly know how to help. If the first thing an advisor does is ask to look at your statements, says Mitch Anthony, […]

For the most part, 401(k) plans have replaced pensions as the prevailing vehicle for people’s retirement. But surveys and studies show some very bleak numbers. The balances in 401(k)s and IRAs may not be nearly enough to pay for comfortable retirements, as the previous generation’s pensions once did. And today, few companies offer pensions. Why […]

A woman once came to my office and opened her checkbook, telling me she had about $300,000 in her account. I asked why she felt she needed that much in a checking account. “I have it there for emergencies,” she explained. Few of us need access to all of our money at one time. Holding […]

By hiring a good advisor, you could be gaining a world of expertise; however, you should still feel firmly in control of your destiny. You are the CEO or chief executive officer of your wealth. A good CEO hires a CFO or chief financial officer, who runs the daily affairs of the company. The CFO […]

We each define quality of life in our own way. We each have unique goals and dreams. Economic security can buy you time to focus your attention on what matters. My goal for you is to help you understand your own definition of the good life, and then work to make your money a tool […]

Vanguard does a report every year called “How America Saves” on the 401(k)-type plans that it manages. The 2013 Vanguard report has some interesting insights: Thirty-two percent of employees do not contribute to a 401(k). 27 percent of employees older than 55 do not contribute. Among employees with incomes greater than $100,000, 12 percent do […]

Sometimes you can make more money by saving taxes than you can by making more money. This is important to understand, particularly considering what is inevitable: History reflects that taxes tend to rise. It’s important to understand the difference between taxable, tax deferred and tax-free investing. Let’s take a look at how each would affect […]

In retirement ROI stands for reliability of income*, a far greater concern in these years than return on investments. You can’t effectively chase both at the same time. But you can pursue both goals if you compartmentalize your money based on short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals.  You may have seen what is called the “risk […]

Professor Moshe Milevsky, a researcher, author, and speaker on personal financial planning, talks about not just asset allocation, but product allocation for retirement. Product allocation is the next step in the evolution of asset allocation, designed specifically for people close to or in retirement. Rather than allocating a pool of money among asset classes, you […]

Imagine that you have a 200-piece jigsaw puzzle scattered in front of you. Where would you start? When I ask people that, most say they would start at the corners where they figure it’s easier to piece together all those interlocking shapes. Likewise, many people just dump their box of investments on an advisor’s table […]