Believe it or not, a significant portion of the people in America seem to think that retirement is an entitlement that just drops into your lap. To gain a proper understanding of the matter it is useful to look at the concept of retirement in a very basic, stripped-down manner. The word "retirement" describes the act of ending your working career. It doesn't imply any automatic influx of income that allows you to do so in financial comfort. If you plan on retiring when … [Read more...] about Do You Have A 401(k) Account?
Financial Planning
Reverse Mortgages Can Help With Long-Term Care Costs
Planning for your retirement can be a lot of fun as you anticipate an extended period of time that will be yours and yours alone. Most of us have many things on our "to do" list and it is exciting to have the opportunity to do some traveling and otherwise do things that we never had the time to do while we were engaged in our careers. However, when you're making plans for the future, it is important to remember the time that will follow your active retirement years. Many people are not … [Read more...] about Reverse Mortgages Can Help With Long-Term Care Costs
What If Your Retirement Plan Falls Short?
It is easy to give advice about making sure that you start your retirement planning efforts early so that you are fully prepared when the time comes, and clearly this is the best course of action. But there is an ideal reality, and there is the real world where many people find themselves residing. Not everyone is positioned perfectly when their retirement years come into focus, and while it is true that this is sometimes due to a lack of planning there are also forces at work that are out … [Read more...] about What If Your Retirement Plan Falls Short?
5 Shortcomings of Retirement Planning Software
Retirement planning software can help by generating quick overviews of where we’re headed financially, but unless you know the major shortcomings of these programs, you’re likely to miss some important information that could make or break your retirement plan. First, many retirement planning programs use return rates that are unrealistic, whether through user setting or a program default. A 2009 study of popular retirement planning software condenses the 5 primary shortcomings of these … [Read more...] about 5 Shortcomings of Retirement Planning Software
Are You Responsible For Your Parents' Debt When They Die?
When a parent falls seriously ill or dies, there are enough emotions riding high without throwing in financial worries that accompany these situations. But money troubles too often come part and parcel with aging parent issues. A frequent concern of adult children is whether they are going to be responsible for their parents' debts after they die. The answer is probably not, but there could be a couple of situations in which you are. The elderly, living on a fixed income, may use up all of … [Read more...] about Are You Responsible For Your Parents' Debt When They Die?
Diversify to Protect Your Investments
Everyone has heard the warnings about putting all your savings into one basket. One only has to look back a few years to see what might happen if you do. Although extreme examples, there was the Madoff debacle, where trusting people invested their entire savings with Bernie Madoff, a shyster who took them to the cleaners, and Enron, where employees put their entire retirement savings into company stock and lost everything when the company collapsed. So how do you protect yourself and your … [Read more...] about Diversify to Protect Your Investments
Term vs. Whole Life Insurance. Which One is Best for You?
Everyone knows the value of life insurance and what can happen if you don't have it. A spouse dies, leaving the other spouse with little or no income and no resources. Dreams of staying in your home or sending the kids to college may go by the wayside. Everything caves in on itself. So you need it, but committing to buying it is something else. First off, life insurance is an important part of your financial plan. If you are married or have kids, buying life insurance is a no brainer. There … [Read more...] about Term vs. Whole Life Insurance. Which One is Best for You?
The Long and Short of Disability Insurance
One of people's greatest fears is that they will get sick or injured, can't work for a long time, get in debt, and then lose their savings and their house, basically losing their independence and dignity. Sounds grim, and it is. If you have enough money in savings or investments that you could weather up to five years of unemployment, stop reading here. For the rest of you, disability insurance might be the answer. But do you need short-term disability or long-term disability, or both? … [Read more...] about The Long and Short of Disability Insurance
How To Boost Your Retirement Savings
Along with estate planning naturally comes thoughts about your golden years. Where will you live? How will you take care of yourself? Will you have enough money to live on for the rest of your life? Worries about running out of money as you get older is a common fear. And for good reason. Some studies show that many over the age of 55 have only $10,000, if that, in retirement savings. That's woefully short. Although we all know people who have lived comfortably, but frugally, on almost … [Read more...] about How To Boost Your Retirement Savings
Should Young People Buy Long Term Care Insurance?
A well known financial personality often talks about long term care insurance on his radio program. When people call in and ask when should they start buying LTC insurance, he says at about age 60. That may make perfect sense, because at age 60, you might be pretty healthy and can still qualify for long term care insurance, and your annual premium (for now at least) would be fairly affordable. But there are 1 in 2 odds that someday you will need long term care insurance, and you are not … [Read more...] about Should Young People Buy Long Term Care Insurance?
