Blog
Life is full of lessons, challenges, and moments that shape who we are. Here is where I share my thoughts, experiences, and insights on the things that matter most.
With over 40 years of experiences, this blog is my way of putting those perspectives into words. Expect a mix of wisdom, humor and real talk...because life is too short for anything less!
Retirement Decisions - 9 Questions a Spouse Should Understand
Retirement is a life changing event for everyone in the family. When those working received salaries there was a “known” stream of income that mutually you could balance with the expenses. Upon retirement the salaries are replaced by...
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Education in Retirement - Are Advisor Certifications Important?
Investors see financial advisors with different certifications after their name and wonder what they mean. Certifications are important because they show that advisors want to grow in their knowledge to better serve their clients...
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Education in Retirement – Inflation, Should Investors be Concerned?
When conversation turns to inflation, we have flashbacks to the 1980s when inflation topped out at 14.76% (InflationData.com). A 3-month CD earned 18.65% (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), and mortgage rates hit 18.45% (Yahoo Finance).
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Education in Retirement – Recession 2.0, Weathering the Storm
When Covid-19 became an outbreak in early 2020, the U.S. government imposed “lockdown” restrictions to curtail the spread of the virus. This health crisis lockdown put the economy into a ‘self-imposed’ recession. Congress and The Federal...
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Retirement Decisions – Smart Investing Ideas
The first 25+ years of our lives we “learn”; the next 25+ years we “labor” in an occupation; the remaining 25+ years we transition into retirement and truly “live”. There are those that have careers of 30-40 years, working into their...
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Education in Retirement – The Trend from Brokerage to Advice
In the 40+ years that I have been blessed to be a Financial Advisor I have witnessed a lot of changes in the financial services industry. I continue to learn from my training, continued education and client experiences. The Investments...
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Investment Decisions – A Time for Everything
You may be familiar with the writing; "There is a right time for everything: A time to be born and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to harvest." King Solomon of Israel wrote these words of wisdom in the book of Ecclesiastes...
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Investment Decisions – Bonds: Buy, Sell or Hold?
As investors begin looking at their monthly account statements they are seeing both taxable and tax-free bond portfolios going down in value. I would like to take some time to discuss the cause, and even talk about some proactive...
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Investment Decisions – Developing an Investment Portfolio
Whether you develop your own investment portfolio or rely on a Financial Advisor to develop one for you, you need to understand the factors that are involved. After 40 years as a professional, I still consider it a great privilege to...
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Investment Decisions – Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor
Every day I speak with individuals that are considering retirement or need help with meeting their investment objectives. These people are referred by co-workers, friends, tax advisors or they are familiar with me from my years of...
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Investment Decisions – Wealth Accumulation via Employer
Many companies in today’s environment are not properly equipped with the necessary departments to explain the benefits offered to employees. For instance, instead of sitting down and educating their staff on the options they merely hand...
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Investment Decisions - Wealth Preservation in Times of Uncertainty
The financial markets hate uncertainty. The COVID-19 virus; oil price drop and social distancing provided enough uncertainty to send investors to the sidelines. Stocks; taxable & tax-free bonds; gold & silver were all sold to move funds...
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Retirement Decisions – 10 Retirement Questions
Retirement is a life changing event. You go from earning a salary and having the comfort of knowing what is going into your checking account to an uncomfortable feeling of not knowing where the cash flow will be coming from...
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Retirement Decisions – Age 59.5 In-Service 401k Withdrawals
Many 401k plans have been updated to allow ‘Age 59.5 In-Service 401k Withdrawals’. Investors have used the Age 59.5 In-Service 401k Withdrawal option for a variety of reasons. Below I have listed advantages and disadvantages.
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