When my wife and I are on the interstate, nothing makes her more nervous than me passing an 18-wheeler. (In her defense, I’m not the one who would first feel the effects of a tractor-trailer swerving violently in our direction.) If she senses even the slightest movement our way, she ends up in my lap! […]

How much income will you need in retirement? Here’s an eight-step plan for figuring that out. 1. Start with your current income. As an example, let’s assume you make $100,000 annually. 2. Assume some inflation. No one knows what inflation rates will be between now and your retirement. What we do know is that postage […]

“Think I might be able to retire EARLY?” When I’m helping clients prepare retirement income plans, I often get this question.  It rarely comes right away. In fact, many are initially unsure if retirement will be possible at all. But once we’ve gathered the relevant data, estimated how much income they’ll need in retirement, and […]

I get questions all the time about saving for retirement. Clients ask: How much should I be setting aside each month? How big of a ‘nest egg’ do you think I’ll need in order to retire comfortably? Will Social Security run out of money before I’m 65? Should I even count on that? What mutual […]

Life is made up of promises, big and small. From marriages, to mortgages, to meals delivered on time, we depend on others—as they depend on us—to keep the promises that have been made. Take the young man who pledges to be faithful to his young bride “till death do us part.” That’s a promise he […]

“When this new bunch in Washington raises everyone’s taxes, what’s going to happen to the market then?” I get questions like this a few times each week. And my honest answer is “I have no idea.” Will our taxes be raised? Possibly. But since I’m not a prophet, I can’t say for sure—government tax policy […]