Banknotes

Most of us would say we work extremely hard for our money. How would you feel about getting your money to work harder for you instead? The “trick” is getting the math of compound interest on your side.

Topics: Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Saving

Thomas Edison famously said, “The three great essentials to achieving anything worthwhile are: hard work, stick-to-itiveness, and common sense.” These essentials are present throughout the writings of financial author David Bach, best known for his Finish Rich and Automatic Millionaire book series.

Topics: Financial Planning, Wealth Management, Retirement Planning, Saving, Budget

We hope you are staying safe and encourage you to use this time for “spring cleaning” of your estate and financial plans! During these unprecedented times, many of us are staying home more often and finding ourselves with extra time on our hands. Now, more than ever, it is important to make sure the many aspects of our financial futures are in order.

Topics: Wealth Management, Retirement, Estate Planning, Retirement Planning

The coronavirus has radically affected the lives of everyone in this country – and, indeed, the world – in an unprecedentedly short amount of time. News of it on the radio, TV, and internet seems all-consuming. This piece is not intended as an update on the virus, because by the time it’s published any news contained herein will be outdated. Instead, the purpose here is to discuss the investing environment, both during this crisis and beyond.

Topics: Trust, Wealth Management, Stock Market, Economic Outlook, Retirement Planning, Saving

“If you don’t know exactly where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?” That’s a very good question, posed by author and behavioral science academic, Steve Maraboli.

It resonates with financial planners who work to develop sound plans that help ensure long-term financial security for clients and their families. Financial decisions nearly always involve trade-offs – proverbial forks in the road, if you will. Absent a well-crafted plan, one is behaving as if it doesn’t matter which road is taken. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Topics: Financial Planning, Wealth Management, Retirement, Retirement Planning

You’ve done everything you were supposed to do. You’ve saved, invested, and you have a total of $1,000,000 in your employer retirement plan. You even got the memo about Roth contributions, and $200,000 of your million is in Roth contributions. You’ve decided that now is the time to ride off into the sunset and enter the wonderful world of retirement. What’s next?

Topics: Wealth Management, Retirement, Retirement Planning

There’s no getting around it: Saving is hard. Right now, there are probably 100 more exciting things you would like to do with your money than save it. While retirement and other long-term goals may seem like distant dreams, time flies when you are having fun! And the longer you wait, the more challenging it becomes to realize the freedom you envision for yourself in retirement.

Topics: Financial Planning, Retirement, Retirement Planning, Saving

Congress’s well-intentioned plan to bolster retirements for working Americans – the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act – will come with its own set of wrinkles and challenges for defined-contribution plan sponsors (e.g., 403[b], 401[k], etc, which I’ll collectively refer to as “401[k] plans,” for the purposes of this article).

I have to be brief and selective, but here are a few topics to consider carefully if you are tasked with administering the plan for your co-workers or employees.

Topics: Business Banking, Financial Planning, Wealth Management, Small Business, Business Operations, Retirement Planning

With traditional pension plans all but gone, many workers have been left to rely on a 401(k) plan as their primary source of income in retirement. There’s just one problem with that: Multiple studies indicate that approximately 40 million Americans do not have a workplace retirement plan.

Topics: Business Banking, Financial Planning, Wealth Management, Retirement, Retirement Planning

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) ACT – a topic that Jeff Collins introduced in this space when it was only proposed legislation – was recently passed by Congress (with broad bipartisan support, no less), marking a significant victory for anyone actively planning for their non-working years. Put simply, the Act is the kind of retirement reform that may come along only once in a generation.

Topics: Retirement, Retirement Planning