You’ve planned carefully, crossed your T’s and dotted your I’s, completed the last of your tasks/duties, said farewell to your coworkers, and cut the cake.  Congratulations, you’re retired!  Now what?? Retirement is one of life’s significant transitions.  As such, it is not a “one and done” event, despite what you …

According to a recent study by the Federal Reserve, approximately 40% of Americans do not have $400 set aside for a financial emergency.  This is one reason why so many people are facing significant financial peril from the recent lockdown. One of the cornerstones of being financially stable is having …

Economic impact payments are being sent from the IRS automatically to those who are eligible.  Whether you are expecting payment or not, you should be aware of potential scams that are used to exploit taxpayers during these confusing times. Here are a few tips on how to spot a potential …

My family and I live in Wimberley, Texas, which you may remember was struck by a flood on Saturday, May 23, 2015. Unprecedented is a term often used to describe the flooding. Still, that adjective does not capture the magnitude of what happened that evening along the Blanco River.  Twenty-three …

Many of you are probably familiar with the concept of a circuit breaker.  It’s a safety device that shuts off the flow of electricity when the system senses something could be going wrong.  The effect is to save the electrical system from damage which can be potentially caused by overload …

Charles Dickens wrote in his book The Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” That phrase comes to mind as I read the news.  Today, the average person enjoys …

Many people are curious about how they get money from their retirement accounts once they have stopped working.  This month, I wanted to help illustrate how distributions work, and the effects that unplanned distributions can have on a retirement portfolio. Let’s say you saved a nest egg of $250,000 in …

On December 20, 2019, the SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) was signed into law, bringing with it significant changes to the retirement planning landscape.  We believe some of the changes are positive, and some are not.  If you have a qualified retirement account (and most of …

The new year means that one-fifth of this century is already history!  For me (and I suspect some of you as well), it seems like just yesterday that we were ringing in the new century and waiting for the lights to go out because of Y2K.  Now we are on …

I recently was on a community call hosted by one of my mentors, Susan Bradley (founder of the Financial Transitionist Institute), and the topic was how families navigate change during the holidays.    The holidays are a time of emotional connection – which can be the source of both appreciation …