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Read expert guides on achieving financial independence so you can confidently maximize your wealth and your time.
Social Security Maximization Strategies
If you're in a position to do so, waiting to take your benefits--certainly beyond age 62, and at least as long as your Full Retirement Age (FRA)--makes the most sense.
How Much Money You Need To Live To 100
Are you blessed with good health and good genes and hoping to live to 100? If so, do you have the means to get you there? There are several ways you can adjust your retirement plan to make sure you will be fine if you live to 100.
Why Financial Empowerment is so Important
Financial empowerment is really a feeling and not a number. It’s the feeling that you are in control of your finances, your financial situation, and you feel on track to retire with confidence.
Beware of the 100 Minus Age Rule
Determining what your asset allocation really should look like depends on a lot of different factors that the 100 minus age rule shortcut can't tell you.
How Higher Interest Rates (Plus Changing Inflation) can Impact Retirement Plans
Regardless of whether a recession is imminent or not, it's fair to say that the fixed income landscape has changed, and that past assumptions about what bonds will return might need some modification.
The Best Portfolio Tracker Combines Tracking with Retirement Planning
Good portfolio tracking software should also show you the fees you pay for funds you own, performance history, historical balances, and historical transactions across accounts.
Asset Allocation By Age: Be Wary Using Rules of Thumb
Be careful using rules of thumb for your asset allocation. Dialing down your exposure to stock market volatility as you get older still makes sense, but possibly not to the degree you expect.
Why You Should be Using Retirement Planning Software
Planning for retirement is one of those things that many people put off. Usually these are the same people that put off going to the doctor hoping that everything will be just fine. But this is a bad strategy, especially since planning for retirement is easier than ever!
When You Should Have an Aggressive 401(k) Allocation
To the degree you can stand it, you should usually be as aggressive as possible with your 401(k) allocation, and your investments generally. The longer your time horizon to use the money, the more aggressive you should be.
Early Retirement Tax Planning
There is still almost no way to avoid taxes in retirement. Early retirement tax planning can certainly help, but be prepared to pay at least some taxes in retirement
Comprehensive Financial Planning: What it Involves
Comprehensive financial planning involves a few different items including retirement planning and potentially college planning, estate planning, tax planning, and others.
Is $4 Million Enough to Retire On?
Is $4 million enough to retire? It depends on many factors that we will discuss. No two retirement plans are alike, but case studies can still be very powerful.
How to Minimize Taxes on Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
By withdrawing from your investments in a planned way, you can minimize taxes on your Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
How Much Do You Need to Live Off Interest in Retirement?
In today's low interest rate world it is not possible for most people to live off interest in retirement. But there are other ways to ensure you don't run out of money.
Making the Transition to Retirement
Getting ready for retirement can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be. Read on for helpful tips on how to transition to retirement more easily and securely.
Five Scenarios to run in WealthTrace
Running what-if scenarios for your retirement plan are not only extremely important for peace of mind, it can be a fun experience!
How Inflation Affects Stocks
Inflation is raging and many investors don't know what to do. There are are a few investments that willl serve as a good hedge against rising inflation.
Should You Take Your Pension in a Lump Sum?
Several factors come into play when making the decision to take a lump sum pension payment, such as risk tolerance, life expectancy, how the lump sum would be invested, and whether or not the payments pass on to a spouse if you pass away before him or her.
Working and Taking Social Security Benefits
Hopefully that's not a news flash to you, but it is for some people once they get to their 50s or so and start thinking about retirement. They might have had some idea that Social Security wouldn't cover everything, but they believed it would cover more than it actually does. (And, relatedly, they also might think Medicare covers 100% of their medical expenses once they get to Medicare age. Not true.
Retirement Planning With A Partner
Retirement planning with a partner requires both of you to be on the same page. Make sure you have a retirement plan in place.