Who reads the fine print? Anyone? Of course not. Not on your new cellular phone and even less when entering any given website full of cat videos. But what about a 401(k) plan at work? You’d think that would deserve a close read. A client of mine shared the contract he got from one plan… Continue reading →

More than 60% of Americans don’t have a will, much less a full-blown estate plan. It’s understandable. It can feel morbid to think about what happens after you die.  Yet many of those same people have life insurance, precisely to safeguard the finances of loved ones should they pass away unexpectedly. People sometimes use the… Continue reading →

It is incredibly hard to lose a lifelong spouse, and the weeks following a funeral are undeniably tough for the surviving partner.  Yet that’s exactly when many recently widowed people are expected to make consequential decisions about their finances, choices that could set them back thousands of dollars in income each year during retirement. The… Continue reading →

Most people entering retirement naturally would prefer to continue to collect a paycheck, much like when they worked for a living.  That regular income is likely to come from Social Security, a pension if you have one, as well as from money in tax-deferred retirement plans such as your 401(k) and IRA accounts. The goal… Continue reading →

The decision to go from working to fully retired is a big one, potentially fraught with uncertainty. And the last thing anyone wants is to go broke in retirement. After all, you have to go from making, spending, and saving money to not making it all and just spending it.  So where does the money… Continue reading →

For many folks, retirement planning comes down to their personal “number,” the savings level at which you can leave work behind and relax in a folding chair on a beach. That milestone number for many of us seems to be $1 million. If we can get to $1 million in the bank, well, that’s plenty… Continue reading →

The Great Resignation, the Big Quit, the Extraordinary Exodus — whatever you want to call it, 4.5 million Americans voluntarily left their jobs this year, according to current government data, while job openings hover around 10.6 million. A recent analysis of 4,000 companies identified mid-career professionals as the most prolific quitters, a trend that held… Continue reading →

The rising popularity of target-date funds in 401(k) plans could be seen as a sign of progress. People seem to know that they need help picking the right combination of investments. Increasing numbers of them opt for target-date funds, which are designed to adjust the ratio of stocks to bonds over time, steadily reducing risk.… Continue reading →

As a nation we’ve become hyper-aware of pricing on nearly everything. Before, if you were interested in a pair of new sneakers or tires for your car, you could shop around but only at the cost of your time and, possibly, your sanity. Thanks to the Internet we can now pre-shop those shoes or tires… Continue reading →