Employee Spotlight: Holly Smith
Holly Smith Office Manager Holly is from Utah and Idaho and calls both of them home. She is married to Brady and they have 3 sons, 1 daughter in law, and 2 perfect grandkids. Holly’s favorite nick name is Nana, of course. Holly and her family love the outdoors and are always planning the next road trip, which usually involves …
Briefcase Study: The Tax Torpedo
In a recent meeting with a family we serve, the conversation – as it often does – turned to Social Security. The question was, once again, whether it was best to begin receiving Social Security benefits at age 62 or wait until age 66 and 6 months, their Full Retirement Age (FRA) with Social Security. I was reminded how important …
Back to the Basics: Seven Factors in Determining Retirement Age
Retirement means something a bit different to everyone. To some, it’s a financial finish line. To others, retirement represents a transition from paid work to volunteer work. Whatever it means to you and those close to you, retirement happens, whether by choice or by force. As a person nears ‘retirement age’ a litany of decisions arise that must be carefully …
How Statistics Can Lead Us To A Faulty Conclusion
There’s a great expression that goes something like this: 84% of statistics are made up on the spot. See what happened there? We’ll often see statistics being used for persuasive purposes, but what if there’s more to most stats than meets the eye. What if the story being sold isn’t the real story at all? What’s more, how often are …
Love Is A Verb: Caring For Others By Helping Them Plan
A friend’s grandmother, Mary, recently passed away at the age of 99. A kind, service-oriented woman who packed two lifetimes into her one, she exemplified what it means to have lived a good life. It’s clear that she served others, and living to 99 required that she also be served. If there’s any doubt that love is action, you should …
Diversification: Always Something To Celebrate (And Apologize For)
This may feel like an old, well-worn topic, but please bear with me; I hope to present a new twist. Diversification is a time-tested way for investors to manage the inherent risks of investing by owning lots of different kinds of assets. Diversification takes many forms, but often looks like this example: owning 60% of a portfolio in stocks and …
Healthcare May Be Broken, But Your Retirement Plan Doesn’t Need To Be
Live on less than you earn, pay less interest on debts than you receive on your assets, mind your taxes, and you’ll be fine. It sounds so simple, and it is. Similarly, eat fewer calories than you burn, exercise regularly, avoid running red lights in your car, and you’ll be fine. It sounds so simple, and yet it’s not. Why? …
Match the Money to the Need
I did a radio show interview a few years ago and the host of the show asked me, “What’s one piece of advice you’d offer retirees who are concerned about planning their retirement?” It’s a fair question but admittedly difficult to answer in an era of sound bites. In an interview like that, I’m thinking about what the perfect answer …
Retirement Plan Buyer’s Guide
Car buyers use them and so do people shopping for appliances. The buyer’s guide can be an extremely valuable resource for the person who wishes to compare and contrast the options available to them. But what about retirement plans? Is it possible to test-drive various options for converting one’s nest egg into an income for life? While I’m not aware …
Is Estate Planning Only For Rich People?
I recently had the pleasure of teaching two classes called ‘Your Retirement And Taxes.’ In the classes, we sought to deepen our understanding of how our tax system works as it pertains to investments and income sources, as well as consider some strategies available to a retiree to pay only their fair share of taxes during retirement. While the subject …
