Questioning traditional assumptions about retirement planning can be illuminating. Some retirement planners and economists argue that they need to be reexamined. Does most retirement planning focus on the future at the expense of the present? One noted economist makes that case. Laurence Kotlikoff, the former White...
To start, ask each other what you see yourselves doing in retirement – individually as well as together. Is the way you are saving and investing conducive to those dreams? Think about whether you are making the most of your retirement savings potential. Could you save...
What kind of retirement do you think you’ll have? An outstanding one? A depressing one? What if it all starts with your outlook?Qualitatively speaking, what if the success or failure of your retirement begins with your perception of retirement? A whole field of study has emerged...
A first-world problem, and nothing more? Not quite. Getting rich quick can be liberating, but it can also be frustrating. Sudden wealth can help you resolve anxieties about funding your retirement or your children’s college educations, and newfound financial freedom can lead to time freedom...
Why sell shares when you can gift them? If you have appreciated stocks in your portfolio (and you hold them in a non-qualified account that doesn’t get special tax treatment), then you might want to consider donating those shares to charity rather than selling them...
Do its risks offset its advantages? Has high-frequency trading made things better on Wall Street, or worse? It has its adherents and detractors. What does HFT amount to – a lurking danger, a market necessity, a hidden tax on the small investor, a net plus? Frankly,...
In 1835, something financially remarkable happened: the federal government paid off the national debt.1 It hasn’t happened since. Through myriad presidential administrations and economic cycles, the national debt has persisted. Wars, depressions and recessions have all helped send it higher, and while it can shrink in...
The federal government implements new rules to fight tax dodgers. As of July 1, 2014, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is in effect. FATCA requires something new of foreign financial institutions: they must now report any assets held by American citizens, U.S. “persons,”...
Have you created a company that someone will want to buy? Your children won’t necessarily want to take over your business, so an exit strategy is essential to getting the outcome you want. You must prepare your firm for the transition – and you must...
Year after year, in bull and bear markets, investors make some all-too-common blunders. They have been written about, talked about, and critiqued at some length – and yet they are still made. You can chalk them up to psychology, human nature, perhaps even a degree...