February 14, 2013 – Let’s start with the obvious: It depends on the event. But since it’s St. Valentine’s Day and our thoughts turn to romance, let’s start with the odds that any given person will ever date a Supermodel. The answer? 1 in 88,000. At least according to “What Are Your Odds Of Winning…
Don’t Sweat the Big Stuff January 21, 2013 – There are few golfers on tour more popular than Phil Michelson. Movie star good looks. Four major championships. Second on the “all-time money” list of tournament prize money won. Endorsements through the roof. And apparently it’s the latter that’s finally catching up to Lefty. According to Sports…
When my great-great-grandfather, Patrick Finn, arrived in Winsted, Connecticut as a young lad from County Cork, Ireland in the mid-1850s, he couldn’t have had any kind of future planned for himself yet. How could he? He was only four years old. But by the time he was a teenager, young Patrick successfully landed a good…
Managing the Risks – A Delicate Balance Achieving a happy, comfortable retirement is largely dependent upon how successful one is at managing the many retirement risks we all face leading up to, and during, retirement. Depending on whose literature you read there are anywhere from six to ten or more risks people should consider when…
Adjusting Your Expectations in a Post-Economic Meltdown World If you were fortunate enough to have invested in stocks over the past 30 or so years; and, If you were fortunate enough to have stayed with it through the past four years when the financial world went crazy; and, If you still have a good portion…
Lifetime Income or Lump Sum? There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all when it comes to making decisions about your retirement options. But choosing lifetime income instead of a lump sum for your pension distribution makes tremendous sense for a variety of reasons. The simple truth is . . . “Nothing provides you with a…
Guaranteed Income Solutions Appropriate for Most Regular readers of our blog will notice a few recurring themes in our posts when it comes to retirement planning and post-settlement planning: Protecting yourself from the risk of outliving your money is wise Slow and steady wins the race Things that look too good to be true usually…
Annuities Sometimes it’s just fun to find new ways to talk about annuities. (Get it? A-new-at-ease?) A few days ago, MONEY senior editor Walter Updegrave dispensed some helpful advice to a 55-year old woman worried about protecting her nest egg now that she’s ten years away from retirement in his column “55 and scared: ‘How…
Are Your Eyes Open About Your Retirement? Expanding on the theme of yesterday’s newsletter, “The Secret to Living Well at 100,” which we sent our clients so they can properly plan for their financial futures, here’s some supplemental information you’re sure to find helpful. And probably more than a little disconcerting. Simply put, we all…
Be Healthy and Have Money Many Financial Planners Now Recommend You Plan to Live Until Age 100 or Beyond OK, so it’s not really a “secret” that being healthy and having money are essentials to a comfortable retirement. Pretty obvious actually. But how prepared are you for the possibility that you just might be a…