February 7, 2014 – You don’t have to look too hard to find stories about people who are worse off because they completely undervalued the concept of planning for the future. People who choose today at the expense of tomorrow. I’m talking about people who opt for a lump sum of cash instead of the…
January 21, 2014 – We’re used to reading about Warren Buffett’s sensible, folksy investing philosophy that has made him one of the world’s all-time most successful – and richest – financiers. But who knew he was such a sports wagering junkie? And we’re not talking about the few dollars or bragging rights most of us…
January 16, 2014 – There’s no shortage of stories about people blowing large sums of money in a short period of time with little or nothing to show for it. Professional athletes. Rock stars. Movie stars. Everyday people. While the high profile celebrity-types (who people generally don’t feel sorry for) are the ones who usually…
January 8, 2014 – Most people who accept structured settlements when settling their personal, physical injury claims are not repeat customers. After all, most people never file significant injury claims in the first place let alone doing so on multiple occasions. And since our involvement with a client typically ends once a policy is issued…
January 7, 2014 – Some seemingly sensible retirement planning ideas just don’t hold water when scrutinized. Take Jane Bryant Quinn’s article, “Don’t Be Too Cautious,” appearing in this month’s AARP Bulletin for instance. While the underlying premise of her article – allocating one’s retirement funds into a series of “buckets” designed to maximize retirement cash…
January 6, 2014 – Structured settlements were created to specifically help address the long term financial needs of those settling personal, physical injury claims. Because injury settlement proceeds represent neither savings nor investment dollars, comparing their returns to other “investments” can be a dangerous method of evaluating their imporatance to someone who can’t risk losing…
December 31, 2013 – According to the recently published Fidelity 2014 New Year Financial Resolutions Study, 54% of you are making financial resolutions for the coming year. While we can’t help you save more, spend less or pay down debt – the top three financial resolutions cited in the study – there are two specific…
December 23, 2013 – It’s always nice to read something that gives you reason for optimism as you prepare to change calendars and head into a new year. An article in today’s InvestmentNews caught our eye because it predicts 2014 could “be a big one” for a certain financial option near and dear to our…
December 5, 2013 – If you’re among the lucky ones, you had some retirement money saved up in your 401(k) or IRA in 2008, lost a bunch of it in the ensuing Great Recession years, gutted it out through 2013 and now have recovered most, if not all, of the wealth you originally watched evaporate….
November 22, 2013 – Average life expectancy at birth being what it was in pre-war America, it’s a sobering reality that a significant percentage of Americans who were adults aged 30 and older in 1963 are no longer around to share their “I remember the day President Kennedy was shot” stories with us. In another…