Published on June 8th, 2022 When you invest money, you are putting it at risk — all investments can lose money. The key is to gauge your risk, and to not put more money at risk than you are willing to lose.   This is a relative concept. If…

Published on June 1st, 2022 In a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, more than 80% of American adults said they were feeling increased financial stress due to:   Higher inflation (87%) Ongoing supply chain issues caused by the pandemic (81%) Global uncertainty due to the war in…

Published on May 18th, 2021 As with any major global conflict, we learn things. The pandemic taught the U.S. the importance of reshoring manufacturing jobs, so we aren’t beholden to other nations, like China, for many of our consumer goods, from medicines to electronics.1   One of the key…

Published on May 11th, 2021 Retirement planning was historically a little easier. For instance, the average life expectancy in 1950 was 68 years old.1If you retired at age 62, your retirement plan might need only six years of retirement income. Additionally, with the decline of defined benefit pension plans,…

Published on May 4th, 2021 One of the biggest economic stories of the first quarter was the rising rate of inflation, as consumer prices reached a 39-year high by the end of 2021. In the first quarter, the inflation rate floated around 7%.   Higher prices tend to hurt…

Published on April 27th, 2021 The U.S. housing market is still suffering from low inventory: too few houses available for the numbers of home-seeking buyers. Naturally, the capitalist principals of supply and demand kick in, meaning that prices inevitably rise when there are too few products available to purchase.…

Published on April 20th, 2021 Part of the retirement planning process is realistically imagining what you want your life to look like. Bear in mind that you’re really only planning for the first chapter of retirement — the one where you travel, pursue hobbies and spend more time with…

Published on April 13th, 2021 A recent survey found that about 50% of couples do not agree on how much money they should have saved by retirement.¹ However, new research shows that couples who engage in financial planning together tend to be happier and more successful during retirement. Interestingly,…

Published on April 6th, 2021 Municipal bonds are popular among retirees and near-retirees as they seek to reduce market risk and position assets for a lower tax bill. One way to diversify across this sector is to invest in municipal bond mutual and exchange-traded funds. In 2021 alone, that’s…

Published on March 30th, 2021 In general, retirement rates have increased during the pandemic. Before COVID-19, the retired population grew by about 1 million retirees per year. But during 2020 and 2021, 3.5 million more people retired.1   As it turns out, part of the “Great Resignation” that we’ve…