In our last article “How Risky Are My Investments? Part 1” we discussed what is meant by the “risk” of an investment portfolio. We ended the article with the question, "How do we reduce risk without compromising return?" One of the best ways to reduce uncertainty and risk without compromising returns, is to reduce the correlation of all of the investment assets inside the portfolio. Correlation means that two investments have similar results and outcomes (even though they have a different … [Read more...]
How Risky Are My Investments? Part 1
In my experience of guiding investors, I find that it is common for them to underestimate the risk of their investment portfolio that they bring in. How are investment portfolios measured in regard to risk? What is risk as it relates to investments? Risk is defined as uncertainty. It is the uncertainty that the performance of the investments will be what the average historical return has been. We all know that our investment portfolio does not receive the average historical return every year. … [Read more...]
Why I don’t do my own home repairs
Recently Katie, my wife, needed help with a project in her music classroom. She wanted to mount about 24 ukuleles on the wall. It seemed pretty straightforward. The problem is, that I don't have any skills related to accomplishing it. Yet still, I want to help my wife. I knew that I needed reinforcements. My first call was to my dad. Dad used to have his own handyman business. He's my go-to person whenever there is measuring or tools involved. The thing is, I know that … [Read more...]
How Long Does My Money Need to Last?
The infographic found below is an extremely compelling one. I use it in my Maximizing Social Security course when talking about the value of delaying Social Security. What it communicates goes well beyond just Social Security planning and invites us to think about planning for longevity in all aspects of retirement. It's not uncommon to use life expectancy tables to consider longevity and the timing of Social Security break even points. Unfortunately, most life expectancy tables consider life … [Read more...]
Advanced Healthcare Directive vs. Living Will
The following article comes from the “Follow the Money” blog and I found it helpful for those who are looking for direction on the difference between some common estate planning documents: _________________________________ Advanced Medical Directives are a vital part of your financial and estate planning. We often get asked to explain the difference in an advance directive vs living will. We will explain the differences and help you understand why they are important. What is an Advance … [Read more...]
Update on High Yield Savings Account
If you haven't read our previous article on a new high yield savings account option with no minimums, high interest rate, and plenty of FDIC insurance, I recommend you read it here: I promised to keep you updated on anything I found that seemed strange or hinky. Well it wasn't but one week after I opened my account and funding it initially that I got an email that my interest rate had been reduced. The APR went from 2.32% to 2.07%. The explanation, of course, was that interest rates have … [Read more...]
What’s the difference between SSI and SSDI?
I read a good article recently on the difference between Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). I know most individuals don't know what they are or what the differences are between them. Here's the link to the article: https://www.disabilitysecrets.com/page5-13.html If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. … [Read more...]
Can I File and Suspend Social Security Benefits?
If you're familiar with Social Security claiming strategies, you may remember a strategy called “File and Suspend”. It was used in order to allow one spouse to begin their spousal benefit on the other spouse’s working record while allowing that other spouse to actually delay their Social Security benefits until a later age (while it grew by delayed credits). Legislation effectively removed this “File and Suspend” strategy described above for those who had not used it by April … [Read more...]
Top 10 Senior Scams
Recently a new client confided in me that he had been the victim of a scam over the phone. By not catching it in time, he now owes nearly $30,000 on credit cards, which the credit card companies will not take responsibility for, since they were legitimate purchases the client made, not realizing that he was being scammed. The police offered him little hope that the perpetrators would be caught or that any money could be recovered. Although it boggles my mind as to how these types of … [Read more...]
2.32% APY No Minimum, Fully Liquid Account
I don't respond much to online ads. I did have an intriguing one yesterday that advertised a 2.32% APR on savings with no minimum and no hassle access, along with $1,000,000 FDIC insurance. I figured it couldn't hurt to check out. I was skeptical how they could offer such a high rate of interest without locking me into a holding period or without requiring a large balance. Five minutes later my account information was collected, the bank account used to fund the initial balance was linked, … [Read more...]
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