Sometimes "hanging tight" isn't the best solution during times of volatility. We've had two bear markets since the Great Recession of 2008. COVID-19 was the first, and the inflation that ensued thereafter in 2021-2022 led to the second. Tax Loss Harvesting involves selling investments when they are down in value Read More

Roth conversions are definitely gaining lots of popularity, especially with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 expiring in 2026. Because of this, I have noticed consumers believe they should automatically start converting their IRAs and 401ks to Roth accounts! First and foremost, you have to run the numbers. Read More

Roth conversions are definitely gaining lots of popularity, especially with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 expiring in 2026. Because of this, I have noticed consumers believe they should automatically start converting their IRAs and 401ks to Roth accounts! First and foremost, you have to run the numbers. Read More

Nobody wants to think of themselves as old or frail. In fact, many retirees in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s are still traveling the world. The risk of extended care will never impact them. But if you need extended care, what are the consequences to your loved ones? They Read More

Nobody wants to think of themselves as getting old or frail. In fact, many retirees in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s are still traveling the world. The risk of extended care will never impact them. But if you need extended care, what are the consequences to your loved ones? Read More

Nobody wants to think of themselves as getting old or frail. In fact, many retirees in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s are still traveling the world. The risk of extended care will never impact them. But if you need extended care, what are the consequences to your loved ones? Read More

It's natural for us to think about how to GET to retirement, but not about how retirement will actually work. The same is true for saving into a 401k or 403b plan.  Most think about how to invest their 401k and maximize growth.  However, what about the distribution process?  And Read More

It's natural for us to think about how to GET to retirement, but not about how retirement will actually work. The same is true for saving into a 401k or 403b plan.  Most think about how to invest their 401k and maximize growth.  However, what about the distribution process?  And Read More

2022 was a tough year for both stocks and bonds.  In fact, it was perhaps the worst year for a 60/40 portfolio, period.  For retirees, this makes income planning very difficult!  How do you combat record inflation when both stocks and bonds are falling?  Additionally, the risk in stocks is Read More

2022 was a tough year for both stocks and bonds.  In fact, it was perhaps the worst year for a 60/40 portfolio, period.  For retirees, this makes income planning very difficult!  How do you combat record inflation when both stocks and bonds are falling?  Additionally, the risk in stocks is Read More

As a financial professional who specializes in retirement, I would never tell a client to spend MORE than they can.  However, I will tell them what they CAN spend while still maintaining their financial independence.  Oftentimes, it's more than what they are currently spending, especially in the "Go-Go Years" of Read More

Now that you have made the decision on when to retire, the next step is to figure out how to pay for healthcare expenses.  This episode features Ari Parker, the Lead Medicare Advisor at Chapter.  Chapter is a Medicare broker that specializes in helping people make important decisions on healthcare Read More

First of all, paying off your mortgage early vs. investing the difference is not an apples to apples comparison.  I don't know of any investments that provide a guaranteed return = to the mortgage interest rate in question.  If you are comfortable with taking on the risk, you might be Read More

Tax preparation is reactive, for the most part.  Tax planning is proactive.  Most people focus solely on tax preparation, which involves preparing necessary documents to file your taxes.  Tax planning involves not only minimizing your tax liability today, but minimizing taxes when you start to draw on your investment assets Read More

Are you approaching retirement with the bulk of your next egg in tax deferred 401ks or IRAs?  With so much uncertainty on where tax rates might head in the future, you might be wondering, "Should I take advantage of Roth conversions?"  They are not for everybody, but in the right Read More

The number one thing I hear from clients is they don't want to ever be a burden on their loved ones, and yet, I've seen a number of estate planning mistakes over the years.  Fortunately, they never truly get exposed unless something unexpected happens.  These 5 common estate planning mistakes Read More

Spoiler alert:  The answer is NOT "do nothing."   Volatility is a healthy part of investing!  If there was no risk to it, there would not be the upside potential the stock market has provided for decades!  Inevitably when the stock market is volatile, I field a bunch of questions Read More

A lot of people focus so much on retirement savings strategies and not enough on withdrawal strategies.  Also, many people don't realize the withdrawal strategies begin years before you retire!  I hope you enjoy this episode and begin to think about how your savings strategies now will impact your withdrawal Read More

It's the end of the year, and most people are thinking about the holidays!  Well, we think about tax efficiencies for our clients, so I wanted to share a few tips that you might want to consider as we approach the end of the tax year.  This should not be Read More

The formula we use at our firm, Imagine Financial Security, is; Financial Goals + Risk Tolerance - Income Sources = Rate of Withdrawal. If you follow this logic, you will find a goals based rate of withdrawal that is customized to your financial plan, not some benchmark created by someone Read More