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4 Stages of a Bear Market

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All bull markets must come to an end. Many of the gains of the last few years were abruptly wiped out in just a month’s time. The argument could be made that bear markets are healthy and are sometimes referred to as a feature, not a bug. I’ve come to believe that there are four stages of a bear market, each with their own emotional issues and include at least… Read More

10 Charts About Retirement Every Retiree Should See (2020)

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As a Retirement Planner, each year I eagerly await the release of J.P. Morgan’s Guide to Retirement. It is essentially a booklet of retirement charts filled with great information impacting retirees. Making it even better, it often highlights things that are regularly overlooked by just about anyone (including professionals) planning for retirement today. With that in mind, I have selected 10 charts that I think everyone transitioning into retirement should… Read More

5 Actions You Can Take During a Bear Market

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Right about now, investors and advisors are kicking themselves for not having sold about two weeks ago. Some are still considering selling. Investors who say the thought hasn’t crossed their mind are probably lying to themselves. It’s easy to say to ourselves, “I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE SOLD!” because hindsight is always 20/20. But the truth is, we didn’t know because we can’t know. That’s truly the toughest part of… Read More

Will Your Family Be Torn Apart After You Pass?

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Every parent’s nightmare is that your family will be torn apart over money when you pass. I will let you in on an ironic little secret about the inheritance you hope to leave. Money makes people crazy! If you have not planned appropriately - and sometimes even when you have - it is very possible that your family will be torn apart over dollars and cents and over your “stuff.”… Read More

The Challenges Facing Retirees Today

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Believe it or not, retirement is still a relatively new concept, by historical standards at least. People have only really been “retiring” for about 150 years - back to the time of Chancellor Otto Van Bismarck. In 1883, Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck of Germany had a problem. Marxists were threatening to take control of Europe. To help his countrymen resist their blandishments, Bismarck announced that he would pay a pension… Read More

Spending in Retirement - An Observation

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Most of the people I am surrounded by are first-generation wealthy and I bet very few would even describe themselves as wealthy. One of the reasons they wouldn’t describe themselves as wealthy is because, in most cases, they came from meager backgrounds so the idea of being considered wealthy in any sense of the word is almost a foreign concept. Recently, I think I stumbled across an observation I have… Read More

How the SECURE Act Impacts Retirement Planning

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Since my brief posting about the SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement), I’ve probably received more emails and questions about it than any other topic since I started this blog. So, it’s clear there are questions out there. Jeffrey Levine, with Team Kitces, put together the below comprehensive visual of the key provisions of the SECURE Act and other provisions that were included in the total legislation… Read More

Year Two Is When Retirement Gets Complicated

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Most everyone has a plan for their time for their first year in retirement because it’s kind of like the longest vacation they’ve ever taken. Many take it as an opportunity to knock items off their bucket list and accomplish whatever they’ve been holding off doing while they’ve been working. But by year two, it’s a different story. Long-term retirement is a foreign concept for most people - particularly for… Read More

Retirement Income in Bull Markets, Bear Markets & Flat Markets

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I live in a bedroom community of Pittsburgh and there are two primary routes to get to the grocery store. Back roads and the highway. During perfect conditions, the backroads take about twelve minutes and the highway takes about nine or ten minutes. I always take the backroads and my wife would choose the highway most of the time. My logic is that in virtually all conditions, the backroads take… Read More

When It’s Smart to Pay Capital Gains Taxes

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Imagine for a moment that you are the coach of a Major League Baseball team and you’ve successfully coached your team to the World Series. You’re about to start the 9th inning of Game 7 and your team is up 3-1. You are just three outs away from being crowned World Champions. A life-changing opportunity for players and coaches alike. But before the 9th inning begins, you visit the opposing… Read More