As investors, it’s important to acknowledge both realities. The human cost of these events matters far more than market movements. But markets don’t pause during global events, and understanding how they typically respond can help us avoid emotional decisions.
One of the most underused, overlooked and unappreciated practices in investing is rebalancing your portfolio on a yearly basis. There's an old saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Disciplined rebalancing, however, is as close as you can get to a free lunch. Let's explore why.
The IRS recently published the last of the annual inflation updates for 2026.
If someone you love passes and leaves you as the beneficiary to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), what should you do? Like the answer to most personal finance questions, it depends.
A 30 year retirement means more than likely facing many surprises with which a flat monthly payment isn't going to help. The lump sum option, invested properly, offers flexibility to meet those surprises, can be strategically invested to provide regular income, and most importantly could possibly change the lives of the loved ones you leave behind.
The three most common business structures that use the terms are Insurance Companies, Broker Dealers and Registered Investment Advisers. All three are very different in how they run their business and each will specialize in different areas.
Approximately 30% of all the money in 401ks in Target Date Portfolios. Basically you figure out what year you turn 62 and you pick the Target Date Portfolio that corresponds to that year. Sounds easy enough, so why don't I like them?
Typically, you pay an advisor the same reason you pay a mechanic to repair your car. If you wanted to repair it yourself, you probably could, but what's your time worth? Is that really what you want to do? Can you do it right? What is your strategy for doubling your income in retirement? What is your strategy for tax planning in retirement? What is your strategy for claiming Social Security in retirement? If you aren't sure of those answers, it would be wise to sit down and talk to an advisor about your retirement planning needs.
How much is your time worth?
The timing of your Social Security benefits can be important. It could make a difference of thousands of dollars in your retirement income. Although there are many factors to consider when making a decision about Social Security (more about that later), it’s fairly simple to calculate your break-even age. Let’s use an example to illustrate the calculation:
I would like to argue against the perception that bonds are "safer" than stocks, especially when considering long-term financial goals like retirement which can last 20-30 plus years.
Successful investing for retirement and in retirement is not that complicated. The planning process can be complicated, such as when to liquidate certain investments, how much cash to keep on hand, and sticking to your plan, but the investing process isn’t hard at all.
Everyday cooperative employees retire. Some of these retirees take the lump sum option and "rollover" that money to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or they "rollover" that money into their NRECA 401k. They may be working with a financial advisor or they may have decided that they don't want to pay an advisor and they want to do it themselves. This blog is speaking to the do it yourselfers.
What if you're age 55 or older and you just don't want to wait until age 62 to retire? Many of you are stuck in that 50-58 age range where the thought of retirement can be a little scary. Let's look at some options.
Before making a Roth IRA withdrawal, keep in mind the following rules to avoid a potential 10% early withdrawal penalty
I started this firm to help people, specifically electric cooperative employees, with retirement planning. I worked for an electric cooperative for over 11 years and during that time I saw a need for retirement planning above and beyond what NRECA is capable of providing you.
