80/20 Financial Services-Blog

Brian's Blog: Click Here to Subscribe

Time is our most precious resource and I thank you for allowing me to get a few minutes of your time each week. I hope you find the blog helpful and informative. Send me an email if there is ever a topic you would be interested in learning more about. I will research it and write a future blog about it.

Your Cooperative Annuity Payment Options Explained In English

November 5, 2024 Retirement Funding

You may be considering retirement from your cooperative this year. Most cooperatives that participate in the NRECA plan provide you with an annuity option, lump sum option or some variation of both options via your R&S pension plan. If you are not familiar with annuities and their payment options the choices can be a bit confusing. I'm going to list the options with plain definitions that are easy to understand in hopes that it can help you make an informed decision.

Three Types Of Financial Advisors And How They Get Paid

October 7, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

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.

Should You Take Social Security At Age 62?

September 23, 2024 Retirement Funding

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:

Retirement Planning Specifically For Electric Cooperative Employees

September 15, 2024 Retirement Funding

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.

The Rollover Mistake That Costs Cooperative Retirees Significant Money

July 23, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

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.

Easy Financial Math!

July 22, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding

Thinking about retirement? Thinking about investing in general? Trying to decide when or if you'll have enough money? Here's a quick financial tip that you can use right this minute. It's called the Rule of 72.

The Noise Created By The 24 Hour News Cycle And Financial Journalism

July 15, 2024 Retirement Funding Insights

Every single day each one of us is inundated and sometimes overwhelmed by the tsunami of noise from the 24 hour "news" cycle. Much of it centers around timing of the market and the perfect selection of funds. The "experts" say things like "Big correction coming soon!" or "Here's the three next big technology stocks to jumpstart your portfolio!" and "Inflation is coming, buy gold now!" on and on and on.

Can You Manage Your Cooperative 401k Plan Correctly?

July 8, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding

Did you know that the S&P 500 Index Mutual Fund available to you through your NRECA 401k options has historically averaged a return of approximately 10 percent? Did you know over that same period of time the average cooperative employee in the 401k plan has averaged a return of only 3.9 percent?

Should You Pay A Financial Advisor?

July 1, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

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.

What Is Money?

March 25, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding

If we know that on average our money is losing a value of between 2-3% yearly, then we know that in 20 years from now our money will have lost about half of its value. Or simply put, in 20 years our cost of living will double. That means if you make $50,000 per year now, you’ll need to be making around $100,000 in 2041 to maintain the same standard of living you have today. So what is your plan in retirement to double your income in 20 years?

How To Retire Early?

March 11, 2024 Retirement Funding

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.

Inflation Is The Silent Killer Of Your Retirement Plan

February 26, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding

High Blood Pressure is often referred to as the silent killer of human beings. It has no obvious symptoms to indicate something is wrong. Many people don't even know they have it. It develops slowly over time and although it can't be cured but it can be managed. Your retirement plan has a similar killer...inflation.

Owning The Best Companies In The United States

January 22, 2024 Retirement Funding Insights

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we’ve seen first hand how world events can affect the markets here in the United States. We’ve seen lots of market volatility since the beginning of the year. But guess what? The market is always volatile. And the reason for that is many investors make all their decisions based on emotion. And by doing this they blur the lines between volatility and risk. Risk and volatility are not the same thing. In fact, they aren’t even remotely related.

The Secret To Successful Investing

January 14, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

The secret to investing is complex. There is no silver bullet, there is no pill to take, there is no hot new stock, etc. Everyday we are bombarded by advertisers trying to sell us quick fixes to complex problems.

Are Annuities A Good Investment Option For Your Retirement?

January 8, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding

If you are about to retire or already retired, chances are you've been approached or heard a pitch from an Annuity Salesman. (I'm referring to after market annuities in this blog. Not the annuity option available from your NRECA R&S Plan).

Roth Conversions-Why, When & How

September 27, 2023 Retirement Funding Minimizing Taxes In Retirement

Many investors understand the basics of Roth conversions, however just as many do not. In this blog we will discuss the basics of Roth conversions as well as why you might do them, when you might do them and how you actually do them.