Retirement Boils Down To One Simple Question
If you spend ten minutes this year reading economic forecasts, you've wasted ten minutes of your time that you'll never get back. By the way, time is your most valuable asset. Invest it wisely.
Your Cooperative Annuity Payment Options Explained In English
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.
Football And Baseball Aren't The Same Game
Have you ever watched an NFL football game? While watching the game did you compare either team to your favorite baseball team? Probably not because they aren’t playing the same game. As a retirement income planner, I often get questions from clients and potential clients on outperforming the market or investment performance in general. Maybe they heard on the “financial news” that the market was up X percentage that day, month or even that year and they wonder why their retirement portfolio isn't up the same percentage. Well simply stated, I am not a day trader or short-term trader. I’m a long-term, goal focused, plan-driven investor. I’m not playing the same game as the so-called “experts” on TV and radio, etc. I’m not playing a day to day game. I’m not even playing a year to year game.
Three Types Of Financial Advisors And How They Get Paid
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.
Presidential Elections & The Stock Market: Is There a Correlation?
Does the upcoming election mean it's time to reassess your portfolio? A historical look at presidential elections & the stock market can help you decide.
Should You Take Social Security At Age 62?
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
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.
Thoughts On Japan Market Crisis
On August 5, 2024 and you probably woke up to doom and gloom on the news today about Japan’s stock market and how it’s crashing and how that’s going to affect the US stock market and basically how the world is ending. The world is not ending by the way.
The Rollover Mistake That Costs Cooperative Retirees Significant Money
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!
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
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?
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?
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.
The Three Main Stock Market Indexes Explained
Everyday the financial “news” tells us the status of the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite because these are the three most followed indexes by media and investors. I’ve found through the years that many people have no idea what an index is or specifically what these three indexes represent. Today I’m going to give you a Cliffs Notes version of what an index is as it relates to the stock market, a brief explanation of the three major indexes
Who Or What Causes Inflation?
Inflation is affecting all of us right now. And for many of us, we personally feel the hit in our wallet and our bank accounts. I've calculated that it's costing me and my family right at $8,000 per year just on the basics like fuel, food, and utilities. I shouldn't have to write this disclaimer but in today's political climate, I feel I should. This is not a political or a partisan opinion. Although I do have plenty of both of those, I intentionally keep them out of my blog. So who or what causes inflation? The answer is very simple thus this blog will be short. Here's a hint: It's not the Federal Reserve.
Should We Get Out Of The Market Until Things Settle Down?
The impulse to get out of the market before something bad happens is an impulse in all of us but it's at best only half of a strategy. What impulse would you listen to for re-entry to the market? Impulses don't make a strategy, but they can totally destroy a strategy.
