Taxes happen to be one of the largest expenses in retirement and taxes can increase once you start to take your required minimum distribution (RMD). As most of you know, you have the option to distribute your RMD or up to $100,000 to qualified charities without paying the income taxes on the distribution. A qualified charity is an organization that qualifies for tax-exempt status which are typically non-profit organizations including churches, schools, and government entities.
These years are said to be some of the best years as you are enjoying your time with family and have either retired or are winding down. Hopefully you have started some new hobbies and are enjoying family time and some new friendships. Now that you are retired, and have saved your money, there are different financial items to review and prepare.
Welcome to the first edition of my Monthly Newsletter. I appreciate all of you for allowing me to fill your inbox with yet another thing you probably will never read. (Just kidding, hopefully.) Regardless, I wanted to provide everyone with something that I personally create every month, as opposed to a generic email or some other unoriginal newsletter type thing.
There has been a lot of preparation, planning and saving to get to this point so it’s time to enjoy! Most investors are starting to think about retirement or slowing down their career in their 60s and the big question is, what now? To prepare for the best retirement, below are some items to consider in your 60s.
Investors in their 50s You’ve worked hard to put the kids through college and wondered if you would ever start to clearly see your retirement horizon. You’ve probably starting to visualize your retirement: The trips, the hikes, the projects, the family vacations and just sitting around a bit enjoying a pretty day. It is also a good time to take stock of where you are relative to your goals. I recommend focusing on the below list of items in your 50s to ensure your retirement outcome is successful. 1. Do an in-depth holistic financial plan if you have not done one already. Saving for retirement probably started back in your 20s and 30s but do you know if your savings plan will get you to where you need to be in retirement? Are you investing in the right investments at the right time to meet your goals? A holistic plan can answer these questions but can also point out opportunities for you and your family. Working with a financial planner to put your goals at the highest probability of success will not only help you achieve successful outcomes but will also allow you to potentially see financial opportunities. 2. Plan… Read More
Investors in their 40s You made it to the 40s. And hopefully, you have spent part of your 20s and your 30s building the foundation of a solid financial path. Now it’s time to start thinking about how you will achieve your longer-term obligations, dreams, and lifestyle, such as retirement and college funding. Saving for retirement and college is most likely becoming foremost in your thoughts. Still, in your 40s, the financial planning and decision-making around these goals should start taking priority and getting traction. Action 1- Have all unsecured debt paid off so that you can maximize your savings plan Your retirement will most likely encompass 30 years or more. You will probably work another 25 years or so. During this time, saving as much as possible in your retirement plan is essential. Continuing to pay for unsecured debt directly comes off the top of your potential savings plan. Ensuring this debt is paid off as soon as possible will be important when propelling your savings plan to the next level. You also may have kids in middle or high school, so having a more detailed plan on how you want to pay for college or after-high school graduation… Read More
Maybe you resemble this profile: You’re in your 30s and feel you have some breathing room after having paid off most of your college debt and getting settled in your career. And recently, you’ve started to think about how to be sure your financial future is on the right path. In your 20s, hopefully, you had some time to start saving towards your emergency cash cushion.
Recommended for Investors in their 20s Getting started on your financial journey early in adulthood can set the foundation of your financial path for the long-term. When you graduate from college and/or find your first job as adult it’s important to start working on meeting goals that can set your finances on the right path. We recommend working on the following seven items in your 20s to build your financial foundation now: 1. Live on a budget and fully understand your monthly spending Review your net income, which is the amount of wage income that goes into your bank account after taxes and other withholdings. Go through your fixed expenses which are expenses that you have to pay and typically stay the same amount every month such as your rent or mortgage payment, your utility bills and your insurance costs. Your discretionary spending would be considered spending that varies and that may not have to be spent every month. To manage your budget you may want to set limits on your discretionary spending and even some of your fixed expenses to be sure you are not spending more than you earn every month. You can manage this through an excel… Read More
Now the question we are getting is: when will this bear market end? Some pundits have suggested that the following events may act as the catalysts that mark the end of the downdraft: The mid-terms, when Republicans take a majority in Congress, when the Federal Reserve stops raising rates and inflation subsides, after we experience our next recession, and so on.
