Posted September 23, 2009 - 05:00 by Philip Brewer
If you quit checking your 401(k) balance last year, because the market crash made it too depressing, now might be a good time to take a fresh look. It'll still be well down from the peak, but it's probably recovered quite a bit from the low. However small it may be compared to some imagined goal, don't underestimate the value of any amount of retirement savings.
Posted April 8, 2009 - 09:54 by Philip Brewer
Everybody knows that retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs offer great tax advantages (and once upon a time--and maybe again someday--a corporate match). But people who have plans to spend the money before they reach retirement age worry about the restrictions on early withdrawals that come with the various retirement plans. Here's a cheat-sheet for working the angles.
Posted April 28, 2008 - 05:08 by Philip Brewer
Do you need a kick in the pants to get you saving for retirement? Do you need someone to wave their arms and run around screaming that your whole future is at risk, in order to motivate you to put some serious money aside and take the time to learn how your 401(k) works? If so, this is the book for you.
Posted April 22, 2008 - 05:12 by Philip Brewer
Early retirement is a topic I've always been interested in. The particular version of it that this book deals with--living well on less money, as a means to getting by without having to work at a regular job--is not only interesting, it's the life I'm living. Allowing for the fact that it's aimed right at my own personal sweet spot, I liked it even better than I expected. It reads like the author started following me around a year ago, figured out exactly what questions I needed answered, then carefully and thoughtfully wrote a book to answer them.
Posted March 17, 2008 - 06:13 by Philip Brewer
Among the fraction of the population who manage to put money aside, many view their investments through the lens of retirement. They've got a number in mind--call it $X--enough that they never need to work again. Until they've got that, they're stuck working away at the daily grind. There's another way to do it, though. Make your goal to live live on your own terms for the whole length of it, not just for a little while at the end.
Posted October 3, 2007 - 04:15 by Philip Brewer
Halfway through Fred Brock's book Retire on Less Than You Think: The New York Times Guide to Planning Your Financial Future, I was already drafting a review that would call it good but kind of basic for most Wise Bread readers. Then it clued me in to an oddity of federal law that could make the difference between keeping or losing my health insurance. That one bit is not only worth the price of the book, it could easily be worth my entire life savings. Actually writing the review, I realized the book is full of bits like that. I happened to know most of them already, but I've been studying this stuff for years. I have to say this is a must-read book for anyone who hopes to retire before they're 65.
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