retirement

Book review: Cash-Rich Retirement

Posted 2 weeks 4 days ago by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

Cover of Cash-Rich Retirement

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.

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Book review: Work Less, Live More

Posted 3 weeks 3 days ago by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Career and Income

Cover of Work Less, Live More

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.  

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Left a job? Do a rollover.

Posted 7 weeks 6 days ago by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

Your previous job is no place to leave your retirement savings

I saw this poster on the window of a store-front brokerage firm office near the grocery store.  Although the firm in question has an obvious self-interest in getting you to consolidate your investments with them, the underlying message is a good one.

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Retirement on the installment plan

Posted 8 weeks 4 days ago by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance, Lifestyle

Beachfront

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.

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What is keeping you from a life of financial independence?

Posted 12 weeks 2 days ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Lifestyle, Real Estate and Housing, Investment

My goal has always been to work for ten years and then have enough financial freedom to do whatever I want to do. Whenever I tell people this they seem to be rather incredulous and sometimes say things like, "sure, you could try." Even though I am quite young, I have met enough people to see what keeps them from quitting their jobs and living a life of financial independence. Read on for a few of my observations.

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How much do I need to retire? How much can I spend?

Posted 18 weeks 2 days ago by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

Colorful sailboat off Cabo San Lucas

Especially for people hoping to retire early, but also those just hoping they can retire at all, there's the question, "How much money do I need?" People who are already retired want to know "How much can I can spend, without running out of money?" Some people refer to the answer to the first question as "The Number." Really, though, these are both the same question.

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Scammers Stole All of My Grandma's Money

Posted 19 weeks 1 day ago by Catherine Shaffer

Personal Finance

The trouble started innocently enough. For as long as I can remember, Grandma bought a lottery ticket each and every week. She promised us, her children and grandchildren, that when she won (not if), she would solve all of our financial problems. Grandma was the ultimate giver. She was generous with her time, her love, and especially with food. A child of the Great Depression, she has a love of abundance, and a dread of hunger and deprivation. It is her personal tragedy that these motives led her to total financial ruin late in life, as she willingly handed her life savings, over $100,000, to con artists and thieves.

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Don't Become Overconcentrated In Your Company's Stock

Posted 23 weeks 1 day ago by Mark P. Cussen

Investment

If you, like millions of other Americans, have worked for a publicly traded company, chances are that at least a portion of your company retirement plan is invested in company stock. Over the years, the amount of stock in your plan has likely grown significantly. Of course, you do have other options you can diversify your plan into, but why should you? Your company’s stock is doing so well.

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When NOT to put money in your 401(k)

Posted 28 weeks 6 days ago by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

Lake on a misty day

The twin advantages of tax deferral and a corporate match make the 401(k) the foundation of most people's savings plan. Putting in enough to get the maximum corporate match is almost always the right choice--a good corporate match is so much money, funding your 401(k) usually even comes ahead of paying off debt. Sometimes, though, it makes sense to put money other places.

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Book review: Retire on Less Than You Think

Posted 32 weeks 3 days ago by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance, Frugal Living

Cover of Retire on Less Than You Think

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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The Retirement Latte

Posted 33 weeks 2 days ago by Nora Dunn

Personal Finance, Budgeting

latte

My introduction to David Bach was when I saw him speak at a financial conference a few years ago. He told an interesting story about a couple who came in for a consultation with him when he first worked in personal finance. They were in their mid 50s, had two children who were fully put through college, had two properties fully paid off, and were ready to retire with over $1 million in savings. The impressive factor was that they had managed to build and sustain this comfortable financial position with a relatively small family income.

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Personal Financial Advisors awaiting your call

Posted 41 weeks 9 hours ago by Julie Rains

Personal Finance

Advice sign with two chairs

Financial advice is everywhere (even here at www.wisebread.com) from the bank teller to a wealth manager who wants to dispense planning advice, manage your investment portfolio, and handle your family’s checkbook. You may not need to talk to someone who will set you up with the bank's proprietary mutual fund but you’d like some personalized financial guidance. Where should you go and who should you ask for advice?

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Power Shop Your Way to Financial Independence: Eleven Strategies for Success

Posted 41 weeks 20 hours ago by Myscha Theriault

Personal Finance

man with money

Love to shop? Just can’t stop? A slight shift in your paradigm and perspective could lead you out of debt . . . and straight to the bank.

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Intimidated by Retirement Investing? Get Professional Help!

Posted 1 year ago by Sarah Winfrey

Filed Under: Investment

911 emergency

It might seem like something of a no-brainer to ask for professional investment advice, particularly about retirement. That said, there's still an astonishing number of people I know who don't. They either go it alone, wading through jargon that they don't understand and desperately trying to make numbers that don't mean anything to them mean something, or the guess and hope they get lucky, or they avoid the topic altogether.

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Tiny Nestegg? Retire abroad!

Posted 1 year ago by Andrea Dickson

Filed Under: Personal Finance

Can't afford to live on your pension or Social Security in the U.S.? Why not find a cheaper place to live? No, not Canada - the other communist mecca... that's right, China!

Ha ha! I know I'll get all kinds of flack for that one. I'm just kidding, Comrade, don't take me seriously! I know China isn't communist anymore.

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