In 1998 I sold my hedge fund business and foolishly traded a sizable income stream for a chunk of capital. It was one of the dumbest financial decisions I’ve ever made. But every cloud has a silver lining. In the same year Roth IRA conversions began and that allowed me to convert that lemon of a decision into lemonade. Learn the essential wealth building principle behind this strategy…
Retirement Planning Myths Revealed – 2 “Must Know” Formulas
Retirement planning isn’t the precise science you would like it be. Uncover the myths that risk undermining your financial security, and learn the two simple formulas that can make order out of all the confusion…
The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us…
Extrinsic is the old carrot-and-stick approach – the hope of gain and the fear of loss. This includes payroll and bonuses. Intrinsic motivators are more powerful and can be broken down into 3 categories…
Are You Making This Early Retirement Mistake?
It’s time to change your mind about early retirement. It’s a seductive facade that’s supposed to be about freedom, but my experience shows it’s usually an avoidance mechanism that cleverly hides a more important issue. Learn how to avoid getting pulled in…
Can I Actively Trade My Way Out Of This Economic Mess?
A reader asks, “…I’m an architect suffering under this dreadful economy like so many of us are, and I need to do something to help carry me through… What I’d like to do is use a portion of my IRA funds to educate myself further in the investment arena, pay back the loan, and use the remainder of the IRA to actively invest for income and growth. In other words, keep a portion of the earnings to supplement my income and reinvest the rest for growth. Does that sound like a reasonable idea?” My short answer is…
Is Leveraging Real Estate Equity A Good Idea For Retirement?
A reader asks, “I’m 61 nearing retirement and a lot of financial gurus say I should leverage my rental property equity to buy stocks, real estate, etc. for retirement. Is it a good idea?” There are two answers to that question – the scientific answer and the realistic answer…
What Causes Inflation And Why Should You Care?
For the first 400 years of our economic history inflation was benign at under one percent and then suddenly in the last 100 years it jumped dramatically. What caused the sudden and abrupt change in inflation? Simple – the Federal Reserve bank was established. Why should you care? Again simple, because inflation changes everything…
Is It Safe To Withdraw 4% From Retirement Savings?
How much can you withdraw from retirement savings each year without jeopardizing your financial security? Conversely, how much money do you need to retire so that you can afford your current level of spending? In this post I overturn the conventional rules of thumb and offer you another viewpoint…
Retirement Planning For Two – Overcoming The Challenges
This week in the “Ask Todd” section of web site Kathleen wanted to know how to resolve the challenges inherent in using a single retirement calculator to plan retirement for two people. Should she combine both their numbers into one or run two separate retirement plans and add them together? Surprisingly, my answer is “none of the above” because…
Retirement Savings Statistics Are Ugly
I’m always amazed when I see the retirement savings statistics. It’s a scary picture. A recent newsletter from professor Robert Shiller (Yale University and “Irrational Exuberance” infamy) provided some amazing stats showing a fast approaching disaster in retirement planning and what you must do to not be part of the problem…
