Blog
Weekly articles about how to live a secure, fulfilling retirement.
Retirement Pre Mortem
“What could cause this to fail?” That’s what I asked myself before heading to the Grand Canyon recently for a 47 mile, Rim to Rim to Rim hike with my friend Mike. The answer, it turns out, is “A LOT of things could cause it to fail.” In fact, there’s a 400 page...
Are low interest rates ruining retirement?
Not long ago, most people worked as long as they were able and eventually either “died in harness” or relied on younger family members to care for them in their old age. And then along came this idea of retirement where through hard work, shrewd investing and some...
aMUSEments: National Parks Guide
Note: Retirement is more than just a math problem. Yes, money is important, but you need meaningful activities and relationships too. When money and meaning intersect, you have the chance for something special. With that in mind, I’m starting a new periodic series...
What is going on with the markets
Hi all. I hope you’ve been well. Sorry things have been quiet around here for a few weeks. As I’m sure you know, the markets have been kind of crazy this year and most of my time has been spent on the phone or in meetings with clients. Between that, annual reviews...
How to protect yourself from identity theft
Quick Note: For those of you with "Retirement Planning" on your New Year's Resolution list, I extended the $60 discount on The Ideal Retirement Design Guide through January 31st. I have a retired client—let’s call him Mark—who was going on a trip and he asked his...
Year end wrap up
Well that year went by fast! It seems like just yesterday that Punxatawney Phil was telling us that spring was almost here and now Ryan Seacrest is warming up in Times Square to help us bid adieu to 2015. How was your year? For me it was great in a lot of ways and...
Harnessing the power of compounding for an exponentially richer life
When we think about compounding, we often associate it with financial success, but other areas of life—activities, travel, learning, ideas, marriage, friendships, clients, contacts, freedom, health, hobbies, religion—compound in a very similar way. Each time we get a...
Happy Thanksgiving plus huge Retirement Guide discount
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the good old U.S. of A., which means Christmas is right around the corner. With that in mind, I want to do two things. First, I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a relaxing holiday with friends and...
Congress just made huge changes to your Social Security claiming options
Who says Congress can’t act quickly when they need to? Just last week they rapidly (after much previous delay) approved budget legislation to narrowly avoid a government shutdown. Unfortunately, buried deep in the pages of that budget—probably somewhere between...
The happiness paradox
To a large degree, happiness is being able to do what you want when you want. To get to that point, however (and here’s the paradox), you often have to do what you don’t want when you don’t want. Case in point: Retirement. You’ve heard me say many times that:...
Just go already
Sleeping bag? Check. Tent? Check. Pocketknife? Check. Horse? Wait, what? For years my father-in-law has invited me on a cowboy camping trip that involves a four-hour horseback ride into the Wind River Range in Wyoming. It’s never quite worked out in the past,...
How to keep your retirement plans on track despite the volatility
On Monday morning my friend texted me: “Holy cow! Don’t jump!” He was referring, of course, to the 1000+ point drop in the Dow. Thankfully, after more than 20 years in this business, I’ve gotten used to wild swings, so I wasn’t on the ledge (although in 2008 I was...