Posts on wealth planning strategies such as downsizing, planning for retirement, estimating retirement income, early retirement, wealth manager tips, how much money do you need to retire, retirement withdrawal strategies, taxes, estate planning, and retirement spending.
Last week as I picked an abundant fig harvest, I couldn’t help but think about how much my fig harvest parallels the wealth building fundamentals I’ve learned (many the hard way!) from investing in dozens of different assets and strategies over the past few decades as a personal investor. These wealth building fundamentals are …
Wealth Building Fundamentals Inspired by My Abundant Fig HarvestRead More »
Proactive investors buy defensive investments to manage risk, particularly as financial markets become less stable or overvalued. What are defensive investments? Defensive investments are assets that tend to increase or maintain their value during financial threats such as high inflation, recessions, Black Swans, and bear markets. Defensive stocks, Treasury bonds, T bills, gold, money market funds, puts and …
Inflation is a lurking but serious danger that can destroy your ability to live well in retirement. In this article, I’ll explain why inflation matters and how to account for inflation in retirement planning. It’s easy to overlook the impact of inflation. That’s because we all tend to focus more on current if not …
How To Account For Inflation In Retirement PlanningRead More »
There are simple ways to make money when stocks drop using more traditional investing methods and there are also more advanced strategies to make money when stocks drop. In this post, I will cover simple to slightly advanced strategies that both investors and many wealth managers use to make money in down markets for their …
Quizzes can be a great way to gain insight and direction quickly. I scoured the internet for a good ready for retirement quiz for Retire Certain readers. Here is what I found. The AARP Ready for Retirement Quiz Like most of the quizzes here, this quiz is more information based than geared toward whether you have enough money saved to retire. Nevertheless, there …
The simplest way to avoid losing money in the stock market is to simply not own stocks. But stocks can be a profitable passive investment for busy investors who understand stock market losses, are aware of stock market cycles and have chosen how much stock market risk they want. That’s what this post is about …
Can you retire at 55 with 2 million? The inspiration for this post came from exploring this possibility recently with a wealth coaching client. Like my client, the answer for you will depend on your expenses, chosen retirement method plus current and future income streams. In this post we’ll address each of these factors. This question hits close to …
Can You Retire at 55 with 2 Million Nowadays? [Videos]Read More »
An exciting and promising shift is happening right now in the way we retire. Fortunately, changes stemming from the rise of the internet now lead to rewarding retirement opportunities for those not interested in living on less while working crossword puzzles for brain stimulation in their golden years. The younger generations are living proof of …
It’s stressful knowing that the consistent (and delightful!) monthly deposit into your bank account will end when you retire. But there are many ways you can increase income before retirement to ease the abrupt end of that sweet reliable employment income. Stock dividends, covered calls, alternative investments, various real estate investments, and even consulting or online …
How to Increase Income Before Retirement [With Video Challenge Series] Read More »
A million dollars no longer guarantees a comfortable retirement complete with cruises and luxury cars. How long will a million dollars last in retirement? In this post, you’ll see. The inspiration for this article comes from working with a 55-year-old wealth coaching client who was wondering how long her million dollars would last in retirement. Let’s …
How Long Will a Million Dollars Last in Retirement?Read More »
No one wants to run out of cash. By cash, I mean that super safe stash you keep in a money market account that won’t fluctuate in value the way stocks do. But just how much should you keep in a money market account? It depends on some personal things like your investments, portfolio allocation, dependents, …
How Much to Keep in Money Market Accounts | 15 Factors Read More »
True financial independence is being able to live off investment income without spending down your investment capital. Here’s how to calculate investment income: Multiply the investment cost by the yield to get the amount of annual income. For example, if an investment which cost $100,000 yields 3%, investment income will be $3,000 a year. Investment …
The old model of retirement no longer works for a lot of people who want to live well in retirement. Old retirement strategies include basics like delaying social security, working longer and part time employment. But, fortunately, there are now some more innovative and lucrative retirement strategies that can be a real godsend for retirees. Many millennials are already using some of these new retirement …
Updated: February 12, 2020 One of the biggest dangers for soon to be retirees and recently retired folks are bear markets. We saw this in the first 2000 decade when stock returns were negative for the 10 year period, something no one had planned for in retirement. Yet we know stock markets build wealth over time and that bear markets …
For those planning to retire soon, retirement can feel scary from both a financial and a lifestyle perspective. Fear of retirement boredom is a very legitimate reality, especially for certain personalities. Here are 7 ways to address that subtle and almost embarrassing fear that you could be bored to tears in retirement. Read my own …
Every time I hear someone confidently tell me that they are invested in “safe stocks” so they’re not concerned about a “stock market crash,” I silently shudder. Are stocks safe for retirement? It all depends on your risk tolerance, net worth, stock market valuations and other factors explained below. After investing for almost 40 years …
Are Stocks Safe for Retirement? 8 Important Factors Read More »
True financial independence is reached when you can live off investment income. Living off investment income has many advantages that often require a shift from traditional investing in stocks and bonds, but there are also a few disadvantages to living off investment income. In this post, I’ll share and explain the 22 advantages and 6 …
Living Off Investment Income | Advantages and DisadvantagesRead More »
Downsizing can be a smart option for anyone who wants to retire soon but lacks the funds to retire comfortably for life. Is downsizing the right choice to retire earlier for you? The answer depends on your overall wealth plan, cost to downsize, alternatives to downsizing, downsizing calculations and how much it takes for you …
Is Downsizing the Right Choice to Retire Earlier?Read More »
Just past midlife, many people get super focused on increasing net worth before retirement. What net worth do you need to retire? It depends on how much money you spend, how your net worth is allocated among assets, the income those assets generate and their potential to increase in value, and other income sources. In this post I’ll address …
Updated: October 9, 2019 By definition, retirement is the time when you can live off investments. The traditional retirement model is to withdraw 4% a year from your retirement savings to live but an increasingly popular alternative is to get income from investments instead. Is it safest to withdraw or get investment income to live in …
Is It Safest to Withdraw or Get Investment Income? ChallengeRead More »
Updated May 6, 2020 At the end of the strong bull market of the 1990’s, a few brave financial experts predicted the next decade would not be a good one for stock investors. What will stocks do over the next 10 years? Ray Dalio, Warren Buffett, Rob Arnott, Liz Ann Sonders and John Bogle have told us what …
Knowing how much money you need to live off investments can seem daunting but it’s really just a few steps and math. Let’s say you want to generate $ 10,000 a month to live off investments. We can back into the amount of money you need with the following formula: Amount of Desired Monthly Income/Expected Yield = …
Is 1.5 million enough to retire? The answer depends on your age, assets, spending, investment returns and how many income sources you’ll have in retirement. In this post, I’ll show you how to see if 1.5 million is enough for you to retire based on your own situation. At Retire Certain, the goal of my articles is to …
If you’re exploring early retirement like we were well over a decade ago, you may be wondering about the income provided from the standard 4% retirement withdrawal rule. Does the 4% rule include dividends, specifically? Or do investors using this popular plan get to withdraw 4% annually in addition to dividend income? The 4% rule …
If you’re approaching retirement, that anticipated time when you can live off investments or at least work fewer hours own your schedule, you’re probably transitioning to income investing. You may be wondering how to buy assets that generate income. The way you buy income generating assets depends on the type of asset you’re buying. For example, …
You may know that you want to start an online business, but you don’t know what the focus of your business should be. This post has the steps for how to choose an online business to start based on your own financial goals, skills, and desired lifestyle. These are the things that I wish I …
If you’re concerned about having enough income to live comfortably in retirement, you may want to start one or more income streams beforehand but you’re not sure where to start. To choose the best income stream to start before retirement, consider your desired income, eventual capital gain, acceptable risk and lifestyle. It’s easy to get …
The Best Income Stream to Start Before RetirementRead More »
Homes are the single most valuable asset many people own, yet homes cost money to buy and maintain. Living in a highly desirable home is alluring since it has a huge effect on lifestyle. As a result, a large percentage of net worth can get tied up in a home without considering overall financial goals. …
A personal wealth plan is the foundation for building wealth but many people delay in making one. Are you wondering how to create a wealth plan? The steps are clarifying what you want, updating net worth, seeing if you’re on track and defining steps to reach your goals if you’re not. Why Create a Personal …
The more income streams you have the better, right? This is not necessarily true. How many income streams should you have? It have depends on your goals, available time, types of income streams, available capital, taxes, demonstrated success, income reliability, and desired lifestyle. In this post I’ll share what I’ve learned in each of these …
How Many Income Streams Should You Have? [Videos]Read More »
It can be challenging to choose the best opportunity to maximize your valuable time and capital. Investing in stocks has long been considered the best strategy to build wealth. But with the explosion of entrepreneurship over the past decade, one has to ask: Is it better to start a business or invest in stocks? Here’s …
Start a Business or Invest in Stocks: Which Is Better?Read More »
Updated May 2020 You may find yourself in the fortunate situation of having wealth, yet you may feel uncertain about how to manage wealth, having never really been wealthy before now. Taking care of your wealth is sort of like parenting. You don’t know how until you’ve already done it but you feel like …
5 Holistic Steps to Manage Your Wealth (As the Leader)Read More »
In my own investing and working with financial coaching clients, I know the complexity that can come with having multiple investment accounts at different places. Should all investments be in one place, though? The easy answer is that you should use as many investment firms as you need to meet your needs, including keeping your …
Are you thinking of moving to a smaller or less expensive home? Lately, as I get older, I’ve been asking myself “Is downsizing right for me?” The benefits of downsizing are many. Maybe you want to reduce stress, lower expenses, or just have an easier lifestyle before retirement. In this post, I’ll share the process …
Millions of people are spending most of their time doing work they don’t enjoy with one burning question on the back of their mind every day: How Much Longer Until I Can Retire? The simple answer is you can retire when you have either a high enough net worth, or have excess income to cover …
Managing your wealth is like raising children: You don’t know how to do it because you’ve never done it. By the time you know how to raise children, the kids are grown. Managing wealth is similar. Here are 9 wealth management tips that will help you keep and grow your money while enjoying the journey. Don’t …
Are you ready to begin retirement income planning? In this post, I’ll present the steps to an innovative retirement income planning process that’s different from the norm. This is the approach that we decided to develop and use in late midlife after being thrown a few curve balls. These curve balls are also known as …
Our Simple But Innovative Retirement Income PlanningRead More »
You may be wondering how to live off investments, especially in this day and age of extremely low interest rates when your investments don’t earn much income. Simply put, you can live off investments in one of three ways: Spend your savings and the growth from that money Spend the income your savings generates for …
How To Live Off Investments During Low Interest Rates [Videos]Read More »