Author Archive
A Real Estate Investment After 20 Years; Was it Worth It?
Next month marks the 20 year anniversary of the purchase of my first long-term real estate investment. In this post I thought it might be instructive to describe the actual transaction I made 20 years ago, the major events during the life of this investment, and the financial benefits my wife and I enjoy today. […]
Paying for Investment Advice
Generally, I believe the average person does not need to pay for any investment advisory services to achieve their retirement goals. The most important steps to reach your retirement goals is to be disciplined in your saving and investing over a long period of time as discussed in the posts in this blog. However, some […]
Is Your Bank and Your Insurance Company Financially Healthy?
If you remember back a few years ago, the three large credit rating agencies, S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch, completely missed the 2008-2009 financial crisis. They each gave several companies investment-grade credit ratings just a few months before they went bankrupt. The most famous “rating miss” was a “AAA rating” that one of the agencies’ still […]
Fixed Income Ladder Revisited
I wrote in an earlier post that people who are at the door step of retirement should fund the early years by setting up a fixed income ladder. Click here to read my previous post on this subject. In this earlier post I talked about how I use bank Certificate of Deposits (CDs) as the […]
When will the Secular Bear Market End?
The US stock market has been in a secular bear market since 2000. It will be difficult to make any money in stocks until this long term bear market ends. So, the question is when will the secular bear market we are currently experiencing end?
What assets should be placed in which retirement accounts
In my previous post I discussed about how I would prioritize my retirement savings. I suggested it would be prudent to invest in retirement accounts over time, with the goal of creating tax diversity. That is, by having funds in tax deferred, tax free, and taxable accounts. In this post I’ll discuss what type of […]
Pay Down Debt or Increase Savings
A friend of mine who is early in his career recently told me that he had finally paid off his car. He wanted to know whether he should use his newly available cash flow to pay down other outstanding debt or use the funds to increase his retirement savings. This is a good question. In […]
Replenishing the First Bucket
In a recent post I discussed the importance of setting up a fixed income ladder as your first bucket of the Buckets Strategy. As a follow up to that concept, I would like to introduce another skill that a retiree managing his own portfolio for income should know. That is when you should sell your […]
Should You Use a Financial Advisor
I am often asked if I use a financial advisor. Financial advisors can be very helpful. In this post I will give my thoughts on whether you should use a financial advisor.
Equity Allocation Revisited
I have written often in this blog how one of the most important investment decisions you must make is selecting your appropriate equity allocation for your retirement portfolio. In my discussions on this topic, I have referenced a simple equity allocation guideline, “100 minus your age,” people can use that I first explained in this […]
