Post #17 Financial Planning Made Simple
I just finished a very good book called Your Money Ratios: 8 Simple Tools for Financial Security
Post #16 – How the Financial Crisis Moved Our Retirement Date Forward by 2 Years
My last post discussed the importance of periodically “Re-balancing” your portfolio as a practice that everyone should incorporate into the management of their retirement assets. I practiced this method throughout the recent financial crisis and the results worked out so well that we moved our retirement date forward by 2 years. In this post I will share with you the exact “Re-balancing” moves I made during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and my thought process when making those moves.
Post #15 – Managing your Investments in a Bear Market
This post will discuss an investment principle that is both simple to understand and easy to implement, the practice of “Re-balancing.” Re-balancing is a concept that many of you may already be familiar with. But I think it is one of the most important investment management principles you can follow, especially in a long term bear market as we are currently experiencing.
Post #14 – Equity Allocation – Some Final Comments
In my previous post, post #13, I suggested a couple ways to decide on your appropriate asset allocation. But, what should a person do if the average annual return, indicated by the suitable equity allocation, will not provide the long term results necessary to retire? This is a situation that, undoubtedly, applies to many people in the 50 to 70 age range.
Post #13 – The Importance of Equity Allocation, Part III
In Post #12, I discussed the importance of managing your investing emotions through maintaining your portfolios volatility. This is done by deciding on the appropriate percentage equity allocation. Deciding on the proper asset allocation is a very important decision for every investor. It is also a personal decision as each person’s risk tolerance is different. In this post I will provide a couple of suggestions as to how you might make this decision. I have included the table from Post #12 for you to consider once again.
Post #12 – The Importance of Equity Allocation, Part II
In my last Post, “Post #11 – The Importance of Asset Allocation, Part I,” I make the point that the percentage equity allocation of your portfolio is the major determinant of its long term returns. I’m sure many of you are probably thinking “Great, next he’ll be telling us the world is round!” But my previous post is just a prerequisite to the more important discussion about equity allocation and managing risk in the post you are reading now. Frankly, this is one of the more important posts I will write.
Post #11 – The Importance of Equity Allocation, Part I
The single most important concept in investment planning is asset allocation. At its most basic level, asset allocation is deciding how to apportion your portfolio between equity assets and fixed income assets. This is a fundamental decision every investor must make. Asset allocation is important because, on a long term basis, it affects both your average annual return and the risk you must take to obtain the average return.
Post #10 – First Rule of Investment Planning
Based on what I see in the media concerning stocks and other investments, it’s not surprising that some who have an interest in investing for retirement may get so bewildered that they just want to give up. I sympathize with these people. All the media outlets offering confusing and conflicting investment advice can be daunting, and no doubt cause a lot of anxiety for the average retail investor. But I have the solution for you. My first rule of investment planning is to ignore all the financial media outlets. In fact, ignore everything that comes out of Wall Street.
Post #9 – Retirement Savings – Staying on Track
I thought it might be helpful to provide one more post on retirement savings before moving on to investment concepts and strategies. In Post #7 I provided a simple 4-step process on how to estimate the size of your future retirement nest egg. In Post #8 I included a table for determining what your annual savings rate should be. Over time it is important that you track your progress towards your retirement goals. The following simple table will help gauge how well your retirement savings is on track.
Post #8 – Retirement Planning Simplified, Part II
This blog post will provide a simple guideline to estimating what your personal annual savings rate should be in order to reach your retirement nest egg goal. This post is a follow-on discussion of the 4-step process I discussed in my last post, Post #7. If you have not done so already, you should read Post #7 before reading this post.