PETE THE PLANNER: Abandoning shame is first step toward reaching financial goals
Shame prevents people—really smart and capable people—from bringing their challenges forward to the solutions altar.
Shame prevents people—really smart and capable people—from bringing their challenges forward to the solutions altar.
The estimated median household savings of retirees is $75,000. About 9% do not have any savings, 31% have savings of less than $50,000, and only 38% have savings of $100,000 or more.
It’s not about what you earn; it’s about what you keep.
Holding onto an older car and driving it until it dies can be a practical approach to mitigating transportation costs. Until it isn’t.
There are a variety of reasons for exiting the workforce early. The most common reasons are for health problems, either the retiree’s own or those of a loved one the retiree must care for.
While Luck’s retirement obviously has nothing to do with the inversion of the yield curve, I’ve often found the world of sports provides useful analogies to the world of investing.
Anytime I break down a financial life, I explore three distinct areas. I look for long-term financial stability, midterm financial stability and, you guessed it, short-term financial stability.
While there are substantial benefits to electronic trading, there are ethical concerns.
Running out of money in retirement isn’t a small problem. It’s the worst problem.
Unfortunately, investors have an uncanny, destructive tendency to buy high (when they’re feeling overconfident) and sell low (when they’re scared).
Stress doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t know your income, your gender or your job title. And even if it did, it wouldn’t care.
As a long-term investor, I like the fact that the earnings on my money will not be taxed when withdrawn.
If your goal is to beat the market, you want to outperform market indexes, ideally net of fees.
While history suggests the road is likely to get increasingly bumpy over the next four months, it will be important (as always) to try to remain unemotional and stick with the plan.
While not every purchase will bring great happiness, five principles of money will help answer, “Am I getting the biggest bang for my buck?”
If you don’t want to budget, then don’t. It won’t ruin your financial life as long as you accept a couple of important boundaries.
Just like Clara Peller in the 1984 Wendy’s commercial, investors should be asking, “Where’s the beef?” at Beyond.
You need to save between 12% and 14% of your gross income throughout your career to secure at least a 90% chance of retirement success, according to Russell Investments Research Report.
As I read and learned more about handling money and finances, I was able to see how my actions undermined my long-term goals, and I was able to make changes.
The goal is to be honest with yourself so you can be prepared for the challenges and ready to take advantage of the opportunities.