Retire at 60? Mar 30, 2023

So Glenn – Can I retire at 60?

This is a tough one.  Lots of people want to retire early, and for various reasons.  But there are lots of moving parts to this.  Let’s break it down a bit. 

Where will you get health insurance?

This is your very first consideration, even before the money.  You know...

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The Silver Lining of Bank Troubles financial planning for attorneys financial planning for entrepreneurs financial planning for retirement financial planning for young professionals Mar 29, 2023

No More Revenge Spending

There’s a new term out there – revenge spending.  When people were hunkered down during COVID, they couldn’t go out to spend.  When things opened up, people took their revenge on the lockdowns and spent like never before.  And the government has joined the party.  As Ronald...

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On Getting Older: Can I Live Without Credit? financial planning for retirement Mar 28, 2023

As I’ve noted elsewhere, it used to be that if a man wanted to impress a woman, he’d flash a bankroll.  Now she’d likely flee in horror at such Neanderthal-like behavior.  It is the platinum card she wants to see.  On second thought, actually using a credit card might also be too old-school for her ...

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SEP for the Self-Employed Mar 28, 2023

Simplified Employee Pension

The Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) is a great way for the self-employed to save for retirement.  There are several ins and outs with a SEP, and I want to go over the main ones.  My focus is on the self-employed, as the SEP rules are different for the corporate employe...

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If You’re Old, Get a Double Benefit From Your Charitable Contributions! Mar 22, 2023

If you’re over 70 ½, have an IRA, and give significantly to charitable organizations – pay attention!  I’m writing about the Qualified Charitable Distribution – QCD - a great tax benefit. 

Here are the specifics:  you can do a direct distribution from an IRA to a charity without it being a taxable ...

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Warning to S Corporation Owners! financial planning for entrepreneurs financial planning for retirement Mar 20, 2023

Tax Reasons for the Subchapter S Election

There are lots of great reasons to organize your business as a corporate entity with a Subchapter S election.  You have limited personal liability, flow-through of net income, ability to take a Section 199A deduction, and ability to, as the owner, split you...

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On Getting Older:  Dealing with Social Security on getting older Mar 09, 2023

Now that I’m a beneficiary of Social Security, I know whereof I write.  The SSA is now a part of my life, my wife’s life, and for better or for worse will be until we’ve assumed room temperature. 

I began drawing my retirement benefit at age 66, which was my Normal Retirement Age.  NRA has been slo...

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On Getting Older: Remember Mr. Micawber? on getting older Mar 06, 2023

They don’t teach young people anything in school anymore. 

How many of my readers have thought this exact same sentence at one point or another?  I usually think it when I made a reference to literature or music that someone else doesn’t get.  I mean, hasn’t everyone read Charles Dickens?  Doesn’t ...

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So Goes January, So Goes The Year financial planning for attorneys financial planning for entrepreneurs financial planning for retirement financial planning for young professionals Feb 16, 2023

 

January of 2023 kicked off with a bang. We’re in the midst of a stock market rally that we haven’t seen in over a year.  The market rose, and rose, and kept rising – all in the last 8 weeks.  We’re far from all-time highs, and expect that to be the case for a while yet, but this is a positive sig...

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On Getting Older:  Expressions on getting older Jan 08, 2023

I’ve always loved language.  I won both the English and Spanish prizes at my high school graduation.  The turn of a phrase, or change in meaning a comma can make, have always fascinated me.  If you haven't read Lynne Truss' excellent and funny book on punctuation, do so!

For this post I’m gathering...

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On Getting Older: Men's Clothing on getting older Nov 10, 2022

I mentioned earlier that I made a mid-life career transition from retail management to financial planning.  Over the years I was responsible for women’s, men’s, children’s, electronic, and home departments.  It is my observation that men’s apparel has just as many classifications as women’s, save fo...

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On Getting Older: Too Much Media on getting older Nov 08, 2022
We actually read newspapers

Picture this:  dad in his easy chair reading a newspaper.  Something out of Norman Rockwell, right?  But that’s how I grew up.  Either the New Haven Register or the Hartford Courant were delivered by a paperboy.  Dad brought the Wall St. Journal home every day for me to ...

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