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Updated December 2025 to reflect the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) I’ve written previously about withdrawing from my Traditional IRA to help fund our retirement. I’ve also described how I began making Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) in early 2023 after turning 70½ In a recent article, I explained how I might optimize my income … Read more
There are many retirement financial milestones to pay attention to: your penalty-free early distribution age from an IRA (59/12), eligibility for Social Security (early filer at 62 and full retirement age at 66–67), Medicare eligibility (age 65, for most), and your RMD age (currently 73; 75 beginning in 2033). I’ve already hit all those milestones … Read more
This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series, which focuses on the critical levers that affect your retirement income and financial sustainability. When I was preparing to claim Social Security benefits, I thought I understood how the taxation worked. After all, I’d written about it before on this blog. But when … Read more
First and foremost, thank you for subscribing to this blog. I’ve had quite a few new subscribers this year and really appreciate the kind comments I received from readers. If you have a topic you’d like me to explore next year, just a question that you and perhaps others would like me to respond to, … Read more
This is the second of two articles about some of Donald Trump’s campaign promises, which, if enacted, could significantly impact retirees or near-retirees. Interest rates Promises PolitiFact: ”Trump said ‘we’re going to cap’ credit card interest rates ‘at around 10%. We can’t let them make 25% and 30%.’ When he made the pledge in September … Read more
In a previous article, I discussed the two presidential candidates’ major policy positions on taxes, the debt limit, and abortion. Taxes and the debt limit directly impact retirees’ finances and stewardship. We’re now on the other side of the election, and the Republican Party won a clear victory, a “trifecta,” as they call it, as … Read more
Regular readers know that I think a big part of retirement stewardship is having plans and documentation in place so that things go as well as we have hoped and prayed for after we’re gone, especially for our spouse should we predecease them. I sometimes refer to this in principle as “loving your widow.” Depending … Read more
If you spend much time listening to their political ads, you’ll hear the two presidential candidates saying basically the same thing: “Your financial well-being will be hurt by (insert candidate name here ) if you vote for them because they will (insert campaign promise allegedly pledged by said candidate).” The implication is that presidents have … Read more
It’s common for Christians to receive advice cautioning them about saving too much for retirement. Such advice is typically well-meaning and based on legitimate concerns founded on biblical teachings on fear, greed, contentment, and generosity. However, as with many aspects of the Christian life, our underlying heart motivations are more important than how much we … Read more
