This article is part of the Retirement Financial Lifestyle Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on January 25, 2023, and updated in January 2026. In the last two articles, I discussed how retirees (and others) use bonds as part of a diversified portfolio because of their stabilizing effect during stock market volatility. Bonds can … Read more
This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on January 18, 2023, and updated in January 2026. Suppose you’ve decided to keep a portion of your portfolio in bonds, perhaps with a higher allocation percentage than stocks. In that case, you have another decision: whether to invest … Read more
This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on January 4, 2023, and updated in February 2026. An important preliminary note: Given the significant losses sustained by both the stock and bond markets in 2022, I started 2023 with a series of articles about “safe” retirement income … Read more
This article is part of the RFLE series. It was initially published on September 7, 2022, and updated in March of 2026. When I initially wrote this article in September 2022, we were in the midst of what appeared to be an economic crisis. Inflation was running at 8-9%, the Fed was aggressively raising interest … Read more
If you believe, as I do, that we’re likely in a period of “epochal change” (which I defined as the next few decades not being like they were for the last few), we’re left with the question I posed at the conclusion of my previous article: What to do? The most important thing Before I … Read more
(Note: We all have our eyes, hearts, and prayers directed toward what is going on in Ukraine. But with everything happening in the world—globally and domestically—I think part of good retirement stewardship is acquiring understanding so that we can make wise decisions about how to manage God’s money during difficult times (Prov. 1:5). If you … Read more
This aricle is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on June 6, 2018, and updated in January 2026. When it comes to choosing your approach and how to implement it, you have several choices here. The main distinction is between doing it yourself (DIY) and hiring an investment … Read more
This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on May 23, 2018, and updated in January 2026. Once you’ve determined your investment approach and strategy, the next critical question becomes: What specific assets should you actually own? This is where the theoretical meets the practical—where your carefully … Read more
This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on May 9, 2018 and updated in January, 2026. Your “future wealth” (FW) becomes “current wealth” (CW) when you reach retirement. In the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE), current wealth represents your starting point—the accumulated assets you bring into … Read more
