When a financial advisor tells you he “only makes money when you make money,” it sounds like a perfect alignment of interests. And in a narrow sense, it’s true; if your portfolio grows, so does his fee. As one advisor TV commercial explains it, “We do better when you do better.” But here’s what that … Read more
Here is a fact about Moses that can get lost in the Sunday school version of the story: he was 80 years old when God sent him back to Egypt. Not young and ambitious; not upwardly mobile; not in his prime; he was 80 years old (and, as Indiana Jones once said, “It’s not the … Read more
Jesus’ words, as quoted by Paul and recorded in Acts 20:35, at first sound counterintuitive. He says that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Not equally blessed, more blessed. Which is either the most liberating financial principle ever articulated or the most inconvenient, depending on who you quote it to. I did … Read more
Earl is concerned about “sequence of returns risk,” and the “safe withdrawal rate” typically guides every spending decision in his life with clockwork precision. But it doesn’t appear to apply inside the Costco building. I generally don’t like shopping, but I don’t mind going to Costco. I sometimes go with my wife to get a … Read more
It’s simple. When interest rates rise, bond prices fall. Stocks get nervous. Yields go up. Good for retirees? Maybe, or maybe not. Any questions? Interest rates have been in the news for a while now, which is a polite way of saying they have become a regular and mostly unwelcome topic, showing up in headlines … Read more
Earl has a plan (he always does), and he mostly works them through to some stage of completion. He’s reallocated his retirement portfolio, run his Monte Carlo simulations (about 20 times and counting), updated his beneficiary designations, and recently had his and Dot’s wills and other documents reviewed by a professional who charged by the … Read more
Pastor Dave has been Earl and Dot’s pastor for eleven years. During that time, he’s preached through most books of the Bible, married their kids and some of their friends’ kids, and answered Earl’s questions—and follow-up questions—on all kinds of topics, especially stewardship and retirement. He’s not exactly a financial whiz, though. He’s got an … Read more
Some retirees don’t love being asked how they’re spending their time. They were accountable for their time while working, so having to “give an account” in retirement feels a little uncomfortable, even in informal conversation. Still, people are curious. Or they’re just making polite retirement chit-chat because they have absolutely nothing else to talk about. … Read more
Ask a roomful of retirees what keeps them up at night, and you’ll hear the same answer from many of them: running out of money. Not death, not illness, not nothing to keep them busy—money. The technical term for this is “longevity risk,” but a less technical, more common term for some is FORO—”fear of … Read more
