Our pastors have recently been preaching expositorily through the Book of Ecclesiastes. In a message on Ecc. 5:8-20, one pastor made this statement: “Wealth is deceptive.” Notice he didn’t say wealth is good or bad; he said, “deceptive.” That suggests that wealth is morally neutral, but it may promise one thing and deliver another depending … Read more
I think many retirees, especially those with fewer savings, should strongly consider the “cash bucket with income floor” strategy that I discussed in the last article. If you have a pension or annuity income, or cash value in a permanent life insurance product, in combination with Social Security, then you already have an “income floor.” … Read more
I decided to interrupt my series on “the Bucket Strategy” to look at something that concerns me: potentially misleading Medicare ads. Every time I see them on TV, I complain to my wife, so I thought I’d get it “off my chest” by writing an article about them. I have to confess that this kind … Read more
This article is the second in a three-part series on the “Bucket Strategy.” The bucket strategy is a good one, but it’s not perfect. I have been using a version of the bucket strategy since I retired in 2018, structured in what I would call a “strategic growth and income” portfolio. Overall, I still think … Read more
The coronavirus pandemic and corresponding market crash will likely cause the retirement “Cash Bucket Strategy” to become more popular. As Dave Ramsey often says, “cash is king.” Earlier this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic ensued, like lots of other retirees, I watched as my retirement investments took a huge hit. Early estimates were that millions … Read more
I recently read this quote from a retirement expert in a MarketWatch article titled, “Opinion: Half of Americans Over 55 May Retire Poor”: Our data is showing that, because of the COVID recession, about 50% of workers over the age of 55 will be poor or near-poor adults when they reach 65. . . A person who’s … Read more
I started this blog over five years ago. Since that time, I have made very few design changes to the website so I decided it was time. I upgraded the WordPress theme and made changes to improve the layout and navigation. (I am a bit of a computer “nerd,” so I enjoyed doing the work … Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic has created some significant economic repercussions, not the least of which is a further reduction of already low prevailing interest rates. They were already low—now they’re EXTREMELY low. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve recently announced that it would keep interest rates near zero for the foreseeable future, perhaps through 2022 or longer. It … Read more
On a recent Sunday morning, one of our lay-elders-in-training (we call them pastoral interns) gave his personal testimony and shared from Joshua 1:1-9, a text that had greatly influenced him. He said that God spoke to him through these verses at an early age, calling him from a promising engineering career to one more focused … Read more
