This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS). It was initially published on December 9, 2020, and updated in January 2026. 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.” Note that he didn’t … Read more
This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on November 27, 2020, and updated in March 2026. I think many retirees, especially those with fewer savings, should strongly consider the “cash bucket with income floor” strategy that I discussed in my earlier article. If you have a … 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 part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE) series. It was initially published on November 11, 2020, and updated in March 2026. 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 … Read more
This article is part of the Retirement Financial Life Equation (RFLE). It was initially published on October 28, 2020, and updated in March 2026. The coronavirus pandemic and corresponding market crash in March 2020 validated what retirement researchers had been saying for years: the “Cash Bucket Strategy” isn’t just theoretical—it’s essential (or at least really, … 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
This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship. 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, … Read more
