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
In a previous article, I talked about saving for retirement and the need to focus on expenses, especially for those with less savings. The challenge is that many unknowns exist on both sides of the income/expenses equation. Even if we have a pretty good idea of our income (although the more we rely on savings, … 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
Regular readers know that I sometimes reflect on an interaction I’ve had with an individual or couple in the context of financial counseling/coaching and the broader implications of the subject or issue(s) being discussed to retirement stewardship in general. I recently talked with an older widow in our church about her financial situation. Although she … Read more
My wife and I just went through a major transition. More specifically, we “rightsized” our living arrangement—we went from an older, moderately sized house to a newer “courtyard” (patio) home that is slightly smaller (smaller rooms and closets). We’ve actually been considering this for a while. As I wrote about a possible move a while … Read more
A family friend recently asked me to look at her retirement investment portfolio. It’s advisor-managed and has an allocation one-third S&P 500-indexed annuity, one-third stock and bond ETFs, and one-third cash (government money market). Our friend is a recent retiree with a long planning horizon, so at first glance, I wondered why her portfolio had … Read more
If you read much about stewardship and retirement planning, you’ll hear many thoughts expressed in the context of ”life stages” and our lifestyle choices in each of them. Here’s a graphic I used recently in a stewardship seminar for the young single adults in my church: This is a logical way to think about financial … Read more
The older I get, the more critical simplification becomes to my wife and me, especially with our finances. You don’t need me to tell you that we live in a highly complex world. Every decision we make, especially those related to our finances and retirement planning, seems pretty complex (or we tend to overcomplicate them). … Read more
