Greetings! I trust that this will find you well and enjoying life. With the holiday season upon us and the end of the year approaching, we pause to give thanks for our blessings and the people in our lives. It is also a time when charitable giving often comes to… ...

Greetings! I trust that this will find you well and enjoying life. When you determine how much income you’ll need in retirement, you may base your projection on the type of lifestyle you plan to have and when you want to retire. However, as you grow closer to retirement, you… ...

Greetings! I trust that this will find you well and enjoying life. I’ve spent countless hours analyzing the habits shared by successful retirees. Five stand out, and I urge anyone serious about retirement to take these measures sooner than later. You Are Not the Family Bank All Parents have one… ...

Greetings! I trust that this will find you well and enjoying life. My favorite time of the year, duck season and oh yes of course the holidays! But seriously folks it’s the holidays, the best time of the year for a lot of reasons. Thanksgiving as a prominent nationally celebrated… ...

Greetings! I trust that this will find you well and in good spirits. Whether you’re happy or sad about the results of the election it’s over. It’s over and thank God we can move on and away from politics. Donald Trump is president elect and as such America will be… ...

Greetings! I trust that this will find you well and enjoying life. A new study by TIAA found that many Americans have a misplaced sense of confidence with regard to how they are saving and planning for retirement. According to the 2016 TIAA Lifetime Income Survey, 54% of the respondents… ...

Greetings! I trust that this finds you well and enjoying life. To live well in retirement, you have to embrace change and longevity planning. As you get older your circumstances will continue to change, sometimes rapidly. What doesn’t change is your desire to be independent, to have social connections that… ...

Greetings! I trust that this will find you well and enjoying life! Speaking of enjoying life, so so much hype around the election. I feel like I’m being taken advantage of by the media, how about you? I’m often asked my opinion on how either a republican or democratic winner… ...

I trust that this will find you well and enjoying life. I have a question for you and I want an honest answer. Do you know where you stand financially at any given point in time? To be more specific, do you know within a few thousand dollars what your… ...

Greetings! I trust that this finds you well and enjoying life. Someone asked me a long time ago how they could learn more about money. My response was for them to make a habit of reading the money section of the Times Picayune every day. A lot has changed hasn’t… ...

Greetings! I trust that this finds you well and enjoying life. You may have assets in accounts that are taxable (e.g., CDs, mutual funds), tax deferred (e.g., traditional IRAs and 401(k)s), and tax free (e.g., Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s). Given a choice, which type of account should you withdraw… ...

Greetings! I trust that this finds you well and enjoying life. Last week I wrote about distributions from traditional IRAs. This week let’s examine the particulars of withdrawing from Roth IRAs. You are free to make withdrawals at any time from your Roth IRA, but only qualified distributions receive tax-free… ...

Greetings! I trust that this finds you well and enjoying life. Let’s examine rules and considerations involved in distributions from IRAs. Once you reach the age of 59 ½, you are allowed (but not required) to take distributions from your traditional IRA without being subject to the 10 percent premature… ...

Greetings! I trust that this finds you well and enjoying life. Here are seven common retirement mistakes everyone should know about. • Investing in retirement as though you are still working. • Not protecting yourself and your nest egg from significant market declines. • Not structuring your basic (non-discretionary) retirement… ...

Greetings! I trust that this finds you well and enjoying life. As you near retirement age, you may be offered early retirement by your employer who may refer to the offer as a golden handshake or a golden parachute. The offer usually consists of severance payments and post-retirement medical coverage… ...

Greetings! I trust that this finds you well and enjoying life. As you grow older, housing issues become an integral part of your retirement plans. You may be living on a fixed income and want to get additional cash by borrowing against the equity in your home. You may feel… ...

Greetings! I trust that this finds you well and enjoying life. During your retirement years, it’s important to pay close attention to the income tax consequences of your investment decisions. If you receive a great deal of investment income when retired, for instance, the taxation of your Social Security benefits… ...

Greetings! I trust that this finds you well and enjoying life. Before you retire, take the time to figure out just how much money you’ll need for retirement. One of the biggest concerns for retirees is whether their retirement savings will last the rest of their lives– will they run… ...

I trust that this will find you well and enjoying life. The transition into retirement, what is it? The transition into retirement is when you are changing from your full-time working years to your retirement years. If retirement is approaching, you may have to make numerous decisions. Can you afford… ...

I trust that this will find you well and enjoying life. You can choose to delay receiving Social Security retirement benefits until you are past normal (full) retirement age. Perhaps you want to work longer because you enjoy it, or maybe you want your retirement benefit to be higher when… ...