As you well know, we are going through a period where some major events, mostly negative, are changing and shaping the way our world will work in the future. The other day I found myself thinking about the past and how all the events that I remember, mostly negative again, helped shape the world we live in today – war, assassination, market collapses, reigning Presidents, nuclear threats and, as you know, that list goes on and on. And then I […]

The words Money, Freedom and Happiness all play a big role into your overall quality of life. Money is intrinsically linked to freedom, but not necessarily happiness. As ironic as it may seem, people that have all the “wants” in the world can be some of the most unhappy individuals out there. Everyone has their own individual perception of happiness, but when you get down to the core of it all, if you have nothing besides money, one will never […]

Let’s face it, retirement for most people is a big financial unknown. Will we run out of money, will we have big health emergencies and expenses, will market losses reduce my income and lifestyle, will my income rise with inflation, will taxes eat up my income, are just some of the issues that retirees face day to day. That’s a lot to deal with and, in many ways, these are very much like the bully we met when we were […]

Many of you may not have heard about the new changes that will affect the strategies used to claim and maximize Social Security benefits. For those of you who have heard, you may feel unclear in your understanding of what this all means, why it is happening, and how it could potentially derail part of your retirement plan. Because these new changes can most certainly impact your overall plan, I’d like to take a moment to give you a better […]

For those of us who have children or grandchildren, we should give them the best possible start towards establishing their credit and educate them on the correct ways of building and maintaining an excellent credit score. Having the ability to build credit at a young age is very important and helping them take action early on can increase their chances of being ahead of the curve. You may now be asking yourself, “So where do we begin?” “When is the […]

We’ve all heard the words “Trust me!” from someone before. As humans, we want to be able to trust others. It is not always easy to know who you can trust but that control lies within ourselves. Trusting each other is a part of us all biologically and it is an essential element of social reality. The elements of control, confidence, risk and power all play a role in the decision to trust another human being, which is why so […]

If disaster were to strike, would you know it’s coming? Have you prepared for the worst or developed a backup plan? If you haven’t already, you should be considering these questions. Unfortunately, unforeseen events don’t come with a warning and having a plan in place can protect you and your loved ones. Many of you have probably heard of Doomsday Preppers. These individuals build bunkers, store hundreds of gallons of water in barrels and hundreds of pounds of rice in […]

For those of us who truly love what we do, it doesn’t feel like work. For those who don’t enjoy what they do, it can feel like being stuck on an exhausting hamster wheel, just going around and around. There could be several reasons that motivate you jump out of bed, start the pot of coffee and head to your job. For many of us it all comes back to one common goal that we all have in mind—retirement. While […]

The topic for this week says it all. Is your estate in order? Now, you may be scratching your head asking yourself just what that really means. If so, you are not alone. When you ask yourself, “Is my estate in order?” you are really asking, “Will my spouse know what to do when I’m gone?” “Will my children know what to do when both me and my spouse are gone?” “Will my assets get tied up in probate?” “Will […]