Tag / Income Planning

by Stuart

Financial Advisors: Shit or the Shittiest?

Photo by Shane on Unsplash

Retirement planning is hard. Sure, there are simple techniques anyone can use to map a path. Yet those techniques require data and effort. Most people don’t want to spend precious free time crunching numbers and making tough, life-impacting decisions. Most people – myself included – would rather find someone who can just take care of it. You know, a Guy (here used in the gender-neutral sense).

I know more than a few people who have found their Guy: a personal finance manager who promises to make retirement all anyone could ever hope for. They’ve got products that minimize risk and maximize gain. They promise they can beat the market and, in return, ask for a mere few points off the top. You know, for the effort.

I don’t buy it for a second.

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by Stuart

The Cash Reserve

Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com

Quite simply, a Cash Reserve is an amount of money set aside for a rainy day. Or a rainy year. Or years. You know, what we used to call “savings”. But Cash Reserve sounds so much more fancy so let’s call it that.

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by Stuart

Gap Planning

What other photo could I possibly have chosen?

Here’s a simple budget tool that you can apply all over the place. The first thing you need to do is measure your gap. The math is dead simple: subtract expenses from your income and the difference is your Gap.

BILL icon at right by Adrien Coquet from the Noun Project
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by Stuart

How Does Social Security Work?

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

I’m really used to getting a paycheck. I’ve been working since I was 14 and truly value the security that comes from a regular income. The scariest thing about retirement (for me) was giving up that security. I’ve never been a very good saver; I’m more of a spender as it turns out. The idea of giving a paycheck up spooks the crap out of me.

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by Stuart

Managing 401ks Before Retirement

TD Ameritrade Fee Analyzer

Many of us will rely on 401k withdrawls to extend social security income. If you’re lucky enough to have an employer-sponsored plan – especially if your employer matches any part of your contributions – you should really be putting money in it. I’m bummed that the IRS sets a limit on how much you can contribute every year ($26k if you’re over 50) but it’s held in a tax-free account and you can often choose how to invest so still a good deal. 

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by Stuart

Withdrawing from 401ks

NerdWallet Tax Calculator

In my last post I talked about how to manage your 401k. But, when the time comes, what’s the formula for withdrawing? 

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by Stuart

Managing Your 401k Post-Retirement

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Clearly there’s a LOT to think about with your 401k. There’s managing it prior to retirement. There’s planning out how much to withdraw every year. This post on 401ks is about managing the 401k AFTER you retire.

I hadn’t really thought about it but, unless you’re planning to just take everything out of your 401k on day one of your retirement (pro tip: don’t do that) then you’ll need to manage it for the rest of your life*. How you do that will be like any other investment: what do you need – growth or stability, or some kind of mix? Like I keep saying, that’s up to you to sort. But here’s what I think.

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by Stuart

Side Hustles: Not Just for Income

Anthony Young, via unsplash.com

I feel pretty confident that, between Social Security and 401k and other income sources, we’ll be ok for retirement. But that’s based on my limited comprehension of what it means to replace a paycheck with savings. And I like the security of a regular paycheck. So maybe I keep working even in retirement – at least in a limited capacity.

Mental health may be an even bigger benefit of the side hustle. I’ve seen many folks hit retirement only to find themselves lost and bored. Don’t find yourself at 67 wondering “ok, now what am I gonna do?”

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