Use Legacy Arbitrage to extend benefits to heirs Definition of 'Arbitrage' from Investopedia "The simultaneous purchase and sale of an asset to profit from a difference in the price. It is a trade that profits by exploiting price differences of identical or similar financial instruments, on different markets or in different forms. Arbitrage exists as [...]
For several years I worked as a volunteer for the local food bank. It supplied those in need with weekly baskets of food and other necessities of life. It was very special to help, and I have numerous memories of that time. I met many people who wanted nothing more than to be of help [...]
I remember when our church in Emmett Idaho finally was able to retire the mortgage. Our parish had a pot luck dinner; several parish members spoke, including my mother, and then a ceremony to burn the mortgage. I was 11 years old then and knew nothing of money or a mortgage; what I do remember [...]
I remember well that statement being made at a financial convention years ago, the speaker followed up his announcement with this: “I just don’t know when!” It seems that the stock market is always going up, and yet his past few days something odd has happened, it has dropped, dropped like a rock. Immediately after [...]
This simple and yet efficient approach to solving interest rate volatility can work for you. It involves annual maintenance on the investor’s part and the ability to use the internet for available interest rates. Never allow anyone to charge you for this approach to bank deposits, do it yourself. There are numerous options available to [...]
Transparency in the financial world has traditionally been lacking. As information sources have increased, along with it has come more chances to look behind the curtain. The mutual fund industry in America is enormous; most all Americans have or currently do use these products for accumulating funds for retirement and many other uses. Mutual funds [...]
When the Social Security Administration announced that for 2016, 2017, 2018 there would be NO “cost of living adjustment” (COLA) to retirement payments, many considered inflation was under control. The reason for no COLA is simple, and Congress sets the COLA based on the performance of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI failed to grow [...]
I have been asked recently how the current volatility of the stock market will affect the interest in annuities. Of course, the obvious answer to avoid instability is to get out of the market, and most people are fearful of that. While the issue of volatility is clear, greed and desire to make more and [...]
If you haven’t read the colossal epic book about WWI, All Quiet on the Western Front, you might want to give it a go. Erich Remarque's novel about the horrors of war and the effort to remain alive while both witnessing and causing indescribable carnage is intense. The book catapults you to that time and [...]
When planning retirement, make sure your money lasts as long as you do! In 1994, amateur economist and investment manager William P. Bengen wrote his famous thesis about withdrawal rates from accumulated funds in calculating retirement income. Here is the link:http://www.retailinvestor.org/pdf/Bengen1.pdf Over the years and due to the financial meltdown of 2008, the amount [...]
