The one-size-fits-all approach their advisor may have used during the accumulation phase just won’t work when it’s time to retire.-George Politarhos Generic, templated approaches to financial planning can work for some people during the “accumulation” phase of their financial lives. However, as a person gets within five to seven years of retirement, it becomes obvious [...]
"Knowing who you are with regard to money is a critical component of becoming more successful in life."- Angie Politarhos. Attributed variously to Plato, Socrates, or Aeschylus, the saying, "Know thyself," has popped up in self-help books for hundreds of years. When applied to a person's finances, "Know thyself" has an intrinsic self-help appeal. I [...]
"Building an expert team to guide you through the often bewildering and frustrating financial landscape is a crucial task if you are a pre-retiree or already retired."-Eric Coons "Do-it-yourself" retirement planning is certainly possible, even if it's probably not a great idea. The current IRS tax code, for example, is around 2,600 pages long. Then [...]
If you're like most people within 5-7 years of retirement, you're concerned about having your life's savings eaten away by everything from stock market downturns to inflation to increasing taxes. Every day, I get questions from concerned business owners, entrepreneurs, and investors just like you. These are often people with asset portfolios decimated by market [...]
I get asked this question a lot. "What is an Annuity?" Most people I talk to when it comes to retirement planning either do not understand annuities or have heard a bunch of negative press when it comes to annuities. I feel the simplest way to explain what an annuity is and why they play [...]
Quarantined, isolated and confused Today, I am sitting in my home, self-isolated, keeping a social distance away from the rest of the world, and I have a slight tickle in my throat. I am watching TV with one eye on the stock market as the Dow drops lower and lower, and with the other eye [...]
If you are nearing retirement or already retired, are you still getting the same advice from your financial advisor? Is this the advisor you have had for the last 10, 15, or even 20 years or longer? Has he or she adjusted your portfolio to protect your hard-earned money against any sudden downturn in the [...]
My broker says he can outperform an annuity, can he? I would like to know how! Quite often when annuity agents present an annuity strategy to potential clients, the client will take the annuity information and present it to their broker, who is managing their money with their brokerage firm, in order to get [...]
