At some point, most new parents or grandparents begin thinking about how to pay for college. Since educational costs have risen at a rate well in excess of inflation over the last two decades, covering… Read More
The Ups and Downs of Investing in Emerging Markets
One of my favorite charts on investing is the Callan table of investment returns. The chart depicts the return of various asset classes1 from year-to-year, and just a glance at it shows how volatile relative… Read More
Prescription Drugs and Medicare: How to Enroll in Part D
In a previous post, I took a look at Medicare Parts A & B, which cover many types of inpatient care along with what are generally defined as medically necessary services. In this post, I’ll… Read More
Understanding Medicare: Your Medicare Coverage Choices
In the last blog post, I outlined key findings from a recent Vanguard white paper on healthcare spending in retirement. In this post, I’ll break down the various parts of understanding Medicare—traditional Medicare—as you consider… Read More
Spending on Healthcare in Retirement: How to Plan for It in Your Budget
If you are planning to retire, budgeting for healthcare should be part of your plans. In fact, when we build plans, we have begun breaking out healthcare costs as a separate category. Doing so allows… Read More
Market Movements: Shifting Focus from the Unknowable
Early on in my career, clients would ask where I thought the market was headed, and I felt obliged to answer these questions on market movements. Valuations were high, I would explain, or I might… Read More
Deciding Whether or Not to Take the Buyout — Points to Consider
One of the time-honored traditions in Corporate America is the buyout. Cutting labor costs is one way to keep Wall Street analysts onboard when profitability drops or growth slows and depending on how much you… Read More
Putting Together A Personal Financial Calendar: Month-by-Month Recommendations
If there is one date – one financial deadline – nearly everyone knows, it is April 15th. Through November of last year, the IRS had processed over 150 million returns for 2016, meaning that the… Read More
3 Charitable Options to Reduce Your Taxes
Updated January 2020 to reflect the SECURE Act changes Charitable decisions typically aren’t solely driven by a desire for a tax break. Most of us make philanthropic contributions because there are causes or institutions that… Read More
Enough is Enough: How to Plan for Sustainable Spending
Several years ago, my wife and I sat down to work on a budget. Our goal wasn’t to reduce spending so much as it was to plan our spending. We had recently purchased a house… Read More