Who wants to leave this world with their financial affairs in good order? We all do, right? None of us wants to leave a collection of financial mysteries for our spouse or our children to solve. What we want and what we do can differ, however. Many heirs spend days, weeks, or months searching for…

BREXIT VOTE BATTERS GLOBAL MARKETS The world reacted to the news Thursday night that U.K. voters had decided to leave the European Union. Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC-40, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 respectively ended their Friday trading sessions with losses of 6.82%, 8.04%, and 7.92%. Wall Street was not hit as hard, but the Dow fell…

A new study has raised eyebrows about the retirement prospects of women. It comes from the National Institute on Retirement Security, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization based in Washington, D.C. Studying 2012 U.S. Census data, NIRS found that women aged 65 and older had 26% less income than their male peers. Looking at Vanguard’s 2014…

Whether your 65th birthday is on the horizon or decades away, you should understand the parts of Medicare – what they cover, and where they come from. Parts A & B: Original Medicare. America created a national health insurance program for seniors in 1965 with two components. Part A is hospital insurance. It provides coverage…

A LITTLE LESS OPTIMISM IN EARLY JUNE On Friday, the University of Michigan’s initial June survey of consumer sentiment showed a slight retreat, with the index coming in at 94.3 versus its final May mark of 94.7. The survey’s chief economist, Richard Curtin, noted “consumers rated their current financial situation at the best levels since…

MAY SAW WEAKEST JOB GROWTH IN 5+ YEARS Did any economist foresee payrolls expanding by just 38,000 jobs in May? The median forecast compiled by MarketWatch projected a gain of 155,000, not the worst number since September 2010. The Department of Labor reduced March and April payroll gains by 59,000 in its new report, meaning…

All retirees want their money to last a lifetime. There is no guarantee it will, but, in pursuit of that goal, households may want to adopt a couple of spending and investing precepts. One precept: observing the 4% rule. This classic retirement planning principle works as follows: a retiree household withdraws 4% of its amassed…

We all have a “blue sky” vision of the way retirement should be, yet it helps to plan for retirement with a little pragmatism. Fate may alter the course of our retirement in ways we do not currently anticipate. So, as we plan for the next act of life, we may want to think about…

WILL THE FED MAKE A MOVE IN JUNE? In April, the Consumer Price Index advanced 0.4% – its largest monthly gain since February 2013. While a 10% leap in gasoline prices contributed to that rise, this and other recent signals of economic vigor may be influencing the Federal Reserve. Last week, minutes from the central…

Diversification is a good thing; it is the most effective, least expensive, and easiest-to-implement strategy in an investor’s toolbox to reduce the risk of loss, without sacrificing return. The concept of diversification is readily grasped in a bit of homespun wisdom: when your mother advised “not to put all your eggs in one basket,” she…