When it comes to retirement plans, one of the earliest of all kinds of plans is the Keogh. This article explains a Keogh plan and how it’s used.
financial planning
Doing All The Right Things
I am diabetic. This is one of those situations we’re dealt in life that requires changes – and paying attention to a lot of stuff we never wanted to pay attention to. Like eating right, exercising, taking appropriate meds, and monitoring and adjusting. It’s a lifestyle change. What I’ve continued to notice is that, even when I do most of the right things – I exercise regularly, walking for 45 minutes a day, stay away from sweets, take the right meds at the right times, and monitor things closely – I can still wind up with a high blood glucose level. How can that be? Well, it turns out that just staying away from sweets and sugars isn’t the whole answer – I also need to refrain from most starchy foods and have more proteins and vegetables in my diet. Frustrating? You bet. Futile? Not completely – I just need […]
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Don’t Dismiss That “Small” Pension
Frequently, I’ll meet with clients to go over a retirement plan. As is typical, we look at current investments, account balances, Social Security, etc. Often these conversations revolve around distributions from retirement plans and cash flow planning to reduce the probability of portfolio failure, and ensuring an income stream that is congruent with the clients’ retirement goals. Sometimes clients will also have small pensions from their current or former employer and they will tell me that they are small, trivial, or not worth considering. Whenever I hear those words or something similar, I try to explain to the clients that however small or trivial, it’s still a guaranteed income stream that will last the rest of their lives in many cases. For example, I have seen clients think that a $150 monthly pension wasn’t a big deal. But when I present to them that there’s an amount for a “date […]
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Does It Really Cost More to Eat Healthy?
From time to time I will hear the argument that it’s expensive to eat healthy to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle. What I want to do is provide some information based on my own experience that may help give a counter argument to this belief. While I am not disagreeing entirely that eating healthy is more expensive than not, I am saying that if done carefully, it is possible to eat healthy for less than what it would cost for less heathy alternatives. One of the arguments I hear is that individuals may be overweight due to relying on fast food menu items – especially those on dollar or value menus. And the reason these menus are relied on is because shopping for a healthy alternative is pricier. Let’s take a look. Consider a few value menu items from a well-known fast food provider. Cheeseburger – $1 – […]
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Just Getting Started
At a point in some people’s lives, they conclude they need some sort of assistance with their financial situation. This could be a recent high school or college grad determined to start off on the right track, or those in their mid to late working careers wondering if what they’re doing is the “right” way of doing things financially. In either case, the hope may be to make as few mistakes as possible along the way. When considering this situation, there are a few things to look at first, before moving on to other planning areas. In other words, think of the follow as a good foundation to have before expanding on or continuing your wealth management plan. Emergency Fund. This is the money set aside to pay for non-discretionary expenses that will not go away in the event of an emergency (loss of a job, medical, etc.). Although the […]
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When It Rains…
The other night I was awoken by a pretty severe thunderstorm. Bright lightning and heavy rains lasted throughout the night. By daybreak, it had rained nearly three inches in the span of six hours. Naturally, I thought, “time for an article.” The heavy rain made me think about what would happen in the event of a flood. The reason why is that most home insurance policies specifically exclude damage from flooding. That is, if water seeps into a basement from heavy rains and damages the area, homeowner’s insurance would not apply. A specific flood insurance policy is needed. However, flood is not the only peril home insurance policies will generally exclude. In many cases, most home policies will exclude the following perils. Flood Earthquake Neglect Termites War Intentional loss Additionally, most home policies (including renters or condo insurance) will exclude or limit coverage on personal property for the following. Business […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
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And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.