Retirement Planning Topics
Can I Violate the 4% Rule?
In many of my past posts I have mentioned “the 4% rule.” The 4% rule is a reference to the recommended Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) for withdrawing retirement income from one’s financial portfolio. If you are not familiar with the 4% rule, you should read my previous post where I explain the concept. In this […]
The Third Bucket; Is 15 Years Long Enough?
I got an e-mail question in response to my last post on The Bucket Strategy. The question was in regard to the length of time a retiree should wait before dipping into the third bucket. I thought the e-mailer had a good question, given the poor equity markets returns since 2000, is 15 years an […]
The Buckets Strategy
My last post discussed why it is a good idea for most retirees or near-retirees to set up an income ladder to fund the first years of retirement. However, this income ladder is only the first step in an overall retirement income withdrawal strategy. Today I will discuss one particular strategy that is fast becoming […]
Withdrawing Funds in Retirement
Because I do not have an employer provided pension or health care benefits, and I will not be eligible for the Social Security or Medicare Programs for many years, 100% of my retirement income comes from assets invested in the real estate and financial markets. Consequently I cannot afford any big mistakes in my investments. […]
Tracking Living Expenses
In starting out a new year, another important activity for people nearing retirement to get in a habit of doing is tracking living expenses. Most people are aware that they should do this, but may need some tips on how to put this practice into action. In this post I will explain how I do […]
The Most Important Investment Concepts I Have Learned
As a follow up to my previous post on How a Bad Investment Experience Changed My Life, I will discuss in this post what I think are the most important investment concepts I have learned from my investing experience and research. I have talked about these concepts in previous posts but, to start off the […]
Are You Saving Enough for Retirement?
In recent years I have reviewed dozens of interactive online tools designed to help the user determine the appropriate savings rate to retire. After all my reviews, I think I have found the best “no cost” online tool for analyzing your retirement savings status.
Retirement Tax Diversification, Part II
In my previous post I discussed why you should pay some of your retirement taxes while working. Doing this will increase your tax diversification in retirement providing you with more control over your annual tax bill. Before I leave this subject there is one more important strategy to be aware of to optimize the current […]
Retirement Tax Diversification
After my last blog post, I received a couple of questions concerning the concept of tax diversification. In this post I will discuss this topic as it relates to one of the biggest tax mistakes many future retirees make in their financial planning. It is known as “The Deferral Trap.”
Year End Tax Planning
Recently I was doing some end of year tax planning to check that I have sent in enough estimated tax payments to the appropriate taxing authorities. In going through this analysis I take advantage of a little known recent tax law change. Since we are nearing the end of the 2011 tax year, I thought […]
