Most people who are saving for retirement are familiar with the 4% rule. According to this rule, proposed by William P. Bengen in 1994, and later confirmed by Trinity University in 1998, you can withdraw 4% of your retirement assets the first year of retirement and then increase your withdrawal for inflation each year thereafter. … Read more
One of the first things I do with my financial makeover clients is set up a spreadsheet, tailored to them, to track their net worth on a quarterly basis. This program is set up to be used for the rest of their lives on my proprietary Excel spreadsheet. I have used this program to track … Read more
There are many things that could put a family into a personal financial crisis. The death of the primary bread winner (like what happened to this family), or the loss of a job are two great examples. When a crisis hits your family, quick action is needed to have a speedy recovery. I recently discussed … Read more
Forums and Facebook groups abound with a frequently asked question that sounds something like this: “Should we sell our positive cash flow rental to buy (insert fun new toy) so we don’t have to attain a loan?” When someone wants to buy a new car, boat, or motorhome but they have learned that buying toys … Read more
When we initially retired, I envisioned going south for the winter, since I’m not a big fan of the cold and rain. We don’t get much snow in southern Oregon, but it does rain a lot in the winter. Snow birders from the west coast tend to head south to southern California, Las Vegas, and … Read more
Many people want to do more traveling when they retire. In fact, travel is one of the main reasons stated for wanting to retire. Unfortunately, most people are not sure how travel will affect their retirement budget. Knowing this number is a key variable in calculating when you have enough saved to retire in the … Read more
It is not often I pick up a book and realize that someone has already written the book I was thinking of writing, but today it happened to me. When I published my book The Doctors Guide to Smart Career Alternatives and Retirement which is aimed at the physician who is fed up with his … Read more
Retirement account required minimum distributions (RMDs) can be a tax burden for those in their retirement years. But thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, we can declare our independence from the RMDs for 2020 and save a ton of money. RMDs are in place to be sure the … Read more
(Special note: If you have been hit by the current shutdown, my newest book, The Doctors Guide to Navigating a Financial Crisis, will help you find your way back to financial health. Watch for it to come out in mid-May) I have read many articles discussing how the first big drop in the market would … Read more
This month marks three years since I turned in my beeper and walked out of the hospital to the song 18 wheels and a dozen roses, by Kathy Mattea. It was a bit scary to give up surgery at age 54, hoping we had enough money saved to meet our needs for the rest of … Read more
