Taking care of both health and wealth
By Joel Dresang
Being healthy lets us enjoy retirement more (and probably longer), but it also has financial repercussions. […]
Financial Planning
Wealth effects: Spend, invest, retire
By Joel Dresang
The wealth effect usually is mentioned as a factor in spending, but it also plays a role in investing and retiring. Of the three, I feel it affecting me the most as an investor — but that’s just the phase of life I’m in. […]
Inflation raises benefits expectations
Early signs suggest retirees could get the fattest Social Security raise in more than a decade. […]
Not your parents’ investment plans
By Joel Dresang
Having smaller families has been affecting how we try to accumulate wealth and what we do with it. […]
Wake-up call: Protect against cyberfraud
By Joel Dresang
In the 14 minutes we were on the phone, Mark saved me $441.36. That was the good news. The bad news was all the other rigmarole still ahead for me — and the dreaded reality that this probably will happen again. […]
Pandemic-inspired retirement rehearsal
By Joel Dresang
Rehearsal helps performance. It conditions us. It informs our expectations. It lets us anticipate how we’ll handle a situation. Even improvisers rehearse. Research suggests rehearsal can help retirement, too. […]
Taking risks, fearing the wrong thing
By Joel Dresang
Life is full of risks, and as we try to assess how to handle them, it’s common to misjudge which risks to fear the most. […]
Later Tax Day for 2021: May 17
For the second year in a row, the COVID-19 coronavirus has pushed back the deadline for federal income tax filing. Taxes are due Monday, May 17, 2021, rather than the traditional Tax Day of April 15. Quarterly estimated tax payments are still due on April 15. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue also is extending the due date for state taxes to May 17. […]
Embracing (at least facing) uncertainty
By Joel Dresang
I’m always hearing how investors don’t like uncertainty, but more research suggests it can be beneficial. […]
The return of required distributions
For retirees 72 and older, the required minimum distribution is back in 2021, which means planning with advisors sooner than later. […]
Relearning peekaboo in the pandemic
By Joel Dresang
Behaving as if we have no memory of life before COVID-19, no vision beyond our current confinement, may be affecting how we deal with our retirement investments. […]
Don’t underestimate how much you’ll change
By Joel Dresang
Keeping in mind that somehow our personality, tastes and values will change—just as they have in the past—can help us be more open-minded and flexible in our planning. We shouldn’t prepare for the future assuming we’ll always be who we are now. […]