Category: Financial Planning

  • Checklist for circumstances beyond control

    By Joel Dresang It’s only human to want to do something, so here are actions I have taken, specifically on investments. […]

  • When should I …check my accounts?

    You should keep track of the progress of your investments and also watch for unexpected changes. (As our financial lives evolve, we often wonder at what point or how frequently to take certain actions toward our long-term goals. In an ongoing feature, investment professionals from Landaas & Company provide answers.) […]

  • Investing for the long run can vary

    By Joel Dresang The point of talking about the long term is to prompt us to plan, allocate and adjust so that we don’t outlive our resources. Whether we want to consume as much as we can while we’re able or to leave a legacy to our heirs, we don’t want to run out of…

  • No more Money in my mailbox

    By Joel Dresang The death of Money is another reminder of the tougher time individuals have at discerning how best to conduct their financial lives. […]

  • Plan affordable vacations or avoid Facebook

    By Joel Dresang Vacations seem a bigger deal now, with bigger bills. They can upset the spending plans of retirees. They can divert workers’ earnings from retirement savings. They can contribute to family debts. […]

  • Social Security and my future

    Only about 1 in 15 Americans has an online Social Security account and checks their benefits estimates once a year.

  • Measured steps toward education, retirement

    By Joel Dresang My wife and I have provided our daughters with limited financial assistance in college. That’s because a) We want our children to have some skin in the game, and b) We’ve needed to save for our retirement. College has presented a serious lesson in what we have hoped to instill in our…

  • Providing for your digital survivors

    By Joel Dresang I don’t want to leave a lot of connections dangling after I’m gone. My legacy shouldn’t include loose ends. […]

  • A testament to update before you’re late

    Chess pieces

    Common wisdom and my family’s experiences suggest you want an estate plan to ease survival much for loved ones. […]

  • Where I’ve been since the financial crisis

    By Joel Dresang Ten years later, I don’t remember feeling desperate. But in a recent survey, 79% of Americans said they suffered setbacks from the financial crisis: 55% said that 10 years later, their finances still have not recovered. Looking back, I notice several factors that cushioned my family and me from the crisis. […]