Maximizing Your Social Security With Mary Beth Franklin: Part One
Social Security is an absolutely crucial element of many retirement plans across the United States. Understandably, people want to know how to maximize their earnings, but wading through the dense rules and regulations can be overwhelming. I wanted to cut through the red tape and get some straight answers, so I brought in a ringer.
What Retirees Need To Know About The Hidden Power Of Dividends
Dividends are a way for companies to return a portion of their profits to shareholders. Call it a cash reward for being an investor—each allotment is often paid out as small amounts per share. I like to explain the concept by sharing a story about my 8-year-old son. One day, he noticed a dollar coin on […]
How To Use Nick Saban’s Football Process For Retirement Planning
Nick Saban, one of the most storied and successful coaches in the history of college football, recently retired. His career took him from the University of Toledo to the Cleveland Browns to Michigan State, and then to LSU, where he won his first national championship. After a brief stint with the Miami Dolphins, he landed […]
What An S&P 500 All-Time High Could Mean For Your Investments
The S&P 500 recently notched its first record close in more than two years. After falling more than 25% in 2022, the S&P 500 rose nearly 35% to retake a new all-time high in January 2024. Thus, a new bull market has arrived. What comes next? Should investors sell and head for the hills? Not […]
The Army Of American Productivity And Your Retirement
A recent Gallup study showed that only 31% of the workforce in the U.S. and Canada loved or even liked their jobs, referring to this group as “engaged.” The other 69% were either “quiet quitting,” meaning they expel just enough energy to keep a job, or “loud quitting,” where the employee turns venting into a performance of […]
All Aboard! The Happy Retirement Train at the Santa Barbara Zoo
Drive about 90 miles north of Los Angeles along U.S. Route 101, and you’ll find yourself in the stunning coastal city of Santa Barbara, California. With a Mediterranean climate and scenic maritime vistas, it’s not too far from Point Conception, the natural dividing line between Southern and Central California. Visitors marvel at the Spanish architecture, […]
2024 Market Outlook: A Whole New World
The holidays are behind us. As we regain our fighting form, let’s take a moment to gaze downstream and see where the current seems to be heading. No one can predict the future, but specific trends can sometimes be clues. The new year ushers in what could look like “A Whole New World” to investors. […]
American Anxiety Amidst a Healthy Economy
One of the most popular Christmas songs of all time is one you may not have heard. Far from a carol, “Fairytale of New York” is a moody dance ballad by the Celtic punk-folk band The Pogues, featuring Kirsty MacColl. A perennial Christmas hit in the UK and beloved worldwide, in December 2022, the song […]
Defending the 4% Rule for Retirement
Anyone in the Retire Sooner family—readers of my books and articles and listeners to my podcast and radio show—knows how passionate I am about the 4 Percent Rule. Discovered in 1994 by an MIT aeronautics and astronautics graduate turned Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) named William Bengen, this rule of thumb calculated actual stock returns and […]
It’s The Most Wonderful (And Expensive) Time of Year!
As the holidays are rapidly approaching, the main concern I’m hearing is, “How am I going to pay for everything? Inflation is out of control!” Families are concerned about how they are going to fund everything from Christmas and Hannukah presents to holiday travel to holiday meals. People are reluctant to host the holidays at […]
