Bridging the Financial Gap™: How to Retire Early Without Running Out of Money Before Social Security Kicks In
Discover how to bridge income gaps between early retirement and Social Security with smart withdrawal sequencing, Roth strategies, and cash flow planning.
Retirement Income Guardrails: How to Spend Confidently Without Running Out
As most retirees will tell you, one of the most important preparations you can make for a fulfilling, low-stress retirement is getting clarity on your retirement income and expenses. In our article, “10 Things to Do before You Retire,” our list included a brief discussion of setting up a retirement budget that takes into consideration […]
Financial Planning for the Newly Single: Divorce, Separation, and Moving Forward
Few life events can be more grueling than separation and divorce. Emotionally, socially, legally, and financially, it is hard for everyone involved, no matter who initiated the process. Divorce can be especially tough on women. Especially for those who have been married 20 years or longer—participants in what is often called “gray divorce”—the financial implications […]
Roth Conversions and Your Tax Bracket: When Does It Make Sense?
The joke works best in person, but maybe you’ve heard it: One guy says to another, “What’s the key to great comedy?” And while the second guy is opening his mouth to say, “I don’t know,” the first guy interrupts with “Timing!” It is a fact that timing is important in many aspects of life. […]
Financial Strategies for Young Families
As Scottish poet Robert Burns famously observed, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” We’ve all experienced times when our plans and intentions got sidelined by unanticipated events. Especially in the early years of starting a family, when children come along, careers are getting underway, and life starts to really pick up […]
10 Things to Do before You Retire
Stick to your savings plan. The number-one building block for a secure retirement is building up your retirement nest egg as much as possible. Unfortunately, this is also the number-one shortcoming of most Americans. While more than half of Americans report having a retirement savings plan, less than half believe they’ll have enough saved to […]
Covering the Bases with Medicare
Whether you are registered for Medicare, you’re not registered but eligible (age 65 or older), or you’re already receiving Medicare benefits but you’re thinking about changing your plan, you need to know that the current enrollment period for Medicare coverage in 2026 runs from October 15, 2025, to December 7, 2025. During this period, you […]
Spousal Benefits and Social Security
In 2024, more than three million Americans filed for Social Security benefits. Further, in the first half of fiscal 2025 alone, the claim system, which includes online, telephone, hard-copy, and in-person applications, a record number of individuals applied for retirement benefits from the Social Security Administration. Without a doubt, Social Security benefits are a central […]
After “I Do”: Estate Planning for Newlyweds
Getting married is one of life’s watershed events; few other things usher in as many changes, adjustments—and joys—as starting a new home with the person you love most in the world. The days and weeks after the wedding are typically filled with dozens of decisions and changes: moving into a new home, combining your “stuff,” […]
“This Changes Everything”: How an Inheritance Affects Your Financial Plan
Several years ago, a friend of ours was in the audience as novelist John Grisham related the story of how he “made it.” According to Grisham, he had recently turned in the manuscript for what would become his breakout bestseller The Firm. It was a Sunday morning, and he was preparing to teach the kindergarten […]
