Captaining the Retirement Ship When Waters Turn Dangerous Why a Financial Planner’s Guidance Matters as Retirement Conditions Shift Calm water has a way of making retirement planning feel simple. When conditions are predictable, adjustments feel optional. But as retirement approaches, conditions change. What works on a quiet lake doesn’t always translate when the horizon starts…
Read More
When Everything Seems Fine—Until It’s Not
When Everything Seems Fine—Until It’s Not Our Homecoming Shocker: How Suddenly Things Can Unravel in Life – and in Retirement As professional retirement planners, we’re trained to spot risks before they become disasters. It’s what we do—help uncover problems that might be hidden beneath the surface of someone’s retirement dreams. But recently, we experienced our…
Read More
Bug In Your Retirement Plan
Is There a Bug in Your Retirement Plan? Retirement Planning is Hard Enough Without the Annoying Buzz of Media Headlines Picture this: It’s early spring, and the news is buzzing—quite literally—about cicadas. Reports claimed we’d be swarmed by these noisy critters, ankle-deep in them, with our trees and gardens left in ruins. Sounds like something…
Read More
3 Risky Types of Investment Advice that Could Ruin Your Retirement Dreams
3 Risky Types of Investment Advice that Could Ruin Your Retirement Dreams As 2023 drew to a close, Wall Street faced a sobering truth: the so-called financial experts had missed the mark. Their dire predictions at the year’s start, forecasting a slump in markets and advising caution, had led many investors astray. Instead, the year…
Read More
Building a Financial Strategy That Will Endure
Building a Financial Strategy That Will Endure Like the Pyramids What’s the key to a financial strategy built to last? The pyramids of Giza have stood the test of time, enduring centuries of wind, sand, and human activity. These ancient structures were engineered with precision and attention to detail, designed to last for generations. Similarly,…
Read More
Life Storms: Protecting Your Retirement From Multiple Threats
Life Storms: Protecting Your Retirement From Multiple Threats Gas prices and inflation are spiraling out of control. Investment accounts are suffering. Health costs keep rising. Tax increases are expected. It’s like a storm battering your retirement’s stability from every direction. How can you protect your retirement from so many threats? Midwestern storms often rock our…
Read More
This Rookie’s Contract Like a Well-Timed Fixed Annuity
A Lesson in Locking in Financial Security from an Unlikely Cubs Newcomer I loved the Cinderella story of this Cubs newcomer even before he displayed his financial savvy. When he signed the big contract, shortly after making the big leagues, it was unusual. As an investment advisor and insurance professional, I applauded his financial acumen. …
Read More
Feeling Queasy in Market Turbulence
Navigating Market’s Turbulence: Lessons from Air Travel When we experience a year with market drops, it sometimes warrants a response for investors. You’ve seen the news headlines and are aware inflation concerns, combined with the actions of the Federal Reserve, are the major drivers of the recent pain we’ve felt. A Brief Trip Down Memory…
Read More
Who is Taking a Bite Out of Your Retirement Account?
Who is Taking a Bite Out of Your Retirement Account? Don’t Watch Your Retirement Account Savings Melt Away Like an Ice Cream on a Hot Day! Our family has a vacation rule that our daughter loves: Unlimited ice cream! I remember our trip to Magic Kingdom, their special Mickey Ice Cream Bars were highly anticipated….
Read More
Is Fear Putting Your Financial Plan at Risk?
Is Fear Putting Your Financial Plan at Risk? A Haunting Parallel: Fear in Finance and Ghostly Mansions Some say the old mansion is haunted, and I live just down the road from it! It’s the Duncan Manor, a historic building in the countryside of Towanda, IL. It doesn’t generally spook me, since as a financial…
Read More
