The call came out of the blue that afternoon, with terror and tears coming through from my mother. “Your father says we don’t have money to spend and I need to return everything I bought for the last two weeks!” Sigh. This was not an unusual call.
As financial planners we are often asked, “Will I be OK in retirement?” Before we even look at a client’s assets and expenses to answer that question, we ask them one ourselves, “What do you want your retirement to look like?”
You and your new spouse have just celebrated what will be one of the most special days of your lives – your wedding. You return home together after the celebration and walk in the door to find a not-so-romantic surprise awaiting you – your first bill as a married couple. Now what?
“Turn! Turn! Turn!” written by Peter Seeger and made famous by The Byrds was released in 1965. If listening to this song on the AM station was part of your early memories, then you are probably thinking about downsizing or soon will be. Downsizing is a time to break things down and a time to cast things away. Hopefully there will be some laughter and dancing and not too much to mourn, but probably some tears are inevitable.
For working parents-to-be, planning for your baby’s arrival means far more than picking out furniture, packing a bag, and having the doctor’s number memorized. There are also a number of work and financial issues to consider. Whether your maternity/paternity leave is for a few weeks or several months, this checklist will help streamline the transition from workplace to home and back again.
Have you suddenly found yourself with a large sum of cash? Perhaps your windfall was expected, such as from a business sale or inheritance. Maybe it is a pleasant surprise from a large bonus or lottery win. Regardless of how it came to be, there are some critical steps you need to take to protect the windfall now that it is here. It starts with gathering the right team of advisors, working together to ensure that for you, more money does not mean more problems.
Losing a spouse or partner is a dramatic and emotional experience that can have a serious impact on the financial health of the surviving spouse. Financial planning and investment management needs vary dramatically depending on what stage of life the surviving spouse is in. Over the years, we have worked with many clients who have unfortunately lost spouses at all stages of life. Death is not universal, nor are the financial steps to take in its wake.
Nothing guarantees there will be sufficient money to cover all costs in retirement. But there are some common mistakes to steer clear of as you grow older.
As parents, we never endeavor to become a burden to our children. This is why having a plan for aging in place before the time for care comes is important, as is knowing the resources available to individuals and caregivers to help alleviate some of the burden.
I recently downsized from a larger home in a New Jersey suburb to smaller quarters closer to Manhattan. Anecdotally, I noticed many times in my former neighborhood that on the same day families would post “Congrats to the Graduate!” yard signs, “For Sale” signs would often appear right next to them. My wife and I had been thinking about downsizing for years to eliminate the burden of property maintenance and simplify our living situation, but the task itself was a bit daunting.
