A number of friends and family have had questions relating to Retirement Planning, Investing and other financial oriented questions. Here I supply some information related to various topics associated with financing.
Social Security Stragies
When: TBD
Link: TBD
Meeting number: TBD
Password: TBD
Most data presented here is dated. Tax laws, stock quotes and the general economy changes on a regular basis (yearly, weekly, daily). Information provided here is just the starting point. It is up to you to ensure you have the latest information.
Guidance and advice provided here is just my opinion. Guidance and information is just from what I have learned through the years. I have no degree associated with money, and have no certifications associated with finance. Take all information provided here with a grain of salt and verify with other resources before making a decision.
Your situation is unique - Advice or recommendations provided here may NOT be appropriate for your situation. Financial moves and investments that a person in their early 20's may be completely in appropriate for someone who is retired. Also investment considerations and moves are dependent upon what your total financial resources are. Consider if the advice given is appropriate for your situation.
Magazines
Kiplinger's Personal Finance - Good basic finance
magazine.
Kiplinger's Retirement Report - Great resource for
people preparing for retirement (5-10yrs) and those retired.
Kiplinger's Investment for Income - Exactly what
the title indicates. If
you are looking for investments to generate income this is great.
Podcast
Planet Money - Anything having to do with the economy.
Always
interesting.
Websites
Kiplinger - Great overall trusted resource
Investopedia - Good source of information
Internal
Revenue Service (IRS)
Online Tools
Required
Minimum Distribution (RDM) Calculator (AARP)
Educational Resources
Frontline: The Retirement Gamble (Video, 52minutes) - This will open your eyes to financial institutions and hopefully motivate you to take control of your financial future, because no one else will.
H & R Block Tax Preparers Class - One of the best investments I have ever made. This helps you to understand the rules of the game and will enable you to do your own taxes. Course cost about $150, total class time is 73 hours.
Investopedia Academy: Investing for Beginners - Completely online this course is a series of short videos covering most topics a beginner needs to know. I would think of this as a one day seminar on basics of investing. Cost is listed as $199 but you may be able to get a discount (Try BX2020 it might get you 15% off). they state you will have access to the material for your lifetime. A good investment if you are serious about understanding the fundamentals of investing.
2021-04-25 Annuities - Review if different types of annuities, and how they may be used in your retirement planning.
2021-02-21 Investing and Taxes - Discussion on how tax laws impact investment decisions.
2021-02-07 Asset Allocation - Part 2 - Deep dive into the Asset Allocation Example spreadsheets.
2021-01-31 Asset Allocation - Part 1 - Discussion on factors to consider for Asset Allocation.
2021-01-17 Investing 101 - Discussion on investment options including Stock, Bonds Mutual Funds Et al.
2020-12-20 Review of Vehicles for Retirement - Discussion on various options for saving for retirement.
2020-12-13 Using the Investment Spreadsheet - Review the spreadsheet created for comparing stocks and funds.
We take a high level view of the different type of Annuities and options (riders).
Webex Recording
(1:06) (MP4 Format).
Annuities Annuity Strategies - Tips for buying the right annuity
for you. Case
Studies, Examples, Points of Protection, Common mistakes to avoid.Good Reads
We take a more direct look at how tax considerations should help guide you in decisions on what investments should be placed in what accounts, and how taxes should be taken into consideration when withdrawing from these accounts.
Before our discussion on taxes we will have a brief discussion on possible investment opportunities due to COVID-19. These are considered Tactical Investments. We will also briefly discuss recent Bitcoin developments.
Webex
Recording (0:41) (MP4 Format). Meeting Agenda
We continue our discussion on Asset Allocation In this conversation we do a deep dive into the Asset Allocation Example spreadsheets. We review the details of the three sample portfolios (Conservative, Moderate, Aggressive) portfolios and detail how they were created, examine how they would have performed thought the housing market crash and the recent COVID-19 pandemic correction. We then move on to show how you can use these spreadsheets to review and adjust your portfolio and get an idea on how it would have performed during these two corrections.
It is highly recommended that you view Part 1 of this discussion before viewing Part 2. We will be referencing the same spreadsheets that were introduced in Part 1
Webex
Recording (1:08) (MP4 Format).
Asset Allocation Examples (2020 Crash data) - Example
portfolios along with 2020 COVID-19 pandemic crash performance data. Asset Allocation Examples (2008 Crash data) - Example
portfolios along with 2008 financial crisis crash performance data.
One of the keys to successful investing and retirement planing is having the appropriate Asset Allocation. In this meeting we will discuss what Asset Allocation is and some of the factors that need to be considered when determining what allocation is appropriate for you.
Webex
Recording (1:06) (MP4 Format).
Asset Allocation.
Asset Allocation Examples (2020 Crash data) - Example
portfolios along with 2020 crash performance data. Asset Allocation Examples (2008 Crash data) - Note many
funds do not have data back to 2008, in these situations I took peak (pre
2020) prices to 2020 crash prices.
There are a myriad of options when investing your money, here we have a brief overview of CD's, Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Index Funds, Mutual Funds.
Investing
101: Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds etc.
Webex
Recording (1:13) (MP4 Format).
Different Asset Classes Examples
Example
Bond Fund: PIMCO Corporate &
Income Strategy Fund (PCN)
Example
Stock: AT&T (T)
Example
Exchange Traded Fund (ETF): Vanguard
Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (VT)
Example
Index Fund: First Trust Clean
Edge Green Energy Index Fund (QCLN)
Example
Mutual Fund: Vanguard High-Yield
Corporate Fund Investor Shares (VWEHX)
Example
Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT):
Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR)
This is a very brief rundown of some of the various investment vehicles one should consider for securing ones retirement. Various vehicles including 401k's, 357's, IRA's Roth IRA's, Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and regular investment accounts are discussed.
Review of Vehicles for Retirement (2021-01-08).
Webex
Recording (1:06) (MP4 Format)
In this WebEx we review the spreadsheet I have developed for evaluating Stocks, ETFs, bond Funds and other investments that can be purchased through a brokerage account or other investment account.
Reources:
NOTE: Updated spreadsheet with updated macros
[Control][Shift]Q – Will rename cells for the newly defined investment.
[Control][Shift]W – Will insert investment data defined for new investment.
Where
[Control] means to hold down the Control key
[Shift] means hold down the Shift key
Investments_NewInvestor_2021-03-13 excel spreadsheet
Webex
Recording (55 minutes) (MP4 format)