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Retirement Income
Retirement Income Here’s a million dollar question: How will you transform your savings into income that will last throughout your retirement?1 There are probably as many answers to that question as there are retirees. However, all retirees may rely on some of the same income sources and strategies. For instance, we all hope Social Security benefits will provide a portion of our income during retirement. Many people plan to combine those benefits with other [...]
Holiday Greeting – Stay Safe Online While Traveling and Shopping
We hope your holidays will be filled with family, friends, merry-making, and good cheer. One way to ensure a happy holiday season is to stay safe online. Here are a few tips that may help. 1. When using public Wi-Fi at a hotel, coffee shop, or airport, be selective about the sites you visit, even if the Wi-Fi is password protected. One Internet security provider explained:1 “Wi-Fi uses radio waves. The openness of these signals [...]
Is the End of the Bond Bull Market Finally Here?
For about 35 years, investors have enjoyed a bull market in bonds. At the start of 1982, the interest rate on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds was 14.2 percent. By November 1, 2016, interest rates had fallen to 1.8 percent.1 Since bond prices increase as interest rates fall, U.S. Treasuries (and other types of bonds) have rewarded many investors with attractive total returns during the past few decades. In the natural course of events, bull markets [...]
Holiday Greeting – Thanksgiving is Almost Here!
Thanksgiving is America’s second favorite holiday,1 and it offers something for everyone. You can enjoy family togetherness, feasting, football, school plays, parades, gratitude, and, of course, shopping. If you’re a traditionalist, you serve a classic meal with oven-roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and pie. According to a Huffington Post poll, pumpkin pie is America’s favorite although apple, pecan, and other flavors have fans, too.2 But, not everyone shares the [...]
Creating a Memorable Thanksgiving
The lingering smell of turkey invites us to the Thanksgiving feast with loved ones around, oohing and ahhing over their favorite food. It's Thanksgiving again, with a hint of pumpkin spice and cinnamon filling the air, we are comforted with the simple things of life that help us to take a break from the ordinary. Thanksgiving is a holiday founded in cherished biblical precepts of remembering God's kindness and provision throughout the year as [...]
Holiday Greeting – Why Do American Soldiers Fight?
“American soldiers in battle don’t fight for what some president says on TV. They don’t fight for Mom, apple pie, the American flag. They fight for one another. ”1 Stars and Stripes used the words of Lieutenant Colonel Harold “Hal” Moore, commander of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, to frame its 2016 edition of Heroes, a tribute to valor shown during the war on terrorism. Moore led outnumbered troops to victory in Ia Drang Valley in [...]
The Uncovered Costs of Increased Longevity
In the 1970s, a TV episode of The Odd Couple taught viewers never to assume.1 It’s a lesson we appear to have forgotten. Many Americans assume Medicare will provide financial assistance to help with long-term care costs in retirement. In fact, when asked, more than one-third (38 percent) of Americans age 40 and older put Medicare at the top of the list.2 The unfortunate reality, according to Long-Term Care in America: Expectations and Preferences for Care and Caregiving (2016 [...]
Holiday Greeting – It’s Almost All Hallows’ Eve!
People of a certain age will remember ‘It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.’ The animated television special debuted in 1966,1 way back when there were only a few channels and you had to get out of your seat to change them from one to another! Here are a few fun facts about the show: • It was the first time an animated Lucy snatched the football from Charlie Brown (she had previously done so in [...]
LifeStyle Newsletter – And, the Answer is: More than $260 Billion
That’s how much Americans had spent on pain relief medications and treatments when the Institute of Medicine (IOM) completed its report in 2011. If you factor in lost productivity, the economic cost of pain rose to more than $560 billion annually.1 That’s a remarkable number. It would take just $18 billion or so to buy all five of the most valuable sports teams in the world – Dallas Cowboys ($4 billion), Real Madrid ($3.65 [...]
Start Talking About Retirement
If you ask people what creates stress in their lives, money is often at the top of the list. Stress in America: Paying With Our Health found money was a somewhat or a very significant source of stress in the lives of 64 percent of Americans, primarily parents, younger generations, women, and lower-income households:1, pg 10 “Significant sources of money-related stress reported by Americans include paying for unexpected expenses (54 percent said very or somewhat significant), [...]
Credit Cards & Christians: Do They Go Together?
Credit cards provide a lot of benefits - convenience, safety of not carrying as much cash, tracking of expenditures and sometimes even reward points – but at what cost? In a fast-paced world it is easy to see the benefit of just a quick swipe, but there are a lot of hidden “traps” that are often undetected and take a toll on us and society at large. Here are just a few for the [...]
Holiday Greeting – It’s Almost Labor Day!
Labor Day weekend — the three days dedicated to celebrating American workers — marks the end of summer and, for some, the start of a new school year. It’s a good time to relax and ponder thoughts about work and play: “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Minister and activist1 “The biggest job we have [...]
