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Can you Retire Well?
In a recent article I read, the thought was shared that Christians should never retire. Now before you scroll right on past this, the purpose of that article was to say that we should always be about the work of the LORD. The Christian never retires from being on a mission, at work for God. While I believe this is true, certainly our ability to be on mission for God during the retirement years will be [...]
Holiday Greeting – The Changing Soundtrack of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day and love songs go hand-in-hand. If you’re looking for a way to show love and appreciation, consider sharing some of the most popular love songs of all time. Here are a few of the most popular, according to Billboard.com:1 • Endless Love by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (1981) • We Found Love by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris (2011) • How Deep Is Your Love by the Bee Gees (1977) • Silly Love Songs by Wings (1976) • I Will Always Love [...]
The Making of a Legacy
Using a Legacy Letter to Preserve Your Life's Lessons for Future Generations Your legacy isn’t just about your assets. Of course, as part of our Life-Centered Planning process, we will help you coordinate with attorneys and tax experts to create an estate plan that will provide for your heirs in accordance with your last wishes. But hopefully, after years of planning for a better Return on Life, you’ve come to appreciate what your money [...]
Where is Your Best Place to Retire?
The best place to retire in the United States is in dispute. There’s no formal debate, but a review of reliable publications showed surveys have named different states and cities as the “best” place to retire. For instance: • Iowa was #1 in a best places to retire survey cited by Yahoo! Money.1 • Fort Myers, Florida was #1 in the ranking from U.S. News & World Report.2 • Athens, Georgia was the first name on a list of 25 places that [...]
To Resolve or Not?
It's mid-January and perhaps by now resolutions formed with a desire for change have dissolved as fast as they were resolved. On the first day of every year, people make resolutions about how things are going to be different this time around. Unfortunately, few of those resolutions ever make it to January 7. For example, polls consistently tell us that two of the top resolutions involve losing weight and managing money. But every year, [...]
Holiday Greeting – Hang On to Your Optimism!
In 2019, a Pew Research Center survey reported many Americans were pessimistic about the future. Their worries included the national debt, the gap between the rich and the poor, and automation.1 Martin Luther King was sometimes discouraged, too. In a 1967 interview on NBC News, he acknowledged his disappointment with the state of our country and then said, “Now, I’m not one to lose hope. I keep on hoping. I still have faith in the future…”2 [...]
Improving Your Financial Well-Being in 2020
Amid 2020 Predictions and New Laws, Focus on What You Can Control to Improve Your Financial Well-Being The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act that was signed into law on December 20th might be adding more chatter to all the 2020 financial predictions bouncing around your news feeds. Throw in an upcoming presidential election and the talking heads might have your head spinning right now. However, you probably noticed that most of the [...]
LifeStyle Newsletter – Do You Know What Your Smartphone Can Do?
Since 2011, the number of Americans owning smartphones has increased from 35 percent to 81 percent, although there remains a significant digital divide, demographically. A Pew Research survey found the vast majority of younger Americans rely on smartphones, while just 53 percent of the 65-and-over crowd use the devices.1 Americans who have embraced the technology are finding it can greatly simplify and enhance their lives. No matter what you want to accomplish, the chances are you [...]
Retirement: You’ve Got This!
Not everyone is financially prepared for retirement. Earlier this year, the Employee Benefit Research Institute estimated almost 41 percent of American households will run short of money in retirement. That’s an improvement over 2014 when almost 43 percent of 35- to 64-year-olds were unprepared.1 Here is some good news: Many Americans are doing better financially in retirement than they expected.2 Each year, T. Rowe Price conducts a survey of Americans who participate in or are eligible to participate [...]
Holiday Greeting – Celebrate the New Year Your Way
If you’re not fond of New Year’s resolutions, then start or adopt new traditions that help get the year off to a positive start. Your new tradition should be something you can repeat each year with family and friends. Here are a few ideas: • Share love and appreciation. At dinner or brunch, share stories about your favorite events from the previous year. Each person can take a turn telling the others at the table [...]
Holiday Greeting – Wishing Joy and Laughter this Holiday Season
No matter what holiday you celebrate, we hope it’s filled with joy, laughter, and heartfelt happiness. That said, we know holiday cheer can be overwhelmed by the pursuit of perfection and opinions of relatives. Just in case your goodwill falters, we offer some wise, and not-so-wise, words to help restore your equilibrium and good humor. “A candle is a small thing. But one candle can light another. And, see how its own light increases, [...]
Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing
The gifts are bought (well almost!). The stockings are hung. The meal is planned except for that last little thing you need to pick up from the grocery store . . . The details of celebrating Christmas can become quite all-encompassing. But sometimes they can also steal our joy while we frantically run around hoping we didn't forget anything. Sometimes we can become so absorbed in our to-do lists that we forget the purpose [...]
