Steve’s Blog

5 Things You Can Do With Money I’ve said it often on the radio and at live events: there are 5 things you can do with money—spend, save, speculate, invest, and insure. In retirement, your financial plan—if properly built--will likely include all five activities. How...

Prior to retirement, investment mistakes and market losses are measured in percents rather than dollars. After retirement, that formula reverses. Retired investors stop thinking in terms of “percents” and start thinking in terms of dollars. On a...

After the 2008 crisis, investor confidence hit an all-time low. Low confidence led to more sell-offs and things looked grim until the summer of 2009. Finally, investors got their mojo back. That's the reality of the market: until confidence returns, the market will...

All investors have one common goal in mind: to get the most return for the least amount of risk. Every experienced investor knows that an investment won’t be “up” all the time (although that is our secret wish.) As I have said many times on the radio, I have confirmed...

Social security, as much as we might gripe about it, is still the financial foundation in retirement for well over 98% of all Americans, and probably YOU. For most people, retirement income planning begins with social security benefits as the main pillar….Which is why...

Risk is in the air these days and it has most people re-thinking their investment mix. Not surprisingly, those who are closer to their retirement age--or already retired--are the most focused on risk. Those in their fifties, sixties, and seventies want to make sure...

Fixed income diversifies your portfolio. For decades, the synonym for fixed income in retirement was BONDS. Bonds have always been considered safe and secure. The more you had in bonds the more risk you could take with the balance of your investments. If your stocks...

Nearly half of men and 42% of women take Social Security at 62, the earliest possible age you can claim, according to the Center for Retirement Research. Just one-third of men and 27% of women wait until full retirement age, which, for many people right now is age...

It’s not a stereotype to say that women tend to think about security more than men do. Men do think about security, but studies show that women are born with a stronger survival instinct, and are more aware than men of vulnerabilities in their surroundings. When it...

Today’s uncertain world of low interest rates and crazy markets are making it harder to get a clear vision of where you will be financially in 5, 10, and 15 years, let alone 30 years from now. That sense of uncertainty has caused more and more retiring professionals...