The stock market got a little crazy last week. Is a storm coming? Let's take a look at what's driving markets right now. (Scroll to the end if you just want my takeaways.) A few things are driving the market volatility: Fears of a financial crisis in China. China's overheated real estate bubble is starting […]

A lot can change in 10 years.  Retirement is no exception.  In fact, folks retiring today are facing a different-looking retirement than those who retired a mere decade ago.1 What’s changed? Many things. For one, today’s retirees are living longer.2 These days, the average life expectancy is ~79 years, and many folks live longer than […]

Should you expect life to be better in retirement? Not according to roughly 1 in 5 folks.1 They think their golden years are worse than they expected.1 And they’re feeling anxious, lonely, depressed, and isolated in retired life.2 But it doesn’t have to be that way. Not for folks who want to break the mold and […]

What’s the best age to retire at? How do you know when it’s the right time to retire? We often spend a lot of time pondering those questions. And we tend to confine our thinking to the financial side of things.1 How much do we need to retire and how far will our money go […]

What do you need to know about how markets performed last quarter (and what could happen this quarter)? We broke down what you need to know about markets and the economy into a five-minute read. Click here to check it out. Keeping up with markets and the economy is a big part of my job, […]

What part of retirement is most exciting to you? Most people share similar dreams for retirement, and there’s a fascinating split between the genders.1 According to one study, women tend to look forward to spending time with their families and volunteering.  Have you thought about the costs you’ll need to cover in retirement? The good […]

A million dollars isn't what it used to be. Howard Hughes How true is that when it comes to your retirement nest egg? A cool $1 million is a still big chunk of change. But is it enough to cover today’s retirement expenses? Just how many years could your dream retirement last on $1 million? A big […]

There’s a lot we could be talking about this week. The pandemic. Vaccination rates. Earnings. Impeachment. Markets. Stimulus bills. Instead, how about we talk about something nice? What makes you happy?  What does “happiness” even mean? Is it a temporary state? Is it a long-term thing? I’ve heard happiness called being mindful of small moments […]

“Our business in life is not to get ahead of others but to get ahead of ourselves.” — E. Joseph Cossman Setting goals is one of the ways we go about that business. But it isn’t the only way we can make progress. When the future feels uncertain, and goals feel restrictive or overwhelming, themes can […]

Have you envisioned the specific outcomes you want? That can be hard to do in the face of uncertainty. And it’s not the best way to set goals and achieve real progress, no matter how uncertain or unpredictable things may be. Why? Because goals focused on a specific milestone or outcome only give you two […]