Retirement Watch Weekly
How to Leave a Legacy that Lasts Generations
Many people hope to leave some wealth to help their children and perhaps their grandchildren. Others want to see the wealth benefit even more generations. Instead of leaving it all to one or two generations, they want to spread income and emergency funds beyond the family members who know them. This goal can be accomplished […]
Retirement Housing Myths Shattered
Some of the biggest retirement planning mistakes occur because pre-retirees believe common myths and rules of thumb that often are featured in the media. Most of these retirement platitudes do not stand up to basic research or investigation. Retiree housing has been a subject of some of the premier and enduring retirement myths. The media […]
Retirement Planning: How Are You Doing?
Financial and retirement planning start with answering the question in the headline. After determining how you are doing, the next step is to define the actions that are needed to either help you do better or at least maintain your current status. Answering the first question is not as easy as many people suppose. Traditionally, […]
The Multi-State Estate Plan
Readers with homes or other property in more than one state should take special care in their estate plans. There are lawyers who advise drafting separate wills and other Estate Planning documents for each state involved. You shouldn’t need to do that much work. The estate plan, however, does need to recognize that multiple states […]
How Annual Family Meetings Help You Leave a Legacy
In the financial and estate planning industry a current rage is The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall, a book that recently was made into a movie. The novel is about a very wealthy man who realized that his wealth could not buy him what really matters. Throughout his life, he attempted to make his loved […]
6 Ways to Cut Prescription Drug Costs
The Part D Medicare Prescription Drug program is doing well after its first year. Surveys show that it is very popular with its beneficiaries. Premiums and other costs to beneficiaries are lower than forecast. Yet there still is room for mature Americans to reduce their prescription drug costs. Retirees who aren’t yet old enough for […]
Is It a Good Time to Buy a Second Home
In our Feb. 2002 visit I advised, “If a second home interests you, now is a good time to take a serious looking at buying one.” Those who took my advice have done well. Vacation and second home prices were stagnant then because of the economic downturn but doubled in many areas between 2000 and […]
