Managing Money in Retirement

A woman once told me exactly how much money she thought she needed before she could retire. She had done her homework. She knew what she spent each month, had looked at her Social Security benefits, reviewed her retirement accounts and thought carefully about the kind of life she wanted after work…

Imagine logging in to your pension portal and seeing two options. One option is a lump sum, where you might have done a double take because of the large amount. The other option includes a smaller monthly payment that could continue for life. Which option is worth more? But that might not be the best question…

I know, the concept of aligning your financial goals with your values sounds like one of those “blah blah blah” topics we have all heard about, shook our heads in agreement, and then went on our merry way. I always provide tools to help implement whatever my message is but again, we often read and go on our merry way, no action…

There’s a version of being good with money that gets a lot of praise. You don’t buy things you don’t need. You shop around. You keep things long after you could reasonably replace them. You save for emergencies. You think carefully before spending, and you’ve spent decades proving that you can delay gratification…

Rising grocery prices, increasing insurance premiums and the occasional unexpected expense can quickly eat into even the most carefully planned budget. Whether you’re saving for a dream vacation or simply trying to make ends meet, there are practical ways to improve your financial picture without having to sacrifice your lifestyle…

A woman once told me she needed a new sofa. Not wanted. Needed. The one in her living room was old, uncomfortable, and had been repaired more than once. She had found a replacement she loved, and buying it wouldn’t have put the slightest strain on her finances. But she couldn’t bring herself to order it…

So, I’m grabbing coffee with my friend Margaret last month. She’s this incredibly smart nurse who retired after 35 years of taking care of people. And she tells me something that made my jaw drop. She’d spent months calculating her retirement budget down to the penny. Social Security, pension, the whole nine yards…

When I was growing up, retirement looked quite different. My parents’ generation expected to stop working in their mid-60s, collect a pension/Social Security and enjoy the years they had earned. Today, almost one fifth of Americans over the age of 65 are still working, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the majority of which work because they have no choice…

A common question when people are nearing retirement or in retirement is, “How much of my money should be in ____?” They may be referring to stocks, bonds, or cash. An alternative approach to developing a retirement investment strategy starts with your time horizon: When will you need to use the money?

There’s a particular kind of anxiety that can settle in later in life: quiet, persistent, and difficult to explain. It often sounds like this: I should be further along by now. Maybe you feel it when a friend talks about her investments over lunch. Or when someone mentions paying off their mortgage. Or when you hear about someone retiring early, downsizing comfortably…