Retirement Watch Weekly
Build Your Own Low-Cost Stock Fund
Small investors face several hurdles when they want to purchase individual stocks instead of mutual funds. Now, there are ways to overcome many of these hurdles. New research shows you need 40-50 stocks in different sectors for a diversified portfolio. (Older research said eight to 16 stocks.) Buying that many stocks for a modest portfolio […]
Simple, Low-Cost Estate Planning Strategies To Help Grandchildren
You don’t need to be the country’s remaining high technology multi-millionaire to help your grandchildren. You don’t even need to be rich. There are many simple, low-cost ways to help, and they are tax-free. With many of these strategies, you get to see the benefits now instead of imaging how the wealth will be used […]
How to avoid the Variable Life Insurance traps?
Variable life insurance can be a powerful financial tool, and this is a good time to consider using it. But it also is fraught with traps, and those traps recently were sprung on many policyholders. Here’s how to avoid those traps and know when to use variable life. In the best of circumstances, the benefits […]
How to Plan Tax Savings Now for The New Year
Most people focus on income and estate tax planning at year-end. In recent visit I’ve given you advice on how to get the most from year-end planning. But I believe you can save more money and build more wealth by planning and making moves at the beginning of the year. This is the best time […]
Annuities As Classic Investment Vehicles
There’s at least one good effect of the 18-month bear market we’ve endured. Investors are taking a new look at some classic investment vehicles. For example, sales of fixed annuities are rising while sales of variable annuities are declining. I’ve long argued that most variable annuities are sold to the wrong people, and I’ve pointed […]
How Much Money Does One Need to Retire?
The cost of retirement is rising. That means fewer people appreciate how much wealth they need to retire or to continue their current retirement lifestyle. I’ve known this for several years, based on my careful study of retirees. But it was confirmed by a study funded by Aon Consulting and conducted by Georgia State University. […]
The New Era Of Dynasty Trusts For Estate Planning
Dynasty trusts are making a big comeback under the 2001 tax law. Before the estate tax was enacted many years ago, dynasty trusts were the standard way to ensure family wealth was preserved and grew through several generations. Now, with the estate tax being phased out more families can emphasize the non-tax goals of estate […]
An Alternative Estate Planning Strategy for Deducting College Expenses to Save Tax
The Holy Grail for many taxpayers is to deduct college expenses paid for a grandchild or a child. With a little planning, you can do just that using a strategy known as the college unitrust. It can make a lot of sense if you have a charitable intent to go along with the desire to […]
