The Complete Retirement Planner Blog

One of the most essential components of any financial plan is the inflation rate. We hear about it so often in the news that it is often taken for granted, or glossed over a bit when planning, but it's impact on a long-term plan can not be overstated. While the actual rate fluctuates gradually from month to month, year over year changes can be more significant, and both will affect monthly and yearly expenses. While you can't accurately predict an annual outcome (much like not being able to predict stock market returns), the best way to incorporate inflation into a...

Prioritizing the order of funds used in retirement is an important consideration as it can have a significant impact on how long savings may last, and offer ways to minimize the "loss" to taxes. One way to do this is to model different scenarios in your financial plan. Many financial articles suggest using savings in the following order during retirement:1) Taxable accounts 2) Tax-deferred accounts (Traditional 401k/IRA)3) Tax-free accounts (Roth 401k/Roth IRA) But the truth is, using one fund type at a time is as over-simplified and misleading as using generic benchmarks or retirement calculators to determine how much to save...

If you have ever looked for retirement planning advice online, you have likely found an endless supply of articles that just  regurgitate many of the same old generic adages. While sound planning principles may not change much (if at all) over time, 3 of the most consistently repeated "rules of thumb" really shouldn't be presented as "sound" advice at all. First of all, everyone's circumstances, needs, and desires are unique, so trying to offer a blanket approach to financial planning is doomed to start with. Have these "advice" articles considered if you are single or married, intend to spend all...

Have you ever been dissatisfied with your 401k investment choices? Or thought that maybe you could do better investing on your own but don't want to miss out on the tax savings from a 401k? Maybe you can have the best of both worlds. A 401k is an important, and advantageous, retirement tool, but it doesn't have to be your only option for retirement savings. The following is not meant to discourage you from using a 401k for retirement savings in any way, only to suggest that it may not be the only strategy worth considering. Every article written about...

The term “retirement planning” can be a little misleading at face value - it’s really not as much about planning for what happens during retirement, as it is about planning for what happens before retirement. In theory, if you started saving when you started working (even small amounts, increasing as you are able), you could likely stop saving for retirement at age 45, let those savings grow for another 20 years, and still have a sufficient retirement fund. That type of financial understanding and focus is rare in your 20's (even 30's?), but there also seems to be a long-standing...