Financial Planning

Taking Social Security Early

The most common question I get about Social Security is, “Will it really be there when I retire?”. My answer is a resounding yes. Social Security is the most popular US government program. Almost 90% of Americans over age 65 receive Social Security benefits. Social Security benefits replace about 40% of pre-retirement income on average….

Curveball Clarity

We plan, God laughs – old Yiddish proverb I tell every new client that the moment the ink dries on their financial plan, something will change. It is amazing how fast changes happen for some; a new job opportunity arises, an offer is made to sell the business, a parent needs care, or a personal…

How the SECURE Act Could Impact your Retirement Plan

Back in May, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would bring sweeping changes to the retirement savings landscape. However, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Act stalled in the Senate and appeared unlikely to pass in 2019. That is until this week, when the SECURE Act made it in to the government…

Tending to the Garden of Your Financial Plan

Until I bought my house, I never in my adult life had a yard. A yard was never a goal of mine either.  City parks, beaches, and vacations have always been enough nature to satisfy me. I’ve killed a houseplant or two in my day. In the last five years, I have learned a lot…

Universal Life

I received many responses to my diatribe on permanent life insurance. Several pointed out legitimate uses for these products, which I included in the post, albeit near the end. And then a polite reader emailed me an illustration for an indexed universal life insurance policy. Wait until you find out how it works. The proposal…

It’s Too Complicated

Our CFO, Bill Sweet, likes to get down and dirty with the tax code. Last week, he uncovered a new type of tax deferred savings account in the 2017 tax reform bill called the Universal Savings Account (USA). These new accounts allow for annual contributions of $2,500, grow tax deferred, but unlike IRAs and ROTH…

Paying for Healthcare

It’s no secret that healthcare costs are rising faster than wages. Employers have shifted more of the burden of health care premiums to employees. Deductibles are higher, and coinsurance rates are lower. We are paying more for less coverage. This trend is not likely to reverse anytime soon. There is a tax-advantaged method of savings…

Life Insurance is Not for Saving

Stop buying life insurance as a savings strategy. Stop buying it as a tax-deferral vehicle for retirement savings. Stop spending thousands of dollars a month on life insurance premiums, at least until you read the rest of this post. Life insurance is not a retirement savings strategy. Why do we buy life insurance? A person…

The First Month

Today, The Belle Curve is officially one month old. Nine posts and 18,000 views later, I attest that blogging has surpassed my wildest aspirations. Readers have offered praise, critiques, and pointed out my grammatical mistakes. Thank you, by the way. I am sure I will continue to make mistakes and hopefully learn from them along…

Purposeful Spending

I just finished Brian Portnoy’s book, The Geometry of Wealth. In it he describes wealth as funded contentment rather than the constant pursuit of more. This has me thinking about spending habits. Does your spending make you happy? When we achieve financial success, it’s easy to find new things on which to spend our money….