By Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner ™ Would you like to design your ideal retirement? Where do you begin? First of all, what does retirement mean to you? If you’re in a relationship, does retirement mean the same to you as it does to your partner? Do you know if your “ideal retirement” is affordable […]
Category: Retirement Planning
Getting Real About Retirement – Will You Have Enough Money to Remain Comfortable?
By Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner™ Let’s get real about retirement. Will you have enough to remain comfortable in retirement for 30 years or more? Studies show this is a recurring fear many Americans feel. As a Fee-Only financial advisor, my number one priority is to confront this fear and help my clients retain enough […]
Five “No Brainer” Moves to Strengthen Your Finances
by Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner (TM) Here are 5 “no-brainer” moves you can make before year-end to strengthen your finances: Taxes: NJ AND NY RESIDENTS ALERT: If Congress pushes through tax reform that eliminates state and local tax exemptions, many NJ and NY residents (along with MA and CA residents) will be hit […]
Are You a Near-Sighted or a Far-Sighted Investor?
by Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner(TM). Are you a Near-Sighted or a Far-Sighted investor? If you’re a near-sighted investor, you probably check your investment balances frequently (even several times a day) and you feel good when your investments are up. Your focus is short-term, even though you may live another 30-50 years. Conversely, you worry or feel regret when […]
“Keep It Simple, Stupid” (KISS) Your Way to Financial Health
by Eve Kaplan, CFP(R) Professional Are you familiar with the KISS (“Keep it Simple, Stupid”) concept? KISS helps you refine your elevator speech, write concisely…and the KISS concept can boost your financial health. How? By helping you focus on essential ways to strengthen your financial well-being. After working with hundreds of financial planning and investment […]
Showdown in Retirement Planning: “The Wild West” vs. a Uniform Standard of Fiduciary Care
by Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner (TM) Practitioner You might be stuck in “The Wild West” without realizing it. I’m referring to your retirement plan – be it an IRA, 401k, 403b or defined benefit plan. That’s because you likely are missing a Fiduciary Standard of Care. That’s a fancy way of saying your interests, […]
Which is Best: Lump Sum or Pension Annuity?
by Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner(TM) Is a lump sum offer from an employer a better choice than a pension annuity for life? The former provides an immediate up-front amount (say $300,000), but the pension annuity gives you a stream of payments for life (example: $1,350 per month). A number of employers dangle a lump […]
How to Navigate the Pending Retirement Crisis
By Eve Kaplan, CFP® Are you tired of hearing about the pending retirement crisis –because you’ve heard about it so much, it’s boring and you think it doesn’t apply to you? You might be in your 70s or 80s before you realize all that “yadda yadda” about “planning” and “saving” actually did apply to you […]
What To Do About Aging Parents: A 15 Pt Check-List
By Eve Kaplan, CFP® Professional A hundred years ago people in the US were extremely old if they lived past 65. What a difference living in 2016 makes! Reaching age 65 now represents just the 2/3 mark for many people expected to live to 95 and beyond. Health, exercise and medical advances all make […]
Managing Your Financial Life Well: Things to Do and Things to Avoid
by Eve Kaplan, CFP(R) Professional It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the things you need to do to manage your life well – be it exercise, meditation, diet or making smart financial decisions. When confusion reigns, you may end up focusing on the trees instead of the “big-picture” forest. How can you manage your financial […]