By Colleen Weber, CFP^®, CPA

Retirement is a time to relax, enjoy the fruits of your labor, and savor the freedom that comes with no longer punching the clock. However, it’s also a period that requires careful financial planning to enjoy a comfortable and worry-free future. 

One crucial aspect of retirement planning is finding strategies to save on taxes. By implementing smart tax-saving techniques, you can maximize your income, preserve your savings, and enhance your overall financial well-being during your golden years. Let’s delve into the importance of saving taxes in retirement and how it can positively impact your financial stability.

By Colleen Weber, CFP^®, CPA

Your moment of retirement has almost arrived! With only 12 months left until your official retirement date, you are nearing the finish line after years of hard work. What an accomplishment! It’s an exciting time of life, and yet, it’s important to remain focused to ensure your retirement plan goes as smoothly as possible. To support you through this transition, I’ve created a checklist of the key steps you need to make during this last year before financial freedom becomes real. Read on to utilize this checklist to keep you on track.

By Colleen Weber, CFP^®, CPA

It’s impossible to retire comfortably without years of strategic planning. And a key piece of that planning includes figuring out how much money you’ll need to live as you age. No matter your lifestyle or circumstance, you want to be confident you’ll have enough money to last through retirement. Unfortunately, there’s no magic number to save or invest as it’s different for everyone.

Let these questions be your guide as you figure out how much money you need for the retirement you’re dreaming of and working toward. 

By Colleen Weber, CFP^®, CPA

It’s impossible to go through life without making mistakes—they’re just a part of being human. In fact, we often learn from mistakes of the past to make better decisions in the future. However, when it comes to retirement, there are no do-overs. In this major financial transition, you go from earning an income and growing your wealth to depending on it and trying not to outlive it. Even if you’ve been planning and saving on your own for decades, retirement is not a time to go on autopilot. To make sure things go as planned, you must make a few key decisions and take a few key actions. Let’s discuss 5 common mistakes retirees make and what you can do to avoid them. 

By Colleen Weber, CFP®, CPA

Retirement will be the best time of your life! You’re ready to leave the 9-5 world behind and kick back and enjoy time with family and friends. You’ve worked hard for your money and have built substantial retirement assets. Do you know how taxes will affect your nest egg? Taxes in retirement isn’t something that everyone thinks about, but they should, especially if they have multiple tax-deferred plans. You need a tax strategist by your side helping you make choices that might affect the rest of your retirement. 

By Colleen Weber, CFP^®, CPA

Those long-awaited-for golden years are finally right around the corner, and your dreams of golf courses and sandy white beaches are almost a reality! But wait…without the security of a steady paycheck and a structured schedule, you’re embarking on a journey into the unknown of finite resources and endless free time. Will all your years of hard work pay off?

We’ve found that most retirees face the same 5 financial planning challenges during the first 10 years of retirement. If you want to experience a fulfilling retirement free of worry and regret, listen up. 

The Most Expensive Cities in the World

Every year, The Economist magazine surveys the Worldwide Cost of Living, looking at 160 expense items across 133 countries.  There are a lot of interesting tidbits to be found in the report, but perhaps the most interesting is a list of the most expensive cities in the world.  In 2018, Singapore won this dubious honor.  After that, it was a tie between Zurich, Switzerland and Paris, France, followed by 4) Hong Kong, 5) Oslo, Norway, 6) Geneva, Switzerland and Seoul, South Korea, 8) Copenhagen, Denmark, 9) Tel Aviv, Israel, and 10) Sydney, Australia.

No American city?  The fact that the dollar fell against other currencies over the past year lowered the cost of living in places like New York (ranked #13) and Los Angeles (#14) when measured in global terms.

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Social Security, Where Budget Cuts Lead to Terrible Service

These days, trying to apply for Social Security benefits, or getting straight answers about what your best claiming strategy might be, is frustrating at best.  Recently, Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, illustrated the problem in vivid detail before the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee.  When he began his testimony, he first dialed the agency’s toll-free telephone number.  Twenty-five minutes later, he announced to the legislators that his phone was still on hold.  A recorded message said that his wait would be about an hour.

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