Want to improve your chances of a comfortable retirement? Find a job you’ll never want to quit.
NO. 4: GOOD SAVINGS habits are the greatest of the financial virtues. If we aren’t good savers, it’s all but impossible to grow wealthy. What if we are? We’ll likely prosper, even if we’re mediocre investors.
NO. 15: WE FAVOR the familiar. We suffer from home bias, meaning we’re drawn to our employer’s shares, local corporations and stocks of companies whose products we use. We also favor U.S. stocks and shy away from foreign shares. These familiar investments create a portfolio we’re comfortable with—but maybe not one that’s well diversified.
INTRINSIC VALUE. It’s easy to get caught up in the stock market’s wild price swings. Feeling unnerved? Never forget that behind those price swings are companies of great value. While we can’t put a precise figure on their intrinsic value, we can get a sense by examining the profits they earn, the dividends they pay and the value of the assets they own.
CHECK YOUR Social Security statement to get an estimate of benefits and make sure your earnings record is correct. The easiest way to do this: Set up a “my Social Security” account, preferably adding two-factor authentication. This will also preempt scammers, who might otherwise try to set up an account in your name—and claim your benefits.
NO. 4: GOOD SAVINGS habits are the greatest of the financial virtues. If we aren’t good savers, it’s all but impossible to grow wealthy. What if we are? We’ll likely prosper, even if we’re mediocre investors.
I WAS RANDOMLY scrolling on social media and saw this post:
“Can you just open an LLC and write things off?”
That’s a real question someone asked, and I’ve seen this question asked many times.
There are a lot of misconceptions around LLCs, their purpose, and how LLC changes your tax structure. With TikTok, there are “tax experts” sharing terrible advice, so let me clarify how it could be useful.
First, what is an LLC?
Almost half of working-age adults are not paying into a private or workplace pension, the government revealed this week. This headline caught my attention while browsing the BBC News website the other day, and it really made me think!
This is an awful lot of people imperiling their future lives, and with the UK’s pension auto-enrollment system, now in its tenth year of operation, seeming to be pretty successful, it would suggest people are actively going out of their way to opt out of the system.
RETIREMENT IS LIFE’S most expensive purchase. During our working years, we deprive our present selves of immediate pleasure by refusing to spend money for nicer cars, a bigger house or a vacation to boast about. Instead, we squirrel away those saved dollars with an eye toward keeping the future us fed, clothed and living indoors.
At age 64, after decades of choosing to save and invest a large chunk of each paycheck, rather than spend it,
When I was working, I saved the maximum to my 401(k) account. So, I always kept up with the plan’s savings limits. If you haven’t heard, there are higher savings limits for 401(k) plans in 2025, plus a new “super catch-up” category. And it’s still early enough in the year for salaried workers to take advantage of them.
Thanks to an inflation adjustment, the maximum regular contribution to a 401(k) plan has increased by $500 to $23,500 in 2025.
AT FIRST GLANCE, Social Security appears straightforward. During our working years, we pay into it, and in retirement, it sends us a monthly check, guaranteed for life. Unfortunately, it isn’t always so simple. Below are five aspects of the system that are frequently misunderstood.
Benefits estimates. Look at a Social Security statement, and an easy-to-read chart provides estimates of the benefits available at various ages. The heading above the chart reads, “Personalized Monthly Retirement Benefit Estimates Depending on the Age You Start.” That seems clear.
I recently heard a fascinating discussion about millionaires. A financial advisor was speaking to an audience and made the comment that billionaires have jets and millionaires have two used Toyota Camrys in the garage. His point was that millionaires become millionaires by living below their means and that most millionaires whom he has met live modestly.
He went on to say that there are an estimated 24 million people in the United States who are millionaires.
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For most retirees, the greatest fear is not death—it is running out of money before they die.
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Before Someone Else Decides
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R Quinn | Jul 27, 2026
When your 401(k) excludes target date funds
JM | Aug 1, 2026
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William Perry | Aug 4, 2026
Yet-Another Social Security Spreadsheet Analysis on what Age to Start taking Benefits
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Beware the CFP Designation?
DavidHLancaster | Aug 3, 2026
One Piece Of Paper
Andrew Clements | Aug 5, 2026