Category Archives: Retirement

Letter of Final Wishes (LFW)

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Dear Mr. Market:

This entire personal finance blog is about “letters” being written to you (Mr. Market), the fictitious character that exhibits all sorts of emotions due to the gyrations of the stock market. What letter, however, is the most important one YOU could ever write?

A Letter to My Family

It’s called a “Letter of Final Wishes” (LFW), or as we’ve described it to our clients at My Portfolio Guide, LLC, a “Letter to My Family: Things you should know“. On page 6 of the Spring edition newsletter of “the Guide” (click here if you have not seen it yet), we touch on this very important gesture that you can do for your family. Aside from the legalities of estate planning, this exercise is perhaps the single most loving and considerate document you can create for your family that they will forever be grateful for.

Our template (which we share below) is not a legal document and should never replace your will or living trust along with all the other ancillary documents such as a health care proxy or power of attorney.

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I got in at the top of the market…Now What?!?

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Dear Mr. Market:

It’s over.

The “fat lady is singing”, the alarm bells are ringing, and you are literally the last dunce in the room who decided to get into the market at the all-time high. Now Mr. Market shows you what real pain looks like and sells off like nobody has ever imagined.

Let us preface this article by stating it’s worth bookmarking and revisiting for those times when you may be rethinking your investment time horizon or just how much risk you truly are able to take on.

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Should I convert my IRA to a Roth IRA?

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Dear Mr. Market:download-2

With regard to investing, sometimes no action is the proper action…but not always!

Now might be a very good time for a very specific act: converting assets from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Here are a few reasons why: Continue reading →

Don’t belittle your IRA Beneficiaries

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Dear Mr. Market:

download“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” – Ben Franklin

“When it comes to divide an estate, the politest men quarrel.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

As Mr. Franklin notes, none of us will live forever. And if you have ever been part of a contentious division of estate assets, you surely know Mr. Emerson’s quote to be true. You can’t avoid death, but with some careful planning on your retirement accounts, your heirs can avoid (needlessly large) taxes and the quarreling. The key is setting up beneficiaries, and setting them up correctly. Continue reading →

Learn the ABCDs of Medicare!

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Dear Mr. Market:Understanding Medicare: The ABCDs

One thing any of our readers will know if that we don’t pretend that we (or anyone) owns a crystal ball. The only thing we can promise you about tomorrow is that the day ends in the letter “y”.

One other thing that we know will happen…God willing…is that you will eventually retire or be 65 and eligible for Medicare. In advance of National Medicare Education Week we are doing two things:

(1) We’re sharing this article written by Steven Stasioski and,

(2) We’re happy to announce a free educational event where we’ll be addressing the ins and outs of Medicare. On October 17, 2019 at 6:30pm you can join Matt Pixa from My Portfolio Guide and Steven Stasioski from SCS Tax & Insurance Services at the Seal Beach Yacht Club. Bring your appetite and questions for a great evening of education and camaraderie. RSVP via email at matt@myportfolioguide.com or call (562)799-5595.

Now…on to the article! Continue reading →

Social Security Scam Alert

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Dear Mr. Market:Scam Alert

We normally pen all of our articles (letters) to you but in this case the work was already done. This one has nothing to do with the stock market or economy but everything to do with your hard earned money being threatened by another scam.

Scams are nothing new but they sure seem to be getting more prevalent and slicker by the day. As you’ll note from the chart below the number of scams are predominantly centered around Social Security and that trend is on the rise.Top Government Imposters

Click here to read an article written by Michelle Singletary in the Washington Post. In the timely article she includes a helpful list and some links that serve as critical reminders of what to be aware of out there.

Have a great weekend and stay alert!

 

Making Financial Decisions After the Loss of a Spouse

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Man's Hand Resting On HeadstoneDear Mr. Market:

Our letters to you typically center around the stock market, the economy, and related investment topics. At the end of the day, however, what is wealth (the accumulation, growth, and preservation of it) all really for? That answer is different for everyone but from our experience in meeting with thousands of investors ….it means nothing without family. Losing a loved one is always painful but when it’s your spouse there are also several financial issues that arise and knowing how to navigate is critical.

The following article is written by a guest contributor, Lucille Rosetti (see credits at the end):  Continue reading →

Happy (Financial) Independence Day!

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Dear Mr. Market:th-21

Apologies in advance for our clickbait headline. We usually aim to talk financial shop in our letters to you…but today is not about the stock market. Today, July 4th, is about independence, freedom, and the greatest nation on earth….the United States of America.

Lately the news headlines have been on an absolute overload of division and finger pointing. Truth be told..we’re absolutely tired and fed up with it. Watching and reading almost all sources of media simply takes its toll on you whether you realize it or not. As it relates to finance it has forced the untrained and emotional investor to make poor decisions. To every person who said I’m 100% out or in the stock market because of [insert political name/party]…you’re part of the problem. Holding this mindset is not using your brain as one may initially think but rather allowing another side of emotion and bias to drive your decision making process.  Continue reading →

What is “long-term investing” anyway?

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Dear Mr. Market:th-19

Why is the number 15 important for us to share with you today? In our opinion it’s because everyone seems to have a different idea of what “long-term” investing means. The notion that investors should think long-term is fine, and fairly generic advice, but that time frame has never been concretely defined; until now!
My Portfolio Guide defines long-term as being able to invest for at least a 15 year time horizon.
Using our definition even at retirement you could definitely be considered a “long-term investor”. Granted, you may be closer to needing to live on a fixed income or simply not have the stomach for the ups and downs of the stock market, but by our definition you are a long-term investor.
The average person is living longer so if you hung up the work boots at age 65, for example, going out 15 years puts you at age 80. Assuming you need investment funds to last at least to that age it would be wise to have a decent portion allocated towards growth investments. Putting your investments into bonds, CDs, or cash is a losing proposition once you factor in taxes and the silent and ever-growing killer of inflation.
 
168036_600Look…we get it…the stock market can make you lose your lunch. The roller coaster analogies are plentiful and with a 24/7 news cycle it seems like the slightest hiccup can create a bloodbath on Wall Street.  All that being said, the odds of the stock market being positive over time are overwhelmingly in your favor and it’s still the place to be if you want to grow your wealth. Over one-year periods, between 1926 and 1997, Ibbotson found that stock returns were positive in 52 out of 72 years, or roughly three-quarters of the time. Even so there is obvious risk and volatility with the best year having stocks return +54% and in the worst -43%.
 
But now let’s turn to longer periods. Ibbotson looked at five-year rolling cycles over the same era (1926-30, 1927-31, etc.). Out of 68 separate, overlapping periods, stock returns were positive 61 times which works out to be almost 90% of the time! Over 15-year rolling periods (there were 58 of them) stock returns were positive every time.
Since 1926, the stock market – as measured by the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested, has never had a 15-year rolling calendar period with a loss. If that fact doesn’t register…please read it again. Never once in history has the stock market lost money over a 15 year period. The longer your time horizon the more likely it is that you’ll make money in a diversified stock portfolio. 
One of the reasons financial advisors use other instruments in a portfolio outside of stocks is to diversify; that is also a nice way of saying it’s because they know you will likely be an emotional train wreck when volatility enters the arena. If there was a two horse race and we had to bank our entire livelihood on either the Bond horse or the Stock horse…it is without question which we would choose.
Furthermore, imagine if you could only open your investment account statements once every 15 years? Not only would you most likely be a less stressed and more successful investor, but the odds are substantial that you would have positive returns no matter what happened in the world.

REITs: How to Potentially Increase Portfolio Returns without more Risk

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Dear Mr. Market

th-1Raise your hand if you would like the opportunity to increase the returns in your
portfolio without taking on more risk? There is indeed a way to help accomplish this and it’s not just by balancing between the two major asset classes of stocks and bonds; take a look at the third largest asset class there is: REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)

Most investors have little to zero exposure to REITs and they may be surprised to learn how important they can be to a healthy portfolio. This article will give you a better understanding of why adding REITs into your portfolio could improve your diversification, dividends, and ultimately your portfolio performance.

What are REITs and why use them? Continue reading →