Purposeful Planning with Aspen Wealth Management

As I mentioned yesterday, in many cases, financial stressors are exacerbated by not having important conversations. After examining the answers of 1,800 Americans in relationships, NerdWallet.com determined lack of communication, in tandem with a failure to save and too-conservative investment choices, has contributed to many couples’ lack of retirement readiness.  If you missed any of our pa...

Welcome to Purposeful Planning with Aspen Wealth Management. This is Candace. This week, we’re covering a series on the importance of Talking About Retirement, and today our conversation kicks off by discussing how money-related stress factors into the conversation (or lack thereof). If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose...

Welcome back to part 5 in our series, To Retire with Confidence, Have a Plan. Today we’ll wrap up the discussion to help you prepare for your next steps. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-free: Subscribe free to this show as a daily Alexa Flash Briefing! Enable the skill her...

Yesterday we covered managing risk in retirement planning. Today we will talk about the importance of trimming risk during euphoria and overvaluation. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-free: Subscribe free to this show as a daily Alexa Flash Briefing! Enable the skill here t...

Managing risk through asset allocation and rebalancing is key to effective retirement planning. Simply stated, you don’t want to put all of your eggs in one basket. Your nest egg should include an array of investments—different types of investment assets, different industries, different geographies, and an overall mix of funds—in your portfolio. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear...

Welcome back to Purposeful Planning with Aspen Wealth Management. To continue our series on why you need to have a plan if you want to be able to retire with confidence, we will discuss setting goals. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-free: Subscribe free to this show as a d...

Welcome to Purposeful Planning with Aspen Wealth Management. This is Olivia. This week, we’re covering an important topic—creating a plan to retire with confidence—so let’s get started. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-free: Subscribe free to this show as a daily Alexa Flas...

Welcome back to part 5 of our series on how Many People Don't Plan for the Reality of Retirement. Today we’ll cover how focusing on your nest egg to the exclusion of all else can be a problem. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-free: Subscribe free to this show as a daily Ale...

In continuing with our series on how Many People Don't Plan for the Reality of Retirement, yesterday we covered the problem with making large loans to family members Today we will discuss the issue of underestimating expenses in retirement. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-...

This is an issue that comes up frequently. If you are retired or on track for a comfortable retirement, it can seem like you are in a great financial position. Simply looking at your assets and account balances compared to what you owned when you were younger can give you a sense of security and accomplishment. You’re probably going to be okay and that’s certainly something to be proud of.  I...

Many of us aren’t addressing the realities of retirement planning. This is why it’s helpful to know some of the worst mistakes being made today when it comes to not planning for the reality of retirement. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-free: Subscribe free to this show as...

Many of us aren’t addressing the realities of retirement planning. This is why it’s helpful to know some of the worst mistakes being made today when it comes to not planning for the reality of retirement. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-free: Subscribe free to this show as...

Whether you leave an employer for your next new opportunity or lose your job for reasons outside of your control, don’t forget about the money you have saved in your retirement plan.  If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-free: Subscribe free to this show as a daily Alexa F...

Yesterday we covered one potential option of what to do when your money is in a SIMPLE or SEP IRA plan at the time you change employment. Today we will go over other possibilities for what to do if your money is in a SIMPLE or SEP IRA plan and you change employment. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player. &nbsp...

Often small businesses offer different types of retirement plans, such as Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) and Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA plans. The options are similar to those of 401(k) plans, but there are significant differences. For instance, plan participants can take withdrawals from SIMPLE and SEP IRAs at any time. Withdrawals may be taxed as ordinary income a...

Your second option is to withdraw your savings . Plan participants can withdraw their retirement savings when they leave an employer or change jobs. The catch is, if you make a withdrawal before age 59½, you may lose as much as half of your savings to income and penalty taxes. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your pl...

Welcome to Purposeful Planning with Aspen Wealth Management. This is Helen. This week, we’re covering a concern many people face at some point —Your Retirement Savings and Change in Employment — and today, we’ll start by taking a look at what to do if your money is in a 401(k) plan. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose y...

We’ve already discussed some helpful strategies to protect your retirement against the rising costs of healthcare.  Start by doing the math; get a clear idea of what your personal and household estimated healthcare costs are and will be. This will help to guide your planning.  If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choo...

To better prepare yourself for the rising costs of healthcare in retirement, it could be a good idea to wait until age 70 to begin taking your Social Security. Since 2011, on average, people in the United States retire at age 61, according to a Gallup Poll . That’s a year before they can start collecting Social Security. If retirees choose to begin receiving Social Security benefits at age 62, the...

It’s often a good idea to open a Health Savings Account (HSA). Your employer’s high-deductible health plan (HDHP) comes with a useful option – a health savings account (HSA). You can save for current and future medical expenses in an HSA, and they confer a triple tax advantage. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your p...

Whether you plan to retire in five, 10, or 20 years, there are a number of things you can do to better prepare for healthcare in retirement. Today, we’ll cover two strategies to get started. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-free: Subscribe free to this show as a daily Alexa...

It’s no secret healthcare costs are going up. Medical expenses have been steadily increasing for years. In 2007, costs were up almost 12 percent. However, the rate of increase slowed to 6 percent during the past five years and that trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, according to a June 2018 report from PwC . While single-digit increases are an improvement, ever-rising costs...

The way you think about money can affect the way you manage your finances. Once you’ve identified the factors behind how you think about money and you’ve examined the inherited money scripts that influence your decisions and behavior, you can begin working on improving your relationship with money. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click h...

Within the four categories — money avoidance, money worship, money status, and money vigilance — here are the 10 money scripts. Listen to this list and you may discover your own. If you missed any of our past episodes, you can hear them in your favorite podcast app, just click here and choose your player.   Get this briefing hands-free: Subscribe free to this show as a daily Alexa Flash Brief...

For the past couple of days, we’ve talked about how understanding the scripts that underlie financial choices may help improve decision-making and reduce financial stress. Yesterday, I mentioned an interesting study conducted by researchers at the University of Kansas that identified four factors that encompass a variety of money scripts, and we covered the first two— money avoidance and money wor...