A student asks a Zen master, “Please write for me something of great wisdom.” The master picks up his brush and writes a single word: “Attention.” The student says, “Is that all?” At this, the master writes, “A...

I hope you enjoyed the long weekend to kick off summer as we remember those who have served our country. Let’s jump right into our selections. We explore financial planning considerations during rapidly changing economic conditions, blind spots we may ...

I’ve noticed a couple common threads in investment planning conversations across investors of various experience levels and account balances. So let’s take a look at the different risks that any investment portfolio should address, how different assets...

I recently made a call for readers to share their stories to supplement posts by Darrow and me. First up is Margot who shares her and her husband Nick’s story. Their path to and through retirement includes overcoming adversity in their personal and fin...

I’m going to start with a brief update on major events in my personal life and lessons I’ve learned that can help you. Then, I address a few major challenges we all do, or will, face as investors: I close out with an article about changing attitu...

As an early retiree in my 50s, I tried to factor Social Security into my financial planning. But with more than a decade to go before claiming benefits, the huge social program remained a mythical proposition. The government was going to deposit money ...

Last fall I listened to Mike Piper discuss his then new book After the Death of Your Spouse: Next Financial Steps for Surviving Spouses on the Bogleheads on Investing Podcast. Immediately after listening, I placed an order for the book. The book arrive...

A major focus of this blog is saving for retirement and determining when you have accumulated “enough.” Today I have a collection of resources focused on learning how to enjoy the money you have saved and use it to do more good in the world once you ha...

As I explained last month, the double-digit market decline last year coupled with high inflation has been a wake-up call to review our budget and make sure we aren’t throwing money away. Earlier this year, I started up Quicken, ran expense re...

Things definitely are not boring in our financial system. Interest rates continue to rise. Cracks in the foundation of our debt stressed financial system are being exposed. Markets remain volatile. How do you feel? Have you planned well for this? If no...

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the general health of banks has been all over the news recently. There are many fascinating aspects of this story. One is parsing out the roles different parties and policies played in the bank’s failu...

I was finishing up today’s collection of resources last Friday. News broke of a bank run on, and subsequent rapid failure of, Silicon Valley Bank, one of the twenty largest banks in the country. So I’ll start with a few resources to help explain ...

After a decade of retirement when we watched our net worth grow steadily, we began to indulge in the luxury of ignoring our monthly expenses. But the double-digit market decline last year coupled with high inflation was a wake-up call to review our bud...

This month, we start out with reminders on the importance of investing in non-financial resources: physical and mental health and relationships. Financial resources examine massive macroeconomic changes that are occurring, the importance of maintaining...

Perception is reality. When two people have a different perspective, their versions of the same reality can look quite different. Kim is the detail person with our household finances. She’s the one paying the bills and tracking our expenses. Recently, ...

This month’s resources start with a return to my roots in healthcare. I share resources from a few physicians and therapists to improve your quality of life in retirement. I also share a resource exposing ugly truths about my new industry, financ...

I’m happy to be writing for Can I Retire Yet? again after a two-year sabbatical. I’ll be holding down the first-Monday-of-the-month position this year while Chris continues to fill out the rest of the calendar. It’s good to be back in...

I have an outstanding collection of resources this month. We’ll start with two always popular topics among readers of the blog, shifting from saver to spender and creating retirement income. I have a resource that gives details on new legislation that ...

Retirement planning requires making our best effort to project far into the future. That is hard, if not impossible. The reality is that we are constantly changing as is the world around us. We need to plan, but understand that our plans need to be ada...