Friend of the blog DT wrote in and said: In regards to your recent “When to Take Social Security” article, you left something out. You can take Social Security early (say, age 62), then invest that money, and your investment will end up better than if you had waited on Social Security until age 67 […]

I’m now 30 months into my new career, and I’m loving every single day. As a lifelong learner, I find the nuanced topics of financial planning and investment management to be a limitless sandbox, or perhaps more like an underground cave system. Where’s the bottom?! Nobody knows! Despite that complexity, my colleagues and I help […]

Exploring the Benefits of Roth IRA Contributions for Tax Efficiency: Will Taxes Go Up? by, Jeremy Reif, CRPS Dealing with retirement can be tricky. Will Taxes Go Up In The Future? Do you plan for the here and now and everything that goes with it or do you plan for the future and try to […]

Generating income can be a daunting task. You go to work, pay your bills, and see what is left at the end of the day or the month’s end. You hope it is enough to buy a nice meal or a beer at your favorite bar.  Investing doesn’t have to be challenging to figure out. […]

I was recently listening to Michael Kitces and Carl Richards on their podcast, and they posed an amazing question: “What’s one thing that you do regularly that you’d like to stop doing?” What would you stop doing? Each of our answers will vary. It could be a destructive habit, a bad behavior, or the simple […]

Looking for good dividend stocks can be difficult if you don’t have the time or the patience to find the best deals. Dividend Growth ETFs have been coming out to help retail investors make investing in dividend stocks much more effortless. SCHD is the best dividend growth ETF out there.  What makes SCHD such a […]

Where is a good place to put my money? People may be asking. What is a good investment strategy? Usually, a good safe place for you to invest your money is an index fund or ETF that tracks the S&P 500. So where do you start, and which one do you choose? Look no further […]

Thanks to reader Lynn, who wrote in this week with some specifics about her household’s situation and an overarching question: When should we start taking Social Security? I’ll provide background information below, and then we’ll discuss a few common “if –> then” heuristics to help you with your Social Security planning. Background – The Pros […]

My friend Rocco works for a high-end tailor. A big part of their business model is the idea that a nice-fitting shirt, perfectly tailored pants, or an Italian silk suit will not only look good, but will objectively improve your life. But how? The engineer and humanist in me would balk at the idea. I […]

Throughout the history of mutual funds and that of their younger cousins, exchange-traded funds, they have represented one thing above all else: diversification. Mutual funds and ETFs offer the possibility to invest across vast swathes of the market with the ease of buying only a single instrument. Two of Vanguard’s most popular ETFs, VT and […]