Archives for November 2011

Geriatric financial management update

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 27, 2018 Leave a Comment

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Dad's doing fine in the care facility. He's happy and he's safe. His Alzheimer's symptoms have stabilized with their care. He's coping with his myeloma symptoms and waiting for chemotherapy to start. He's sleeping more than he should (Vicodin for the pain), and he's weak (anemia), and he's losing weight, and these are all bad signs, but all in the … [Read more...] about Geriatric financial management update

Do you really need $2M to retire?!?

(Today's post was suggested by my daughter, who keeps an eye on Gen Y financial issues...) Shortly after Hallowe'en, MSN put up a scary article about Generation Y needing to save (spoken, of course, in a creepy Dr. Evil voice) two million dollars for retirement. And if that's not frightening enough people, the article also claims … [Read more...] about Do you really need $2M to retire?!?

Retirement planners and calculators (part 1 of 2)

It's been a while since I've discussed the choices of retirement planners and their strengths/weaknesses. If you're new to this blog (or if you've discovered this post through a search engine) then you might want to read about the problems with retirement calculators. They all have problems (no matter how well they work or how user-friendly they … [Read more...] about Retirement planners and calculators (part 1 of 2)

USAA on retirement calculators

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: February 11, 2019 Leave a Comment

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I've researched the state of the art in retirement calculators, and I'm splitting the results into at least two blog posts. For a retirement-calculator geek, I think the best websites are still FIRECalc and FinancialEngines.com. However, all calculators have their flaws and let's face it-- neither one is simple to use. They're both complex in … [Read more...] about USAA on retirement calculators

Five retirement strategies that don’t work

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: February 10, 2019 Leave a Comment

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I had an interesting (and fun!) time at the Mililani Library seminar last night. Thanks for everyone who dropped by, and I hope that you're reading the blog along with the book. Let us know if you have questions! For those who couldn't be there, I'll post about it next week. Today's topic was suggested by our daughter, who's already thinking way … [Read more...] about Five retirement strategies that don’t work

Is the 4% withdrawal rate really safe?

What if 4% is all wrong? By "4%" I mean the method tested by the Trinity Study over a decade ago. It determined a portfolio would survive for 30 years if withdrawals started at 4% of the portfolio's initial value and then were raised each year by the rate of inflation. Skeptics point out that the Trinity Study is based on a narrow slice of U.S. … [Read more...] about Is the 4% withdrawal rate really safe?

Geriatric financial management

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 27, 2018 2 Comments

Advertiser Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any other entity. This site may be compensated through the advertiser Affiliate Program. For more information, please see our Advertising Policy.

Many of us Boomers are caring for aging parents, but nobody seems to talk about it. Maybe we don't like to contemplate the foreshadowing of our own mortality, or maybe society deems it to be selfish complaining. Yet if the subject happens to come up in a Boomer conversation, then everyone has their story. Some of them are happy, a few are sad, and … [Read more...] about Geriatric financial management

Book review: 1001 Things to Love About Military Life

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 27, 2018 7 Comments

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Yeah, I know, you're skeptical, especially if you're on active duty. 1001 things?!? I'll bet you can't even come up with 10. Luckily this isn't a retention pitch-- it's a book title. Tara Crooks (co-founder of ArmyWifeNetwork.com and producer of Army Wife Talk Radio) has reached out to military spouses for over six years through the Web and … [Read more...] about Book review: 1001 Things to Love About Military Life

Protecting military with the SCRA

Author: Doug Nordman Last Updated: June 27, 2018 4 Comments

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Day 61 of our familyroom renovation. Under the dubious logic of "Might as well...", my spouse and I agreed that it seemed like a good idea to expand beyond the familyroom to add new baseboard moldings in the kitchen, livingroom, and diningroom. This despite those three rooms being already filled with furniture from what used to be our familyroom, … [Read more...] about Protecting military with the SCRA