Ending anything is one of the most difficult things to experience… even if you want it to end. Why? Because every ending gives rise to a new beginning, which is the unknown and the unknown is THE most terrifying emotion.

People choose abuse, poverty, and substandard healthcare because change is so difficult. We’ve all heard the phrase “The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.” Because we fear the unknown, uncharted waters, we continue a path with relationships which no longer serve us. Relationships with friends, healthcare providers, banks and financial professionals and even homes. This leads to the single biggest regret people have on their deathbed…not changing “something” when they had the chance.

So why is the “resistance to change” phenomena so common? Most of us never had to choose anything, ever, until we reached our retired-ish years.

Choice is so foreign to us that we would rather settle for...

Bravo, you’ve done a fantastic job of saving your money over your working years. You have likely accumulated your savings by adopting a mantra that goes something like this: “this is money I can’t touch,” “this is earmarked for my future” or some variation of these words. You are at the crossroads of accumulation and distribution. The challenge is to keep moving and not breakdown in the middle of the crossroad. 

Our beliefs become part of our automatic subconscious behaviors. They become automatic like brushing your teeth or responding to a snake in your path. Somewhere along the line you learned that your reaction to the stimuli or belief, protected you from an unwanted result.

Not spending your retirement savings protected you from a dismal poverty-stricken retirement. Well, here is the flip side of your saving mindset; you have arrived at retirement and now have difficulty spending your retirement money. You wonder if the future is now or...

Planning for your retirement can expose a lot of uncertainty. A great retirement doesn’t happen by coincidence or chance, it happens by plan. Better plans always get better results. Retirees often say they don’t have a plan for many aspects of their retirement.

Not having a plan IS a plan! You will end up with the default plan, which in many areas ends up being Uncle Sam’s plan. Be careful, you may not like what is planned for you! Let’s review Uncle Sam’s plan as it relates to taxes and, more importantly, what you can do today to have a better plan. 

Ticking Tax Time Bomb Arthur Godfrey, Television Pioneer and Variety Show Host once said “I am proud to pay taxes in the United States of America. The thing is, I could be just as proud for half the amount!”

Continue reading the article starting on page 82  from Deserve Magazine

Book A Call Today If you don’t want Uncle Sam as your retirement partner! HERE

February is usually considered the “Love” month because on Valentine’s Day we take the time to acknowledge those we love. Few of us think about our relationship with money.

As we approach retirement, our relationship with money becomes almost the most important aspect of a secure and joyful retirement. Money isn’t everything but it sure gives you more choices. In many ways, searching for the perfect vehicle to make your money work for you is like searching for the perfect relationship.

Many of us begin with the “Blind Date” investment vehicle. You know, the one that your friends are so anxious to hook you up with because it’s perfect and just your type.

Then some of us have the “On Again Off Again” investment vehicle, where one day we are up but the very next day we are losing. Often, we stay in this relationship because we don’t know that there is anything better suited to our circumstances.

And then there’s the...

It’s not you, it’s me.

Many of us remember this famous breakup line that George Costanza used on Seinfeld.

Well, I’m borrowing it for my breakup with 2020. I had such high hopes about our relationship. I believed you would be the best year of my life.

Our relationship changed almost instantly, overnight it seemed. One minute we were having a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner and not two weeks later, I was held hostage at home.

What happened?

I believed you would be my year in shining armor. What I got was a pile of rusty nails. You definitely misrepresented yourself and now I feel trapped. I’m disheartened you won’t allow me to hang with my family and friends. In fact, you feel the need to prescribe exactly how and when I should interact with my family and friends. Furthermore, you instigate arguments with my loved ones all the time about politics and masks yet censor any opinions I have in those discussions. You haven’t provided me with the...