James C. Molet's Blog, page 63

SavvyInterview – Richard

Richard W. Rausser has over 30 years of experience in the retirement benefits field. He is Senior Vice President of Client Services at Pentegra Retirement Services, a leading provider of retirement planning services to financial institutions and organizations nationwide, founded by the Federal Home Loan Bank System in 1943. Richard oversees consulting, actuarial, BOLI, communications and marketing practice groups at Pentegra. I’m glad he has agreed to sit for a SavvyInterview.

Personal Finance Tips

The following is a guest post from ChameleonJohn.com. Finance is a subjective topic, and personal finance is even more subjective. However, here are some tips that should help you improve your personal finances and make you richer as each day passes by. Emergency Fund Yes, you have been told about this in almost every personal finance post/article you have read. But instead of nagging about it or skipping it, you should understand the reason behind it and even opt for it. An emergency fund is created to protect you from unforeseen Read the Full Story

Americans Stumbling Into Retirement

Report: Most Households Approaching Retirement Have Low Savings (2015). This report to the Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S. Senate, from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) paints a pretty dire picture. The report observes that as baby boomers move into retirement each year, the Census Bureau projects that the age 65-and older population will grow over 50 percent between 2015 and 2030. Particular attention is paid to the fact that there is an ongoing shift in private-sector pension coverage from defined benefit plans (i.e. traditional pensions) to defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s. Read the Full Story

Living Frugally: Reduce Your Living Costs in Five Simple Steps

There’s no getting around the fact that living costs can be high these days. However, as long as you’re savvy, you should be able to succeed in keeping your household budget in the black. To help you along the way, here are five simple steps that could enable you to slash your spending: Improve Your Insulation Firstly, it’s important to make sure your home is up-to-scratch in terms of energy efficiency, and a great place to start is with your insulation. For example, if your property lacks suitable loft insulation, Read the Full Story

A SavvyInterview – Chris

Chris Costello is the CEO and Co-Founder of blooom. Chris has earned the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation and has been working with individual clients and building portfolio allocations for almost two decades. He also co-founded another investment advisory firm that currently manages over $500 million for clients. At blooom, Chris builds the actual models used to generate 401k recommendations; allowing blooom users to tap into advice traditionally only available to investors with a gazillion dollars. I’m glad he’s decided to sit for a SavvyInterview. RetirementSavvy: It’s likely that most Read the Full Story

Boomers – The Selfish Generation?

There is no doubt that the tight labor market has produced a battleground where many older workers are reluctant to cede work territory to younger workers. These older workers, the Baby Boomers, aged 51 – 69, are holding on – like a G.I. Joe with a kung fu grip (do they still sell those?) – to their jobs longer than ever. What does this mean for younger workers? Many Gen Xers – those born between 1965 and 1980, my generation – often find themselves stuck in middle management as they Read the Full Story

5 Home Insurance Mistakes That Could Cost You Big

Your property might represent the greatest financial commitment you’ll ever make, so it’s vital that you have suitable insurance in place to protect it. The trouble is, it’s all too easy to make mistakes when arranging this coverage. Stay savvy when choosing your insurance. Here are five potential insurance pitfalls that could end up costing you big. 1) Failing to Shop Around for the Best Deal If you lead a busy life, the last thing you’ll want to do is devote hours on end to seeking out the best possible Read the Full Story

Retirement Planning – An Infographic

A satisfying retirement doesn’t happen by accident, it is the result of detailed planning and execution. Critical actions include: building an emergency fund, limiting debt (discussed in The Impacts of Debt and The Scourge of Student Debt) and Building your Fiscal Foundation through brokerage accounts and retirement plans such as 401(k)s and IRAs. Image courtesy of LTCOptions.com

Maximize Your Business Storage Space with Pallet Racking

Business storage space is always at a premium. If you have plenty of spare storage space in your warehouse or storage yard, then it is fair to say that you are probably paying too much for your premises and can afford to downsize. For any business to be running without excessive costs its storage space ought to be maximized. If you are a business owner seeking for ways to optimise your storage space, you can consider racking systems like pallet racking, which are known to enhance the storage capacity by Read the Full Story

Let’s Talk About Checks, Baby

In the past, I have lamented on the pages of this blog that there isn’t enough conversation about personal finance and retirement planning. It seems as though a lot of people are afraid to discuss money matters. I say let’s talk about checks, baby, let’s talk about you and me, let’s talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be, let’s talk about checks … and savings accounts, emergency funds, 401(k)s, IRAs, etc. I suspect that part of the reluctance stems from the fact that in Read the Full Story