Category Archives: THINK

REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS: The distribution may be required, but what if you don’t want to spend it? When Congress first began writing legislation for tax-favored retirement plans in the 1970s, some of the provisions were likely based more on projections … Continue reading →

      An ongoing philosophical debate in the financial services community is how financial professionals should be compensated, either by commissions or advisory fees. Both sides of the discussion raise some interesting issues. Those advocating a fee-based approach argue that the … Continue reading →

A typical method of monetizing real estate assets is taking a loan against the equity. But most monetizing strategies that involve conventional borrowing come with the obligation of regular scheduled repayments. A reverse mortgage is a unique monetization-by-borrowing agreement that … Continue reading →

      As a parent, spouse, employee, you have a unique human life value to others. While much of the value you bring into these relationships may not be financial, or even financially quantifiable, a life insurance policy allows you to … Continue reading →

     In the Internet age, it’s easy for everyone to have a voice, but only a few people have figured out how to get paid for speaking. Those brilliant postings on politics, incisive critiques of entertainment, passionate rants about your … Continue reading →

FROM 107 TO 1,124 IN 32 YEARS. Should you be impressed?  The following factoid was part of the August 22, 2011, edition of “By the Numbers,” an online business news digest: On August 13, 1979 (i.e., 32 years ago), Business-Week’s … Continue reading →

Working from a list that appeared in a Saturday, July 2, 2011, Wall Street Journal article, here are essential personal and financial documents that should be readily accessible by you or your heirs in an eldercare situation. Your personal circumstances … Continue reading →

     Want to forecast the future? Look for the demographics. They are huge indicators of long-term trends, and once in place, they tend to change very slowly. In developed countries, a pre-dominant demographic trend is the combination of falling birthrates … Continue reading →

There’s a long-standing guideline for individual investors that says you should never buy a particular financial instrument purely for its tax-favored status – the underlying investment opportunity needs to make sense apart from its tax treatment. However, this does not … Continue reading →

Steak or lobster? Dogs or cats? Ginger or MaryAnn? Why do some people insist on turning every issue into a black-or-white, either-or decision? In theory, this mindset might simplify one’s life (or simply provide time killing conversation at the local watering hole), but most … Continue reading →