Since 2020 members of the Ruedi Wealth team have been writing weekly investing and retirement planning columns for our local newspaper, The News-Gazette.
401(k) hardship withdrawals enable a person to access some of the money in their 401(k) plan in the event of some sort of financial hardship. But this money is not without strings attached.
Many people wonder whether it would be better for them to hire a financial advisor to manage their investments or to pursue a do-it-yourself approach. The truth is, many people can successfully manage their investments themselves...
Imagine the stock portion of your portfolio has declined by 30%. How do you feel? Now I want you to take this lifeboat drill a step further and imagine the stock portfolio is still down 20% or 30% a year later. How do you feel then? What about two years later?
Savers often get stuck choosing between investing their money or paying off debt. There are many things that must be considered when making this decision, both the objective mathematical considerations and also the human emotional side as well.
As retirement planners, we have to recognize the uncertainty of returns and make sure our clients’ financial goals are not derailed by something like a perfectly normal bear market. For this reason, we have to “stress test” any financial plan we build against a wide range of possible outcomes.
If you want to chip away at a monumental savings goal like funding a retirement, you can’t simply hope to save here and there when it is convenient. It won’t be done in a single year or lump sum. You will need to plan for years or decades of consistent saving before you notice any material progress towards such a big goal.