Retirement is a significant life event that requires careful planning and preparation. One of the most important aspects of retirement planning is figuring out how to generate income during your post-work years. In this article, we will discuss some wise retirement income strategies that can help you make the most of your retirement savings.
2023 has been a strange year. It's been a year with a fairly strong Global Stock Market and a lot of good economic news, but with what seems like half the population feeling like the economy is bad! There's no doubt that high prices are part of this. Those hit people right in the wallet, so costs are likely playing a part in the pessimism out there. As you all know, I like looking at a lot of data and analyzing it. What I'm seeing, is a pretty healthy economy, especially in the world's largest one, the United States.
Life insurance, including mortgage or creditor insurance, is a key tool in your financial arsenal. This article will provide a high-level overview to help you better understand your choices when considering life insurance as part of your overall financial strategy.
Life insurance, at its core, protects the standard of living of loved ones left behind after someone passes away. While you pay for it (similar to car insurance), the benefit goes to other people.
When it comes to your estate, it is important to consider giving some thought to how you want to distribute your assets, household goods and other gifts to your heirs as you contemplate your other matters in life. This, including tax planning, is what lawyers refer to as Estate Planning, which can be a simple or complex matter depending upon your specific situation and the needs of your heirs. So why bother to worry about having Wills, Powers of Attorney and Living Wills or Medical Directives updated to reflect your hopes, wishes and personal values?
We spent almost all of 2022 talking about high costs and rising Interest Rates. Canada's Inflation Rate got as high as 8.1% so that was no easy year to get through. It impacted Bond Prices dramatically and we spent most of last year waiting for a recession that never came. 2023 has been a much better year for Financial Markets. The rate of Inflation has cooled off significantly and came in at 3.4% by May of this year1. That's still higher than the 2.0% that we've been used to for a few decades but it's moving in the right direction.
Harry and Sally both earned high incomes and liked to live the good life. They leased higher end European cars, took two-week exotic vacations almost every year, and lived in a house much larger than they truly needed. To accomplish this lifestyle, they put off retirement savings. Now in their forties, Harry and Sally are realizing they have some catching up to do. Six things to consider are:
Delay no more - Procrastination or bad breaks may have derailed a savings plan. Now is the time to make savings a priority.