What do you need to learn next… To live your best life?
What is a Medicare Checklist and Why is it so Critical?
At some point, I’m sure you made a trip to the grocery store without a list, only to come home and realize you forgot the most important item! “Why didn’t I make a list!?” Well, an extra trip to the grocery store isn’t fun, but it’s a relatively minor inconvenience. When it comes to Medicare,...
How to get the Lowest Rates Without Sacrificing Quality
The sad reality in this business is that many agents promote companies that compensate them (the agents) the most. Many carriers offer big incentives and bonus commissions to agents and agencies that meet certain sales goals. So, agents are instructed to show a few carriers to appear objective...
Medicare and Dental, Vision What You Need to Know
You probably know that dental and vision plans are not offered through Medicare. If you purchase a Medicare Advantage plan, then you will usually get some basic, routine dental and vision insurance. Most plans have low annual maximums and limited or no coverage for basic and major dental...
3 Ways to Know When You are Ready to Retire
There’s a pretty good chance that your parents and grandparents retired just because they turned 65. Today’s retirement is a bit more complicated than that. While age is still an important factor, your ability to connect your financial resources to your lifestyle goals is what will truly determine...
If You’re In or Near Retirement, Here’s How to Prepare For and Manage the Next Bear Market
Anyone who’s retired in the past 10 years has been very fortunate. They’ve experienced a massive bull market, and they may even have a higher net worth today than when they retired! I call that a Good Luck Sequence. But it won’t always be that way. Some people will have the unfortunate luck of...
How Does Your Retirement Savings Compare to Other People Your Age?
“How am I doing?” That’s a big question that most people have when it comes to their money. But don’t look to neighbors, friends, and family to see if you are on track or keeping pace. Instead, it’s important that you look at stats with the proper context. The Numbers For example according to...
Common Factors Affecting Retirement
Imagine this scenario: You retire and begin receiving your retirement income. But the monthly numbers seem too small. Where did the money go? Have you been robbed? No one wants to get to retirement only to discover that their retirement income isn’t going to cover their needs and wants. You can...
Paying the Bills
Don’t Forget These Potential Sources of Retirement Income Planning your retirement income is like putting together a puzzle with many different pieces. However, your puzzle, your uncle’s puzzle, and your neighbor’s puzzle don’t all use the same pieces and may even look entirely different! However,...
The Most Important Medicare Decision You Can Make
Early Decisions When you are first eligible for Medicare, you have some important decisions to make: Should you delay enrollment in Medicare Part B? Should you select a Medigap plan or a Medicare Advantage plan? How can you be sure to avoid penalties and make the right plan choices? However, the...
Top 4 Medicare Pitfalls and Penalties (and How to Avoid Them)
Taking your time to ensure all the “boxes are checked” is very important when it comes to Medicare. Therefore, one of the most important steps is taking time with an advisor to answer a series of questions. You might think your situation is typical (and it very well could be), but an experienced...
Here’s Why “One Size Does Not Fit All” with Medicare
When most people think about Medicare, they assume that one plan is pretty much just like the next. Many are surprised to learn that there are many different plans and that their specific situation makes some plans a better choice than others. An Example One of my clients was surprised to learn...
Why I’m Passionate about Helping People with Medicare
I’ve been helping people with their Medicare for almost two decades, and I love what I do. It’s more to me than just a job. Not only do I get to help those that need it and establish great relationships, but I also get a great sense of satisfaction. The Medicare maze is difficult to understand,...
Why People Get Locked Into the Wrong Plan for Life – A Case Study
I was recently referred to a couple in their late 60s looking for advice on their Medicare plans. Their story is a real-life example of why it is important to work with a Medicare advisor before picking a plan during open enrollment. Case Study I learned that this couple’s premium for a Medigap...
Should I Sacrifice My Retirement to Support My Children?
Most parents will say that they want to help their children as much as they can and give them every advantage. But what if “every advantage” comes at the expense of the parents’ retirement savings and investments? According to a survey by NerdWallet, 80% of parents are covering, or have covered,...
6 Steps for Converting Retirement Savings into Retirement Income
You’ve been diligently putting money away into a retirement savings plan for years. Congratulations! You are ahead of the majority of your peers! But, have you thought about the “how” in converting those savings to a retirement income? This is an area that is often neglected. Unfortunately,...