Retirement – David Mersereau

3 Simple Steps to Save More Money for Your Retirement

July 15, 2021

How to grow your retirement money today. It’s never too late to start saving more for retirement, and recovering from a late start on saving is easier than you think. Key Takeaways Most people are not saving as much money as they could be, or should be Finding ways to save more money is a lot easier than you think It is critical to enter retirement with your own savings strategies Here’s the hard truth — the reason people retire…

Build an Income Floor with a Fixed Annuity

April 27, 2021

David Mersereau

Retirement

The idea of a budget is really quite simple – know what is coming in and know what is going out. If we can be certain of the amount of expenses that need to be paid each month, we can begin to plan and save accordingly. During your working years it is critical to be mindful of what income you have coming in, but we can work towards ensuring our incoming cash flow is growing in comparison to our outgoing…

3 Reasons Your 403(b) Plan Should Include a Fixed Indexed Annuity

February 10, 2021

David Mersereau

Retirement

Whether you are just getting started with your 403(b) or 457(b) Retirement Plan – or have been contributing to one for a while – right not is a great time to select a Fixed Indexed Annuity (FIA) as one of your allocation options within your retirement income strategy. The current low interest environment is great for mortgages and other debts we hold, however, it can mean something totally different for our retirement savings A 403(b) or 457(b) Retirement Plan is…

How Do I Invest for My Kids

January 26, 2021

David Mersereau

Finance, Retirement

As a parent, we want to do everything we can to set our children up for success. This includes allowing them to learn through their own failures and struggles. As parents we have the opportunity to assuage the degree of struggle at times. One opportunity to relieve future anxiety is to include our children in household and family decisions. Including them in money management decisions can change the trajectory of your child’s future. “We may not be able to prepare…

How Much Money do you Need to Retire?

December 21, 2020

David Mersereau

Finance, Retirement

The short and sweet of it is: determine your desired annual income and multiply it by a factor of 25 – that number is how much you will need to have saved. Below we will discuss opportunities to grow your retirement income number and ways that we can reduce the amount you need to save and still meet your desired retirement income goals. Don’t worry, you’re not alone if you know – or think, that you may falling behind when…

How to Recover from a Late Start on Retirement Planning

November 13, 2020

David Mersereau

Budget, Retirement

A recent conversation with a friend inspired this article as the question he asked is not specific to only him and his wife. Many are conducting the same examination of their current retirement income strategies, and feel as though it may be hopeless. Following is his question. “My wife and I haven’t made the best decisions when it comes to retirement planning. As a result, we are now growing in age and don’t have nearly enough saved for retirement. Do…

Retirement Preparedness

November 3, 2020

David Mersereau

Retirement

The current state of our individual retirement preparedness as a whole is captured in this single fact: about half of the U.S. private sector workers at any given time are NOT enrolled in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Some of them have participated in a plan in the past or plan on participating in the future. But the inconsistency of participating in their own financial future is the problem. Still, too many individuals are solely relying on their employer-sponsored plans to…

Should you Convert to a Roth IRA

October 3, 2020

David Mersereau

Finance, Retirement

What we know: President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will expire in 2026. What we don’t know: what the tax brackets will look like for all earners. With tax hikes possibly on the horizon, there are some things you can do to hedge against losing your retirement income to taxes. Let’s recap a quick recap of 2020. It is estimated that the real level of our unfunded liabilities sits at $128 trillion – more than 500% worse than what…

F.I.R.E Up your Retirement

September 25, 2020

David Mersereau

Budget, Finance, Retirement

Let’s start with an understanding that retirement is not an age, it is a financial number. There is no rule that states you must work until you are 65 There is a new(ish) wave of people proving that it is possible to retire in their 30’s and 40’s with the financial freedom to repurpose their retirement into something greater. F.I.R.E is a moniker for Financial Independence, Retire Early and is a movement highlighting one’s ability to eliminate debt, save aggressively and…