I was recently listening to a financial advisor describe the “minimum lifestyle floor” (MLF) that they have their clients calculate. The idea is that your expenses can be divided into two categories, necessities, and fun money.

The necessities include food, housing, basic transportation, utilities, and health care. I also would add another “other” category for things like basic charitable giving, small gifts, personal care, and pets since you’re probably not going to pass on Christmas gifts or give away Buddy the dog because your finances are tight.

Will there be anything left when I retire? Will my benefits get cut? These are some of the most frequent questions I get when it comes to someone’s retirement plan. And the media loves to talk about the Social Security problems.

Fortunately, there is data to answer these questions. Every year the Board of Trustees for Social Security reviews the financial status of the trust fund that pays out Social Security benefits. Recently, the board released its 2022 report, and below is my summary…

Would you rather spend money on that vacation now or have your children spend that money when you’re gone? This is a question I ask might ask a client who is living well below their means.

I am coming across more individuals who are not spending nearly as much as they could. And now the data seems to support it…

I’ve written extensively in the past about the decision of when to take Social Security.

But recently I came across this beautiful decision tree on when to take Social Security that I had to share…

A common rule of thumb is that retirees will spend on average 80% of their pre-retirement income. In practice, however, I have seen the “replacement rate” vary greatly from person to person.

For some, their work keeps them very busy, so the first few years of retirement are filled with long-awaited travel plans that lead them to spend more. For others, the simplicity of life allows them to eat more at home and travel less, which leads to a decrease in spending…