I specialize in helping single women make sense of their money and their taxes. So I was very interested when Fidelity* recently came out with a study exploring the financial planning and investing habits of single women - they surveyed 1,503 women who never married, are divorced or widowed as well as single men and married men and women. Kathleen Murphy, president of personal investing at Fidelity said of the study ".....it's critical that women be actively involved and invested in the financial choices that can enable them to live the lives they deserve." There are a lot of interesting things in this study. I could write a bunch of newsletters about it. In fact, maybe I …
Retirement
There are worse things than going to see a financial advisor!
Hello! A lot of people dread the idea of seeing a financial advisor. But as one of my best friends frequently says: "The truth will set you free". And this month I debut a new feature called "What I am Reading". Read on to learn more. Best, Michelle Morris, CFP®, EA BRIO Financial Planning Recently clients sent me the following cartoon: NON SEQUITUR © 2017 Wiley Ink, Inc.. Dist. By ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. They did say not to take it personally! I love this cartoon, even if it does suggest that going to hell would be preferable than coming to see me! There are a lot of reasons people dread …
What’s your number?
Hello! Much has been written in the financial press about "your number": the amount of money you should save in order to retire. It's an important number. But even more important is the first number you must have before you can even start to figure out "your number". Read on to learn more! Best, Michelle Morris, CFP®, EA BRIO Financial Planning Recently, a client emailed me after she got home from her hair salon. She was concerned because her hairdresser said you need "at least 2 or 3 million dollars" to retire. My client is probably not going to have that. Nor does she need it. Now certainly there are worse things that getting financial advice from a …
Death and Taxes: Both Certain but One Might Be Farther Away than You Think
Hello! How long will you live? Of course, nobody knows the answer for sure. Like many questions in financial planning, there is no Magic 8-ball with answers. Read on to learn more about longevity statistics! Best, Michelle Morris, CFP®, EA BRIO Financial Planning I frequently talk to clients about when to retire, when to take Social Security, and how long they might expect their portfolio to last. The answers to these questions hinge in part on length of life. With Social Security, you collect a larger check by waiting. If you delay until age 70 to receive your maximum benefit instead of starting as early as you can at age 62, your check is at least 57% …
10 Questions and Answers about RMDs
Hello! Most people will face RMDs in their lifetime; yet a random poll of some really smart people (people waiting at the dentist office) revealed that nobody knew what they were let alone how they might be effected. Not knowing could be costly! Michelle Morris, CFP®, EA BRIO Financial Planning What does RMD stand for? RMD stands for "Required Minimum Distribution". Thanks to a Google search I now know it also stands for "Rippling Muscle Disease" which sounds awful and I hope none of my readers have it. What IS a Required Minimum Distribution? It is the smallest (Minimum) amount of money that you MUST (Required) take out (Distribution) from your IRA or …
