Most people want to know the answer to a simple question: “Am I doing all right?” That may sound simple, but when it comes to your financial life, it is not always easy to answer. You might have a good investment portfolio but still wonder whether your income will be enough to support your chosen lifestyle. You may have a retirement plan in place but still have questions about taxes, health care, estate planning, or whether your spouse would be financially secure if something

August will be upon us this coming weekend, the days of back-to-school sales and preseason football, when summer seems to accelerate. And other than a few brief storms, the financial markets continue to cruise, with all three major equity indexes posting 6-7% gains over just the last three months and 9-11% year-to-date. Artificial intelligence seems to be driving the markets of late, and as is typically the case, there are two sides to the story. On the positive, no one can q

Half a year behind us, and stocks remain on a tear, led by big tech companies. The Nasdaq posted a three-month gain of nearly 20% – its best quarter in six years – and all three major stock indices are near their all-time highs. Still, there are causes for concern. Investors are borrowing heavily to buy stocks – margin debt jumped 54% in May over last year – and a lot of money is flowing into high-risk leveraged ETFs. And let’s not even talk about the legalized gambling that’

As retirement gets closer, one fear comes up again and again: What if I spend too much, too soon, and run out of money later? That’s a fair concern. But I don’t believe retirement should be about cutting your expenses to the bone, clipping every coupon, and giving up the things that make life enjoyable. If retirement is going to feel miserable, you might as well keep working! The better approach is not extreme frugality. It’s efficiency. In other words, protect the spending t