Your guide for retirement news, insights, and resources
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10 Lessons From the Field
Quick note Yes, you’ve heard some of these before. There’s a reason. The moves below either stop a small problem from becoming a five-figure mess, or they quietly set you up for the next decade. We’re showing how they play out in real life so this isn’t just a checklist. The 5 DOs 1) Build…
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Disability Insurance: The Overlooked Side of Long-Term Care
Last year, we looked at disability insurance in simple terms – do you really need it, what does it cover, and how much does it cost? (If you missed that issue, you can find it here: Is Disability Insurance Really Necessary?. This time, we’re taking it further. Because disability insurance isn’t just about replacing a…
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The Cost of Care and Who Pays It
If the first shock of long-term care is realizing how common it is, the second is seeing the price tag. Care is expensive at every level, and most families are unprepared for how the system expects them to pay. Some of these numbers were mentioned in the last article, but they are worth repeating, because…
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How to Tell Sound Advice from a Sales Pitch
The trouble with financial advice today isn’t just that there’s too much of it. It’s that it all looks the same when you scroll. A budgeting tip, a debt hack, a hot stock idea, a “proven” crypto strategy – they show up in the same feed, delivered with the same energy. Some are useful, some…
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When Fear Steals Your Retirement
We spend most of our working years hearing the same warning: don’t run out of money. It’s drilled into every retirement calculator, financial seminar, and industry slogan. And it’s valid – once you’re retired, there’s no paycheck to replace a big mistake. But for some people, that fear never shuts off. It follows them into…
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Complexity Creep and the Cost of Getting It Wrong
Financial planning has always involved trade-offs. But in the past, the decisions were simpler – or at least the ripple effects were easier to predict. Now, with more moving parts and more interaction between them, it’s easy for even well-intentioned choices to backfire. Here are a few examples of how complexity creeps in and creates…
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What’s Your Risk Type? Why Advisors Use Assessments and How to Do a Gut Check on Your Own
A risk assessment is a tool financial advisors use to figure out how much risk you’re actually comfortable taking with your investments – not just in theory, but in real life, when markets get rough. It usually takes the form of a structured questionnaire. The goal isn’t to label you as aggressive or conservative, it’s…
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Is Stability a Lie?
The more unpredictable the world feels, the more the financial industry leans on one word: stability. It’s everywhere – in retirement plan brochures, annuity ads, risk-managed portfolios, and target-date fund descriptions. Products promise protection, guarantees, and peace of mind. But beneath the surface, that promise starts to look less like stability and more like control…
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Understanding Alternatives: A Clear-Eyed Look at Non-Traditional Investments
The term “alternative investments” gets thrown around a lot – usually with a mix of mystery, buzzwords, and promises of big returns. For a long time, most people didn’t have to pay much attention. Access was either restricted to ultra-high-net-worth investors, or the investments were so risky that no one dared mention them to a…
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Options for Homeowners Whose Retirement Plans Just Got Complicated
A lot of people in or near retirement are realizing that their home – once the linchpin of the plan – isn’t doing what they thought it would. They assumed they’d sell and downsize. Or relocate and live off the difference. Or stay put with minimal costs and stability. That plan made sense. It was…
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Money Milestones
Over the past few weeks we’ve been laying a foundation. Money Without a Map was about finding your bearings, and The Debt Dilemma dug into how to get out from under the weight of balances. Once you’ve done even a little of that work, the next logical question is: how do I know if I’m…
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The Debt Dilemma: Why the ‘Solutions’ Don’t Add Up
Debt…it’s everywhere, it’s confusing, and it’s dangerous because desperation can make anything look like a solution. Even people who are trying to be careful – who shop on reputable loan sites, who see “FDIC insured” attached to a bank name – can still end up in a mess. FDIC coverage only protects deposits if a…
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Money Without a Map: A Guide to Staying Afloat
Money and health are two of the biggest parts of our lives. But only one of them comes with a system. If you wake up with chest pain, you don’t have to decide on your own whether it’s indigestion or a heart attack. You know you can walk into an emergency room and be told…
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Identity Theft 2.0: Why It’s Getting Worse, Not Better
Last year, we did a subscriber-only issue on identity theft. Since then, the problem hasn’t slowed – it’s escalated. In the past few months alone, several data breaches have been reported, including TransUnion – one of the very credit bureaus that sells consumers monitoring services. At My Retirement Network, track this space closely. We deliver…
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Life Insurance and Long-Term Care: More Connected Than You Think
Life insurance is usually framed as protection for the people you leave behind. It pays a death benefit to your family, helping them cover bills, pay off a mortgage, or replace lost income. But when you look at long-term care, life insurance can sometimes become a tool for the living – a way to access…
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What Long-Term Care Really Looks Like
When people hear “long-term care,” they picture a nursing home late in life. A vague image of wheelchairs and hospital beds, something that only matters in your 90s. The reality is more complicated, more expensive, and much closer than most people think. Long-term care is any help with the basic activities of daily living –…
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Financial Rules of Thumb: Guidelines, Not Guarantees
Rules of thumb exist for a reason. They’re quick, simple, and easy to remember – “save 10% of your income,” “spend no more than 30% on housing,” “withdraw 4% in retirement.” The problem is, life rarely fits into neat percentages. What works as a guidepost can fail completely once you apply it to real situations,…
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Finance as Entertainment: The Rise of the Finfluencer
Finance has always had its performers. The radio hosts promising to “make you a millionaire.” The call-in shows offering bite-sized fixes for complex problems. The cable TV personalities pounding tables, flashing charts, and shouting tickers. Each era found a stage. Today’s stage is smaller – a phone screen – but the reach is larger than…
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Can Uncertainty Be Modeled?
A couple of weeks ago, we asked whether “stability” in finance is real or just a rented illusion sold through certain products. That piece was about guarantees – the kind you can buy in an annuity, a risk-managed portfolio, or a target-date fund. This week, we’re zooming out. Forget the products for a minute. The…
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How Financial Planning Got Crowded… and Confusing
Back in our July 28 issue, we talked about how every piece of your financial life connects -even when it doesn’t look that way on the surface. That was about your finances. Today, we’re taking a different angle: how the profession of financial planning has ballooned in scope, and why the way advice is delivered…
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Why Debt Creates Shame (And Why That Shame Isn’t Yours to Carry)
Debt is a financial issue, but it rarely feels like just a math problem. It feels like a moral one. Like failure. Like everyone else has it together and you missed something obvious. And unlike other financial challenges, debt tends to carry a weight that goes beyond the balance. It carries shame. Quiet, isolating shame…
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The Tariff Excuse
Any time prices start rising, explanations follow. Some are legitimate. Others? Not so much. And lately, one excuse has been popping up more and more: “Because of tariffs.” Retailers and manufacturers know that most consumers don’t fully understand how tariffs work—or whether they even apply to the products they’re buying. That gap in knowledge creates…
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The Dopamine of RETAIL THERAPY
You clicked “Pay Later.” It felt like control. Easy. Harmless. Almost smart. But that little rush you got when you hit the buy button? That wasn’t budgeting. That was dopamine. Retail therapy isn’t just a joke or a meme. It is a real psychological loop. When we shop, especially when we are stressed, bored, or…
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When Do Financial Professionals Actually Take Action During Market Drops?
Now that we’ve clarified when “stay the course” applies and why it’s used, let’s look at the other side of the coin: when to take action. Even in the best of times, financial plans evolve. A solid plan needs to be flexible and sometimes that means making changes. Financial professionals don’t sit idle through every…
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Fear-Based Scams: How Market Panics Create Easy Targets
When markets get shaky, emotions run high – and scammers know it. Fear, confusion, and a sense of urgency are exactly the conditions fraudsters look for. During volatile markets, scam activity often surges because people are more vulnerable. They’re scared about losing money and looking for quick solutions or safer alternatives. That’s when the predators…
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Financial Stress is Real: How to Stay Calm When Markets Get Wild
If you’ve ever felt your chest tighten after seeing the stock market drop, or caught yourself refreshing financial news like it’s breaking bad news, you’re not alone. Market swings don’t just affect your portfolio. They affect your mood, your sleep, and even your sense of safety. Why Market Swings Trigger Anxiety Money is emotional. It’s…
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Financial Fear vs. Financial Frenzy: Managing Money Without Losing Your Mind
Money is emotional. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just trying to keep up with bills, financial decisions are rarely just about numbers. Fear can make us freeze, while frenzy can push us into impulsive decisions. So how do you manage your money with a steady hand without getting consumed by worry or making reckless…
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Bargain or Bust? Beware of Fake Deals
In today’s digital landscape, scam artists have long exploited consumers’ search for savings. With evolving tactics and increasingly sophisticated online schemes, they continue to prey on anyone seeking a bargain. From fake online retailers to counterfeit goods and deceptive membership offers, here’s what you need to know – and how you can protect yourself. “Discount…
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Managing Stress Amid Job Insecurity
Job insecurity can be one of the most stressful experiences in life. The uncertainty of when or if a paycheck will come, the fear of falling behind financially, and the emotional toll of feeling undervalued or overlooked can create overwhelming anxiety. While the stress of job loss or career uncertainty is real, managing it effectively…
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Scholarship and Student Loan Scams
With rising education costs, many students and families eagerly seek financial aid opportunities. Unfortunately, scammers often exploit this desperation through deceptive scholarship and loan schemes. Learning to identify these scams is crucial for protecting your financial future. Common Red Flags Application or Processing Fees Legitimate scholarships and federal student loans never require upfront fees. Be…
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