Excel in Retirement David C. Treece

It's easy when we face something we’re not familiar with to shy away from it or move on to a topic we’re more comfortable with. Recently I saw on social media a way to understand our national debt better. This was written on May 20th:· “A million seconds ago was May 8th.· A billion seconds ago was 1993.· A trillion seconds ago was 30,000 B.C.· The US national debt is now rising by $1 Trillion every 100 days.”The G...

You’ve probably heard by now that Silicon Valley Bank failed last Friday. It appears the bank rapidly took deposits over the last few years, and they needed somewhere to place their funds. And here begins the problem. The bank put money in Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. When interest rates go up, bonds lose value.A few depositors figured this out and began withdrawing their large deposits in the bank. Eventually the bank was unable to meet the demand of withdrawals. Which...

Like a lot of people, I’ve always had a job where I work with people, and it’s always fascinated me to try to figure out why people think the way they do. People are unique, but their themes are similar.In my role as a financial planner, I primarily assist Baby Boomers who are navigating how to retire. Or that’s often when we were first acquainted. In our initial meeting I always ask, “How are you feeling about the stock market?” You’d be surprised at the responses, but one theme repeats.I as...

With inflation at 40-year highs some seniors feel this year’s big cost of living increase in Social Security is falling short. Yahoo Finance had an article last week that said, “According to a new survey by the Senior Citizens League, 54% of older Americans think the 8.7% increase in the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) this year won't keep up with inflation.”What’s troubling is that the government’s rapid interest rate increases over the last year have done little to slow inf...

When we age into the time we can claim Social Security the temptation is strong to get the money as soon as we can. In fact, most people claim as soon as they can at 62. I get it. I love having extra money in my pocket, but it’s important to understand that we may be giving up quite a bit of money.The Wall Street Journal had an article last Sunday about this topic. It said, “A recent study, funded by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, finds that retirees often give up tens of thousands or e...

Did you ever read Sherlock Holmes? In the 1894 story entitled “The Adventure of Silver Blaze” Holmes noticed something odd when he was attempting to solve the mystery.Holmes said, “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time” and the detail that the dog did not bark or make a commotion during the commission of the crime. Holmes concluded that the suspect must be someone the dog knew because the dog didn’t stir. If someone is breaking into a house and a dog resides there, you’d expect th...