Evaluating Financial Aid Awards
March 29, 2011 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
If you have a child attending college in the fall, you’re probably knee-deep in reviewing options for different schools, financial aid, and scholarships. I just came across this quick reference guide from FinAid, and it’s a great summary to guide you in deciphering the offer letters and making decisions. http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/FinancialAidAwardLetters.pdf Good luck!
Financial Advice Quoted on Retirement Savings
March 17, 2011 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
I recently had the opportunity to contribute to an article for Classical Singer magazine about the complexities of financial planning for musicians. Greg Waxberg wrote the article called “Filling in the Financial Gaps” and brought together advice from many financial planners on issues with budgeting, retirement planning, health insurance and more.
I shared a retirement savings strategy that works well when your income may be variable from month to month and year to year. This strategy is applicable to those with variable incomes in professional music careers, but also applies to anyone whose income varies. This could include self-employed, sales people with much compensation tied to commissions, and others.
Ideally, you should carve out a baseline retirement savings amount each month that fits within the minimum income you tend to receive. If your income is so variable as to make that impossible, you should set an annual savings goal for the year. When you have large compensation months, you direct 100% of it to achieving this goal until you hit it each year. After meeting your goal, you can split any overages between additional retirement savings and more discretionary items. This approach allows you to stay on track for meeting your financial goals even when your income varies tremendously. It also creates a reward for yourself of achieving your goals by allowing yourself a discretionary spending splurge after the goal is met.
March Personal Finance Newsletter
March 14, 2011 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
The March personal financial planning newsletter is now available. It includes an update on the investment market, tips on cutting discretionary spending to build your cash reserve, planned charitable giving, and social security survivors benefit. There’s also a special guest column from attorney Rania Combs on the complexities of dying intestate (without a will) for individuals in blended families in Texas. Click here to read the newsletter.
How to Structure Retirement Income
March 12, 2011 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
I’m providing a free personal finance workshop at the Keller Public Library on Tuesday, March 15 at 6:30 pm on Structuring Your Retirement Income. This retirement income workshop is designed for residents of Keller and surrounding areas who are in or near retirement.
Investing for retirement income is different than accumulation. To help you with this transition, we will cover:
- differences in investing for accumulation and retirement drawdown
- coordinating your portfolio withdrawal strategies with other sources of income
- how to make decisions on pensions and annuities
- how to balance investing for protection against inflation and market fluctuations
- changes you need to start making in your portfolio 3 years before retirement
RSVP to library@cityofkeller.com for planning purposes. A drawing will be also held for a free copy of Daniel Solin’s The Smartest Retirement Book You’ll Ever Read.