Blog

“There’s a difference between ‘hard work’ and ‘working hard.’ One requires lots of energy; the other, lots of passion.” ~ Tony Walker, Registered Investment Advisor and financial author Americans all seem to strive for that perfect “work-life” balance. We work because that is our calling in life. And the fruits of our labor are a day’s wages so we can enjoy our time here on thi…Read More

So what are you worried about right now? Your health, your kids, your job, your faith, your marriage, your money, your retirement? Chances are you’re worried about something. Americans do worry about retirement. Yet the average consumer thinks he or she is the only one who is worried. That’s because his or her neighbors are spending money as if it’s growing on trees. But just because your ne…Read More

When it comes to playing the money game, there are two “Golden Rules.” The first Golden Rule of money says: “The one who knows the rules, gets the gold.” The other Golden Rule: “The one who makes the rules, keeps the gold!” If you’re going to play to win, you better know the rules. Unfortunately, most people never take the time to learn them. According to Tony Walker, author of the W…Read More

According to Tony Walker, author of the WorryFree Retirement®, there are three key ingredients necessary to reaching your destination. Before getting started you must: Determine your “ideal” vision and then write it down. If it’s not written down in a place where you can go and review it regularly, then it’s not a serious goal to begin with. So simply write down your “ideal” retiremen…Read More

While some retirees are simply uninformed, others are dangerously misinformed about Social Security. Unfortunately, when it comes to your retirement years, what you don’t know can hurt you. These misconceptions can prevent you from taking the steps that are well within your control to help maximize this important benefit. Here are 10 costly mistakes retirees often make about their Social Securit…Read More

My Granddad was born in 1912. Twenty years later, he landed his first “real” job climbing telephone poles for the local phone company. Granddad would continue to work for the same company until his retirement in 1978. During the many years I spent with Granddad, particularly after he retired from work, I rarely heard him talk much about money. Certainly, he never talked about the Stock Market.…Read More

Life changes and times change.  My grandfather never really had a concept of retirement.  When he was young, he worked hard as a cow-puncher, and then became a hard-working, circuit-riding, Methodist pastor. The love of his life, his wife Mildred, suffered from a brain tumor that took her life in 1969.  He missed her terribly.  He lost a son in the ‘70s and it almost crushed him.  But, gran…Read More

As George Forman stated, “It’s not how much money I have when I retire it is how much income I can receive.”  Receiving an extra income stream these days—above and beyond Social Security and absent of pensions—may sound very attractive to you, but it’s important that you understand all the critical facts you need to know. Right now, everyone in the annuity world is talking about the i…Read More

Like most of you, I remember the playground where I grew up and choosing sides for teams.  Standing in line, hoping to get picked (or not picked) by a certain team captain was always a little stressful, especially if you were chosen by the team you knew had no chance of winning!  The biggest problem was that I always preferred doing the choosing.  The reason is simple: I know what I’m getting…Read More