You know that feeling you have when you find $20 in your winter coat left there since last winter. Well, you can have that feeling again by searching for unclaimed property held by your state.

Selecting where to live later in retirement is a big decision that involves one new major consideration: our health care. The big question is: Will we each make the last housing decision on our own and ahead of time; or will we have a non-choice thrust upon us when a health crisis hits?

My father and his wife moved into a CCRC last year and in no way feel they have moved into a nursing home. Instead, they would say it is closer to a cross between a college campus and a country club. He was recently featured in the 2.5 minute video (above) for their community (Garden Spot Village) to show the under-represented side to CCRCs: the youthful, adventurous, and active side experienced by many of the physically active residents.

During volatile times in the markets, everyone needs words of wisdom and comfort to fall back on. Being mindful of our thoughts and words during volatile market times is especially important because it is certainly worrisome to watch portfolio values go down. Finding positive words will not change your portfolio's value, or where the market goes, but they can change how you feel, and therefore how you act.

The Health Savings Account (HSA) is the ultimate savings machine as it is the only type of account with triple tax benefits.

One of the great joys of financially independent clients is gifting to family members during their lifetime. Unfortunately, there are many gifting myth's that linger. We routinely receive questions that go something like, "How much am I allowed to gift to my daughter this year without having to pay gift tax?"

Pessimism and an overly dramatic world view saps your faith in the future. However, when armed with the facts, your faith in the future (and your portfolio) can be restored - resulting in a better overall investment experience and optimistic outlook on life.

Financial independence does not result from a jackpot or inheritance. Instead, financial independence results from a lifetime of making prudent financial decisions. Over time, this incremental progress results in massive improvement in our financial lives.

Regardless of which decade of life you are in, financial responsibility usually comes down to managing a few basic goals: generating income, saving/investing money, controlling your living expenses, and protecting yourself from risks.

In my last blog post, I discussed Faith in the Future as the first key to investment success. The second key is Patience.

The first key needed to obtain investment success is to have a resounding "faith in the future".

Aging in place.

Rising markets have two very negative and interconnected effects. First, a rising market facilitates unrealistic hopes and high expectations about future stock returns. Second, a rising stock market actually lowers the future expected returns.

With the recent IRS related fraud issues (IRS imposters, and IRS security issues) I have been thinking and reading more about fraud, identity theft, and methods of protecting clients from such problems.

On Monday, March 23rd, Bill was quoted in an article titled 7 Bad Investing Habits That Are Holding You Back by Kate Statler in U.S. News & World Report. Bill mentioned how comparing portfolio performance to the wrong benchmark (e.g., S&P 500) is inappropriate and harmful to your realized investment results.

A client recently contacted me regarding a very frightening call she received from someone claiming to be from the IRS. They told her that she was facing jail time for fraud and tax evasion. Their tactics were very aggressive and intimidating and they insisted on her sending money immediately to avoid a variety of harsh consequences.

The cartoon below is from Hugh MacLeod and is a nice New Year’s reminder to live in the moment but with a long-term plan in mind. When planning for the long-term THINK BIG as most people underestimate the changes that can occur over a 10-year time period.

One of the hardest things for investors to focus on is the long-term. Instead, investors are very focused on the day/week/month/quarter, etc. It is a "what have you done for me lately" outlook to investing.

Let's first go through the benefits of paying down versus maintaining a mortgage. Let's start with the benefits of paying off a mortgage - either by taking a lump sum of funds to pay down principal, or by sending in extra principal payments.

Are you a saver who prefers certainty, or an investor who desires the opportunity for higher returns at the expense of safety? Which emotion do you feel more when you think about investing: fear or euphoria?