80/20 Financial Services-Blog

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Time is our most precious resource and I thank you for allowing me to get a few minutes of your time each week. I hope you find the blog helpful and informative. Send me an email if there is ever a topic you would be interested in learning more about. I will research it and write a future blog about it.

Football And Baseball Aren't The Same Game

October 21, 2024

Have you ever watched an NFL football game? While watching the game did you compare either team to your favorite baseball team? Probably not because they aren’t playing the same game. As a retirement income planner, I often get questions from clients and potential clients on outperforming the market or investment performance in general. Maybe they heard on the “financial news” that the market was up X percentage that day, month or even that year and they wonder why their retirement portfolio isn't up the same percentage. Well simply stated, I am not a day trader or short-term trader. I’m a long-term, goal focused, plan-driven investor. I’m not playing the same game as the so-called “experts” on TV and radio, etc. I’m not playing a day to day game. I’m not even playing a year to year game.

Volatility Isn't Risk And Temporary Decline Isn't Permanent Loss

October 14, 2024 Retirement Funding Insights

It seems there are many people who can't distinguish between risk and volatility. Volatility isn't risk. They aren't the same thing at all.

Three Types Of Financial Advisors And How They Get Paid

October 7, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

The three most common business structures that use the terms are Insurance Companies, Broker Dealers and Registered Investment Advisers. All three are very different in how they run their business and each will specialize in different areas.

Presidential Elections & The Stock Market: Is There a Correlation?

September 30, 2024

Does the upcoming election mean it's time to reassess your portfolio? A historical look at presidential elections & the stock market can help you decide.

Should You Take Social Security At Age 62?

September 23, 2024 Retirement Funding

The timing of your Social Security benefits can be important. It could make a difference of thousands of dollars in your retirement income. Although there are many factors to consider when making a decision about Social Security (more about that later), it’s fairly simple to calculate your break-even age. Let’s use an example to illustrate the calculation:

Retirement Planning Specifically For Electric Cooperative Employees

September 15, 2024 Retirement Funding

I started this firm to help people, specifically electric cooperative employees, with retirement planning. I worked for an electric cooperative for over 11 years and during that time I saw a need for retirement planning above and beyond what NRECA is capable of providing you.

Working While Collecting Social Security Benefits

September 1, 2024 Retirement Funding Misc.

If I claim SS at 62 and decide I want to work will SS lower my monthly benefit? Will I get that money back? Am I losing that money?

You Must Consider Taxes When Deciding Between The NRECA R&S Lump Sum & The Annuity Option

August 19, 2024 Minimizing Taxes In Retirement

If you are eligible for the NRECA R&S Plan, you MUST consider the tax scenarios when deciding whether to take the lump sum option or the annuity option. You essentially have a winning lottery ticket and just like a real lottery ticket, the IRS is waiting for their piece of the action.

Thoughts On Japan Market Crisis

August 5, 2024 Insights

On August 5, 2024 and you probably woke up to doom and gloom on the news today about Japan’s stock market and how it’s crashing and how that’s going to affect the US stock market and basically how the world is ending. The world is not ending by the way.

The Rollover Mistake That Costs Cooperative Retirees Significant Money

July 23, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

Everyday cooperative employees retire. Some of these retirees take the lump sum option and "rollover" that money to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or they "rollover" that money into their NRECA 401k. They may be working with a financial advisor or they may have decided that they don't want to pay an advisor and they want to do it themselves. This blog is speaking to the do it yourselfers.

Easy Financial Math!

July 22, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding

Thinking about retirement? Thinking about investing in general? Trying to decide when or if you'll have enough money? Here's a quick financial tip that you can use right this minute. It's called the Rule of 72.

Why Is The Stock Market So Volatile At Times?

July 21, 2024 Investment Insights

If you follow financial "journalism" at all you will inevitably hear how volatile the market is and how you should take action to protect yourself from the volatility. However, when we turn off the "news" and look at things rationally, we can see a completely different story. One that is actually true. It's not the market that is volatile. It's the investors that are volatile.

The Noise Created By The 24 Hour News Cycle And Financial Journalism

July 15, 2024 Retirement Funding Insights

Every single day each one of us is inundated and sometimes overwhelmed by the tsunami of noise from the 24 hour "news" cycle. Much of it centers around timing of the market and the perfect selection of funds. The "experts" say things like "Big correction coming soon!" or "Here's the three next big technology stocks to jumpstart your portfolio!" and "Inflation is coming, buy gold now!" on and on and on.

Can You Manage Your Cooperative 401k Plan Correctly?

July 8, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding

Did you know that the S&P 500 Index Mutual Fund available to you through your NRECA 401k options has historically averaged a return of approximately 10 percent? Did you know over that same period of time the average cooperative employee in the 401k plan has averaged a return of only 3.9 percent?

Should You Pay A Financial Advisor?

July 1, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding Insights

Typically, you pay an advisor the same reason you pay a mechanic to repair your car. If you wanted to repair it yourself, you probably could, but what's your time worth? Is that really what you want to do? Can you do it right? What is your strategy for doubling your income in retirement? What is your strategy for tax planning in retirement? What is your strategy for claiming Social Security in retirement? If you aren't sure of those answers, it would be wise to sit down and talk to an advisor about your retirement planning needs.

The Three Main Stock Market Indexes Explained

June 24, 2024 Investment Retirement Funding

Everyday the financial “news” tells us the status of the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite because these are the three most followed indexes by media and investors. I’ve found through the years that many people have no idea what an index is or specifically what these three indexes represent. Today I’m going to give you a Cliffs Notes version of what an index is as it relates to the stock market, a brief explanation of the three major indexes