Warning! Failure to Live Like a Millionaire Will Derail Your Retirement.

Black and white retro photo of distraught woman decrying that she and her husband, who is standing behind her, don't have millionaire lifestyles.

The takeaway: When they first hit millionaire status, the median household income of millionaires was $89,167. Their household income is less important than the habits these millionaires built to create financial independence. Here are the habits, and how failure to follow them, resulted in the complete derailment of one famous attorney’s retirement. $$$ This post … [Read more…]

GameStop: How its Stock Was Used to Weaponize The Market; How to Protect Your Nest-Egg.

The takeaway: GameStop is a declining company, whose stock enabled one investor to turn $53,000 into $48 million in barely 18 months.  The stock’s unlikely investors have driven its share price to new heights, savaged Wall Street hedge funds, and caught the eye of Congress, due to fears their actions are roiling financial markets.  It’s … [Read more…]

Fixed Annuities: Higher Rates Than CDs. Worth it?

  The takeaway: Fixed annuities are like CDs, except you earn a higher rate.  Even better, your interest grows tax deferred.  But there are steep penalties for early withdrawal.  And tax treatment isn’t particularly favorable to your heirs.  Look before you leap. $$$ Part six in a series on annuities that will appear here from … [Read more…]