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A while back I read How I Invest My Money, a fairly short book that is comprised of 25 financial "experts" describing how they invest their money. It was interesting to see the different perspectives and rationales, so I thought it might be helpful (to somebody?) if I shared my1 portfolio. I look at our … Continue reading What’s In My Portfolio?
This is going to be very long (first rationale, then step-by-step instructions). I think it's going to be worth it, but we'll see. Ask just about any math teacher and they'll tell you that humans don't have a very good intuitive sense of exponential growth (e.g., see the response to the pandemic). Humans are pretty … Continue reading Spending Matters: Calculating How Many Days Earlier You Can Retire
One of the most helpful innovations in both investing and retirement planning has been the Target Date Fund. If you're not a familiar, a Target Date Fund is one investment that allows you to pick the date at which you anticipate needing your money (typically when you expect to retire), and the fund is setup … Continue reading Are Target Date Funds The Best Choice for Educators?
Here are three simple, easy, and no-cost (or at least very, very low cost) things I think every Colorado school district should do as soon as possible that will instantly improve the lives of their employees as well as make them even better teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, or whatever job function they perform. Go … Continue reading Three Things Colorado School Districts Should Do ASAP
Here's the recording of my presentation (without the question and answer portion) I gave to the 403bwise audience on February 10, 2022. Here also are the slides that I used. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL8aGMS-RuY
Many pension plans allow members to purchase service credit. This may be counterintuitive for some folks, but many plans allow you to "buy" years where you didn't work under the pension system and then treat those years as if you had. This typically both increases your ultimate pension benefit and often can allow you to … Continue reading Time to Buy! Buy! Buy! (Service Credit)