Special edition episode in which Andy shares his views on whether the below 12 rules of thumb are accurate or not:
- You should always contribute at least enough to your employer plan (like a 401(k)) to get the full employer match
- You shouldn't help your kids pay for college if it means shorting your own financial security in retirement
- You need at least $X million (where $X can be whatever amount someone wants to say) of savings to retire
- In retirement, expect to need 80% of whatever your pre-retirement income was each year
- The 4% "rule" is a good tool for determining how much of a portfolio someone can distribution each year in retirement
- Your target stock allocation percentage should be 100 minus your age
- You should pay off your mortgage before retiring
- The rule of 72 is a good tool to tell how long it will take to double your investment
- You should have an emergency fund of cash equal to three to six months of expenses
- Permanent life insurance should be avoided; only use term life insurance
- The owner of a large investment advisory firm says, "I hate annuities and you should too"
- That same person also says of his firm, "we do better when you do better"
To send Andy questions to be addressed on future Q&A episodes, email [email protected]
Links in this episode:
- My podcast about the 4% "rule" - here
- My company newsletter - Retirement Planning Insights
- Facebook group - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Taxes in Retirement)
- YouTube channel - Retirement Planning Education (formerly Retirement Planning Demystified)
- Retirement Planning Education website - www.RetirementPlanningEducation.com