Now may be a good time to rethink your mortgage and consider whether refinancing is right for you. Refinancing may allow you to: Lower your monthly mortgage payment You may be able to take advantage of the current rate environment and lower the interest rate on your mortgage. If you get a lower interest rate, your monthly payment may go down. You can also lower your monthly payment by refinancing [...]

Hank Norsworthy was tired of having to walk down a dark hallway to get to bed. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about 40 years ago, he uses a rollator (a walker with wheels) to get around. After several friends adopted smart home technology to automate certain features, he decided to give it a try.A few months ago, he bought an Echo Dot as well as some smart lightbulbs and smart plugs [...]

I recently saw a new study about retirement that asked participants what percent of their portfolio they can withdraw on a year-by-year basis in retirement. The majority of respondents said they could safely withdraw about 10 percent of their portfolio. As a financial advisor my response was “are you kidding?” Ten percent is more than double what you can comfortably withdraw from your portfolio. As I’ve mentioned many times in [...]

How do you get started on a health and fitness journey in older age? Rather than focusing on goals that feel unattainable or unsustainable, you’re better off focusing on lifestyle activities that will keep you active and exploring — and allow for fun. Connie Smith, the Healthy Living Director for Florida’s First Coast YMCA, says to just try something new. “Try something different that you’ve never done before, every single [...]

Throughout your career, you’ve taken a vow to protect and serve your community. And as you near retirement, you want to know you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the benefits you’ve worked hard to earn. In fact, 88 percent of public sector employees find their retirement benefits extremely important, compared to only 65 percent of private-sector employees.1  But in an effort to find success in retirement, there are a [...]

Take a moment and make a list of all the expenses you'll have in retirement. It's not easy, is it? There are a lot of them, and they're not always easy to predict. Most people remember the basics, like food, housing, and transportation. But far too many people are forgetting about the three expenses listed below. Most retirees will still have to pay taxes, unless they've stashed all their savings [...]