You may be one of the many Baby Boomers or  Gen-Xers who have received an inheritance or will in the not too distant future. It has been documented that the wealth transfer from the “Greatest Generation” to their heirs  will total $14 trillion. If you’ll be receiving an inheritance, it pays to prepare yourself, as no money is more emotionally charged than inherited money.

How Do You Feel About Your Inheritance?

Maybe the money is emotionally charged because you know how hard your parents worked for it. You watched your dad go to work everyday and your mom cook, clean and play the dutiful wife and mother. You may recall that they denied themselves many pleasures because they were worried about not having enough, or worried that they would be “a burden” to you in their old age. You may feel you aren’t deserving of their largess.

Or, maybe it’s because when you look at your bank account you are shocked and dismayed at how much of your inheritance has been spent already. It seemed like so much money when you first got it, but now you realize that it will take discipline to hang on to it. It felt good to be generous to family and friends and to treat yourself to a few nice things but now it seems imprudent. You just want to turn back the clock and start all over again.

Depending on the amount you inherit, the windfall may create rifts between you and your friends or family who haven’t been so fortunate. You may feel like you can’t talk about it and have to hide the fact that things have become so much easier financially.

My clients who have received inheritances express emotions all over the spectrum when they talk about their inheritance. They feel gratitude, relief and happiness but also shame, anxiety and guilt.

“The windfall may create rifts between you and your friends or family who haven’t been so fortunate.” [Tweet this]

Tips for Managing an Inheritance

If you know an inheritance is coming, take a moment to absorb some of these ideas to prepare yourself and handle this potentially life changing and probably life-enhancing event:

It’s so easy to convince yourself that it’s OK to spend large sums when you receive money you haven’t earned. Many beneficiaries buy new cars, or take expensive vacations or start remodeling projects soon after they receive the cash. There is nothing wrong with these expenditures, but to protect yourself from future regret, try to wait several months before you make any major purchasing decisions. Let the money marinate in your bank account for a while.

• Be prudent about the way you invest the funds. Due to its emotional component, this may not be money you want to take big risks with. Invest it in a balanced, diversified way that is consistent with your risk tolerance.
• Think carefully about giving or lending money to friends and family or even to charitable causes. Consider whether you would have found this to be a wise course for you financially before you received the funds and act accordingly.
• This is a good time to do some financial planning. Many baby boomers haven’t saved enough for retirement. Our values around saving and spending have not matched our parent’s frugality. This windfall may be just what you needed to fund your retirement. If so, invest it and throw away the key—you will be happy you did so when you stop working.

Lastly, take care not to be too conservative when investing your inheritance. You don’t want your fear of losing the money to outweigh investing the money prudently for a reasonable return.

OK, so you’re a stay at home mom and it’s your full-time job to raise the kids. (By the way, you’re not alone; five million women in the U.S. are stay-at-home moms.) That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for retirement planning. You probably run the finances for the household and know where all the money goes in the present, but it’s also important to think about the future and retirement.

Making Retirement Planning a Priority

It’s important to make retirement planning a priority because retirement is expensive. It can be 30 years or more of living with a reduced stream of income. Plus, your partner—while bringing home a steady paycheck—may not be paying attention to the details. This is where you can step in and ensure that you and your family can enjoy the lifestyle you want in the future.

After all, staying home for the family’s benefit is a big deal—emotionally and financially. It’s quite possible that you’re putting your own career aspirations on hold while the kids are young. Plus, it means lost retirement contributions, including any employer matching contributions and possibly a lower Social Security benefit.

The good news is there are still steps you can take to participate in retirement planning:

Six Ways to Save for Retirement

1. Don’t forget about existing retirement accounts. If you contributed to a 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan before you stopped working outside of the home, make sure that you roll over those funds into a self-directed IRA and invest it in accordance with your time frame, risk tolerance and investment goals. Don’t leave the money sitting with your old employer or, worse, cash out the account (which will result in tax and penalties). While you won’t lose your money if you leave it in your previous employer’s plan, rolling the funds over into an IRA will give you more control over investments and make it easier to contribute in the future. You may also save money on administrative fees.

2. Don’t stop saving. While setting aside funds for the future may not seem like a priority—especially if you’re raising a family on one salary—it’s still important, since regular contributions will add up over time. If possible, try to find the room in your budget to save money in a taxable investment account, even if it’s only a few dollars a month.

3. Consider a spousal IRA. A spousal IRA is a tool that allows you to contribute money to a tax-advantaged retirement savings account, even if you don’t have earned income. As long as you and your spouse file a joint tax return, you can make a contribution of up to $5,500 (or $6,500 if 50 or older) toward a spousal IRA each year. Note that the deductibility of the nonworking spouse’s contribution for 2013 is phased out for couples with an adjusted gross income (AGI) between $178,000 and $188,000.

With spousal Roth IRAs, deductibility is not an issue. Contributions are made with after-tax dollars. The payoff is that all Roth account earnings—along with the contributions—can be withdrawn tax-free after age 59 1/2, provided that the account has been open at least five years. However, there are still AGI-based contribution limits. Specifically, eligibility to contribute to a Roth IRA for 2013 is phased out between AGI of $178,000 and $188,000 for couples filing jointly.

A spousal IRA can be an excellent tool to accumulate additional retirement savings, even if your spouse is participating in an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

4. Set up an individual (solo) 401(k) or SEP IRA. Many stay-at-home moms run home-based businesses or freelance on the side. If you have this kind of income, you may be eligible to set up an individual 401(k) or SEP IRA, which will allow you to save some of your earnings for retirement. How much you can contribute to these accounts depends on your income, but it may be as much as $50,000 per year. Saving for retirement by working for yourself can bring other benefits as well. Self-employment can help you keep your skills fresh and build contacts, which can make it easier to find a job if you do decide to re-enter the workforce at some point.

5. Maximize your spouse’s contributions. Is your spouse contributing as much as possible to an employer-sponsored retirement plan? If not, then it may make sense to increase deferrals, so that as a couple you are saving as much as possible for retirement. Currently, maximum contributions to a 401(k) plan in 2013 are $17,500 plus a $5,500 catch-up contribution for individuals 50 years and older.

6. Contribute to a health savings account. An HSA is a tax-advantaged account available to individuals with high-deductible health plans (HDHP) for use in paying medical expenses. The individuals are the owners of the account. For individuals who are employed, contributions can be made by both the employer and the employee. For those who are not employed, they can make contributions on their own behalf.

Unlike an IRA or 401(k), where earned income is a requirement, the funds deposited into an HSA by an employee can come from savings, dividends, unemployment compensation and even welfare. In addition, there are no income limits on who can contribute, unlike Roth IRAs. The maximum contribution for 2013 is $3,250 for an individual and $6,450 for a family. Additional catch-up contributions of $1,000 are allowed for individuals 55 years of age or older.

So how does an HSA pertain to retirement savings? Before and during retirement, HSA funds can be used tax-free to pay for qualifying health expenses. After age 65, HSA funds can be used for expenses other than health care without penalty (although ordinary income taxes will be due), so it’s another vehicle for tax-deferred savings. For those in higher tax brackets, HSAs may be especially beneficial as the tax savings are greater. Unused funds in an HSA remain in the account from year to year, so the owner has the option to either use the funds to pay current medical expenses or to pay those expenses out of pocket and allow the HSA to grow and serve as a source of income in retirement.

As a stay-at-home mom, caring for your family is your biggest priority. But don’t forget about taking care of yourself, and your retirement. Planning today can help you feel empowered now and enjoy the life you want in the future.

According to news reports, when Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise announced their divorce, there wasn’t much of a question of how the couple’s assets would be split. That’s because a detailed prenuptial agreement outlined exactly what would happen, financially speaking, if the couple split. It’s been said that Holmes walked away with only those assets that she brought into the marriage.

Prenups aren’t unusual for celebrity types or the super wealthy, but they aren’t as common for the simply well-off folks who aren’t in the spotlight. This could be a mistake. There are social trends that make having a prenup a very smart idea. Instead of creating tension for a couple, a prenup can actually create peace of mind that financial matters will be settled fairly and quickly in case a marriage doesn’t work out.

You may see yourself or someone in these circumstances:

* Going into a marriage with significant assets or liabilities: People are getting married later in life (the average age for a first marriage is the highest it’s ever been, at 26.5 years for women and 28.7 for men, according to the Pew Research Center), time enough to accumulate wealth on one’s own.

* Inheriting a large sum of money or other assets: Baby Boomers and Gen Xers are often beneficiaries of their parents’ or grandparents’ estates, creating instant wealth for one or both partners.

* Divorcing after age 50, sometimes referred to as the “gray divorce”: A gray divorce typically involves an empty-nester couple who stayed together for the sake of the children. Or, since we are all living longer, a marriage that would have ended with the death of one spouse now ends in divorce. Whatever the exact cause, statistics show that the divorce rate has more than doubled in the past 10 years. Today, one-quarter of people who get divorced are over age 50, according to the National Center for Family and Marriage Research.

Prenup Basics

Prenuptial agreements are legal documents that specify how certain financial issues will be handled in the event a marriage ends (either in divorce or death). Prenups are especially popular when one partner has substantially more money than the other going into the marriage.

A prenup might be a good idea even if you don’t have movie star money. You should consider a prenuptial agreement if:

• You own a business.
• You expect to receive a significant inheritance.
• You have assets such as retirement accounts, a home or stocks.
• You have children from a previous relationship.
• You don’t make a lot of money now, but you expect your future earnings to be significant (for example, you are currently in law school or medical school).
• You have more unusual assets that you want to protect (for example, you are an author or musician who owns the copyright to your creative works, you have a collection of valuable art, etc.).
• One half of a couple has significant debt.

A well-crafted prenuptial agreement will specify how these assets and liabilities will be handled if a marriage ends.

The Well-Crafted Prenup

Just having a signed agreement between two parties doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a valid prenup. For your agreement to be enforceable, you need to do certain things:

• Sign the agreement well before the wedding. If a prenup was signed just days before a marriage, it may look like one party was coerced into the agreement.
• Fully disclose all your financial information. If one person withholds information, it could make the prenup unenforceable.
• Make sure your prenup is equitable. Courts may not look fondly on an agreement that leaves one party completely broke. For example, even if one person waives his or her right to alimony payments, a court could still decide to award those payments if it determines that’s the fairest option.
• Keep it reasonable. Don’t include frivolous, non-financial demands in your prenup, such as clauses that require one spouse to not gain weight, specify where to spend holidays or dictate how children will be raised. Prenups that contain these types of clauses may be invalidated. You also can’t make decisions about child support or custody in a prenup, since those issues are decided separately by the courts.
• Hire a lawyer. Informal agreements are far less likely to be enforceable. Each party should hire their own lawyer who looks out for their own interests and is familiar with marital laws in their state. The lawyers can then work together to hash out an agreement that works for both you and your fiancé.

Think About Finances Before You Say “I Do”

If you’re engaged or thinking about getting married, you should seriously consider sitting down with your partner and have a conversation about a prenup. This can be a sensitive topic, and it’s possible that your partner will react negatively when you raise the issue. If that’s the case, try explaining that a prenup is a way to minimize conflict and ensure that everyone is treated fairly in the unlikely event the marriage doesn’t work out, not a way of saying that a marriage is doomed to failure.

Even if you and your fiancé decide a prenup isn’t for you, having a conversation about it can allow you to talk about financial concerns—something that many couples fail to discuss before marriage. Bringing up issues of debt, assets and future earning potential now allows both of you to go into a marriage with eyes wide open, and can mean a smoother, happier partnership in the future.

Sources:

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/12/14/barely-half-of-u-s-adults-are-married-a-record-low/
http://ncfmr.bgsu.edu/pdf/family_profiles/file108695.pdf
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/prenup.asp
http://family.findlaw.com/marriage/what-can-and-cannot-be-included-in-prenuptial-agreements.html http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/family-money/i-do-however–13917/

The following is a guest post by Laurie Zerga, founder and Chief Culinary Officer of Chef-K, Culinary Health Education for Kids. Laurie’s company provides culinary programs that combine nutrition, the science of food safety, cooking instruction and table etiquette for kids ages five through eighteen. Her primary clients are organizations that support youth and families, such as Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Boy Scouts of America. She also works with school districts and the military.

Prior to founding Chef-k, Laurie had a successful career in corporate America.

Having been raised in a family business and now an entrepreneur, business is near and dear to my heart. So when Cathy Curtis, an investment advisor based in the Bay Area, asked me to attend a panel she was moderating entitled “Exploring New Approaches to Launching your Dream Business,” I gladly did. The panel was part of the Annual Women Chefs and Restaurateurs Conference (held in San Francisco at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel).

The panelists: Brahm Ahmadi, co-founder and Executive Director of People’s Grocery; Sarah Dvorak, founder and cheesemonger at Mission Cheese; Eric Fenster, co-founder and co-owner of Back to Earth Catering and Gather Restaurant, Kim Grant, Director of Acquisitions for Mobile Skillet) and Iso Rabins, founder of ForageSF. It was a diverse group of food entrepreneurs, all of whom had rich experiences to share with the audience.

Eric Fenster launched the discussion with a review of the basics he felt were needed to start a business. Here’s a rundown:

1. What: You need a strong vision and passion to carry it through.
2. How: Get to work, figure out the nuts and bolts, and be prepared to put in lots of time.
3. Who: Build your team; pick people who are experts in their field including lawyers and accountants if you need them.
4. Why: Offer value to your community.

I found it fascinating that each panelist’s number one reason for starting their business was to support community and/or other food businesses through their expertise. Eric wanted to have a place for community to “gather” and enjoy local and seasonal food. Kim, using her technology and content expertise, wants to help entrepreneurs to create mobile apps to share their recipes through the Internet. Sarah wanted to build a place to introduce people to artisan cheesemakers. Brahm wants to provide a full-service grocery store to the low-income community of West Oakland where there are many liquor stores but no traditional grocery stores. Iso wanted to bring wild grown food to urban tables and, now, to create kitchen spaces for food entrepreneurs who would otherwise not be able to afford commercial space. Yes, they all want to make money, but that was secondary to pursuing their passion.

Funding a Start-Up Food Business

Cathy’s first questions were about funding, arguably the most important “ingredient” to launching a business. The panelists discussed traditional methods like bootstrapping, donations or loans from friends and family, angel and venture capital (VC) investors, credit lines, credit cards, and bank and SBA loans. Each panelist had varying degrees of success with each of these funding options. All acknowledged the difficulty of obtaining traditional bank funding.

The discussion got very interesting as the panel members began to mention newer and lesser-known channels to funding. One of the common challenges for start-up businesses is finding ways to get funding from individual investors. The federal and state regulations protecting investors date back to the Great Depression. Those regulations limit investment in private businesses to accredited investors; as a result the majority of people (non-accredited investors) can only invest in companies through the stock market.

But, individuals can make donations to small businesses and over the last several years several online platforms—called crowd-funding sites—have launched to make this possible. Iso and Sarah used sites such as IndieGoGo and Kickstarter to raise money.

Eric’s legal team discovered SEC Reg D, which allows small numbers of non-accredited investors (ordinary people) to invest in private ventures. Also, several of the panelists mentioned bill s.2190, the Crowd Source Act that President Obama recently signed legalizing investment by non-accredited investors. There are companies such as Crowdfunder that are ready to jump into this space when the Act takes effect. (The SEC is working on the details now.)

The Importance of Building Community

Another interesting theme that came up in the discussion was the importance of community building. Each panelist had spent a year or two finding and building their community using blogs and social media platforms (such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram). They also sought out opportunities to plan low-cost events to promote themselves and their businesses. They took the time to build relationships with people who would later become their customers and in some cases, their investors. Iso (ForageSF) executed a very successful Kickstarter campaign, earning donations of $156,000. He attributes his success largely to his earlier community-building efforts.

I came away from the panel not only inspired by the passion that these food entrepreneurs shared for building business and community but excited about the new opportunities that may be around the corner for investing in small enterprises.

Since the news is particularly ripe with financial terms right now, it is a great time for us to learn some common finance terms. Some finglish terms are often confused and used improperly in the media. Hopefully, this will increase your financial knowledge, help you to understand the key issues we’re facing and communicate better with your financial advisor.

Six Finglish Terms You Should Know

Federal budget deficit. This term is in the news constantly and for good reason—the deficit is huge, at $1.1 trillion. This means that the federal government is spending $1.1 trillion more than it is earning in revenues over a year. Why? Because entitlement spending, interest paid on the national debt and defense spending are much greater than revenue from taxes. And when the economy is weak, as it is now, tax collections are down.

National debt. A lot of people confuse the debt and the deficit. The amount of gross federal debt outstanding is a difficult-to-imagine $16.2 trillion. The national debt increases or decreases based on the annual federal budget deficit or surplus. But a surplus has not been seen since 2003 and the deficit is now growing at a rate of almost $1 trillion a year. Together with the budget deficit, this debt was one of the reasons Standard & Poor’s gave when downgrading the United States’ credit rating last summer.

Entitlement spending. This refers to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid outlays by the government. Though we pay into this system during our working years, with rising costs of healthcare and longer lives, much more goes out than comes in. Our country’s leaders know that entitlement spending has got to be reformed to fix the debt problem. But it’s a political minefield, and a divided post-election government will make change difficult.

Debt ceiling. The federal government is limited by law on the total amount of debt it issues. This limit is known as the debt ceiling. Currently, the debt ceiling is $16.4 trillion, an amount that we will exceed in early 2013. Fortunately, the government can continue to operate and pay its obligations through various accounting mechanisms and Congress will mostly likely vote to increase the ceiling.

Quantitative easing (QE). This is a weapon in the Federal Reserve’s arsenal to help the country out of a recession when all else fails. This is sometimes referred to as “printing money,” but this term is misleading since very few new paper bills are issued and the Treasury prints currency anyway, not the Fed. The Fed tends to use QE when it has lowered interest rates to close to 0% and the economy doesn’t improve. Quantitative easing increases the money supply by flooding banks and other financial institutions with capital through the Fed’s asset purchases in an effort to promote increased lending and liquidity.

The Fed announced the third round of QE on Sepember. 13, 2012. Each month, for as long as it takes, the Fed will buy $40 billion in bonds and mortgage-backed securities, and keep rates close to zero until 2015. Many economists are concerned that open-ended asset purchases could lead to inflation, as there is still a fixed amount of goods for sale (too much money chasing too few goods leads to higher prices).

Yield Curve. When the Fed expands the money supply, it intends to spur borrowing by lowering interest rates further out on the yield curve. The yield curve is basically a chart showing borrowing costs for bonds of different maturities.

Naturally, longer maturities of 10 to 30 years come with higher interest rates to compensate the lender (the bond holder) for parting with that money for a longer time. Short-term debt usually carries a lower interest rate. By driving down long-term borrowing costs, the Fed hopes to encourage businesses to borrow more so they can invest and hire people.

Becoming a Better Informed Investor

The list above is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to finglish. There are many others terms that you should be familiar with. Getting used to financial terms makes you a more empowered investor and a more informed citizen. Don’t let seemingly arcane vocabulary turn you away from investing and pursuing your financial future.

Why You Should Get Started with Financial Planning Today

One thing I know for sure is that if these women start financial planning now, they will worry less about money later. There are simple truths about money (such as compound interest, asset allocation and diversification, and living within your means) that, if put into practice early, will pay huge dividends later.

So, what is financial planning?

Financial Planning is a process that throws a spotlight on your personal financial situation. It’s a process that lets you know if you are on track financially to reach your short- and long-term goals. It takes courage, but keeping your finances in the shadows because of fear, disinterest or lack of time just won’t cut it if you want to reach your goals and live worry-free later in life.

Financial planning is a series of steps you take that will answer and provide solutions for questions like:

Are you…

• Living within your means?
• Building a cash reserve for unexpected expenses or possible job loss?
• Saving enough for your most cherished financial goals and retirement?
• Investing your savings in a broadly diversified manner?
• Using debt, such as your mortgage, wisely?
• Adequately protecting yourself and your family against loss with insurance?
• Taking advantage of tax-saving strategies?
• Planning for future generations with a sound estate plan?
• Maximizing your employee benefits?
• Managing your stock options for maximum benefit?
• Thinking about how you will pay for long-term care costs?

The goal of a good financial plan should be to get to “yes!” on all of these questions.

Getting Comfortable With The Uncomfortable. (Or, How CrossFit is like Investing)

In the past year, many people I know have taken up a new exercise program called CrossFit.  When I see someone looking particularly sinuous and sleek I don’t even have to ask anymore – I know their regularly visiting the CrossFit gym.  My super-fit  friend Molly Fuller, co-founder of Hands On Gourmet, describes the workout like this: “garage gym, no frills, down and dirty, super intense work outs, barbells, dumb bells, pull up bars, barely any equipment, no mirrors…”.  When I asked Molly what motivates her to stay with it even if it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable she said, “my passion for getting comfortable with the uncomfortable.”

Being a investment advisor, I couldn’t help but think how much this sounded like investing, particularly when Molly told me about one of her primary reasons for starting CrossFit: “I don’t ever want to be that old lady that has trouble getting up from a seated position, hopefully air squats will ensure that I’m not.” This statement reminded me of my women clients who admit to fears about becoming a “bag lady” because they aren’t sure if they are investing appropriately or saving enough for retirement.

Some things in life that seem the most uncomfortable are really very simple.

If you want a fit body and good muscle tone, you need to work out regularly. If you want your money to work for you and grow for your future, you need to save and then invest it appropriately.  Both take patience, discipline and a good strategy. In the case of working out, if you push yourself too hard,  you’re risking injury or if you take it too easy the waistline won’t budge.  With investing, if you’re too conservative inflation will eat up your savings, if you take on too much risk, volatility can cause you to lose sleep at night.

How can you get comfortable with the uncomfortable when it comes to investing? Follow these simple steps:

1. Live within your means and save at least 15% of your income.
2. Build an emergency fund of 6 months to one year of living expenses depending on the stability of your income sources.
3. Invest using an asset allocation strategy in a highly diversified portfolio appropriate to your age, time frames, risk tolerance, and financial goals.
4. Rebalance your portfolio periodically to maintain your chosen asset allocation.
5. Be disciplined, patient and start getting comfortable with the uncomfortable!

More Resources:

Read the 10 Simple Truths About Money

None of us knows how long we will live. But you can be sure that the longer you live the more money you will need.  According to IRS issued life expectancy tables, the life expectancy for a 25 year old is 83.2, for a 50 year old 84.2 and for a 75 year old it’s 88.4.

The older you get the more years you are expected to live. We can thank medical science and our healthier lifestyles for this increased longevity. In 1900, the average life expectancy was 47 years old!

Some of you reading this may be so far away from retirement that you don’t think about it. You’re more concerned with building your career and allocating your money to buy and do the things you want now. Others are realizing that it’s time to get serious about having a plan. Then there are those near retirement or in retirement and know that the nest-egg has to last.

The bottom line is: once you stop earning income you will start withdrawing from your savings to support your lifestyle. For most people, these savings plus social security (and maybe a pension) will be your new “salary.”  If you retire at age 65, your savings will need to last for 20-30 years or more.

How can you estimate that you will have enough?

Fortunately, a lot of research has gone into determining how much a person can withdraw each year from their savings and still have enough to last to their life expectancy. A widely accepted solution is the 4% withdrawal rate formula. This is how you calculate it:  Total value of savings at retirement x 4% = your first year withdrawal amount.  Each year thereafter increase this amount by the rate of inflation (assume 3%).

The 4% Withdrawal Rate Formula Illustrated:

Nancy (hypothetical example)
Nancy is 65 and about to retire. She has saved $2,000,000 that she has invested in a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds appropriate for her age and risk tolerance. 4% of $2,000,000 is $80,000 – under the 4% rule, this is the amount that Nancy can withdraw from her nest-egg in the first year to start her withdrawal program. She also is entitled to $21,600 in Social Security benefits.

$101,600 Lifestyle
To protect against spending down her savings too quickly, Nancy will need to budget to spend around $101,600 a year. In each year thereafter, Nancy can increase this amount by the rate of inflation (let’s assume 3%), so in the 2nd year she can withdraw $82,400 and in the third year $84,872 and so on. (Social Security income adjusts for inflation as well). If in a particular year her investments go down more than expected due to market conditions she may need to make adjustments in the amount she withdraws.  If  Nancy’s pre-retirement life-style cost more than $101,600, she will be faced with figuring out ways to cut back.

A word of caution: predicting future investment returns and  inflation rates is near impossible. In addition, each person’s financial situation will be different. But a better understanding of what you will need to save and invest now  is critical for your financial future.

Remember: A longer life means savings and investing now for a comfortable retirement.

Additional helpful articles on this topic:

Making Your Retirement Assets Last – from the Wall Street Journal
Common Mistakes Pre-Retirees Make – from the Wall Street Journal

Painting by Alice Anna Disse

July 26, 2012
This past week I’ve been thinking about mom non-stop. So many images and memories flashing through my head from the past.

And then writing this eulogy…how can a few paragraphs portray this wonderful woman and all the love we had for her?

Imagine this: Raising six children: Patty, Steph, Me, Clare, Greg and Bill – some of us just one year apart – living in a two bedroom, one bath house – many times with something malfunctioning: the clothes dryer, the shower, the car – and all the while mostly keeping your sanity and sense of humor.

That was mom.

My dad was busy working and had an aversion to hiring help, so my mom in her usual way, would take things into her own hands, literally. She fixed leaks, plastered and painted walls, refinished floors, reupholstered furniture – whatever it took. The day she moved out of 414 Rivera in 2005 was a sad day, not only because she had lived there for 46 years, but because she had put so much into that house emotionally and physically!

I see her standing on the doorstep on summer nights calling out our names one after the other at the top of her lungs to corral us in for dinner.

I see her sitting at the piano playing her favorite tunes — anything from Chopin to a polka.

I see her loading us up in our 50’s pale green Plymouth for a drive to Marin or San Bruno to get out of the fog of San Francisco.

My mother loved music, playing the piano, art, painting, flowers and gardening, laughter, parties, swimming, traveling and being around her family. She was disciplined and strived to instill her sense of discipline in us…especially when it came to the piano…I can still hear her insisting, “You have to practice…it’s the only way to improve and get good at anything.” When she wanted to learn something new, she would take classes. She finally got her college degree at San Francisco State when she was 63 years old – a life-long dream.

When my brother Bill was sick, she learned everything she could about mental illness to try and help him.

She gave up a lot to raise six kids, something I didn’t realize until I was much older. With her talents, personality and energy she could have had many opportunities. But she didn’t complain. She never made us feel like we got in the way in her life. On the contrary she was our champion. She encouraged us when we needed it, was there when we were sick or sad. And I know we tried her patience. We all laugh at the image of our mom chasing us around the house with her broom, knowing she would never catch us, but so frustrated she didn’t know what else to do!

I’m glad that my mom had many years of relative freedom after we grew up. She taught young children in the public schools in San Francisco. Besides being an accomplished pianist, she was an artist. She took classes and studied on her own and produced a huge amount of work in oil, watercolor, acrylic and other mediums. She took trips and spent time with friends. She approached all of these things like a kid – with great enthusiasm.

When I asked my sisters and brother to express their thoughts about mom, the words they used were: strength, commitment, positive outlook, inspiring, strong faith, supportive, enjoying life, adventure and unconditional love for her family. Our friends remember her as being a sweet and classy woman. And I might add, she had a killer figure and great sense of style.

What I’m going to miss the most, and I’m sure my siblings will agree, is the way her face would light up and she would smile her big beautiful smile whenever we showed up…anywhere, anytime. She was so proud of us.

The only time I saw my mom cry was when her mother died. I remember she was sweeping the floor, quietly weeping. It scared me because that wasn’t like mom. Now I understand her grief and how hard it is to lose someone that means so much to you.

My mom’s strength and energy carried her through up until the end. She did her level best to refuse every possible limitation that her age and state of health imposed. She loved her independence and kept it until she couldn’t any longer. She died with dignity and grace and with loving care from the staff at Sunrise and from Hospice of Petaluma.

We were all able to say good-bye and tell her how much we loved her.

We know she is watching over us now. May she rest in peace.

The “fiscal cliff” and “taxageddon” refer to a convergence of fiscal events (or government spending and tax policies that influence the economy) slated to occur almost simultaneously at the end of 2012. If these terms aren’t on your radar yet, they are sure to be soon, as the media loves nothing better than drama and bad news and there’s plenty of that in this story.

The actors are the President, Congress, and U.S. taxpayers. The stage is the fragile U.S. economy. Like all good dramas, this one has lots of tension. The drama began decades ago when the U.S. started deficit spending, was exacerbated by the healthcare battle and the recent Great Recession, and came to a head last summer when the U.S. almost defaulted on its debt.

All kinds of political machinations took place to avoid a default—deals and compromises that were short-term stop-gaps, and all are coming due at the end of this year. You might say, “Surely the President and Congress can do something to stop Taxageddon?” Yes they can, but they won’t until after the November elections, leaving everyone at the edge of their seats—a true cliff hanger.

Hang on to your seats, and keep reading. Here is the fiscal cliff script:

1. Tax rates for every income group will rise to levels not seen since 2001 (better known as the expiration of the Bush tax cuts). The current 10%, 25%, 28%, 33% and 35% rates will shift to 15%, 28%,31%,36 % and 39.6%.
2. The tax rate on long-term capital gains will go from 15% to 20%. The maximum rate on dividends will increase to 39.6%.
3. Some 3 million Americans will lose unemployment benefits.
4. The Pentagon will start 2013 with a $55 billion budget cut; the budget for non-defense spending will be cut by the same amount.
5. Soon after the beginning of the year, federal payments to doctors who treat patients covered by Medicare will be slashed by about a third.
6. Higher-earning individuals ($200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families) will be subject to an additional tax of 3.8% on all investment income: interest, dividends, capital gains, rents and royalties.

If all of these spending cuts and tax increases become reality, a significant slowdown (recession) is likely to result. This translates into continuing high unemployment, a volatile and downward-trending stock market, and generally unstable economic conditions.

In the final act, Congress and the Obama administration will fight it out over the last six weeks of 2012, negotiating, compromising, eliminating one thing, extending another, and once again avoiding disaster. But what remains to be seen is whether the U.S. economy will right itself or remain perched on the edge of the cliff.

How do you think this story will end?