If you’re currently with an advisor, or looking to work with someone new, there are some very important questions that you should have the answers to. See… the thing is, not all advisors are created equal. Some advisors are just “money managers” or “investment guys” and they don’t really provide much planning or retirement advice. Other advisors may say they have your best interests first, but they don’t give you the full picture, or the information you need to […]

  Money—we strive to earn it, save it, and then, when we retire, make sure it lasts the rest of our lives. As we age, we develop specific beliefs about money—beliefs we’ve inherited from parents, friends, TV, radio, books, and advertising. History teaches us that many of those beliefs have not served us well. Whether you have a lot or a little of it, it is the cause of over 50% of divorces and one of the main sources of […]

  When you are in the financial services industry, and especially when you specialize in retirement planning, you see a ton of articles, opinions, and research discussing various strategies for success. One of the recent articles I read discussed three specific phases that we go through during our retirement years. These phases are referred to as the “Go-Go Years,” the “Slow-Go Years,” and the “No-Go (or Won’t-Go) Years.” Specifically, the Go-Go Years are the early retirement years, often between 60 […]

  In retirement, the #1 challenge you will face is generating retirement income. Moreover, how do you generate income that is secure, reliable, and consistent? How do you do this through uncertain and occasionally chaotic market conditions? How do you ensure you don’t run out of money? These are some of the tough questions you will face when it comes to creating your own retirement paycheck. But there is a bigger question at play… a much more important one… it’s […]

  Reading through the various blog posts and industry articles that come across my desk every week, I came upon several articles dealing with homeowners insurance. With all of the recent rains and possible flooding in our area, many of you could, or should, be concerned with the question that also happens to be the title of one of the articles I read: Is Your Home Adequately Insured by the Right Company? While SGL does not deal with property and […]

  A Mistake Here Could Upend Your Retirement Dreams I think you would agree that life doesn’t always work out as we plan. When the unplanned comes our way, we set out to fix whatever it is—to make things right. Sometimes we can get back on track quickly, but other times it may take months or even years. A storm on your vacation, for example, may sideline your touring for a few hours but, after it passes, you are back […]

  I have an important question for you: Are you procrastinating on creating or finalizing your retirement plan? Life is certainly busy and throws a lot your way. We rush to and from work. There’s always something to clean up or fix around the house. Errands are constantly pulling at us. And, don’t forget about those bills to pay! So when should you carve out the time to get your retirement plan in place? Is there really any harm in […]

  If you have read my blog posts in the past, you will undoubtedly know that I am a total nut about the game of golf. In fact, I even made a living at it for a brief part of my life after college. As a competitive golfer, I was perpetually looking for opportunities to improve my game. This is where golf club fitting came in. Without a properly fit set of clubs, a golfer’s swing and mechanical changes may […]

  Getting out of a timeshare is nearly impossible, and there is a new scammer hitting the airwaves with various “solutions” to get out of your timeshare—guaranteed (well maybe not­­). I just returned from my annual golf vacation with my wife, sister-in-law, and brother in-law. For the past several years we have taken advantage of their timeshare ownership and it has been wonderful. Upon my return, I came across several articles warning about timeshare ownership and the relatively new wave […]