Retirement Strategy: Plan for Long-Term Care Costs

No, Medicare won’t cover years of care, here’s the real risk No, Medicare won’t cover years of care, here’s the real risk. Look, I get it: we all pay into Medicare for decades and assume it’s the safety net for everything. It’s not. Here’s the thing, Medicare is built for skilled and acute care after an event (think a hospital stay, short-term rehab, home health with a skilled need). It does not cover ongoing custodial care like help with bathing, dressing, eating, or dementia supervision. That day-in, day-out help is exactly what drains portfolios, and it’s the part people confuse…

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Tax-Efficient Retirement: Why Timing Beats Allocation

Why Timing Beats Almost Everything In Retirement Taxes So, here’s the thing: in retirement, when you pay taxes often matters more than what you own. I know that sounds upside-down, every headline is about the hottest fund or the “right” allocation, but taxes are the quiet line item that compounds against you. Actually, wait, let me clarify that: tax drag compounds just like returns. A little leak, year after year, turns into a flood over decades. Quick example. Suppose a $1,000,000 taxable portfolio earns 6% a year before taxes. If you lose 1% each year to ongoing taxes on dividends,…

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How Currency Moves Can Reshape Your Retirement Portfolio

From “set-it-and-forget-it” to “FX matters now” Look, the old playbook was simple: a U.S.-only 60/40, rebalance once a year, call it a day, and maybe argue about small-cap value at Thanksgiving. That worked when your portfolio, and your life, were mostly dollar-denominated. But retirement planning in 2025 isn’t living in that world anymore. Most portfolios, even the autopilot ones, touch foreign markets. That means currencies sneak into your returns, your withdrawal math, and occassionally your taxes. Not to be dramatic, but FX isn’t a niche trader toy, it’s now part of the basic toolkit. Here’s the thing: modern default products…

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