DIY Personal & Retirement Financial Planning

Do-It-Yourself financial and investment planning Excel spreadsheet software

retirement expenses

10 Personal Financial and Investment Planning Steps in the Right Direction

Increase your knowledge and accelerate your ability to take leadership in the management of your own personal finances and lifetime investing. This ten-step personal financial planning process will help you optimize the management of your financial planning and investment management affairs over your lifetime, while greatly reducing the unnecessary waste of your money and your […]

Commentary on How Many Mutual Funds are Needed for a Well-Diversified Portfolio

For holding periods of many years, diversification improves dramatically, when you hold multiple actively-managed mutual funds in an investment portfolio. In “How Many Mutual Funds Constitute a Diversified Mutual Fund Portfolio?,” Professor Edward O’Neal of the University of New Hampshire at Durham tackled the important question of how much an investor could improve on diversification […]

Roth IRA Contributions Versus Traditional IRA Contributions for Renters

Introduction: Roth IRA Contributions versus Traditional IRA Contributions for Renters In a series of articles, The Skilled Investor compares different lifetime financial planning projections for Fran and Fred Frugal to illustrate the relative value of adopting different financial planning strategies. Fran and Fred, both ages 30, are a married working couple with $100,000 in combined […]

Two Examples of the Tax Assets Graphic in VeriPlan

Two examples of the Tax Assets graphic in VeriPlan TAX ASSETS: Taxable and Tax-Advantaged Financial Assets (real $/yr) Below are two examples of the blue-tabbed TAX ASSETS graphic, which come from VeriPlan’s “Sue and Sam Saver” tutorial. This graphic separates their cash, bond, and stock assets by account taxability throughout their lifetime projections. Assets are […]

Factors Favoring Roth IRA and Roth 401k Plan Contributions

Factors that tend to favor Roth IRA and Roth 401k tax-advantaged plan contributions In a recent article, “Traditional versus Roth tax-advantaged plan contributions,” The Skilled Investor discussed why the average taxpayer would tend to benefit more by contributing to traditional rather than to tax-advantaged Roth IRA and Roth 401(k) retirement plans. This follow-up article in […]

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