The question of when to take your Social Security retirement benefits often comes down to whether you need the money now or can wait until later.  Larger benefit checks await those who take it later, but is there a way to perhaps get the cash flow you need right now from another source while delaying your benefits as long as possible?

Bucket 1 may be able to help.  By creating your own cash flow for 7 or 8 years, up until you turn age 70, you may be able to create a kind of "quasi benefit" and allow yourself to take those larger checks later on.

How might that work?  Find out from host Johnny Dean and Rick "The Professor" Plum, CFP® on this week's episode of Managing Your Financial Future!

With the cost of college in the US skyrocketing, many parents find they need to begin saving almost immediately if they want their children to be able to attend. One avenue for doing that is the 529 Plan, which comes with both benefits and costs.

Lately, though, the 529 has become less popular among savers. The reasons? Tuition costs, market uncertainty, and no guarantee that a job will be waiting for their kids when they graduate, among others. 

So now the question remains: Is the 529 Plan still a good college savings vehicle? What are the rules, and what other potential options exist?  Find out what you need to know from host Johnny Dean and "Professor" Rick Plum, CFP® on this week's episode of Managing Your Financial Future!

A good financial plan will contain many elements: a source of cash flow, assets that are matched to liabilities, tax management, and investment oversight, to name just a few.  And while these are important parts of a financial plan, there is perhaps one additional component that is above all else: room for error.

In investing, as in life, there are certain scenarios that can break you - perhaps permanently. So one of the most prudent things you can do is to avoid those situations completely.  When your best financial plan doesn't always go according to plan, you must have enough room for error to allow enough time to let the odds fall in your favor.

How, exactly, does that work?  Learn all about it from podcast host Johnny Dean and "Professor" Rick Plum, CFP® on today's episode of Managing Your Financial Future!

In the investing world, there are certain things that are out of your control: the short term direction of the stock market and where the economic trends are headed, to name just two.  These are, of course, impossible to predict with accuracy.

Because of this, we have to assume that certain unforeseeable risks will occur along the way.  And while we don't know which ones will happen when, by being prepared for them, we can potentially achieve a better outcome.

Learn more about why it's so important to manage risk instead of your rate of return and how to prepare for unknown events with podcast host Johnny Dean and "Professor" Rick Plum, CFP® on this week's episode of Managing Your Financial Future!

If you have a pension, the decision of how and when to take the payments is an important one – and, probably irrevocable. Maybe you have the choice to take the entire amount as a lump sum; if so, is that option potentially better than a stream of monthly payments?

And then there are your other choices. For married people who want to get as much as they can now, are they sacrificing the financial stability of their surviving spouse down the road? Possibly. But there may also be a solution to that dilemma.

On this week’s episode of Managing Your Financial Future, podcast host Johnny Dean and “Professor” Rick Plum, CFP® talk about what you need to consider before you make this “one-and-done" pension decision.  

In early July of this year, the new Budget Reconciliation Law was enacted by Congress. It made several changes to existing tax law, introduced some new legislation, and made other formerly temporary laws "permanent".

Whether you like it or hate it, there are many things within the bill that will affect a large number of people, thus presenting some new tax planning opportunities. What is new? What is different? What was made permanent? And how will these new laws affect YOU?

Find out what you MUST know about the new tax bill with host Johnny Dean and Rick "The Professor" Plum, CFP® on today's episode of Managing Your Financial Future.

When the federal tax code was enacted more than 100 years ago, it consisted of approximately 11,000 words.  Today, it contains north of 16 million words.  It's no wonder, then, that trying to understand all the rules, exceptions, and instructions is nearly impossible.

We're going to attempt to make things just a bit easier for you today.  While we won't get into EVERY detail, there are several things that nearly everyone who files a tax return needs to know in order to make better decisions regarding their own personal tax situation.

What are 5 things you (probably) didn't know about your taxes?  Find out from Johnny Dean and "Professor" Rick Plum, CFP® on this latest episode of Managing Your Financial Future!

A few months back, we explained how the 401(k) plan has become a default retirement savings plan for most people, and is thus a very important saving vehicle. We also talked about how the rules, options, and investments of a 401(k) can be extremely confusing.  

It's time to clear up that confusion - or at least address it.  With all the options, rules, tax consequences, and withdrawal methods, knowing what can happen when you make a decision about your 401k is a huge plus.

What are the 5 things you (probably) didn't know about your 401k plan? Find out from podcast host Johnny Dean and "Professor" Rick Plum, CFP® on today's episode of Managing Your Financial Future!

One thing that most people would agree on is that paying no taxes is a lot better than actually paying them.  This makes the tax-free nature of Roth IRA withdrawals very attractive, as long as all of the specific rules are met.

Although the Roth was established more than 25 years ago, for many it still remains something of a mystery.  You may have heard it's a good thing, but what should you know about the Roth IRA that you perhaps didn't know?

Knowledge, of course, is power. Find out 5 things you (probably) did not know about your Roth IRA from podcast host Johnny Dean and Rick "The Professor" Plum, CFP® on today's episode of Managing Your Financial Future!

For many retirees, Social Security is a cornerstone of their income strategy. That makes sense - it helps establish how much support a retirement portfolio will need to provide, and when.

But understanding how to get the most out of your benefits is more than just choosing an age to start collecting. There are spousal and survivor benefits to factor in, family benefits, disability considerations, and even the possibility of taxes on what you receive.

Want to learn 5 surprising facts about Social Security that could affect your plan? Podcast host Johnny Dean and Rick “The Professor” Plum, CFP® tell you what you need to know on this week's episode of Managing Your Financial Future!