Keen On Retirement

With about a month until Tax Day on Tuesday, April 15th, you should, ideally, have all your financial documents collected. It might be a good idea to check in one last time with your financial advisor before you send your 2024 data to your CPA or start plugging away on your favorite tax software. But as you put a bow on last year, it's important to keep an eye on the future, especially for retirees. Cracking open your nest egg and sequencing how and when you use your assets and benefits is a complex process. Decisions you make today can affect your lifetime tax liability, the lifestyle you can enjoy during your Golden Years, and your legacy planning. On today's show, we use this combination of short-term and long-term perspective to tackle some listener tax questions and explain how the Keen Wealth Advantage can help you feel more confident about how taxes fit into your comprehensive planning.

The joy that we all feel checking off our holiday shopping lists, wrapping gifts, and exchanging presents with loved ones is often accompanied by another feeling: anxiety. Not just from the stress of getting everything done before the parties start, but from worries around money that can pile up this time of year. Some folks just can't look at a pile of presents without seeing price tags -- especially if money is a little tight this year or they're still adjusting to living off a fixed income in retirement. Worse, that anxiety might make you feel like you're doing the holidays "wrong," letting things that don't really matter keep you from enjoying the things that do. But, as we discussed on a recent podcast, finding the right balance between generosity, personal fulfillment, and long-term financial security is an ongoing part of just about every financial plan. Holiday gift-giving just makes us experience that tug-of-war in a more heightened, time-bound way. And if you can use these three strategies to control your holiday giving this year, you can establish a strong foundation for sustained giving going forward.

The perfect Thanksgiving meal requires planning, balance, patience, and a generous guest list. At Keen Wealth, our comprehensive financial planning process uses a similar blueprint to help folks cultivate wealth for retirement. And while the prep can feel like it's taking forever, when you're sitting down at that beautiful, bountiful table, surrounded by your loved ones, the wait is almost always worth it. As you begin setting goals for the year ahead, use this five-step process to infuse your financial planning with a spirit of Thanksgiving.

At Keen Wealth, we often describe tax-planning as an ongoing process, not just something we help folks accomplish every spring. And while Tax Day is certainly circled in red on our annual planning calendars, the end of the year is also an important deadline for some moves that could lower your tax bill. On today's show, we discuss three financial strategies that you and your advisor should consider before December 31st. Please note that we recorded this episode before Election Day. We'll give you our thoughts on how the new U.S. political environment could affect your financial planning in the weeks ahead.

"Tax season" is year-round at Keen Wealth. As we meet with folks throughout the year and help them respond to life's ups and downs, we're constantly reevaluating their portfolios, budgets, and goals to look for more efficient and advantageous tax planning strategies. However, there are certain tax moves that you have to lock in by December 31st in order to apply them to your tax filings the following April. As we head into the fourth quarter of 2024, be sure to talk to your financial advisor and your tax professional about these 10 topics.

Warren Buffett's historic business success and preternatural understanding of the markets earned him the nickname "The Oracle of Omaha." But, as we discussed in a blog post earlier this year, Buffett's life and career can teach folks about more than just market movements and investing principles. That includes estate planning. Since losing his longtime business partner, Charlie Munger, Buffett has been a little more forthcoming about succession at Berkshire Hathaway and his future plans for his large stake in the company. Affluent investors should think about four key public details in Buffett's estate plan as they plan to preserve their own legacies and provide for the next generation.