Live A Life By Design Blog

We all face several issues in the workplace at one point or another, but sometimes it feels like millennials get the shortest end of the stick. Lazy. Know-it-all. Entitled. Inexperienced. Job-hopper. These are some of the stereotypes that you may hear uttered about millennials in the workplace. We cannot say for sure why these are […]

We are asked many questions about the strategies to retirement and enjoyment of life. This article will reveal the secret success criteria that many of our clients have implemented over the past 20 years to change their lives. Let’s think about the word “retirement” for a moment. Too often the word has negative connotations to […]

This is an optimal time to review your potential income tax liability for 2020. Most individual filers under U.S. jurisdiction are calendar-year, cash-basis taxpayers. This means that many of the options to lower your tax liability for 2020 are eliminated simply by the passage of the year. Just like Cinderella in the historic Disney movie […]

So many people that I meet seek a panacea for their retirement assets. It is one of those facts of life that if anything yields a return, it also inherently contains risk. Let’s explore what risks are applicable in our everyday lives. Market risk is most common among individuals that meet with us. People will […]

Humans are a curious bunch, aren’t we? Our brains work in one mode – survival. The programming of our brain is based on the strategies of fight, flight or freeze. Perhaps you have noticed these strategies at work when you find yourself in a dark alley, alone and facing a group of suspicious characters. Or, […]

With all of the disruption in the economy, one negative result was the loss of jobs. From the perspective of the employee, the news of a layoff is devastating. To further complicate the financial situation, the employee, focusing on the current cash flow needs of her family, forgets about one of the largest opportunities that […]

Many millennials, wrongly. get a bad reputation for “ruining” everything. One of the acts we have been blamed for is ruining the traditions and norms for starting a family. However, there are many reasons why millennials are starting families later in life than previous generations. In a previous article, I wrote about the cost of […]

Last month, President Trump issued an executive order to provide employees relief from withholding taxes. The result is additional take-home pay for the employee. This article focuses on the mechanics and results of this order. I will also opine on the impact of such order to the solvency of the Social Security Benefit Program which, […]

Social Security benefits are considered sacred territory by elected officials due to the large number of voting beneficiaries. This important “third rail” of untouchable programs started with a mission and purpose that was admirable. However, the projection of beneficiaries compared to those taxpayers funding the program has been dealt a significant blow lately. To provide […]

An ancient Chinese proverb states, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” What do tree planting and retirement planning have in common? Both reward you by starting early and expecting the harvest much later in your future. One of the “seeds” we plant in the […]