Posts by Barb
Why We Keep Moving the Goalposts on “Enough”
One of the strangest things about money is that “enough” has a habit of changing. When you’re 35, you think you’ll feel comfortable once you’ve saved a few hundred thousand dollars. A decade later, that number doesn’t seem nearly as impressive. By the time retirement is around the corner, the target has moved again. The…
Read MoreThe Strange Psychology of Saving
The hardest part of saving for retirement may come after you’ve already done it. Most people think of retirement as a financial transition. In practice, it’s just as much a mental one. For years, the rule was simple: spend less than you earn, set money aside when you can, and think twice before making a…
Read MoreThe First Year of Retirement Is Full of “Firsts”
Retirement doesn’t begin with a farewell party, a gold watch, or your last day at the office. It begins the next morning. The alarm doesn’t go off. The inbox can wait. For the first time in decades, there’s nowhere you have to be. That’s when retirement starts to feel real. Most people spend years preparing…
Read MoreThe Freest Person at the Cookout
There are plenty of things you notice at a Fourth of July cookout. Who’s manning the grill. Who brought the famous potato salad everyone looks forward to each year. Which grandchildren have grown another few inches since last summer. The laughter, the stories, the familiar faces gathered together once again. It’s easy to think of…
Read MoreThe Last Father’s Day Before Retirement
For some fathers, this Father’s Day will feel quietly different. Not because the traditions will change. The phone calls will still come. The grandchildren will still run through the house. The cards will still arrive, signed in handwriting that somehow keeps getting bigger every year. But somewhere in the back of their minds, a question…
Read MoreFive Signs Your Retirement Plan Needs a Second Opinion
Most people wouldn’t hesitate to get a second opinion before a major surgery. Yet when it comes to retirement planning, one of the most important financial decisions of your life, many people assume their current strategy is fine simply because nothing appears to be wrong. The challenge is that retirement planning isn’t always about fixing…
Read MoreWhat Happens If You Don’t Adjust Your Plan in 2026?
Around this point in the year, people stop thinking about their plan—and start reacting to what’s actually happening. Not in a dramatic way. Just small adjustments. Letting more money sit in cash because it’s finally earning something. Holding off on selling investments when markets feel uneven. Taking income from wherever feels easiest instead of where…
Read MoreToo Many Options, Not Enough Clarity
At some point, retirement planning stopped being simple. It didn’t happen all at once. There wasn’t a clear moment where everything changed. But if you’ve been paying attention—even casually—you’ve probably felt it. There’s more to think about now. More decisions. More ways to approach the same goal. And for many people, that’s where things start…
Read MoreYour Plan Was Built for a Different Market
Imagine planning a cross-country drive using a map from ten years ago. The roads might still be there. Some landmarks would look familiar. But along the way, you’d start to notice things don’t quite line up. New highways weren’t on your route. Traffic flows differently. What used to be the fastest path now feels… off.…
Read MoreInterest Rates Have Changed. Has Your Retirement Plan?
Interest rates have been part of the background noise for a while now. You hear about them in passing, maybe catch a headline here and there—but it’s easy to assume they matter more to economists than to your everyday decisions. Lately, though, they’ve been doing something different. They’ve been sticking around. And that changes the…
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