“How did I get so old so soon?” he asked himself.

Bill’s not old; he’s only 45. But he is at “halftime” in his professional life. Twenty years down, roughly twenty to go.

In our twenties and thirties, it’s easy to put off important matters. “I’ll get to that later.”

But then we sleep a few times and suddenly we’re in our forties (or fifties). Suddenly, our procrastination feels like the worst plan ever.

If you’re at the “halftime” stage of life, I’ve got good news and bad news. 

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.

Bad news #1: You’re probably behind. 

You already suspect this, don’t you? You’ve been dabbling with 2% and 3% contributions to your 401(k), all the while piling up more debt. The kids haven’t gotten any less expensive, and it seems every week there’s a new “must do” activity with a $150 or $250 price tag attached. 

Bad news #2: “I don’t want to look” is a bad strategy. 

Busy and tired, you plead, “Can’t we talk about this next month?” Then, when you do (reluctantly) talk, you end up in a bad mood or a squabble—or both.

Here’s the ugly truth: Not looking at your financial situation hasn’t helped you thus far, and it’s not going help you going forward. 

Bad news #3: If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. One of the realities of reaching “halftime” is that time is not your friend. With every passing year, the price tag for reaching a place of financial freedom goes up. 

Fortunately, there is good news!

Good news #1: You can get help. 

When my youngest son graduated from college, he decided to buy a school bus and transform it into a tiny home. For months he worked on “Ethyl” in a barn. Each night he’d watch a YouTube video explaining how to tackle the next stage of his big renovation. After many months of work, he and his wife were able to take Ethyl on an unforgettable driving tour of the western United States.

Sometimes help comes in the form of a YouTube video. Sometimes it comes in the form of a flesh-and-blood advisor who can answer all your hard questions face-to-face. 

If you’re at halftime, you need a person not a video.

Good news #2: You can make progress. 

A good advisor is an encouraging coach and a wise guide. He or she should provide direction, information, and motivation. I find most “half-timers” need more than a vague challenge to “put more in your 401(k).” They need a detailed plan to coordinate all their financial strategies – savings, debt reduction and retirement income planning.

Good news #3: You might be closer than you think. 

Here’s the crazy truth: You might be in better shape than you think. 

Many “half-timers” that visit with me look grim when they arrive. I help them look honestly at their situation. Then, together, we agree upon a set of strategies and actions so that they leave with clear direction and renewed hope.

Are you a “half-timer” who feels behind, stuck, and perhaps even afraid to look at your financial situation?

Here’s a simple action you can take to get moving in the right direction. 

Email me at bmoore@argentadvisors.com and ask for my free, simple to understand e-book called “How to Put Money Worries in Your Rear View Mirror – the Financial Freedom Roadmap.” I’ll send it to you right away.

But more importantly, when you email me, put “I could use some help” in the subject line and we’ll reach out with a special offer. It’s free too.

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

This was the billionaire’s iconic way of saying that risky financial behaviors inevitably get exposed when economic conditions change dramatically. 

Unless you have been snoozing the last 6-8 months, you probably know the economy is changing. The tide, many fear, is going out. 

Take Mrs. Smith. Her 401(k)’s small cap growth fund is down 25% year to date. Understandably, she’s feeling panicky. If she came to me for advice, I’d ask a couple of questions.

One, “how old are you?” (even though it’s impolite to ask a woman her age). Two, “how much of your total 401(k) is in this small cap growth fund?” 

If she responded, “I’m 39—again—and I have about 10% of my total 401(k) in the fund,” I’d smile, and give her my standard, “Hang in there” speech. In short, “This is how small cap growth funds can behave during a down market. From what I have seen, investors like you have reaped the benefits of a long-term perspective and disciplined behavior. But this is investing, so we must remember nothing is guaranteed.”

But suppose I had a similar conversation with Mr. Jones. And what if he said, “I’m 63. And back in January a guy on the Money Channel said small cap growth funds were about to take off. So, because I don’t have enough saved for retirement, I thought that might be a way to catch up. I moved 60% of my 401(k) into that fund. Now it’s way, way down. What do you suggest?”  

Ugh…I’d have to give Mr. Jones the bad news that it’s probable he’ll need work a few more years. 

Financially speaking, he was swimming naked when the tide went out. Now, he needs to find a swim suit and get back in the water.

Here’s the truth: the tide can go out on us in a number of dangerous ways…

• The tide can go out on you personally. That job you regard as secure becomes insecure leading to unemployment or underemployment. You get injured or sick and are unable to work. A divorce, or the death of a loved one, wreaks havoc on your finances. We can never predict such things, of course, but we can prepare.

• The tide can go out on an entire economy. Guess what…interest rates are going up, along with inflation. We’ve heard rumblings about this for months. Now that it’s happening, the markets are behaving as if the Apocalypse has been scheduled for next Wednesday. That’s what markets do. And people who invest as if a bear market could never happen are swimming naked.

• The tide can go out on your life cycle. The one thing we can say about old age is that it shouldn’t be a surprise. Every year when you blow out those candles, it’s a reminder that retirement, old age and (gulp!) death are creeping ever closer. Sure, you can keep pretending you’re the one with an exemption, but failing to prepare for retirement when you know old age is looming is swimming naked.

It’s human nature to think “the tide will never go out on me.” It’s also living in denial.

Retreating markets, like we’ve been experiencing, reveal the truth about us financially. Are we engaged in risky behavior…or are we appropriately “covered”? Either way, it’s a good idea going forward, to make sure you’re not swimming naked.

If you’re ready to put on that swimming suit, I’ve created a comprehensive checklist of pre-retirement questions for people who are 60-something. It’s free if you’d like a copy. Just email me at bmoore@argentadvisors.com, and I’ll send it to you right away.

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

When I reply, “Maybe, maybe not,” they look at me like I’m a weight loss guru who just offered them a cheese Danish.

“Wait—you’re a financial planner! Aren’t you supposed to tell me to budget?”

My experience is that only about 10% of my clients budget. And most of that group came out of the womb clutching a spreadsheet. It’s genetic. They love budgeting. It excites them. They simply can’t imagine anyone living a complete life apart from keeping a budget. 

The other 90% have no interest. And some of them have no need.

Here’s why: A budget is just a planning tool used to achieve a certain result. And it’s that result that matters, not the route taken to get there.  

A budget’s primary function is to help us avoid two dangers: Under saving and overspending

1. Under saving. We under save when we fail to set aside enough money now for our retirement income needs later. Ideally you want to have the same income (adjusted for inflation) when you stop working as you do now in pre-retirement. Your lifestyle should not have to go down.

Once upon a time saving was effortless for American workers. About 80% of an employee’s compensation was paid out as salary, and the rest was deposited into a pension fund. Under that model a worker could retire and continue receiving a paycheck (roughly the same size) for life. Sweet deal!

But in 1978, corporate America saw a way to reduce costs. The 401(k) plan was introduced, and this turned retirement planning on its head. Suddenly, the huge business expense of funding a lifetime pension for a massive workforce got shifted to individual workers.  

Today the math is about the same—workers need to save between 15% and 20% of their incomes in order to make a smooth transition into retirement without a big downshift. 

2. Overspending. Let’s make this simple. If you are saving 15% to 20% of your income and not running up credit card (or other consumer) debt to fund your life, you are not overspending. Period. 

Unfortunately, that’s not true for most people. We live life to the hilt, spending every last penny of our paychecks and charging even more to our credit cards. Then a medical bill, an auto repair or a leaking roof happens and we shake our fist at the sky moaning, “Why me, God?”

If you are overspending, I don’t care if you’re earning air miles or stockpiling reward points. In the same way that people with a drinking problem shouldn’t be going to bars, those with a spending problem shouldn’t be walking around with a pocket full of plastic. Cancel those cards. Then go back and read my column from last week on how to start saving money.

So back to the original question: Should you create a budget? If you’re already saving adequately and spending wisely, no. 

But if you’re under saving and overspending, creating a budget is a smart first step. A budget can be a helpful tool. But it’s not magic. If it doesn’t help you develop good spending and savings habits it’s actually a waste of time. 

A budget that doesn’t lead to these important habits isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

I discuss spending, saving and other wealth building strategies in my new e-book “How to Put Money Worries in Your Rear-View Mirror – The Financial Freedom Roadmap.” It’s free—and a quick read. Email me at bmoore@argentadvisors.com and I’ll get it to you right away. 

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

A fuse has just been lit! The clock is ticking!  It’s up to Ethan Hunt (played perfectly by Tom Cruise) and his talented team of spies to save the day again (they’ve done it six times so far). 

They’ve got two hours, give or take, to call on their wits, skills, and bravado to disarm the bomb, defeat the villain, save the world, or all of the above. 

Our financial lives are lot like an MI movie—minus the great theme song. A clock is ticking. Big things are at stake. But often we don’t feel any urgency. (Can you imagine an MI movie featuring Tom Cruise sitting on the couch reading the paper for 90 minutes?)

In our 20s, we tell ourselves the fuse is SO long. Why rush? Here’s why: Because money grows over time. Delay the mission of “pursuing financial health” and you’ll pay a steep price down the road. In your 20s, the main thing is to get started and establish good saving habits—ideally, at least 10% of your income.

By our 30s, we sense we need to get started. But there are so many distractions. The new house. Kids. New cars.  It’s all expensive, right? If you aren’t saving much in your 30s, it’s likely because of debt. The average American household pays about 30% to 40% of income towards servicing debt. What if some of that cash flow could be recovered and redirected towards saving? 

When we hit our 40s, the music gets louder and the fuse gets shorter. Maybe you’re maximizing the contributions to your 401(k) plan, but you wonder if it will be enough. If you’re sending children to college, you likely worry about how that will impact your own ability to retire one day.

The 50s are when many are tempted to panic. You never imagined being 50. “Old people” are 50! You’re only 15 or so years away from retirement age! You stare at your list of debts and your 401(k) balance and you reach for your antacids. 

The race against time is why we love Mission Impossible movies. But in our financial lives, the fact that the clock is running out produces mostly headaches and heartburn.

Just like in MI movies, the solution to your “impossible” mission requires wit and talent. Bravado is good too, but we can replace it with a large dose of initiative. You just need to get going. 

So here are three steps to take, no matter your A-G-E.

1. Assess your current situation. What’s your income? Your monthly expenses? Your debt obligations? What’s the balance of savings and investment accounts, including your 401(k)? 

2. Get an advisor and a plan. Some people can do all this themselves, but if you haven’t to this point, you probably shouldn’t hold your breath. Interview as many advisors until you find one that’s a good fit for you and together create a plan.

3. Execute that plan. It isn’t enough to craft a plan. You’ve got to put it into action. And if we’re talking about retirement, don’t confuse an asset accumulation plan with a retirement income plan. More than simply assets, you need a plan for turning those resources into a stream of income in retirement that will provide for you as long as you live.

No matter what your age, your clock is ticking.

What’s it going to take to light your fuse?

A great place to start is by reading my new e-book “How to Put Money Worries in Your Rear View Mirror – The Financial Freedom Roadmap.” It’s free—and a quick read. Email me at bmoore@argentadvisors.com and I’ll get it to you right away. 

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

Which is great, right? Your 401(k) has never been higher, and you’ve never been richer!

But wait. “What goes up must come down,” right? If the market is soaring now, is a dip—or a crash—just ahead? 

It’s a dilemma: Should we be content or concerned? Should we sit tight or “sell high”? 

Here’s a three-step process to help you decide what to do in a bull market.

1. Adjust your market expectations. Most of my new clients swear on a stack of brokerage statements, “I’m not going to try to time the market…”

The next words out of their mouths? Something like, “But…this new president…” or “The market sure is high…” or “We’re coming out of this pandemic…” or “Bitcoin is taking over….” or “Taxes are going up…”

“It isn’t smart to try to time the market,” they seem to be saying, “but can we give it a try?”

Answer: No. If market history has shown us anything, it is the wisdom of Yogi Berra when he said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” 

Here are two things history has clearly shown us about markets:

The long-term tends to be lovely. I was born in the late fifties. If my parents had taken just $100 and put it in the S&P 500 stock index, it would be worth over $40,000 today. That’s almost enough for a down payment on a Tesla. That’s over 10% per year! What’s not to love, right?

The short-term tends to be dicey. But if I had put $100 in the market in 2000, eight years later it would have been worth…less than $100. If I had waited until 2007 to put in my $100, six years later I would have…less than $100.  

Even though the market tends, over time, to go up, it does not go up steadily and predictably.

2. Adjust your portfolio plan. In the Information Age, news about markets and world events comes at us faster than we can process. If we get swept up in this moment-by-moment flow of information, we will leave no room for wisdom. And wisdom is what we desperately need in such fast-paced, noisy times.  

Wisdom and experience teach us that good markets and bad markets can each last longer than anyone expects. The solution isn’t secret knowledge about what the markets will do tomorrow or next week. It’s understanding your current situation and your long-term goals. That’s the essence of a sound financial life plan. 

Too many people say they want a wise portfolio plan, when they really want a fortune-teller. Such people do not exist…but there is no shortage of financial charlatans who claim they have those abilities.  

The best way to way to manage the uncertainties of the markets is to align your portfolio plan with your financial life plan.

3. Enjoy your life. If your investment portfolio has any other ultimate purpose than to make your life better, you’ve got work to do. 

It is my belief that a numerical goal (“I want $1 million in my 401(k)”) is not sufficient. Neither is a rate of return (“I want at least 7%”) or a competitive goal (“I just want to beat the market!”). Those won’t satisfy. 

Better to ask yourself questions like: What do I want my life to look like? Do I want to be financially independent? How can I use my portfolio to generate sufficient income (when I stop working) for me to live my desired lifestyle?

A great step in getting to such a place of true financial freedom is to read my newest e-book. It’s titled “How to Put Money Worries in Your Rear View Mirror.” It’s for anyone who feels lost when it comes to finances (which, let’s be honest, is some people all the time, and all people some of the time). This e-book/roadmap is free to anyone who emails me at bmoore@argentadvisors.com.

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

We’ve been so focused on a deadly pandemic and unceasing political drama that we missed the onset of…winter.

You remember winter, don’t you? Normally in Louisiana, it’s that brief period between the Sugar Bowl and the Super Bowl. At least, that’s the way I remember it.

Until this winter when we got the arctic blast that ruined Valentine’s Day. Winter Storm Uri (when did we start naming cold fronts?) has left millions without power and/or water. It’s made anybody with a four-wheel drive vehicle everybody’s best friend.

By the time you read this, the great thaw should have occurred, and Uri will melt away in our memories. 

But let’s not overlook the important lessons, both literal and metaphorical, we can learn from an event like Uri:

Storms happen. It’s a long time between winters. Long enough to forget. But storms happen—and not just when it’s cold. In 2020, five named tropical storms or hurricanes hit Louisiana! You may remember the two “hundred-year floods” we experienced within months of each other. I’m not recommending we lock ourselves in a shelter as a wise strategy for dealing with storms. But we also can’t afford to ignore their reality.

Every storm is unique. Storms have many different causes and they come at different seasons. They don’t look alike, cause the same problems, or behave quite like the one before. The one thing they have in common is their capacity to come suddenly and destroy with cruel ferocity. 

You can’t prevent storms. Ignoring the reality of storms is the Ostrich approach. Everything is fine until it isn’t. When you ignore the fact of storms, you pay a much higher price than you otherwise would have incurred had you simply made some preparations. 

You can prepare for storms. This is how I can tell the difference between those who are wise and those who are naive: Wise people take the initiative to prepare for life’s inevitable but unpredictable dangers. 

Financially speaking, when you are already stretched to make ends meet, it is so tempting to tell yourself, “I’m just going to chance it that life’s storms won’t come my way anytime soon.” You tell yourself you don’t have the time or money to have a will drafted. Or that you’d be better off to fully fund your 401(k), rather than put money aside in an emergency fund. Or that you’re going to buy the least amount of insurance necessary, rather than analyze what your family might really need.

The financially naive think such approaches will save them money. That has not been my experience in 30 years as a financial planner. 

When clients takes the time to prepare for the worst by drafting estate documents, putting aside six months of income and buying enough insurance to really protect themselves in the event of a life disaster, they don’t end up with less, but with more.

I won’t try to demonstrate all the math there. I’ll simply say this: 

Life favors the prepared. Not those who are scared, hiding, and cowering—that’s no way to live. Rather it favors the ones who plan for the unpredictable, but eventual storms of life. Not only are they ready for any disaster, they’re also better prepared for positive opportunities that come their way. 

At the very least, wise preparation means planning, buying insurance, saving, and making legal arrangements. None of these actions will “make you money.” But they’ll go a long way to being sure you keep what you make. 

And when the next storm approaches, all that will feel mighty good. 

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

The problem? The incoming president was a liberal, he said. And a liberal president meant more government spending, larger government debt, greater government regulation and increasing government involvement in his life. None of that could be good for the financial markets, he explained to me.

“It’s just not the right time,” he concluded. “I’m going to let the market settle down.”

So, like any rational person, the man waited. And waited. And waited.

I lost track of that fellow a long time ago. The incoming president that gave him so much pause was Bill Clinton. On the first day of Clinton’s presidency, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at about 3,200. By the end of Clinton’s two terms the Dow was hovering around 16,000. As of this writing, it is somewhere north of 30,000.

People wait a long time for perfect. 

But there is a cost to waiting. That’s a truth many people miss. 

Some of us are waiting for “things to get better” before we fully engage at our place of employment. We tell ourselves we’re waiting for COVID to end, for a certain position to open up, a bad boss to retire, a raise to be given or an opportunity to emerge. Until then we’re just going to play it safe. Avoid taking chances. Coast. 

How about those career dreams that call for taking a risk and stepping out? Sure thing. One day. But not today. The time isn’t quite right. 

And financially speaking? Many are like my skittish friend from the Clinton years, waiting on a “more stable” stock market, a political climate more to our liking or an economic outlook with fewer clouds on the horizon.  

Those who wait for perfection usually wait a long time. And rarely do they get what they waited for.

To be sure, some things really do require perfection…Surgery. Manned space flight. Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto. 

But to play Rachmaninoff that concert pianist had to begin with Chop Sticks. That brave astronaut had to take her first flying lesson. That brilliant neurosurgeon endured the first day of medical school. 

Perfection is like the horizon…always before us, But always out of reach. Put in the right perspective, perfection offers a wonderful destination to shoot for. But as a starting point, it’s paralyzing. 

What are you putting off because you can’t do it perfectly now? Initiating a new relationship? Investing? Exploring a new career? Taking up a new hobby, skill or avocation? Getting out of debt? Starting your own business? Making a financial plan? 

Perfect is the enemy of progress.

Perfect never comes, but progress can start now.

Start. Now.

I’m sure a strong challenge like this one raises all sorts of questions for you. If so, I’d love to help by sending you my new, free e-book. It’s titled The Three Financial Questions You Should Be Asking for 2021, and if you email me at bmoore@argentadvisors.com, I’ll send you a free copy.

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.

The decade also saw the rise of the 401(k) plan. 

Before the heyday of mullet haircuts, the phrase “retirement plan” referred to a pension plan. A pension was a social contract between workers and employers that if a worker stayed loyal to a company until retirement, he or she would get a monthly pension check from that company until death. 

With pension plans, the risk and burden of retirement planning was all on the employer. A company had to make sure sufficient savings were put back each year to eventually fund each worker’s retirement. Those funds had to be invested for growth and actuarially pooled so as to last the lifetime of all those former employees.

For workers, pensions were a sweet deal indeed. Work for an employer for a career and get a retirement check for life–guaranteed? Amazing!

But then, in the late 1970s, in an obscure corner of a tax bill passed by Congress, a little provision in IRC section 401(k) was inserted. It allowed employers to reduce employee salaries and put that money in so-called “defined contribution” retirement plans. A company could even, if it chose, match those employee deferrals. 

This was a little thing, not intended to make much of a splash. 

Instead, it triggered a tidal wave of change. 

It wasn’t long before benefits consultancy firms saw in this new provision a way to cut costs drastically. When companies realized they could reduce employee salaries, make a modest contribution to a worker’s 401(k) and call it a retirement plan, they began dismantling their expensive pension plans. 

Fast forward to today. Now the risk of retirement is fully on the shoulders of the worker. For most Americans, the idea of a pension is either too fantastic to imagine or (in the case of schoolteachers and other state employees) so common as to be underappreciated. 

A 401(k) plan is a savings and investment plan, a way of accumulating assets for retirement. It is not a retirement income plan—not a complete one anyway. It can (and should) be used as an aspect of retirement planning. But in and of itself, it isn’t a retirement income plan. 

With a pension plan, Americans used to have a complete retirement income plan. The check came every month, unchanged, guaranteed, for as long as you lived. Simple as that. 

With a 401(k), workers arrive at retirement with a lump sum of money that must somehow be translated into a monthly income. If that income only needs to last a year or two, there’s not much to discuss. 

But retirements are lasting decades now. 

Which raises big, unsettling questions: Will the money in your 401(k) plan last that long? Will it run out before you do? Are there ways to guarantee that it won’t?

The answers to all these questions can be found in a Retirement Income Plan (RIP—not the most encouraging acronym, I know). A Retirement Income Plan takes into consideration your current age, income, and lifestyle and helps you know what to do to replace that income, whether that’s at retirement age or sooner.

A good Retirement Income Plan will help you determine how much to save (that’s the volume of your savings) and where to put it to achieve the maximum output of income at retirement (that’s the efficiency of your savings).

Want to get started on a great 2021? Want to set a really important New Year’s resolution? Resolve to get a Retirement Income Plan customized for your situation in 2021.

I wrote a short, free e-book that covers the basics of Retirement Income Planning and more. It’s titled The Three Financial Questions You Should Be Asking for 2021. It’s my gift to anyone who requests it. Get your copy by writing to: bmoore@argentadvisors.com. 

Happy New Year!

Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information here.