Next Mission Financial Planning

01/07/2025

Happy New Year! I hope 2025 is off to a fabulous start for you.

I’m a big fan of Penn State football having grown up in Pennsylvania. Even though I didn’t go there, they are my college football team. [ Side note - RIT, where I did my undergraduate work, is undefeated in football since 1978, but that’s because that’s when they ended the program.] Even I follow them, I had never attended a game until last month.

They ended up in the Big 10 Championship in Indianapolis after Ohio State lost to Michigan (sorry/not sorry Buckeye fans). Indy’s only about 4 hours away so I checked tickets. Most of the good seats were several hundred dollars so I resigned to just watch it on TV. Thursday before the game, I saw an article that said ticket prices in the secondary market had collapsed. I continued to watch them and Saturday morning about 10 AM I finally pulled the trigger getting some good lower-level seats on about the 5-yard line.

I’m trying to get better at this….it’s actually one of the things I want to continue to work on in the new year. My frugal nature / planner brain often gets in the way.

If you haven’t read the book Die With Zero by Bill Perkins, I highly recommend it. He frames it much better than I do.

One caveat – This isn’t a financial planner telling you to spend all your money and not to worry because everything will work out. It's important to do this as part of a financial plan.

What I am saying is it’s important to be thoughtful about your spending and making sure you’re prioritizing spending on the things that are most important to you. That could be Penn State football tickets. It might be family travel. Whatever it is my goal is to get it into your plan sooner rather than later because these are the things that make the best memories.

09/19/2024

Mike and Amy asnwer a listener question about Long-Term Care.
They cover:
- Having a plan
- Traditional Long-Term Care Insurance
- Hybrid Long-Term Care Insurance

You can find the episode at OperationRetirementReadiness.com

09/09/2024

4.5 years after Congress passed the SECURE Act, we now have the final rules from the IRS.

If you recently inherited or will inherit an IRA in the future, determining when and how you need to take the money is complicated.

Here's what you need to know.

The IRS recently issued final rules based on the SECURE Act. We now have clarity around the 10-year rule for inherited Traditional IRAs and 401Ks. The SECURE Act requires the accounts to be emptied by the beneficiary within 10 years. The final rules now divide whether you can wait until year 10 and....

10/11/2023

Social Security plays a big part in many retirees income plans. What do you know about it?

This is Part 1 of our 3 part series. Social Security Basics
Part 2: Social Security for Couples – Spousal and Survivor Benefits
Part 3: Social Security Case Studies – Claiming for Couples

Check it out at: https://nextmissionfinancialplanning.com/social-security-the-basics/

07/11/2023

There are alternatives to the Survivor Benefit Plan.

But it's important to consider the pros and cons and your unique situation.

Check out part 3 of our SBP series which provides a case study with pros and cons.

https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/5839/emails/92865476980377125

07/04/2023

Part 2 of our Survivor Benefit Plan Series - SBP (or Insurance) as a cashflow solution

Check it out in our newsletter and consider signing up (within the newsetter) if you like the content and want to make sure you don't miss it.
https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/5839/emails/92070094584153869

06/27/2023

College planning during the senior year of high school can be daunting. There are just so many things to keep track of.

Check out this senior-year college prep checklist to make it a little easier.

Senior Year Checklist to Prepare for College It’s here…senior year. You’re child has worked hard and this will be the culminating event of their high school career. They will likely be busy with school and extracurricular activities so having a plan and staying organized will be critical. This...

06/21/2023

Getting the big things right in personal finance can lead to long-term results

Here are a few things to focus on if you're still in the accumulation phase

Get The Big Things Right - Accumulation Phase Personal finance, like most things in life, is subject to the Pareto Principle which says 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. This means that if you get a few main principles right you can be successful. I’m going to do a series of

06/13/2023

Several military members have recently asked me: Am I Behind in planning for ultimate retirement.

The military pension and healthcare are great benefits so often they're not as far behind as the think.

This article looks at:
- Value of military pension
- Comparison to general public through several studies
- How to save more

https://nextmissionfinancialplanning.com/am-i-behind/

06/06/2023

Taxes are a year-round sport!
Here are 7 things you should check out in the middle of the year.
1. Check Your Withholdings
2. Assess your Increase in Interest Income
3. Capital Gains & Tax Loss Harvesting
4. Assess Whether or Not to Itemize
5. Plan Charitable Donations
6. Traditional or Roth Contributions
7. Assess IRA/401K Rollover Options
Check out the article for full details on what and how. (https://nextmissionfinancialplanning.com/mid-year-tax-review/)

05/28/2023

May 29th is National 529 Day

Here are 7 Reasons To Consider Saving in a 529 Plan

7 Reasons To Save For College In A 529 Plan May 29 (5/29) is National 529 Plan Day. The 529 plan is an education savings account named after section 529 of the IRS code. 529 accounts provide tax benefits when the money is used for a variety of education options. These include college, K-12, apprenti...