Publications, Insights & News

For anyone that has a TSA for their 403b, you can multiply your balance by 2.5% and that would give you a rough estimate of the total cost of your 403b per year (please understand there are many fees imbedded in a TSA so your personal account can be higher or lower than my estimate above). This means, if your 403b account value is $100,000, then you are paying approximately $2,500 per year in fees! If you want to get a more accurate estimate of cost, please see my new calculator by clicking 403b Calculator. This is a great tool to see how cost will impact your account balance over time. If you have a statement in front of you, it should take you about 5 minutes to enter in the data.

So here we are again. A fresh new year. Sitting at the crossroads between making a firm commitment to “something better” and continuing down that “oh so comfortable” path.

Today was the first day one of my kids wore a concert T to school. I know she has no idea who Phish are, and quite frankly, she probably wore the shirt because it was purple. But I feel the concert T is a sign of my kids getting a bit older and that makes me a sad.

Unlike the financial markets, everyone can control (to varying degrees), their income and expenses. If your expenses are too high, spend less. If your income is too high, well, you can stop reading.

Most teachers know they have to plan for their financial security far in advance of their retirement years. While there are several good options to choose from, many teachers will only look at the most common service providers and make their decisions based on convenience. This is a common occurrence with the 403b retirement plan.

This is the time in AJ’s life where he might hear pitches to invest in race horses, rock bands, Emu oil, or garbage companies (not to discredit any of these industries). The problem is AJ does not have any expertise with these industries, and we have already determined he does not have enough time in his day for a new project.