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Pat and Kelly, new parents, made a couple monthly budget adjustments upon the arrival of their first child. First, due to the added cost of day care and dependent health insurance, they decreased the amount they were saving for a house. And second, they agreed to review their life insurance needs.

How to Avoid Retirement Woes

We all have our own unique way of handling our finances. While some of us are natural born savers, others may have a hard time making it to the next paycheck. Fortunately, most of us fall somewhere in-between, putting away money at times, while making frivolous purchases at other times.

Accumulating wealth turns out to be a double-edged sword for business owners. It certainly has its privileges, but it also comes with additional risk exposures. In a 2011 Zogby survey, 92 percent of people with a high new worth indicated concerns over the possibility of home invasions, muggings, kidnapping, and even random street crimes.

We all have our own unique relationship with money. We certainly have our own unique way of both spending and saving money.

However, if you’re ready to start putting some money aside, or looking for tips on money management, or even the best way to pay your bills, the following tips may provide a little bit of help: 

If you’ve spent more than five minutes on a kid’s television network, you’ve seen just how inundated young kids are with commercials for everything from the latest gadget, to some dreadful snack that features something gooey and/or messy. It’s also safe to bet that many of these kids run to their parents, wanting to buy some or all of these items.

If you have read any literature on retirement planning or have received advice from a financial professional, chances are you were presented with the 70% rule, the one that suggests that retirees may need between 70 and 80% of their pre-retirement income in order to maintain their standard of living.

The saving versus paying off debt is an age-old quandary that has plagued people since the advent of consumer debt. Pose this question to a group of financial planners and the responses can be split, roughly down the middle.

In Marin County investment planning, we view goals as life’s destinations, whether it is where you want to be at the end of the day or at some point in the distant future.