The Wellington Fund is Vanguard's oldest mutual fund, dating back to 1929. It's been through a Great Depression, World War, Double Digit Inflation, Tech Bubbles, Global Financial Crisis, Pandemics and it has survived to tell about it. In this book, I document the BEST strategies you can incorporate into your RETIREMENT PLAN from analyzing the 91 years of the Wellington Fund.

You've worked hard, lived carefully, and saved diligently. You've reached major milestones and accumulated more assets than you dreamed possible, and yet you hesitate. ""Can I retire?"" This book will help answer that question by showing you.... The tools you need to live a secure and independent retirement, without worrying about money What you must know before leaving a career behind How much it will cost you to live in retirement, and how to manage your cash flow The current choices for retirement health care, including lesser-known but effective options The threat from inflation: two secrets that politicians and bankers will never admit A realistic assessment of the impact that income taxes will have on your retirement Social Security's role in your retirement: when you should claim and how much it's worth to you How to construct and manage an investment portfolio for income and growth in retirement About immediate annuities and why you need multiple sources of retirement income The key variables and unknowns in your retirement withdrawal equation Reviews of the best retirement calculators, and tips for how to use them accurately Beyond the simplistic 4% Rule to the latest research on safe withdrawal rates Realistic bracketing of your retirement savings needs, without over caution or overconfidence The history of economic cycles and the related asset classes for optimal retirement security A survey of strategies plus original research for how to orchestrate your retirement distributions A practical "retirement fuel gauge" alerting you to problems while you still have time to act Backup plans: the "lifeboat strategies" for ensuring you'll never be without essential income The 6 crucial questions to answer before you can retire The one, simple, powerful, non-financial reason that you can and should retire earlier than later

Will you receive Social Security benefits at retirement? Most Americans will receive some sort of Social Security benefit when they retire. In fact, for most Americans, Social Security will provide the bulk of their retirement income. Yet, the VAST majority have no clue how their benefit is calculated. Many, in fact, will completely discount their benefits as a pittance. They'll fall for the doom and gloom that says they need MILLIONS to retire. That health care costs will destroy their retirement. That Social Security is going bankrupt. All these negative things permeate the financial industry and the media. As such, many working people are scared to death of retirement. And they stay at crappy, old jobs for much longer than they would have liked...because they're AFRAID of running out of money!Don't be like this! With a thorough understanding of how Social Security works, you will be well-armed to deal with the naysayers who continue to peddle the horror stories that await you if you quit your job to enjoy your life In this book, I will explain it all. And hopefully, you will put it down, take a deep breath, relax a bit and say "you know something? It's about time I enjoyed life on MY TERMS!"

A practical and pithy guide to investing to help everyday investors achieve their long-term goals The 21st century has been beset with three financial market shocks in its first 20 years, the bursting of the Tech Bubble in 2000-2002; the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09; and 2020 COVID-19 crash. Given this backdrop, it is no wonder that investing can appear to be so daunting to individual investors. As Chairman and CEO of Vanguard, one of the largest and most respected investment management companies in the world, Jack Brennan has spent his career helping people invest their money. In the newly updated More Straight Talk on Investing, he shares with you the lessons he has learned over his over four decades at Vanguard from a variety of market participants—from Main Street investors and 401(k) plan holders to veteran portfolio managers at the helm of Vanguard funds and sophisticated investment professionals overseeing top endowments and foundations. This a comprehensive, but approachable book will help you develop the knowledge, confidence, and discipline to navigate the financial markets and attain investment success over the long term. While the financial planning and investing principles covered are timeless, a considerable amount has changed in the nearly 20 years since the first edition, including new products and services, lower costs, and ever-evolving regulation and legislation. An entire generation of investors has come of age over the past two decades and could benefit from understanding that sound and sensible investing is an effective way to achieve financial security. This book will assist your manage your “serious” money—the dollars that you set aside for long-term goals, such as retirement or the education of your children. The book also emphasizes the concept of thinking of yourself as a “financial entrepreneur”—managing your financial life like owner manages a business. In a straightforward, plain talk manner, the book demonstrates how to: Build a balanced, diversified portfolio that meets your needs and goals Evaluate mutual funds and ETFs with a discerning eye Adhere to a long-term, disciplined approach to investing Control your emotions and tune out the incessant “noise” in the media Understand the risks and rewards of financial markets Develop a prudent plan and investment policy statement to guide your path forward Avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that can derail your investment program With wit and wisdom, Brennan relays anecdotes and observations that demonstrate the enduring investment precepts that will serve as a guide to novice investors and as a practical refresher for seasoned investors. He has also added three new chapters focusing on evaluating advice options, garnering lessons from endowments, and dealing with the challenges of a low interest rate environment.

Within this easy-to-use, need-to-know, no-frills guide to building financial well-being is advice for long-term wealth creation and happiness, without all the worries and fuss of stock pickers and day traders.

In Retire Before Mom and Dad, you'll learn how to unlock the superpower inside of you that is capable of transforming almost any income into lasting financial freedom. And, you'll discover that it's not about scrimping and sacrificing to get there.

Learn how to invest, relax, and let your money do the work with this incredible guide Fully revised, updated, and expanded for the first time since its New York Times Best-Selling debut in 20TK, the legendary Alexander Green's essential guide for individual investors spells out stock-market success for everyone from first-timers to seasoned pros. The Gone Fishin' Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy...and Get on With Your Life, Second Edition delivers a long-term investment strategy that lets you reap the rewards of financial success with a simple, yet sophisticated, strategy that increases returns, reduces risk, and leaves you with time to enjoy the finer things in life. You'll learn about the fundamental relationship between risk and reward in the financial markets and get a trading insider's view of how the investment industry actually works. With The Gone Fishin' Portfolio, you'll also discover: How to take your financial future into your own hands How to invest in a way that doesn’t require you to spend every waking moment worrying about your money How to avoid the most common traps the investment industry sets for you Why skilled investing doesn't have to be complicated Perfect for individual investors who want to put their money to work for them, The Gone Fishin' Portfolio gives you all the tools you need to manage your own money and maximize your investment returns today.

Time-Tested Techniques - Safe, Simple, and Proven Effective - for Building Your Own Investment Portfolio. "As its title suggest, Bill Bernstein's fine book honors the sensible principles of Benjamin Graham in the Intelligent Investor Bernstein's concepts are sound, his writing crystal clear, and his exposition orderly. Any reader who takes the time and effort to understand his approach to the crucial subject of asset allocation will surely be rewarded with enhanced long-term returns." - John C. Bogle, Founder and former Chief Executive Officer, The Vanguard Group President, Bogle Financial Markets Research Center Author, common Sense on Mutual Funds. "Bernstein has become a guru to a peculiarly '90s group: well-educated, Internet-powered people intent on investing well - and with minimal 'help' from professional Wall Street." - Robert Barker, Columnist, BusinessWeek. "I go home and tell my wife sometimes, 'I wonder if [Bernstein] doesn't know more than me.' It's humbling." - John Rekenthaler, Research Chief, Morningstar Inc. William Bernstein is an unlikely financial hero. A practicing neurologist, he used his self-taught investment knowledge and research to build one of today's most respected investor's websites. Now, let his plain-spoken The Intelligent Asset Allocator show you how to use the time-honored techniques of asset allocation to build your own pathway to financial security - one that is easy-to-understand, easier-to-apply, and supported by 75 years of solid history and wealth-building results.

Are you worried about your financial situation? You always seem to have more money going out the door then coming in. Debt never seems to go down. Costs a lot of money to raise the kids. And you're supposed to save for retirement! Never mind having this thing called an "emergency fund." How do you do all this, and pay the bills? What happens if you lose your job, get hurt, or your pay doesn't keep up with your spending? It's nerve wracking. I know it. I've been there too. And while there are no magical solutions, there are some strategies I'll share with you in this book which have been overlooked by most Americans. These under-utilized techniques will help you get on the path of financial stability. For instance, we're told: *** "Never borrow from your 401K!" Why Has this ever been modeled or is just boilerplate advice from a financial services industry that gets paid on your account size, without regard to how much debt you have. I model this out and will show you that it's okay to borrow from your 401k. *** "Get your kids in the best schools!" Once again, we'll ask why? Has this ever been modeled to validate the higher cost you pay to be in those 'best schools"? Well, in this book, I model that too. I think you'll be surprised as to what we find out. *** "Everyone should own a home!" Uh huh. Again, why? Let's model this out and see the pros and cons of owning vs. renting. *** "It's safer to have a fixed rate mortgage." Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is not. We examine this in detail and how it may affect YOU. *** "Leasing a vehicle is a waste of money!" Oh really? Why? Has that ever been modeled relative to YOUR specific situation? Of course not. This is just more boilerplate financial advice. Boilerplate advice is meaningless...to YOU! In this book we will also cover topics like how to greatly reduce your life insurance premiums...if you even NEED life insurance, that is. *** Does your life insurance cover your debt? And I don't mean your Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance through your employer, that is not true insurance. Not sure? If you died today, what kind of burden would you leave on your spouse and kids? Probably need to look at that, no? *** There is a perception that estate planning is only for people with large assets. Oh, really? Do you have kids? Do you or your spouse have assets in IRAs, 401ks, 403bs or any other of individually-owned accounts? What happens to your spouse or children if you get hurt or, Heaven forbid, die? Do you know? I provide examples of what you need to consider about your estate plan that I assure you has been overlooked. I hope you read my book as I believe you will find some fruitful nuggets in here from my many years of experience as a financial advisor. But more importantly I hope you find a path to get your finances in order, no matter how you do it. Nothing is more important to family well-being.

John and Judy are in the 12% tax bracket. But when they took $10k from their IRA they had a 50% tax increase. Why? When John died Judy's income went down by 33% but her taxes went UP! Why? Isn't interest on municipal bonds tax free? Then why did it cause John and Judy's taxes to increase? When Judy took out $20k to take her daughter on a cruise it cost her $9,908 in taxes. Yet when Jane did the same it cost her nothing. And they both have $80k in total income. Why? When Bob took out $10,000 from his IRA his taxes tripled. Why? Why did Bob's Medicare premiums nearly double when he took out an extra $10k from his IRA? When Jenny, a divorced gas station attendant making $35k a year, inherited an IRA from her mom she lost 25% in Federal taxes. Why? In this book we're not only going to answer these questions but we're also going to show you what you should be doing NOW to avoid the stealth tax increases retirees face but are ignorant of...until it's too late.