Late Bloomer Wealth

Late Bloomer Wealth

Dedicated to Helping K12 Teachers with their 403(b) & 457(b) plans.

Beginning Investing

Taxes, Life without Dan, 1st Quarter 2016 Performance

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What does grief, taxes, and the first quarter portfolio report have in common? Plenty. I discuss my challenge to do my taxes because Dan did our taxes, and to report how I am doing with life without Dan, and my portfolio first quarter report. I feel good that I completed my taxes with Turbo Tax–Dan would be proud.
I also am happy to report that my portfolio has regained all of the Year-to-Date loses and is up $30,000 YTD. Of course, this makes me feel good and helps with my grief of losing Dan five months ago. But what makes me the happiest is helping others through volunteer work and this blog. When I read what my friend Karen and her sister Therese did about with their finances, and the resulting contentment, security and peace of mind that they feel now, made me the happiest of all.

Therese’s Story

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The next financial coming of age story has a frequent theme. Many people have money in different financial institutions, different banks, different mutual fund companies, different asset classes, sectors, or individual company stocks. Therese, my guest author, had little idea what, where and who was minding her money! Her money was so convoluted that a Rubik’s Cube was easier to solve. Soooooo, there is plenty of room for simplicity. Discover how Therese’s portfolio evolved from a complex and incoherent mess to a simple Vanguard portfolio after one visit with a fee-only financial adviser from Garrett Planning Network.

Karen Shares Her Financial Epiphanies

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An epiphany is defined by “a ​moment when you ​suddenly ​feel that you ​understand, or ​suddenly ​become ​conscious of, something that is very ​important to you.” Read this short story of my good friend’s financial epiphany and how all of her questions were answered by who she describes as an “independent financial adviser” she paid by the hour.

What can 2.5 months do to my boring portfolio performance?

2 Comments / Beginning Investing, Consumer Finance, Do it yourself investors (DIY), LAUSD Employees, Laymen to Laymen Financial Information, PreK-12 Educators / By

The first six weeks of the new year was a bust for the stock market. But in the seventh week something magical happened–it turned bullish. Oil prices went up and our Federal Reserve Board remarks on the status of the economy was neutral, along with a thousand other economic moving parts. I ignore all of the noise and stick with my planned portfolio allocation.

How did a 37% stock/63% bond Portfolio Perform During January’s Crash, Volatility and Rebound?

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In this post, I share in detail my Morningstar printouts at each of the four weeks in January 2016. You can see first-hand how volatile even my conservative portfolio can get. The news reported, ad nauseum, that the stock market was volatile, wondering if this was a start of a major and long lasting crash. Oil prices sank to ten-year lows, China’s economy stalled and everyone watched what the Federal Reserve was going to do next with interests rates. When oil prices rebounded from $28 per barrel, and Japan’s central bank lowered their interest rates with some folks saying that our Federal Reserve might ease our rate increases from 2 times this year instead of 4, by the end of January all the major stock and bond markets came roaring back. This recovery made a $50,000 loss in mid-January into a $20,000 loss by the end of January.

What Does Objective Financial Advice Look Like?

Leave a Comment / Beginning Investing, Consumer Finance, Do it yourself investors (DIY), Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Advisors, Fiduciary Standard, Financial Education/Literacy, Laymen to Laymen Financial Information, Passive Investment Strategy, Personal Finance, PreK-12 Educators / By

For a decade, I have listened to Paul Merriman’s podcasts. His list of financial topics spans every conceivable idea and common sense investing strategy. His understanding of the investing process and constructing a simple or complex portfolio is top notch. In this post, I recommend that you listen to one of his podcasts. Here’s why. …

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Financial Book Review

Leave a Comment / Beginning Investing, Consumer Finance, Do it yourself investors (DIY), Laymen to Laymen Financial Information, Passive Investment Strategy, Personal Finance, PreK-12 Educators, Retirement Planning / By

White Coat Investor by James Dahle, MD Reviewed by Steve Have you ever vacillated about reading a book because you weren’t the author’s targeted audience? Dr. Dahle’s fine book’s is aimed towards MDs and other ultra-high earning professionals (Attorneys, Dentists, CPAs, and Engineers). Still, there are four reasons I read this book, gave it five …

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