Good morning, good morning, good morning! Welcome to Apex Money, your source for all of the latest money news. Today, we have five cool stories for you.
What is your retirement number? [Women Who Money] — “How do you know how much you’ll need to have saved for your future retirement?…Figuring out how much you’ll need to have in retirement savings is a multi-step process. But once you have an idea of your savings need, it’s easier to see if you’re on track.”
How much money should you have saved for retirement? [The Irrelevant Investor] — “By age 30 you should have saved 1x your annual income. If this makes you feel bad about yourself, you’re not alone… We’re all in different situations, but the one thing we all have in common is we’re human. It’s hard to be disciplined about saving money.”
William Bengen revisits safe-withdrawal rates. [Financial Advisor magazine] — In 1994, William Bengen introduced what has come to be known as “the 4% rule”, which said that a person could generally plan to safely withdraw 4% of their retirement portfolio each year based on its balance at the start of retirement. (One of my biggest pet peeves is when people attribute this concept to the Trinity Study. Bengen is the source, not the Trinity Study.) In this article, Bengen takes another look at the numbers.
Positive cash flow is the “open secret” of the early-retirement community. [The Finance Buff] — “Having a positive cash flow outside the portfolio is an open secret in the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) circles…The smart FIRE leaders don’t rely on their investment portfolio for their day-to-day spending. In theory, they can cover their expenses by withdrawing from their investment portfolio, but in reality, they don’t. They cover their expenses by their current income while leaving their portfolio untouched.” [As a FIRE insider, I can say that this is generally 100% true. Except for me and Doug Nordman, most FIRE folks support themselves with actual income.]
Lastly, Consumer Reports thinks that the new Apple Watch SE may be the perfect smartwatch at the perfect price. “The SE’s combination of practical features, modern look, top performance, and friendly price make it the Goldilocks of smartwatches. It’s just right.”
Take care, my friends! I’ll see you tomorrow.