Our client, Darci McIntyre, the newly published romance novelist, submitted this piece on how empty nesting gave her the opportunity to pursue a hobby that had always interested her, and to meet a goal that she had always dreamed of. While her newfound free time presented her with the opportunity, as you’ll see, it still took a plan, concerted effort, and deliberate investments of time to acquire new skills.
Read MoreAt the end of last year, my husband and I bought the first home that we visited in person. You could say I have always had a knack for “love at first sight.” For example, the wedding dress I wore when I got married happened to be the first wedding dress I tried on. I didn’t expect to fall in love with the first house we toured with our realtor – but that’s what happened. Officially on
Read MoreIn early November, six middle-aged guys set off on a challenging wilderness adventure that would take us deep into the heart of one of the most remote and inhospitable regions of the United States. We were going to travel by canoe for three days, covering approximately 40 miles of the Rio Grande River as it traced the U.S. border with Mexico, through Mariscal Canyon, one of the most distant and inaccessible sections of Big Bend National Park.
Read MoreI am a consummate planner. Not only do I plan, I usually have multiple contingencies in order. My family and friends tease me about crossing the line between planning and paranoia. So when it came to my retirement I thought I had it licked.
I had developed a formal financial retirement plan with my advisor, Megan Poore, after
Read MoreNervous about the election? You aren’t the only one. We all are. What can we do about it? Well, we can vote. Then we can get on with our lives. If it feels to you like it does to me that the four year election cycle comes around way too quickly, it could be a reminder to all of us that time is passing quickly. The world and the headlines are full of uncertainty, but here are a few things to think about.
Read MoreWe frequently share that many of our clients come to us during times of transition. Perhaps it’s children going off to college, parents growing older and passing, or retirement, a divorce, etc. All these examples of transition require a great deal of planning – financially and emotionally – and the logistics can be quite complicated. Often powerful messages from our past can resurface
Read MoreOn Friday June 24, 2016, at an awards luncheon hosted by The Austin Business Journal, the Lucien, Stirling & Gray team was invited up to the podium to receive an award in front of about 700 other people. After an impressive countdown of some of the most admired large, medium, small and micro companies in Central Texas, all of whom were being recognized as finalists in the ABJ’s annual
Read MoreAfter the desk has been cleaned out and the party has been thrown, the last thing you want to do on the first day of retirement is wake up and think, “now what?” Many people focus much attention on the date of retirement, but the years following that date do not have nearly as clear and concise a plan. A simple exercise we are proposing today is creating your own “Retirement Timeline.”
Read More“Getting Your House in Order” – We often associate this with something that only sick or dying people should do. “We are in great shape – what’s the need?” or “We will do this later when we get old,” are thoughts many have when they hear this phrase. But what if we took a different approach? What if reviewing this question became an on-going part of our planning for the rest of our lives? At Lucien, Stirling & Gray, we believe thoughtful planning – even for young healthy people – is one of the hallmarks of a successful happy life.
Read MoreDid you know that April is “National Financial Literacy Month”? Maybe you have seen some of our social media postings highlighting this recently. While we hope you find our educational tidbits helpful this month, our real goal is to make financial literacy a focus of our ongoing communications all the time.
Read MoreThis is a hot topic in Austin right now, but the answer to this question is not as simple as you might think. Like many financial questions, it depends mightily on a number of variables, not the least of which is the personal situation and experience of the person asking.
Read MoreThe world is full of advice for the young about love and money. But, what about love and money in retirement?
We help clients plan for their retirement, by carefully and thoughtfully generating income. But, retirement isn’t just about monthly checks and a diversified portfolio.
Read MoreThe Baby Boom generation is now retiring en masse, and the topic of Retirement Income Planning has increasingly been in the news. The front edge of the generation, born in 1946, is turning 70 this year. Many boomers have delayed retirement, but will still be facing required minimum distributions and other transitional decisions. Google the term “Retirement Income Planning” and you will get about 10.5 million results. Before delving into the countless
Read MoreBeing given an opportunity to write a year-end recap of a business as an employee who hasn’t yet reached her “one year anniversary” may seem unusual, but I have learned Lucien, Stirling & Gray is a pretty unusual place. On one hand, there is insufficient context for comparisons to be drawn to the past, but on the other, my perspective is fresh and not jaded by negative comparisons that often overshadow the celebration of a year’s victories.
Read MoreBy now, you’ve probably heard about changes to a couple of the rules governing the claiming of Social Security benefits. These were “buried” in the recent two-year budget bill passed by both houses of the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Obama on November 2, 2015. In this same law are provisions that will soften the impact of premium increases for certain Medicare enrollees.
Read MoreWhat is your story?
My home phone rang the other day. No one calls us anymore. They text. They email. They facebook. I heard the answering machine say, “ Cass, it is your Uncle Dint.” I put down my iPad and raced to answer. I didn’t even know my uncle had my phone number. But, he did. At age 87, and in poor health, he is calling the people who mean something to him and the list is long. He has at least 28 nieces
Read MoreFor several weeks now we have been experiencing a turbulent period in global financial markets. As is their habit, many in the financial media have seized on this opportunity to forecast yet another crisis scenario, so I’m reaching out with a few thoughts that I hope will assist you in addressing some of the concerns you might have.
Read MoreSocial Security is complicated. With over 2,700 different rules, there is no getting around it. Unless you have never been married, your options and overall strategy for collecting Social Security benefits will probably be complicated. Articles and resources abound about Social Security, but the challenge for someone to take the information from those various resources and turn it into a personalized plan for his or her own retirement is huge. Many avoid it. Others just make a quick decision to get it over. That’s why we are here.
Read MoreSummer is a great opportunity for our team to reflect, and to focus valuable attention on ways of improving our overall interactions with clients. With a few new folks at Lucien, Stirling & Gray, we have been putting effort into “getting back to basics,” which is also helpful for our senior advisors to revisit. What do we consider the “basics” of our business? Our core philosophy can be summed up by answering these two important questions:
Read MoreJune is the most popular month for weddings, and often wedding expenses are the first big-budget items couples handle together. How well a couple handles these decisions has the power to set the tone, good or bad, for future financial decisions, which is important because financial differences of opinion can be one of the big challenges in a marriage. Unfortunately, nearly half of the couples tying the knot in 2014 went over- budget and another 23% did not even have a budget – so they may have started off on the wrong foot.
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