I play tennis and have for many years. I also have a very competitive nature and really hate to lose, especially when I believe I “gave” a match away; that I made too many mistakes.

Since much of the country has recently spent a lot of time watching the Weather Channel and getting a refresher on how hurricanes work, it’s the perfect opportunity to see what we can learn about retirement planning from a discussion about hurricanes…

Take out a dollar bill from your wallet and look at it. Now take out a second dollar bill and look at it. They look pretty similar, don’t they? They spend at the grocery store the same.

Just the other days I was meeting with a CPA in my area reviewing our planning process. It’s inevitable that when I review our planning process called Simplicitree we get into investment strategies.

Not too long-ago Lisa Wallace, the public affairs specialist from the Social Security office was on my radio show Simply Financial that airs each Saturday morning at 11:30 here in Charlotte on 102.5FM or 610AM.

I imagine many of you have heard the story of the Blind Men and The Elephant. I believe it may have been the sixth grade or so when I was first introduced to it.

Having met with thousands of individuals during the 25 plus years of my career, I have noticed most people tend to make similar mistakes.

If you want to retire, then you better put your money to work. View your retirement savings as a little army that is going to fight for your future income.

Approximately 66 million people today receive some form of Social Security benefits, including retirement, disability, survivor, and family benefits.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand to watch commercials. The biggest reason is not what they are selling, it’s because of the disclaimers at the end of the commercial.