Three Important Factors When it Comes to Your Financial Life

admin • July 25, 2019

Regardless of how the markets may perform, consider making the following part of your investment philosophy:

Diversification.  The saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” has real value when it comes to investing. In a bear or bull market, certain asset classes may perform better than others. If your assets are mostly held in one kind of investment (say, mostly in mutual funds or mostly in CDs or money market accounts), you could be hit hard by stock market losses, or alternately, lose out on potential gains that other kinds of investments may be experiencing. There is an opportunity cost as well as risk. 1

Asset allocation strategies are used in portfolio management. A financial professional can ask you about your goals, tolerance for risk, and assign percentages of your assets to different classes of investments. This diversification is designed to suit your preferred investment style and your objectives.

Patience.  Impatient investors obsess on the day-to-day doings of the stock market. Have you ever heard of “stock picking” or “market timing”? How about “day trading”? These are all attempts to exploit short-term fluctuations in value. These investing methods might seem fun and exciting if you like to micromanage, but they could add stress and anxiety to your life, and they may be a poor alternative to a long-range investment strategy built around your life goals.

Consistency.  Most people invest a little at a time, within their budget, and with regularity. They invest $50 or $100 or more per month in their 401(k) and similar investments through payroll deduction or automatic withdrawal. They are investing on “autopilot” to help themselves build wealth for retirement and for long-range goals. Investing regularly (and earlier in life) helps you to take advantage of the power of compounding as well.

 

Disclosures

Securities and advisory services offered through Centaurus Financial, Inc. Member FINRA & SIPC, Registered Broker Dealer and a Registered Investment Advisor. Centaurus Financial Inc. and Five Pine Wealth Management are not affiliated. This is not an offer to sell securities, which may be done only after proper delivery of a prospectus and client suitability has been reviewed and determined.  Information relating to securities is intended for use by individuals residing in (OR, OH, ID, CA, WA, MT, UT, NY). Centaurus Financial Inc. does not provide tax or legal advice. A portion of this material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are un-managed and are not illustrative of any particular investment. Citations. 1 – forbes.com/sites/brettsteenbarger/2019/05/27/why-diversification-works-in-life-and-markets [5/27/19]Content goes here

Join Our Newsletter


Plan smarter with our monthly financial tips + insights

What Happens to Your Tax Bracket When Your Spouse Passes Away?

October 27, 2026
Key Takeaways RMDs can leave a surviving spouse with substantial taxable income even after they move from joint to single tax brackets. The bridge years between retirement and RMDs are often the best window for couples filing jointly to make Roth conversions. Roth conversions can also spare heirs from inherited IRA taxes that come with a traditional IRA. If you asked married couples what they want their retirement savings to do, most would agree something like this is a top priority: if anything happens to one of us, the other will be okay, and so will our kids. Many of these couples save consistently and build healthy IRAs. They stay on top of beneficiary designations and estate documents, too. They’re doing everything right and feel confident the plan will hold. Maybe that’s where you are, too. What plans sometimes neglect, though, is the tax return. Once the surviving spouse moves from joint to single filing, the same IRA you both intended to provide security can push them into a higher tax bracket through required minimum distributions. Higher Medicare premiums may follow. That’s why you shouldn't wait to plan for the surviving spouse’s tax picture until one spouse is gone. Couples have more options while they’re both here to make decisions together, particularly in the years between retirement and required minimum distributions. Related Reading: How to Prepare Financially for the Death of a Spouse How Your Tax Return Changes After the Loss of a Spouse In the year a spouse passes, the survivor can generally still file a joint return. That keeps the wider joint bracket and the larger standard deduction intact for one more tax year. After that, many surviving spouses eventually file as single. A status called “qualifying surviving spouse” extends those joint tax rates for two more years, but only when a dependent child still lives in the home. (For most couples approaching or in retirement, that exception won’t apply.) The 2026 federal income tax brackets, updated for OBBB amendments, compare like this: 2026 Federal Income Tax Rates 

How Much Can You Spend on Travel and Giving in Retirement?

September 17, 2026
Key Takeaways Having substantial wealth doesn’t automatically translate into a clear strategy for spending on travel, family, and philanthropy. A tax-aware withdrawal strategy determines how much you can direct toward discretionary spending and gifts each year without disrupting your plan. You can remove the guesswork by giving travel, family gifts, and charitable giving their own funding strategy through tools like donor-advised funds, QCDs, and structured gifting. A written, stress-tested income and withdrawal plan is how you get numbers you can act on with confidence. They call it your “golden years” for a reason. It’s the long stretch you’ve dreamt of for years: leisurely trips with your spouse, helping your kids with a down payment, and finally writing that big check for a cause you’re passionate about. You built significant wealth and have the resources and the desire to do all three. But even with a substantial portfolio, many high-net-worth retirees hesitate before spending freely — even on the things that matter most to them. Even with substantial assets, they find themselves asking, “How much can I spend in retirement? That hesitation usually has to do with the absence of a coordinated strategy that spells out how much you can direct toward discretionary spending each year and how those decisions affect your tax obligations, estate plans, and financial flexibility. Shifting From Building Wealth to Directing It  For most of your career, your financial discipline revolved around growing your portfolio: maximizing contributions, managing risk, and watching the number climb. That habit served you well, but retirement introduces a shift in decision-making. Instead of allocating income toward growth, you’re directing that accumulated wealth toward your lifestyle, your family’s future, and the causes you care about. Once you retire, your measure of success changes from the size of your balance to whether your withdrawal strategy can fund your priorities and legacy goals without unnecessary tax drag or risk.