The RBC Blog

The RBC blog provides inspiring ideas and beneficial strategies to help you prepare for retirement. Additionally, we broadcast timely updates, useful tips & tricks, and vital notifications pertaining to the Retirement Budget Calculator.

Featured

12 Surprising Lessons Every New Retiree Needs to Know
September 13, 2024
12 Surprising Lessons Every New Retiree Needs to Know

The blog post outlines 12 surprising lessons that retirees often encounter as they transition into retirement.

Managing Market Volatility: Insights and Strategies from 20 Years of Data
August 29, 2024
Managing Market Volatility: Insights and Strategies from 20 Years of Data

In this blog post, we explore the importance of managing expectations and embracing market volatility by analyzing 20 years of data from the Russell 3000 Index. Through a historical lens, we highlight how understanding past market trends can help investors maintain a balanced perspective, avoid emotional decision-making, and stay committed to long-term financial goals. The post emphasizes the value of realistic expectations, diversification, and having a solid financial plan to navigate the inevitable ups and downs of the stock market with confidence.

Investing In Retirement
November 4, 2022
Investing In Retirement

How to develop an investment strategy for retirement

Previous Posts

The Retirement Budget Calculator vs. Dave Ramsey's Retirement Calculator: A Superior Way to Plan for Retirement
October 16, 2024
The Retirement Budget Calculator vs. Dave Ramsey's Retirement Calculator: A Superior Way to Plan for Retirement

Choosing the right retirement planning tool is essential. The Retirement Budget Calculator (RBC) offers a highly customizable and accurate approach, with features like detailed budgeting, inflation adjustments, and AI assistance, making it ideal for those seeking in-depth planning within the next five years. In contrast, Dave Ramsey's Retirement Calculator focuses on helping users determine how much they need to save for retirement, offering a straightforward, simple approach. Your choice depends on your retirement planning needs and your comfort level with financial details.

Exploring the Bucket Strategy: A Balanced Approach to Retirement Planning
October 4, 2024
Exploring the Bucket Strategy: A Balanced Approach to Retirement Planning

Recent research has demonstrated the potential advantages of using a bucket strategy for retirement withdrawals. This approach divides funds into time-segmented "buckets" with distinct asset allocations, each regularly rebalanced to maintain its intended strategy. When compared to a traditional 60/40 portfolio, which is also rebalanced annually, the bucket strategy showed significantly better outcomes over a 30-year period. The findings suggest that incorporating both time-segmented investing and regular rebalancing can lead to more effective retirement planning.

Smart Retirement Investing: Strategies for a Secure Future
September 20, 2024
Smart Retirement Investing: Strategies for a Secure Future

The Pyramid of Investing Success provides a structured approach to building a strong, enduring investment strategy for retirement. It starts with understanding the purpose of your money and adopting a sound investment philosophy. Key elements include a solid financial plan, diversification across global markets, and incorporating factor investing—tilting towards small-cap, value, and high-profitability stocks for higher expected returns. Disciplined rebalancing and effective tax strategies further enhance stability and growth. By focusing on these fundamentals, you can achieve clarity, confidence, and financial freedom in retirement.

Lump Sum or Pension: How to Make the Right Choice for Your Retirement
September 6, 2024
Lump Sum or Pension: How to Make the Right Choice for Your Retirement

This blog post explores the critical decision retirees face between taking a lump sum or opting for a pension. It emphasizes the importance of evaluating this choice within a comprehensive retirement cash flow plan, considering factors like guaranteed income, inflation, life expectancy, and investment management. Using tools like the Retirement Budget Calculator and a specialized spreadsheet, the post guides readers through creating and comparing different scenarios to make an informed decision. Ultimately, it stresses the need to make this choice in the context of your overall financial goals and comfort with managing investments.

Blog Post: Pay Off Your Mortgage at Retirement or Invest? Pros and Cons Explained!
August 22, 2024
Blog Post: Pay Off Your Mortgage at Retirement or Invest? Pros and Cons Explained!

Deciding whether to pay off your mortgage at retirement or invest your savings is a personal choice that depends on your financial goals, risk tolerance, and comfort with debt. Paying off the mortgage can offer peace of mind and reduce your monthly expenses, but it may also limit your financial flexibility and growth potential. On the other hand, keeping the mortgage and investing your savings could lead to higher long-term returns and greater liquidity, but it involves ongoing debt and potential tax implications. Ultimately, the right decision should align with your overall retirement plan and what brings you the most financial security and peace of mind.

Retirement Calculator: How much money do I need to retire?
October 25, 2022
Retirement Calculator: How much money do I need to retire?

If you're close to retirement, you may be wondering how much money you need to have saved.Or maybe you're within 5 years of retirement and want to get a head start on planning. Either way, Retirement Calculator: How much money do I need to Retire? is the perfect book for you!

New research shows the bucket strategy is better than previously thought.
September 26, 2022
New research shows the bucket strategy is better than previously thought.

After spending many years accumulating assets for retirement, you need a strategy for retirement withdrawals. How do you choose between a traditional static portfolio, the infamous bucket strategy, an upwards glidepath, or some other strategy?

The Best Retirement Planning Calculator: Comprehensive Features to Help You Plan for Your Future
August 13, 2022
The Best Retirement Planning Calculator: Comprehensive Features to Help You Plan for Your Future

When planning for retirement, it is important to have as much information as possible to make the best decisions so that you can have the most confidence heading into retirement. That's why using a retirement calculator is such a valuable tool.

Tax-efficient Withdrawal Strategies
June 25, 2022
Tax-efficient Withdrawal Strategies

A comparison of various strategies to reduce taxes when withdrawing from retirement accounts.

 How To Enter Your Paycheck Into The Retirement Budget Calculator
April 19, 2022
How To Enter Your Paycheck Into The Retirement Budget Calculator

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how Barney, who is close to retirement, would enter his paycheck and other taxable income into the RBC budget to get an accurate estimate of federal taxes.

How Much Do I Need To Retire? The Ultimate Guide
March 29, 2022
How Much Do I Need To Retire? The Ultimate Guide

When it comes to retirement planning, there are a lot of factors to consider. How much money do you need to retire? What will your monthly expenses be? How long will your retirement savings need to last? These are all important questions that need answers. In this article, we will provide an in-depth guide on how to calculate how much money you need for retirement.

The 7 Categories of Retirement Expenses and 65 Expenses to Include in Your Budget
March 19, 2022
The 7 Categories of Retirement Expenses and 65 Expenses to Include in Your Budget

When planning for retirement, it is important to include all of your potential expenses. This can be tricky, as there are many different factors to consider. In this blog post, we will discuss the 7 categories of retirement expenses and then provide a list of 65 specific expenses you will want to include in your retirement spending plan. By taking into account all of these costs, you can create a realistic plan that will help you enjoy a comfortable retirement! You may utilize the Retirement Budget Calculator for free to assist you to plan your spending for retirement.

How To Create A Free Retirement Budget
March 17, 2022
How To Create A Free Retirement Budget

Are you worried about your retirement? You're not alone! Retirement planning can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. In this blog post, we will discuss how to create a free budget for retirement. We will go over different strategies that you can use to figure out how much you spend which in turn will help you know if you have saved enough for retirement.

Getting Your Spouse On Board With Retirement Planning
February 28, 2022
Getting Your Spouse On Board With Retirement Planning

In many marriages, one spouse will often take the lead in handling the couple’s financial tasks, including retirement planning, while the other is happy to let the finance person handle all the details.

Your Financial Dashboard As You Prepare For Retirement
February 24, 2022
Your Financial Dashboard As You Prepare For Retirement

As a premium subscriber to the retirement budget calculator, you will be greeted with your Dashboard after you log in.

Buying Vs Leasing A New Car
February 4, 2022
Buying Vs Leasing A New Car

Will you buy or lease your next car?

How To Create A Retirement Budget
January 27, 2022
How To Create A Retirement Budget

While planning your retirement, you’ve probably asked yourself, “Will my money last for the rest of my life?”

Important Numbers To Update Every January
January 15, 2022
Important Numbers To Update Every January

Every January there are a few important numbers you will want to update in your Retirement Budget Calculator. Here are my top 3 suggestions:

Should you pay off your mortgage before retiring?
September 17, 2021
Should you pay off your mortgage before retiring?

Deciding whether to pay off your mortgage is a critical financial planning decision, especially for those with limited savings. Paying off the mortgage offers improved cash-flow and peace of mind, but the financial costs may be too high for some retirees.

Retirement Spending Calculator
August 27, 2021
Retirement Spending Calculator

The reason you saved and invested in your 401k and IRA is so that one day you will have saved enough to be able to retire. But what is enough?

Asset allocation during retirement: Structuring your portfolio to meet your cash flow needs
June 27, 2021
Asset allocation during retirement: Structuring your portfolio to meet your cash flow needs

Asset allocation is one key to creating a cash flow strategy that works in retirement. But the cash flow strategy that worked during the wealth accumulation years may not work for a retiree. Retirees should take some time to re-evaluate their asset allocation, and make sure that it fits with their distribution strategy.

7 Popular Retirement Withdrawal Strategies
May 24, 2021
7 Popular Retirement Withdrawal Strategies

Retirees typically want to spent their retirement years with the people they love without worrying about their money. These popular portfolio withdrawal strategies are designed to help retirees fund their retirement without fear of running out of money.

What is your Financial Independence (FI) Number?
March 23, 2021
What is your Financial Independence (FI) Number?

Financial independence means you have enough money to cover all your expenses without working again. We share how to calculate your personal financial independence number, so you can see whether you're on track to achieve financial independence before retirement.

Optimizing Medicare Spending in Retirement: 6 Tips for people age 63 and up
February 13, 2021
Optimizing Medicare Spending in Retirement: 6 Tips for people age 63 and up

Healthcare costs are a non-negotiable line item in your retirement budget, but understanding how Medicare works can help you optimize your spending. This article covers six tips for keeping healthcare spending costs low while keeping quality high.