Skip to content

After The Paycheck

An informational & educational website that explores a wide range of topics aimed at helping people to and through their retirement.

Subscribe To Future Posts

Hero Banner

Risk Tolerance Vs. Risk Capacity: How Psychology Can Ruin Your Retirement Plan

In the realm of investing and retirement planning, two crucial ideas are frequently interchanged,...

Read More

5 IMMEDIATE Opportunities to Lower Your Taxes...

Taxpayers have plenty to be concerned about in 2024…

Read More

The Cycle of Fear, Greed, and Shrinking Returns

$100 is on the table, and you have a choice.

Read More

How A Tax Planning Strategy Today Could Help Maximize Income In Retirement

When over 250 recent retirees were asked, in terms of expenses, what the biggest surprise was in...

Read More

Personal Money Talk - Spooky, or Kooky?

The days are getting shorter, the air a bit more “crisp”, and we’re quickly approaching the...

Read More

Is a new recession warning flashing?

You've probably heard us say that consumers (like you and me) are the backbone of the U.S. economy.

Read More

The Best Method To Withdraw From Your Accounts In Retirement?

Have you considered these factors to understand how much you'll need in retirement:

How long will...

Read More

Are You Poised To Lose A Popular Tax Deduction In 2024?

Currently, those who are age 50 and older can make catch-up contributions in their 401(k) accounts...

Read More

The 'Perfect Cocktail' Strategy Used by Wealthy Investors

What is it about your favorite cocktail that makes it perfect for you?

Read More

Unlock The Hidden Power Of Your Goals By Asking 3 Daring 'Whys'

“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” – Zig Ziglar

Read More

Is 'Greedflation' Becoming A Reality?

While inflation has been cooling off from the craziness we saw in 2021 and 2022, it is still well...

Read More

The Common Mistakes Most Investors Make & How The Wealthy Act On It

Your Investment Recovery Playbook(3 Urgent Opportunities & 2 Uncommon Defense Strategies)

Will a...

Read More

Your Tax Savings, Threatened? (How Wealthy Americans Unlock Hidden Uncertainty Tax Opportunities)

It can feel like the floor is about to fall out from under you when thinking about tax law changes....

Read More

Five “Hidden” Tax Opportunities To Take Advantage of Before They Go Away

Have you been making good use of the recent tax code changes to legally reduce the amount of taxes...

Read More

5 Powerful Money Lessons You Didn't Learn In School (But Essential In Life)

What's the hardest lesson you've ever had to learn about money?

Read More

The Social Security Administration Announces 2022 COLA

5.9% is the biggest COLA increase in decades.

Read More

How About A 'Gap Year' Before Your Retirement?

For generations, teens in Europe have opted for a year off to adventure and see the world before...

Read More

Supply Chain Kinks May Grinch the Holidays

October isn’t normally considered the hub of the Christmas shopping season.

That’s what Black...

Read More

How Do Insurance Policies Effect Your Retirement Plan?

Your life and health insurance policies are a key part of your overall financial plan. It’s...

Read More

The Inevitable Drop

Market Watch says it’s not only possible – it’s probable – that you’ll see one-or-more market...

Read More

Is Your Brain Sabotaging A Successful Retirement?

If you had to really think about EVERY POSSIBLE THING when making a decision, it would take a lot...

Read More

4 New Tax Proposals That Could Shake Your Retirement Plan

Several of the suggested proposals in Biden’s tax plan could significantly affect retirees and how...

Read More

Old 401k Options & The Pros/Cons Of Each

When you change employers or enter retirement, you likely have four choices of what to do with your...

Read More

The Role Dividend Paying Stocks Play In Your Retirement Portfolio

The notion of using dividends in retirement, either as a way to complement other financial assets,...

Read More

Creating A Retirement Income Drawdown Strategy

Starting your social security withdrawals before full retirement age could result in THOUSANDS of...

Read More

Myths of Conventional Financial Wisdom

Financial rules of thumb are useful to many people who can’t or won’t make time for complete and...

Read More

3 Unexpected Challenges You May Face Heading Into Retirement

You may have heard this before, but if you think your retirement situation will be similar to that...

Read More

Should Bonds Still Have A Role In Your Retirement Plan?

With interest rates so low, is there still a role for bonds in today’s retirement portfolio?...

Read More

Market Update: Strong Data

(Published Feb. 22nd, 2021)

Markets were mixed this week as a wide range of positive economic data...

Read More

Healthcare Options In Retirement

One of the major considerations you'll need to take into account in retirement is figuring out your...

Read More

Market Update: Cruising Oil

(Published Feb. 17th, 2021)

Read More

JDLTM - What Is The Color Of (Your) Money?

Each week host Randy Cook interviews either Sam Liang, John Conley, or Ryan Marston to discuss...

Read More

Market Update: More Stimulus

(Published Feb. 8th, 2021)

Markets rose this week in spite of disappointing hiring in January....

Read More

Would A Market Correction Affect Your Retirement Portfolio?

Would A Market Correction Affect Your Retirement Portfolio?

Randy: we all worry about the...

Read More

Market Update: Market Mayhem

(Published Feb. 1st, 2021)

Read More

You’ve Inherited Money, Now What Should You Do?

If you’ve recently inherited money, you might be feeling a lot of emotions. Losing a loved one is...

Read More

Market Update: Retail Takes Another Hit

(Published Jan. 19th, 2021)

Markets receded this week as December retail sales numbers...

Read More

JDLTM: Are You In Your Second Financial Awakening?

The Just Don't Lose The Radio Show discussion from January 17th, 2021:

Read More

Market Update: New All Time Highs

(Published Jan. 11th, 2021)

Read More

Audio: 2020 Year End Checklist

In this episode of the Just Don't Lose The Money Radio Show, Sam and Randy go over a 2020 Year End...

Read More

Is Your Retirement 'Check Engine Light' On?

In this episode of the Just Don't Lose The Money Radio Show, Randy and Ryan discuss:
Read More

Where To START When Thinking About Retirement And Your Income

Earlier this year we shared a post about The "Ostrich effect", which refers to the psychological...

Read More

Has Your Financial Literacy Been Declining?

Studies show that Americans think of themselves as financially savvy, but in actuality,...

Read More

Unexpected Risks To Your Retirement Plan

What comes to mind when you imagine something wiping out your retirement savings? A personal...

Read More

Why Your Portfolio Strategy Needs To Be Different Than When You Were Working

What’s your goal, financially speaking, for retirement? Most likely, its to make sure you have...

Read More

Thinking You Should Delay Your Retirement Date? Consider This...

A landmark study released in August found that 39% of American workers, some 68 million in all, are...

Read More

4 Ways To Catch Up On Saving For Retirement

Your retirement is known as “the golden years” for a reason.

Traveling, relaxing, spending more...

Read More

5 Financial Planning Challenges In The First 10 Years Of Retirement

Even under normal circumstances, planning for retirement can be stressful. With the chaos that a...

Read More

Are You An Ostrich?

When you realize you might soon be facing an uncomfortable situation, do you tend to "ignore" it,...

Read More

Should You Participate In Your Employee Stock Purchase Plan?

There’s a reason your employer offers you a benefits package; it’s an incentive for you to stay...

Read More

Tax Traps That Can Eat In To Your Retirement Income

The forgotten cost in almost every retiree's retirement withdrawal plan... Uncle Sam's (the...

Read More

How To Adjust To Being On A Fixed Income In Retirement

So, you made it to retirement with a decent nest egg to live off of. That’s worth celebrating! Now...

Read More

Should You Keep That Rental Property In Retirement?

Any investment will always involve both time and money, and this is especially true for rental...

Read More

Are Index Funds Really As Great As Everyone Thinks?

In the fall of 2019, index funds finally surpassed actively managed mutual funds. As of August 31...

Read More

Personal IRA Vs. Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans

If you are close to retirement and are looking for ways to beef up your retirement accounts, you...

Read More

Medicare Changes In 2020

Considering recent events, healthcare is on everyone’s mind. While increases in premiums are common...

Read More

Your Guide To Social Security in 2020

The number of Americans retiring has nearly doubled in the past 20 years with 10,000 people a day...

Read More

What You Need To Know About Recessions And Bear Markets

As global markets continue their roller coaster ride due to fears surrounding the coronavirus, our...

Read More

Why Now Is The Time To Beat Taxes In Retirement

Retirement changed forever in 1978.

That’s the year the 401(k) was invented. Now, over 40 years...

Read More

What Should You Do About The Coronavirus And Stock Market Volatility?

The financial markets took a big dip early this week over fears about the spreading coronavirus,...

Read More

The True Cost of Withdrawing Early From Your 401(k)

In today’s age there’s little we can all agree on. But one common goal we all share is to enjoy a...

Read More

Defining Your Primary Goal In Retirement

Everyone's lifestyle, and everyone's retirement, looks different. Maybe you'd like to retire to...

Read More

Average Returns vs. Actual Returns - Understanding The Difference

Investing is all about benchmarks. To understand the success of a given investing strategy, you...

Read More

Is A Roth IRA Conversion Right For Me?

What is a Roth IRA?

A Roth IRA is an after-tax qualified account that encourages you to save for...

Read More

Provide a larger after-tax inheritance to your loved ones

What do you do when you have enough retirement income but also extra pre-tax money growing on the...

Read More

What happens to your Social Security benefit if you lose a spouse?

For many American retirees, Social Security is a valuable, and sometimes essential, part of their...

Read More

10 Mistakes You Might Make In Retirement (Regardless of How Smart You Are)

In this episode of the Just Don't Lose The Money Radio Show, Sam and John discussed 10 mistakes...

Read More

Questions From Our Listeners! (June edition)

This week's episode of Just Don't Lose The Money Radio was focused on something we are going to...

Read More

The SECURE Act & How It May Effect Your Retirement Plans

The House Of Representatives just OVERWHELMINGLY passed the S.E.C.U.R.E. (Setting Every Community...

Read More

5 Pillars Of A Sound Retirement Plan

This week's radio discussed the Five Pillars of a Sound Retirement. Tune in as Sam and Mike discuss...

Read More

4 Important things to keep in mind when planning for retirement

Do you have all the bases covered to pave the way for a happy and secure retirement, or does your...

Read More

12 Questions From Our Listeners (and Our Answers!)

This week's episode of Just Don't Lose The Money Radio was dedicated toward answering questions...

Read More

5 Myths About Your Finances In Retirement, Debunked

This week's episode of Just Don't Lose The Money Radio discussed myths about finances in...

Read More

The Rise of Lump-Sum Buyouts: Should You Consider One?

Last month (March 2019), the Treasury Department quietly announced it no longer intends to amend...

Read More

Never Underestimate The "Power of Zero"

In this week's post we'll discuss the importance of having products within your mix of your...

Read More

Market Recap: 4th Quarter 2018 vs 1st Quarter 2019

It was only a few months back when the markets created some unrest in a lot of investors,...

Read More

Countdown To Retirement Tips (10, 5, and 1 Year From Retirement)

There are three milestones on your way to retirement that we'd like to address in this post, and...

Read More

Three Types of Investment Accounts & How They May Affect Your Retirement Income

This week’s blog is a homage to a book that we’ve been giving to people who come in for a...

Read More

Six Action Items To Help You Prepare For A Solid Retirement

You’ve made it to that magical time in your life – the home stretch to retirement. Whether you...

Read More

5 Frequently Asked Questions About RMDs & IRAs, Answered

You’ve set aside money all of these years, hoping to have a fluffy nest for retirement. You’ve...

Read More

How Retirement Strategies Should Change As You Age

Everyone should have a strategy for meeting their goals in retirement, but retirement can last for...

Read More

Sequence Of Returns Risk: How WHEN You Retire Could Make or Break Your Retirement Portfolio

What is Sequence Risk?

Sequence risk is also called sequence-of-returns risk. It becomes...

Read More

5 Must-Read Books on Retirement Planning

Whether you are just starting to think about retirement, or you are in retirement already, you...

Read More

Think you are ready for retirement? Answer these 6 questions first...

If you are thinking about retirement, or are nearing retirement, its go time. We call this the...

Read More

The Solution in Retirement: Dependable and Sustainable Income

The fathers of the 401(k) plan as we know them today never intended it to replace the traditional...

Read More

 5 Steps to Creating a Budget for Retirement 

It’s mid-January. By now, you’ve either tackled your resolutions with zest, or you’ve happily...

Read More

The Importance of Financial Organization In Retirement Planning

It always starts the same way. A New Year approaches and you have the best intentions for keeping...

Read More

Advanced Planning for IRA's and RMD's

I got another email today from a radio listener who is turning 70 ½ and wanted to know more about...

Read More

The 3 Major Reasons Retirement Plans Fail (And How to Avoid Them)

As you are approaching the finish line of your working career, it is important now more than ever...

Read More

4 Reasons to Own an Annuity

Now that the Powerball winner has come forward to claim her prize of $758 million (before taxes),...

Read More

Life Insurance Awareness Month

I was Driving down the Mass Pike this past weekend and saw a billboard that really caught my...

Read More

3 Things You Need To Know When Planning For Retirement

Introduction:For most of my adult life and career as a broadcast journalist, I focused on daily...

Read More

The Four Main Steps to the Probate Process

INTRODUCTION:

Probate is a legal proceeding conducted by a state court that oversees and manages...

Read More

Annuity Awareness Month in Massachusetts

June is annuity awareness month. How did this come about and why? In 2015, The Commonwealth of...

Read More

The Big Lie of Retirement Planning

What if everything people were being told about retirement planning was not true?Well, maybe lie...

Read More

Customer Service - What do YOU expect?

The other day, a customer thanked me for being so kind on the phone. I thought that was odd. After...

Read More

Father of the 401(k) to son: What a mess I made of you!

The fathers of the 401(k) plan as we know it today never intended it to replace the traditional...

Read More

No Blood, No Money Trusts

Many of our clients want to make sure that their assets stay in the family after they pass away.

In...

Read More

I Love My Four Kids, But…

I have 4 kids. Two are in college and 2 are still in high school. As we were all sitting at the...

Read More

Hillary, Donald and The State of American Health

Health, or the lack of it, seems to be on everyone’s minds these days. Is Hillary sick? Is Donald...

Read More

The Rio Olympics, Gold Medals and Your Retirement

Imagine you just won a gold medal at the Rio Olympics that no one expected you to win. You’re a...

Read More

Happy Interconnectedness Day

July 4th is coming up fast. Independence Day…the day we declared we’d be bound no more to the...

Read More

The Market or the Mattress?

Over the last 12 months or so, the market appears to be down. In fact, when I logged into my own...

Read More

RMD’s – Required Maximum Destruction!

I know…RMD’s don’t actually stand for that. They stand for Required Minimum Distributions. Anyone...

Read More

What’s Your Resolution This Year?

What do the New Year’s Eve Ball and the stock market have in common? They both started the year...

Read More

Made in Japan

I was born in Hong Kong. I didn’t grow up playing baseball or riding bikes because in Hong Kong,...

Read More

Do You Suffer From Financial Whiplash!

Do you ever feel like you get whiplash when you watch the stock market? Me, too.

Read More

3 Unique Financial Challenges Women Face

I grew up in a family with four older sisters, so I’ve known since I was a small child women run...

Read More

Another Kind of Independence Day

July 4th is a big day in our country’s history: Independence Day. It’s the day we told the Brits we...

Read More

The Guessing Game

Guessing games can be fun. There’s a reason Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy have lasted as long as...

Read More

The Danger of Averages

Math is a funny thing, especially when it comes to averages.  Let me show you what I mean.

Read More

The Art of Procrastination

I have a confession to make. I’m a procrastinator. I routinely delay doing things I know I should...

Read More

Why the Social Security Administration Can’t Help You

The Social Administration (SSA for short) can’t help you with your Social Security benefits. That...

Read More

Vegas Has Better Odds

Two things matter when you’re making a bet. The first is the probability of success. What are the...

Read More

Just What the Doctor Ordered

Let’s say you recently found out you needed open heart surgery. Bad news, I know, but since over...

Read More

What’s your “What if” Plan?

The Patriots are the Super Bowl Champs…again! After I was done watching (and celebrating!) two...

Read More

What’s The Most Financially Dangerous Statistic?

It’s probably not what you think. It’s “average life expectancy.” In other words, how long you will...

Read More

How Safe is Safe?

How Safe is Safe?

That’s an interesting question because each of us takes risks every day. We get...

Read More

The One New Year’s Resolution I Can Help You Keep!

The holidays are upon us! If your life is anything like mine, it’s a whirlwind of spending time...

Read More

Hybrids Aren't Just for Cars Anymore!

 Read Sam Liang's latest article for Fortune.com about the new hybrid that will help you follow...

Read More

Brad Paisley Visits Just Don't Lose the Money Radio on 8/31!

Even famous country singers like Brad Paisley need to follow those important Two Rules! 

Read More

Do You Remember 2008?

Do you remember 2008? Many believe that because Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan acted quickly, he saved...

Read More

Dr. Frank Luntz on Just Don't Lose the Money Radio!

We have a very special guest joining us this Sunday, August 10th, on Just Don’t Lose the Money...

Read More

IRS Scam - Beware!

We want you to be aware of a scam that is going on right now. People have been receiving...

Read More

A Client's Perspective

Our phones ring everyday with people asking for our help. They’re worried about retirement and...

Read More

The Million Dollar Question: Will There Be Enough?

While driving to work last week, I heard a study that Bank of America conducted on the “mass...

Read More

Thinking of Downsizing? Don't Miss My May 18th Show!

Are you considering paying off your mortgage or refinancing? Or selling your house and downsizing...

Read More

Will the Bubble Burst, Again?

Among the many articles I read on a daily basis, one in particular caught my eye today. Money pros...

Read More

How To Turn a $1 Into $2, and Take Care of Your Heirs

I think we can all agree that many things are tougher for the younger generation. There is no...

Read More

Piece of Mind is A Priceless Asset

If you get into a car accident, you ask your trusted friends if they have a good body shop person....

Read More

About Sam Liang

Hi. I’m Sam Liang and welcome to my blog!

I started this site as a link between my business life,...

Read More

Have a list of questions around your finances?

Thinking about your retirement situation?

Let’s chat. Find a time on our calendar to reserve a 15 min. phone call with either Sam, John, or Ryan - we'll use this time to get to know you and your needs and talk about the retirement planning obstacles you may be facing.