Blog
The Top 5 Financial Planning Challenges in the First 10 Years of Retirement
The marathon to retirement has been long and challenging, but you’ve finally got the finish line in your sights! You didn’t reach this milestone without decades of hard work, calculating, strategizing, and saving, and...
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3 Lessons I Learned From the COVID-19 Pandemic
I don’t think any of us have come out of the past year and a half without some significant “aha” moments or a new perspective on life. Pivotal moments and major upheavals tend to have that effect on us! As I have...
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How to Maximize Your DTE Energy Group Benefits Package
DTE Energy employees have access to a robust benefits package. Many people do not know all the benefits available to them, or how to identify the best options. It’s the time of year again to select your DTE (or other) workplace...
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Unexpected Threats to Your Retirement Plan
Although much of life feels uncertain right now, the last thing you want to feel unsure about is your retirement savings. But when you think of things that could wipe out your nest egg, like market turmoil, a personal tragedy, or a...
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Losing My Spouse: Lessons Learned Through Loss
It’s been a little over 10 months since the passing of my wife, Heather. Shortly after she passed, I honestly believed I would be able to write an article such as this, espousing the newfound perspective and knowledge I had...
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The 4 Biggest Financial Mistakes I See
As nice as it would be, it’s impossible to live a life without mistakes. Thankfully, most mistakes are minor, don’t cause much regret, and give us an opportunity to learn. But financial mistakes? They’re in another...
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How Much Do I Need to Retire Comfortably?
If you ask Google: “How much money do I need to retire?” you’ll get over 100 million results. Of course, this is an incredibly important question to consider as you plan and save for retirement, but you’ll also...
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How To Manage Your Finances In A Crisis
From the events of 2020 and 2021, many of us have learned the hard lesson that we can never, ever predict the future. Disaster of any nature can strike at any time and we may never be able to truly prepare for every future possibility....
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Should You Take The Lump Sum Over The Monthly Pension?
A question that sometimes comes up during retirement planning is whether it makes sense to take a pension as a lump sum or an annuity payment. Many of my clients are employees of DTE Energy, and some current DTE employees originally...
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What You Need To Know About Your Medicare Plan
An oft-overlooked, yet headache-inducing transition to retirement is the Medicare plan. Medicare offers a variety of enrollment options. These options give you the flexibility to choose components of the plan that you need, but they...
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Do You Know A DTE Energy Employee Who Needs My Financial Guidance?
One factor that sets me apart from other financial planners is my extensive experience and familiarity with the retirement plans offered through DTE, including plans carried over from MCN Energy. I have worked with hundreds of DTE...
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Common Causes Of Debt And How To Avoid Them
It’s no secret that Americans seem to have a love affair with debt. At the time this is being written, the personal debt of U.S. citizens is an average of $64,145 per person. Secured debt like auto loans, mortgages, and rental...
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What You Need To Know About Your MCN Energy Severance Package
The MCN Energy severance package was designed to equalize the retirement benefits between MCN and DTE Energy employees. Under the old MCN Traditional Pension Plan (TPP), employees are penalized for retiring before age 62, whereas the...
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Who I Serve And How I Can Help
For many people, finances are a major cause of stress. It’s hard to find the time and resources to build and manage your wealth confidently. It can be even harder to know how to integrate your family’s values, financial...
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Case Studies of DTE Energy Employees We’ve Helped
At the Center for Wealth Management, we have worked tirelessly over the years to help employees of DTE Energy transition seamlessly into retirement. Below are a few case studies of actual clients who wanted to retire early and needed...
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Do You Have Questions About Your Social Security Benefits?
It’s no secret that for most Americans these days, Social Security is a significant retirement asset. Born out of the Great Depression as a retirement safety net, these days a record high of around 180 million people are working...
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What I Do And How I Can Help
It can be hard enough to manage your finances when your circumstances are relatively simple, let alone when you have extra decisions due to your career. When you need help, how do you know who to turn to? Who can you rely on to...
Read MoreWashington Gone Blue
Wednesday, January 6, 2021, will be remembered in the history books—for a couple of reasons. First, while Congress met to count the inaugural votes, we anticipated that members from both houses would be objecting to electors from...
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Why I Became A Financial Advisor
For many of us, we grow up learning what we are good at and what we enjoy doing with our time. If we’re lucky, our skills and passions line up and we have the privilege of having a fulfilling career. That’s exactly how I...
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Why I Became A Financial Advisor
I’m often asked, as I’m sure many others are as well, why I chose to do what I do for a living. The question itself feels cliché, and I absolutely cringe when I hear it. I know there are some people that, when asked...
Read MoreOutlook 2021: Where We Are and Where We're Headed
Outlook 2021: Where We Are and Where We’re Headed Presented by Center for Wealth Management As we approach the beginning of a new year and consider what it may bring, it’s helpful to reflect on the one now behind us. After...
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Navigating The DTE Energy 401(k) Plan
As a DTE Energy employee, are you utilizing the 401(k) plan? There are some key advantages of leveraging the 401(k) to save for your retirement. The IRS increased deferral limits for 2021, allowing you to defer even more than last year...
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Case Study: How A Professional Engineer Saved Big On Taxes
You’ve worked hard your entire life, and now you are so close to retirement you can taste it. You’re thinking of retiring early. Good for you for being diligent and committed to saving for your retirement future....
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