With just a few days left in the year, time is running out to lower your 2009 income.  Consider getting those last minute charitable contributions out the door, people!  For those who have potential capital losses they can still take, doing so could reduce your income as well.  (An unlimited amount of capital losses can be deducted from the capital gains you'd otherwise need to pay taxes on, plus up to $3,000 of ordinary income.)

Lowering your income taxes just might have a retirement planning benefit as well (most of the limits referred to below relate to your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), which, for example, typically won't be affected by greater charitable contributions but would be by capital losses.)

Certain retirement planning opportunities are only available to those with income below a certain level and include:

• The Retirement Savers Credit
• A Deductible Traditional IRA
• A Roth IRA contribution
• A Roth Conversion (conversions in 2009 face an income limit, 2010 does not)

Have you ever attempted to shift some income or deductions in order to take greater advantage of a retirement planning opportunity?

Happy holidays!  The holiday shopping season has already wrapped up for most Americans.  (I say "most" and not "all," based on my plans, and the other people scrambling, for this afternoon).  Soon, all the presents will be opened and the holidays season will pass.

Might I suggest one additional gift? It costs very little but can be -- dare I borrow the term -- priceless:

Give yourself and your loved ones the the gift of taking care of your future.  Consider saving whatever you would have spent on that one last present.  Instead of spending all of your downtime over the next few days, use some of it to ponder your preparation for the future, then set aside additional time to begin to get your ducks in a row (if they're not already.)

Teach your children about the importance of financial responsibility and how saving all year long enabled them to enjoy these wonderful gifts and, perhaps, to set aside some for the future and for those less fortunate.  Don't wait for someone else to teach them.

Happy holidays, dear readers.

For better or worse, many people like to sell life insurance.  But, should you buy it?

Like all products, financial and otherwise, sometimes you need what "they're" selling and sometimes you don't.  In retirement, most people find themselves on fixed incomes. As a result, virtually every expense needs to be analyzed for its appropriateness, especially now that you've entered this new life phase.

Life insurance, whether it be the purchase of a new policy or the continuation of an existing policy, should be periodically reviewed.   Life insurance's most important financial role is its protection of your loved ones in the event of your untimely demise. For most people, death during retirement will not have nearly the tremendous negative financial implications as a death during their younger years when, for example, they had young children at home.

So, take a minute to consider Do you need life insurance during retirement?

While I'm a much bigger college football fan compared to the NFL, I can't help but be amazed at the success Brett Favre has had this year.  Statistically, he's having one of the best year's of his career.  Realistically, this shouldn't happen.  Not at what he does.  Maybe if he was a finanical writer, he could be hitting his peak at age 40 (self-deprecation both intentional and noted).  But Favre plays professional football and he has a big old target on his chest every time he has the ball.

So it got me to thinking.

Brett Favre has had a hard time deciding whether to continue his career - he's retired previously and more than once.  If it's not easy to know when to retire at a job like professional football where virtually everything is both measurable and relentlessly measured, how could the rest of us know when we've really had enough?

Take away the financial considerations for a moment.  (After all, I doubt, and certainly hope, that Mr. Favre is still playing for the money.)  How can we know when the right time will be for us to retire? How did/will you decide it's time to hang up your (proverbially speaking, of course) cleats?