Retirement Answer Man Show: Retirement Planning That's Fun

WOW, your response to the Can Carl Retire? series in January and last Friday's results webinar were off the charts. I received so many kind comments and sharp questions from you. In today's episode, I'll answer a portion of your questions and will get to more next week. Please keep them coming. If you're wondering, no doubt thousands of others are, too. Want to Watch the Webinar Replay? The webinar replay will remain available until Sunday, February 8th (11:59 pm). You can watch it by clicking below. Listener Questions Answered in This Episode: * From Ken:  "I didn't see you mention an emergency fund.  Why is that?" * From Ken:  "What provision is made to pay for taxes on his 401(k) plan when required minimum distributions are required since most of his wealth is in tax-deferred plans?" * From Randy:  "Quicken sells software, called "WillMaker Plus", to create "a Will, Health Care Directive, Durable Power of Attorney for Finances and other essential documents."  Do you have an opinion on the value of such software?" * From Joe:  "I appreciate the webinar yesterday; helps me in thinking thru retirement planning.  The question came up around pensions and taking a lump sum vs. taking annuity payments.  You said something to the effect of "99% of the time it's better to take the annuity." That's one of my central planning questions, as I have a company pension that I will eventually be drawing from. * From Ken:  (Ken was getting into this) "I just listened to the replay and thought it was very informative and provided a nice example of the process. As you mentioned during the webinar, given Carl is lucky enough to have a healthy pension which is rare these days, it would be interesting to know what the equivalent lump sum in current investable assets would need to be to get him to the same answer if he did not have the pension." * From Dave:  Good podcast and interesting information about Carl's situation.  I am wondering whether your estimated returns for Carl were too aggressive.  Where the estimated returns (8+%) that you were showing after tax returns?  It just seems, while the portfolio would be a nice blend, that the return estimates were higher than I have been estimating in my personal returns.  Regards, Dave. Question for You: What do you want next? The Can Carl Retire? series really resonated with most of you. It's been exciting to see you participating and asking questions. What would you like me to focus on next?: * Another real world example? * Case studies of plans I've worked through (good and bad) * What to do if you're behind on savings? * More webinars?  If so, on what? Social Security Maximization, goal planning or understanding market returns are some topics that come to mind.  Let me know in the form below:   Transript   The Retirement Answer Man Episode #51 Well, hello there and welcome to the Retirement Answer Man! My name is Roger Whitney. Thank you so much for joining me today. This is the show dedicated to helping you dream up your ideal retirement, plan a course to work towards it, and finally live out a plan that fits you best. I’m so excited to have you here today. Today, we have sort of a recap show. We’re going to review the webinar that we had on January 30th and tell you how you can see a replay in case you missed it or you had so much fun you just want to watch it again. It was my first one. I haven’t watched it yet. I’m a little worried about that, I don’t know why. And then, we’re going to talk about Carl. I think Carl ended up being happy with the results. He will be on hopefully next week to give us a debrief on some of the lessons learned and his thoughts on the experience. I’m really excited that the whole event, the whole January “Can Carl Retire?

Don't Skip This Step! One of the most heartbreaking things I've seen over 24 years advising families is a surviving spouse or family member dealing with an unorganized estate. Not having your affairs in order puts a huge burden on your family and compounds the stress of their loss. According to a recent survey, 61% of people don't have a will. Even those that have a will have failed to organize their financial information to make it easy for their loved ones to act.  Don't be one of them. Leaving a big mess of your affairs and estate plan will make life suck for your family when you die. A messy estate can take major financial and emotional tolls on your family. Take the simple steps outlined this week and give a beautiful gift to those you leave behind. Here Are Your Action Items for the Week * Listen to episode 50.  We discuss the basics of organizing your estate. * Review these worksheets. These 3 worksheets will give you the basics to make things easier for your heirs: * 9 Important Estate Planning Steps * What Your Survivors Need to Know * What to Do When A Loved One Dies * Compete these to give your spouse or family the gift of an organized estate. * Organizing Your Financial Life * Create an I.C.E. Plan * Family Love Letter * Ask questions. If you're stuck or unclear about something, shoot me an e-mail. I'll do my best to answer your questions. Simply click here and ask your questions. Don't Miss Friday's Webinar Don't forget to tune in to the "Can Carl Retire? Results Webinar" this Friday at 3:00 CST. You'll watch live as Carl finds out whether he can achieve his ideal retirement. Plus, you see live as I stress test Carl's plan against the most common worries in retirement: * Bad market returns * High inflation * Long-term care costs * Outliving his assets Special Note: If you can't attend Friday, still sign up to receive replay information.   [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #50 Holy cow! Fifty episodes! Where did the time go? Well, thank you so much for joining me today! My name is Roger Whitney and this is the Retirement Answer Man Show where we are dedicated, committed to helping you dream up, plan out, and live your ideal retirement. How cool would that be? This is an important day. This is Step Four, the last step of the “Can Carl Retire?” series that we’ve been hosting throughout the month of January where you had the chance to plan alongside Carl, a fellow listener, as we walk through a retirement planning process. There’s still time to sign up. You’ll have a little catching up to do but you can go to rogerwhitney.com and sign up in the upper right-hand corner and you can get all the resources that we’ve been sharing to plan alongside Carl as we walk through each week his retirement plan. Today is the last step, Step Four, and this is all about not leaving a mess for your family. It’s all about cleaning up your mess. When we live a long life, we end up leaving a little bit of a mess that we’ve got to make sure we clean up at the end so we’re going to talk with Carl about organizing his estate plan and I’m going to share with you five or six resources I think it is this week on how you can organize your financial life and estate to leave a beautiful gift for your family. I want to get going here. We’re going to go right to the disclosure and I’ve got to turn down this happy music though. My attorneys do not like happy music when I talk about the all-important disclosure and that is only you know your financial situation so you need to consider this podcast and my website and, well,

Risks can rob you from living a great life. Focus too much on them and you can miss out on a full life. Ignore risks and you can destroy your family's financial security. If you've started planning for retirement, you're probably overwhelmed with all the things you should worry about. This week, we'll address, head on, some of the biggest risks during retirement and help you assess how to handle them. Important Note: If you haven't listened to step 1 or 2 of Carl's Plan you'll want to start there: * Step 1 Imagine Your Ideal Retirement * Step 2 Identify and Organize Your Financial Resources This week, you'll focus on identifying and managing some of the big risks we all face during retirement. * Longevity risk--Will you live to 100? Here's a calculator to estimate our chances. * Inflation risk--What could the cost of living be 15 years from now? Find out here. * Market risk * Tax risk * Health care risk * Long-term care risk Here's Your Action Items for This Week: * Make sure to listen to the episode. I discuss each one of these retirement risks and provide some insights into how you can plan for them. * Review Carl's health care cost estimates. This will give you some insight into what you can expect. * Review worksheets. Review the "Facing the Complexities of Medicare and Choosing Long-Term Care Insurance" worksheets. These will give you the basics on how to address each area. * Complete the "Will I Live to 100?" calculator. The odds might be greater than you think. * Complete the Retirement Health Care Cost Estimator (optional). If you submit it, you'll receive a free personalized estimate of your retirement health care costs to help you plan for the future. * Finally, ask questions. If you're stuck or unclear about something, shoot me an e-mail. I'll do my best to answer your questions. Simply click here and ask your questions. In week 4, we'll discuss how to organize your affairs and set a gifting strategy for those you  love.     Want Access to the Free Resources to Plan Along Side Carl? It's Not Too Late to Create Your Ideal Retirement Sign up (upper right of this page) and you'll receive: * All the retirement planning resources from week 1 and 2 * This week's resources * Access to next week's webinar to find out whether Carl is positioned to achieve his ideal retirement. [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #49 Well, hello there and welcome to the Retirement Answer Man Show! My name is Roger Whitney and this show is dedicated, we are committed – obsessively committed, is that enough? – to helping you dream up, plan for and live out your ideal retirement. This is a show where we try to help you answer those pesky retirement questions like, well, “When can I retire?” “What’s my lifestyle going to look like?” “Am I going to run out of money?” “What am I missing?” Each week, we try to give you content to help you as you walk that journey towards retirement and I want to thank you so much for joining me today. Now, before I get started, I want to give a special thank you to D. Will, Jensen, and Nick. Now, the three of you were kind enough to leave a review on iTunes and that means a lot to me for two reasons.

Well, were you able to dream up your ideal retirement? It can be hard to think big, right? Hopefully, you've stretched yourself. No worries if you're not finished. Keep at it and if you have questions, I'm here to help. Important Note: If you haven't listened to Step 1, it's best to start there. Here's the link. This week, you'll focus on identifying and organizing your financial resources. In this step you'll create a clear snapshot of your current financial situation. This is a critical step. Don't get bogged down in getting every number right. You can fine tune things later on. Just focus on getting a read on your current financial picture. For some, this can be hard to look at. If that's you, please relax. We've all walked a similar road (including me!). If you've made mistakes (maybe BIG mistakes), forgive yourself. The fact that you're here proves you're working to create the best life you can. Here's Your Action Items for This Week: * Make sure to listen to the episode. There are a number of subtle points made that will help you as you plan. For example, Carl made an important statement early in our talk. He said, "Retirement planning should be about running to something, rather than running away from something." * Review Carl's cash flow summary and net worth statement. This will give you a snapshot of what the end result can look like. * Watch the short video. In it, I give quick tips on how to think BIG about your retirement. * Complete these worksheets. It might take a little homework to get the estimated value of your social security, pension, assets and liabilities. It's worth the effort. Your net worth statement will be the key document you use to track your financial life. * Estimate future retirement income sources * Build your net worth statement * Manage your current lifestyle and cash flow * Finally, ask questions. If you're stuck or unclear about something, shoot me an e-mail. I'll do my best to answer your questions. Simply click here and ask your questions. In week 3, we'll discuss some of the financial risks during retirement and ways to decide what to do about them. Want Access to the Free Resources to Plan Along Side Carl? It's Not Too Late to Create Your Ideal Retirement Sign up (upper right of this page) and receive weekly e-mails with all the resources we've covered.   [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #48 Well, welcome to the Retirement Answer Man Show. My name is Roger Whitney and this is the show dedicated to helping you dream, plan, and live your ideal retirement. Each week, we focus on helping you, equipping you, to be able to do those things, and this is Part 2 of our special January series of “Can Carl Retire?” If you’ve joined us of the last week or so, you realize that we are creating an actual retirement plan for a fellow listener. We’re calling him Carl. Carl and I don’t know each other, other than working on this together. Last week, we had our step one on dreaming up Carl’s ideal retirement. This week, we’re going to focus on identifying and organizing his financial resources – what he has to be able to achieve these retirement dreams that he created in last week’s episode. Now, we’re going to plan for Carl throughout the month, ending in a webinar on January 30th where we will present Carl’s plan to him, and you’ll be able to watch as we stress test that plan against common fears like inflation or bad markets or a long-term care event, and you’ll be able to hear along with Carl how his plan was put together and what the results are going to be. So,

Are you ready to dream up your IDEAL retirement? This is week one of the "Can Carl Retire?" virtual retirement planning event.  If you signed up for the free resources, you should have gotten an e-mail with all the items you need to complete this first important step. Haven't signed up yet??? No worries, there's still time. Click here and learn how you can plan along with us. Dream Up Your Ideal Retirement In this episode, you'll listen is as I help Carl clearly defines his IDEAL retirement. This is the week you get to think BIG about your future, too. Don't worry about getting it all right. Your goals will change countless times. Focus on identifying what you care about right now. We'll discuss a process later on how to adjust them as your life unfolds. Your Action Items for This Week: * Make sure to listen to the episode. There are a number of subtle points made that will help you as you plan. For example, Carl made an important statement early in our talk. He said "Retirement planning should be about running to something, rather than running away from something." * Review Carl's Ideal Retirement Summary. This will give you a snapshot of what the end result can look like. * Think BIG. Not thinking big enough could rob you of your dreams. Suspend your reasonable attitude and focus on what "having it all" might look like. There will be time later to see what is actually possible. For now, focus on creating your IDEAL. * Watch the short video. In it I give quick tips on how to think BIG about your retirement. * If you're married, include your spouse. Each of us have our own dreams of the future. Your spouse's may be similar but different. Now is the time to hear each others' dreams and to create dreams together. This way the two of you will be in harmony about the future. This is crucial to a great marriage and a great retirement. * Complete the worksheet. Start off using scratch paper and go crazy with your dreaming. No filters here. Then, identify the goals that truly mean something to you. Don't forget to rate them as described in the worksheet. This will be important later on. * Finally, ask questions. If you're stuck or unclear about something, shoot me an e-mail. I'll do my best to answer your question. Simply hit reply to the e-mail I sent you with the resources. It's Not too Late to Plan Along Side Carl [optin-monster-shortcode id="czozqgsoqu-post"] [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #47 I like this music. Do you like this music? Does this music motivate you to create an amazing life? Maybe I’ll keep it. My name is Roger Whitney. This is the Retirement Answer Man Show and we are dedicated, this show is dedicated to helping you find that balance between creating a great life today and having an amazing life tomorrow as you make financial decisions. We’re going to take a huge step in that direction today because, if you’ve been listening to the show, you know that today is step one of “Can Carl Retire?” What is this? Why do we even care about Carl? Well, Carl is a listener. He’s one of you and that’s not his real name. He’s a listener that, over the next four weeks, we’re going to create a retirement plan and answer his most important retirement planning questions – or we’re going to attempt to anyway! Questions like, “When can I realistically retire?” and then, “When I retire, what’s my lifestyle going to look like? Will I run out of money? How do I make sure I don’t run out of money once I retire?” We’re going to try to help Carl answer that question. Answer for him what things he might be missing as he plans this next phase of his life. Now, this is awesome for Carl and I think it’s going to be great for you to hear. You’re actually going to hear Carl in a second as we define, in step one, his ideal retirement. But, even more important,

One of the most common comments I get from readers is how hard it is to get straight answers to their most important retirement planning questions. "When can I retire?" "What lifestyle can I expect?" "Will I run out of money?" What am I missing???" Starting January 7th, I'll answer these questions for a fellow reader (Carl). You'll get to listen in as we create his retirement plan each week, culminating in a LIVE webinar where you (and Carl) will hear the results for the first time. NOTE: check out the bottom of this post for an opportunity to plan alongside Carl Who is Carl? * 51 years old * Married 27 years with a 19 year-old child * 29-year corporate executive What He Wants From the Plan: * When can I get out? * Will I run out of money? * How do I plan for worst case scenarios? * How do I handle healthcare? During the webinar, you and Carl will watch LIVE as I stress test Carl's plan against the most common retirement worries: * Bad market returns * High inflation * Long-term care costs * Outliving his assets Here's the Schedule [step_graphics style="2" color="#063284"][step style="2" text="" headline="January%207th%20%20Envision%20Your%20Financial%20Future"]%3Cp%3ECarl%20will%20describe%20his%20ideal%20retirement%20goal.%20I%20help%20Carl%20establish%20his%20financial%20priorities%20so%20he%20can%20balance%20living%20well%20today%20while%20working%20towards%20his%20ideal%20retirement.%20He'll%20set%20priorities%20for%20his%20lifestyle%2C%20savings%20rate%2C%20retirement%20age%2C%20investment%20risk%20and%20gifting.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A[/step][step style="2" text="" headline="January%2014th%20%20Determine%20Your%20Financial%20Resources"]%3Cp%3EI%20review%20Carl's%20current%20and%20projected%20income%20sources%20and%20build%20his%20net%20worth%20statement.%20These%20are%20the%20resources%20I'll%20use%20to%20determine%20my%20confidence%20in%20his%20achieving%20his%20ideal%20retirement%20goal.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A[/step][step style="2" text="" headline="January%2021st%20%20Identify%20Financial%20Risks"]%3Cp%3EHealthcare%20costs%2C%20a%20long-term%20care%20event%2C%20inflation%2C%20volatility%2C%20all%20of%20these%20and%20more%20could%20put%20a%20hole%20in%20Carl's%20plan.%20He%20and%20I%20discuss%20how%20to%20identify%20and%20address%20these%20as%20we%20work%20towards%20his%20ideal%20retirement%20goal.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A[/step][step style="2" text="" headline="January%2028th%20%20Estate%20and%20Giving%20Plan"]%3Cp%3ECarl%20and%20I%20discuss%20his%20final%20wishes%2C%20the%20organization%20of%20his%20financial%20life%20and%20how%20to%20assure%20his%20legacy%20goals%20are%20carried%20out.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A[/step][step style="2" text="" headline="January%2030th%20%20LIVE%20Webinar%20Presenting%20the%20Results%20of%20Carl's%20Retirement%20Plan"]%3Cp%3EWatch%20and%20listen%20as%20Carl%20learns%20(for%20the%20first%20time)%20the%20results%20of%20his%20retirement%20analysis.%20You'll%20see%2C%20step%20by%20step%2C%20my%20analysis%20and%20confidence%20level%20of%20his%20achieving%20his%20ideal%20retirement.%20You'll%20also%20see%2C%20live%2C%20as%20I%20stress%20test%20his%20plan%20for%20some%20of%20the%20possible%20risk%20we've%20identified.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A[/step][/step_graphics] Register now and create your plan alongside Carl You'll get: * Weekly summaries of Carl's plan * Free worksheets and checklists to plan alongside Carl * Free video tutorials to help you in each step of the process * Registration to the LIVE webinar on January 30th [optin-monster-shortcode id="czozqgsoqu-post"]   [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #45 Well, welcome to the Retirement Answer Man Show. My name is Roger Whitney.

"Why won't someone give me a straight answer?" This is the comment I get most from listeners trying to find answers to their most pressing retirement planning questions. In 2015, I'm stepping up my game to help you find your answers so you can work towards your ideal retirement. Announcing Retirement Plan Live Want to find the answers to the most common retirement planning questions? * Can I retire? * Will I run out of money? * What lifestyle can I expect during retirement? * What risks could blow up my plan? Starting January 7th, you'll get the chance to listen in as I work with a fellow listener, "Carl" , to answer these very questions as we create his retirement plan. You'll listen in as I walk Carl through each stage of the planning process culminating with a LIVE webinar in which I present the results of Carl's plan. Who is Carl? Carl is a listener to the show. He reached out to me earlier this year with a fantastic idea. He said, "What if you work with me to create a retirement plan and recorded the whole process so listeners can hear how it works?" "BRILLIANT," I said, "I don't think it's ever been done." So, we did it. Carl and I have never met and have only interacted for this project. Each week, we'll play our meeting for each stage of the planning process. On January 30th, we'll have a LIVE webinar where you can watch and listen as I present the results of Carl's plan. Frankly, I haven't done the analysis, yet, so even I don't know the results. This is your chance to get a demonstration of the retirement planning process and hopefully see how your most important retirement questions can be answered. Want to Create Your Plan Along with "Carl?" Sign up for weekly e-mail updates and launch yourself towards a great retirement. Each week during the month of January you'll receive a worksheet along with an instructional video to walk you through each step of the process. [optin-monster-shortcode id="czozqgsoqu-post"] How to Launch Yourself to a Great Retirement with Stacking Benjamins My favorite financial podcast (besides my own ;-) ) is Joe Saul-Sehy's Stacking Benjamins. It's informative, fun and often times just goofy.  To quote his site, "In a world of hard-hitting, deep-thought financial stories, SB’s goal is lighter, more relaxed entertainment about money." In this episode, Joe and I discuss his recent white paper, "Why You Shouldn’t Follow Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman or the Motley Fool." Joe doesn't argue that you shouldn't follow a money guru, just that it's important you follow the right one. The right one depends on what stage you're at in your money journey. He says there are three stages of your financial journey and an appropriate guru for each stage. * Stage One        (Launch) Getting off the ground * Stage Two        (Orbit) Achieving financial freedom * Stage Three    (You could die) Build serious wealth. Create an awesome legacy. To get a copy of his free white paper click here. [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #44 What’d you say, Johnny? It’s Christmas time? Ho ho ho ho ho! Ha ha ha! Welcome to the Christmas Eve Edition of the Retirement Answer Man. I am Roger Whitney, your host, and this is the show dedicated to helping you find that balance between living well today while you still plan for that idea retirement. I’m so glad you joined me today.

Stop watching the market and comparing your investment performance to some benchmark. Everyone does it (even most advisors) but does it really help you create a great life??? Of course it doesn't. So stop. Stop worrying about "keeping up with the market" and get down to the important work of creating a great life. INVEST WISELY Segment Most of us know we should stop watching the market. Month to month movements typically mean little to the ultimate achievement of our life plan. Still the media, as well as the financial planning industry, keeps comparing our portfolios to some benchmark. How are we not supposed to think in comparative terms? We need to stop! If you are investing without measuring your success to goals you actually care about, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Comparative investing is a loser's game. It can: * create a never good enough mindset * cause you to over trade and chase investments * make you susceptible to product sales pitches * cause you to take too much investment risk (for no reason) * increase your stress * cause you to become disillusioned with investing Last week, I asked a recently retired couple what they wanted. Did they want to keep up with the market or have confidence that they could maintain their lifestyle? You guessed it, they didn't care about the market, they cared about their life. Smart ones, they are.   PLAN WELL Segment During working years a lot of our purpose comes from our job, but once we stop working nothing will automatically replace it. Unless we are intentional and planful, retirement can feel like a big let down. John Knowlton, CFP, just launched beerandpeanuts.net to help you avoid this big letdown. He's created resources in 3 areas that research has shown are critical to a healthy retirement: * Purpose (a reason to get out of bed) * Meaning (what if leisure isn't enough?) * Social contact (people to connect with) Listen to our great conversation for key insights into how to create your own fulfilling retirement. Want to Learn to Retire with Confidence? Get ready for a special never before seen event coming in January.  Get Ready for Retirement Plan LIVE. Sign up below for free updates on this special month long event.   [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #43 Are you sacrificing the only life you have so that you can take care of your tomorrow? Or are you living too well today and not even worried about tomorrow? How do you find that balance between living well today without sacrificing your tomorrow? That is the mission of the Retirement Answer Man podcast. Thank you so much for joining me! My name is Roger Whitney. I am the Retirement Answer Man and I’m so happy to have you here today. In our Invest Wisely segment today, I’m going to challenge you to stop watching the benchmarks in the markets and go focus on creating a great life. I’m going to implore you to do that. In our Plan Well segment, I’m going to ask you another question. I’m going to ask you, when you retire, will you be drinking beer and eating peanuts by 10:00 am? Are you going to be so bored after a couple of months of retirement that you’re just, “Okay, by 10:00 am I’m sitting in my sofa, drinking beer, eating peanuts”? I have a great conversation with John Knowlton, a CFP and a super smart guy, about how to find meaning in retirement and it’s something that we don’t think about a lot. I’m excited about today’s show. I’m also excited about this announcement.

Yeah, there are lots of articles this time of year talking about year-end tasks to complete, but mine are Super Simple ones. Okay...maybe it's just my way of trying to sound different. Still, these ARE 7 relatively simple tasks that could make a big difference in your financial life (so indulge me). Invest Wisely -  When Should I Rebalance My Portfolio? Today I read an article on market watch titled "The Hidden Truth About Rebalancing Your Portfolio."  The article discusses a recent study that argues that rebalancing can actually increase the risk in your portfolio. In this episode, I discuss my observation on their conclusions and my "best practices" for rebalancing a portfolio. Plan Well - 7 Super Simple Tasks to Complete Before You Rock in the New Year * Pay your real estate tax bill, before year-end if you want to deduct it on your 2014 taxes. * Get your RMD done. If you are over 70 1/2 or have inherited an IRA you need to do this before year-end to avoid a huge IRS penalty. Click here to learn more. * Identify opportunities to harvest tax losses. If you have realized gains for the year, look for current positions with losses that you can use to offset your gains. I discuss a few strategies for doing this. * Conduct an annual beneficiary review.  Even if you know the primary beneficiary is correct, you still need to make sure you have contingent beneficiaries. There is a worksheet to do this in the Retirement Toolbox. * Consider year-end giving. You can give $14,000 to any individual without tax consequence. If you have charitable intent, consider making charitable gifts before year-end. * Change your important passwords. Changing your passwords is like locking your door at night. It's just common sense. This is so important and almost no one does it. The holidays are a perfect time to do this. I use a password manager, 1Password (see my review here) to create and track complex passwords. * Consider diversifying your tax liabilities. The pressure to save on taxes each year can cause you to save too much in tax-deferred accounts. It's important that you have assets in taxable, tax-deferred and tax-free accounts. When you retire, you'll have more flexibility to manage your cash flow and tax bracket. If all you do is save in tax-deferred accounts (like most people), you could end up staying in a high tax bracket during retirement [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #42 Do you know what just happened? My son is driving home from college, from Texas Tech University, no doubt very anxious to see his family, and he got a speeding ticket. His second speeding ticket! “But, Dad, you don’t understand! I had to get around that truck! I had to get around that truck!” “Well, how fast were you going, son? What was the speed limit?” “The speed limit was 75.” “Well, how fast were you going?” “90!” I’m like, “Dude, you don’t have to get around the truck at 90 mph!” Holy cow! No doubt, he was anxious to see his family – not! So, we’ll have to see if he’s on the naughty or nice list after that. Holy cow! Send me an email or a tweet if you have any suggestions to what I should do to teach my son responsibility. He’s an awesome boy but, like most 18-year-olds, he’s very overconfident. Anyway, thank you so much for joining me today. My name is Roger Whitney. I am the Retirement Answer Man. Today, we have two great topics. In our Invest Wisely segment, we’re going to talk about, “Should you rebalance your portfolio?

You'd think that with all the great information and tools available today that making smart money choices would be easy. The fact is, it's harder than ever before. We live in a world designed to get us to "buy now" or "avoid that." These messages are designed by savvy marketers to get us to take action when most of the time doing nothing is the best course to take. Listen to the Podcast Here Recently I fell prey to one of these "buy now" messages and made a really poor money choice. Two weeks ago, I was in Charlotte working on a project when an e-mail arrived announcing the closing of registration for a $2,000 training program. It was a program I really wanted to take (I'm a sucker for learning), but I'd already determined I didn't have the time or the budget this year. The e-mail offer included extra valuable resources if I registered before the deadline. I fell for it. In the middle of my meeting, while focused on the task at hand, I clicked on the link and bought it. What a sucker. Later that night, as I was driving home from the airport, I literally pulled over on the freeway and requested a refund. In this episode, I outline 3 habits that will help you (and me!!!) make smarter money choices. They are simple and organized around the acronym R.A.W. Think R.A.W. Plan Well Segment “We no longer live life. We consume it.” Vicki Robin The next time you feel the pull of a marketing message, remember R.A.W. * Remember to review your 1-year financial priorities every week.  This will keep your "why" top of mind. * Avoid marketing messages. Don't browse in stores or online, unsubscribe from sales e-mails. * Work your plan. Have a plan for how you make money decisions and stick to it. It can save you. Invest Wisely Segment Economist Paul Samuelson reminds us, “investing should be more like watching paint dry or grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas or Wall Street." The next time you feel the urge to react to market news, remember R.A.W. * Remember why you are investing. Your purpose for investing should drive your decisions. * Avoid market messages. Financial media does not help you invest wisely. Avoid it. * Work your investment plan.  Have an investment plan based on facts and stick to it. It can save you. Want Free Checklists to Help You Make Smarter Money Choices?   [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #41 Hey! I got the music right! I was worried with all the logistics of this after taking a week off for Thanksgiving. Well, welcome! My name is Roger Whitney. I am the Retirement Answer Man. I’m so glad you joined me today. This is the show dedicated to helping you find that balance between living well today without sacrificing your tomorrow. Wouldn’t that be great to do? To maximize your life right now and still feel comfortable that tomorrow’s going to be okay. I’m telling you, if you plan well and invest wisely in your life, you can do that. I truly believe you can do that if you have good processes in place and that’s what we talk about here on this show. Well, in our Plan Well segment, we’re going to talk about temptation during this holiday season and how you can work to avoid temptation, how you cannot be lead into temptation so you can plan well throughout the holiday season. In our Invest Wisely segment, I’m going to give you a rallying cry. It’s going to be, “Don’t just do something! Stand there!” It’s how it’s better to do nothing more often than not when you’re trying to invest wisely for your retirement. We always want to do something. Well, sometimes, we just need to stand there. That’s what we’re going to talk about in our Plan Well and Invest Wisely segment. This week,

Working towards retirement can feel like rafting a river full of dangerous rapids. As you flow down the river of your life, you're constantly having to navigate events that threaten to turn your life upside down. Unemployment, death, divorce, college costs, healthcare, recessions, corrections, inflation and countless others can put you on the rocks. This week I discuss how to "self rescue" if the rapids of life put you into the water. INVEST WISELY - The Folklore of Finance: Beliefs That Contribute to Investors’ Failure Last week I read an article in the New York Times discussing the release of a study by the State Street Center for Applied Research. It's titled: The Folklore of Finance: Beliefs That Contribute to Investors’ Failure The 2 year study tried to answer the question: "What does true investment success look like?" Interestingly, according to the article, they found "that the way individual and professional investors made investment decisions was so skewed that achieving both high returns and long-term objectives was nearly impossible." In the Podcast I discuss some of their findings, including: * Overconfident in abilities * Unable to stay focused on long term objectives * Short term noise * Investors want to invest with a long time horizon yet react to short-term swings that derail the strategy * Come to distrust their advisors * Focus on the noise * Focus on short term results * A Culture of “beating the markets” The study found that financial services firms spent 60 percent of their capital expenditures on resources to help generate short-term high performance. 60 Percent!! As a veteran of a major financial firm, I can attest that the value proposition of most major firms is that they can predict markets and guide you through them. I've always found this funny...having a value proposition based on predicting the future. Better, I think, to accept the uncertainties of the world, have a prudent process and focus having lots of little conversations so you can adjust as life unfolds. PLAN WELL - How to Ride the Rapid Towards Retirement If you've every been on a rafting trip, you're probably familiar with the term "self rescue." How to self rescue is a talk given by your rafting guide before you venture onto the river. The Guide makes it very clear. If you get thrown into the water, do NOT wait to be rescued. It is YOUR responsibility to rescue yourself. Self rescue involves 4 steps that you can use to rescue your financial future: Get to the Surface * Stabilize your cash flow * Self assess your financial health (skills, assets, debts) * Clearly define your 1 year objective Take a deep breath (you may be pulled down again) * Build some cash reserves * create margin in your cash flow (increase income/cut expenses) Float down river * Take a little time to reflect. * Set clear 1, 3, and 5 year objectives * Identify initial action steps Start to Swim * Learn from others * Seek out fellow travelers that you can emulate * Learn from online resources and books * Find a guide to help you navigate the rapids Being thrown into the rapids by life can be scary. It's okay. You can self rescue. I know you can.

If you're working towards retirement you know that investing wisely is a key part of reaching your goals. The problem is investing means putting your money at risk. That's stressful. As a result, many of us tell ourselves lies or believe "trues" that can be dangerous to our financial future. In this episode, I'll discuss 7 lies we tell ourselves about investing and how to avoid them. INVEST WISELY The 7 Lies We Tell Ourselves About Investing * There is too much uncertainty right now to invest * I'm not wrong, the market is * Thinking the current trend will continue * I just need to hold a losing investment until I get back to even * Past performance can predict future results * I just need to find an investment guru * Investing alone will make me wealthy How to Avoid Them * Come to peace with the fact that the future is unknowable * Educate yourself about how investment markets work * Use a sound process for investing * Diligently monitor and adjust your plan as your life unfolds PLAN WELL Last month I conducted my 1st annual listener survey. A big thank you to all that participated. Here are some interesting facts about you: * 100% of you are male (do ladies not take surveys?!!!) * 73% of you are over 50 (makes sense) * 73% of you have been married over 20 years (great job!!) * On average you have 3 children * 42% of you say you never plan on retiring (I'm with you on this) * Top retirement concerns include * Investing and the economy * Healthcare costs * Running out of money * Top retirement goals include * Spending time with spouse * Spending time with family * Travel Some of your top questions you need answered are: * What's the best way to invest for income? * When is a will sufficient (without a trust)? * When should I start social security? * How do I create passive income? * What is the right portfolio mix during the different stages of retirement? * Will the popularity of index investing cause more investment bubbles? In future episodes, I'll work to answer each one of these questions. What is the #1 Thing You Struggle with As You Work Towards Retirement?   [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #39 All right. Well, welcome! This is Roger Whitney. I am the Retirement Answer Man and this is the show dedicated – well, it’s really dedicated to you to help you learn to live well today without sacrificing your tomorrow. I think, financially, that’s what we’re always trying to do as we make sound decisions in our life and the way I do that is, each week, I try to share some pearls of wisdom – well, I think they’re pearls of wisdom – from my 24 years as a financial advisor on how to plan well and invest wisely in your life. In our Invest Wisely segment today, I want to talk about the seven investing lies we all tell ourselves from time to time and these are all really dangerous. If we’re going to invest wisely, we need to be aware of these so we can work to avoid them. In our Plan Well segment, I want to talk a little bit about, well, I want to talk about you! Just recently, I did my first annual listeners’ survey where I sent out a survey to all of you that are signed up for the Retirement Answer Library and I asked you some very basic questions – hopefully they were too intrusive – to learn a little bit more about you. I want to talk about who you are. And then, I have a little ask for you about some of the things that you’re struggling about so I can work to serve you better. That’s what we’re going to talk about in the Plan Well...

I'm convinced that the most stressful part of planning for and living in retirement is that we don't know how to balance living well today while not sacrificing tomorrow. As a result, most of us live out of balance.  Some of us are so worried about tomorrow that we sacrifice our current lives in order to be "prudent."  Others "live for the day" without a thought for their future.  Both are wrong.  In this episode, I talk about my #1 retirement planning tool to help others find this delicate balance. Christmas Present Idea I mentioned. Here is the link to Fracture Me I mentioned.  They'll put any photo on glass. I'll do a separate post showing the one I bought. If you want to save $5 on your first order (and reward me some) you can use this reference code: RFR54483. If you order one, look for the small pamphlet to get a referral code you can share, too. Invest Wisely--Investing Potholes in November and December If you're planning on making large investments in your taxable accounts, be careful. In December, most pooled investments like mutual funds distribute to shareholders the capital gains and dividends they've accumulated throughout the year. If you buy one of these products in a taxable account before this distribution, you could have a tax liability for capital gains that were realized before you even own the fund. In this episode, I discuss how this works and some things you can do to avoid a potential nasty tax surprise. Plan Well--My #1 Retirement Planning Tool to Help People Find Balance * Can I afford to retire a year earlier? * Do I need to change my spending plan after this market correction? * Can I save less now and still retire comfortably? * Do I need to take so much investment risk? These are some of the frustrating questions that people struggle with every day as they plan for retirement. About 16 years ago, I discovered a tool to help me help people answer these questions and confidently live a more balanced life.  It's called Monte Carlo Engine. Today, I've integrated it into my Plan Well process to help others make smarter financial decisions and find some balance between living well today without sacrificing their tomorrow. Like most tools, some are better than others and much of its usefulness is dependent upon the skill of the user. In this episode, I use a planning example to demonstrate how I use it and some of its advantages and drawbacks. Note:  Normally if you just read these show notes, it's best to listen to this one. Just click on the audio play at the bottom of this post. Here is the Fact Set for John Smith * Age 55 * Retirement goal 60 * Investment assets $2,000,000 * Retirement lifestyle goal, $100,000 annual * Retirement lifestyle goal #2, $70,000 RV at age 60 * Life expectancy, age 90 * Target Portfolio, balanced II To see the full report that I discuss, click here. How Not to Use It * It's not a one time evaluation tool (you can't set it and forget it) * It does not determine or predict results * It can't overcome bad inputs or assumptions How to Use It * As an important part of your annual financial review * As a tool to help you prioritize competing goals * As a tool to help you evaluate tradeoffs between competing priorities * Spending/Saving * Working/Retiring * Risk/Reward * College/Retirement * Giving/Investing

Is your soul on fire? Too many of us live in a prison within our mind. We are trapped by our past choices, not realizing that today, right now, we can start a new journey.  If you feel stuck, you can create a new life. You can ignite your soul and live your own hero's journey. Invest Wisely:  You'll Never Get the Average One of the biggest roadblocks to setting good expectations about investing is focusing on average returns. We financial planners are the biggest abusers of this. No one gets average returns. By focusing on them, we set unrealistic expectations on what the experience will actually be. Look at the returns of the S&P 500 stock index over the last 15 years. How often did it hit its average return? In this episode, I discuss this and how to develop a better understanding of what to expect (and not expect) from your investment assets. Plan Well:  How to Live an Intentional Life with Kary Oberbrunner Kary Oberbrunner is like you or I. He went to school, got a job, got married and lived a normal life, until something happened inside him. His soul ignited. Today, he is living a more intentional life and is on a mission to help you ignite your soul and do the same. Kary's message really resonates with me. Much of my life, I was blind to the choices I had. I felt imprisoned by my past decisions. I think many of us feel this way. We're not. Our prison is in our mind. If we break free from our past self, we can create the life we desire. Kary and I discuss: * The roadmap from Day Job to Dream Job * How to get unstuck from your past stuck self * How day jobs are killing people * Why it's so hard to leave a day job * How to go from prison, to plan, to payoff * How to design your story * Why it's important to go through your own hero's journey * How to change your life in a half hour a day * Dream Job Boot Camp Take the assessment and let's compare results on twitter Tweet to @roger_whitney [spoiler] The Retirement Answer Man Episode #37 Hey! Welcome! This is Roger Whitney. I am the Retirement Answer Man and this is the show dedicated to helping you find that balance between living well today without sacrificing your tomorrow. And, as we make financial decisions, I think that’s what we’re all trying to figure out – how do we make decisions so we can have a good life but have a good life later on, too? That’s what we’re going to focus on. Before we even get started though, I want to issue an official apology for being a day and a half late in the release of this episode – #37. No excuses, but I will give you a reason. This last weekend, my wife and I went up to East Lansing, Michigan, and spent the weekend with a very close couple that we do a lot of things with, and we went to the Michigan State football game. My wife and I met at Michigan State. We’re Spartans and we had a great time – not only at the football game and the fellowship with our friends but marveling at how crazy college students are. Were we that crazy when we were in college? Lord, I don’t remember. I’m too old to be that crazy now, I know that. But, anyway, I apologize for that. I’m really sorry because this is a great show. In our Invest Wisely segment, I want to talk a little bit about that frustration that we all have because we never get the average annual return that we hear about all the time. It’s performed, you know,

You don't like to lose money. Nobody does. That's one reason it is so hard to stick to a long-term investment plan when we feel like we're getting punched in the face by the markets. Just like a boxer, it's natural to want step back and protect ourselves. This natural reaction, however, has caused most investors to underperform the very assets they invest in.  In this episode, I discuss 7 steps to help you fight through a normal market correction. Invest Wisely: 7 Steps to Fighting Through a Market Correction A 2014 Dalbar Study once again shows that average investors drastically underperform the very assets they invest in. Over the last 10 years the average investors, investing in a mix of stocks and bonds, had an average annual return of 2.6%. Over that same period, the S&P 500 had an average return of 7.4% and fixed income averaged 4.6%. One of the biggest contributors to this is our natural reaction to run from pain.  It's a strong instinct that I struggle with during every market downturn. In this episode, I introduce 7 steps you can take to help fight through a market correction so you can invest wisely for retirement. * STOP listening to financial media and market "experts." They only magnify your fear. * Learn the nature of the markets you invest in. Develop a clear understanding of how they work. * Determine your appetite and need for market risk. How much volatility can you stomach? How much market risk do you need to achieve your goals? * Set a portfolio allocation that fits your needs. * Rebalance it religiously to manage your risk and potential return goals. * Maintain enough cash reserves. This will help your long-term assets be focused on long-term objectives. * Revisit steps 1 thru 7 religiously to adjust as your life unfold. Not sure how?  Find someone to help. Investing wisely is easy to understand.  The hard part is sticking to a well thought out plan when you get punched in the face by a market correction. [Tweet ""We're all long-term investors until we feel short-term pain" @roger_whitney"] Plan Well: Budgets That Work With Jim Munchbach Recently I had the pleasure of talking with Jim Munchbach from imakeyourmoneycount.com about how to find a budget that works for you. Jim is a Certified Financial Planner, State Farm agent and instructor of Introduction to Personal Finance at the University of Houston. Here are some of the topics we cover: * Why it's important to track your spending * Finding the truth about your financial behavior * A budget that works, if you hate to budget * How a budget helps you create free cash flow in order to save * The value in learning to track your spending * It's not the tool that is important, it's the goal * How to manager your cash flow like a business * The law of spending and saving Retirement Toolbox:  Retirement Planning Worksheet This worksheet may help you determine if your current retirement savings effort is on course or if you need to chart a new direction to help reach the retirement destination that you desire. To help you, I’ve added a new worksheet to the Retirement Toolbox titled Retirement Planning Worksheet.