Summary: Hello friends, Roger here. Today’s podcast is going to be a bit unusual, but not too unusual. I’m going to be answering listener questions about the question I’ve been dealing with all month long, “When I Can I Retire?” We’ve got questions about taxes, balancing portfolios, average expenses for the various stages of retirement, and a little bit of a rebuke to me about my comments from a few weeks ago when I was talking about buying a brand new automobile. You’ll find lots of good stuff in this episode, so let’s get started!<br> How are taxes figured into my retirement number?<br> One of the questions I got over the past few weeks had to do with figuring taxes so that the “retirement number” can be nailed down nice and pretty. But the problem I have with the question is that I’m not so sure that figuring a “retirement number” is the best way to go about it. In fact, I don’t know that you really CAN calculate any retirement number. There are just too many variables. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t give an answer about taxes, which was the gist of the question in the first place. So listen in to hear who I advise to consider the tax liabilities you might have during your retirement years on this episode of The Retirement Answer Man.<br> An investment company has advised me to balance my portfolio? Is this a good time to be buying bonds?<br> That’s the question a listener asked after chatting with someone from their investment company. The company was concerned that the investor’s portfolio had too much equities and not enough bonds to achieve a 75% equity to 25% bond balance. But is this a good time to be buying bonds? Well, it’s not quite that simple to answer unless you first understand and accept the principles behind portfolio theory, which I do… but I also believe from my experience that there’s an art to it as much as their is a science. So… the answer is, maybe. You can hear my response in its entirety (and I do say more than just “maybe”) as you listen to this episode.<br> What are you thinking, Roger? Wanting to buy a brand new car!???<br> OK, I deserve this one. A listener heard me mention a couple of weeks back that I was considering buying a brand new Jeep Cherokee (they’re really nice). He wrote me an email to chide me for making such a rash and thoughtless comment, after all, the depreciating value of a brand new vehicle can be demonstrably shown to be a bad investment. Agreed. This listener’s rebuke is well founded and I deserved his rant. However, I just want to say… a guy can dream a bit, can’t he? You can hear my full response in today’s episode. <br> Are you signed up for my upcoming webinar yet?<br> Coming up on October 28th and October 29th I’m hosting a real, live, in-person webinar to walk you through the 4 steps you need to consider when answering the question, “When can I retire?” It’s not a complex question to answer IF you have a wise approach, and I’m going to do my best to give you that in these free webinars. You can be a part of these webinars, which will include Q & A, by going to <a href="http://www.RogerWhitney.com/4steps">www.RogerWhitney.com/4steps</a> and registering. And even if you can’t be there at the exact time of the webinars, go ahead and register. I’ll offer a 7-day replay for those of you who sign up but don’t attend.<br> OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN<br> <br> [0:24] Roger’s introduction to today’s episode.<br> [1:52] Still time to register for the upcoming webinar!<br> <br> LISTENER QUESTION SEGMENT<br> <br> [4:32] Question #1: How are taxes figured into the retirement number?<br> [9:46] Question #2: Is this the time to be buying bonds?<br> [19:52] Question #3: What are the average expenses for people in the go-go, slow-go, and no-go stages of retirement?<br> [22:30] Question #4: What are you THINKING by considering buying a brand new car, Roger?<br> <br> RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE <br>
