Retirement Answer Man

The cost of a financial misstep in retirement can be devastating. During retirement it is hard to "earn" your way out of poor decisions. Poor planning or a big loss during retirement can ruin your financial security. In this episode I discuss the most common retirement "screw ups" I've seen and how you work to avoid them. 7 Ways to Screw Up Your Retirement Having unrealistic return expectations fo...

This week I speak with Burt White , Chief Investment Officer of LPL Financial. Burt and I discuss LPL's mid-year outlook Titled: The Investor's Almanac.  Burt and his team do a great job simply communicating the economic and investing environment.  Their Investor's Almanac is a great tool to help us invest wisely.  No bold predictions or market calls here, just easy to understand insights you can...

In this episode, I'll show you how to come to terms with your worry and the uncertainty about retirement. "I worry"  I talk to a lot of people about retirement. Not only clients but most everyone I meet over age 50.  I'll always ask them what their #1 thought is on retirement. I've learned a lot from this exercise. The most important thing I've learned is that people worry about retirement....alot...

“How do I understand Social Security and Medicare?”  This is a question I hear most often from people planning for retirement. It's understandable. Social Security and Medicare benefits will play a big part in your retirement.  In this episode we begin to unwrap both and begin to build a framework for you make decisions about your Social Security and Medicare benefits. I say we “begin” intentional...

I Hate Keeping a Monthly Budget.  Yes, I know that keeping a monthly budget is personal finance 101.  Over the years I've tried, repeatedly, to track every expense in a monthly budget. Each time I failed after a few months. It's just too much work. I have better things to do than be a part-time bookkeeper. Do You Hate to Keep a Monthly Budget?  Tracking all your expenses is easier than ever. Progr...

Deal with Death By Celebrating Life  Last week, I wrote about my sister's passing and her wish that her family have a "Celebration of Life" picnic ( you can read it here ). In this podcast, I share my thoughts on my sister's choice and how you can do the same. How to Overcome New Car Fever  New car fever is a difficult bug to beat. Everyday, driving, you window shop as you drive, imagining yoursel...

This week we discuss: Why you should ask your advisor about their succession plan How to manage cash flow during retirement   Less Than 10% of Advisors Have a Succession Plan   This is a scary number considering that if your advisor is unable to serve you due to injury or death, the retirement plan you’ve put in place could be in jeopardy.  Who will service you? Who will advise you? What communica...

Working during retirement could be the best thing you do to find meaning, stay healthy and earn money while doing what you love.    In her book, Second-Act Careers: 50 Ways to Profit from Your Passions During Semi-Retirement , Nancy Collamer has created a great resource for anyone wanting to take their passion and earn income from it during retirement. Nancy Collamer is a speaker, career coach, an...

Jeff Goins doesn't want to miss his life. And he doesn't want you to either.  His latest book, "The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing" serves as a reminder to himself, and everyone that most of our lives are spent "in-between" the big things. It is in these moments we can find opportunities to live more fully. In  This Podcast We Discuss:  Practicing being presen...

Want a great gift for a graduating high school or college senior?  Jon Chevreau’s book, Findependence Day , is a great gift that teaches important financial lessons within an interesting fictional story of a young couple walking through life. We discuss: The definition of financial independence Life energy and the cost of spending The war against consumerism Why it’s harder to save than it used to...

Johns Hopkins University's Center for Innovative Care and Legg Mason recently issued a study titled "Aging and It's Financial Implications: Planning for Housing. Kathleen Pritchard, Managing Director with Legg Mason, talks with host Roger Whitney about the importance of planning ahead for housing during retirement There are three typical phases during retirement. The: Go Go Years--when you are hea...

"He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever." - Chinese proverb  There really are no stupid questions.  We're told this all the time but I don't think most of us truly believe it. As a result, we leave many very important questions unasked.  When your planning for your financial future this can be, at best, an inconvenience, at worst, f...

Over the last 20 years studies show that the average investor greatly under performances the stock and bond markets.  Why do investors underperform virtually every capital market?  In this week's episode, I speak with Weston J. Wellington a Vice President with Dimensional Fund Advisors about how you can make smarter investment decisions and possibly improve your investment success. Mr. Wellington...

Walt Disney World is the classic family vacation. If you’re planning on visiting Walt Disney World, you’re going to love this week’s  PLAN WELL INVEST WISELY podcast. I speak with Lou Mangello, an internationally recognized expert on the Walt Disney World Resort.  Lou is a former attorney from New Jersey who has made his lifelong passion ( Walt Disney World ) his full time career. His website wdwr...

How to pay for college is one of the most frequent questions I get from parents. This week I interviewed Celest Horton from How to Pay For College HQ to learn about the great resources to help parents pay for college.  Celest knows it's possible to pay for college without student loans (she did it). Each week, on her How to Pay for College HQ podcast she interviews industry experts to help listene...

In this Plan Well Invest Wisely podcast, Roger Whitney interviews Lauren Gaggioli, founder of Higher Test Prep Scores . They discuss the importance of the SAT and how to help your child select the right school for them.  Here are some of the topics Lauren and I covered: The importance of taking college preparatory tests such as ACT, SAT, PSAT. Determining which test(s) to take when choosing a coll...

It's spring and the desire to spend time outside with the family is blooming. Before you allow that budding desire to lead you to buy an RV, boat or other recreational item make sure you closely look at the potential pitfalls of ownership. In this episode, host Roger Whitney tells his story of how he did everything wrong when he purchased an RV. He also outlines 10 things you should consider befor...

How do you find the right financial advisor for you and your family? In this special mid-week edition, host Roger Whitney gives you a framework for how to interview a financial advisor candidate and 15 questions you should ask to help choose the right financial advisor for you. In this episode he covers: Why it is important to interview multiple financial advisors What to look for in a financial a...

This Week, Roger Whitney introduces a new service YOU ASK I ANSWER , where you can ask your retirement planning questions and receive a response. Then he begins to answer the question, will I have enough money to maintain my lifestyle during retirement? The first step to answering this question is to determine what your retirement lifestyle will be. You do this by breaking your retirement lifestyl...

This episode is based on Roger Whitney's new report INVEST in Your Health: 72 Tips to Living a Healthier Retirement. You can download the report for free at rogerwhitney.com Investing in your healh may be the best investment you can make to living well in retirement. The quality of your health has major financial implications to your financial wellbeing in retirement. In this episode we outline th...

In this week's PLAN WELL INVEST WISELY podcast, we talk about Amazon Prime's recent price increase and how having a funded emergency fund helps you make smarter financial decisions. Rethinking Amazon Prime For those who don’t know, Amazon Prime is a membership program which gives members unlimited free two-day shipping on millions of items on Amazon.com and instant access to over 40,000 hit movies...

In episode 2 Roger Whitney talks about the importance tracking your net worth, how you can use it to make smarter financial decisions  and  rethinking your perspective about the purpose of investing. PLAN WELL Segment Your net worth statement is an essential tool for making smarter decisions. Your net worth statement: gives you your entire financial picture in one place equals the sum of all of yo...

Welcome to PLAN WELL INVEST WISELY , the podcast dedicated to helping you make smarter financial decisions so you can live well today without sacrificing tomorrow. Each of these 30-minute weekly podcasts will be posted on Tuesdays. All the episodes will have two separate segments: PLAN WELL - This segment will include basic financial planning concepts to help you make smart financial decisions tha...