Financial Symmetry: Balancing Today with Retirement

We're spotlighting women's wealth in honor of International Women's Day and Women's History Month. Join us as we dig into some of the stats surrounding women's financial empowerment. From the rising number of women controlling wealth as they outlive their spouses to tackling stereotypes that hinder women's earning potential, this episode addresses the systemic barriers that impact women's financia...

Four categories are recognized under current regulations to qualify as an Eligible Designated Beneficiary (EDB). These include the surviving spouse, minor children of the decedent, a disabled or chronically ill individual as assessed at the time of the decedent's passing, and other individuals who are no more than ten years younger than the deceased account owner. If you fall into one of these cat...

Investing can often feel like riding a rollercoaster of exciting highs and daunting lows. This week, we're digging into the intricacies of the financial planning process, focusing particularly on the importance of understanding market trends and the role diversification plays in safeguarding your wealth. Outline of This Episode (03:08) Investing with diversification mitigates risk; US stocks avera...

Retirement, often portrayed as a glorious era of freedom and relaxation, has its own set of challenges beyond the financial arena. This week, we're exploring the psychology behind retirement and discussing the four phases retirees go through.  Vacation/Honeymoon Phase: The initial euphoria of not having to set an alarm. Loss Phase: Often associated with disenchantment as the honeymoon phase wears...

As the holiday season approaches, many of us find ourselves thinking about gifts. While gifts can come in many forms, monetary gifts often cause the most confusion. In this episode of Financial Symmetry, hosts Chad Smith and Grayson Blaszak discuss the intricacies of financial gifting.  Financial gifting generally involves transferring assets, such as cash or securities, from one individual to ano...

Have you ever been in the middle of a road trip, and you come upon a roadblock where unexpected traffic adds a half hour or more to your journey?  Similar frustrating circumstances pop up in the years just before and just after retirement. During this new life transition, you are forced to confront retirement roadblocks, and if you don't know how to maneuver around them, it can leave you feeling s...

Early retirement has unique financial planning challenges, particularly regarding health insurance and tax strategies. For people who retire before age 65, the challenge of finding affordable and adequate health insurance adds another layer of complexity to their financial plans.  *********** 📬 Download your Free  Retire On Purpose Guide here .  📰 See the  full show notes here 🌐  Sign up here t...

An inherited IRA is essentially an IRA received by a beneficiary after the original owner passes away. Whether it's a spouse, child, or another loved one, the key characteristic of an inherited IRA is that it transitions ownership upon death.  As Grayson Blaszek explains, the funds are transferred intact, but the way you handle and withdraw these funds comes with specific rules and timelines. Gray...

Investing can feel like a battle between two polar opposites within us, the rational and the emotional, just like the classic story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This week, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are our model investors, and we're talking you through the spooky story of the risks, emotions, and rational strategies involved in long-term investing.  **** 📬 Download your Free Retire On Purpose Guide...

Reaching your financial goals builds confidence and peace of mind, which are essential for making informed decisions that benefit your entire family. In this episode, we're following a fictional pop culture couple from newlywed to pre-retirement, to demonstrate how their thought process around an emergency fund could evolve with their changing circumstances. Join us as we lay out a case study of p...

Retirement, a phase many of us anticipate for a long time, comes with its own set of financial intricacies. Specifically, how do you effectively withdraw funds from your savings to ensure a comfortable, sustainable, and tax-efficient lifestyle?  A well-crafted retirement blueprint is  essential . This plan should outline your long-term goals and the steps needed to achieve them. More importantly,...

Retirement planning is a delicate process, and you need to carefully consider your various income streams, including Social Security benefits. For those of us who plan to continue working while claiming Social Security, it's important to understand how this decision can impact the monthly benefits you receive.  In this episode, we're sharing how to avoid financial shocks in retirement. We discuss...

We all have visions of our ideal retirement. However, our financial plans can quickly veer off course if we haven't appropriately managed our risks.  On this episode of Financial Symmetry, Greg Suggs from Greg Suggs Insurance joins me to discuss how to manage common risks that could negatively affect your wealth. You won't want to miss out on these easy-to-implement pieces to your insurance puzzle...

How do you begin to save for your children to go to college? With the rising costs of college education, is it worth the monetary commitment?  Including tuition & fees, room & board, books & supplies, etc. the average cost of college is anywhere from $27,000 for an in-state public school up to $80,000–$90,000 a year for an Ivy League School. How you pay for your student's college is one of  the mo...

Some problems are easily solved with a bit of reasoning, logic, or by using a bit of math. Other problems go beyond quantitative thinking.  The most thought-provoking issues aren't numbers-based. Many decisions surrounding retirement require much deeper consideration and often cause you to reevaluate your thinking of what you had originally imagined retirement to be. In this episode, you'll learn...

One of the retirement questions that persists through the ages is whether to take a pension or a lump sum payment. On this episode, we flesh out an example from baseball: Did Bobby Bonilla Day make the right decision back in 1999 to take $1.2 million per year instead of a $5.9 million lump sum payment? Seeing this example play out over time can help you make your own pension vs. lump sum choice. L...

What if you had a magic app that told you how much of your net worth you never got to spend at the end of your retirement? The trouble with planning for retirement is all the uncertainty, however, proper planning can help. In this episode, Cameron Hendricks joins me to discuss how you can learn to spend more in retirement.  Outline of This Episode [0:50] We need to talk about your retirement spend...

Have you considered how your instincts influence your decision-making around retirement planning? Our natural instincts and biases create frameworks that lead our perspectives on how we think the world works.  These frameworks influence our decisions surrounding our financial decisions.  On this episode of Financial Symmetry, we discuss how to build prosperity by analyzinging and identifying your...

Today we're diving in to a specific path that many retirees consider as they move away from the "corporate" world and enter their second act – which is starting a business. With increased life expectancy, cost of living increases and a desire for continued fulfillment, many retirees are excited to begin a new experiment in an area they are passionate about. Some surveys show the proportion of peop...

Now that you have made it through the  retirement danger zone , you have made it to the Arrivement phase of retirement. You may be wondering, what are my next steps? This season can be full of opportunities and connection with those you care about. At this point in your life journey, you may face some difficult decisions around relocating or how best to spend or give the wealth you've worked hard...

Have you thought about retiring abroad? Oftentimes when we think of retirement, we think about sunny beaches with crystalline water shimmering in the sunshine. Could this or some other idyllic vision be your future?  The realities of retiring abroad can be exciting, but at the same time overwhelming. Complex financial strategies need to be considered before grabbing your passport and setting off f...

If you are retiring soon, you've most likely wondered if your asset allocation is too risky. Some have called the period just before and after retirement the Retirement danger zone as it's a time where understanding how you should be invested matters for your long-term financial success. After years of great returns in tech and large cap US stocks, many retirees could have bigger risks present in...

So many of us will be hoping for no tax surprises when preparing our tax returns this year.  This is why we want to provide you with a list of common tax surprises to watch for. After working with hundreds of clients to prepare their tax returns, we're sharing the latest tax surprises we see that could be helpful to know when completing your tax return this year. Outline of This Episode [0:42] The...

Retirement can hit us with numerous curveballs. One of those could happen right out of the gate–being forced with an early retirement.  We all know that layoffs are part of the corporate landscape. While they are commonplace, when you are faced with one later in your career it can cause you to reevaluate your financial situation.  In this episode, we discuss your options if you are laid off and ho...

While most of our listeners are in or on the cusp of retirement, many have loved ones who are earlier in their careers. Often we get questions on how our listeners and clients can help their younger family members make better financial decisions.  As we celebrate International Women's Day with this episode, you'll meet our newest CFP, Niamh Douglas. Niamh and Allison discuss some tools and strateg...