Financial Symmetry: Balancing Today with Retirement

As International Women's Day approaches, we wanted to get together to explore ways to improve the financial outcome for women across the globe.  In this episode, Allison Berger, Grace Kvantas, Haley Modlin and Darian Billingsley, break down the four Cs of women's personal finance. Resources & People Mentioned LadiesGetPaid.com Big Hero 6 Care.com Care Yaya ElderCare. ACL.gov SarahCare Episode 173...

Retirement is one of the most significant changes that you will manage in your life. It takes not just careful financial planning, but also careful life planning as well.  🎥 See  a video recap here Our guest today, Susan Bradley, is the author of  Sudden Money  and the founder of the  Sudden Money Institute . She is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and a Certified Financial Transitionist...

In today's video, we discuss several questions of what we can learn from last year's investing experience and what we could expect for 2023. Why 2022 was a challenging year in stock and bond markets? What was historic about the year for bond returns? Could there be a silver lining for stock returns? How do markets react in the years after a down year in stocks? The range of emotions when holding a...

The Secure Act 2.0 was recently passed bringing in hundreds of new retirement and investment account changes. In this episode, we detail some of the most impactful changes for you. We'll break down these changes to explore planning opportunities for your retirement planning strategies.  ***** 📬 Tips each month to help you reach your Ideal Retirement.  Subscribe to the Financial Symmetry newslette...

The beginning of a new year motivates many of us to make lists of things in our lives we may want to change. At the top of those lists typically are financially related items. 🎥 Watch a video of podcast recap here So today, we're going to share our list of items we've seen that can have lasting impact on your financial journey. We're going to share an actionable plan with 12 tips to double-check...

As we come to the end of 2022, we reflect on some of our favorite reads and podcasts that we have highlighted in our monthly newsletter. If you'd like to check out what we've been reading or listening to on a more regular basis, sign up for our monthly newsletter to get the information delivered straight to your inbox. ******* 📬 Actionable tips each month to help you reach your Ideal Retirement. ...

How often do you go back and question your retirement and investment decisions? 🎥 WATCH a  video recap of the show here When thinking through your personal financial decisions, it is common to be swayed by emotions rather than rational thoughts. However, your emotions could derail your wealth-building journey.  Today, we explore five of the most common behavioral financial biases and ways to comb...

📬 Tips each month to help you reach your Ideal Retirement. Subscribe to the Financial Symmetry newsletter and receive a free Mega-backdoor Roth guide. What if one of these ten tax tools could be the tax opportunity that you've been missing? If you are looking to increase your wealth over your lifetime, you'll want to ensure that you have the best tax planning strategies in place for long-term suc...

📬 Tips each month to help you reach Your Ideal Retirement. Subscribe to the Financial Symmetry newsletter & receive a free guide with 5 questions to ask your financial advisor! So many conversations today are tied to the news. Hard to not find someone talking about the troubled economy, inflation, and the tumbling stock market. How should you change your investments in light of all these issues?...

None of us know how long we will live, so it is important to prepare for the inevitable. Unfortunately, all that we have earned in this life won't transfer into the next, so it is important that we have our wishes laid out appropriately. 🎥 Watch the video here An estate plan is a critical component of the retirement planning journey. Estate attorney,  Adam Tarsitano  joins the Financial Symmetry...

Have scary markets made you second guess your retirement plan? For those of you who are near, or already in retirement, you may feel like this year is a part of some retirement horror story. 🎥Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/bPmWBKTM-yg Which reminded us of a common retirement tale from one of Halloween's favorite fictitious characters, Michael Myers. After 40+ years of scaring audiences, t...

Have you ever been offered a non-qualified deferred compensation plan as part of your benefits package? In this episode, you'll learn who non-qualified deferred compensation plans were created for, what they are, the pros and cons, and their potential for helping you reduce your lifetime tax bill.  Find out if this additional savings tool could be a difference maker for your retirement withdrawal...

We all have visions of our ideal retirement, and none of them include a terminal illness. However, sometimes life has other plans. Today, we discuss the top concerns that are often overlooked for those facing a terminal diagnosis.  This is a difficult, yet important, subject to address. Investment strategies, tax strategies, and estate planning may not be at the forefront of your mind during this...

Retirement rules of thumb can give you a false sense of security.  ▶️ Watch a short recap on Youtube Today you'll learn why you should second guess these 4 commonly referenced retirement rules. In this episode, we'll discuss: what these rules are where they came from why they aren't the best prescriptions for success in retirement what you should do instead of relying on these common retirement no...

What if you could take action now so that you have significantly more tax-free savings to utilize in retirement? ▶️ Watch a Short video recap On this episode of Financial Symmetry, we'll take a look at an often misunderstood tax planning opportunity.  The Roth conversion is a tool that can benefit you throughout different stages of your retirement saving journey. Today you'll learn how to take adv...

Have you ever wondered how your retirement preparations compare with others? Short video recap: https://youtu.be/mNYvWKgO3MM This is a common question that we hear as financial advisors. On this episode, we'll take a look at data from a recent study about the 4 types of retirement journeys that people take. You'll also hear about the risks and opportunities that stem from these 4 retirement paths....

Which retirement stage are you in? Spoiler alert: the stages begin before you are retired. You'll also be surprised by some of the stats we uncover as we dissect findings in the latest Age Wave study on retirement.  Video Recap: https://youtu.be/8YeA6nSCenY We've had the pleasure of working with hundreds of families as they have planned and transitioned into retirement. Let's dive in to this episo...

How do you deal with a major financial transitions? Video recap: https://youtu.be/2tWrduVAS14 When this happens there can be many choices that you need to make. Without the right decision-making framework, navigating these choices can lead to analysis paralysis.  Allison Berger joins me today to share some of what she has learned while studying for the CFT designation (Certified Financial Transiti...

In a bear market, it can be easy to panic and forget that investor behavior drives results more than choosing the right investments. People tend to be their own worst enemy during these trying times. That's why it is important to learn from those that have gone before you.  Video Recap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VePid5UlQ1Y Your Playbook to Market Volatility: https://www.financialsymmetry.co...

Most of us believe we'll always have more time with our spouse, but when that time is cut short, we're often left with too many questions and not enough answers. Video recap: https://youtu.be/2jFmLDB3Xks On today's show, we tackle the emotionally challenging subject of losing a spouse. Between planning a funeral, notifying people, and taking calls, it's hard to find time to grieve, much less think...

Do you have an estate plan? Is it up to date? Was it prepared by an estate planning professional? Video link: https://youtu.be/c7XO462BOcg If you answered "no" to any of these questions, this episode is for you.  On the show this week, we welcome Adam Tarsitano, an estate planning attorney in Raleigh, NC, to discuss why it is so important to have a professionally prepared estate plan in place. Lis...

Stocks are now in a bear market. Rising interest rates mean bonds are having a horrible year. Inflation reached a 40-year high.  Headlines like these makes it tough to have confidence in your investment strategy. Youtube video: https://youtu.be/dNb2jmLW_OU This is why today, we are reviewing how to create a retirement plan that provides peace of mind through an investment roller coaster. If you ar...

If you recently filed your tax return you may have noticed some unexpected surprises. Video recap: https://youtu.be/G9q8k5fRNdQ Since tax planning and preparation is an important part of what we do at Financial Symmetry, we wanted to make you all aware of the top 10 tax surprises that we see in our office. Listen in to hear if you are familiar with any of these tax prep surprises.  Outline of This...

Deciding to retire is just the beginning of your retirement decision-making. From tax planning to Social Security decisions, finding the best strategies for you requires regular analysis. Video recap: https://youtu.be/TleOZ8CwYXw Today's question comes from a client who recently read an article from Rethinking 65 titled  Why Trying to Quantify Roth Conversions Is Futile . After reading the article...

Many people that listen to retirement podcasts and read financial articles are fantastic savers. If that sounds like you, congratulations! Video recap: https://youtu.be/pUvfv1815fw You have done the hard work to accumulate plenty of assets and be on track to reach your financial retirement goals. However, after a lifetime of accumulation, you may discover that you have a hard time letting go of yo...