Keen on Retirement

Recently, while answering some listener questions about early retirement, I pointed out that every piece of your financial plan is connected to every other piece. Adjust one lever, and you might trigger some unexpected consequences if you're not working with a professional who can help you anticipate and prepare for further changes. We're certainly seeing those same kinds of interconnected effects...

The pandemic has given us all a new perspective on our lives and our work. I think that's a big reason why we've had a number of our clients at Keen Wealth ask us about early retirement scenarios this year. After a year of locking down, missing friends and family, working from home, and in far too many cases, losing loved ones, folks want more than just financial security. They want to use their a...

As good as it feels to be exiting the pandemic and enjoying a relatively normal summer, the ongoing economic fallout from COVID-19 and the levers our government pulled to accelerate recovery have a lot of folks worried about inflation. Those fears spiked recently after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose by 5% during the month of May, the biggest jump since 2008. Thos...

In recent months, my two daughters have given me a personal perspective on just how hot and how competitive the real estate market is right now. Both decided to buy homes in the Kansas City area, and both had to make unsuccessful bids on multiple houses before they were able to close on their new homes. That millions of families all over the country are trying to navigate these same issues is quit...

Longtime Keen on Retirement listeners might remember a running gag where Matt Wilson and I would joke with our co-host, Steve Sanduski, about all the bitcoin we suspected he was hoarding. At the time, bitcoin had just emerged from one of its periodic freefalls and was starting to seep back into the general public's awareness. And then, in 2018-2019, it dropped again. Today, as the value of one bit...

A few years ago, I was intrigued by the many news stories I was seeing about the new "tiny homes" helping homeless veterans around Kansas City. I reached out and connected with the Veterans Community Project, and the more I learned, the more impressed I was by the impact that the VCP is having. One number really stood out: over 90% of the veterans whom the VCP work with are able to get back on the...

One year ago, despite lockdowns, skyrocketing unemployment, and major market volatility, my team at Keen Wealth was cautiously optimistic. We believed that most of the economic disruption our country was facing was a temporary and necessary response to battling COVID-19. And we believed that once vaccine development started progressing and the country started reopening, jobs would come back, the e...

Greg Graves is the former president, CEO, and chairman of Kansas City's own Burns & McDonnell, which is 100% employee-owned and one of the most successful ESOPs in American history. Greg is also the author of a new book, Create Amazing: Turning Employees into Owners for Explosive Growth. On today's show, Greg discusses his life as a new retiree as well as his vision for a more productive, profitab...

As we discussed on our previous episode, many financial pros and taxpayers are working overtime this tax season to accommodate the American Recovery Plan Act's changes to tax law. But my team at Keen Wealth also has one eye on Tax Day 2022. President Biden and Congress continue to float some pretty significant tax proposals, including last week's package focused on corporate tax rates. On today's...

The American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) doesn't sound quite as catchy as the SECURE Act or the CARES Act. But the government's new trillion-dollar plan to accelerate our country's recovery from COVID-19 is no less consequential. In many ways, its effects are going to be more immediate as well. Most folks who qualified for tax rebate checks have already received them. And, as we discuss on today's sh...

According to his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, not even the great Warren Buffett was immune to pandemic-induced market volatility. Berkshire Hathaway's 2020 earnings were down 48% compared to 2019. For the year, Berkshire Hathaway's stock rose 2.4%, a relatively small ROI by Mr. Buffett's lofty standards. Reading Mr. Buffett's thoughts on his company's performance and our count...

In this webinar, Matt Wilson, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Keen Wealth Advisors, will cover a macroeconomic update of the markets, plus the key things we are watching right now and our outlook for the remainder of 2021. During this webinar Matt discusses: What we think is next for the stock market. Impact of the new administration. Is the market disconnected from the economy?...

Now that one of the most contentious presidential elections in history is behind us, it's finally time to start thinking about … the next round of elections! According to our longtime friend Greg Valliere, Washington's political pros are already looking ahead to the 2022 midterms. And that long-term perspective is already having a major impact on Joe Biden's agenda for the first hundred days of hi...

In 2019 my family took a vacation to Cabo. When I looked at the photos from that trip, I didn't like what I saw.  The bottom line was, I had let myself get out of shape. I was overweight, feeling lethargic, and the pictures really brought home the fact that I needed to make some changes. On my own, I started eating better and exercising more. But I knew that wouldn't be enough to get the results I...

I've wanted Irene Smith to be a guest on my podcast for a long time. And not just because she's my stepmother. When we've talked to folks whom I would consider "successful retirees" on this show, there's a common theme: stay active. Whether you continue to work, start volunteering, or throw yourself into a favorite sport or hobby, retirees have to make an intentional effort to get off the couch an...

Let's kick off 2021 with some positivity … and a pop quiz! A recent study by Valuegraphics analyzed more than 500,000 surveys in 152 languages and determined that there are 56 values that drive all of human behavior. While the results did show some significant cultural differences between how these values are ranked, the top responses show that there is a lot of commonality when it comes to the re...

December is usually when we hold our annual Holiday Breakfast and Market Outlook Presentation at Keen Wealth. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, we had to move this year's event online. The in-person educational and appreciation events we host at Keen Wealth have grown into a unique hallmark of our firm and are very important to us – especially the fellowship of our Holiday Breakfast. We look forward...

It's certainly been an eventful couple of weeks since our last episode! There's a very good chance that the first round of COVID-19 vaccines will be administered to our frontline medical heroes before the end of the year. We also saw the Dow Jones pass the historic 30,000 mark for the first time in history. And while that milestone reveals that there's still some disconnect between Wall Street and...

After a historic week, it looks like America will head into the new year with a new president and some very encouraging news in the fight against Covid-19. The ways that these events have rippled through the markets are yet another reminder of just how complex – and how resilient – our economy is. In the weeks ahead, it will be very important that folks separate their personal feelings from their...

In this webinar, Matt Wilson, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Keen Wealth Advisors, will cover a macroeconomic update of the markets, plus the key things we are watching right now and our outlook for the rest of 2020. Some of the topics Matt covers in this webinar include: The upcoming election and implications for your investments Update on Covid-19 The status of the economic re...

In four of the last five presidential elections, the Democratic and Republican candidates were separated by just 5% of the popular vote. And, in two of those four elections, the winner of the popular vote lost the Electoral College. So, while there's a lot of anxiety surrounding just how close next month's election might be, it's worth noting that our country has made it through some very tight ra...

Nearly seven months later the Covid-19 situation remains very fluid. Infection and hospitalization numbers are stabilizing in some states and picking up in others. One constant has been the inspiring work that health care professionals and scientists are doing to help the sick and keep moving forward on a vaccine. I want to make it clear that no one at Keen Wealth claims to be a doctor or an epide...

During the pandemic, we've talked quite a bit about potential positive outcomes of this unprecedented experience. One plus that I've noticed recently is that more people do seem to recognize the importance of having a financial plan, whether they're just starting the process or refining some details with their fiduciary advisor in light of all that's happened this year. On today's episode, we disc...

In this webinar, Bill Keen and Matt Wilson welcome back Washington insider Greg Valliere for a conversation about the state of the U.S. economy in 2020 as well as a preview of the upcoming presidential election. Some of the topics Greg Valliere discussed with Bill and Matt include: The U.S. economy and the outlook for interest rates. The surging budget deficits and the impact on markets. Prospects...

Whenever the market experiences significant volatility you're likely to see "gold bugs" swarming your social media and cable news feeds. Investing in a commodity like gold that we perceive as "stable" sounds appealing when other investments, like stocks, seem unstable. And it's true that the price of gold has risen in 2020 as the economy continues to adjust to Covid-19. But as we discuss on today'...