Retirement Answer Man

Let’s talk marriage! On this episode of Retirement Answer Man, I want to spark a discussion on how to have a happy marriage so that you don’t spend your retirement years alone. People with happy marriages live longer and are healthier than single retirees. Divorce in the retirement years can completely destroy your finances and even your social life. So having a healthy marriage comes with a lot o...

On this great episode of Retirement Answer Man I touch on the recent developments in the markets, but I'm here to really discuss loneliness. Loneliness can be a limiting factor during the retirement years. It can seriously degrade quality of life and even lead to an untimely demise. Loneliness can be caused by many different reasons and if you don’t begin to take action now you could end up alone...

What are you filling your head with? The "Facebook effect" or "social media effect" can lead us to be mentally consuming more junk than we would like. That’s why now it is even more important than ever to be intentional about what you read. Each year I buy dozens of books to line my bookshelves. This year I have compiled a list of books that I would like to read over the year. I'm sure I will read...

Sometimes people use retirement as a reason to stop planning. This is a bad idea. The purpose of my retirement planning services is not simply to manage your money. My goal is to give my clients the best retirement that they can have. But without planning this can’t be done. Planning helps people make great things happen. Without a plan people often find themselves drifting through life without an...

The cost of financial advisors vary greatly, but so does the value that they provide. On this episode of Retirement Answer Man, I address the question, is a financial advisor worth the cost? This is a tough question to answer, especially since I am a financial advisor myself! In this episode, you will learn about an important tool to measure the overall cost of your financial advisor and some ways...

There are many big questions that don’t get touched on in portfolio management sessions. Instead of asking the important questions, you and your advisor may be solely focused on market performance or market projections during these annual meetings. But what do these things actually have to do with your life and your retirement? On this episode of Retirement Answer Man, we discuss the important que...

This is the third episode in the Market Correction Fire Drill series. On this episode, we discuss how much cash you need to have on hand to be prepared for the inevitable market correction. When investing for retirement it is imperative to keep thinking about your long-term goals. It can be easy to lose sight of this if and when the markets take a tumble. One way to always focus on the long-term i...

This episode of Retirement Answer Man is the second in the Market Correction Fire Drill series. After listening to the previous episode you know that a market correction is inevitable and how to measure your risk tolerance to help you become prepared for every eventuality. On this episode, we discuss how to rebalance your portfolio. Are you wondering why all of this is important to your retirement...

Talking about a market correction can either seem scary or far-fetched in this economic climate. But it is important to understand that a market correction will happen. And it is important is to know what to do when the market correction does happen. On this episode, we will go over how to prepare for when the market correction happens. This episode explains step one of a multi-step process. You w...

What can we control in life? How can we identify factors beyond our control? The trouble with retirement planning is that so much of it relies on factors beyond our control. Join me today as I discuss the impending force of a market correction and answer some listener questions from our Retirement Plan Live Webinar. We must learn to accept that there are things beyond our control. Once we do that...

This may surprise you, but there are youngins out there that we can learn from! My guest today is only 34 years old, but he knows quite a bit about retirement. Deacon Hayes is the author of a new book called You Can Retire Early and he has a fantastic website full of resources that can help you start planning your early retirement. Don’t let his age fool you, Deacon is full of great retirement adv...

Many people love to travel, as a matter of fact, it is at the top of just about everyone’s list of things to do when they retire. Usually, when we think of travel we think of stays in 4 or 5-star resorts and all-inclusive hotels. But what if you could find a deeper meaning to travel? Chris Niemeyer joins me today as we discuss meaningful travel. On this show, Chris and I discuss how you can create...

This is my third episode of the Retirement Plan Live case study. Over the past few weeks, we have gotten to know Lori as she has shared many details of her finances, lifestyle, and how she and Bruce have begun to prepare for retirement. Today we continue our journey by delving deeper into their finances and learning how they have prepared for the unexpected. Listen to hear how Lori and Bruce have...

No matter how much money you may have, worrying about money is part of human nature. We all worry that we may not have enough no matter what our tax bracket is. Even though that is the case, I still say money does not come first when planning retirement. When planning out your financial resources to prepare for retirement, first think about the life you want, then think about the money. This is th...

On today’s show, I interview Lori and we begin to plan her ideal retirement. There is no one size fits all retirement plan out there. Everyone’s ideal retirement will look different since we all have different priorities and financial goals. Listen in on this show to find some excellent resources to plan your own retirement. You’d be surprised to hear where the challenges are in planning this impo...

Planning for the future has many challenges and you may not know what could be a threat to your retirement. There’s something you may not have thought about when planning your retirement. Over the next four weeks, we’ll be learning about Lori and Bruce in my Retirement Plan Live case study. By studying them you will gain great insight into how to prepare for your own retirement. Listen today as I...

My grandmother lived through the great depression. She was 10 years old when it started and remembers the struggle. What she went through during those years has shaped her decision-making process. She is very frugal. I can remember her saving small bits of wrapping paper when I would have thrown them out. For many of us, we have been affected similarly by the Great Recession and make decisions bas...

I’ve been married to my wife for 27 years. That’s a long time! I have noticed that there has been a rhythm within our relationship over the years where, as we have become more comfortable with each other, we begin to become disengaged. Not disengaged in a spiteful way but simply not as focused as a team. This happens in any relationship whether it be a parent and a child, the relationship between...

Several years ago I participated in an Ironman Triathlon. I didn’t win, not even close. I finished in the 77th percentile. Turns out, the winner could have started 6 ¼ hours after me and still beat me. So was this experience a failure? It depends on how you look at it. I enjoyed the experience, I loved the cycling and felt refreshed by the countryside surroundings. So for me, this was definitely n...

Indexes are comprised of many companies. Yet only the top few companies drive the index. What happens if we hit a rocky patch in the markets and those companies falter? On this episode of the Retirement Answer Man, I dive into the pros and Cons of investing passively v.s actively and what might happen if a Bear Market does indeed come. Bear Markets might be bad news for your Retirement. A Bear Mar...

Have you ever had your identity stolen? I have. It’s not fun. It can leave you feeling helpless and frustrated as you try to prove who you are and undo the false financial claims against you. In this modern era data is everything. Your life is wrapped up in one 9 digit code, your Social Security Number. If someone were to get that number they could open credit cards in your name, access your life...

My listeners have been asking great retirement questions, and this podcast episode is focused on giving answers to some of those. I’m excited today to bring on my awesome sidekick, Nichole, to play the part of the listener and ask the questions. One really important question is whether your financial advisor should have access to your 401(k), including your username and password. While this can be...

#186 - Retirement Travel - One Way to Fund Your Dreams Do you have dreams for traveling in retirement? Everyone’s dreams are different, but every dream is going to cost some money. On today’s episode of The Retirement Answer Man, my friend Jamie joins me to talk about one creative way to fund your travel dreams. Discover how you can use your home to produce income when you’re not there, so that yo...

In the news today, credit card debt has reached over 1 Trillion dollars. In addition, we have 1.2 Trillion dollars in auto debt, 13% above the previous record. Impulse shopping is easier than ever, and this can be bad news for your retirement! On this episode of The Retirement Answer Man Podcast, I talk about spending and some safeguards you can put in place so that you don’t overspend on things y...

Passive investment management has taken over the world. Nine of the top ten mutual funds are based on passive investing. On this episode, I explain what passive investing is and how it works, the top two indices that most funds are based on, and the advantages and disadvantages of investing based on those indices. I also take some time today in the Practical Planning Segment to answer listener que...