Retirement Answer Man

Well, Were You Able to Dream Up Your Ideal Retirement? It can be hard to think big. Hopefully, you stretched yourself. No worries, if you're not finished. Your life is always a work in progress. Important Note: Sign up late? If you'd like the resources from week one, replay and let me know. This week, you'll focus on identifying and organizing your financial resources. In this step you'll create a...

 Are you ready to dream up your IDEAL retirement? This is week one of the Can Carl Retire? virtual retirement planning event.  If you signed up for the free resources, you should an e-mail with all the items you need to complete this first important step. Haven't signed up yet??? No worries, there's still time. Click here and learn how you can plan along with us. Dream Up Your Ideal Retirement   I...

It's New Year's Eve and I've got two important items to help you create a great year in 2015. So let's get to it.  Item 1 Get Your Retirement On Track  Starting January 7th, I'll be creating a retirement plan for a listener, "Carl", of the Retirement Answer Man Podcast ON THE SHOW.  The best part is, you can plan along with Carl and I!!! Click here to find out all the details. Item 2 Start Making...

One of the most common comments I get from readers is how hard it is to get straight answers to their most important retirement planning questions. "When can I retire?" "What lifestyle can I expect?" "Will I run out of money?" What am I missing???" Starting January 7th, I'll answer these questions for a fellow reader (Carl). You'll get to listen in as we create his retirement plan each week, culmi...

"Why won't someone give me a straight answer?" This is the comment I get most from listeners trying to find answers to their most pressing retirement planning questions. In 2015, I'm stepping up my game to help you find the answers to your most pressing retirement planning questions. Announcing Retirement Plan Live  Want to find the answers to the most common retirement planning questions? Can I r...

Seriously, does watching the market and comparing your investment performance to some benchmark help you create a great life??? Of course it doesn't. So stop. Stop worrying about "keeping up with the market" and get down to the important work of creating a great life. INVEST WISELY Segment  If you are investing without trying to achieve some greater goal, you're setting yourself up for disappointm...

Yeah, there are lots of articles this time of year talking about year-end tasks to complete, but mine are Super Simple ones.  Okay...maybe it's just my way of trying to sound different. Still, these ARE 7 relatively simple  tasks that could make a big difference in your financial life (so indulge me). Invest Wisely   When Should I Rebalance My Portfolio?  Today I read an article on market watch ti...

You'd think that with all the great information and tools available today that making smart money choices would be easy. The fact is, it's harder than ever before. We live in a world designed to get us to "buy now" or "avoid that". These messages are designed by savvy marketers to get us to take action. Take action, when most of the time, doing nothing is the best course to take.  Recently I fell...

Working towards retirement can feel like rafting a river full of dangerous rapids. As you flow down the river of your life, your constantly having to navigate events that threaten to turn your life upside down. Unemployment, death, divorce, college costs, healthcare, recessions, corrections, inflation and countless others can put you on the rocks. This week, I discuss how to "self rescue" if the r...

If you're working towards retirement you know that investing wisely is a key part of reaching your goals. The problem is, investing means putting your money at risk. That's stressful. As a result, many of us tell ourselves lies or believe "trues" that can be dangerous to our financial future. In this episode, I'll discuss 7 lies we tell ourselves about investing and how to avoid them. INVEST WISEL...

I'm convinced that the most stressful part of planning for and living in retirement is that we don't know how to balance living well today, while not sacrificing tomorrow. As a result, most of us live out of balance.  Some of us are so worried about tomorrow that they sacrifice their current life in order to be "prudent". Others "live for the day", assuming without a thought for their future.  bot...

Is your soul on fire? Too many of us live in a prison within our mind. We are trapped by our past choices, not realizing that today, right now, we can start a new journey.  If you feel stuck, you can create a new life. You can ignite your soul and live your own hero's journey. Invest Wisely  You'll Never Get the Average  One of the biggest roadblocks to setting good expectations about investing is...

You don't like to lose money. Nobody does. That's one reason it is so hard to stick to a long-term investment plan when we feel like we're getting punched in the face by the markets. Just like a boxer, it's natural to want step back and protect ourselves. This natural reaction, however, has caused most investors to underperform the very assets they invest in.  In this episode, I discuss 7 steps to...

It's natural to fear a market correction. Losing money (even if on paper) sucks. News reports, act as if market corrections are bad.  That's not true. The economy and the markets don't function well without corrections.   Just as there are benefits to a forest fire, a market correction is an essential element of a strong economy and market. Invest Wisely  4 Benefits of a Forest Fire and Market Cor...

Medicare eligibility starts at at 65. If you're blessed to be able leave your career earlier, you'll need to evaluate your healthcare options until then. This week I talk with health insurance guru, Misty Kimbrough about your healthcare options before age 65. Invest Wisely     3 things you can do to ignore the voices in your head  I'm starting to hear voices in my head. Maybe you are too. They're...

If you're planning on living a long life, make investing in your health a priority. USA Today recently reported that the top retirement concern for people over age 50 is healthcare costs. Growing older and being unhealthy can be financially disastrous. It just makes sense, to take a proactive approach to investing in your health. INVEST WISELY: 5 Steps to a Healthier Life with Corbin Links  Corbin...

Are you in a career that matches your God given talents? Most of us are in careers that we were trained to do. Not careers that centered on our talents.  After college, we start work and our careers generally progress on their own, without much intentional direction from us. If you're in your 50's and this fits you, it's not too late to begin to pivot you're career towards something you have natur...

Wouldn't it be great to learn about retirement from those that have retired successfully? Here's your chance.  Today at FinCon , the national conference for money media, moneytips.com is releasing the book, The Retiree Next Door. The best part is you can get it for free . Over the last year, the folks at moneytips.com conducted a survey of over 500 successful retirees. Their objective: to identify...

Have you ever felt distant from your wife? I sure have. In my 23 years of marriage, there were times my wife and I drifted apart. It's easy to do. Work, kids, hobbies, etc. can cause a man and wife to drift apart. We eventually learned we needed to be intentional about nurturing our marriage. Plan Well:  Invest in Your Marriage  In this week's episode Jackie and I discuss how married men can becom...

Taxes suck. They erode away your income, savings and investments. One strategy to maximize your retirement savings is to convert your IRA to a ROTH IRA. ROTH IRAs are a powerful tool to help you do this but there are lots tax and planning issues to consider first. That's why I turned to Ed Slott , America's IRA expert. He is a nationally recognized IRA-distribution expert, a professional speaker,...

Stressed about planning for retirement??? Your not alone, most of use (including me) freak out when we look at what it could take to provide for our family in retirement. Don't believe all the statistics, you can take control. Investing Corner  Listener Question Wayne Asks My question is are there hidden risks doing my diversifying on top of diversity that I do not realize, other than my time for...

Setting retirement goals can be a big waste of time.  In my 23 years of advising individuals and families, I've rarely found someone that had clear retirement goals.  Guess what?  They were still able to live a great life and retire comfortably. In this episode I'll explore the problems with setting retirement goals and offer a better way to plan. Retirement Tip of the Week  How to Prepare for the...

If you chose to invest in real estate as part of your retirement plan, you better understand what you're signing up for.   Most "educational" classes, workshops etc. focus on all the benefits of real estate and gloss over the realities of doing it. Buying, owning and operating rental properties is hard work.  This week, I talk with Philip Wetzel about the real work that goes into investing directl...

My financial records are a mess. Are yours? In this episode, I'll outline the framework I'm going to use to get my recording keeping in order. Could you find that important docuement if you needed to? If not, listen and we can get organized together. In the Retirement Tip of the Week, I'll give you a framework for lending money to friends or family so you can help out without ruining the relations...

Is the stock market correction here?  In the last week of July the S&P 500 index lost 2.7%. The worst weekly loss in over two years. It didn't take long for the sensationalist headlines to pop up. Here are two of my favorites. Warning: That plunge in stocks is just the beginning  MarketWatch.com 3 market warning signs predict 20% stock tumble Insight: When these indicators flash together, it’s...