Retirement Starts Today Radio

How’s this for a headline? I’m 62, unemployed, living off my savings, and waiting on Social Security — ‘Can I go fishing for the next 25 years and forget about work?. Today we’ll check out this MarketWatch article and answer the headline’s question as well as explore the additional recommendations the article mentions on ways to make retirement savings […] The post Can I Go Fishing for the N...

What do you think about senior living communities? Would you want to move to one? According to a recent WSJ article, occupancy in senior housing is on the decline despite the fact that baby boomers are aging and more of these communities are springing up all over the country. In the retirement headlines segment, we’ll take […] The post Boomers Want to Stay Home – Senior Housing Now Fac...

Has the Covid pandemic caused you to reevaluate your life and consider early retirement? If so, you are not alone. Now that we are starting to emerge from the pandemic, many Americans have a new ‘life is short’ mindset. This, coupled with an upswing in investments and home values is leading many affluent Americans in […] The post Affluent Americans Rush to Retire in New ‘Life-Is-...

Episode 200! I can’t believe I’ve made it to this landmark episode. Thank you all for joining me on this journey and I hope you’ll join me for the next 200. I enjoy looking back and reminiscing on previous episodes, but I don’t have to go too far back to find my most recent favorite. Episode […] The post Affluent Retirees Scared to Draw Down Savings, Ep #200 appeared first on Retiremen...

What is the number one travel goal for people approaching retirement? Disney! People young and old alike love to go to Disney. In my 15 years of retirement planning, I have discovered that a multi-generational trip to Disney is at the top of most people’s bucket lists. That is why I have brought the world’s […] The post Planning Multi-Generational Disney Trips with Lou Mongello, Ep #199  app...

Have you ever thought about your relationship with work? As retirement looms ahead, many people become fearful of the unknown that it brings. A common way to express this fear is to worry about money, but this fear goes beyond money. The real fear that people have about retirement is about how they will spend […] The post Sabbaticals Are Essential For The Way We Work with Paul Millerd, Ep #1...

We’ve all been sitting at home for the past year and now everyone is getting the travel bug. That’s why today we’re kicking off the Summer Travel Series with an interview with Lee Huffman. Lee hosts a podcast called We Travel There and he writes a frugal travel blog at BaldThoughts.com. I’ve been curious about the world of […] The post Summer Travel Series: Travel Hacking with Lee Huffman, E...

Nobody wants to think about becoming a widow or widower, but unfortunately, if you are married, there is a 50/50 chance that you could. In addition to the crushing grief that comes with losing a spouse, there are many details to take care of in that first year alone. This is why I want to […] The post 7 Steps for Widows and Widowers to Manage Their First Year Alone, Ep # 196 appeared first o...

Do you consider being rich and being wealthy the same thing? In the book by Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money, the author argues that these words mean 2 different things. In this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we’ll explore the difference between rich and wealthy as well as the connotation of the word money. Outline of […] The post Do You Know the Difference Between Being Rich and...

Are you one of the many that are being held back from early retirement by the exorbitant cost of health insurance? If so, you won’t want to miss this episode. This week’s retirement headline comes from Carolyn McClanahan at AdvisorPerspectives.com and it outlines the enhanced health insurance subsidies that stem from the American Rescue Plan (ARP). You’ll want […] The post Cheaper Heal...

I’m sure you’ve all heard about the 4% rule for retirement planning. This rule is great for speculating your likelihood of success, but it isn’t always the best rule to follow in practice. Druce Vertes at AdvisorPerspecives.com offers a different approach to implementing the original 4% Rule. On this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we’ll dive into […] The post Improving the 4% Rule, Ep #...

As you prepare yourself for retirement, you probably have a vision of your retired self traveling, spending more time on your hobbies, or with loved ones. Retirement will give you time for all that and more. I read an article recently that describes the 6 phases of retirement. I had never defined it that way […] The post The 6 Phases of Retirement, Ep # 192 appeared first on Retirement Start...

Have you ever considered going back to school? Early retirement can be a fantastic time to explore new learning opportunities. In this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we’ll take a look at a Market Watch article that describes the burgeoning culture of adult learning for those at or near retirement age. We’ll continue by exploring many higher […] The post Time for a Gap Year? Ep # 191 app...

Since 2020 was the year of working from home, you may be wondering how you can deduct your home office expenses from your taxes now that tax time is upon us. For this reason, we explore an article written by Jeffrey Levine at Kitces.com. Learn the home office deduction rules and discover if they will apply to […] The post Deducting Your Home Office in a Work from Home World, Ep # 190  appear...

If 2020 has taught us anything it is that the future is not always certain. This has brought about feelings of insecurity and anxiety in some people. That’s why this week, I share an article from Harvard Business Review which describes how people can use micro-planning and biomimicry to combat feelings of uncertainty brought on by this […] The post The Future Is Foggy, Plan Accordingly, Ep #...

Are you signed up for the My Social Security account from the Social Security Administration? In this episode, we’ll review a Kitces.com article written by Jeffrey Levine about this important resource. We’ll review the history of My Social Security, how to sign up for it, how its benefit calculations account for inflation, and how Americans can interpret […] The post What You Need to Know Ab...

Despite the economic downturn, 2020 turned out to be a fantastic year for charitable giving. In this episode, we’ll look at how people chose to give and you’ll learn about the efficiency of giving through donor-advised funds (DAFs). In the listener questions segment, you’ll learn how to survive a bear market in retirement. We’ll investigate […] The post Fidelity & Schwab Donors Set Reco...

If you’ve been working from home over the past year you may wonder why you feel even more exhausted than normal. This could be due to Zoom Fatigue. In this episode, we’ll explore an article from CNBC that references a Stanford study about this phenomenon. In the listener questions segment, I’ll answer questions about RMDs […] The post Why We’re Experiencing Zoom Fatigue and How To Fix It, Ep...

You have fraud protection on your bank accounts and your credit cards, but what about your retirement accounts? Today we’ll explore an article from the Wall Street Journal outlining a case of cyber fraud in a 401K account. We’ll also discuss ways for people to safeguard their savings. In the listener questions segment, I’ll answer a question […] The post How To Protect Yourself and Your Savi...

If you have listened to the news at all lately, you probably know what our Retirement Headlines segment will cover. The American Rescue Plan is all any financial news is talking about these days, so in today’s episode, we’ll explore what you need to know about this recent piece of legislation. Then in the Listener […] The post The American Rescue Plan Act Of 2021, Ep # 184  appeared first on...

Enrolling in Medicare can be extremely stressful and confusing. There are so many choices to make, there are different rules to follow, and timelines to be met. Additionally, there is so much information out there that it merely adds to the confusion. On this episode of Retirement Starts Today, I share with you an article […] The post What to Expect When You’re Expecting (to Apply for...

How long have you been saving for retirement? Are you hesitant to break into your retirement funds and start living it up once you retire? This week I share two Retirement Headlines articles. The first is called Right-Sizing Retirement and it comes from the Financial Planning Association. In this article, the authors pose an important question: why save […] The post Why Save If You’re Not Go...

Have you heard of the Monte Carlo retirement projection analysis? It is being used more and more by advisors and even popular retirement planning websites. Today, in the Retirement Headlines segment, I offer some insight on an article from Kitces.com that argues that using the Monte Carlo projection, a 50%probability of success rate is good enough. […] The post Is a 50% Probability of Succes...

Have you wondered why the markets had such an amazing year in 2020 when the economy was a mess and everyone was stuck at home? You aren’t the only one. That’s why in this episode, we’ll look at a New York Times article that examines this question. We’ll also answer some listener questions directly from […] The post Why Markets Boomed in a Year of Human Misery, Ep #180 appeared first on Retir...

Has the Covid-19 pandemic cut into your vacation plans? It seems like everyone’s travel plans have changed over the past year. But what does that mean for employees and companies? Anne Steele and Chip Cutter examine the effects of Covid-19 and vacation taking in a recent Wall Street Journal article that we’ll look at today. In addition to our […] The post Why Companies Fret as Vacation Days...