Retirement Starts Today

It's true, money can't buy happiness. But does how you choose to spend your money affect your happiness? Today we'll discuss one article that challenges that old adage. We'll also discuss a multifaceted question from a listener who just accepted an early retirement package. We'll help her consider whether to rollover funds into an IRA and figure out what to do with her target-date funds. Listen in...

Would you consider adding private equity funds to your 401K? We'll weight the pros and cons of this interesting idea as we explore the retirement headlines. No listener questions today, instead, this episode is all about the headlines. We have news about RMD's, private equity funds, tax strategy in retirement, and a shocking Fidelity study. Make sure to listen until the end to hear the surprise tw...

Retirement Manifesto blogger, Fritz Gilbert joins me today. Fritz was actually my very first guest on the show and is now my first repeat guest. I'm excited to have him join me again since he has recently retired. Fritz shares insight from his research in writing his blog and book but also from his first-hand knowledge of retirement. Listen in to our conversation as we discuss hidden challenges of...

I've got an exciting episode planned for you today. This episode will focus solely on listener questions but as an added twist I've asked my friend Grant Bledsoe over at Grow Money Business Podcast to join me in answering these questions. I think you'll benefit from Grant's expertise as a Registered Investment Advisor and enjoy hearing his perspective as he helps me answer your questions. Listen i...

Can you imagine this nightmare? You're newly retired and then a global pandemic comes along and threatens financial markets all over the world leaving you bankrupt in only two weeks. Listen to this cautionary tale in the retirement headlines segment of our show today. But what is more important than hearing the frightening scenario is learning what you can do to prevent yourself from taking this k...

Do you know what you would do if your employer offered you an early retirement package? Before you rush into an answer, I have 4 questions for you to consider. Given the present economic climate, this is an important consideration. On this episode, we'll also talk about survivorship bias and what you can learn from it. Then I answer a listener question about alternative minimum tax and donor-advis...

Are you an eternal optimist or a prudent pessimist? It may seem like the stock market is the eternal optimist. Have you seen the headline that Uber laid off 3,000 employees? If you have, you may be wondering why their stock jumped up. Learn why this is a common occurrence by listening in. Then on the other side of the coin, you'll learn how you can be a prudent pessimist after reading the latest S...

Thanks for participating in the office hours that we've held for the past several weeks. Due to that question and answer period, we have exhausted all of our listener questions. But don't worry we have some interesting articles to discuss on today's episode. Listen in to learn more about the CARES Act, the lack of inflation, market positions from the big, and why so many people plan to return to w...

Have you been listening to what has been going on in the commodities markets lately? People around the world were shocked when oil prices went negative in the month of May. I didn't even know that this could happen and I'm a financial professional! This interesting turn of events led me to seek the expertise of someone more knowledgable in the oil commodities sector. This is why I've asked oil exp...

 One of the effects of the Coronavirus has been a number of cancelled plans. Have you had to cancel plans due to the pandemic? Today we'll explore how to get a refund. I'll also share a CNBC article that I use as a cautionary tale. Then we'll look at some cosmic opportunities that may arise post-pandemic. And lastly, we'll listen to a listener question about home mortgages in retirement. We've got...

With the recent market volatility, people are looking for financial advisors now more than ever. But how can you choose a financial advisor that's right for you? I created a PDF with 8 questions to ask a financial advisor when you are looking. I'll discuss these 8 questions as well as answer 2 listener questions and discuss the retirement headlines on this episode of Retirement Starts Today. Outli...

On this episode of Retirement Starts Today I want to share with you the retirement questions I received through my Friday Office Hours. Office Hours is an online space where I am available to answer any financial questions that come to mind. Over the past 2 weeks, we've had a great turn out with about 50 people joining each session. If you want to come to Office Hours make sure you are signed up f...

You may have gotten your stimulus check last week, but whether or not you have received the funds you may still have stimulus check questions. On this episode, I'll answer several common questions surrounding the stimulus checks. I'll also highlight some positive news for most of us. Positive news is hard to find today so let's relish it a bit! Listen in to get your stimulus check questions answer...

We all know that scammers are out there looking for the next opportunity to prey on their targets. The Coronavirus isn't just a worldwide pandemic, for scammers its an opportunity to try new scams. On this episode of Retirement Starts Today you'll learn how to spot a Coronavirus scam, stimulus check scam, and a grandparent scam. I also have lots of links to resources for you to learn more about th...

Everyone is talking about buying the dip, but what is the best way to do that? I'm not an investment advisor, but since the stock market has taken a serious downturn, now may be a good time to consider your overall investment strategy. That's why I've invited investing expert, Lawrence Hamtil, co-founder of Fortune Financial Advisors, to chat with me about the ups and downs of investing after the...

With the Coronavirus situation bringing so much change into our lives, I decided to bring an abrupt conclusion to the Living Off Your Savings series. Instead, today, we'll talk about some of the changes that the Coronavirus legislation will bring. Now that President Trump signed the Coronavirus stimulus package into law I wanted to give you an idea of what you can expect from this landmark legisla...

Before you retire you'll need to think about how to turn your assets into retirement income. Today I'll share with you my 2 favorite ways to turn your assets into retirement income. You'll hear about the pros and cons of the 4% rule. I'll also teach you about the guardrail strategy. After listening, you'll be […]

I promise I did not crash the market just to give you guys an example of a bear market for this episode! But I guess this episode is releasing at the right time. As of this recording, we are not in a bear market yet, but it looks like we're heading there. It doesn't really […]

Now you know what your spending in retirement will be, but how do you know where and when to withdraw money? Welcome back to the second episode in the Living Off Your Savings series. Last week we established how much you needed to retire and you learned how to create a retirement budget. Today we'll […]

Have you created a retirement budget? That's what we're going to cover this week on Retirement Starts Today. The month of March brings a change in format for us. We are going to try a monthly series format. The theme of this month's series is Living Off of Your savings. For the entire 5 week […]

Last year 14 million Americans paid for tax prep that they could have had for free. Are you one of those people? Today, we'll take a look at why people are spending money they don't need to and how to rectify that. I'll also answer some insightful listener questions concerning legal documents for retirees, the […]

I'm sure you've seen Tesla all over the news lately, today we'll think about what we can learn from its parabolic trajectory. We'll also cover additional questions about the SECURE Act and I make a correction about something I said about the SECURE Act as it pertains to minor beneficiaries. Then we'll cap off the […]

Do you know how to avoid penalties on early retirement withdrawals? Is the 4% rule confusing to you? On this episode of Retirement Starts Today 2 astute listeners have some fantastic questions for me to answer today. You'll want to listen in to hear 3 tips on how to take early retirement without the early […]

Welcome back to another episode of Retirement Starts Today. On this episode, I review the questions that were asked in both sessions of the SECURE Act webinar. You'll want to listen even if you attended a webinar session since you didn't hear the questions that were asked in the other session. I really enjoyed teaching […]

Now that the SECURE Act is the law, we need to rethink our estate planning strategies since it has effectively killed the stretch IRA. With the death of the stretch IRA, many people are scrambling to figure out what the best way is to leave their heirs their IRA's. Fortunately, estate attorney and host of […]