Retirement Starts Today

Is it possible to suddenly step away from a high-powered job and into a life of leisure? This may not be the best idea for your retirement if you work at the executive level.  In this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we'll explore an article from Harvard Business Review that outlines several pitfalls that could come with retiring from a high-powered job and insights on how to navigate them.  St...

There are two ways to mess up retirement: run out of money or die with regret. Oftentimes, people in the retirement space only focus on the running out of money part.  In an effort to help you live an even better retirement, today's retirement headline discusses the regret part. Join me to learn five expenses that retirees wish they had spent more money on so that you can learn from their mistakes...

If you want to spend more money in retirement you'll want to understand how to maximize your Social Security benefits. Many people think that there is no going back once you've decided to collect your Social Security benefits. However, today's retirement headline discusses two options in case you'd like a do-over.  In our listener question segment, one listener asks the best way to pass on their a...

Tax season is here so when I found  this article from Morning Star to share some tax tips for you. Your tax bill will be the largest bill you pay in retirement. If you want to reduce it, make sure to press play.  Helping clients save money on taxes and avoid common investment mistakes is an important task for financial planners. If you don't have a financial planner, that means you are your own fi...

Some tax breaks aren't worth the hassle of pursuing them, however, today's example is definitely worth the hassle! If you are charitably minded you'll want to listen to learn about the advantages of making qualified charitable distributions. Discover how to increase your standard deduction while enjoying charitable tax benefits.  Stick around for the listener question to hear a great way to start...

Planning retirement spending is tough to do since there are so many unknowns. Many people tend to take a fear-based approach and rely on the 4% rule. Some even take a step further and spend less of their nest egg. Today's Retirement Headline urges you to take a different approach. Listen in to hear what the article advises and my thoughts on the matter. Then stick around for the listener question...

I don't know about you, but I want to stay active and healthy for as long as possible. That's why when I saw this  Forbes article I knew I wanted to share it with you.  If you want to learn how to age gracefully and maintain your vitality, you won't miss this episode. Then, stick around to hear my answer to the question: why do some people have a hard time with retirement? Outline of This Episode...

As you probably know by now, Bret and I are here to help you spend more money and spend less in taxes so that you can live an even better life in retirement.  This week we're helping you do that by sharing some lessons that we learned from our clients' fall tax meetings. If you enjoyed our Lessons in Estate Planning episodes last spring, you'll love hearing what we learned from our clients this fa...

Would a 0% tax rate help you live an even better retirement? In this week's Retirement Headline, we'll explore a WSJ article titled  How You Can Grab a 0% Tax Rate . If that doesn't pique your interest, I don't know what will! Listen in to hear how you can learn to plan so that you can take advantage of a 0% tax rate on capital gains income. This episode originally aired in August 2023.

If you have diligently saved throughout your career, you may be ready to retire, yet still feel uncertain about spending your savings. To truly live your best life in retirement you need to learn how to shift from a saving mindset to a spending mindset. In this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we'll help you do just that. This episode was first broadcast in July 2023.

One of the greatest financial assumptions is that it's always better to own than to rent. However, in retirement, this may not be true. Once you are financially independent it is important to realize that not every dollar you spend needs to yield a return. Join me for this episode of Retirement Starts Today to question traditional thinking and to see how you can improve your life, spend more money...

Do you have an HSA? If so, do you simply use it to pay for your medical expenses? Or do you use it as a way to build your wealth? Today we'll look at an article from Financial Advisor Magazine that will help us identify opportunities for wealth creation. Listen in to learn how to maximize the triple benefit of the humble HSA. This episode was first broadcast in March 2023.

We are spending some extra time off from the podcast over this holiday season to spend time with family. I hope you're using this opportunity to spend some time with family as well. I've gone through my favorite episodes of 2023 to bring you some fantastic rebroadcasts. So here's one and I hope you enjoy it! The Puzzling Gap Between How Old You Are and How Old You Think You Are , first broadcast i...

Most people are worried about spending too much and running out of money in retirement. However, few people worry about spending too little.  In this week's episode of Retirement Starts Today, you'll learn why you should spend your principal in retirement. Our retirement headline comes from Dr. Jim Dahle at the  Whitecoat Investor  and shows us why many people don't spend enough of their money and...

Would you like to have more confidence in your retirement plan? In the retirement headlines segment, you'll learn one simple way to increase your certainty about what you can accomplish in retirement.  In the listener questions segment, Bret helps answer what the essential aspects of an estate plan include.  If you are ready to get serious about retirement planning press play to get started.  Outl...

Do you wish you had more optionality when it comes to designing your retirement? In this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we'll explore  an article from Forbes that poses five alternatives to the 4% rule that you may want to explore for your retirement withdrawal strategy. In our retirement headlines segment Bret and I team up to answer a question that both Google and ChatGPT got wrong . Find o...

What happens if you get to retirement age and realize that you saved too much? Believe it or not, this does happen and has its own set of problems. In this episode, we'll explore those problems along with some potential solutions.  Stick around until the end of the episode to hear our listener question about deciding whether to do Roth conversions or take ACA health insurance premium tax credits. ...

Would you like to make $170,000? On this episode, you'll learn what you can do to save yourself 17% in lower returns over a decade. On a million-dollar portfolio that comes to $170,000! In the Retirement Headline segment, we'll dive into an article from  Financial Advisor Magazine  which explores Morningstar's annual Mind the Gap study analyzing the performance of mutual and ETFs and comparing the...

Have you thought about using your home's equity to help you fund a portion of your retirement?  In this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we'll explore a Morningstar article that examines ways to use this supersized emergency fund. If you are ready to start thinking about retirement outside the box, listen to this episode to hear how you can supplement your retirement by using your home equity. ...

Do you remember when you were a kid and were fascinated by the thought of living to be 100? It seemed like such a far-fetched idea, but now with advances in technology, nutrition, and medicine, this far-flung notion increasingly seems like a real possibility. As you may have guessed, today's  retirement headline  discusses planning to live until age 100. We'll explore what that prospect means for...

Medicare's open enrollment is starting soon, so I've invited Danielle Roberts from Boomer Benefits to join me today.  In this episode, we're discussing what's new with Medicare in 2024, the important dates to remember for open enrollment, when to reevaluate your health insurance options, and how to ensure you have health coverage when traveling abroad in retirement. Press play to hear what's new i...

As retirement super savers, you all know that slow and steady wins the race. According to  this Wall Street Journal article , that race is paying off again for many Americans. In the retirement headlines segment, we'll take a look at this article. Then in the Listener Questions segment, Bret and I will discuss the merits of having one firm handle investments, taxes, and retirement planning.  Outli...

Even if you aren't familiar with Monte Carlo analyses, you've probably used it. Monte Carlo drives math behind the retirement planning software that you use. Monte Carlo software is truly amazing, however, the way people look at it is wrong.  In this episode, you'll hear the pros and cons of Monte Carlo analysis and how you can use a Monte Carlo calculator to maximize your full retirement potentia...

Aretha Franklin can teach you more than a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  On this episode of Retirement Starts Today, you'll learn from her estate plan (or lack thereof). After hearing about this estate plan gone haywire Bret and I will team up to answer a listener's question on how you can transition from a saving to a spending mindset.  Listen in to ensure that your estate isn't tied up for years while y...

Here at Retirement Starts Today, we are always looking for ways to teach you how to spend more money so that you can enjoy an even better retirement. However, many times our clients and listeners have trouble loosening their purse strings. After years of being diligent savers, instead of enjoying the fruits of their labor, retirees reaching financial independence often find another reason to be fr...