Simplify Your Retirement

In planning for retirement, creating a budget is crucial for ensuring financial security and making work optional. The simplified approach involves dividing assets into three buckets: one for liquid expenses, another for income, and the third for growth. The budget, a formal plan for managing monthly income, helps avoid overspending and provides the freedom to enjoy retirement. Key points on budge...

Liquidity Planning: How to Plan for Short-Term Needs and Where to Invest Liquidity is important for everyone, no matter what phase of investing you are in. If you anticipate needing your money within the next five years, it should be readily accessible. The primary objective is to ensure the protection of your income stream and have assets at your disposal. It’s impossible to grow your income, dra...

In this episode, we take a big-picture view of what planning is, and what a retirement plan should include. Products are not a plan. Someone may think they have a plan because they have a 401(k), pension, or insurance policy in place. Or they plan to get a little more conservative over time with their portfolio. Each of those things may be part of a plan, but they are actually products, they are n...

A Retirement Plan That Leads to Confidence If you have a plan that’s simple and easy to understand, implement, and follow, you will feel better about your retirement plan. This, after all, is the overarching goal of everything we do: to instill confidence in your financial future. In a landscape where many financial advisors tend to make things needlessly complex, it’s essential for everyone to be...

In today’s episode, the last of Season 4, Stephen Stricklin, along with Paul Brock, answer FAQ’s surrounding retirement planning. In addition to their answers in this episode, we encourage you to look back through the seasons to gain more clarity! One listener asks, “Do you see value in splitting accounts over a few different advisors?” Stephen says with multiple advisors working with the same cli...

Have you ever considered the views of the companies you’ve invested in? Do they align with yours? Join Stephen Stricklin and Paul Brock, along with guests Ben Malick and David Sandhu, as they discuss Biblically Responsible Investing. Ben and David have years of financial experience with Wise Wealth, and in this episode, offer clarity on how we can make good decisions when it comes to thinking bibl...

You may have heard the terms “fee” and “cost” used as synonyms, but there is a distinction that could make all the difference in the world of investing. In this episode, Stephen Stricklin and Paul Brock discuss three major misconceptions many people have about fees and costs.  A fee is something you can “see,” usually in plain sight, and made known up front, sometimes deterring an individual from...

Are there better uses for your home equity? In today’s episode special guest Gabrielle Welter, along with host Stephen Stricklin, discuss everything reverse mortgages. Gabrielle is a reverse mortgage specialist in the Chicago area, and with 11 years experience in the financial industry, she has a lot to share.  Gabrielle debunks the negative connotation that a reverse mortgage is the “loan of last...

Host Stephen Stricklin and Co-Host Paul Brock take on the topic of taxes in retirement in today’s episode, appropriately released on the tax filing deadline date of 2021. An exciting day for some, and dreaded for others, it’s a reality of our financial life we cannot avoid, and certainly a factor to consider when planning for retirement.  Stephen and Paul take a deep dive into some tax lingo. They...

Retirement is not a cliff to jump off of, but an opportunity to build bridges grounded with your values and strengths. In this episode, Stephen Stricklin is joined by guest Samantha Lane, an Associate Certified Coach who most often works with men and women making the huge transition to retirement. Samantha is passionate about helping individuals through major life changes, and being a guiding ligh...

Joining host Stephen Stricklin is guest Mark Willis, financial advisor and owner of Late Growth Financial Services in Chicago IL, and Co-Host of his podcast Not Your Average Financial Podcast , on the topic of banking on yourself.  Graduating college with an immense amount of debt, and starting a new job at a CPA firm during the 2008 stock market collapse, Mark wondered “Is there something better...

Joining Stephen Stricklin for another podcast episode is our guest, David Rosell, financial planner, president and founder of Rosell Wealth Management, author of Failure Is Not an Option, and avid traveler. They discuss common risks that you should consider when planning for retirement.  Risks that occur in the distribution phase of retirement are inevitable. It’s up to us to be prepared with a pl...

Stephen Stricklin is joined by guest David Rosell, financial planner, president and founder of Rosell Wealth Management, author of Failure Is Not an Option, and world-wide traveler, as they discuss the reality of planning for retirement.  In his book, David combines his two passions, travel stories, and financial survival tips. He ties in his mountain climbing and travel adventures, with impactful...

Should inflation cause panic? Are spikes in inflation a new phenomenon? How will it impact my retirement? Join our hosts Stephen Stricklin and Paul Brock for Season 4, Episode 3 as they answer these questions and more! They talk about the importance of considering inflation when relating to retirement, in this timeless episode designed to share with friends and family. Inflation, as defined by Inv...

“The biggest risk we face in old age, or maybe the second biggest apart from healthcare costs, is longevity risk – out running our money.” – Laurence Kotlikoff In this episode, Stephen Stricklin continues his conversation with Laurence Kotlikoff, a Professor of Economics at Boston University and best-selling author. They cover several more details about Laurence’s new book, “Money Magic: An Econom...

Welcome to season 4 of the Simplify Your Retirement Podcast! Season 4 will be packed with exciting guests, and popular FAQ’s Stephen gets from clients.   In part one of this two-part interview, Stephen Stricklin is joined by Laurence Kotlikoff, a Professor of Economics at Boston University and a best-seling author. They discuss Kotlikoff’s brand-new book, “Money Magic: An Economist’s Secrets to Mo...

In this season of Simplify Your Retirement, we focused on the Wise Wealth mission of guiding investors on the path to financial significance, where they are free to give and serve and to enjoy a life like never before. In this episode, Stephen Stricklin is joined by Bekah Stever, AAMS®, chief growth officer & director of compliance at Wise Wealth. Bekah helps us tie up the season as we look ba...

Being free to enjoy life in retirement is one of the missions of Wise Wealth. But you should be enjoying life all the time. In this episode, Stephen Stricklin is joined by Jonathan Dold, a financial advisor at Wise Wealth. Jon is not retired, but he has been living the Wise Wealth mission of enjoying life for quite some time. He shares his background in finance, how he’s been enjoying life, and hi...

What does retirement look like to you? How do you plan to enjoy your retirement?  In this episode, Stephen Stricklin is joined by clients Barry and Linda, who share how they are enjoying retirement, and how planning has made their retirement successful. He is also joined by a client, Jeff, who discusses the plans he and his wife Janie have for their own retirement. They discuss: Barry and Linda’s...

Everyone wants to go on vacation. But work often limits the amount of time you can spend away.  In this episode, Stephen Stricklin is joined by Mark Comfort, owner of Cruise Holiday and Comfort Tours & Travel. Mark dives into the third part of the Wise Wealth mission statement, the ability to be free to enjoy life, and the role of vacations within your retirement goals. Mark discusses: The imp...

Creating a legacy of serving others can inspire your children and those around you to serve and give back to their community. In this episode, Stephen Stricklin is joined by his client Bruce. Bruce is a retiree, and formerly worked at Hallmark. In his retirement he has taken up the Wise Wealth mission of serving. Bruce shares the details of his involvement with a community organization and how his...

Women are a notoriously underserved demographic in the financial industry, even though they are often the ones in the family who make the financial decisions.  With the Wise Wealth mission to serve in mind, Samantha Compton created Wise Women, LLC. In this episode, Stephen Stricklin is joined by Samantha Compton of Wise Wealth and founder of Wise Women, LLC. Samantha shares the history of Wise Wom...

This season Stephen talked about being free to give and spoke to several clients about what it means to give in their eyes. This episode Stephen transitions to talking about being free to serve. In this episode, Stephen Stricklin is joined by his client Brad. Brad shares a little about himself and how he gives back to others, and is free to serve. He is chairman of the board at Children Internatio...

If you’re going to give, there’s a tax-efficient way to go about it, and you may as well take advantage of the smartest way to do so.  Enter: donor advised funds. In this episode, Stephen Stricklin is joined by clients Larry and John, who each run a donor advised fund. They discuss how these funds work, and the primary advantages to giving through a donor advised fund. Larry and John share a few d...

This season we want to bring on our clients and share some of their stories of giving. In this episode, Stephen Stricklin is joined by his client Bob. Bob and his wife Charlene are one of Wise Wealth’s clients involved in charitable giving. Stephen provides an overview of how qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) and required minimum distributions (RMDs) work in relation to charitable giving....