The Pilot’s Advisor Podcast

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   In this episode, Ryan continues last week’s discussion on elevating the retirement planning conversation for pilots. Find out how asking smarter, planning-focused questions about taxes, Social Security, debt, risk, and investing can empower you to make more confident retirement dec...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   Most people think the key to better retirement planning is getting better answers, but Ryan argues it really starts with asking better questions. In this episode, he talks about how reframing the basics leads to clearer thinking, better decisions, and a plan that fits your life. Di...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/  Getting married in your 50s often means you’re combining lives, but not necessarily combining finances. How do you build a retirement plan together when you’ve both already built your own? In this episode, Ryan answers a listener’s question about navigating financial and emotional s...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   This week, Thanksgiving takes center stage and your finances get a seat at the table! Ryan serves up a fun, insightful discussion where holiday favorites like parades, turkey carving, and football run parallel with the keys to successful retirement planning. Discover why consistenc...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   If you’re an American Airlines pilot, you’re facing a major decision: whether to participate in the newly announced Market-Based Cash Balance Plan. Ryan is joined once again by Zach Smith from Pilot Tax to break down how the plan actually works, what AA pilots need to know, and the...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   This Veterans Day episode of The Pilot’s Advisor features Zach Smith from Pilot Tax for a deep dive into one of the biggest challenges facing airline professionals: retirement tax planning. Ryan and Zach explain why airline contracts that fund 18–19% of pay into 401(k)s create futu...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   As mortgage rates fluctuate and the real estate market adjusts, pilots and investors alike are wondering, what’s next? In this episode, Ryan sits down with Christopher Zarnik, a fellow FedEx pilot and mortgage broker, to unpack today’s housing and lending landscape. Christopher als...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   You’ve probably said it before: “I ran the numbers; I should be fine.” But what if your math is lying to you? Today, Ryan exposes the “fuzzy math” that can quietly sabotage your financial future. Drawing on lessons from aviation and decades of experience helping pilots plan for ret...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   If your parents passed away relatively young, it’s natural to wonder whether you’ll face the same fate, and whether that should change how you claim Social Security. In this episode, Ryan discusses how life expectancy, health, pensions, and even your trust in the system can shape t...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   Delta Airlines has rolled out a new non-qualified deferred compensation plan for pilots, and it’s raising big questions across the flight deck. To help us all better understand what this means, we’ve invited Zach Smith of Pilot Tax to break down how it works and whether it’s a smar...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   Most people don’t feel wealthy. But what if your day-to-day habits are quietly building serious financial strength? A recent article from Kiplinger outlined five surprising signs that you might be richer than you think. And none of them involve yachts or private jets. Let’s analyze...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   So, you’re retired. Now what? The “First Year Rule” suggests that many of your best retirement months will happen in the first year. It’s a pivotal time to set the tone for a fulfilling retirement, emotionally, physically, and financially for the years ahead. Today, Ryan explores h...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   Markets are unpredictable—sometimes rallying on bad news, other times tumbling for no clear reason. So how do you stay focused when headlines scream about rate cuts, job reports, and volatility? In this market update, Ryan weighs in on the Fed’s expected rate cut, why September and...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   Dave Ramsey is one of the most recognized voices in personal finance. His 9-step retirement plan is simple, direct, and built for mass appeal. But is it really the best path for your retirement? On today’s show, Ryan digs into where he agrees, where he disagrees, and what he thinks...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   Cue the mixtape of Nirvana, Madonna, and Prince… Gen X, it’s your turn to get ready for retirement. And the stakes are high. You were the first 401(k) generation, hit by two major market crashes, and now you’re entering retirement with more financial uncertainty than the Boomers be...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   What if the safest part of your portfolio wasn’t bonds, but something with guarantees, liquidity, and tax advantages? In this special episode, we’re sharing Ryan’s recent appearance on the Wealth Warehouse podcast, where he sat down with David Befort and Paul Fugere to talk about w...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   Why do today’s mortgage rates feel worse than they really are? When it comes to real estate and mortgages, timing and perspective make all the difference. In this episode, Ryan sits down with Kelly Phillips, Mortgage Expert and Branch Manager at Fairway Mortgage, who brings more th...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   Target-date funds just passed $4 trillion in assets. They’re now the default investment in many 401(k)s, and millions of Americans are using them without really understanding how they work. So, are they a smart choice… or just the easiest one? In this episode, Ryan breaks down why...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   What if you could get a tax refund from 2022, using a move you make in 2025? In this episode, Ryan sits down with one of the biggest names in tax strategy: Ed Lyon. You may have seen him on CNN, Fox News, CNBC, or MSNBC, or read one of his books. Dubbed “America’s Funniest Tax Guy,...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   As a pilot, you're trained to anticipate risk and build backup systems, but are you applying that same mindset to your financial future? In this episode, Ryan answers a smart listener question about legacy planning, life insurance, and tax-efficient wealth transfer. Ryan explains w...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   What makes one person obsess over saving for the future while another spends freely, and sometimes recklessly, in the moment? Today, Ryan explores how personal wiring, background, and mindset influence financial behavior. Drawing from personal experience, client stories, and even c...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/     Today’s story is all too familiar: a pilot nearing retirement, intrigued by a cockpit conversation about options trading, only to watch his portfolio nosedive. In this episode, Ryan gets candid about why jumping into options (especially in your 50s) might not be the best option f...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/   Raising kids used to follow a predictable pattern: they grow up, move out, and you finally get the house to yourself. But for many pilots today, that “empty nest” moment keeps getting delayed. In this episode, Ryan dives into the emotional and financial turbulence of raising adult...

✈️ Retire Pilots the Right Way! 🎁 Grab your FREE Retirement Toolkit now → https://d74164fb.pages.infusionsoft.net/     In this episode, Ryan answers a thoughtful listener question from Shirley, a pilot who recently inherited a parcel of land from her uncle. With a mortgage still on her home and retirement a few years away, Shirley wonders: should she sell the land to become debt-free or hold on t...

The 4% rule gets talked about like gospel in retirement planning. But let’s be honest, it’s always been more of a rough guess than a golden rule. Now, its original creator is revising it to 4.7%. So, does that mean your retirement paycheck just got a raise, or is this just another headline that oversimplifies a complex decision? In this episode, Ryan explores the implications of the updated withdr...