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#618: Frank Vasquez watched his parents, ages 91 and 96, struggle financially in retirement.

They were immigrants. His dad was a physician. They raised five kids. They retired in the early 1990’s. But by 2009, they ran out of money.

When Frank was 45, in 2009, his parents would call asking for money to help make ends meet.

This reality hit Frank hard and sparked a decade-long quest to crack the code on sustainable retirement withdrawals.

At age 45, Frank set an ambitious goal: retire in his early 50’s while still supporting his parents financially.

The problem? Most financial experts simply told people to spend less rather than optimize their portfolios for higher withdrawal rates. Frank wasn't satisfied with that answer.

You'll hear how Frank discovered that many retirees leave money on the table by holding too much cash or following overly conservative allocation models.

Through extensive research, he found a sweet spot for stock allocation that maximizes safe withdrawal rates — something most traditional advisors miss entirely.

Frank walks us through his approach to portfolio construction, explaining why he believes in balancing growth and value stocks while keeping bonds limited to US treasuries for recession protection.

He breaks down the math behind safe withdrawal rates and reveals why property taxes pose a hidden threat to retirement security as home values climb.

You'll learn about risk parity strategies, macro allocation principles, and why diversification across uncorrelated assets creates more stability than traditional 60/40 portfolios.

The conversation covers Frank's Golden Ratio Portfolio, a structured approach to asset allocation designed specifically for the retirement drawdown phase.

Frank figured out how to fix what went wrong with his parents' retirement. His approach could help you avoid the same mistakes.

Timestamps:

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(00:00) Introduction

(01:04) Frank's parents' financial struggles

(05:21) Finding a sustainable retirement portfolio

(10:19) Learning from market crashes

(13:25) Different types of investments

(25:10) Building the perfect portfolio

(32:25) Frank's real-world example

(39:24) Property taxes and retirement goals

(44:21) Safe withdrawal rate basics

(45:22) How much to put in stocks

(51:03) Why bonds matter

(54:23) Adding alternative investments

(1:00:14) The Golden Ratio Portfolio

(1:12:11) Investment strategies for retirement

(1:15:44) Taking money out of your portfolio

(1:18:31) Taxes on withdrawals

(1:21:14) Where to put your investments

(1:23:35) Keeping it simple

(1:26:07) How much cash to hold

(1:28:20) Market timing risks

(1:34:38) Giving back in retirement

For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode618

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Episode 238 -- September 2025 -- Part 2 AFP: American Family Physician

AFP: American Family Physician Podcast

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