How to Sidestep the 4 Culprits Wrecking Middle Class Retirement (SB1735)

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Sep 15, 2025

Join Neighbor Doug, Joe's mom's neighbor who spices up the show with his trivia and humor, as they tackle the sneaky habits sabotaging middle-class retirement dreams. Discover why your home might not be a reliable retirement strategy and the peril of underestimating life expectancy. The conversation flows from ridiculous financial advice circulating online to why owning a cat could lead you into unexpected trouble. Expect laughs and valuable insights on staying financially fit for the future, all while enjoying light-hearted anecdotes!

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ADVICE

Eliminate High-Interest Debt First

Avoid carrying high-interest debt into retirement because it wipes out returns and cash flow.
Prioritize eliminating credit cards and unnecessary payments so your retirement income isn't consumed by interest and monthly obligations.

ADVICE

Build A Flexible Tax Withdrawal Plan

Build tax flexibility across Roth, pre-tax, and taxable accounts so you can choose optimal withdrawals each year.
Use multiple account types to manage tax brackets, Social Security taxation, and Medicare premiums when withdrawing.

INSIGHT

Home Equity Isn't A Liquid Retirement Rainfall

Treating your home as the primary retirement plan is often emotionally harder to execute than people expect.
Selling or borrowing against the house can carry payments, relocation friction, and psychological costs that undermine the plan.

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What really derails retirement dreams? Spoiler alert: it’s not always the stock market or your 401(k). Sometimes it’s sneaky habits—like leaning too hard on your house as a retirement plan or ignoring how long you might actually live—that quietly gnaw away at your financial future. In this episode, Joe Saul-Sehy, OG, and Neighbor Doug dig into the most common middle-class retirement killers and how you can sidestep them.

But this isn’t your average checklist of “don’t do that.” The team dissects questionable advice floating around internet forums, debates stock splits and diversification, and even finds time to unravel why owning a cat might make you a magnet for gangster-level problems. Add in Doug’s trivia about a famous singer’s real name, and you’ve got an episode that’s equal parts practical and delightfully unpredictable.

Whether you’re worried about stretching your retirement savings or just looking for sharper ways to think about financial advice, this episode offers both reassurance and reality checks. So grab your favorite mug (or maybe your cat), settle into your seat, and get ready to learn how to protect your retirement from the biggest threats—while laughing at the absurdity along the way.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

The habits that quietly sabotage retirement plans (and what to do instead)
Why your house may not be the slam-dunk retirement strategy you think it is
The risks of living longer than you expect—and how to plan for it
How to sniff out sketchy financial “tips” before they lead you astray
The surprising traps behind stock splits, diversification myths, and overconfidence
Why even well-meaning advice can backfire if you don’t look at the big picture

Questions to Ponder (or Debate in the Basement Facebook Group):

Which retirement habit do you think trips people up the most—and why?
If you had to choose, would you rather rely on your house equity or a diversified portfolio to fund retirement?
What’s the worst financial “tip” you’ve ever heard online (or maybe even followed)?

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/habits-that-destroy-middle-class-retirement-dreams-1736

Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201

Enjoy!

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