Retirement Answer Man

Has the retirement RV virus infected you? This virus is very dangerous; it could cost you tens of thousands of dollars, but it could be a lot of fun too. Are you a baby boomer contemplating retirement? Are you excited by the thought of freedom and travel? If so, then this series is important for you. Over the next 4 weeks, we will cover how to diagnose the virus, what to do if you succumb to the virus, and what are some alternative treatments other than buying an RV. You’ll also learn from the experience of others living with this virus. Are you ready to learn more about this potentially fun and exciting virus? Then listen now to this episode of Retirement Answer Man. Why do so many baby boomers have the retirement RV virus? The retirement RV virus is spreading like wildfire among baby boomers. 75 million households across the country are active campers. And the fastest growing group of RV owners are baby boomers. If you read any article on retirement, you’ll discover that freedom and travel are the top priorities among new retirees. This is what makes the retirement RV virus so contagious. Do you have the itch to set out on the open road? Find out all that you can about the RV life before jumping in with both feet by listening to the retirement RV series here on Retirement Answer Man. How do you diagnose yourself with the retirement RV virus? So how do you diagnose yourself with this potentially expensive virus? First, you need to understand what is driving you. Is it the lifestyle that you are looking for, or do you just want to travel more? It is easy to romanticize the RV lifestyle. If you go to any RV show you can start dreaming big. Next, you need to understand that there are different strains to this RV virus. People have different ideas when they think of RV life. There are the weekend warriors, those looking for short weekend getaways Others would like to travel a week or so a few times a year There are the long-term travelers that would like to travel for an extended period, perhaps a few months at a time. Then there are the full-timers. These are the ones that give up their home and hit the road permanently. So which prognosis best describes you? Learn how you can live with this virus especially if you have the right treatment plan in place, by listening to this episode of Retirement Answer Man. Michael and Mona explain firsthand what RV life is all about Michael and Mona have always been the outdoorsy type, they even camped on their honeymoon. They loved taking their grandkids for weeklong trips in their pop-up trailer, but they soon discovered that 2 weeks a year wasn’t enough for them. They recently set out on a long-term trip to test the waters to see if the full-time life might be in store for them. He loves the idea of full-time living, but she prefers having a home base. Learn what Michael and Mona wish they had known before they bought their RV as well as what they love about the RV life on this episode of Retirement Answer Man. What is the true cost of RV living? Costs between RV’s vary greatly. You can jump into a new RV for as little as $60,000 or you can go all out and spend upwards of $200k. Campground costs are another factor that can quickly add up. Some can cost $30-40 a night or more, but there are less expensive options if you stay in a place long-term or become a part of a membership program. Even with today’s low gas prices, at 6-8 MPG fuel costs can quickly add up. Other costs to consider are maintenance issues, they tend to pop up when you least expect them and they can be expensive. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [2:19] The RV virus is particularly acute among baby boomers [6:03] There are different kinds of RVers [7:05] How do you diagnose yourself with the RV virus? PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [10:24] Learn from Michael and Mona firsthand what the RV life is all about [18:39] What is the true cost of their RV? [23:25] What have they enjoyed the most so far? [28:00] What would they have done differently if they had known more? THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [31:02] The RV virus is a vehicle for you to create happiness TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [31:54] Take a self-exam. Do you have a bit of the RV virus? Resources Mentioned In This Episode Rock Retirement Club Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney Work with Roger Roger’s Retirement Learning Center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page

How can building an income floor ease your worries about life without a paycheck? If you are worried that having a 2-year cash reserve won’t give you enough security then you may want to build an income floor to help ease your concern. Over the past few episodes, we have been discussing how to live life without a paycheck and you have learned how to build a bucket system. But some of you may feel that this isn’t quite enough to help you weather the times of market uncertainty. Listen to this episode to hear how building an income floor can give you more peace of mind. 8 ways to make retirement too complicated Do you like to make easy things difficult? We often make retirement more difficult than it needs to be. Here are 8 ways people often complicate retirement. We make decisions in isolation. We don’t think of the broader perspective of our financial lives when making a financial decision. We focus on tactics rather than the big picture. It’s important to have a process that follows a system that creates a strategy that leads to tactics rather than the other way around. You have too many accounts. People collect things over time and that includes 401K’s, and IRA’s and various other retirement accounts. Make life easier by consolidating your accounts. You may have too many investments even in one account. Having too many investments makes managing the risk/return allocation too difficult. Think, does this extra investment add value? Does it serve a purpose in the overall scheme of things? You may have too many advisors. You chase the markets. Are you chasing investments as the market fluctuates? It creates a lot of unnecessary activity. It may feel like you are more in control, but it actually makes things more complicated. You change your process too much. The key to having a solid process is to only have one. You can’t hop around. Stick with one process. It can evolve but don’t change gears completely. You think more information will give you more clarity. But more information can actually be very distracting. Overplanning and analyzing are not giving you more clarity. How do you refill your bucket in bad years? After listening to this month-long series on how to live life without a paycheck you know how to fill your bucket with 2 years of cash reserves. But is 2 years really enough? What do you do in the bad years? What happens if the markets take a turn for the worse? Here are 3 ways that you can adjust your approach. You could batten down the hatches. Slow down in your wants and wishes categories to reduce discretionary spending. Fund your base lifestyle only. Ramp up pretirement. Focus on your human capital until the markets bounce back. Readjust your long term goals. Agile retirement planning is all about making adjustments along the way. What is an income floor? What if you want more clarity? If you still feel that 2 years of cash reserves won’t be enough to give you the peace of mind you need then you can create an income floor for the following 3 years. An income floor overlays on top of your cash reserves. The income floor is built by bonds that mature like a ladder or it can be created by ETF’s or other funds. An income floor can give you more room for success by reducing your risk of overspending and reducing your behavioral risk. How do you determine whether you should add this income floor on top of regular cash reserves? Do you feel like you need an income floor? You can think about the level of your base needs that are funded by social capital. Social capital is guaranteed income sources like social security and pensions, income sources that don’t depend on the markets. The higher amount you have here the more confident you may be with only 2 years of cash reserves. You can also consider what level of human capital do you have like income from consulting or royalties. It is also important to consider how well funded you are. If you are underfunded then you will definitely need human capital. Learn how to create your system and keep your rhythm on this episode of Retirement Answer Man. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [2:55] Do you like to make easy things difficult? PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [14:52] Is 2 years enough cash? [19:10] How do you refill your bucket in bad years? [20:44] What is an income floor? [23:24] How do you determine whether you should add this income floor on top of regular cash reserves? THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [28:01] How do you maintain sanity in the chaos? TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [29:15] Identify 1 thing that you are overcomplicating Resources Mentioned In This Episode Rock Retirement Club Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney Work with Roger 3-video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover Roger’s Retirement Learning Center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page

You may have heard me talk about the bucket system on previous episodes. People often wonder how they will tap into their funds when they retire. They wonder if they should just sell assets when they need some money. Well today, I teach you how to live life after your paychecks stop coming. You’ll learn the process on how you create your own bucket system so that you can create your own steady paycheck. Are you ready to learn how to set up your retirement paycheck so that you can be intentional about creating a great life? Listen to this episode to learn how to build your own bucket system so you can rock retirement. 5 retirement tidbits that I have picked up along the way Working with retirees causes me to do a lot of research about retirement. Here are 5 tidbits I have learned over time. Our perception does not always line up with reality. Loneliness will shorten your life as much as smoking and drinking. Loneliness is scary because it creeps up on you. It is so important to continue to generate new friendships and connections. Friendships increase the quality of your life. Transitioning from the accumulation phase of life to the decumulation phase can be a challenge. You can look at the decumulation period like a vegetable garden. You have watered your garden over the years and now it is time to harvest. Spreadsheets can’t give you the whole picture. Many of you are orderly people that like to research and plan. Just remember that the art of all of this planning gets lost in spreadsheets. Retirement is so much more than just numbers on a page. Extensive social media use can lead to depression. Remember that what people post on social media is a fictionalized version of their life. Its like looking at the cover of a fashion magazine, all glossy and perfect. This is not the reality of people’s lives. What is a bucket system? In the past people just sold assets as they needed when they retired. But there is a better way to organize your finances. A bucket system creates cash reserves to fund consumption over and above what you keep in your normal emergency fund. It is the process by which you create your own paycheck in retirement. You create a payroll ‘bucket’ funded with 2 years of spending needs. You set up a way to pay yourself on a regular basis into your checking account. Creating a bucket system gives you clarity when you wonder where the money will come from in retirement. It can help you navigate this major change in your life. Listen to this episode of Retirement Answer Man to learn more about creating a bucket system to fund your retirement. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the bucket system? The bucket system has both advantages and disadvantages. Having this system in place can help you control your spending. Oftentimes when people retire they have a lot of liquid assets on hand, maybe even more money than they have ever had access to. Couple that with newly acquired free time and you could run into a big problem. The bucket system helps control a natural flow of money into your checking acount. It helps you work in an automatic fashion. The bucket system also provides visibility in a volatile world. It can give you some leeway to make adjustments as you need them. If you have a growth mentality the bucket system may seem inefficient. When the markets are hot you can feel like you are missing out. This cash flow system can force you to be more conservative that you may want to be. On the other hand, 2 years of cash reserves can feel a bit tight in a major financial crisis like that of 2008. How do you set up a bucket system? How do you put this bucket system together? First of all, you need 2 years of your base needs that you have already counted the cost for. You also need 1-2 years of your wants and wishes. When setting up your bucket, remember your social payment and your income from other sources. You can subtract these from how much you need in your account. Step 1 - to identify the deficit after adding up your various income. Step 2 - fund your cash reserves by creating a payroll account. Pro tip- don’t have it in the same place as your checking account. Step 3 - set up a payment system from your cash reserve payroll account to your checking account. By creating a bucket system you recreate that rhythm you get from having a paycheck. You want to have that rhythm in place so that you don’t have any missteps. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [3:02] 5 Retirement tidbits that I have picked up PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [14:37] What is the bucket system? [16:55] How does a bucket system help you control spending? [18:34] What are the disadvantages to the bucket system? [20:44] How do you set up a bucket system? THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [25:43] Understand how to communicate with those you love TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [28:02] Go tell your loved ones that you love and appreciate them [28:41] Fund your emergency fund Resources Mentioned In This Episode BOOK - The Noticer by Andy Andrews Rock Retirement Club Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney Work with Roger 3-video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover Roger’s Retirement Learning Center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page

Now that you have your buckets full do you think the retirement planning is over? Sorry, but no, it’s not. 6 months later you have to do it all over again. The problem is life keeps changing. Expenses keep changing. So how do you overcome this? How do you constantly adjust? Constantly adjusting to new conditions is what retirement is. Agile retirement management means you can’t put financial management on autopilot. Learn how to set yourself up for success so that you can make the best of the only life you have on this episode of Retirement Answer Man. How to set yourself up for success in managing change Working with an advisor is like working with a doctor who is trying to diagnose an ailment. The doctor is really smart and well trained to try and figure out what is wrong and what the best course of action may be. But only you know your body. The same is true with your finances. A financial advisor is very well trained and can help you plan your future, but only you know what is truly right for you. When you abdicate everything to an advisor it can lead to poor solutions that aren’t in your best interests. Financial advisors have never dealt with the baby boomer generation before, so they are working with a blank slate. Delegation vs. collaboration One way to take more control of your finances is to collaborate with a financial advisor rather than delegate all the financial decisions. Collaboration means that you aren’t handing over all the control. It means that your retirement planning is an ongoing project. The client works alongside the advisor in a collaborative role. You are the expert in you. You know what your needs, wants, and fears are. And only you understand your changing priorities. An advisor has gained wisdom over time. They are the expert in the journey, you are the expert in you. Don’t delegate your retirement planning, collaborate. What happens once you begin to drain the cash reserves that you have set up? It is important to make sure the wind is at your back. Your cash reserves don’t have to be just sitting there doing nothing. They could be in a high-yield money market account, CDs or high-quality short-term bonds. You should also think about the different tax types of accounts from which you will fill your bucket. You have much more control now over which tax bracket you will be in. Filling your buckets from the right sources is important in controlling how much you will pay in taxes, not just now, but in the years to come as well. How do you refill your buckets? It is important to refill your buckets twice a year. Its good to revisit your finances in retirement every 6 months since this is all new to you. After a while, you might find your sea legs and fine tune your spending. But life has a way of throwing us curve balls just when we think we have things all figured out. How do you refill your buckets if the markets are performing poorly? If the markets take a nosedive it is important to mitigate the damage. There is a reason that you count the costs as needs, wants, and wishes. If the markets aren’t doing so hot you can slow down your discretionary spending. You can also decrease how often you refill the buckets in order to let the markets bounce back. Learn how to manage your money in retirement so that you don’t just survive retirement, but rock retirement on this episode of Retirement Answer Man. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [5:23] How to set yourself up for success in managing change with an advisor [9:50] Delegation vs. collaboration PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [12:40] What happens once you begin to drain the cash reserves that you have set up? [17:32] You have much more control now over which tax bracket you will be in [21:14] When should you refill your buckets? [23:00] How do you refill your buckets if the markets are performing poorly? THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [25:56] Add some time in your calendar TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [28:17] Schedule sometime next week to work on you Resources Mentioned In This Episode Rock Retirement Club Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney Work with Roger 3-video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover Roger’s Retirement Learning Center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page

Everyone’s biggest worry is if they will have enough money in retirement. Are you prepared to live life without a paycheck? Over the next month, we will explore how to get you ready to live your life without a paycheck. A paycheck can be like a security blanket and learning to live life without it can be scary. That’s why it’s important to prepare for life without a paycheck now. Learn how to make sure you have enough money in retirement by listening to this episode of Retirement Answer Man. Is your paycheck your superpower? Do you remember your first paycheck? Do you remember the power you felt when you had that money in your hands? Your paycheck equals power, so what happens when it disappears? With a paycheck you earn money, you can save money, and watch your wealth grow. Once your paycheck disappears it can be like stripping away a superpower. Your wealth begins to dissipate as you withdraw from your savings each month. This can scare anyone. Learn how to gain your powers back by planning for life without a paycheck. Don’t fall for the scarcity mindset Many people enter a mindset of scarcity even if they have plenty of money tucked away for retirement. A scarcity mindset can zap away all your fun retirement plans. There is a tipping point at which you realize that you won’t run out of money. Unfortunately, by the time this usually happens, most are too old to really enjoy their money. Learn how to manage your money in retirement so that you can partake in all the retirement fun on this episode of Retirement Answer Man. Is your systematic withdrawal strategy your behind the times? The first step in learning how to live without a paycheck is to plan how you will pay for your lifestyle. In the past calculating your retirement was a simple math equation. Figure out how much you have and divide equally to plan your yearly withdrawal amount. This system of retirement planning is one-dimensional and antiquated. It may not serve your ideal retirement lifestyle very well. A one-dimensional withdrawal strategy could lead to underspending in the go-go years. Is your withdrawal strategy set up to ensure that you can make the most of your retirement? Why you need an agile retirement plan to manage money in retirement With an agile retirement plan, you don’t have a set withdrawal ratio each year. Some years you may have a 10% withdrawal ratio and then there will be others in which you have a 2% withdrawal ratio. Gone are the days when you simply sell stocks when you need the money. You can now create clarity on how you will pay for your retirement lifestyle. With an agile retirement plan, you can plan each year differently. Do you want to take all the grandkids to Disney World, or plan an epic trip around the country? Will you have a low key year after a year of spending big? With an agile retirement plan, you can take advantage of the go-go years to spend big when you have the opportunity. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [3:02] Your paycheck equals power PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [10:05] A systematic withdrawal strategy can be dangerous [15:19] We need a withdrawal system that gives us more clarity [20:13] Over the next few episodes we’ll be talking about creating these systems THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [21:28] Find people that you resonate with TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [22:25] How will you pay for retirement? Resources Mentioned In This Episode Rock Retirement Club Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney Work with Roger 3-video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover Roger’s Retirement Learning Center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page

On this last episode in the counting the costs series of the Retirement Answer Man Show, the Rock Retirement Club steps in to provide some tips on how to make the best of all this work. Counting the costs of retirement can be intimidating. It can cause stress and worry. In this episode, those that have counted the costs of retirement and thrived step up to provide tips on how to handle this stressful part of retirement planning. Listening to the experience of others who have not only walked the walk but done so successfully can ease some of the worries that come with crunching the numbers while planning for retirement. Listen to this episode to hear tips from members of the Rock Retirement Club. Don’t let the stress of retirement planning overwhelm you There are so many unknowns to retirement, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. But worry, stress, and fear can become debilitating. Allowing yourself to become overwhelmed by the enormity of the financial side of retirement planning can lead to poor decision-making. Stress can further impact your financial planning by influencing how you make decisions. You may think that it is easier to stick your head in a hole and ignore the counting the costs step. Or you may try and patch together an easy financial solution together rather than implement a well-thought-out retirement plan. Don’t let worry overwhelm you. Planning your retirement costs will pay off in the end. What can you do to combat the stress of retirement planning? Regain perspective - Change the conversation in your head. It’s easy to dwell on the enormity of planning for retirement. It’s easy to lose your mental game. Coach yourself to make it to the next step rather than concentrate on the big picture. This helps you feel as though you have made progress. Realize there are many adjustments to make in retirement, but you don’t have to make them all today. Everything you worry about you create yourself. Your big worry might not be a big deal if you are intentional. Surround yourself with the right people. Having a supportive crowd surrounding you can help you celebrate the small wins along the way. It helps to talk with people that are on the retirement journey. There is something to learn from those ahead of you in the process as well as those that are behind you. Some tips from the Rock Retirement Club Rock Retirement Club members have an Intentional spirit and are community-oriented. The club motto is “Walk with the wise and become wise.” We have had many productive and active conversations. Here are some tips from others that are on the same journey as you: Estimate your expenses in Excel. Look for variances year to year. One RRC member helps the elderly plan their budgets. This volunteer has created a win-win situation. Budgeting with the elderly helps her learn from others while teaching them. Not only does it help her get a handle on her own financial situation. She can also learn what the costs are from others that are further down the road. One member has realized that spending can increase from before retirement. More free time equals more opportunities to spend on entertainment, shopping, gas, and eating out. How will you spend your time once you retire? Another member is trying to live on his proposed retirement budget before he retires to get a feel for what that would be like. Jon created multiple spending scenarios through a flexible retirement planner Listen to this episode to hear all the tips from our Rock Retirement Club members and discover which ones can help you on your own journey in counting the costs of retirement. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [3:53] Don’t let the stress of retirement planning overwhelm you [8:35] What can you do to combat the stress of retirement planning? PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [16:20] Advice from Rock Retirement club members THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [27:15] Thanks to Nichole TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [28:30] Listen to the tips and figure out which one fits your life Resources Mentioned In This Episode Flexible Retirement Planner Good Budget App Rock Retirement Club Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney Ask Roger a question Work with Roger 3-video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover Roger’s Retirement Learning Center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page

Over the past few episodes we have been counting the costs of your wants and wishes in retirement and on this episode, we get down to basics. What are your needs? You may think that defining your needs is the easy part: food, water, shelter, clothing, and healthcare, right? Well, it’s actually a bit more complicated than that. As a matter of fact, defining your needs can be much more complicated than coming up with your wants and wishes. Everyone has different needs in their life. What one may consider a need, someone else may scoff at. Listen to this episode of Retirement Answer Man to help you count the costs of your true needs in retirement. How do you decide what your needs are? Defining your needs is not as easy as it seems. To define your needs you have to consider what the deal breakers are. What can you really not live without? Everyone has different needs. For example, consider a golf club. Many would consider a golf club membership a want or wish, but for others, this is their primary social outlet. For these people, a golf club membership is a need. On one hand you need to be practical and consider what you truly need, but on the other hand, you don’t want to build a cage around yourself. Complicating your needs can actually lead to a very sad life so think carefully about what is important for you to live a happy life. Why do we break things down this way? You may be thinking, why do I need to define my needs, wants, and wishes? You may think that moving through these exercises is a waste of time. But defining these categories is a way to help when you come to a crossroads. When it is time to dial things down as you take away income sources, or maybe when the markets are performing well and you have a bit extra you can examine these categories and decide how to negotiate with yourself. Having everything broken down into categories allows you to consider more choices. Defining your needs, wants, and wishes is an important first step to rock retirement. What is your baseline? To consider what your needs are you have to think about your baseline. There are 2 ways to determine your baseline. You can look at it from a top-down perspective. To do this, take your income and subtract your savings. This equals your consumption. You can also come at it from a bottom-up point of view. With the bottom-up way determine what your costs will be for healthcare, housing, taxes, utilities, food, transportation, and basic fun. You can either jot these costs down on paper or make a spreadsheet. Having an idea of what your baseline costs will be can really help you gain perspective on how you will rock retirement. What are the average costs of basic needs in retirement? The costs of basic needs change quite a bit from state to state and from lifestyle to lifestyle. The costs of taxes also vary greatly between the states. Some states are trying to become more baby-boomer friendly to attract retirees. These states have low taxes on things like pensions and property. Here’s the breakdown of average costs in other categories: Housing: $1322/month Transportation: $550/month Healthcare: $500/month Food: $500/month Entertainment $200/month Whether you use a top-down approach or a bottom-up method, begin to calculate the costs of what your basic needs will be in retirement. Don’t worry about getting it perfect, costs will change over time. Counting the costs is an important step in learning how to rock retirement. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [4:28] How do you decide what your needs are? PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [12:25] Never take a risk that will jeopardize your baseline [14:24] What are the basic needs? [22:34] What are the average costs of needs in retirement? THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [25:20] Get your body moving to make you happy TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [27:09] Go dance! Resources Mentioned In This Episode Healthcare Before Medicare Series: Episode 211, Episode 212, Episode 213, Episode 214 BOOK - Good to Great by Jim Collins Rock Retirement Club Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney Ask Roger a question Work with Roger 3-video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover Roger’s Retirement Learning Center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page

How are we supposed to dream big when we are so unsure of how to provide for ourselves in the future? The future seems so unsure after the terrible month of December. Some may be tempted to give up and just put all their money into a safe money market account or cd. You know for certain that you will get 2.5%-4% returns and life wouldn’t seem so scary. On today’s episode, you’ll learn why you want to have an agile retirement plan in place to help you through the rough patches so that you can rock retirement and get back to dreaming of those retirement wants and wishes. Finally, we get to the wishes On the previous episodes this month we discussed how to budget for your needs and wants in retirement and on this episode we finally tackle the wishes. Wishes can seem extravagant whether you are overfunded or underfunded in your retirement. Those that are overfunded may find it hard to dream big after years of being good stewards of their money. Those that are underfunded may balk at the idea of having so much leftover that they should shoot for the stars. Whichever category you fall into you should still go through this exercise as an expression of your values and to really shoot for the stars. Whether it's leaving an inheritance, gifting your grandkids with a college education, planning an epic trip, buying a home for your whole family to enjoy, or setting up a charitable foundation, dreaming big can be a wonderful way to start rocking your retirement. Inheritance planning There are many ways that you can leave money at the end for family members that you care about. A trust can be formed that will help protect the money after you pass. For instance, if you leave someone $500,000 it could be misspent, lost in a divorce, or lost by a spouse that overspends. By setting up a trust the money is protected in these cases. Another way to leave a legacy to those you love is by gifting it now. You can gift $15,000 each year without any tax consequences and your spouse can gift the same amount. You can even gift your child’s spouse an additional $15,000 without tax consequences as well which brings the total to $60,000 per year of tax-free gifting. Another way to give to those you love is by setting up a 529 savings plan for your grandchildren. These plans are highly flexible and you can even switch the beneficiaries or split it between multiple grandchildren. Have you thought of the legacy that you want to leave your loved ones? 3 Protips on dreaming big There is a fine line between helping someone that is doing well continue on their path and enabling someone that is not heading in the right direction. They need to learn to own their own problems. Think about whether you are supporting or enabling before you give. Make sure you are giving your loved one fuel to go the right direction. It doesn’t have to be fair. You don’t have to be consistent with your giving. One child may be heading in the right direction and the other one may be making poor choices. Trust planning could help make your giving more equitable or it can be a smart choice to have an intermediary. You don’t have to give 15 k a year. Don’t lead them to expect. These things could gain momentum as you age. Giving unexpected gifts can be fun. Don’t lead your heirs to believe they will be getting yearly gifts if that is something that you can’t provide. Gifting to charity Just like there are many ways to give to your heirs, there are several ways that you can give to charity. One way is to create a donor-advised fund. This is a fund that you can create where you can help manage the investments and annually you can decide what you want to give and to which organizations. You can even use it as a foundation and plan the distributions as a family. With the new tax rules consider lumping your gifts into specific years to get the maximum tax write-offs. There are so many ways that you can leave a legacy behind. It all depends on your values and the kind of legacy you want to leave. So how will you dream big? OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [2:23] How can we dream big when we are so unsure of how to provide for ourselves in the future? [9:52] How do you count the costs of the things you want and need? [11:19] Evaluating performance can be tricky if you don’t have the right perspective PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [20:56] Finally we get to dream big and focus on wishes [22:34] Inheritance planning [28:55] How can you help grandkids plan their college education? [31:23] How can you create experiences with those you love? [33:05] 3 Pro tips [37:02] Gifting to charity [39:42] Other considerations THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [42:25] What are some things that can make you happy that don’t cost any money? TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [45:15] Start to brainstorm what the spice of your life would be Resources Mentioned In This Episode Rock Retirement Club Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney Ask Roger a question Work with Roger 3-video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover Roger’s Retirement Learning Center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page

What are your wants and wishes in retirement? This generation is redefining retirement. In the past retirement meant sitting on the park bench of life and taking it easy in the golden years. Today’s retirees are active and involved. They are living longer than ever and usually doing so without the safety net of the pension plans that were common in past generations. Since today’s retirees enjoy a longer period of health, retirement is an excellent time to live it up. How will you rock retirement? Discover ideas on how to pursue and fund your retirement dreams on this episode of Retirement Answer Man. Think big when planning your wants and wishes Whether your retirement fund is tight or grandiose, don’t be afraid to dream big. Living big shouldn’t be confused with spending big. Think about what you do for enjoyment now. How would you like to spend your time when you have more of it? Do you want to travel, learn to play an instrument, take cooking classes, or go back to school? The options are limitless and they don’t have to be costly, there are usually many different price points to having fun with your hobbies. How will you dream big to rock retirement? You don’t have to be trapped in your current life Our lives are arranged a certain way due to the limiting factors of our lives. But now those limitations may no longer be there. Upon retirement, you can rearrange your life the way you want. Think about what you want to be doing on a daily basis in retirement. Who will you be spending time with? Perhaps you want to be near grandkids, family, or maybe you want to move to a place with a certain type of people. What is your ideal climate? What is the size of your ideal town? Is it rural, urban, or suburban? You don’t have to be trapped by what is. Do you dream of a change of scenery with your retirement? How do you define what is important to you? You have been toiling in the fields of the workplace during your entire life, but retirement is your harvesting time. This is your time to define what is really important to you. To really rock retirement you need to give some thought on how to make the most of it. Travel is a goal for many retirees, but travel itself is too broad. You need to define it further, how exactly will you travel? Internationally, throughout the U.S., or locally? Once you start narrowing down what is really important to you-you can plan to rock retirement. So what do you envision for yourself in your retirement? 4 pro-tips on planning your wants and wishes Figure out how to make your hobbies more social. You can increase your social activities and make friends of all ages with similar interests. Think about joining a cycling club, a knitting group, or a book club. Plan for the seasons of retirement. Many of the activities you may have in mind are best-suited for the go-go years while you are still healthy and active. When financially planning your retirement think about how long you will want to be involved in your hobbies. How long can you realistically travel internationally? Will you need a country club membership for your entire life? Be creative in how you want to go about attaining your wants and wishes. Instead of buying a second home think about renting for a season instead. If you are considering RV travel rent one for a month and see if you still have the itch afterward. There are many creative ways that you can fulfill your dreams without breaking the bank. Think about how you can set yourself up to enjoy your wants and wishes before you retire. If you do buy a second home, a motorcycle, RV, or boat do so while you still have the income from your job. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [2:35] This generation is redefining retirement [4:25] When planning your wants and wishes think big PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [10:30] Retirement is your harvesting time [15:34] How to define what is important to you [20:00] Pro tips on planning your wants and wishes THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [24:24] Retirement planning can be scary, take a cue from Nichole and laugh more! TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [26:23] Start to define your costs for retirement Resources Mentioned In This Episode Rock Retirement Club Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney Ask Roger a question Work with Roger 3-video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover Roger’s Retirement Learning Center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page