Retirement Answer Man

 Are you ready to dream up your IDEAL retirement? This is week one of the Can Carl Retire? virtual retirement planning event.  If you signed up for the free resources, you should an e-mail with all the items you need to complete this first important step. Haven't signed up yet??? No worries, there's still time. Click here and learn how you can plan along with us. Dream Up Your Ideal Retirement  In this episode, you'll listen is as I help Carl clearly defines his IDEAL retirement. This is the week you get to think BIG about your future too. Don't worry about getting it all right. Your goals will change countless times. Focus on identifying what you care about right now. We'll discuss a process later, on how to adjust them as your life unfolds. Your Action Items for This Week Make sure to listen to the episode. There are a number of subtle points made that will help you as you plan. For example, Carl made an important statement early in our talk. He said "Retirement planning should be about running to something, rather than running away from something."Review Carl's Ideal Retirement Summary. This will give you a snapshot of what the end result can look like.Think BIG. Not thinking big enough could rob you of your dreams. Suspend your reasonable attitude and focus on what "having it all" might look like. There will be time later to see what is actually possible. For now, focus on creating your IDEAL.Watch the short video. In it I give quick tips on how to think BIG about your retirement.If you're married, include your spouse. Each of us have our own dreams of the future. You're spouse's may be similar but different. Now is the time to hear each others dreams and to create dreams together. This way, the two of you will be in harmony about the future. This is crucial to a great marriage and a great retirement.Complete the worksheet. Start off using scratch paper and go crazy with your dreaming. No filters here. Then, identify the goals that truly mean something to you. Don't forget to rate them as described in the worksheet. This will be important later on.Finally, ask questions. If you're stuck or unclear about something, shoot me an e-mail. I'll do my best to answer your question. Simply hit reply to the e-mail I sent you with the resources.It's Not to Late to Plan Alongside Carl  Click here 

It's New Year's Eve and I've got two important items to help you create a great year in 2015. So let's get to it. Item 1 Get Your Retirement On Track Starting January 7th, I'll be creating a retirement plan for a listener, "Carl", of the Retirement Answer Man Podcast ON THE SHOW. The best part is, you can plan along with Carl and I!!! Click here to find out all the details. Item 2 Start Making Your Dream a Reality (with Lady J) Tonight a special lady, Jevonnah Ellison, is hosting her book launching party. On January 19th, her book, You Have What It Takes: How to Finally Start Making Your Dreams a Reality, hits book stores. If you're feeling stuck and want to jumpstart your 2015, please listen to our talk and consider buying her book. She has an amazing message and spirit that just might start you on your journey.You can visit her blog and get a free worksheet to help you discover your purpose here. THANK YOU A big thank you, for all your e-mails, phone calls and messages. You're encouragement and content suggestions are great. I've got a lot of cool stuff planned for 2015 to help you find that balance between living well today and securing a great tomorrow.

One of the most common comments I get from readers is how hard it is to get straight answers to their most important retirement planning questions. "When can I retire?" "What lifestyle can I expect?" "Will I run out of money?" What am I missing???"Starting January 7th, I'll answer these questions for a fellow reader (Carl). You'll get to listen in as we create his retirement plan each week, culminating in a LIVE webinar where you (and Carl) will hear the results for the first time.NOTE: check out the bottom of this post for an opportunity to plan alongside CarlWho is Carl?51 years oldMarried 27 years with a 19 year old child29 year corporate executiveWhat He Wants From the Plan:When can I get out?Will I run out of money?How do I plan for worst case scenarios?How do I handle healthcare?During the webinar, you and Carl will watch LIVE as I stress test Carl's plan against the most common retirement worries:Bad market returnsHigh inflationLong-term care costsOutliving his assetsHere's the Schedule January 7th   Defining Carl's ideal retirementJanuary 14th Reviewing Carl's financial resourcesJanuary 21st  Identiflying risks to Carl's planJanuary 28th Reviewing Carl's estate and giving wishesJanuary 30th LIVE webinar presentation giving Carl his resultsRegister now and create your plan alongside Carl You'll get: Weekly summaries of Carl's planFree worksheets and checklists to plan alongside CarlFree video tutorials to help you in each step of the processRegistration to the LIVE webinar on January 30thGo to www.rogerwhitney.com/rpl

"Why won't someone give me a straight answer?" This is the comment I get most from listeners trying to find answers to their most pressing retirement planning questions. In 2015, I'm stepping up my game to help you find the answers to your most pressing retirement planning questions. Announcing Retirement Plan Live Want to find the answers to the most common retirement planning questions?Can I retire?What the risk is that I'll run out of money?What lifestyle can I expect during retirement?What risks could blow up my plan?Starting January 7th, you'll get the chance to listen in as I work with a fellow listener, "Carl" , to answer these very questions as we create his retirement plan.You'll listen in, as I walk Carl through each stage of the planning process culminating with a LIVE webinar in which I present the results of Carl's plan.Who is Carl? Carl is a listener to the show. He reached out to me earlier this year with a fantastic idea. He said, "What if, you work with me to create a retirement plan and recorded the whole process so listeners can hear how it works?" "BRILLIANT", I said, "I don't think it's ever been done". So we did it.Carl and I have never met and have only interacted for this project. Each week, we'll play our meeting for each stage of the planning process. On January 30th, we'll have a LIVE webinar where you can watch and listen as I present the results of Carl's plan. Frankly, I haven't done the analysis yet, so even I don't know the results.This is your chance to get a demonstration of the retirement planning process and hopefully see how your most important retirement questions can be answered. Want to Create Your Plan Along with "Carl"? Sign up for weekly e-mail updates and launch yourself towards a great retirement. Each week during the month of January you'll receive a worksheet along with an instructional video to walk you through each step of the process. How to Launch Yourself to a Great Retirement with Stacking Benjamins My favorite financial podcast (besides my own ;-) ) is Joe Saul-Sehy's Stacking Benjamins. It's informative, fun and often times just goofy.  To quote his site, " In a world of hard-hitting, deep-thought financial stories, SB’s goal is lighter, more relaxed entertainment about money."In this episode, Joe and I discuss his recent white paper,  "Why You Shouldn’t Follow Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman or the Motley Fool".Joe doesn't  argue that you shouldn't follow a money guru, just that it's important you follow the right one. The right one depends on what stage you're your at in your money journey.He says there are three stages of your financial journey and an appropriate guru for each stage.Stage One        (Launch) Getting off the groundStage Two        (Orbit) Achieving financial freedomStage Three    (You could die) Build serious wealth. Create an awesome legacyTo get a copy of his free white paper click here.  

Seriously, does watching the market and comparing your investment performance to some benchmark help you create a great life??? Of course it doesn't. So stop. Stop worrying about "keeping up with the market" and get down to the important work of creating a great life. INVEST WISELY Segment If you are investing without trying to achieve some greater goal, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.Comparative investing is a losers game. It can:create a never good enough mindsetcause you to over trade and chase investmentsmake you susceptible to product sales pitchescause you to take too much investment risk (for no reason)increase your stresscause you to become disillusioned with investingLast week, I asked a recently retired couple what they wanted. Did they want to keep up with the market or have confidence that they could maintain their lifestyle? You guessed it, they didn't care about the market, they cared about their life. Smart ones, they are. PLAN WELL Segment During working years a lot of our purpose comes from our job, but once we stop working nothing will automatically replace them. Unless we are intentional and planful, retirement can feel like a big let down.John Knowlton, CFP just launched beerandpeanuts.net to help you avoid this big letdown. He's created resources  in 3 areas that research has shown are critical to a healthy retirement:Purpose (a reason to get out of bed)Meaning (what if leisure isn't enough?)Social contact (people to connect with)Listen to our great conversation for key insights into how to create your own fulfilling retirement. Want to Learn to Retire with Confidence? Get ready for a special never before seen event coming in January.  Get Ready for Retirement Plan LIVE. Sign up at rogerwhitney.com for free updates on this special month long event. 

Yeah, there are lots of articles this time of year talking about year-end tasks to complete, but mine are Super Simple ones.  Okay...maybe it's just my way of trying to sound different. Still, these ARE 7 relatively simple  tasks that could make a big difference in your financial life (so indulge me). Invest Wisely   When Should I Rebalance My Portfolio? Today I read an article on market watch titled "The Hidden Truth About Rebalancing Your Portfolio" on marketwatch.  The article discussed a recent study that argues that rebalance can actually increase the risk in your portfolio. In this episode, I discuss my observations on their conclusions and my "best practices" for rebalancing a portfolio during retirement. Plan Well   7 Super Simple Tasks to Complete Before You Rock in the New Year Pay your real estate tax bill, before year-end if you want to deduct it on your 2014 taxes.Get your RMD done. If you are over 70 1/2 or have inherited an IRA you need to do this before year-end to avoid a huge IRS penalty. Click here to learn more.Identify opportunities to harvest tax losses. If you have realized gains for the year, look for current positions with losses that you can use to offset your gains. I discuss a few strategies for doing this.Conduct an annual beneficiary review.  Even if you know the primary beneficiary is correct, you still need to make sure you have contingent beneficiaries. There is a worksheet to do this in the Retirement ToolboxConsider year-end giving. You can give $14,000 to any individual without tax consequence. If you have charitable intent, consider making charitable gifts before yearend.Change your important passwords. Changing your passwords is like locking your door at night. It's just common sense. This is so important and almost no one does it. The holidays are a perfect time to do this. I use a password manager (1Password) to create and track complex passwords. Consider diversifying your tax liabilities. The pressure to save on taxes each year can cause you to save too much in tax-deferred accounts. It's important that you have assets in taxable, tax-deferred and tax-free account. When you retire, you'll have more flexibility to manage your cash flow and tax bracket. If all you do is save in tax-deferred account (like most people), you could end up staying in a high tax bracket during retirement 

You'd think that with all the great information and tools available today that making smart money choices would be easy. The fact is, it's harder than ever before. We live in a world designed to get us to "buy now" or "avoid that". These messages are designed by savvy marketers to get us to take action. Take action, when most of the time, doing nothing is the best course to take. Recently I fell pray to one of these "buy now" messages and made a really poor money choice. Two weeks ago, I was in Charlotte working on a project when a e-mail arrived announcing the closing of registration for a $2,000 training program. It was a program I really wanted to take (I'm a sucker for learning) but I'd already determined I didn't have the time or the budget this year. The e-mail offer included extra valuable resources if I registered before the deadline. I fell for it. In the middle of my meeting, while focused on the task at hand, I clicked on the link and bought it. What a sucker. Later that night, as I was driving home from the airport literally pulled over on the freeway and requested a refund. In this episode, I outline 3 habits that will help you (and me!!!) make smarter money choices. They are simple and organized around the acronym R.A.W. Think R.A.W. Plan Well Segment “We no longer live life. We consume it.” Vicki RobinThe next time you feel the pull of a marketing message remember R.A.W.Remember to review your 1 year financial priorities every week. this will keep your "why" top of mind.Avoid marketing messages. Don't browse in stores or online, unsubscribe from sales e-mails. Work your plan. Have a plan for how you make money decisions and stick to it. It can save you.Invest Wisely Segment Economist Paul Samuelson reminds us, “investing should be more like watching paint dry or grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas” or Wall Street."The next time you feel the urge to react to market news remember, R.A.W.Remember why you are investing. Your purpose for investing should drive your decisions.Avoid market messages. Financial media does not help you invest wisely. Avoid it.Work your investment plan.  Have an investment plan based on facts and stick to it. It can save youWant Free Checklists to Help You Make Smarter Money Choices? Click Here

Working towards retirement can feel like rafting a river full of dangerous rapids. As you flow down the river of your life, your constantly having to navigate events that threaten to turn your life upside down. Unemployment, death, divorce, college costs, healthcare, recessions, corrections, inflation and countless others can put you on the rocks. This week, I discuss how to "self rescue" if the rapids of life put you into the water.INVEST WISELY  The Folklore of Finance: Beliefs That Contribute to Investors’ FailureLast week I read article in the New York Times discussing the release of a study by the State Street Center for Applied Research. It's titled:The Folklore of Finance: Beliefs That Contribute to Investors’ FailureThe 2 year study tried to answer the question: "What does true investment success look like?"Interestingly, according to the article, instead,  they found "that the way individual and professional investors made investment decisions was so skewed that achieving both high returns and long-term objectives was nearly impossible."In the Podcast I discuss some of their findings, includingOverconfident in abilitiesUnable to stay focused on long term objectivesShort term noiseInvestors want to invest with a long time horizon yet react to short-term swings that derail the strategyCome to distrust their advisorsFocus on the noiseFocus on short term resultsA Culture of “beating the markets”The study found that financial services firms spent 60 percent of their capital expenditures on resources to help generate short-term high performance. 60 Percent!! As a veteran of a major financial firm, I can attest that the value proposition of most major firs is that they can predict markets and guide you through them. I've always found this funny...having a value proposition based on predicting the future.Better, I think, to accept the uncertainties of the world, have a prudent process and focus having lots of little conversations so you can adjust as life unfolds. PLAN WELL   How to Ride the Rapids Towards Retirement If you've every been on  a rafting trip you're probably familiar with the term "self rescue". How to self rescue is a talk given by your rafting guide before you venture onto the river. The Guide makes it very clear. If you get thrown into the what, do NOT wait to be rescued. It is YOUR responsibility to rescue yourself.Self rescue involve 4 steps that you can use to rescue your financial future:Get to the SurfaceStabilize your cash flowSelf assess your financial health (skills, assets, debts)Clearly define your 1 year objectiveTake a deep breath (you may be pulled down again)Build some cash reservescreate margin in your cash flow (increase income/cut expenses)Float down riverTake a little time to reflect.Set clear 1, 3, and 5 years objectivesIdentify initial action stepsStart to SwimLearn from others Seek out fellow travelers that you can emulateLearn from online resources and booksFind a guide to help you navigate the rapidsBeing thrown into the rapids by life can be scary. It's okay. You can self rescue. I know you can. What Rapid Are You Most Afraid of? Tweet to @roger_whitney

If you're working towards retirement you know that investing wisely is a key part of reaching your goals. The problem is, investing means putting your money at risk. That's stressful. As a result, many of us tell ourselves lies or believe "trues" that can be dangerous to our financial future. In this episode, I'll discuss 7 lies we tell ourselves about investing and how to avoid them. INVEST WISELY The 7 Lies We Tell Ourselves About Investing There is too much uncertainty right now to invest I'm not wrong, the market is Thinking the current trend will continue I just need to hold a losing investment until I get back to even Past performance can predict future results I just need to find an investment guru Investing alone will make me wealthy How to Avoid Them Come to peace with the fact that the future is unknowable Educate yourself about how investment markets work Use a sound process for investing Diligently monitor and adjust your plan as your life unfolds PLAN WELL Last month I conducted my 1st annual listener survey. A big thank you to all that participated. Here are some interesting facts about you: 100% of you are male (do ladies not take surveys!!!) 73% of you are over 50 (makes sense) 73% of you have been married over 20 years (great job!!) On average you have 3 children 42% of you say you never plan on retiring (I'm with you on this) Top retirement concerns include Investing and the economy Healthcare costs Running out of money Top retirement goals include Spending time with spouse Spending time with family Travel Some of your top questions you need answered are: What's the best way to invest for income? When is a will sufficient (without a trust)? When should I start social security? How do I create passive income? What is the right portfolio mix during the different stages of retirement? Will the popularity of index investing cause more investment bubbles? In future episodes, I'll work to answer each one of these questions. What is the #1 Thing You Struggle with As You Work Towards Retirement? Tell me in the form below and I'll try to help.

I'm convinced that the most stressful part of planning for and living in retirement is that we don't know how to balance living well today, while not sacrificing tomorrow. As a result, most of us live out of balance.  Some of us are so worried about tomorrow that they sacrifice their current life in order to be "prudent". Others "live for the day", assuming without a thought for their future.  both are wrong. In this episode, I talk about my #1 retirement planning tool to help other find this delicate balance. Invest Wisely--Investing Potholes in November and December If you're planning on making large investments in your taxable accounts be careful. In December, most pooled investments, like mutual funds, distribute to shareholders the capital gains and dividends they've accumulated throughout the year. If you buy one of these products in a taxable account before this distribution, you could have a tax liability for capital gains that were realized before you even owned the fund. In this episode, I discuss how this works and some things you can do to avoid a potential nasty tax surprise. Plan Well--My #1 Retirement Planning Tool to Help People Find Balance Can I afford to retire a year earlier?Do I need to change my spending plan after this market correction?Can I save less now and still retire comfortably?Do I need to take so much investment risk?These are some of the frustrating questions that people struggle with every day as they plan for retirement. About 16 years ago, I discovered a tool to help me help people answer these questions and confidently live a more balanced life.It's called Monte Carlo engine. Today, I've integrated it into my Plan Well process to help other make smarter financial decisions and find some balance between living well today without sacrificing their tomorrow.Like most tools, some are better than others and much of it's usefulness is dependent upon the skill of the user.In this episode, I use a planning example to demonstrate how I use it and some of it's advantages and drawback. Note: Normally just read these show notes, it's best to listen to this one. Just click on the audio play at the bottom of this post. Here is the Fact Set for John Smith Age 55Retirement goal 60Investment assets $2,000,000Retirement lifestyle goal, $100,000 annual Retirement lifestyle goal #2, $70,000 RV at age 60Life expectancy, age 90Target Portfolio, balanced IITo see the full report that I discuss, click here. How Not to Use It It's not a one time evaluation tool (you can't set it and forget it)It does not determine or predict resultsIt can't overcome bad inputs or assumptionsHow to Use It As a important part of your annual financial reviewAs a tool to help you prioritize competing goalsAs a tool to help you evaluate tradeoffs between competing priorities Spending/SavingWorking/RetiringRisk/RewardCollege/RetirementGiving/InvestingAs compass to help evaluate and correct course as your life unfoldsAs a guide an warning system to help you know when your plan may be unsustainableTo provide more color on the long-term impact of today's financial choicesThere is no tool that will solve for all the uncertainty in your life or the world.  The best we can do is acknowledge what we don't know (can't know) and use a sound compass to help guide our life's journey.  "He who is enslaved to his compass, will enjoy the freedom of the seas" Ken Davis Are You Confident in Your Compass?