Retirement Answer Man

It's spring and the desire to spend time outside with the family is blooming. Before you allow that budding desire to lead you to buy an RV, boat or other recreational item make sure you closely look at the potential pitfalls of ownership.In this episode, host Roger Whitney tells his story of how he did everything wrong when he purchased an RV. He also outlines 10 things you should consider before you purchase your RV.This is the REST of the story not told in the RV brochures and outdoor shows that are springing up this time of year.Have a retirement or personal finance question? Ask Roger here and he'll answer personally.

How do you find the right financial advisor for you and your family?In this special mid-week edition, host Roger Whitney gives you a framework for how to interview a financial advisor candidate and 15 questions you should ask to help choose the right financial advisor for you.In this episode he covers:Why it is important to interview multiple financial advisorsWhat to look for in a financial advisorPre-work you can do before you meet the financial advisor15 questions to ask to help you find the right financial advisor for you and your familyFor a Trusted Advisor worksheet to use in your interview process go to rogerwhitney.com/worksheets

This Week, Roger Whitney introduces a new service YOU ASK I ANSWER, where you can ask your retirement planning questions and receive a response.Then he begins to answer the question, will I have enough money to maintain my lifestyle during retirement?The first step to answering this question is to determine what your retirement lifestyle will be. You do this by breaking your retirement lifestyle into three buckets:Retirement Essentials. Those retirement expenses needed to maintain your household (housing, utilities, food, insurance, etc.)Retirement Lifestyle. Those retirement expenses for things that enrich your life (travel, entertainment, home improvements, hobbies, etc.)Retirement Dreams/Legacy. Those special things that you would like to accomplish (major travel, gifting, purchasing a second home, etc.)Breaking your retirement lifestyle into these three buckets gives you the flexibility to adjust your retirement lifestyle each year based on how your retirement unfolds.Once you do this, you need to consider how you will spend during retirement. For example inflation. Consider what your personal inflation rate is based on your spending habits.Also consider closely whether you want to spend more earlier in retirement with the understanding that you will lower spending in later years. In essence, buy yourself more lifestyle now, while you are younger and healthier. Once you've completed this step you are well on your way to determining how much money you will need to maintain your lifestyle in retirement. In future podcasts, he'll address the next steps in this process.

This episode is based on Roger Whitney's new report INVEST in Your Health: 72 Tips to Living a Healthier Retirement. You can download the report for free at rogerwhitney.comInvesting in your healh may be the best investment you can make to living well in retirement. The quality of your health has major financial implications to your financial wellbeing in retirement.In this episode we outline the financial benefits of investing in your health and the six areas of your health that you should invest in. PhysicalIntellectualEmotionalSocialSpiritualOccupational 

In this week's PLAN WELL INVEST WISELY podcast, we talk about Amazon Prime's recent price increase and how having a funded emergency fund helps you make smarter financial decisions.Rethinking Amazon PrimeFor those who don’t know, Amazon Prime is a membership program which gives members unlimited free two-day shipping on millions of items on Amazon.com and instant access to over 40,000 hit movies and TV episodes streamed directly you TV, computer, or tablet.The benefits of my Amazon Prime membership are clear. Recently, when Amazon Prime increased its annual fee by $20, it made me stop and examine how I use it. I found some negatives. It’s too easy.Amazon Prime is too good at tempting me.I’m weak.It’s a family affair.Let's talk About Emergency Funds. Your emergency fund acts as a shock absorber in your financial life. In this podcast, I discuss:What an Emergency Fund is.Why some people might not have one.Why you need one.What your options are when you don’t have one.How much you should have in your emergency fund and why.Click here to subscribe to the PLAN WELL INVEST WISELY podcast in iTunesI appreciate your iTunes Reviews!!!Your reviews help build the audience and I truly appreciate your feedback and support. Together, we can help others make smarter financial decisions.

In episode 2 Roger Whitney talks about the importance tracking your net worth, how you can use it to make smarter financial decisions  and  rethinking your perspective about the purpose of investing.PLAN WELL SegmentYour net worth statement is an essential tool for making smarter decisions. Your net worth statement:gives you your entire financial picture in one placeequals the sum of all of your financial decisions over timeallows you to identify risk and opportunities in your financial lifeis a much better tool to track your financial progress over time than your investment accountsYou should update your new worth statement every six months and use as part of your process for making big financial decisions. INVEST WISELY SegmentOver the last 25 years investing has been about "creating wealth."This has led to many people investing too aggressively.Historically, the creation of wealth came from hard work, enterprise, creativity, disciplined spending and savings. The purpose of investing was to preserve and grow the wealth WE created. This perspective is important for you to consider.It:keeps the focus on the true driver of wealth creation.....YOUmay allow you to invest less aggressivelypositions you better to invest more consistently over time

Welcome to PLAN WELL INVEST WISELY, the podcast dedicated to helping you make smarter financial decisions so you can live well today without sacrificing tomorrow.Each of these 30-minute weekly podcasts will be posted on Tuesdays. All the episodes will have two separate segments:PLAN WELL - This segment will include basic financial planning concepts to help you make smart financial decisions that are aligned with the things you care about most and the flexibility to adjust as your life unfolds. AndINVEST WISELY - This segment will show you how to grow your assets and work towards your objectives. Our INVEST WISELY process gives you the framework to make smart investment decisions that are aligned with your long-term objectives.Episode #1's PLAN WELL segment covers creating an ICE Plan (in case of emergency plan). Here is a free worksheet to help you do that. You'll also learn more about secure password managers like 1Password.Episode #1's INVEST WISELY segment covers four reasons why you should ignore extreme market predictions.If you’d like to receive my podcasts automatically, go to iTunes.com and subscribe.RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger ThatBOOK - Rock Retirement by Roger WhitneyAsk Roger a questionWork with RogerRoger’s Retirement Learning CenterThe Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page