Retirement Starts Today Radio

Episode 200! I can’t believe I’ve made it to this landmark episode. Thank you all for joining me on this journey and I hope you'll join me for the next 200. I enjoy looking back and reminiscing on previous episodes, but I don’t have to go too far back to find my most recent favorite. Episode 199 is one of my most recent favorites. In it, I interviewed world-renowned Disney expert, Lou Mongello, to discuss multigenerational Disney trips. Check it out if taking the grandkids to Disney is on your bucket list.  In this episode, we’re covering two retirement headlines. The first is from Investment News and it describes how some leading retirement experts question whether advisors should rethink their assumptions about retirement spending when creating financial plans. The 2nd retirement headline is from HumbleDollar.com titled Secret Sauce. This article describes the aspects of work that we want to hang onto, those that we might not, and it outlines six steps to design a successful and ideal retirement. Outline of

What is the number one travel goal for people approaching retirement? Disney! People young and old alike love to go to Disney. In my 15 years of retirement planning, I have discovered that a multi-generational trip to Disney is at the top of most people’s bucket lists. That is why I have brought the world’s foremost expert on Disney travel, Lou Mongello, on to Retirement Starts Today for an interview. Lou and I discuss all things Disney: the must-see attractions, when to go, how to plan, and what is so special about Disney.  Outline of This Episode [1:52] What’s so special about Disney? [4:29] What are the must-see attractions? [8:45] When to go [12:53] Plan in advance [15:56] Lou’s favorite thing at Disney What’s so special about Disney that everyone wants to go there? Since Disney is the number one bucket list item for many people there must be something extra special about it. When I ask Lou why it is so special, he is unable to quantify this phenomenon. He chalks it up to the way Disney makes us feel. I

Have you ever thought about your relationship with work? As retirement looms ahead, many people become fearful of the unknown that it brings. A common way to express this fear is to worry about money, but this fear goes beyond money. The real fear that people have about retirement is about how they will spend their time when they no longer have work to fill their days.  In 2017, Paul Millerd changed his relationship with work. After climbing the corporate ladder for 10 years he decided to slow down and become a freelancer. Listen to this conversation to hear what Paul learned from this experience and how his wisdom can help you prepare for retirement. Outline of This Episode [3:22] What kind of benefits do people see from a long break in work? [5:16] Taking the first steps towards a sabbatical [8:15] How can we use the curiosity that emerges with a sabbatical to explore retirement? [11:01] Did Paul always think this way? [13:17] Are there any types of careers that sabbaticals wouldn’t work for? [16:24] Peopl

We’ve all been sitting at home for the past year and now everyone is getting the travel bug. That’s why today we’re kicking off the Summer Travel Series with an interview with Lee Huffman. Lee hosts a podcast called We Travel There and he writes a frugal travel blog at BaldThoughts.com. I’ve been curious about the world of travel hacking, so I have plenty of questions for Lee about using travel points, how to find the best travel resources, and, of course, where to travel. Check out this interview to help you plan your summer vacation.  Outline of This Episode [1:32] Where should we get started? [5:45] What should one look for in travel points? [11:02] How saving miles and points are like saving for retirement [13:00] The go-to resources to use [17:53] Places to check out  How should we all get started traveling again? The pandemic has left many of us homebound for over a year, so now that many people are fully vaccinated, everyone is ready to get on the road again. The big question is: how should we get st

Nobody wants to think about becoming a widow or widower, but unfortunately, if you are married, there is a 50/50 chance that you could. In addition to the crushing grief that comes with losing a spouse, there are many details to take care of in that first year alone. This is why I want to share an article with you from NextAvenue.org. The article, written by Anna Byrne, outlines 7 steps that you can take to help manage that first year on your own. Anna was only 28 years old when she lost her husband, so she has firsthand experience with this overwhelming stage of life. Her professional estate planning experience also lends practical tips to the article. Don’t miss this episode so that you know what you can do to help keep your head above water during that first year alone.  Outline of This Episode [2:22] 7 steps to take to manage the first year of widowhood [8:34] My top 2 tips for a new widow or widower [10:26] A question on the ACA subsidy under the American Rescue Plan 7 steps to manage the first year of

Do you consider being rich and being wealthy the same thing? In the book by Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money, the author argues that these words mean two different things. In this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we’ll explore the difference between rich and wealthy as well as the connotation of the word money.  Outline of This Episode [1:42] A review of the psychology of money [4:30] The difference between being rich and wealthy [6:13] How to declutter the filing cabinet Thank you for 1 million downloads I want to thank you all for helping me hit an exciting podcasting milestone. In May of this year (2021), we hit 1 million lifetime downloads. Wow! When I started this podcast several years ago I was thrilled to reach 100 listeners a month, so this kind of reach boggles my mind. Thank you for joining me on this journey. To celebrate this milestone, I have an extra heaping helping of retirement headlines today. Both articles hail from the Wall Street Journal. The first article, written by Jason Zwie

Are you one of the many that are being held back from early retirement by the exorbitant cost of health insurance? If so, you won't want to miss this episode. This week’s retirement headline comes from Carolyn McClanahan at AdvisorPerspectives.com and it outlines the enhanced health insurance subsidies that stem from the American Rescue Plan (ARP).  You’ll want to stick around for the listener questions segment if you are a fan of retirement podcasts. I have a treat for you all as I crowdsource the answer to John’s question about asset location. Listen in to hear 4 different answers from voices that you may recognize. Outline of This Episode [2:12] Could the American Rescue Plan be the answer to your health care before Medicare question? [5:05] What do you need to do to act? [8:49] An asset location question from John [10:01] Peter Lazaroff’s answer [12:02] Roger Whitney’s answer [15:45] Taylor Schulte answer [18:44] Chad Smith’s answer Could the ARP be the answer to your health care before Medicare questio

I’m sure you’ve all heard about the 4% rule for retirement planning. This rule is great for speculating your likelihood of success, but it isn’t always the best rule to follow in practice.  Druce Vertes at AdvisorPerspecives.com offers a different approach to implementing the original 4% Rule. On this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we’ll dive into his technical article which explores the idea of making the normally rigid 4% rule more flexible to maximize spending for different levels of risk aversion. I’m always looking for innovative ways to help you turn your retirement portfolio into income and that’s exactly what we’re exploring this week. Tune in to hear how to tweak the 4% rule and maximize your spending in retirement.  Outline of This Episode [2:52] Infinite risk aversion [9:04] Constant relative risk aversion [14:06] Thoughts on 401K rollovers What exactly is the 4% rule? The original 4% rule was theorized by Bill Bengen in the 1990s. This rule is handy for napkin math but doesn’t allow much fl

As you prepare yourself for retirement, you probably have a vision of your retired self traveling, spending more time on your hobbies, or with loved ones. Retirement will give you time for all that and more. I read an article recently that describes the 6 phases of retirement. I had never defined it that way before, but this was an interesting way to delineate a natural progression of this time period. Press play to learn what these 6 phases are.  Outline of This Episode [1:42] There are 6 identifiable phases in retirement [4:25] If you retire mid-year, is it better to reduce pretax and post-tax deductions? [7:06] What should we do if our RMD rules violate our safe spending rules? [11:04] What about using the 4% rule? The natural progression of retirement Have you ever thought about the natural phases of retirement? This week’s retirement headline is written by Andy Millard from AndyTheAdvisor.com. In the article, Andy mentions that much like the 5 stages of grief, retirement can also be broken into 6 ident

Have you ever considered going back to school? Early retirement can be a fantastic time to explore new learning opportunities.  In this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we’ll take a look at a Market Watch article that describes the burgeoning culture of adult learning for those at or near retirement age. We’ll continue by exploring many higher education programs across the United States that are aimed at people aged 50 and above. Make sure to stick around for the listener questions segment where I answer a question about using home equity as long-term care insurance. You’ll hear my opinion on the matter and learn how much home equity you may need to make this strategy work.  Outline of This Episode [1:36] It’s time to rebalance [4:22] Have you considered taking an adult gap year? [8:32] Real-world examples of retirement age students [12:51] Using your home’s equity as long term care insurance [17:19] How much home equity would you need? It’s time to rebalance We all know that the market has had an incred

Since 2020 was the year of working from home, you may be wondering how you can deduct your home office expenses from your taxes now that tax time is upon us. For this reason, we explore an article written by Jeffrey Levine at Kitces.com. Learn the home office deduction rules and discover if they will apply to your situation. Outline of This Episode [2:12] The specifics of the home office deduction [9:19] How to calculate the home office deduction [11:55] Should he open an additional IRA? Who is eligible for the home office deduction? Many small business owners can claim a home office deduction as a tax break. However, not every person working from home can claim this deduction. For instance, the deduction is not accessible for employees who work from their own home offices. People owning partnership interests, on the other hand, are potentially eligible for this deduction. There are specific rules that need to be followed in order to determine whether your home office qualifies. What are the rules to claim

If 2020 has taught us anything it is that the future is not always certain. This has brought about feelings of insecurity and anxiety in some people. That’s why this week, I share an article from Harvard Business Review which describes how people can use micro-planning and biomimicry to combat feelings of uncertainty brought on by this post-pandemic world.  After the retirement headlines, I’ll answer two listener questions. John asks about maxing out his HSA after 50 and Val is trying to decide between a pension and a lump sum payment. Don’t miss out on the latest episode of Retirement Starts Today; press play now! Outline of This Episode [1:22] How to plan your life when the future is foggy [3:19] The six steps to learn from biomimicry [7:35] How much can a person contribute to an HSA when they are over 50? [9:28] Should Val take a lump sum or an annuity? Micro-planning can help you take command of your life again Did Covid-19 toss your 5-year plan out the window? Many of us have had our future plans shake

Are you signed up for the My Social Security account from the Social Security Administration? In this episode, we’ll review a Kitces.com article written by Jeffrey Levine about this important resource. We’ll review the history of My Social Security, how to sign up for it, how its benefit calculations account for inflation, and how Americans can interpret its information in order to understand their social security benefits. Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to review a very important topic. Press play to listen. Outline of This Episode [2:28] How to access your My Social Security account [5:22] What can you do with your My Social Security account? [10:04] A question about my podcast host [11:28] Rusty needs to create about $50,000 of income each year - how should he do it? Background information on My Social Security From 1990 to 2011, the Social Security Administration mailed paper copies of Social Security statements to most American workers. These statements summarized their personalized retirement a

Despite the economic downturn, 2020 turned out to be a fantastic year for charitable giving. In this episode, we’ll look at how people chose to give and you’ll learn about the efficiency of giving through donor-advised funds (DAFs).  In the listener questions segment, you’ll learn how to survive a bear market in retirement. We’ll investigate the length of the average bear market and see how you can prepare for the worst in your retirement years.  Outline of This Episode [1:42] 2020 was a banner year for giving [4:48] Planning ahead can help alleviate a hefty tax bill [10:49] What is the average length of recovery from a bear market? [17:04] Look into Guyten’s Guardrails Shwab and Fidelity both showed an increase in giving You would think that with the economic downturn of the last year that people would tighten their bootstraps and cease giving to charities, but it turned out that the opposite was true. The two largest brokerage firms, Schwab and Fidelity, recorded increases in charitable donations.  Donati

If you’ve been working from home over the past year you may wonder why you feel even more exhausted than normal. This could be due to Zoom Fatigue. In this episode, we’ll explore an article from CNBC that references a Stanford study about this phenomenon. In the listener questions segment, I’ll answer questions about RMDs and Roth conversions. Let’s get to the bottom of your exhaustion--press play now.  Outline of This Episode [1:22] Zoom fatigue affects people on a psychological level [3:26] Solutions for Zoom fatigue [6:17] Future tax rates and RMDs [10:44] How to pay for Roth conversions? Why are we so exhausted after video conferencing? Over the past year, many of us have been using Zoom and other video conferencing applications to replace in-person meetings. The constant video conferencing has led to increased fatigue at the end of the day and a researcher with Stanford University wondered why. Jeremy Bailenson researched this issue and recently published a paper about how video conferencing affects pe

You have fraud protection on your bank accounts and your credit cards, but what about your retirement accounts? Today we’ll explore an article from the Wall Street Journal outlining a case of cyber fraud in a 401K account. We’ll also discuss ways for people to safeguard their savings.  In the listener questions segment, I’ll answer a question about buying an RV in retirement and we’ll wrap up this episode with a question from Hal about whether to make Roth conversions or pay off the mortgage. Press play to get started on this episode of Retirement Starts Today.  Outline of This Episode [1:22] Retirement accounts are not offered the same protections as 401K accounts [3:04] Steps you can take to protect yourself from cyber fraud [6:20] John asks whether to get a loan for his RV or use his retirement account [12:36] Hal asks, Roth conversions or pay off the mortgage? Retirement accounts are not offered the same protections as 401K accounts Our retirement headline this week is titled Retirement Planning Gives B

If you have listened to the news at all lately, you probably know what our Retirement Headlines segment will cover. The American Rescue Plan is all any financial news is talking about these days, so in today’s episode, we’ll explore what you need to know about this recent piece of legislation.  Then in the Listener Questions segment, I answer the question: should having a pension change the way we invest the rest of our portfolio? Press play to find out.  Outline of This Episode [1:22] Eligibility has been expanded in this new round of stimulus checks [5:36] What does this mean for you? [9:22] What wasn’t included in the American Rescue Plan? [12:10] How to invest if you are in line to receive a pension? Eligibility for stimulus checks has changed The American Rescue Plan is all over the news lately, but the article that I am referencing is written by Jeffrey Levine from Kitces.com titled The American Rescue Plan Act Of 2021: Tax Credits, Stimulus Checks, And More That Advisors Need To Know!  The most talke

Enrolling in Medicare can be extremely stressful and confusing. There are so many choices to make, there are different rules to follow, and timelines to be met. Additionally, there is so much information out there that it merely adds to the confusion.  On this episode of Retirement Starts Today, I share with you an article written by Joanne Giardini-Russel from Advisor Perspectives entitled, 5 Tips to De-Stress the Entry into Medicare. If you are starting to dive into the Medicare enrollment process you won’t want to miss these 5 tips.  Make sure to stick around for the listener questions segment to hear a question about enrolling in Medicare as an expat as well as whether you should be doing Roth conversions if your income will decrease. You’ll also learn why it has taken me a year to get around to answering some listener questions! Outline of This Episode [1:32] 5 Tips to lessen the stress of the entry into Medicare [6:14] As an expat would it make sense to buy plans G or N now or wait? [9:43] Should you d

How long have you been saving for retirement? Are you hesitant to break into your retirement funds and start living it up once you retire?  This week I share two Retirement Headlines articles. The first is called Right-Sizing Retirement and it comes from the Financial Planning Association. In this article, the authors pose an important question: why save for retirement if you're not going to spend it? We’ll also check out another article from Wharton Magazine entitled The Economics of Living to 100. Is your retirement plan ready for you to live until 100? Listen to this episode to understand how you can best combat the uncertainty that retirement brings. Outline of This Episode [1:42] Right-sizing retirement [6:28] Combat uncertainty with contingency planning [7:22] What if you live until 100? [11:50] There is a need for longevity income [13:39] What is your plan B? Why are Americans underspending in their first 10 years of retirement? David Blanchett and Warren Cormier recently wrote an article for the Fin

Have you heard of the Monte Carlo retirement projection analysis? It is being used more and more by advisors and even popular retirement planning websites. Today, in the Retirement Headlines segment, I offer some insight on an article from Kitces.com that argues that using the Monte Carlo projection, a 50%probability of success rate is good enough. Then in the listener questions segment, I answer the question: what should you do if you plan on never retiring? Don’t miss out on my 5 step plan for those that plan on never retiring.  Outline of This Episode [1:32] A 50% probability of success is actually a viable Monte Carlo retirement projection [7:34] Your retirement plan doesn’t have to be carved in stone [11:11] What should you do if you plan on never retiring? [16:00] Steps to follow if you don’t plan to retire What is the Monte Carlo analysis? The Monte Carlo analysis is increasingly becoming the most common method of conducting retirement projections for clients. I use it in my own practice and many onl