Retirement Clarity Radio

Being diversified in your investment portfolio isn't always easy, especially when it leads to relative underperformance. Here's why that happens and why you should still stick to being diversified.

Whenever someone in the financial media is presenting information to you, you have to be curious about not only the data they present but also their own internal biases, as well as information they may be withholding.

Should you hire a financial planner or should you DIY it? The truth is that either choice can be a great choice for you. If you love this stuff, want to keep up with changing tax laws/regulations/best practices, and you want to spend your time doing it, then it makes a lot of sense for you to DIY. And if you hate doing this and would much rather spend your time doing anything else, then it makes a ton of sense to hire someone to help. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can go here: http://startmyretirement.us/

The best time to plan for all the bad things that could happen in life is when you're physically and mentally healthy. Unfortunately, too many people delay or never get around to proper estate planning, leaving a giant headache (and sometimes worse) for their family and friends. Even though I love the lawyer Saul Goodman (from the TV show Better Call Saul), I am NOT an attorney and none of this is legal advice. It's simply education on the key things to consider with your estate plan, in conjunction with an estate planning attorney. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can go here: http://startmyretirement.us/

Social Security and Medicare are key parts of your retirement, but often people don't make the best long term decisions with them (especially in terms of social security). In this episode, I go through the basics of each programs, and key considerations before making any decisions. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! You can get your updated social security statement on the government's website: https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/ You can search different Medicare plans here: https://www.medicare.gov/ If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can go here: http://startmyretirement.us/

In this episode, I discuss a potentially large (or very small!) bill that could come later on in life: Long term care. Unfortunately, we don't know if we'll need it, nor do we know how much it will cost. That said, this episode will shed some light on what you can expect to pay if you do need it, as well as various ways you can pay for it. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! Genworth Long Term Care: https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care.html If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can schedule a free consultation here: http://startmyretirement.us/

In this episode, I discuss some of the big mistakes investors make that cause them to not earn as much as they otherwise could. I also discuss what the investment decisions you need to make before and in your retirement. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can schedule a free consultation here: http://startmyretirement.us/

In this episode, I go through why I think taxes could rise in the future, and go through 9 different tax planning strategies to consider. Not all of them will apply to you! Think of it as a buffet where you pick and choose what's the best fit for you and your situation. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can schedule a free consultation here: http://startmyretirement.us/

While most people are familiar with asset allocation (how you divide your investments among different asset classes), asset location is just as important. In this episode, I discuss the three main account types (taxable, tax-deferred, tax-free) as well as things to keep in mind when you figure out which investments to put in which account types. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can schedule a free consultation here: http://startmyretirement.us/

Unlike your working career (where most people rely on a paycheck from one place, with one type of tax treatment), in retirement, you are relying on multiple sources of income (Social Security, pension, investment distribution) to create your Retirement Paycheck. This episode goes through those sources and an example of how the math works. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can schedule a free consultation here: http://startmyretirement.us/

The single most important thing you can do before you retire is to know how much you want to spend in retirement. Without that, we can't say confidently whether you can retire or not. And if we determine there's a shortfall (in terms of income), then we need to get to work to make tweaks as soon as possible. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can schedule a free consultation here: http://startmyretirement.us/

After getting organized, we now need to know exactly what goals we're trying to reach. In this episode I discuss three types of goals that are all important to have a well rounded and successful retirement. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can schedule a free consultation here: http://startmyretirement.us/

The first step to putting your retirement plan in place is getting organized so you know exactly where you stand financially today so we can make a game plan for the future. This episode goes through what documents you need to be organized. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can schedule a free consultation here: http://startmyretirement.us/

Welcome to How To Retire! I've put together an 11-episode series on the main things you need to do, and consider, as you approach retirement. This is a high-level overview so it won't be delving too deep into specifics, nor will it be able to offer you any specific advice. However, I think it's a great format to help you think through all the key issues and decisions you need to make as you approach retirement. You can find the full How To Retire series on my website: https://forthrightfinances.com/howtoretire/ If you find it helpful, please share! If you'd like to see if we could be a good fit to work together, you can schedule a free consultation here: http://startmyretirement.us/

Today's lesson: Ignore most (if not all) financial "experts" you see on TV, radio, podcasts, etc. Their goal is NOT to make you wealthy and have a comfortable retirement.

Today's lesson: Ignore most (if not all) financial "experts" you see on TV, radio, podcasts, etc. Their goal is NOT to make you wealthy and have a comfortable retirement.

#1: Mark Cuban, 3:32 (He has a very poor investment track record)

#2 Jerome Powell and Janet Yellen, 6:04 (Just because you have a high position in DC does not mean you know what's going on in the economy)

#3 Dave Ramsey, 8:31 (Bad retirement withdrawal advice)

#4 Ray Dalio, 14:03 (Reckless predictions that he doesn't even stand by and no one will call him out on it because the journalists aren't incentivized to do so) Links: https://forthrightfinances.com/financial-experts-are-idiots/

https://forthrightfinances.com/the-biggest-threat-to-your-retirement-that-you-dont-know-about/

Lesson for today: Don't ever let your political beliefs change your investment decisions! Links for the show: -https://forthrightfinances.com/what-happens-when-you-mix-politics-and-investing/

-https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1509168

-https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-hidden-way-our-politics-skews-our-investing-choices-1470621902

-https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/your-money/31stra.html

In this episode, I discuss how the Federal Reserve and Inflation are affecting the stock market, what could happen next, and how you should plan for it.

In this episode, I'll go through 10 retirement and investing quotes and tips from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.

In this episode, I'm going to discuss how to think about your bond portfolio in retirement, in a way that's more useful than simply knowing what your overall asset allocation is (ie, what percentage of stocks vs bonds you have).  

In today's video I'm going to discuss a tip I saw in a recent WSJ article about retirement expenses, as well as a study on how much actual retirees spend in retirement.  When you retire, it's really important to keep these two things in mind!

If you find yourself 5 to 15 years away from retirement, and you don't have as much saved up as you want, there's still time to get there, but you can't make costly mistakes along the way.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few years, you have heard about the most recent craze to make loads of EASY money, cryptocurrency.  While there are a lot of scammers and losers in the crypto space, that does not describe everyone who buys/supports crypto.  One of the good guys of the financial advisor community, Ric Edelman, thinks that you should add a 1% position of crypto into your overall portfolio.  We'll go through a few of his reasons as well as my own thoughts.

Friends: there are too many people in the financial world who try to tell you that you need more complex investments the older you get, the more assets you accumulate, the higher your income goes, etc.  It's complete bunk.  You can grow and maintain your wealth with smart, low cost, well diversified index funds.  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

While I greatly admire Warren Buffett, and agree with a lot of what he says, one thing that I can't get behind is his recommendation on what to do with your money if you aren't going to play the stock picking game (which I don't think you should bother to try).  Tune in to hear why I disagree with his advice, and what I think you should do instead.

If you are looking to hire an advisor, this episode is a must listen so that you can avoid a big mistake with your investments that could come back to haunt you.

If you are 60 with nothing saved for retirement, I really do think you can still retire.  It'll require lots of work and some sacrifices, but I think you can do it and I think it'd be worth it.  Here's exactly what I would do if I was 60 with nothing saved for retirement.

Whether you love him or hate him, I really think everyone near/in retirement can learn an essential point from Elon Musk, that will be critical to your happiness in retirement.  Here's the article referenced in the video: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/depression-isolation-loss-of-purpose-could-retirement-be-bad-for-your-mental-health-11643407859

Today's episode is a very short checklist of 6 things you absolutely have to do before you retire.  If you can do all six, you'll be putting yourself in great shape to have a comfortable retirement.

If you’ve been planning to retire in the next few years, odds are that you’ve spent a lot of time reviewing your investments, including the account balance, the specific investments you own, the asset allocation you have, and even reading about proper distribution strategies.

While all of that is important, you’re actually missing the most important thing to know before you retire.  Tune in to find out what that is, and then start taking action so you are prepared to have the best retirement possible.

As we all know, there is a lot of noise out there coming from TV, newspapers, friends and family members as to what we should do with our finances, and how we should plan for our retirement.  A lot of it, frankly, isn't great advice.

So I've been thinking: If I had the ability to speak to everyone close to or in retirement, what would I tell them?

Well, that's what this podcast is about: 15 Things I Wish Every Retiree Knew.

Do you want to become a better investor?  I know I do.  If so, I’d encourage you to look at the lessons that female investors can teach us.  Numerous studies have shown that women tend to get much higher investment returns than men.  

In today's episode, I'll discuss 4 lessons we can learn from women to become better investors.

If you’re going to invest in the stock market (whether on your own or with a Financial Advisor), it’s essential to know what your investing philosophy is.  What is going to guide your decisions on how to invest?

The good news is this doesn’t have to be complicated.  You don’t need to get an MBA or degree in finance to understand (or create) an investment philosophy.

In today's episode, I am going through my own investment philosophy, which I use for my own accounts as well as what I use with my clients.

We have all heard that we want to make sure our portfolio is diversified, and I’ve definitely said that on this podcast many times before.   But what does that mean exactly?

That’s the topic of today’s episode.  We will go through 7 questions that you can ask to make sure your investment portfolio has all the characteristics of a diversified portfolio. 

One of the most important things you can do to make sure you have the retirement income you want is to have a solid investment portfolio.  And both mutual funds and ETFs can help you achieve that goal, but which one is best for you really depends on a number of key factors.  So listen in as we discuss the similarities and differences, as well as which one is best for you.

We all know (at least intellectually) that it is never a good idea to sell your stocks when the market is down.  After all, you're supposed to buy low, sell high, right?

However, there are a few really good reasons why you might want to consider selling stocks.  In today's podcast, we go over those reasons, inspired by Chrstine Benz over at Morningstar.  Tune in to learn when it's the right time for you to sell your stocks.

If you're going to be invested in the stock market for the next 30 years (which you'll need to do if you want to create a retirement paycheck that will last for life), then you're going to experience down markets, like what we're going through so far in 2022.

Tune in to today's episode as I go through 5 tips/reminders I have on how to navigate down markets.

There are a lot of debates in the investment world, but few are as important (in my mind) as the choice to invest actively vs passively.  Turn in to learn the difference between the two, the pros and cons of each, as well as which strategy has done better over the long term.  And I'll also share what I think you should choose as well as you prepare to create a retirement income that will last for life.

Oftentimes we are our own worst enemies.  This is especially true in investing.  In today's episode, we are going to detail how one investor cost himself thousands of dollars by engaging in actions that he knew he shouldn't do.  

Tune in to learn what mistakes he made, and how you can avoid costing yourself in the future.

Too many media stations peddle fear, and unfortunately, a lot of people fall prey to it.  

In this episode, I discuss a big social security fear, and what is a more realistic response in relation to this fear.

We are all busy with so many tasks, it's often hard to keep up.  Instead of trying to do everything, why don't you eliminate things from your life so you don't have to bother with them ever again?

That's the premise of a Wall Street Journal article in which I was quoted: What money tasks can you remove from your life entirely?

In this episode I'll go through 4 money tasks to take off your to do list, including my own recommendation at the end.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/four-ways-to-manage-personal-finances-11640645156

As a financial planner for over 6 years, one of the things that really frustrates me is poor explanations, as well as implications, of certain financial terms.  One of the most dangerous misunderstandings is assuming that risk is the same thing as volatility.  

In today's episode, we will go into what those terms actually mean, as well as how that plays a role in creating a retirement income that will last for life.

I recently came across an article from a personal finance site that I typically really like.  However, this particular article didn't make a lot of sense to me.  In it, the author comes up with 3 reasons why you might NOT want to retire in 2022.  I disagreed with every one of those points, and I don't want you to fall for the same line of thinking as the author, hence this episode discussing the article and why I disagree with it so much.

In short: If you've done the work on your retirement plan, and the numbers make sense, don't let external factors dictate when you want to retire!

As we come to the end of the year, today I reflect on getting through 52 retirement planning podcast episodes, the main goal I have for the podcast, and a reminder that money is just the means, but not the ends, to what we want in life.

If you're looking for ways to give money to charity in a tax efficient way, this episode is for you.  It's based off of a great article I read by Christine Benz over at Morningstar, and it highlights three ways you can give to charity this year, including one really easy one that anyone can take advantage of.

While Roth Conversions can be a great financial planning tool, they are not suitable for everyone.  And there may be times when you should avoid them altogether.

In today's episode, I discuss 5 reasons why you should not do a Roth Conversion.  Make sure to tune in so that you can be as smart with your taxes as possible, and set yourself up for the best retirement possible.

One of the most common retirement rules of thumb is the 4% rule, which helps guide you on how much you can take in retirement distributions without running out of money.  It essentially suggests that if you have $1M in investments, you can safely withdraw $40K per year, adjusted for inflation. New research by Morningstar suggests that instead of using 4% as a guide, you should use 3.3% instead.

In this episode, I'll go into why I don't like using either percentage as a rule in your retirement and I'll tell you what to do instead.

I received a great question from someone recently: Should he do a giant (and I mean giant) Roth Conversion in light of potential tax increases as well as future legislation potentially ending Roth Conversions?

Tune in to listen to my answer as well as 5 things to think about if you want to make a big Roth Conversion.

Today we are going to be sharing something really sad and frankly troubling for your finances.

We’re going to be talking about why people have poor returns on their investments.  And no, it’s not because the market is doing poorly.

Instead, it’s because of investor behavior, or in other terms, human error.  Human behaviors that cause investors to walk away with much lower returns than they could.  

If you're looking to increase your returns and have more money for your retirement, you'll want to tune in so you can avoid these costly mistakes.