Financial Forum Podcast

Ep 11: The Retirement Road Trip

Retirement planning is a lot like a road trip. It takes careful planning, strategy, research, and execution. We’ll explore the similarities between the two and explain what you need to do to reach your final retirement destination on time and as planned.
 
Show Notes: https://fortune-financial.org/ep-11-the-retirement-road-trip/
 
Today's Rundown: 
0:42 – First thing you need to decide is where are you going?
2:46 – Next thing is you have to determine what route you want to take to get to your destination.  
4:18 – The best way to determine your route is by answering these questions.
5:38 – On that road trip, you have to pick out what you want to listen to.
8:26 – Last road trip item, are you using cruise control along the way?

Ep #10: Should We Follow Conventional Wisdom for Retirement Planning?

When it comes to investing, conventional wisdom guides a lot of our decisions and strategies. While it usually benefits it, conventional wisdom isn’t always black and white. Following this advice on real estate, debt, and retirement lifestyle might not be in your best interest. We’ll explain on this episode.
On this episode:
0:18 – We’re talking conventional wisdom today. 
0:34 – Conventional wisdom says you can’t go wrong with real estate. 
2:38 – Conventional wisdom says there’s good debt and bad debt to take on. 
5:06 – Conventional wisdom is retirement gives us a chance to relax after a long career.
8:17 – Conventional wisdom says if your investments aren’t doing well you should change it up.
Show notes: https://fortune-financial.org/ep-10-should-we-…irement-planning/

Ep #9: What Financial Wisdom Can We Gain from Beatles Songs?

Chris has been a fan of The Beatles for a long time so we decided to make the connection between the Fab Four and Finance. Join us as we take song titles and explain how they apply to retirement planning.
On today's show:
0:18 – Let’s stick to the Beatles them we’ve talking about recently.
0:51 – Song: The Long and Winding Road
2:12 – Song: Taxman
4:09 – Song: Tomorrow Never Knows
5:55 – Song: When I’m 64
7:40 – Song: Help
To get the show notes and additional resources, click here: https://fortune-financial.org/beatles-songs-as…nancial-guidance/

Ep #8: Doing the Research Before Making Financial Decisions

Everyone wants to feel more informed about their options when they’re making financial decision, but not all information is valuable. Let’s discuss the different types of research people are using to stay informed about retirement planning and whether it’s right for you.  
Today's rundown: 
0:18 – Let’s talk research on today’s show.  
1:08 – Who are the primary media voices that people refer to?
3:11 – What are the pros and cons in using the internet for financial research?
5:50 – Is it possible to do TOO much research?
7:02 – An example of someone that’s been influenced too heavily by their own research.  
See the show notes and get additional resources by clicking here. 

Ep #7: Strategy in Chess is Much Like Retirement

Much like chess, retirement planning utilizes multiple strategies to reach an end goal. Think about the way you use each piece and consider how that would compare to your different investments. On today’s episode, we’ll tell you what we think each piece represents in your portfolio.
Check out the full show notes by clicking here. 

Ep #6: Do These Popular Beliefs Actually Work in Life and Financial Planning?

We see and hear a lot of things in our everyday life and in financial planning that people believe to be true, but that’s not always the case. From cheesy pick-up lines to longterm care in retirement, we spend this episode discussing whether these five specific actions actually work.
Check out the full show notes by clicking here. 

Ep #5: 5 Red Flags to Watch For When Choosing a Financial Advisor

Picking the right financial advisor can make all the difference in the world when you’re trying to reach your retirement goals, but not every person is created equal. In order to find someone that fits your personality, pay attention to these five red flags.
Check out the full show notes for this episode here. 

Ep #4: How Your Financial Feelings Factor Into Retirement

Have you ever been told to put your emotions aside when it comes to money? Well, that’s not always the case for retirement. Your opinions – or financial feelings – can play a big part into your plan. By factoring those feelings into your future, you can set yourself up for a retirement that fits you best.
Listen to today's episode to learn more and click here to read the show notes. 

Ep #3: Retirement Decisions: More Than Just Investments

Perhaps you’ve been building your nest egg for quite some time, but have you realized that retirement is about so much more than just your investments. Chris will talk us through five areas that require a bit of thought and some careful decisions to prepare you for a thriving retirement.
Full show notes: https://fortune-financial.org/ep-3-retirement-decisions-more-than-just-investments/

Ep #2: Fuzzy Math In Retirement

A lot of investors (and advisors) fall victim to fuzzy math in retirement planning. We’ll make sure you aren’t one of them on today’s show. Plus, we’ll answer two questions from local listeners about how to retire when you’ve done no previous planning and trying to understand the spousal Social Security benefit.
Full show notes: https://fortune-financial.org/ep-2-fuzzy-math-in-retirement/
 
 
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
The Mailbag
1:01 Hannah: Ready (but not really) to retire
Hannah in Moscow says she’s supposed to retire next month but hasn’t done any planning yet. She needs to figure out Social Security options, pension options, Medicare options, as well as what to do. Should she push her retirement date back until she figures this stuff out?
Perhaps she should, depending on how official her retirement date is.
Talk to someone who is well-versed in all the elements of retirement. Run the numbers and consider these benefits and how they also impact your spouse.
Looking at it only a month ahead of time is cutting it a bit close. You want this to be a time of joy and anticipation, not stress. So, make sure you take your time to get the answers right.
4:50 Tom: Spousal Social Security benefit
Tom in Plymouth doesn’t understand the Social Security spousal benefit. His wife worked about five years before they had kids and hasn’t worked since. What will she be entitled to?
This is a common question people have for Chris. When you are married, you are entitled to collect a Social Security benefit either on your own work record or a percentage of your spouse’s work record--whichever is higher.
The maximum she could collect would be 50 percent of her spouse’s benefit, depending on what age she starts collecting.
Chris explains some of the different ages and benefits possible when you take Social Security.
8:42 Fuzzy Math
9:25 “The mutual funds that I’m invested in have averaged 7% annual growth for the last five years, and I’m perfectly happy with that return moving forward.”
Psychologists call this the recency bias. People have gotten used to almost double digit returns over the past decade. Don’t just focus on what’s happened recently because if markets turn down, it could do a lot of damage to your retirement portfolio.
Make sure your plan is built to handle downturns while still taking advantages of these upward periods in the market.
11:10 “It’s definitely best to wait until 70 to start my Social Security to get the biggest monthly amount possible.”
This is not fuzzy math--if you look at the numbers there is a stark difference between starting the benefits at 62 vs. age 70.
Waiting until 70 is going to give you the biggest possible check, but is that right for you? Some people start at 70, that is the right decision. But if you have no other resources or can’t wait until 70 then starting sooner might be right for you. It’s not just about the biggest paycheck when you have all sorts of other factors in the equation.
13:35 “They say that I can take 4% out of my portfolio every year without running out of money, so if just follow that rule, I’ll be fine.”
The 4% rule is a good guideline to find out if you are close or not to retirement.
Take a look at what your nest egg is and withdraw 4% a year and increase that withdrawal a little bit each year to account for inflation then you should be okay.
Chris gives an example of what this looks like.
The Host:
Chris Scalese - Contact