Successfully Retired

Avoid these Roth Mistakes

Many investors understand the advantages a Roth IRA or 401(k) can give you for tax planning in retirement, but it's easy to hear a strategy from your neighbor or an internet personality and make a misstep on applying it to your situation.
 
Today Rick and I talk about some of the most common Roth mistakes we run into, from conversions, to the pro-rata rule, to the differences between a Roth IRA and Roth 401(k).

What Happens When You're the Surviving Spouse?

Many couples are blessed to enjoy decades together in retirement enjoying life's golden years.
 
But what happens if one spouse concludes their retirement much sooner than the other?
 
Tune in as Rick Luchini and I talk about how this affects tax, investment and income plans, as well as how people can be prepared for the worst, which has the effect of helping us actually think about worst-case scenarios less and enjoy guilt-free the time we have, knowing all of our bases are covered.
 
learn more at https://brandenburgFS.com

What Americans Fear More Than Death

Recently I came across a retirement study that found that American's fear running out of money in retirement even more than death. 
 
Looks like Public Speaking has been unseated as a #2 spot, at least for now.
 
In today's episode I talk about 3 steps that families in or near retirement should take now to ensure that they do not run out of money in retirement, and how I use these steps in my practice. 
 
If you follow these steps you can get back to having "public speaking" as the only thing you fear more than death. Give it a listen!https://brandenburgFS.com

How Retirees (Actually) Spend Money

One of the big "aha" moments for many families planning for their retirement is when they see how much they specifically are able to spend and withdraw from investments in retirement.
 
A big shock to many is that when you study the spending habits of retirees, you see that retirement spending is seldom flat or linear.
 
Instead, retirees often want to (and do) front-load spending and consume more in their first 10 years of retirement than in their next 10 years of retirement; and often times even spend more in the first 10 years than their last 10 years; despite the rising cost of healthcare late in retirement.
Today Rick Luchini and I dig into exactly what drives this type of spending pattern, and how we work with families to identify their best spending strategy in retirement. 

7 Things I'm Doing In A Down Market (And 3 Things I'm Not)

Today's episode is a little more topical to the time.
I'm walking through a few parts of my down-market playbook, for 7 things I am doing at work when the market is down, and 3 things I am not doing.
 
My business is obsessed with pushing "risk tolerance questionnaires" in front of client's faces. I personally can't stand that. I don't think there's any way to actually prepare yourself for how you're going to feel when your investments lose money, and it's an exercise in futility to try to guess; let alone to make decisions based off of a hypothetical "what-if" when you're sitting in a calm air conditioned office.
But though you may not be able to forecast your feelings, you can decide rationally what your gameplan ought to be when, not if, stocks lose money. Because simple things become hard when you introduce stress and pressure, it's important to document your down market strategy before things are bad, to improve the chance you'll actually stick with it. 

Retiring In 5 Years? Check this (non-financial) list off first

When families get close to retiring they start going through all the checklists:
Get investments in orer
Do the will
Etc., etc...
However, getting your financial house in order before evaluating your retirement's priorities and activities is like getting cart before the horse.
Today Rick Luchini and I chat about some of the top things we would do that are not related to our money if we were going to retire in 5 years or less.
 
Learn more at www.brandenburgFS.com 

Wills and Trusts - The Things You Know That Just Aren't So - With Meredith Ditchen-Oakley

Think you know your estate plan? Take a listen as Attorney Meredith Ditchen-Oakley of Woodstock GA and I discuss some of the big things that people are mistaken about when it comes to executing their estate plan.
 
Learn more about Meredith at www.ditchenlaw.com and be sure to check out my website at www.brandenburgFS.com

Reverse Mortgage - What They Are, How They Work - With Jake Droge

Have you heard of a reverse mortgage?
 
Maybe someone told you a horror story. Maybe your neighbor got one and loved it. Maybe you saw Tom Selleck on TV talking about them. Well if you'd like to learn the truth about what they are and how they work without being sold, be sure to give a listen to this interview with Jake Droge, a lender who works in the reverse mortgage space.