The Retirement Answer Man

Episode 233 is the second episode in the You Asked series. During the entire month of August, I answer listener questions. In the hot topic segment, I confront the constant precursor that begins every financial conversation - “Given this market.” What does this phrase really mean? Why are people suddenly concerned with the markets now, should they be, and just what markets are they talking about? During the practical planning segment, I get the opportunity to answer several interesting...

This month on Retirement Answer Man we are focusing on you! We will be answering listener questions all month long. Since we just finished the Maximizing Social Security series I will answer some social security questions on this episode while the information is still fresh in our minds. If you had any more questions after listening to the Maximizing Social Security series then you will definitely want to listen to this episode to hear some excellent listener questions that I answer to the...

This month on Retirement Answer Man we are focusing on you! We will be answering listener questions all month long. Since we just finished the Maximizing Social Security series I will answer some social security questions on this episode while the information is still fresh in our minds. If you had any more questions after listening to the Maximizing Social Security series then you will definitely want to listen to this episode to hear some excellent listener questions that I answer to the...

Welcome to the final episode of the Maximizing Social Security series. In this episode, we get down to business. When do you file? How do you make this decision? If you are wondering these things then you need to listen to this episode. During the Practical Planning segment, I welcome social security guru, Devin Carroll. He has been studying social security for years and even has a book dedicated to learning the basics of social security. You won’t want to miss this final episode which...

This month on Retirement Answer Man we are maximizing social security benefits. All month long we are discussing the ins and outs of social security. The government doesn’t make anything simple, and social security is no different. So be sure to catch the entire series, beginning with episode 228 to fully understand the complexities of social security and how to maximize your benefits. This episode is dedicated to learning how earning income during retirement can impact your social...

The Retirement Answer Man theme for July is how to maximize social security. On this episode, we’re covering the basics: how it works, and are social security benefits even going to be there when you retire? This can be a bit of a dense subject, but I will do my best to make the topic as fun and interesting as possible. You may think that social security won’t play a very big role in your retirement if you have a lot of assets, but after listening to this series you’ll see that social...

Welcome to the last episode in the Entrepreneurship in Retirement series on Retirement Answer Man. We have been discussing the dream of entrepreneurship after retiring during the past three episodes of this series. This episode closes the series as I interview 3 different entrepreneurs that got sick of the rat race and struck out on their own. These entrepreneurs have very different stories about how they launched and lived their dream. They share what motivated them to entrepreneurship,...

So you want to start a business, but starting everything from scratch seems like so much work. Isn’t there an easy way to buy into an already proven system and execute it? If you think this sounds like a good way to start a business, then buying a franchise might be right for you. On this episode of Retirement Answer Man franchise attorney Josh Brown joins me to explain the pros and cons of buying a franchise. He is a leading expert in national franchise law that can explain how to create...

On this episode, we explore the aspect of mindset and explore the question: What are some of the mindset attributes of a successful entrepreneur? Mindset is a huge hurdle for so many entrepreneurs. You need to get into the mindset right before you ever consider entrepreneurship. At this stage in life, you don’t have the time to make up for any mistakes the way that you would if you were in your 20s. This is your one shot at becoming an entrepreneur, so you must make the most of it. If you...

Why do people start businesses in retirement? Over the next few weeks, we explore this question in the Entrepreneurship in Retirement series. Just because you retire doesn’t mean that you stop living. Many people have so much to give back after they retire that they choose to start their own business. This episode will cover the whys, the ways, and the hows of beginning entrepreneurship in retirement. If you are thinking of starting your own business or having a pretirement phase to your...

Welcome to the last episode in this Retirement Plan Live series. This is the Flying Solo Edition where you can learn how to rock single retirement. Several listeners offer fantastic retirement questions and comments that I answer on this episode and the answers will interest you. On the practical planning segment of the show I am joined by Herb who gives us a male perspective on retiring single, so you won’t want to miss that. Be sure to listen to this episode as well as the webinar on...

On this episode of Retirement Plan Live: Flying Solo Edition we tackle a challenging question. Is retiring single risky? This episode is all about risk and the special or riskier situations that retired singles may find themselves in. Single people have different considerations than married people and may need to plan their retirement in more detail. I ask Sam, my guest, and case study for this edition of Retirement Plan Live, about what types of concerns she has retiring single. You’ll...

Welcome to Retirement Plan Live: Flying Solo Edition. On each Retirement Plan Live, I walk prospective retirees through the same agile retirement planning session that I do with my clients. This edition is created by popular demand for singles who are planning to retire. There are so many retirement planning resources out there geared toward married couples, but hardly any are focused on singles. This series hopes to change that. Listen to this episode of Retirement Answer Man as Sam and I...

Retirement Plan Live is flying solo this time around. Retirement Plan Live is a series of episodes on the Retirement Answer Man podcast designed around real, live case studies with listeners that would like to retire in the near future. This time I looked high and low for the perfect single potential retiree. Sam agreed to come on the show and share her retirement dreams, goals, and aspirations as well as her financial realities. This conversation focuses on the fun stuff. We envision what...

Can you be single and still rock retirement? This Retirement Plan Live series focuses on a single person. Over the next four weeks, I’ll help Sam make up her personalized retirement roadmap based on her individual needs. Being single in retirement is a topic that isn’t covered by me or by other retirement resources nearly enough, so I’m glad to be investigating retirement as a single person over the next four episodes. If you are flying solo and ready to rock retirement, you won’t want to...

Episode 218 is the final episode in the April Bond series. We’ve walked through all the benefits and dangers of bonds over the past few weeks. In this episode, we talk about some gadgets that could help you save your portfolio against a couple of evil villains. You’ll want to hear about all the gadgets that will serve you and your portfolio as you plan for your retirement years. Make sure you listen to this episode to hear about all the coolest gadgets that are out there to help you fight...

This is the third episode in our April series on bonds. On this episode, we discuss interest rates and how they affect bonds. One question we explore is, are interest rates the nemesis of bonds? To help me explore this question and explain a bit about bonds Chief Investment Strategist, John Lynch of LPL Financial joins me. Together we discuss rising inflation and interest rates and find out what this all really means for the economy and your portfolio. If you are worried about what rising...

Why would you ever add bonds to your portfolio if their return is so low? This is the second episode in the April bond series. This month we are learning all about bonds. On this episode, we delve into the question: why do we even have bonds in our asset allocation? I really get into the science behind why bonds are in our portfolios. If you are planning on retiring soon your role as an investor is changing and you may want to have more bonds than you think. Find out why you need bonds in...

April is Bond Month on the Retirement Answer Man podcast. Over the next four weeks, we will be discussing all things bonds. This is the first episode in the bond series in which we will discuss what exactly a bond is and why we all love them. You’ll want to listen to this series to find out what a good bond is and how to get one. Start learning about bonds by listening to this episode to find out exactly what a good bond is, how to buy them, and what the future holds for bonds. Is our love...

This is the fourth and final episode of the Healthcare Before Medicare series. On this episode, we discuss two more options to consider when thinking about healthcare before Medicare: taking on a part-time job for the insurance benefits and COBRA. We also answer some listener questions and comments in the practical planning segment of the show. Learn more about which companies are the best for part-timers to receive healthcare benefits as well as whether COBRA may be a good option for your...