Eight Keys for Success: The First Rule of Retirement

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It is six point forty four. Good morning, Brian Mutt
and Joel malkln with you as we take a look
at my aid keys for success. We are up to
the eighth and it's my first role of retirement, and
my first role of retirement is that a mortgage isn't
a retirement plan. And the point really isn't just about mortgages.

(00:23):
It is, but it's really a story about debt. The
bottom line is that I don't endorse any retirement plan
that includes carrying debt. And a lot of people try
to figure out, okay, well, when is it that I
might could time my retirement. Well, if you have debt,
you have something to lose, and at a time in
which you're likely to be living on fixed income, potentially

(00:45):
becoming less viable. In the workforce as well, the average
person faces significant negative financial adversity about every eight years.
It's true if we're in the workforce. It's true if
we're retired, significant negative finance adversity about every eight years.
If that happens in retirement and you have the pressure

(01:05):
of meeting a mortgage payment, boy, there's an awful lot
to lose. Working your entire life only to potentially lose
your home in the end with limited options not acceptable
in my book. So for that reason, when it comes
to retirement timing, I'll only entertain the question if it
begins without any debt, including your mortgage, and from there

(01:26):
the most important consideration is whether you have the residual
income to support yourself over time. But yes, the first
role of retirement mortgage any debt, not a retirement plan.