Financial Symmetry: Balancing Today with Retirement
When considering retirement, do you wonder what financial opportunities you may be missing? Busy lives take over and years pass without taking advantage. In this retirement podcast, Chad Smith and Mike Eklund unveil financial opportunities, to help you balance enjoying today so you are ready to retire later. By day, they are fiduciary fee-only financial advisors who answer questions about tax savings, investment decisions, and how to save more. If you’ve been putting off your financial to-do list or are just not sure what you’ve been missing, subscribe to the show and learn more at www.financialsymmetry.com. Financial Symmetry is a Raleigh Financial Advisor, proudly serving clients in the Triangle of North Carolina for over 20 years.
Episodes
When is enough, enough? Many investors have recently found solace in growing their cash reserves, whether in their checking accounts, savings accounts, or certificates of deposit (CDs). With attractive yields and recent market turbulence still fresh in mind, it’s easy to assume that loading up on cash is a safe strategy.
But there’s a hidden cost to keeping more money than you need. Not only does excessive cash limit your growth po...
At Financial Symmetry, our internship program has become a core pillar of our growth, innovation, and client experience.
Over time, our program grew from simply filling resource gaps to a foundational development engine, helping to shape the services Financial Symmetry offers and the team culture itself.
What has emerged from these iterations is the recognition that our best chance of success ...
Claiming Social Security as soon as you become eligible at age 62 is a common choice for Americans. While understandable, this decision can have significant, and often underappreciated, long-term consequences. For many, the urge to claim early may stem from financial necessity, lack of other income sources, or simply a desire to “get what you’ve paid for.” However, claiming early can reduce your benefit by as much as 3...
Chad and Mike break down the major moves in US and international markets from the past quarter, revealing why diversification works unexpectedly. They chat through the impact of recent tariff news, what those headlines might mean for the economy and your portfolio, and share evidence-based strategies for taking action (or not!) when markets get rocky.
Outline of This Episode
- Read more
Market volatility is never comfortable, but with the right mindset and a thoughtful plan, you can face downturns not as a victim, but as an opportunist. On this episode of the Financial Symmetry Show, we’re sharing our advice on managing your finances amid turbulent markets and giving you a helpful checklist to guide your decision-making when headlines make your stomach flip.
Outline of This Episode
...Tax planning might not top everyone's list of leisure activities, but in the middle of tax season there’s a hidden opportunity. What if, instead of seeing it as a mere logistic hurdle, we embraced it as a moment to refine our financial strategy?
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What if your retirement lasts much longer than you anticipated? Increasing life expectancies have reshaped our understanding of retirement and financial planning in recent years, and we’ll likely become more concerned about effectively managing financial resources throughout a potentially very long life in the future.
In this episode, we’re sharing some insights gleaned from a recent industry conference focused on the impacts of l...
We're spotlighting women's wealth in honor of International Women's Day and Women's History Month. Join us as we dig into some of the stats surrounding women's financial empowerment. From the rising number of women controlling wealth as they outlive their spouses to tackling stereotypes that hinder women's earning potential, this episode addresses the systemic barriers that impact women's financial journeys.
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Four categories are recognized under current regulations to qualify as an Eligible Designated Beneficiary (EDB). These include the surviving spouse, minor children of the decedent, a disabled or chronically ill individual as assessed at the time of the decedent's passing, and other individuals who are no more than ten years younger than the deceased account owner. If you fall into one of these categories, you'll be afforded more ti...
Investing can often feel like riding a rollercoaster of exciting highs and daunting lows. This week, we’re digging into the intricacies of the financial planning process, focusing particularly on the importance of understanding market trends and the role diversification plays in safeguarding your wealth.
Outline of This Episode
- (03:08) Investing with diversification mitigates risk; US stocks average 10% annual returns...
Retirement, often portrayed as a glorious era of freedom and relaxation, has its own set of challenges beyond the financial arena. This week, we’re exploring the psychology behind retirement and discussing the four phases retirees go through.
- Vacation/Honeymoon Phase: The initial euphoria of not having to set an alarm.
- Loss Phase: Often associated with disenchantment as the honeymoon phase wears off.
- Trial and Error Phase: Tr...
As the holiday season approaches, many of us find ourselves thinking about gifts. While gifts can come in many forms, monetary gifts often cause the most confusion. In this episode of Financial Symmetry, hosts Chad Smith and Grayson Blaszak discuss the intricacies of financial gifting.
Financial gifting generally involves transferring assets, such as cash or securities, from one individual to another without expecting anything in ...
Have you ever been in the middle of a road trip, and you come upon a roadblock where unexpected traffic adds a half hour or more to your journey?
Similar frustrating circumstances pop up in the years just before and just after retirement. During this new life transition, you are forced to confront retirement roadblocks, and if you don’t know how to maneuver around them, it can leave you feeling stuck.
In this episode, we discuss 3...
Early retirement has unique financial planning challenges, particularly regarding health insurance and tax strategies. For people who retire before age 65, the challenge of finding affordable and adequate health insurance adds another layer of complexity to their financial plans.
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📬 Download your Free Retire On Purpose Guide here.
📰 See the full show notes here
🌐 Sign up here to receive Retirement Weekly to get one ...
An inherited IRA is essentially an IRA received by a beneficiary after the original owner passes away. Whether it's a spouse, child, or another loved one, the key characteristic of an inherited IRA is that it transitions ownership upon death.
As Grayson Blaszek explains, the funds are transferred intact, but the way you handle and withdraw these funds comes with specific rules and timelines. Grayson and Matthew dig into the new ru...
Investing can feel like a battle between two polar opposites within us, the rational and the emotional, just like the classic story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
This week, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are our model investors, and we’re talking you through the spooky story of the risks, emotions, and rational strategies involved in long-term investing.
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📬 Download your Free Retire On Purpose Guide here.
📰 See the full show notes h...
Reaching your financial goals builds confidence and peace of mind, which are essential for making informed decisions that benefit your entire family.
In this episode, we’re following a fictional pop culture couple from newlywed to pre-retirement, to demonstrate how their thought process around an emergency fund could evolve with their changing circumstances.
Join us as we lay out a case study of planning that helps them balance the...
Retirement, a phase many of us anticipate for a long time, comes with its own set of financial intricacies. Specifically, how do you effectively withdraw funds from your savings to ensure a comfortable, sustainable, and tax-efficient lifestyle?
A well-crafted retirement blueprint is essential. This plan should outline your long-term goals and the steps needed to achieve them. More importantly, your financial plan should be flexibl...
Retirement planning is a delicate process, and you need to carefully consider your various income streams, including Social Security benefits. For those of us who plan to continue working while claiming Social Security, it’s important to understand how this decision can impact the monthly benefits you receive.
In this episode, we’re sharing how to avoid financial shocks in retirement. We discuss the essentials of earned income, th...
We all have visions of our ideal retirement. However, our financial plans can quickly veer off course if we haven't appropriately managed our risks.
On this episode of Financial Symmetry, Greg Suggs from Greg Suggs Insurance joins me to discuss how to manage common risks that could negatively affect your wealth. You won’t want to miss out on these easy-to-implement pieces to your insurance puzzle that could save your assets.
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