March 17, 2025 • 37 mins
5 signs it is time to retire – Retirement means different things to different people. Some
people have been planning and preparing for years with a clear retirement date in mind.
For others, it is less etched in stone. But either way, if you are thinking about retiring
anytime soon, there are signs to consider. Chris Boyd and Jeff Perry review a recent
Kiplinger’s article (see full article linked below), which asks are you emotionally ready?
Have you saved enough? Do you have a post-retirement plan? Can you handle your bank
account depleting? Have you talked with your spouse? Listen in as you might be
surprised where the conversation goes.
https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/retirement-planning/five-signs-its-time-to-retire-in-
2025
For more information or to reach Chris Boyd or Jeff Perry, click
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to something more with Chris Boyd.
Chris Boyd is a certified financial planner, practitioner,
and senior vice president, financial advisor at Wealth
Enhancement Group, one of the nation's largest registered
investment advisors.
We call it something more because we'd like
to talk not only about those important dollar
and cents issues, but also the quality of
life issues that make the money matters matter.
(00:22):
Here he is your fulfillment facilitator, your partner
in prosperity, advising clients on Cape Cod and
across the country.
Here's your host, Jay Christopher Boyd.
Welcome to the program and thanks for being
with us for another episode.
I'm Chris Boyd.
I'm here with Jeff Perry.
We are the AMR team at Wealth Enhancement.
And if you didn't know it, uh, you
(00:45):
probably are listening by way of podcasts, but,
uh, you're also able to watch the video
if you prefer, uh, you can find that
through the Wealth Enhancement YouTube channel, or you
can, uh, go right to our webpage, uh,
something more with chrisboyd.com and find postings
each week.
(01:05):
And we're back on Facebook, the team AMR
at Wealth Enhancement Group is, uh, back on
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So if you used to follow us, you'll
still be there.
So check us out.
It's going to take a little bit for
that algorithm to get people back into the,
uh, swing of naturally seeing it.
So please go there and like our posts
(01:26):
and share as much as you can.
I would love to get the word out
about the program and, um, your ratings and,
um, stars and following and all that does
help get the word out.
So appreciate that.
Um, Jeff, we wanted to talk a little
bit about the signs of when it's time
(01:47):
to retire and, uh, there might be some
things to consider.
Some, um, as you know, our listeners probably
know this, but we tend to work mostly
with people who are either in or near
retirement.
So this is the kind of topic that's
near and dear to our, uh, experience with
our clientele and the kind of things we
(02:09):
deal with routinely and helping people navigate, uh,
some of the things to be mindful about.
There was a good Kiplinger article that we're
going to maybe make some reference to, but,
uh, where should we begin today?
I think we should start with that.
The decision to retire, isn't just the random
number that you throw out there and say,
(02:30):
I'm going to retire at age 60, 65,
70, never, you know, whatever people kind of
come up with the old, it's so interesting
how people decide it's time to retire, right?
Some people it's I'm working toward my number,
you know, uh, that they have the right
amount of assets is in mind, which of
(02:51):
course changes the number changes if you retire
earlier or later, or, you know, how much.
It's not the same number.
If you want to retire at 50, then
it would have been a 65, which believe
it or not, some people don't get that,
but yeah.
And so, so that's one, one thing.
The other thing is sometimes people just go,
I'm done.
I retired.
Right.
And they're like, well, do you think it'll
(03:12):
work?
Uh, you know, that's sort of an afterthought.
Well, how's this going to play out?
I'm just going to have to work, you
know?
They're going to make it work, you know?
So, and sometimes it's retirement's forced on you.
Let's, you know, that's not a pleasant thing,
but, um, you know, maybe some federal employees
lately are getting some notices, you know, maybe
they're in their early sixties and they're still
(03:32):
working or whatever, and they've been thinking, Oh,
when am I going to retire?
I don't know.
But, you know, they get a notice that
says your job is eliminated.
Not just the federal government.
I'm just, this is the kind of thing
that can happen.
It happens.
Uh, particularly, you know, workers who are, um,
in their certain age range can really find
(03:54):
it difficult then to get back into the
workforce, especially at the salary that they were
making.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it may be that they, uh, decide,
okay, I guess I'm retired.
Maybe they'll do some part-time work or
whatever, but it may be a challenge.
So that's one time.
Sometimes it's just this decision, or in this
(04:14):
case, you're talking about a forced decision, but,
uh, sometimes there are other things that people
think about that sort of draws them in
to say, Oh, I think I might be
ready.
Yeah.
And that's the focus of our conversation today
and the focus of the Kiplinger's article, which
I can throw in the show notes if
people want to read the whole thing, but
these are signs, right?
(04:36):
Signs that maybe the universe is telling you.
Um, kind of joking there, but maybe not.
So when you are, or not ready, right.
I used to be thinking about like, maybe
you're not thinking about retirement, but if these
things resonate with you, maybe, maybe you should
be.
(04:57):
So the number one thing doesn't have anything
to do with money, Chris.
It has to do with emotions.
You're emotionally ready.
You know, you kind of like, yeah.
Well, I gotta say, Jeff, I talk to
people all the time.
It might be emotionally ready, but it's only
one part of it.
You can't just say, I would listen to
(05:18):
this podcast with these financial guys.
And they said, when I'm emotionally ready, no,
this is just one.
This is just one part of it.
Right.
Well, I do think that, you know, I
think sometimes people feel burnt out.
And that can be a driver for them
to be thinking about, I need to change.
And, um, that that's a valid, uh, consideration.
(05:42):
Sometimes it's, I'm ready for a new, uh,
adventure, a new opportunity.
Sometimes it's, um, uh, other, uh, other ways,
health.
I need something, you know, less physically demanding
or whatever it might be.
So it can be a variety of things
that can lead to that.
(06:02):
I'm ready.
Kind of emotions, physical, right.
I mean, people are, it depends on the
type of job you have.
If you have a job that's difficult on
your body, you know, you're out there on
a roof or you're landscaping or, you know,
something that's really strenuous.
Obviously.
That could be a physical thing that gets
you like, I just can't do this anymore.
(06:24):
Right.
Um, what we're really talking about is something
more of a psychology, emotional.
Yep.
Yeah.
And the notion of what's the alternative, like,
you know, I mean, it's, you talk about
this from time to time, that notion that
it's okay, so now what, what are you
actually going to do?
Yeah, that's important.
There's a little bit of vacation.
(06:45):
Sensibility.
We had a client in not too long
ago and recently retired, and he was talking
about that notion.
It's like, yeah, I get up and I
don't have to do anything.
I don't have to be anywhere.
And this sort of sense of freedom that
comes with that is liberating, you know, or,
or anxiety ridden, like, I feel like I'm
supposed to be somewhere, you know, that kind
(07:05):
of thing.
Right.
I think when people think about that, they
thinking about really short term, they may not
be saying that, but the thing, yo, I
won't have to do this.
I won't have to do that.
It's going to be, I'm going to go
on vacation.
And, you know, it's like, that's retiring.
We talk about this, but I think in
this context, we should dig in a little
(07:26):
bit.
That's that reminds me of people saying I'm
retiring from something.
I'm retiring from the stress, from the, maybe
a toxic work culture, maybe, you know, whatever.
Yeah.
But what are you retiring to?
Right.
Yeah.
It's a great point.
And you got to think of it in
(07:48):
both directions.
There can be reasons where, you know, you
do want that retiring from mindset.
Totally get that.
On the other hand, you really want to
have a sense of clarity of what you're
retiring to.
We, you can't just be saying, I'm going
(08:10):
to be a couch potato all day in
retirement.
You got to have something you're doing, you're
moving toward.
You have, you're energized by, you are enthusiastic
to participate in or whatever.
You need something that's going to really give
(08:30):
you purpose and energy that you're moving toward,
not just saying, oh, I don't, we don't
have to do that anymore.
Yeah.
I think the key word there is purpose,
right?
And it's, it's different for different people's, you
know, the study show it's different for different
genders, you know, women are much better at
(08:52):
retirement and shifting into a new, making new
social connections, activities, men struggle with that a
bit.
So, but either way, have something that you
want to do that, you know, write it
down, make a plan.
I've seen some of the suggestions and stuff
that I've read, having to do with making
(09:13):
a calendar, not a day by day calendar,
but like maybe a week by week calendar.
What would I do over the next few
weeks?
What would I do over the next few
months?
Just to give yourself a vision of what
am I going to be doing?
And it is an opportunity to do what
you want to do.
Could be a hobby, could be a charity.
We've talked about this with some guests as
well, and there are some good episodes that
(09:37):
we've had.
If you haven't, Dr. Landry, you've interviewed a
couple of women about, I forget the, the
future of you or something like that, right?
Yep.
Nan and Lisa.
Yep.
Yep.
And the notion that, you know, sometimes there's
it's hard to imagine what you might do
(09:58):
if you have difficulty with that.
Sometimes it's perhaps helpful to have a, a
helping hand in that process.
Sure.
But it's an, it's an opportunity that you
don't want to squander, you know, to sort
of be thinking about this stage of life
where you think in terms of financial freedom
(10:19):
that you can then say, what do I
want this time to be about?
How am I going to make some, the
most of that time with something that will
be meaningful to me, you know, whatever that
is.
So what are some of the other things
that you need to think about?
Well, perfectly timed.
Number two, you know, number one is you're
(10:40):
emotionally ready.
Number two is I've saved enough.
So back to your thing that we say
frequently, what's my number, right?
Yeah, right.
I think, you know, this is very much
dependent in part on knowing two things, beginning
date and ending date.
Unfortunately, we don't necessarily know both of those
(11:02):
all the time, but, you know, we don't
know how long we'll live to, how much,
how long those funds will be needed for.
We don't necessarily know, as you've described, you
know, exactly when we'll need to start.
Sometimes people have unexpected changes in their retirement
plan due to a layoff or something like
(11:25):
that.
So, you know, I think these are key
ingredients.
We can make some adjustments based on assumptions
of what is going to be inflation and
how are we going to get rate of
return?
What are we going to spend?
But all of these have variables that we
have to, you know, be a little bit
prepared for variation in some of these considerations.
(11:47):
But that can be done.
You can get a fair sense of, all
right, at what point do I have that
expectation of financial freedom?
That's right.
And that goes right into the next one.
These two are, I guess, could have been
put in the same category, but it talks
about your retirement plan.
And, you know, we've talked a little bit
(12:07):
about purpose, but I also interpret what's your
retirement plan is to really, really do a
deep dive about the conditions, the things that
could happen in your retirement.
You know, have you saved enough?
That's your number.
That's just like thinking about if I don't
have a pension or if I do, how
much is that cash flow?
(12:29):
That is how much is my social security?
I think people think about this and then
they think about withdrawing from the assets that
they've accumulated and they just get this number
as we're talking about.
So I need eight thousand dollars a month,
for example, to live the lifestyle that I
want.
And they do the math and they say,
OK, I can do that right now.
So that's that's kind of have I saved
(12:50):
enough.
But just continuing on that, I'd like to
get your thoughts on.
What can mess up, right?
Yeah, there's variables.
I mean, a couple of things.
One is, OK, I can do that today,
but what will I need in the future?
How will inflation factor into my cash flow
(13:12):
demands over time?
Am I spending principal or am I only
living off of earnings?
And that, you know, how am I defining
earnings?
How much?
Right.
Markets don't only move in one direction when
it comes to market volatility, as we talked
about recently.
Everyone's aware right now of all the volatility
(13:34):
we're enduring.
So, you know, those are things you need
to be mindful of.
There are other things like, well, am I
going to buy a car from time to
time?
Where's that money going to come from?
That's right.
Travel.
Are there going to be new additional expenses?
Are we going to have occasionally do some
renovations to the home or update the bathroom
(13:56):
or whatever it might be?
Or the roof needs a new shingles.
That is one of those categories, those items
that you've referenced is I mean, it's they're
simple to think about, but so many people
do not include them when they're doing their
cash flow projections.
And it can really take a dent in
(14:17):
some of the numbers.
And as you know, one of the ones
that can be most unexpected and damaging isn't
any of these considerations.
But the unexpected, I have family who needs
something.
I have someone who maybe a child who
maybe maybe you have children and you think
(14:37):
they're all set and then all of a
sudden one of them has a job loss
or a divorce or the grandkids come along
and you want to help there.
Or, you know, the list is really endless.
Or maybe a daughter who wasn't going to
get married gets married and you want to
have a wedding or a divorce or whatever.
Or, you know, and I like to remind
(15:03):
clients when they think, oh, you know, I'm
70 or whatever, nothing else is going to
happen.
Everything's settled.
Just, you know, I say, think about your
friends.
What stories are your friends telling you?
Or just think back 10 years.
What has come up in your financial life
that you didn't that you didn't see?
Right.
And that gets them thinking.
(15:23):
And so it's not just cash flow.
Like, what are my expenses this month times
12 times 20 years or however long you
expect to live?
Right.
It's really thinking about and this is where
when you work with when you work with
us, I'll say that or someone else who
operates a business like you do.
When we we spend a lot of time
(15:45):
getting to know our clients, understanding where they
are, you know, where they want to be
in their personal situations and their challenges and
ask them these questions in person, because sometimes
people are so focused on I'm retiring, getting
out of I'm retiring from something.
I can't wait to be home.
And I met my number.
(16:07):
They don't really dig into these what ifs,
we call them.
And then when you get to the big
what if, I guess, is what if I
need some help at home?
What if I need, you know, what if
health to, you know, chronic illness or health
deterioration or death of a spouse, there is
(16:27):
a cost of death of a spouse where
that can change the cash flows.
All of these are variables.
You got to do some of these stress
test kind of scenarios.
What if I live longer than I expect?
What if, what if, what if, right?
You got to kind of look at some
of these variables and say, how does that,
(16:49):
is there enough cushion in the plan that
I can I can make it work?
Right.
So it's not so tight.
There are times when we'll run a plan
and be like, oh, we've got a plan
that works.
And then we say, what if you had
to spend a thousand dollars a month more?
Right.
You know, it's more, but it's not like
(17:11):
outrageously more.
But of course, it's not a thousand a
month.
It's a thousand a month now.
Right.
But then inflation, I guess we should talk
about that part too, inflation.
Yeah.
And the impact can be devastating, not devastating
always, but it can be like they just
can totally change the outcome of the plan
as to is this a viable plan or
(17:31):
not.
So, you know, in some instances could be
very narrow in some instances that could be,
you know, very large before it disrupts the
plan.
But my point is, you know, these are
things you need to be paying attention to
and then it can really be that much
more important if you're in that scenario that
you have to be, you know, perpetually updating
(17:52):
the plan to say, how's it going?
How am I responding to inflation is one
example.
And if the numbers are so tight, what
would be the impact of another year of
work or a part time job or, you
know, some of these other possibilities that might
move the needle a little bit.
(18:14):
In some cases, you know, the best of
circumstances, people have an abundance and there's more
than sufficient resources.
It's really a question of how does it
affect the next generation?
Not so much for their charitable intentions or
something like that.
It's not so much a hardship, but it's
(18:36):
different in all different circumstances.
So we need to think about these issues.
Yep.
And just a plug for people who are
not at retirement right now, but people maybe
five years out or something.
That's the time to go in and have
your plan really crafted or revised because small,
(18:58):
small differences, you know, working one more year
or whatever.
Or how much you're saving at that point,
you know, a little more set aside could
make a big impact because, you know, that
could mean you're not drawing down more from
certain places or, you know, when to turn
(19:19):
on Social Security could make an impact.
If I don't turn on Social Security when
I retire, where does that, where am I
going to draw from to spend money?
Yeah, that's one that people often get wrong.
How much I have in tax diversification, like
am I all in IRA type money from
(19:40):
all my money?
Well, if that's the case, a third of
that or whatever the number really is.
But, you know, a chunk of that isn't
yours.
It's Uncle Sam's, so to speak.
So the thoughts of, oh, I'm going to
spend so much.
Well, you may be spending that plus a
third, you know, whatever.
All right.
So you're emotionally ready, you've saved enough and
(20:03):
you have a retirement plan in place that
not only helps with your cash flow projections,
but, you know, does some planning on longer
term things.
Yeah.
Stress test is it for the what ifs,
all those, a solid, comprehensive financial plan in
place that supports that you can.
Now, if you retire at 65, just to
(20:24):
use that number, a lot of people are
retiring earlier, but you have a likelihood and
it's not a small one of living into
your 90s.
And so inflation, think about how much things
cost 25 years ago and think about what
they're going to cost 25 years from now.
So to have all these components accurately included
(20:46):
in your financial plan and testing it for
the long term.
The next one that they talk about is
signs you might be ready for retirement.
Are you OK with watching your money deplete?
Because some people, you know, you go through,
you start, you get your first serious job
when you're in your mid-20s, you started
(21:09):
putting money away, you've been a diligent, savvy
investor, you're piling, piling cash, as you say,
you're a prudent investor and you've developed this
nest egg that gives you the opportunity.
I call it, it's not my quote, it's
not my word, but Bob Frank is critical
mass.
You have the critical mass to live the
(21:29):
retirement that you earned.
And then people struggle with withdrawing money and
watching those numbers go down.
Yeah, there's a certain, I think, you know,
people all come to their money issues with
different experiences, particularly people who've been through scarcity,
(21:53):
are very much aware of the risks of
asset depletion and the anxiety that comes with
that possibility.
So, you know, when we think about it,
as we were just saying, sometimes you have
money in different places.
And so when you're talking about bank accounts
(22:16):
or, you know, some of these monies that
might be depleting, they might not be all
of the resources, but it may be the
most impactful for that sense of security.
So in any case, this notion of if
you're even if you're just talking about your
(22:36):
net worth, you know, not just the bank
account per se or whatever it might be,
that anxiety of seeing that get spent to
some extent, you know, I think it becomes
really important to have clarity of what's my
plan, you know, is the plan to have
(22:58):
money left over for others.
That could be an important driver for many
people.
But for others, it's really about, well, I
just want to don't want to run out
over while I need it.
So does the does the balance going down
(23:19):
on the net worth disrupt one's sense of
comfort zone?
It's really normal to bother people.
I mean, that's because you think about it,
you spent your entire adult life building.
It's not natural to think even if you
cognitively know it, right?
Yeah, it's not natural to think that that
(23:40):
number is going to go down.
You're going to switch directions.
It's almost like, you know, snap your fingers
and now you're going to be depleting your
assets for the reasons that you saved them
for.
Nicely done with that snap of the fingers.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you.
That was not a sound effect.
That was real life.
Yeah, that was good.
It's true.
I think one of the things that oftentimes
(24:00):
we see is not just that notion of
the assets going down, it's people develop a
comfort zone that they're willing to spend within.
And they may have ample resources to spend
more, but they don't have a comfort zone
(24:22):
of spending more because they've become accustomed to
a certain lifestyle model that even though they
might have the ability and the resources and
the permission, as you talked about, they just
aren't comfortable with that at times because it's
(24:42):
this anxiety that it will lead to scarcity.
Yeah, I just have one follow up on
scarcity.
It's just a note for people.
Some people have not lived scarcity, had scarcity
in their lives, in their adult life, but
they could have experienced it as a child
and that can have equally or even greater
(25:06):
impact on how you look at these things.
So having somebody to talk it out and
having that, not to be super repetitive, but
having that financial plan in place and going
back to it, you know, like we get
clients in at least once a year, sometimes
more if they need it, but at least
once a year we want them to sit
(25:27):
down or virtually meet with us and say,
all right, let's look at your plan.
How are you doing, you know, projecting it
out?
How's the projections look?
You know, anything new, of course.
And that really should add, I think it
does, from my experience with clients, increases that
ability that they have to say, OK, my
(25:50):
plan's here.
I'm allowed to do this, allowed permission.
You know, I have I have this travel
to Europe in my budget every five years
and it's the fifth year so I can
go.
It's not going to mean I'm going to
go.
You know what it is, though, Jeff?
I mean, I think we're we're trying to
provide people intellectual rationale and a lot of
(26:14):
this stuff is what hits you on an
emotional level.
That is, it's not necessarily a rational decision
as much as a feeling, you know, the
comfort or discomfort that people have.
And so sometimes the that that rational, oh,
here's the evidence, you know, can can overcome
(26:36):
that.
But at other times it's just this is
where I'm comfortable and that's where I'm going
to stay.
You know, that kind of mindset.
But ultimately, these are things you need to
I think what we really want is to
make sure that people are tuned in if
there's a risk of depleting assets, right, that
they are prepared for how to navigate that
(26:57):
and not to have it happen too quickly
as it relates to their lifespan.
You know that it may be part of
the plan that you're going to spend through
some of your resources by design.
And that's OK.
That's you know, some people want that, some
people don't.
So it's really a matter of what you're
trying to do.
But you have to be, I think, vigilant
(27:20):
around making sure that it's not perpetuating decline
too quickly.
You know, right.
It's like I use I have the vision
when I'm talking about this is you're driving
a large ship across the ocean to a
destination retirement, you know, the end of your
retirement.
And if you get off course and you
(27:42):
know about it, you can make a small
correction.
Right.
You know, enough time in advance.
You get an easy time, but if you're
wrong, you're going to hit the shore or
you're going to miss your mark.
Or it's going to take a lot more
to try to get that course correction can
be difficult to do.
So, yeah, I think these are so ultimately
(28:05):
that what these are metaphors we're talking about.
But, you know, what does that mean?
It means you need to review your plan,
you know, with some frequency because it's not
static.
And you need to say, oh, well, in
this case, we've had a couple of years
of great markets.
How does that change the plan?
Oh, we've had bad markets.
How does that change the plan or does
it in these instances?
(28:26):
Yeah, probably not as much as people think.
Right.
Right.
And so or, hey, we had some unexpected
expenses.
We had we didn't have some of the
things we planned to do that we didn't
do, et cetera.
And, you know, this gives you some sense
of, oh, you can reassess what we want
to do now, you know, and or maybe
(28:49):
what we have to do now, you know.
And there's things that we can that you
may not have thought about that we, you
know, talk to clients about all the time
that they, you know, they think they either
got to cut their spending drastically or they
have to, you know, get a job.
Right.
And there's there's things that we talk about
with clients, you know, that downsizing your house,
for example.
(29:10):
Yeah.
A lot of this comes back to accuracy
of the information, the data, which is a
challenge.
But we have this very conversation to your
point with clients very recently where, you know,
they retired and their numbers at the outset
look good, but then a review didn't look
so good.
And well, how could this happen?
(29:30):
Well, you're spending a lot more than you
said you were going to spend.
All right.
Let's let's evaluate.
Is this an ongoing thing or are these
one off?
Yeah.
Is it temporary?
Right.
You know.
Yeah.
So we can we can evaluate that.
And if we know that it's not a
perpetual thing, OK, where where's how's that adjust
plan?
How do we adapt?
You know, if not, then we're going to
(29:52):
take more significant action.
What are we going to do to course
correct?
Right.
Right.
So we've been talking a lot about we
started with behavioral and then we, you know,
went into the number and your plan and
watching your money go down.
Now we're going to go back to I
don't know if it's behavioral or not, but
it's certainly behavioral, emotional is have you talked
(30:15):
to your spouse and, you know, are you
ready for retirement?
Have you talked to your spouse?
Are you guys on the same page about
what that means?
Both of you are retiring at the same
time.
If not, is that OK?
And what do you want to do in
retirement?
How many times have we heard, Chris?
Usually the scenario is one of the one
of the say the wife had a professional
(30:35):
career where she was traveling a lot and
the husband maybe worked in a, you know,
in a certain geographical area all the time,
maybe went to the same office building or
the same factory or the same location.
And so the wife wants to retire and
go nowhere.
She wants to nest.
She wants to be at home and be
(30:57):
involved in the community for having dealt with
all that stuff, all that business travel.
And the husband who hasn't really seen much
of the world, he's been, you know, sedentary
in that one kind of spot or one
geographical area.
He has this dream of traveling the country
and things like I'm using the extreme example,
of course.
But have you talked to your spouse?
(31:18):
Are you guys on the same page?
Do you have the same mindset about what
retirement looks like?
I want to move to Florida.
I don't want to move to Florida.
All these different things that come up, get
on the same page and spend the time
as you're thinking about all these other things,
financial things, perhaps.
Talk about the lifestyle, not just on what
you want, but with your significant other, a
(31:40):
spouse or family, however you would define it.
Yeah, I totally get your point.
I think it's it's a partnership.
You've got to both be on a similar
page.
Or how are we going to adapt?
How, you know, that said, I mean, there
are couples I know where it's very much
(32:01):
that notion that one does and one does
not like to travel.
And so they they find a workaround.
Oh, I'm going to travel with my sister
or, you know, whatever it might be that.
Yeah, half the half the time I'll go
with friends or a friend or a kid
or some something where they get the opportunity
to do what they want to do.
(32:23):
But it's just, you know, it's and everyone's
placated in a sense.
Everyone gets to do what their comfort zone
is.
There's more than one way to do things,
you know what I mean?
So if one wants to and one doesn't,
you can find a way to make that
work.
You know, if it's otherwise, you know, it's
like, well, I'd be interested in going here
(32:45):
and look, OK, we'll do that trip together,
you know, that kind of thing.
And it's not a right or wrong.
There's no value judgments in any of this.
It's just things to reflect on and think
about and deal with before you make this
decision to retire.
Make sure that these items and, you know,
everybody has unique things.
But I think the biggest challenge when it
(33:07):
comes to spouses and, you know, this communication
between spouses, when you have very different experiences,
behaviors that, you know, abundance and scarcity kinds
of mindset, when you're not on the same
page, it can be very frustrating and challenging
(33:29):
for each other to navigate that.
In one instance, someone's a planner and a
saver and, you know, trying to avoid that
scarcity concern and somebody else is saying, oh,
we got abundance, we got plenty.
Let's go, you know, they're a shopper or
(33:49):
whatever it might be.
And, you know, you can get into this
scenario where it's like you're kind of bumping
heads a little bit and it can create
tensions and frustration.
So there has to be good communication around
these issues.
And a lot of times what you find
is when there's not more of a shared
(34:11):
objective, it's very difficult to communicate around these
issues.
And it's really defining as to how things
will play out over time.
We don't have the skills as a marriage
counselor or, you know, or whatever it is,
you know, at the same time, it does,
(34:35):
you know, there are, you do have these
issues where you have very different preferences and
issues going on where we have to somehow
sometimes help people navigate a little bit of,
well, how are we going to find some
consensus on what we're going to do?
And but that's part of the virtue, I
think, of planning is there's an opportunity to
(34:55):
air some of these things in a way
that's healthy and deliberative as opposed to, you
know, just coasting along and not necessarily addressing
some of these things and finding that it
can be frustrating at times.
Exactly.
Have a good process usually has a good
outcome.
That's the way I usually think about it.
(35:17):
You have a good process in decision making,
your decision is likely going to be the
correct one for you and your family.
Well, good article, definitely check it out.
And Jeff, once again, we are a little
longer than we intended for our our conversation.
But, you know, listen, our listeners, if you
are in need of a little bit of
(35:39):
help in thinking about, you know, your retirement
readiness, better to prepare, have the conversation, do
some of these steps if you need help
in the process.
If you're not doing it on your own,
best case is, you know, you do a
little bit on your own, but get a
little bit of help along the way and
you will have a good outcome.
(36:00):
If we can be a resource to you
in that process, don't hesitate to reach out
to us here.
You can find us, the easiest way is
go to our web page that can be
found by the name of the show, Something
More with Chris Boyd.
And you can always give us a call
or send us an email.
With that in mind, until next time, everybody
(36:21):
keeps striving for something more.
Thank you for listening to Something More with
Chris Boyd.
Call us for help, whether it's for financial
planning or portfolio management, insurance concerns or those
quality of life issues that make the money
matters matter.
Whatever's on your mind, visit us at SomethingMoreWithChrisBoyd
.com or call us toll free at 866
(36:44):
-771-8901 or send us your questions to
AMR-info at WealthEnhancement.com.
You're listening to Something More with Chris Boyd,
financial talk show, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services and
Jay Christopher Boyd provide investment advice on an
individual basis to clients only.
Proper advice depends on a complete analysis of
(37:04):
all facts and circumstances.
The information given on this program is general
financial comments and cannot be relied upon as
pertaining to your specific situation.
Wealth Enhancement Group cannot guarantee that using the
information from this show will generate profits or
ensure freedom from loss.
Listeners should consult their own financial advisors or
conduct their own due diligence before making any
financial decisions.
Welcome to something more with Chris Boyd.
Chris Boyd is a certified financial planner, practitioner,
and senior vice president, financial advisor at Wealth
Enhancement Group, one of the nation's largest registered
investment advisors.
We call it something more because we'd like
to talk not only about those important dollar
and cents issues, but also the quality of
life issues that make the money matters matter.
(00:22):
Here he is your fulfillment facilitator, your partner
in prosperity, advising clients on Cape Cod and
across the country.
Here's your host, Jay Christopher Boyd.
Welcome to the program and thanks for being
with us for another episode.
I'm Chris Boyd.
I'm here with Jeff Perry.
We are the AMR team at Wealth Enhancement.
And if you didn't know it, uh, you
(00:45):
probably are listening by way of podcasts, but,
uh, you're also able to watch the video
if you prefer, uh, you can find that
through the Wealth Enhancement YouTube channel, or you
can, uh, go right to our webpage, uh,
something more with chrisboyd.com and find postings
each week.
(01:05):
And we're back on Facebook, the team AMR
at Wealth Enhancement Group is, uh, back on
Facebook.
So if you used to follow us, you'll
still be there.
So check us out.
It's going to take a little bit for
that algorithm to get people back into the,
uh, swing of naturally seeing it.
So please go there and like our posts
(01:26):
and share as much as you can.
I would love to get the word out
about the program and, um, your ratings and,
um, stars and following and all that does
help get the word out.
So appreciate that.
Um, Jeff, we wanted to talk a little
bit about the signs of when it's time
(01:47):
to retire and, uh, there might be some
things to consider.
Some, um, as you know, our listeners probably
know this, but we tend to work mostly
with people who are either in or near
retirement.
So this is the kind of topic that's
near and dear to our, uh, experience with
our clientele and the kind of things we
(02:09):
deal with routinely and helping people navigate, uh,
some of the things to be mindful about.
There was a good Kiplinger article that we're
going to maybe make some reference to, but,
uh, where should we begin today?
I think we should start with that.
The decision to retire, isn't just the random
number that you throw out there and say,
(02:30):
I'm going to retire at age 60, 65,
70, never, you know, whatever people kind of
come up with the old, it's so interesting
how people decide it's time to retire, right?
Some people it's I'm working toward my number,
you know, uh, that they have the right
amount of assets is in mind, which of
(02:51):
course changes the number changes if you retire
earlier or later, or, you know, how much.
It's not the same number.
If you want to retire at 50, then
it would have been a 65, which believe
it or not, some people don't get that,
but yeah.
And so, so that's one, one thing.
The other thing is sometimes people just go,
I'm done.
I retired.
Right.
And they're like, well, do you think it'll
(03:12):
work?
Uh, you know, that's sort of an afterthought.
Well, how's this going to play out?
I'm just going to have to work, you
know?
They're going to make it work, you know?
So, and sometimes it's retirement's forced on you.
Let's, you know, that's not a pleasant thing,
but, um, you know, maybe some federal employees
lately are getting some notices, you know, maybe
they're in their early sixties and they're still
(03:32):
working or whatever, and they've been thinking, Oh,
when am I going to retire?
I don't know.
But, you know, they get a notice that
says your job is eliminated.
Not just the federal government.
I'm just, this is the kind of thing
that can happen.
It happens.
Uh, particularly, you know, workers who are, um,
in their certain age range can really find
(03:54):
it difficult then to get back into the
workforce, especially at the salary that they were
making.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it may be that they, uh, decide,
okay, I guess I'm retired.
Maybe they'll do some part-time work or
whatever, but it may be a challenge.
So that's one time.
Sometimes it's just this decision, or in this
(04:14):
case, you're talking about a forced decision, but,
uh, sometimes there are other things that people
think about that sort of draws them in
to say, Oh, I think I might be
ready.
Yeah.
And that's the focus of our conversation today
and the focus of the Kiplinger's article, which
I can throw in the show notes if
people want to read the whole thing, but
these are signs, right?
(04:36):
Signs that maybe the universe is telling you.
Um, kind of joking there, but maybe not.
So when you are, or not ready, right.
I used to be thinking about like, maybe
you're not thinking about retirement, but if these
things resonate with you, maybe, maybe you should
be.
(04:57):
So the number one thing doesn't have anything
to do with money, Chris.
It has to do with emotions.
You're emotionally ready.
You know, you kind of like, yeah.
Well, I gotta say, Jeff, I talk to
people all the time.
It might be emotionally ready, but it's only
one part of it.
You can't just say, I would listen to
(05:18):
this podcast with these financial guys.
And they said, when I'm emotionally ready, no,
this is just one.
This is just one part of it.
Right.
Well, I do think that, you know, I
think sometimes people feel burnt out.
And that can be a driver for them
to be thinking about, I need to change.
And, um, that that's a valid, uh, consideration.
(05:42):
Sometimes it's, I'm ready for a new, uh,
adventure, a new opportunity.
Sometimes it's, um, uh, other, uh, other ways,
health.
I need something, you know, less physically demanding
or whatever it might be.
So it can be a variety of things
that can lead to that.
(06:02):
I'm ready.
Kind of emotions, physical, right.
I mean, people are, it depends on the
type of job you have.
If you have a job that's difficult on
your body, you know, you're out there on
a roof or you're landscaping or, you know,
something that's really strenuous.
Obviously.
That could be a physical thing that gets
you like, I just can't do this anymore.
(06:24):
Right.
Um, what we're really talking about is something
more of a psychology, emotional.
Yep.
Yeah.
And the notion of what's the alternative, like,
you know, I mean, it's, you talk about
this from time to time, that notion that
it's okay, so now what, what are you
actually going to do?
Yeah, that's important.
There's a little bit of vacation.
(06:45):
Sensibility.
We had a client in not too long
ago and recently retired, and he was talking
about that notion.
It's like, yeah, I get up and I
don't have to do anything.
I don't have to be anywhere.
And this sort of sense of freedom that
comes with that is liberating, you know, or,
or anxiety ridden, like, I feel like I'm
supposed to be somewhere, you know, that kind
(07:05):
of thing.
Right.
I think when people think about that, they
thinking about really short term, they may not
be saying that, but the thing, yo, I
won't have to do this.
I won't have to do that.
It's going to be, I'm going to go
on vacation.
And, you know, it's like, that's retiring.
We talk about this, but I think in
this context, we should dig in a little
(07:26):
bit.
That's that reminds me of people saying I'm
retiring from something.
I'm retiring from the stress, from the, maybe
a toxic work culture, maybe, you know, whatever.
Yeah.
But what are you retiring to?
Right.
Yeah.
It's a great point.
And you got to think of it in
(07:48):
both directions.
There can be reasons where, you know, you
do want that retiring from mindset.
Totally get that.
On the other hand, you really want to
have a sense of clarity of what you're
retiring to.
We, you can't just be saying, I'm going
(08:10):
to be a couch potato all day in
retirement.
You got to have something you're doing, you're
moving toward.
You have, you're energized by, you are enthusiastic
to participate in or whatever.
You need something that's going to really give
(08:30):
you purpose and energy that you're moving toward,
not just saying, oh, I don't, we don't
have to do that anymore.
Yeah.
I think the key word there is purpose,
right?
And it's, it's different for different people's, you
know, the study show it's different for different
genders, you know, women are much better at
(08:52):
retirement and shifting into a new, making new
social connections, activities, men struggle with that a
bit.
So, but either way, have something that you
want to do that, you know, write it
down, make a plan.
I've seen some of the suggestions and stuff
that I've read, having to do with making
(09:13):
a calendar, not a day by day calendar,
but like maybe a week by week calendar.
What would I do over the next few
weeks?
What would I do over the next few
months?
Just to give yourself a vision of what
am I going to be doing?
And it is an opportunity to do what
you want to do.
Could be a hobby, could be a charity.
We've talked about this with some guests as
well, and there are some good episodes that
(09:37):
we've had.
If you haven't, Dr. Landry, you've interviewed a
couple of women about, I forget the, the
future of you or something like that, right?
Yep.
Nan and Lisa.
Yep.
Yep.
And the notion that, you know, sometimes there's
it's hard to imagine what you might do
(09:58):
if you have difficulty with that.
Sometimes it's perhaps helpful to have a, a
helping hand in that process.
Sure.
But it's an, it's an opportunity that you
don't want to squander, you know, to sort
of be thinking about this stage of life
where you think in terms of financial freedom
(10:19):
that you can then say, what do I
want this time to be about?
How am I going to make some, the
most of that time with something that will
be meaningful to me, you know, whatever that
is.
So what are some of the other things
that you need to think about?
Well, perfectly timed.
Number two, you know, number one is you're
(10:40):
emotionally ready.
Number two is I've saved enough.
So back to your thing that we say
frequently, what's my number, right?
Yeah, right.
I think, you know, this is very much
dependent in part on knowing two things, beginning
date and ending date.
Unfortunately, we don't necessarily know both of those
(11:02):
all the time, but, you know, we don't
know how long we'll live to, how much,
how long those funds will be needed for.
We don't necessarily know, as you've described, you
know, exactly when we'll need to start.
Sometimes people have unexpected changes in their retirement
plan due to a layoff or something like
(11:25):
that.
So, you know, I think these are key
ingredients.
We can make some adjustments based on assumptions
of what is going to be inflation and
how are we going to get rate of
return?
What are we going to spend?
But all of these have variables that we
have to, you know, be a little bit
prepared for variation in some of these considerations.
(11:47):
But that can be done.
You can get a fair sense of, all
right, at what point do I have that
expectation of financial freedom?
That's right.
And that goes right into the next one.
These two are, I guess, could have been
put in the same category, but it talks
about your retirement plan.
And, you know, we've talked a little bit
(12:07):
about purpose, but I also interpret what's your
retirement plan is to really, really do a
deep dive about the conditions, the things that
could happen in your retirement.
You know, have you saved enough?
That's your number.
That's just like thinking about if I don't
have a pension or if I do, how
much is that cash flow?
(12:29):
That is how much is my social security?
I think people think about this and then
they think about withdrawing from the assets that
they've accumulated and they just get this number
as we're talking about.
So I need eight thousand dollars a month,
for example, to live the lifestyle that I
want.
And they do the math and they say,
OK, I can do that right now.
So that's that's kind of have I saved
(12:50):
enough.
But just continuing on that, I'd like to
get your thoughts on.
What can mess up, right?
Yeah, there's variables.
I mean, a couple of things.
One is, OK, I can do that today,
but what will I need in the future?
How will inflation factor into my cash flow
(13:12):
demands over time?
Am I spending principal or am I only
living off of earnings?
And that, you know, how am I defining
earnings?
How much?
Right.
Markets don't only move in one direction when
it comes to market volatility, as we talked
about recently.
Everyone's aware right now of all the volatility
(13:34):
we're enduring.
So, you know, those are things you need
to be mindful of.
There are other things like, well, am I
going to buy a car from time to
time?
Where's that money going to come from?
That's right.
Travel.
Are there going to be new additional expenses?
Are we going to have occasionally do some
renovations to the home or update the bathroom
(13:56):
or whatever it might be?
Or the roof needs a new shingles.
That is one of those categories, those items
that you've referenced is I mean, it's they're
simple to think about, but so many people
do not include them when they're doing their
cash flow projections.
And it can really take a dent in
(14:17):
some of the numbers.
And as you know, one of the ones
that can be most unexpected and damaging isn't
any of these considerations.
But the unexpected, I have family who needs
something.
I have someone who maybe a child who
maybe maybe you have children and you think
(14:37):
they're all set and then all of a
sudden one of them has a job loss
or a divorce or the grandkids come along
and you want to help there.
Or, you know, the list is really endless.
Or maybe a daughter who wasn't going to
get married gets married and you want to
have a wedding or a divorce or whatever.
Or, you know, and I like to remind
(15:03):
clients when they think, oh, you know, I'm
70 or whatever, nothing else is going to
happen.
Everything's settled.
Just, you know, I say, think about your
friends.
What stories are your friends telling you?
Or just think back 10 years.
What has come up in your financial life
that you didn't that you didn't see?
Right.
And that gets them thinking.
(15:23):
And so it's not just cash flow.
Like, what are my expenses this month times
12 times 20 years or however long you
expect to live?
Right.
It's really thinking about and this is where
when you work with when you work with
us, I'll say that or someone else who
operates a business like you do.
When we we spend a lot of time
(15:45):
getting to know our clients, understanding where they
are, you know, where they want to be
in their personal situations and their challenges and
ask them these questions in person, because sometimes
people are so focused on I'm retiring, getting
out of I'm retiring from something.
I can't wait to be home.
And I met my number.
(16:07):
They don't really dig into these what ifs,
we call them.
And then when you get to the big
what if, I guess, is what if I
need some help at home?
What if I need, you know, what if
health to, you know, chronic illness or health
deterioration or death of a spouse, there is
(16:27):
a cost of death of a spouse where
that can change the cash flows.
All of these are variables.
You got to do some of these stress
test kind of scenarios.
What if I live longer than I expect?
What if, what if, what if, right?
You got to kind of look at some
of these variables and say, how does that,
(16:49):
is there enough cushion in the plan that
I can I can make it work?
Right.
So it's not so tight.
There are times when we'll run a plan
and be like, oh, we've got a plan
that works.
And then we say, what if you had
to spend a thousand dollars a month more?
Right.
You know, it's more, but it's not like
(17:11):
outrageously more.
But of course, it's not a thousand a
month.
It's a thousand a month now.
Right.
But then inflation, I guess we should talk
about that part too, inflation.
Yeah.
And the impact can be devastating, not devastating
always, but it can be like they just
can totally change the outcome of the plan
as to is this a viable plan or
(17:31):
not.
So, you know, in some instances could be
very narrow in some instances that could be,
you know, very large before it disrupts the
plan.
But my point is, you know, these are
things you need to be paying attention to
and then it can really be that much
more important if you're in that scenario that
you have to be, you know, perpetually updating
(17:52):
the plan to say, how's it going?
How am I responding to inflation is one
example.
And if the numbers are so tight, what
would be the impact of another year of
work or a part time job or, you
know, some of these other possibilities that might
move the needle a little bit.
(18:14):
In some cases, you know, the best of
circumstances, people have an abundance and there's more
than sufficient resources.
It's really a question of how does it
affect the next generation?
Not so much for their charitable intentions or
something like that.
It's not so much a hardship, but it's
(18:36):
different in all different circumstances.
So we need to think about these issues.
Yep.
And just a plug for people who are
not at retirement right now, but people maybe
five years out or something.
That's the time to go in and have
your plan really crafted or revised because small,
(18:58):
small differences, you know, working one more year
or whatever.
Or how much you're saving at that point,
you know, a little more set aside could
make a big impact because, you know, that
could mean you're not drawing down more from
certain places or, you know, when to turn
(19:19):
on Social Security could make an impact.
If I don't turn on Social Security when
I retire, where does that, where am I
going to draw from to spend money?
Yeah, that's one that people often get wrong.
How much I have in tax diversification, like
am I all in IRA type money from
(19:40):
all my money?
Well, if that's the case, a third of
that or whatever the number really is.
But, you know, a chunk of that isn't
yours.
It's Uncle Sam's, so to speak.
So the thoughts of, oh, I'm going to
spend so much.
Well, you may be spending that plus a
third, you know, whatever.
All right.
So you're emotionally ready, you've saved enough and
(20:03):
you have a retirement plan in place that
not only helps with your cash flow projections,
but, you know, does some planning on longer
term things.
Yeah.
Stress test is it for the what ifs,
all those, a solid, comprehensive financial plan in
place that supports that you can.
Now, if you retire at 65, just to
(20:24):
use that number, a lot of people are
retiring earlier, but you have a likelihood and
it's not a small one of living into
your 90s.
And so inflation, think about how much things
cost 25 years ago and think about what
they're going to cost 25 years from now.
So to have all these components accurately included
(20:46):
in your financial plan and testing it for
the long term.
The next one that they talk about is
signs you might be ready for retirement.
Are you OK with watching your money deplete?
Because some people, you know, you go through,
you start, you get your first serious job
when you're in your mid-20s, you started
(21:09):
putting money away, you've been a diligent, savvy
investor, you're piling, piling cash, as you say,
you're a prudent investor and you've developed this
nest egg that gives you the opportunity.
I call it, it's not my quote, it's
not my word, but Bob Frank is critical
mass.
You have the critical mass to live the
(21:29):
retirement that you earned.
And then people struggle with withdrawing money and
watching those numbers go down.
Yeah, there's a certain, I think, you know,
people all come to their money issues with
different experiences, particularly people who've been through scarcity,
(21:53):
are very much aware of the risks of
asset depletion and the anxiety that comes with
that possibility.
So, you know, when we think about it,
as we were just saying, sometimes you have
money in different places.
And so when you're talking about bank accounts
(22:16):
or, you know, some of these monies that
might be depleting, they might not be all
of the resources, but it may be the
most impactful for that sense of security.
So in any case, this notion of if
you're even if you're just talking about your
(22:36):
net worth, you know, not just the bank
account per se or whatever it might be,
that anxiety of seeing that get spent to
some extent, you know, I think it becomes
really important to have clarity of what's my
plan, you know, is the plan to have
(22:58):
money left over for others.
That could be an important driver for many
people.
But for others, it's really about, well, I
just want to don't want to run out
over while I need it.
So does the does the balance going down
(23:19):
on the net worth disrupt one's sense of
comfort zone?
It's really normal to bother people.
I mean, that's because you think about it,
you spent your entire adult life building.
It's not natural to think even if you
cognitively know it, right?
Yeah, it's not natural to think that that
(23:40):
number is going to go down.
You're going to switch directions.
It's almost like, you know, snap your fingers
and now you're going to be depleting your
assets for the reasons that you saved them
for.
Nicely done with that snap of the fingers.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you.
That was not a sound effect.
That was real life.
Yeah, that was good.
It's true.
I think one of the things that oftentimes
(24:00):
we see is not just that notion of
the assets going down, it's people develop a
comfort zone that they're willing to spend within.
And they may have ample resources to spend
more, but they don't have a comfort zone
(24:22):
of spending more because they've become accustomed to
a certain lifestyle model that even though they
might have the ability and the resources and
the permission, as you talked about, they just
aren't comfortable with that at times because it's
(24:42):
this anxiety that it will lead to scarcity.
Yeah, I just have one follow up on
scarcity.
It's just a note for people.
Some people have not lived scarcity, had scarcity
in their lives, in their adult life, but
they could have experienced it as a child
and that can have equally or even greater
(25:06):
impact on how you look at these things.
So having somebody to talk it out and
having that, not to be super repetitive, but
having that financial plan in place and going
back to it, you know, like we get
clients in at least once a year, sometimes
more if they need it, but at least
once a year we want them to sit
(25:27):
down or virtually meet with us and say,
all right, let's look at your plan.
How are you doing, you know, projecting it
out?
How's the projections look?
You know, anything new, of course.
And that really should add, I think it
does, from my experience with clients, increases that
ability that they have to say, OK, my
(25:50):
plan's here.
I'm allowed to do this, allowed permission.
You know, I have I have this travel
to Europe in my budget every five years
and it's the fifth year so I can
go.
It's not going to mean I'm going to
go.
You know what it is, though, Jeff?
I mean, I think we're we're trying to
provide people intellectual rationale and a lot of
(26:14):
this stuff is what hits you on an
emotional level.
That is, it's not necessarily a rational decision
as much as a feeling, you know, the
comfort or discomfort that people have.
And so sometimes the that that rational, oh,
here's the evidence, you know, can can overcome
(26:36):
that.
But at other times it's just this is
where I'm comfortable and that's where I'm going
to stay.
You know, that kind of mindset.
But ultimately, these are things you need to
I think what we really want is to
make sure that people are tuned in if
there's a risk of depleting assets, right, that
they are prepared for how to navigate that
(26:57):
and not to have it happen too quickly
as it relates to their lifespan.
You know that it may be part of
the plan that you're going to spend through
some of your resources by design.
And that's OK.
That's you know, some people want that, some
people don't.
So it's really a matter of what you're
trying to do.
But you have to be, I think, vigilant
(27:20):
around making sure that it's not perpetuating decline
too quickly.
You know, right.
It's like I use I have the vision
when I'm talking about this is you're driving
a large ship across the ocean to a
destination retirement, you know, the end of your
retirement.
And if you get off course and you
(27:42):
know about it, you can make a small
correction.
Right.
You know, enough time in advance.
You get an easy time, but if you're
wrong, you're going to hit the shore or
you're going to miss your mark.
Or it's going to take a lot more
to try to get that course correction can
be difficult to do.
So, yeah, I think these are so ultimately
(28:05):
that what these are metaphors we're talking about.
But, you know, what does that mean?
It means you need to review your plan,
you know, with some frequency because it's not
static.
And you need to say, oh, well, in
this case, we've had a couple of years
of great markets.
How does that change the plan?
Oh, we've had bad markets.
How does that change the plan or does
it in these instances?
(28:26):
Yeah, probably not as much as people think.
Right.
Right.
And so or, hey, we had some unexpected
expenses.
We had we didn't have some of the
things we planned to do that we didn't
do, et cetera.
And, you know, this gives you some sense
of, oh, you can reassess what we want
to do now, you know, and or maybe
(28:49):
what we have to do now, you know.
And there's things that we can that you
may not have thought about that we, you
know, talk to clients about all the time
that they, you know, they think they either
got to cut their spending drastically or they
have to, you know, get a job.
Right.
And there's there's things that we talk about
with clients, you know, that downsizing your house,
for example.
(29:10):
Yeah.
A lot of this comes back to accuracy
of the information, the data, which is a
challenge.
But we have this very conversation to your
point with clients very recently where, you know,
they retired and their numbers at the outset
look good, but then a review didn't look
so good.
And well, how could this happen?
(29:30):
Well, you're spending a lot more than you
said you were going to spend.
All right.
Let's let's evaluate.
Is this an ongoing thing or are these
one off?
Yeah.
Is it temporary?
Right.
You know.
Yeah.
So we can we can evaluate that.
And if we know that it's not a
perpetual thing, OK, where where's how's that adjust
plan?
How do we adapt?
You know, if not, then we're going to
(29:52):
take more significant action.
What are we going to do to course
correct?
Right.
Right.
So we've been talking a lot about we
started with behavioral and then we, you know,
went into the number and your plan and
watching your money go down.
Now we're going to go back to I
don't know if it's behavioral or not, but
it's certainly behavioral, emotional is have you talked
(30:15):
to your spouse and, you know, are you
ready for retirement?
Have you talked to your spouse?
Are you guys on the same page about
what that means?
Both of you are retiring at the same
time.
If not, is that OK?
And what do you want to do in
retirement?
How many times have we heard, Chris?
Usually the scenario is one of the one
of the say the wife had a professional
(30:35):
career where she was traveling a lot and
the husband maybe worked in a, you know,
in a certain geographical area all the time,
maybe went to the same office building or
the same factory or the same location.
And so the wife wants to retire and
go nowhere.
She wants to nest.
She wants to be at home and be
(30:57):
involved in the community for having dealt with
all that stuff, all that business travel.
And the husband who hasn't really seen much
of the world, he's been, you know, sedentary
in that one kind of spot or one
geographical area.
He has this dream of traveling the country
and things like I'm using the extreme example,
of course.
But have you talked to your spouse?
(31:18):
Are you guys on the same page?
Do you have the same mindset about what
retirement looks like?
I want to move to Florida.
I don't want to move to Florida.
All these different things that come up, get
on the same page and spend the time
as you're thinking about all these other things,
financial things, perhaps.
Talk about the lifestyle, not just on what
you want, but with your significant other, a
(31:40):
spouse or family, however you would define it.
Yeah, I totally get your point.
I think it's it's a partnership.
You've got to both be on a similar
page.
Or how are we going to adapt?
How, you know, that said, I mean, there
are couples I know where it's very much
(32:01):
that notion that one does and one does
not like to travel.
And so they they find a workaround.
Oh, I'm going to travel with my sister
or, you know, whatever it might be that.
Yeah, half the half the time I'll go
with friends or a friend or a kid
or some something where they get the opportunity
to do what they want to do.
(32:23):
But it's just, you know, it's and everyone's
placated in a sense.
Everyone gets to do what their comfort zone
is.
There's more than one way to do things,
you know what I mean?
So if one wants to and one doesn't,
you can find a way to make that
work.
You know, if it's otherwise, you know, it's
like, well, I'd be interested in going here
(32:45):
and look, OK, we'll do that trip together,
you know, that kind of thing.
And it's not a right or wrong.
There's no value judgments in any of this.
It's just things to reflect on and think
about and deal with before you make this
decision to retire.
Make sure that these items and, you know,
everybody has unique things.
But I think the biggest challenge when it
(33:07):
comes to spouses and, you know, this communication
between spouses, when you have very different experiences,
behaviors that, you know, abundance and scarcity kinds
of mindset, when you're not on the same
page, it can be very frustrating and challenging
(33:29):
for each other to navigate that.
In one instance, someone's a planner and a
saver and, you know, trying to avoid that
scarcity concern and somebody else is saying, oh,
we got abundance, we got plenty.
Let's go, you know, they're a shopper or
(33:49):
whatever it might be.
And, you know, you can get into this
scenario where it's like you're kind of bumping
heads a little bit and it can create
tensions and frustration.
So there has to be good communication around
these issues.
And a lot of times what you find
is when there's not more of a shared
(34:11):
objective, it's very difficult to communicate around these
issues.
And it's really defining as to how things
will play out over time.
We don't have the skills as a marriage
counselor or, you know, or whatever it is,
you know, at the same time, it does,
(34:35):
you know, there are, you do have these
issues where you have very different preferences and
issues going on where we have to somehow
sometimes help people navigate a little bit of,
well, how are we going to find some
consensus on what we're going to do?
And but that's part of the virtue, I
think, of planning is there's an opportunity to
(34:55):
air some of these things in a way
that's healthy and deliberative as opposed to, you
know, just coasting along and not necessarily addressing
some of these things and finding that it
can be frustrating at times.
Exactly.
Have a good process usually has a good
outcome.
That's the way I usually think about it.
(35:17):
You have a good process in decision making,
your decision is likely going to be the
correct one for you and your family.
Well, good article, definitely check it out.
And Jeff, once again, we are a little
longer than we intended for our our conversation.
But, you know, listen, our listeners, if you
are in need of a little bit of
(35:39):
help in thinking about, you know, your retirement
readiness, better to prepare, have the conversation, do
some of these steps if you need help
in the process.
If you're not doing it on your own,
best case is, you know, you do a
little bit on your own, but get a
little bit of help along the way and
you will have a good outcome.
(36:00):
If we can be a resource to you
in that process, don't hesitate to reach out
to us here.
You can find us, the easiest way is
go to our web page that can be
found by the name of the show, Something
More with Chris Boyd.
And you can always give us a call
or send us an email.
With that in mind, until next time, everybody
(36:21):
keeps striving for something more.
Thank you for listening to Something More with
Chris Boyd.
Call us for help, whether it's for financial
planning or portfolio management, insurance concerns or those
quality of life issues that make the money
matters matter.
Whatever's on your mind, visit us at SomethingMoreWithChrisBoyd
.com or call us toll free at 866
(36:44):
-771-8901 or send us your questions to
AMR-info at WealthEnhancement.com.
You're listening to Something More with Chris Boyd,
financial talk show, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services and
Jay Christopher Boyd provide investment advice on an
individual basis to clients only.
Proper advice depends on a complete analysis of
(37:04):
all facts and circumstances.
The information given on this program is general
financial comments and cannot be relied upon as
pertaining to your specific situation.
Wealth Enhancement Group cannot guarantee that using the
information from this show will generate profits or
ensure freedom from loss.
Listeners should consult their own financial advisors or
conduct their own due diligence before making any
financial decisions.
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