June 17, 2026 • 20 mins
Retiring at 65 sounds safe until you look at one overlooked number: Healthy life expectancy.
If the average American starts facing meaningful health limitations around the same age most people leave work, the biggest risk to your retirement might not be the market or your savings rate, it might be the shrinking window of time when you can actually do the things you dreamed about. That’s the wake-up call we dig into, along with what to do before “later” turns into “too late.”
We talk through the difference between being alive and truly living, using real retirement planning experience and global data to show why the United States lags other countries in healthy years. Then we get practical: how to treat health like a retirement account with simple, repeatable habits that protect mobility, independence, and confidence. Because a perfect financial plan on paper is meaningless if you can’t travel, carry luggage, play with grandkids, or enjoy everyday freedom.
On the money side, we challenge the drift of status quo planning and ask a question that changes everything: what would it take to retire at 55? That mindset exposes the levers that build financial independence, including spending less than you earn, avoiding lifestyle creep, protecting relationships, and building a portfolio that matches your real risk tolerance. We also unpack why asset allocation matters more than stock picking and how a written plan and steady guidance can keep you from panic decisions during market crashes.
If you want more healthy years with real choices, hit subscribe, share this with someone who keeps saying “someday,” and leave a review so more people can find it.
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🌐 Paradigm Wealth Partners (website) – Financial planning for career professionals who want to retire and stay retired: https://paradigmwealthpartners.com/
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▶️ YouTube: Paradigm Wealth Partners
If you or someone you care about could use the help of a financial advisor and sees the value in establishing a financial plan, please reach out to me.
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Jonathan
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:03):
So, what's the hidden danger of waiting until
you're 65 to retire?
How bad can that actually be?
That's when most people retire,right?
It feels safe, responsible,normal.
It's what we're told throughmedia and the rule of thumb is
real retirement 65.
And honestly, I wish that wastrue.
But after more than 20 years ofworking with people planning for
(00:25):
retirement, I can tell youthere's a major trap that
catches people off guard all thetime.
It has nothing to do with thestock market crashing or running
out of money.
The biggest risk of retiring at65 is that you may already be
out of time.
Not time to live, but time totruly enjoy your retirement,
(00:49):
your golden ages, the remaininglife that you have.
In fact, I say that time is infact your largest asset.
There's a number most peoplehave never heard of, and it may
be more important than your networth, your social security
strategy, or even yourinvestment returns.
(01:10):
It's called your healthy lifeexpectancy.
And once you understand it, youmay never look at retirement the
same way again.
You see, most people obsess overone question: how long am I
going to live?
But honestly, that's the wrongquestion.
The better question is, in fact,how long will I be healthy
(01:31):
enough to enjoy my retirement?
Because there's a massivedifference between being alive
and truly living.
Retirement isn't just aboutexisting, it's about traveling,
hiking, golfing, spending timewith grandkids, being out on the
lake, having your energy,independence, your freedom.
(01:52):
There's a lot to retirement thatyou want to enjoy.
And once you lose the capabilityto do those things, you're not
really living, you're justexisting.
So eventually, for most people,there comes a point where their
health starts to limit thosethings that we just talked
(02:14):
about.
And that's what healthy lifeexpectancy really measures.
Not when you die, but when theaverage person becomes begins
experiencing meaningful healthlimitations.
And when you look at the globaldata, the United States has a
serious problem.
There's a data compiled from theWorld Health Organization that
(02:35):
tracks healthy life expectancyacross countries.
And honestly, some of thesenumbers are incredible.
In Japan, people stay healthyinto their mid-70s.
In Singapore, 73, South Korea,73, Switzerland in your low 70s,
Spain, France, Italy, Israel,all of those have uh clustered
(03:01):
around the low 70s.
So naturally you'd think, okay,the United States has to be
somewhere close, right?
No.
The healthy life expectancy inthe United States is roughly 66
years old, not mid-70s, 66.
And when I first saw that, Istopped me, uh it stopped me in
(03:22):
my tracks.
I I really struggled withgrasping that data.
But because most Americansretire right around 65, that's
where this becomes terrifyingwhen you think about retirement
at 65 coupled with your healthylife for Americans being kind of
(03:45):
66, really starts to cause youto think about you know, your
retirement, what that plan is,and how this stuff works.
So Gallup has actually trackeduh retirement trends for years
in the US, and the pattern ispretty obvious.
Very, very, very few peopleretire in their 40s.
(04:07):
Not many retire in their early50s either.
We do have a lot of clients thatuh conversations around wanting
to retire in their 50s, it takesa lot of commitment and effort
and strategy to pull that off.
So we don't actually see a tonof people do it.
Um, and so even the number ofpeople retiring in their late
(04:28):
50s has been shrinking.
And Americans are working longerand longer and longer.
Now you see a huge number ofpeople still working at 65 and
70, and sometimes even intotheir mid-70s.
So for many people, that's notbecause they love working.
Uh, in fact, we see a lot ofpeople that are working because
(04:50):
they have to, they feel trapped,they need the paycheck, they
need the insurance, they needmore savings, uh, or they're
simply just not comfortableleaving the workforce.
What I would sum this up as,they they never truly built a
plan that gave them the options.
And so when you overlayretirement age with this healthy
(05:11):
life expectancy, the averageAmerican retires right around
the time major health declineoften begins.
So think about that for asecond.
You spend 40 years working,saving, grinding, stressing,
delaying, dealing with bossesthat you don't care for, or
customers that are hard to dealwith.
(05:32):
And then you're finallyretirement arrives.
You're dreaming about this granduh travel you're gonna take, or
retiring on the lake, you know,just north of your town, and
spending time in a rockingchair, uh, you know, overlooking
the water, maybe you know,spending time uh with your
grandkids, taking the family toDisney.
There's all kinds of dreams thatyou envision when you think
(05:57):
about your retirement and thatthat arrival.
But right as your healthiestyears may be ending, that's
that's the trap you're you'reretiring into when your healthy
years start to diminish.
And so that's where you shouldbe thinking about time, the
(06:18):
biggest asset that that youhave, and how do you maximize
those healthy retirement yearsto do the things and be around
the people you love most?
And honestly, this is somethingthat I think a lot about
personally.
In my family, we've had peoplewith some health issues.
I have close friends and distantrelatives that have had healthy
(06:40):
issues, and it it is as I sitback and think about what this
data I saw from the World HealthOrganization was, when I when I
look back and I think aboutthese people that are close to
me, it's easy for me to say,yeah, you know, that that makes
sense.
What they have come up withaligns.
(07:01):
So when I hear people constantlysay, I'll enjoy life later, I'll
go do this later, I can do that,you know, in a couple of years,
I start to get nervous becausewe don't know how much time we
have left.
And as we continue to delay thisgratification, it ends up
costing us additional uh ourlives, additional stress and
(07:24):
worry and concern.
And a lot of times we need toembrace some of the things that
we enjoy versus just continuingto work and grind.
Later is never guaranteed.
Um, we don't know how long wehave.
So to be clear, these areaverages averages.
This doesn't mean your lifefalls apart at 66, my mother's
(07:48):
66 and still in great health, myfather's 67, still in great
health.
You may stay healthy well intoyour 80s, and I hope you do in
even longer 90s.
We have clients that have livedvery long healthy lives into
their their mid to late 90s andand even hundreds.
But I also know people that youknow passed away at 63, passed
away at 58, and uh you justdon't know when that time comes.
(08:13):
So build your entire retirementplan, assuming you'll always
have time, that's risky.
Eventually, that time becomesthe asset you can't buy more of.
It is your biggest asset.
So you want to make sure that asyou're building this plan,
you're planning for embracingsome of that time, that asset
(08:35):
today, not just in the future.
So, what can you do about this?
First, start treating yourhealth like a retirement
account.
Health is wealth because yourbody may be your most valuable
asset aside from time, um, thosetwo things together.
They're more valuable than yourIRA, they're more valuable than
(08:57):
your 401k, they're more valuablethan the returns that you're
getting in your portfolio.
Uh, if you do not have yourhealth and you don't have time,
you don't have anything.
What's the point of buildingthis perfect plan, the perfect
dream scenario on paper on thecomputer, if you don't have the
(09:19):
things that help you enjoy it?
You don't need to become someelite athlete.
You need to take care ofyourself.
That means eating better, movingyour body, get your 10,000
steps, spend a day or two a weekin the gym, do some
cardiovascular exercise,maintain some muscle mass.
I read a stat recently that welose three to five percent of
(09:43):
our muscle mass every uh decadethat goes by.
And so that's part of the reasonwhy we you see people shrink.
That muscle matters, strengthmatters because that strength is
what gives you the independencethat you want and you crave
later in life.
So that provides your ability totravel, carry luggage, play with
(10:04):
grandkids, stay mobile, do thebasic things in life, like just
go to the local Starbucks orMcDonald's to get a coffee.
That's what gives you thatmobility.
And ultimately, that's whatgives you the confidence that it
helps you stay confident andhave a positive outlook on life.
That's why this matters.
(10:25):
And honestly, a lot of Americansare unintentionally sacrificing
their future health forshort-term convenience.
Fast food, stress, anothercouple of hours at work, no
sleep, no movement.
They're solely focused on makingas much money as they can and
(10:46):
not embracing or thinking aboutwhat the future looks like.
Then all of a sudden they wakeup at 65 wondering why
retirement doesn't feel the waythey imagined.
Health alone isn't enough.
You also need a financial planthat gives you options earlier.
One of the questions I thinkmore people should ask is, what
(11:08):
would it look like for us toretire at 55?
Not because everyone will retireat 55, but because asking these
questions changes how you liveand you think.
And once you start thinkingabout that, it allows you to
start saying, okay, how can Ipivot?
What if I did XYZ instead?
What if I pulled this lever?
(11:30):
Those sort of things help youmanipulate and change the plan
so that you're not relying uhsolely on just what uh the
masses do, but you're actuallybeing strategic.
What we're trying to avoid isdrifting, just just drifting and
status quo.
So you know, you spend whatcomes in, you save what's left,
(11:52):
and you hope that how hope thatworks out later.
That's not the strategy that youshould be working on.
That is is gambling, it's it'sjust chance.
So what we're trying to do iscreate intentionality, being
intentional, uh, specific, uh,measurable, actionable, creating
(12:14):
uh a plan on paper on purpose.
That's how we we create thisearly retirement dream.
It's not just for rich people,it can be for anybody, but it
takes decision, it takesintentionality, it takes being
focused in order to do thosethings.
So it takes discipline, I guessis what I should say.
(12:35):
Let's talk about a few wealthrules that matter most.
These are some patterns I'venoticed over the last, you know,
close to 20 years of helpingpeople build retirement plans
and move into their retirementyears.
Rule number one, spend less thanyou earn.
(12:55):
This sounds painfully obvious.
Dave Ramsey preaches this, andyet it's the it's the rule that
most people break.
You can't make$200,000 and spend$500,000 a year and not end up
financially stuck.
It's a roadblock and a jam fromthe get-go.
(13:17):
Income alone doesn't create yourwealth, your behavior does.
People who gain the freedom arethe people who consistently save
and invest and avoid thelifestyle creep.
That's what creates your optionslater in life.
A little bit of sacrifice.
Rule number two, protect yourrelationships.
Retirement isn't just uh afinancial.
(13:41):
It's not uh success, it isn'tjust a financial success, it's
emotional.
And one of the biggest financialdestroyers I've seen over the
years is divorce.
Now, obviously, not everymarriage can last or should
last, but relationships aresalvageable, and part of being
married uh is the ebbs and flowsof life.
(14:03):
You're gonna have low spots,you're gonna have high spots.
It's important that you continueto pour into each other and so
that you invest in yourrelationship just like you would
your health, your investments,uh, your life, your work.
It's another aspect that youwant to make sure you're
spending time.
It's wise to do to do this.
(14:24):
And stable relationships canoften create more stable
financial lives in retirement.
Don't build a lifestyle thatowns you.
This is risk number three orrule number three.
I've seen people buy you knowgiant homes, vacation
properties, three and fourdifferent properties, expensive
toys, and suddenly theirlifestyle requires them to keep
(14:47):
working forever.
Meanwhile, some of theirhappiest retirees I know have
flexibility, freedom.
They're not beholden to allthese expensive toys and four
properties across the country.
They actually live very simplelives, and that's what makes it
refreshing and fun is thatthey're not carrying this extra
(15:08):
stress.
That's the goal.
Uh, you're not trying to impresspeople, you're buying your time
back so that you can enjoy doingthe things you love with the
people you love.
So now when it comes toinvesting, the investing mistake
that hurts people the most ismost people think retirement
success comes from picking theperfect stock, and it doesn't.
(15:30):
One of the biggest drivers oflong-term investment success is
asset allocation, meaning howmuch you have in stocks, how
much you have in fixed income,how your portfolio is
structured, how much you'resaving.
And this becomes reallyimportant during market crashes
because everybody thinks theycan handle risk until they
(15:52):
actually experience.
It's like the uh, you know, theold saying where, you know,
everyone thinks you can handleit until it punches you in the
mouth.
Uh, you know, it's it's onething to think you can handle
the situation, uh, financialrisk or crisis.
It's another thing when itactually happens and you don't
have a plan for it.
So in the great financialcrisis, you know, 2008 time
(16:15):
frame, we've had you know thepandemic, we had 2022.
Um, but in the great financialcrisis 2008 time frame, the SP
500 dropped around 50%.
If you imagine watching half ofyour retirement savings
disappear emotionally, thatchanges people.
That makes people um veryanxious and nervous.
(16:37):
And that's why we're seeing uh,number one, people working
longer because they're scared tolet go.
Uh, but we're also seeing morepeople make panic decisions and
make these catastrophicdecisions that have a material
impact on the long-term successof their retirement plan.
(16:57):
And they'll sell low, they'llmove to cash, they'll lock in
those losses, and then as themarket rebounds, they've missed
out.
So it's important that you havea plan on paper, on purpose, and
something that you can stickwith.
Because as these marketsfluctuate, you have to have
something that grounds you togood decisions.
(17:19):
Good financial advisor,guidance, having someone that
can provide guidance.
They don't just manage theinvestments, they help manage
your behavior.
Because when markets get ugly,logic disappears first, fear
takes over, and retirement istoo important to guess your way
through.
An experienced advisor haswatched hundreds of people
(17:42):
navigate recessions, bearmarkets, retirement transitions,
health scares, uh, unexpectedpassing of a spouse, unexpected
life events, essentially anysituation that you could think
of, we have helped hundreds ofpeople navigate these exact
situations.
(18:03):
So those perspectives and thoseinsights can help you.
They matter, they can help youweather the storms and prevent
you from making the mistakesthat other people have made,
especially when the emotions arehigh.
So even with the perfectfinancial plan, urgency is still
real because once you're hit 60,most people have fewer than a
(18:27):
thousand healthy weeks left.
And a thousand healthy weekssounds like a lot until you
realize how fast moves.
The weeks become holidays,birthdays, summers,
anniversaries, trips that youkeep postponing, and eventually
the window starts closing in onyou.
(18:48):
So this isn't about fear, it'sabout awareness that maybe you
should take your healthy lifemore seriously, your health more
seriously, save moreintentionally, simplify your
lifestyle, stop delaying yourmeaningful experiences.
Again, time is your biggestasset.
(19:10):
And finally, create an actualretirement plan on paper, on
purpose, specific for you.
The goal is not just aboutretiring someday.
The goal is to retire while youstill have health, energy, and
freedom to fully enjoy it.
If this hits home with you,please reach out.
(19:31):
We'd love to have aconversation.
Like and subscribe to thischannel.
See you on the next video.
Be confident in your retirement.
Have a wonderful day.
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button.
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(19:52):
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The information in this podcastis informational and general in
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This podcast is not intended tobe a substitute for specific in
(20:15):
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(20:37):
entities for LPL Financial.
So, what's the hidden danger of waiting until
you're 65 to retire?
How bad can that actually be?
That's when most people retire,right?
It feels safe, responsible,normal.
It's what we're told throughmedia and the rule of thumb is
real retirement 65.
And honestly, I wish that wastrue.
But after more than 20 years ofworking with people planning for
(00:25):
retirement, I can tell youthere's a major trap that
catches people off guard all thetime.
It has nothing to do with thestock market crashing or running
out of money.
The biggest risk of retiring at65 is that you may already be
out of time.
Not time to live, but time totruly enjoy your retirement,
(00:49):
your golden ages, the remaininglife that you have.
In fact, I say that time is infact your largest asset.
There's a number most peoplehave never heard of, and it may
be more important than your networth, your social security
strategy, or even yourinvestment returns.
(01:10):
It's called your healthy lifeexpectancy.
And once you understand it, youmay never look at retirement the
same way again.
You see, most people obsess overone question: how long am I
going to live?
But honestly, that's the wrongquestion.
The better question is, in fact,how long will I be healthy
(01:31):
enough to enjoy my retirement?
Because there's a massivedifference between being alive
and truly living.
Retirement isn't just aboutexisting, it's about traveling,
hiking, golfing, spending timewith grandkids, being out on the
lake, having your energy,independence, your freedom.
(01:52):
There's a lot to retirement thatyou want to enjoy.
And once you lose the capabilityto do those things, you're not
really living, you're justexisting.
So eventually, for most people,there comes a point where their
health starts to limit thosethings that we just talked
(02:14):
about.
And that's what healthy lifeexpectancy really measures.
Not when you die, but when theaverage person becomes begins
experiencing meaningful healthlimitations.
And when you look at the globaldata, the United States has a
serious problem.
There's a data compiled from theWorld Health Organization that
(02:35):
tracks healthy life expectancyacross countries.
And honestly, some of thesenumbers are incredible.
In Japan, people stay healthyinto their mid-70s.
In Singapore, 73, South Korea,73, Switzerland in your low 70s,
Spain, France, Italy, Israel,all of those have uh clustered
(03:01):
around the low 70s.
So naturally you'd think, okay,the United States has to be
somewhere close, right?
No.
The healthy life expectancy inthe United States is roughly 66
years old, not mid-70s, 66.
And when I first saw that, Istopped me, uh it stopped me in
(03:22):
my tracks.
I I really struggled withgrasping that data.
But because most Americansretire right around 65, that's
where this becomes terrifyingwhen you think about retirement
at 65 coupled with your healthylife for Americans being kind of
(03:45):
66, really starts to cause youto think about you know, your
retirement, what that plan is,and how this stuff works.
So Gallup has actually trackeduh retirement trends for years
in the US, and the pattern ispretty obvious.
Very, very, very few peopleretire in their 40s.
(04:07):
Not many retire in their early50s either.
We do have a lot of clients thatuh conversations around wanting
to retire in their 50s, it takesa lot of commitment and effort
and strategy to pull that off.
So we don't actually see a tonof people do it.
Um, and so even the number ofpeople retiring in their late
(04:28):
50s has been shrinking.
And Americans are working longerand longer and longer.
Now you see a huge number ofpeople still working at 65 and
70, and sometimes even intotheir mid-70s.
So for many people, that's notbecause they love working.
Uh, in fact, we see a lot ofpeople that are working because
(04:50):
they have to, they feel trapped,they need the paycheck, they
need the insurance, they needmore savings, uh, or they're
simply just not comfortableleaving the workforce.
What I would sum this up as,they they never truly built a
plan that gave them the options.
And so when you overlayretirement age with this healthy
(05:11):
life expectancy, the averageAmerican retires right around
the time major health declineoften begins.
So think about that for asecond.
You spend 40 years working,saving, grinding, stressing,
delaying, dealing with bossesthat you don't care for, or
customers that are hard to dealwith.
(05:32):
And then you're finallyretirement arrives.
You're dreaming about this granduh travel you're gonna take, or
retiring on the lake, you know,just north of your town, and
spending time in a rockingchair, uh, you know, overlooking
the water, maybe you know,spending time uh with your
grandkids, taking the family toDisney.
There's all kinds of dreams thatyou envision when you think
(05:57):
about your retirement and thatthat arrival.
But right as your healthiestyears may be ending, that's
that's the trap you're you'reretiring into when your healthy
years start to diminish.
And so that's where you shouldbe thinking about time, the
(06:18):
biggest asset that that youhave, and how do you maximize
those healthy retirement yearsto do the things and be around
the people you love most?
And honestly, this is somethingthat I think a lot about
personally.
In my family, we've had peoplewith some health issues.
I have close friends and distantrelatives that have had healthy
(06:40):
issues, and it it is as I sitback and think about what this
data I saw from the World HealthOrganization was, when I when I
look back and I think aboutthese people that are close to
me, it's easy for me to say,yeah, you know, that that makes
sense.
What they have come up withaligns.
(07:01):
So when I hear people constantlysay, I'll enjoy life later, I'll
go do this later, I can do that,you know, in a couple of years,
I start to get nervous becausewe don't know how much time we
have left.
And as we continue to delay thisgratification, it ends up
costing us additional uh ourlives, additional stress and
(07:24):
worry and concern.
And a lot of times we need toembrace some of the things that
we enjoy versus just continuingto work and grind.
Later is never guaranteed.
Um, we don't know how long wehave.
So to be clear, these areaverages averages.
This doesn't mean your lifefalls apart at 66, my mother's
(07:48):
66 and still in great health, myfather's 67, still in great
health.
You may stay healthy well intoyour 80s, and I hope you do in
even longer 90s.
We have clients that have livedvery long healthy lives into
their their mid to late 90s andand even hundreds.
But I also know people that youknow passed away at 63, passed
away at 58, and uh you justdon't know when that time comes.
(08:13):
So build your entire retirementplan, assuming you'll always
have time, that's risky.
Eventually, that time becomesthe asset you can't buy more of.
It is your biggest asset.
So you want to make sure that asyou're building this plan,
you're planning for embracingsome of that time, that asset
(08:35):
today, not just in the future.
So, what can you do about this?
First, start treating yourhealth like a retirement
account.
Health is wealth because yourbody may be your most valuable
asset aside from time, um, thosetwo things together.
They're more valuable than yourIRA, they're more valuable than
(08:57):
your 401k, they're more valuablethan the returns that you're
getting in your portfolio.
Uh, if you do not have yourhealth and you don't have time,
you don't have anything.
What's the point of buildingthis perfect plan, the perfect
dream scenario on paper on thecomputer, if you don't have the
(09:19):
things that help you enjoy it?
You don't need to become someelite athlete.
You need to take care ofyourself.
That means eating better, movingyour body, get your 10,000
steps, spend a day or two a weekin the gym, do some
cardiovascular exercise,maintain some muscle mass.
I read a stat recently that welose three to five percent of
(09:43):
our muscle mass every uh decadethat goes by.
And so that's part of the reasonwhy we you see people shrink.
That muscle matters, strengthmatters because that strength is
what gives you the independencethat you want and you crave
later in life.
So that provides your ability totravel, carry luggage, play with
(10:04):
grandkids, stay mobile, do thebasic things in life, like just
go to the local Starbucks orMcDonald's to get a coffee.
That's what gives you thatmobility.
And ultimately, that's whatgives you the confidence that it
helps you stay confident andhave a positive outlook on life.
That's why this matters.
(10:25):
And honestly, a lot of Americansare unintentionally sacrificing
their future health forshort-term convenience.
Fast food, stress, anothercouple of hours at work, no
sleep, no movement.
They're solely focused on makingas much money as they can and
(10:46):
not embracing or thinking aboutwhat the future looks like.
Then all of a sudden they wakeup at 65 wondering why
retirement doesn't feel the waythey imagined.
Health alone isn't enough.
You also need a financial planthat gives you options earlier.
One of the questions I thinkmore people should ask is, what
(11:08):
would it look like for us toretire at 55?
Not because everyone will retireat 55, but because asking these
questions changes how you liveand you think.
And once you start thinkingabout that, it allows you to
start saying, okay, how can Ipivot?
What if I did XYZ instead?
What if I pulled this lever?
(11:30):
Those sort of things help youmanipulate and change the plan
so that you're not relying uhsolely on just what uh the
masses do, but you're actuallybeing strategic.
What we're trying to avoid isdrifting, just just drifting and
status quo.
So you know, you spend whatcomes in, you save what's left,
(11:52):
and you hope that how hope thatworks out later.
That's not the strategy that youshould be working on.
That is is gambling, it's it'sjust chance.
So what we're trying to do iscreate intentionality, being
intentional, uh, specific, uh,measurable, actionable, creating
(12:14):
uh a plan on paper on purpose.
That's how we we create thisearly retirement dream.
It's not just for rich people,it can be for anybody, but it
takes decision, it takesintentionality, it takes being
focused in order to do thosethings.
So it takes discipline, I guessis what I should say.
(12:35):
Let's talk about a few wealthrules that matter most.
These are some patterns I'venoticed over the last, you know,
close to 20 years of helpingpeople build retirement plans
and move into their retirementyears.
Rule number one, spend less thanyou earn.
(12:55):
This sounds painfully obvious.
Dave Ramsey preaches this, andyet it's the it's the rule that
most people break.
You can't make$200,000 and spend$500,000 a year and not end up
financially stuck.
It's a roadblock and a jam fromthe get-go.
(13:17):
Income alone doesn't create yourwealth, your behavior does.
People who gain the freedom arethe people who consistently save
and invest and avoid thelifestyle creep.
That's what creates your optionslater in life.
A little bit of sacrifice.
Rule number two, protect yourrelationships.
Retirement isn't just uh afinancial.
(13:41):
It's not uh success, it isn'tjust a financial success, it's
emotional.
And one of the biggest financialdestroyers I've seen over the
years is divorce.
Now, obviously, not everymarriage can last or should
last, but relationships aresalvageable, and part of being
married uh is the ebbs and flowsof life.
(14:03):
You're gonna have low spots,you're gonna have high spots.
It's important that you continueto pour into each other and so
that you invest in yourrelationship just like you would
your health, your investments,uh, your life, your work.
It's another aspect that youwant to make sure you're
spending time.
It's wise to do to do this.
(14:24):
And stable relationships canoften create more stable
financial lives in retirement.
Don't build a lifestyle thatowns you.
This is risk number three orrule number three.
I've seen people buy you knowgiant homes, vacation
properties, three and fourdifferent properties, expensive
toys, and suddenly theirlifestyle requires them to keep
(14:47):
working forever.
Meanwhile, some of theirhappiest retirees I know have
flexibility, freedom.
They're not beholden to allthese expensive toys and four
properties across the country.
They actually live very simplelives, and that's what makes it
refreshing and fun is thatthey're not carrying this extra
(15:08):
stress.
That's the goal.
Uh, you're not trying to impresspeople, you're buying your time
back so that you can enjoy doingthe things you love with the
people you love.
So now when it comes toinvesting, the investing mistake
that hurts people the most ismost people think retirement
success comes from picking theperfect stock, and it doesn't.
(15:30):
One of the biggest drivers oflong-term investment success is
asset allocation, meaning howmuch you have in stocks, how
much you have in fixed income,how your portfolio is
structured, how much you'resaving.
And this becomes reallyimportant during market crashes
because everybody thinks theycan handle risk until they
(15:52):
actually experience.
It's like the uh, you know, theold saying where, you know,
everyone thinks you can handleit until it punches you in the
mouth.
Uh, you know, it's it's onething to think you can handle
the situation, uh, financialrisk or crisis.
It's another thing when itactually happens and you don't
have a plan for it.
So in the great financialcrisis, you know, 2008 time
(16:15):
frame, we've had you know thepandemic, we had 2022.
Um, but in the great financialcrisis 2008 time frame, the SP
500 dropped around 50%.
If you imagine watching half ofyour retirement savings
disappear emotionally, thatchanges people.
That makes people um veryanxious and nervous.
(16:37):
And that's why we're seeing uh,number one, people working
longer because they're scared tolet go.
Uh, but we're also seeing morepeople make panic decisions and
make these catastrophicdecisions that have a material
impact on the long-term successof their retirement plan.
(16:57):
And they'll sell low, they'llmove to cash, they'll lock in
those losses, and then as themarket rebounds, they've missed
out.
So it's important that you havea plan on paper, on purpose, and
something that you can stickwith.
Because as these marketsfluctuate, you have to have
something that grounds you togood decisions.
(17:19):
Good financial advisor,guidance, having someone that
can provide guidance.
They don't just manage theinvestments, they help manage
your behavior.
Because when markets get ugly,logic disappears first, fear
takes over, and retirement istoo important to guess your way
through.
An experienced advisor haswatched hundreds of people
(17:42):
navigate recessions, bearmarkets, retirement transitions,
health scares, uh, unexpectedpassing of a spouse, unexpected
life events, essentially anysituation that you could think
of, we have helped hundreds ofpeople navigate these exact
situations.
(18:03):
So those perspectives and thoseinsights can help you.
They matter, they can help youweather the storms and prevent
you from making the mistakesthat other people have made,
especially when the emotions arehigh.
So even with the perfectfinancial plan, urgency is still
real because once you're hit 60,most people have fewer than a
(18:27):
thousand healthy weeks left.
And a thousand healthy weekssounds like a lot until you
realize how fast moves.
The weeks become holidays,birthdays, summers,
anniversaries, trips that youkeep postponing, and eventually
the window starts closing in onyou.
(18:48):
So this isn't about fear, it'sabout awareness that maybe you
should take your healthy lifemore seriously, your health more
seriously, save moreintentionally, simplify your
lifestyle, stop delaying yourmeaningful experiences.
Again, time is your biggestasset.
(19:10):
And finally, create an actualretirement plan on paper, on
purpose, specific for you.
The goal is not just aboutretiring someday.
The goal is to retire while youstill have health, energy, and
freedom to fully enjoy it.
If this hits home with you,please reach out.
(19:31):
We'd love to have aconversation.
Like and subscribe to thischannel.
See you on the next video.
Be confident in your retirement.
Have a wonderful day.
Thanks for joining me on anotherepisode of What the Wealth.
If you enjoyed the episodetoday, smash that subscribe
button.
It helps me more than you think.
Also, if you found this episodeinsightful and a light bulb went
(19:52):
off, share it.
Your friend Aunt Judy, therandom guy in the office who's
always talking aboutinvestments.
Wealth isn't about just thechick chain.
It's about our choices, chances,and changing our financial
futures.
The information in this podcastis informational and general in
nature and does not take intoconsideration the listener's
personal circumstances.
This podcast is not intended tobe a substitute for specific in
(20:15):
financial, legal, or tax advice.
You should consult the approvedqualified professional prior to
making a final decision.
Security is offered through LPLFinancial, remember FINRA SIPC.
Paradigm Wealth Partners is theother business name for
Independent Advisor Alliance.
Investment Advice offeredthrough Independent Advisor
Alliance, a registeredinvestment advisor, Independent
Advisor Alliance, and ParadigmWealth Partners are separate
(20:37):
entities for LPL Financial.
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