Navigating the Emotional and Financial Challenges of Retirement

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Can retirement really be more challenging than your working years? On this episode of the Wolf Financial Podcast, we explore the surprising struggles many retirees face when it comes to redefining their identities and finding new purposes in life. From dealing with an identity crisis to discovering fulfilling activities like volunteering and spending more time with loved ones, we delve into the emotional and psychological shifts that accompany this major life transition. We underscore that retirement planning isn't just about securing your financial future; it's about understanding what truly drives and gives you purpose.

We also discuss the critical role of having a trusted financial advisor by your side. Building a meaningful relationship with an advisor who genuinely listens and understands your unique needs can make all the difference in navigating the complexities of retirement. We highlight the importance of seeking personalized advice, whether it's for investment, tax, or legal matters. Tune in to learn how to prepare not just financially, but emotionally, for a smoother and more rewarding retirement journey.

Learn more about Wolf Financial Advisory:
https://www.wolffinancialadvisory.com/

Disclosure: Robert Wolf, James Koenig, Sara Wolf, and Michael Rock are investment advisor representatives of, and securities and advisory services are offered through, USA Financial Securities. Member FINRA/SIPC. Additionally, Amanda Opulskas and Adam Wallace are registered non-solicitors of USA Financial Securities, A registered investment advisor. 6020 E. Fulton St., Ada, MI 49301. Wolf Advisory Services and Wolf Financial Advisory are not affiliated with USA Financial Securities.

The strategies and concepts discussed are for educational purposes only and do not represent specific investment, tax, or estate planning advice. Investing carries an inherent element of risk and it is in everyone’s best interests to consult a tax, legal, or investment professional. The opinions expressed herein are not meant to provide specific investment advice or serve as a prediction for future stock market performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Securities and advisory services are offered through USA Financial Securities, member FINRA/SIPC. A registered investment adviser. Wolf Financial Advisory and USA Financial Securities are not affiliated entities.

Episode Transcript

Voiceover (00:00):
The strategies and concepts discussed are for
educational purposes only and donot represent specific
investment, tax or estateplanning advice.
Investing carries an inherentelement of risk and it is in
everyone's best interests toconsult a tax, legal or
investment professional.
Past performance does notguarantee future results.
Securities and advisoryservices are offered through USA

(00:22):
Financial Securities memberFINRA/ SIPC, a registered
investment advisor.
Wolf Financial Advisory are notaffiliated with USA Financial
Securities.
Wolf Financial Advisory.
When it's important to you,it's important to us.
This is the Wolf FinancialPodcast.

(00:42):
Here's your host, Rob Wolf.

Rob Wolf (00:47):
Good day everyone.
Rob Wolf here with the WolfFinancial Podcast Today, I pose
a question to you why isretirement sometimes harder than
when I'm working?
You know, we all think aboutretirement as the pinnacle of

(01:08):
our working years, where we getto the top of the mountain and
now we see what we'veaccomplished, and now it's just
smooth sailing going down themountain from there.
And for hopefully a lot ofpeople, that's what the case is.
But you know, when it comes tofinancial issues, sometimes when
you get to the peak of themountain, going down the
mountain can also have quite afew challenges that maybe we

(01:31):
weren't expecting as we weregoing up.
So let's break this down here alittle bit.
And why is retirement a littlebit more challenging for people?
Well, the first thing that weall need to be prepared for is
when you retire, you have toredefine who you are.
How many of us?

(01:52):
When we're asked about who weare and tell our story to people
, the first thing that we tellthem is what we do.
It's how we define ourselves.
I'm a doctor, I'm a lawyer, I'ma financial advisor.
Well, guess what, when you'reretired, when somebody asks you,
what do you do?

(02:13):
What do you say?
Well, I don't know.
That's.
One of the biggest issues inretirement is redefining who you
are.
You know, for a lot of peopleespecially when they come to
people like me right, theyalready have built financial

(02:33):
resources, they've already putaway the money, they've already
done a lot of the right things.
They just need little tweaksalong the way.
The biggest challenge that manyof these people have is this
identity crisis that they have.

(03:06):
Who am I?
What?
What we did that made usspecial?
It's who we are that makes usspecial, and sometimes it takes
a while, once you go into thattransition, to really flesh out
who we are as a person, what itis that is important to us.

(03:28):
Where do we want to be spendingthose extra time when we were
working?
Now we have more time, what arewe going to fill that time gap
with?
Okay, is it charitable?
Is it volunteering?
Is it more time with the family?

(03:48):
What is it that's going to giveyou purpose?
Because ultimately, we all needpurpose when we get to get us
out of bed, right?
So that transition is, and canbe, very difficult for many
people as they go intoretirement, like I said before,

(04:09):
for many of my clients that cometo see me.
It's not necessarily about themoney.
It's about how they definethemselves, moving forward and
what they do with their life.
How many of you know ofsomebody that seems to have all
the money in the world but yetthey're working in their 70s?
We even know some people areworking in their 80s and they

(04:32):
say why are they still working?
Well, because their work istheir purpose.
And I'm not saying that's a badthing, because some of us
really do get a lot of enjoymentand pleasure and fulfillment
out of what we do as a career.

(04:53):
But for those of you that arelooking to say you know what?
I don't want to work in my jobforever.
I want that work optionallifestyle, because what I do
doesn't fulfill me.
Then, when you do retire, wehave to be thinking about how we

(05:14):
transition and how do wetransition well.
So that is a really big issuefor everyone that goes through
retirement.
I don't care how muchactivities you have planned out.
You can only golf so much, youcan only travel so much, you can

(05:36):
only stand to have yourgrandkids over so much.
Right, we love our family, wejust don't love them 24 seven.
So what are the things thatyou're going to do on a
consistent basis to give youthat fulfillment, to give you

(05:58):
that purpose moving forward intolife?
That's a question that you needto be asking now, before you go
into retirement.
Knowing that there is going tobe a transition, knowing that
there is going to be atransition.
We want to keep that transitionas short as possible, because
the last thing you can do is berunning 100 miles an hour

(06:28):
working, working, working,working, and then just stop,
because then it's like is thisall there is?
Is this all that I have left tolook forward to?
We all need purpose.
Purpose comes from many things.
These are part of the financialplanning process that we talk

(06:49):
with, with our clients.
It's not always about the money.
In fact, very rarely is itabout the money.
It's more about what are thethings that drive you.
What are the things that driveyou?
Well, family, work, optionallifestyle, those things that we

(07:11):
are passionate about, thoserecreational things that we just
can't get enough of, those areall the things that drive us to
want to do the planning.
Okay, money is just the how,it's just the tool that we use
to make things happen, but it'snot all about the money, and I

(07:36):
think that's one of themisnomers that a lot of people
have when they come in to talkto somebody like us that we're
just going to be talking aboutnuts and bolts and radar returns
and all the things that, forquite frankly, many people
really get glassy eyed over.

(07:58):
It's really about what it isthat drives you, what is
important to you.
You need to be sharing thesethings with your advisor, and if
your advisor isn't asking youthese questions, all they're
trying to do is sell you thelatest and greatest mutual fund

(08:18):
or the best insurance productout there.
You need to be asking thequestion is my advisor trying to
understand who I am, what it isthat makes me tick, what is
important to me?
Or are they just trying to sellme something?
Because if you have the feelingthat you're being sold

(08:42):
something, then maybe that's notthe advisor that is right for
you.
For you, when you come to WolfFinancial Advisory, it's about
who you are, what is importantto you.
It's our process that we takepeople through Because, quite

(09:10):
honestly, that is what drives meis to understand who my clients
are.
Where does their passions lie?
Where's their joy?
I get a lot of fun talkingabout things other than
financial.
If I talked about financialthings all day long, I would go
crazy, because it's not the mostexciting thing to talk about.

(09:31):
What's exciting to talk aboutis the big birthday celebration
that's coming up, the big familytrip that you're having planned
Okay the things that you'redoing for your business and the
new levels that you're gettingin your career.
Those are the exciting things.

(09:53):
Again, money's got a place, butit isn't the thing to always be
focused in on.
What is your purpose?
What is your plan?
That's what's important to talkabout when you get together
with an advisor, because there'sthose things that matter and

(10:16):
there's those things that we cancontrol.
Trust me, folks, there's a lotof things out there that we
can't control.
We can't control the politics.
Politics is going crazy rightnow.
We can't control the market.
We can't control inflation.
We can't control interest rates, can't control the market.
We can't control inflation.
We can't control interest rates.

(10:40):
No-transcript.
But what can we control?
We could control the philosophythat we use.
We could control our strategyand we could control our process
that we choose to engage withto make sure that we're moving

(11:02):
forward, moving forward.
There's going to be curveballsthat come in from left field all
the time there's going to bethose critical financial events
that are going to happen andtake us by surprise.

(11:24):
Perhaps it's a premature deathof a loved one that you never
saw coming, or it's that collegeexpense that's coming five
years from now, or maybe it's anopportunity like a second home
in a place that you've alwaysdreamed about wintering in, or
maybe it could be something as amilestone birthday that you

(11:44):
want to celebrate with yourfamily.
Whatever those things are,those are the things that we
need to be focused in on and, byhaving a philosophy, a planning
strategy, a process, we canincorporate all those things
that are important to you sothat, regardless of what happens

(12:06):
, we have a plan in place tomake corrective course
directions as necessary to getyou towards your ultimate goal.
And that's all we can ask for.
The last thing we want to do ishave to make a titanic
adjustment because, as you know,that titanic didn't make the

(12:31):
adjustment in time.
So we want to be making smallcourse corrections along the way
, not real big ones.
So, again, when it comes toretirement, for many people it's
more about the transition, it'smore about one's purpose, it's

(12:51):
more about who I am, and that'sgoing to take time and that's
okay.
We're all going to be goingthrough it if you haven't gone
through it already.
If you have specific concernsabout the money angle, I want to
encourage you to reach out to atrusted financial advisor, to a

(13:15):
person that will listen to you,a person that will get to know
you and understand what isimportant to you, because if you
can connect and have arelationship, then you got
something that is reallymeaningful moving forward.

Voiceover (13:34):
Thank you for listening to the Wolf Financial
Podcast.
For additional informationabout our firm, please visit our
website wolfadvisoryservices.
com.