Are you ready to dream up your IDEAL retirement? This is week one of the "Can Carl Retire?" virtual retirement planning event.  If you signed up for the free resources, you should have gotten an e-mail with all the items you need to complete this first important step. Haven't signed up yet??? No worries, there's still time. Click here and learn how you can plan along with us.

Dream Up Your Ideal Retirement

In this episode, you'll listen is as I help Carl clearly defines his IDEAL retirement.

This is the week you get to think BIG about your future, too. Don't worry about getting it all right. Your goals will change countless times. Focus on identifying what you care about right now. We'll discuss a process later on how to adjust them as your life unfolds.

Your Action Items for This Week:

* Make sure to listen to the episode. There are a number of subtle points made that will help you as you plan. For example, Carl made an important statement early in our talk. He said "Retirement planning should be about running to something, rather than running away from something."

* Review Carl's Ideal Retirement Summary. This will give you a snapshot of what the end result can look like.

* Think BIG. Not thinking big enough could rob you of your dreams. Suspend your reasonable attitude and focus on what "having it all" might look like. There will be time later to see what is actually possible. For now, focus on creating your IDEAL.

* Watch the short video. In it I give quick tips on how to think BIG about your retirement.

* If you're married, include your spouse. Each of us have our own dreams of the future. Your spouse's may be similar but different. Now is the time to hear each others' dreams and to create dreams together. This way the two of you will be in harmony about the future. This is crucial to a great marriage and a great retirement.

* Complete the worksheet. Start off using scratch paper and go crazy with your dreaming. No filters here. Then, identify the goals that truly mean something to you. Don't forget to rate them as described in the worksheet. This will be important later on.

* Finally, ask questions. If you're stuck or unclear about something, shoot me an e-mail. I'll do my best to answer your question. Simply hit reply to the e-mail I sent you with the resources.

It's Not too Late to Plan Along Side Carl

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[spoiler]

The Retirement Answer Man Episode #47

I like this music. Do you like this music? Does this music motivate you to create an amazing life? Maybe I’ll keep it.

My name is Roger Whitney. This is the Retirement Answer Man Show and we are dedicated, this show is dedicated to helping you find that balance between creating a great life today and having an amazing life tomorrow as you make financial decisions.

We’re going to take a huge step in that direction today because, if you’ve been listening to the show, you know that today is step one of “Can Carl Retire?”

What is this? Why do we even care about Carl? Well, Carl is a listener. He’s one of you and that’s not his real name. He’s a listener that, over the next four weeks, we’re going to create a retirement plan and answer his most important retirement planning questions – or we’re going to attempt to anyway! Questions like, “When can I realistically retire?” and then, “When I retire, what’s my lifestyle going to look like? Will I run out of money? How do I make sure I don’t run out of money once I retire?” We’re going to try to help Carl answer that question. Answer for him what things he might be missing as he plans this next phase of his life.

Now, this is awesome for Carl and I think it’s going to be great for you to hear. You’re actually going to hear Carl in a second as we define, in step one, his ideal retirement. But, even more important,