Should you sell your investments when the market drops? When fear takes over during a bear market, temporary market volatility can feel like permanent investment loss, but reacting too quickly may put your long-term financial plan at risk.

In this episode, Eric Lee is joined by his partner, Michael Boyle, to discuss how investors can prepare for market declines without allowing fear to control their financial decisions. They explain why falling portfolio values can trigger panic selling and pull investors away from the strategy designed to support their long-term goals. Eric and Michael also examine less visible investment risks, including inflation and the gradual loss of purchasing power. They explore how an investor’s time horizon should influence portfolio decisions and why market volatility is not automatically the same as losing money. The conversation also introduces a four-step process for responding more thoughtfully when markets decline.

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Michael Boyle is Eric Lee’s partner at Purple Wealth and a returning contributor to Better Conversations: The Life & Money Podcast. In this conversation, he shares his perspective on market volatility, investment risk, inflation, and the emotional decisions investors face during market declines.

Are fear, regret, or attachment influencing your investment decisions? For long-term investors, avoiding emotional investing mistakes can be just as important as understanding the investments themselves.

In this episode, Eric Lee speaks with Michael Boyle, CFP®, Wealth Manager at Purple Wealth, about how emotions affect investment decisions. Drawing from more than 400 client meetings, Michael shares why investors sometimes hold investments that no longer fit their financial plan. Eric and Michael explain how the overnight test can reveal emotional attachment and why a positive investment outcome doesn’t always mean the original decision was sound. They also explore investing versus speculating and why market volatility isn’t the same as realizing an investment loss. The conversation examines how inflation can reduce your purchasing power even when the dollar amount in your account remains unchanged, along with why reacting to financial news can interfere with a long-term investment strategy.

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Michael Boyle, CFP®, is a Wealth Manager at Purple Wealth, LLC. Over the past two and a half years, he has participated in more than 400 client meetings, where he has developed a deep appreciation for the role emotions play in financial decision-making. In this conversation, Michael shares practical insights on emotional investing, the difference between investing and speculating, market volatility, inflation, and how investors can make more thoughtful long-term financial decisions.

What do you want your money to accomplish before it leaves you? Building wealth is only part of the story. The harder question is deciding how to use it with intention.

In this episode, Eric Lee explains why every dollar eventually reaches one of four destinations: you spend it, give it, leave it, or lose it. He explains why many business owners and successful families become skilled at accumulating wealth yet struggle to use it to improve their lives. Eric also reframes spending as turning money into meaningful experiences, time, health, and memories. He explores how thoughtful charitable planning can increase the impact of giving and reduce unnecessary taxes in certain situations. The conversation also looks at legacy planning, family communication, ethical wills, and the quiet financial losses that can build over time. Ultimately, Eric encourages listeners to move beyond wealth management and think more intentionally about stewardship.

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Many people worry about running out of money in retirement. But what if one of the biggest retirement challenges has nothing to do with your finances? If you’re planning for retirement and wondering how to find purpose, stay connected, and avoid loneliness after leaving work, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on what it really means to prepare for the next chapter of life.

In this episode, Eric Lee explores why retirement planning is about much more than investments, taxes, and retirement income. He discusses how strong relationships, meaningful activities, and a sense of purpose can shape your happiness just as much as your financial plan. Drawing on insights from the Harvard Study of Adult Development, Eric explains why social connection plays an important role in healthy aging and emotional well-being. He also shares why couples should have honest conversations before retirement, how hobbies and community involvement can lead to lasting friendships, and why preparing for the emotional side of the retirement transition is just as important as preparing financially.

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Will you run out of money in retirement? Should you take Social Security at 62 or wait until 70? Is long-term care insurance worth it?

In this episode, Eric Lee discusses some of the most common retirement planning questions facing pre-retirees and retirees, including how much retirement income you may need, when to claim Social Security, whether long-term care insurance is worth considering, and how inflation can affect a sustainable retirement lifestyle over time.

Eric challenges several common retirement-planning assumptions and explores five often-overlooked retirement decisions that can affect your income, family, legacy, and long-term financial confidence. Rather than focusing solely on portfolio performance, this conversation encourages listeners to think more intentionally about what a successful retirement actually looks like and how to align their financial decisions with the life they want to live.

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What if financial planning feels difficult because we’re trying to predict a future that can’t be predicted? 

In this episode, Eric Lee explores why traditional goal-setting often creates stress and anxiety around money. Instead of focusing solely on numbers and timelines, Eric explains how understanding what truly matters in life can lead to better financial decisions and greater peace of mind. He also shares how emotions, family expectations, and fear of making the wrong choice shape the way people think about money.

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What if the real reason couples argue about money has nothing to do with money?

This episode explores why financial decisions feel so personal, and why logic alone rarely resolves conflict.

Eric Lee unpacks the idea that while money appears to be math, it is actually experienced through emotion. He explains how most financial decisions are driven by feelings first, then justified with logic later. Through real-life examples and client conversations, Eric introduces the concept of the “money mind” and how it shapes the way individuals approach saving, spending, and giving. He also explores why couples often feel tension around money, even when they share the same goals. Instead of trying to “win” financial arguments, Eric encourages listeners to pause, recognize emotional drivers, and focus on understanding their partner. The episode offers a practical framework to help couples have more honest, productive conversations that lead to better alignment and clarity.

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You can afford almost anything, but you cannot afford everything. In midlife, many people discover that financial freedom still requires difficult choices. This episode explores how to make those choices with clarity, purpose, and confidence.

In this episode, Eric Lee explores one of the most challenging financial realities people face in their 50s: the need to make thoughtful trade-offs with their money. While many individuals reach a point where they have enough to retire, they may not have enough to fund every goal, dream, or lifestyle choice they imagined. Eric explains why these decisions often feel emotional rather than mathematical, and how competing values like security, generosity, freedom, and family influence financial decisions.

Drawing from his work with clients at Purple Wealth, Eric shares a simple four-step framework designed to help people clarify what truly matters most. Instead of trying to do everything at once, he encourages listeners to define their priorities, quantify their desired lifestyle, and make intentional decisions that align money with meaning.

Ultimately, Eric reminds listeners that trade-offs are not failures. They are a powerful step toward living a more deliberate and purpose-driven life.

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What if doubling your net worth wouldn’t actually change your life? Many successful professionals keep building wealth long after they’ve achieved stability, yet still feel restless. This episode explores why.

In this episode, Eric Lee challenges the assumption that more money automatically creates more peace of mind. He explains why many high achievers continue accumulating wealth even after they’ve reached financial stability, and why that pattern can lead to quiet dissatisfaction. Eric introduces a simple but powerful framework: money has three jobs: security, freedom, and meaning. While most people focus heavily on security, fewer define what freedom looks like, and even fewer intentionally build meaning into their financial lives. He encourages listeners to define “how much is enough” with clarity and specificity, rather than defaulting to endless accumulation. The conversation invites reflection on identity, legacy, and what wealth is ultimately meant to support.

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You can be successful on paper and still feel like something is missing. This episode explores why happiness fades, satisfaction lasts, and why money alone does not close that gap.

In this episode, Eric Lee unpacks the often-misunderstood difference between happiness and satisfaction, and why so many high-achieving people feel quietly unsettled despite financial success. He explains why happiness is temporary, while satisfaction comes from alignment and intention. Eric shares what he sees regularly in his work with professionals, especially doctors and business owners, who are doing well financially but feel off in their day-to-day lives. The conversation centers on defining what enough really means, how comparison fuels dissatisfaction, and why clarity matters more than accumulation. Throughout the episode, Eric reframes money as a tool that should support life, not compete with it.

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