Chris’s Summary
Jim and I return for an EDU dialogue episode focused on a listener’s delay period strategy. His plan includes laddered CDs, equity ETFs, delayed Social Security, and Roth conversions. We use his plan to discuss bracket drift, spending liquidity, and how rising markets can complicate a fixed glidepath. We also cover the tax planning window, crossover risk, and why even strong plans need regular adjustments—especially when they rely on assumptions that may not hold up year to year.

Jim’s “Pithy” Summary
Chris and I are back with an EDU dialogue show, and this one is a deep dive inspired by a listener who shared what he calls a simple delay period strategy. Honestly, I like a lot of it. He’s got a plan. He’s doing Roth conversions, delaying Social Security—all good stuff. He’s even laddered out CDs to fund his Minimum Dignity Floor and his Go-Go fun. That’s great—until you read the line that made me pause: “when the markets rise.” Not “if the markets rise.”

And what if they don’t rise? What if your equity side’s down and your CDs aren’t enough? Now you’re spending from equities when you didn’t want to. Suddenly, the conversion you were planning that year? You can’t do it as planned without jumping to a higher bracket.  So, do you cut back on spending or on your planned conversion? That’s how these things fall apart.

He’s got structure, he’s got glidepaths, he’s even adjusting the ladder year by year. But don’t assume growth will keep bailing you out. If you do and markets stall, your whole glidepath strategy starts to crack. And as Jacob and I just talked about at lunch—Go-Go money is tough. You don’t know if someone’s going to call and ask for money for a dream vacation or a home remodel and we’ve got to build with that in mind. We also explain why I call it spending liquidity. Liquidity isn’t enough. You need cash you can actually spend without penalties, volatility, or surprise taxes. That’s what makes this kind of planning work.

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