Markets go up and down, but if you have a solid investment plan you should still feel secure. We can’t go back in time and change our investments, but we can avoid making investment mistakes today by learning from mistakes that others have made.

Main Questions Asked:

• What are some investment mistakes that I should avoid?
• Do I have an investment strategy that is appropriate for my situation?
• Do I have a solid plan or does my current plan need some adjustments?

Key Lessons Learned:

Learning from the Investment Mistakes of Others

• In 2008, I put my money in cash. This isn’t one of those things everyone admits they have done. Most people are embarrassed because they locked in their losses. Fear, greed, and listening to the wrong people causes bad decisions.
• I wish I understood the risk in my portfolio before I took the loss. People often only find out they are taking too much risk when the market goes down and it is too late. It’s important to make sure that your risk is appropriate for your situation.
• I wish I had known my social security options, and I would have waited. We always wish we could get do-overs. We can’t predict the future. Things like survivor options matter. Get expert input and make the right decisions.
• I should have put more in a Roth instead of a 401k or traditional IRA. Be smart about saving money. Think about how tax implications will affect you in the future. Even if you are retired you can still make a Roth conversion and pay some taxes now which will make that pile of money tax free in the future including all the growth.
• I probably retired too early. I might have to go back to work. You need to get a plan because you might be better off than you think. You also may need to change some things. Having a plan and retirement income projection will tell you exactly what you need to do and earn to have enough for retirement.

Things You Should Know

• The global bond market is about twice the size of the global stock market. The big money is in bonds not stocks. Big institutions skew towards bonds because they offer stability and pay a predictable interest rate.
• Income tax rates are currently close to historic lows. Marginal rates used to be close to 70%. If tax planning is part of your retirement, you may need to be making moves like Roth conversions. It all goes back to good tax planning.
• Living benefits or accelerated benefits on life insurance can be a nice long-term care solution. In the old days, people would buy long-term care policies. A long-term care benefit in a life insurance policy guarantees you will collect someday.
• You probably have a lot more risk in your portfolio than you realize. You don’t discover your risk until the market goes down. The best thing you can do is get a risk analysis of your portfolio. The biggest impediments to making good financial decisions are your emotions. Moving money around based on emotions guarantees losses. Have a plan and stick with it.

Links To Resources Mentioned

Money Map Retirement Review

1-800-757-0436

Thank you for listening!