Scott and James discuss how you should choose your survivor benefits options for your pension.

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Listener Question:

I'm not sure if this can be a whole show but I was wondering if you guys can go over how to think about choosing between the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and whole or term insurance. I'm in the military and will be retiring soon. I work with a lot of members that are retiring and this choice seems like a coin flip or they simple go off of what someone else did. I know this decision is different for everyone so I was hoping you guys could go over a framework of how to compare the two. I would love to be able to point people to a podcast that walks them through the process of comparing the two.

Planning Points Discussed

• Utilizing Time Efficiently
• Capital Appreciation
• Purchasing Power
• Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

2:30 - We're on YouTube HERE!

6:17 - Pension Overview

11:15 - Understanding Your Options

14:46 - Individual Choices

16:46 - Customization is Key

19:00 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

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Scott and James discuss misleading financial rules to avoid.

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Listener Question:

How do you both think about the common wisdom that you should have a certain multiple of your income saved by a specific age (e.g. save at least 1x your salary by 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60, and 10x by 67)?

I am in a situation where my income has tripled between ages 30 and 35. As an example, let's say I had 100K saved at age 30 (1x my salary), but I'm 35 and my salary is now 300K. I don't have 900K saved in retirement, in fact, it's about half that. Am I in trouble?

Planning Points Discussed

• Utilizing Time Efficiently
• Capital Appreciation
• Purchasing Power
• Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

2:30 - We're on YouTube HERE!

6:17 - How Much Do I Need To Save?

8:52 - How Much Money Do I Need?

12:54 - Portfolio Changes

14:45 - Income Diversification

18:21 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

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James

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Scott

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Scott and James discuss annuities and announce Real Personal Finance NATION!

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Listener Question:

I've met with multiple financial advisors and all of them have 2 things in common.
1. They all say they are Fiduciary.
2. They all try and pitch me on various types of annuities to supplement or augment my portfolio.
Can you please address annuities on a show? Everything I have read online says to stay away from annuities (all types), and I am losing trust for the financial advisor industry. Are there cases where an annuity is a good move?
P.S. I asked the last guy your recommended set of questions from a previous show. He was impressed with the question I asked, "How else are you paid?" And did say insurance commissions, but also said nobody asked him that.

Planning Points Discussed

• Utilizing Time Efficiently
• Capital Appreciation
• Purchasing Power
• Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

2:30 - We're on YouTube HERE!

6:17 - Annuity Overview

14:15 - Exchanging Annuities

23:46 - Financial Advisors

29:15 - Advisor Resources

35:10 - Real Personal Finance NATION!

39:30 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

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Scott and James discuss the best way to enter the financial planning industry as a career changer.

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Listener Question:

I really enjoy your podcast. I've had a 10-year career in nonprofit development, but I've had a passion for investing and personal finance since I was a little kid. I'm trying to pivot into wealth management. I know in a recent episode you addressed the path into the industry for someone coming out of college. I'd love to hear if you have any insight for someone making a pivot mid-career. Maybe the pathway is the same, but it would be great to hear what you think.

Planning Points Discussed

• Utilizing Time Efficiently
• Capital Appreciation
• Purchasing Power
• Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

2:30 - We're on YouTube HERE!

6:17 - Financial Resources

10:15 - Understanding Your Options

12:46 - Career Change Sample

15:55 - Characteristics Scott/James Look For

23:00 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

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Scott and James discuss how you can know when you're financially free.

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Listener Question:

If you think we can step away from work when I hit "my number" whether it be at age 49 or 54 - knowing that I would only pull approx 3% from my brokerage until I reach 59.5. My goal would be to leave FT work at age 50, and have my wife and I only work PT or consulting to cover expenses and carry healthcare - w/o withdrawing from the portfolio until we hit our number (BTW we think total number is about 3.5M). 

We're both 40
We have about 900,000 in liquid assets (not including our home equity). Of that total amount, about 500k in roth, 250k in traditional ira, 130k brokerage and 20k hsa. 90/10 portfolio of just a few diversified vanguard ETFs
combined income of 300k
spend about 85k today
after tax, we save/invest about 60% and if you add employer match in total it's about 115k a year towards investments
mortgage will be paid off by 50 and kids will be in college
we'd like to forecast spending about 90-95k in todays dollars in retirement

So, in about 10 years, will we reach enough to execute our plan of having options? And how large should our brokerage account be to cover our plan of spending our 50s doing some PT work to cover expenses and then withdrawing in our mid-50s?

Planning Points Discussed

• Utilizing Time Efficiently
• Capital Appreciation
• Purchasing Power
• Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

2:30 - We're on YouTube HERE!

6:17 - Listener Question

10:30 - Truth of Investing

13:16 - Financial Freedom

18:20 - Tax Planning

20:53 - Risk Management

23:00 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

LET'S CONNECT!

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Scott

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Submit Your Question For The Show Here!

Scott and James discuss the most how individual stocks compare to investing in funds.

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Listener Question:

I listen to your podcast and it has inspired me to invest however, I have invested into individual stocks and it has lost around 50% of its value so I invested money into VOO because I thought it was safer and I continue to invest $55 every two weeks im 18 and this is what I can comfortably afford how do I build my wealth for the long term should I continue to invest in the S and P or is there another thing you recommend?

Planning Points Discussed

• Utilizing Time Efficiently
• Capital Appreciation
• Purchasing Power
• Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

2:30 - We're on YouTube HERE!

6:17 - Individual Stocks

10:30 - Truth of Money

13:16 - Funds Overview

18:20 - Financial Planning

20:53 - Stock Investing

26:49 - Growth Mindset

33:00 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

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Scott

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Submit Your Question For The Show Here!

Scott and James discuss the most effective way to incorporate giving into your financial plan.

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Listener Question:

Am I on track to retire at 52? Am I over-investing in retirement at the expense of more freedom now? How would you recommend incorporating pension plans into overall retirement planning (ideal year:pension percentage break-even point?)? 

Planning Points Discussed

• Utilizing Time Efficiently
• Capital Appreciation
• Purchasing Power
• Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

2:30 - We're on YouTube HERE!

6:17 - Redefining Giving

10:30 - Truth of Money

13:16 - 503(c) organizations

18:20 - Tax Planning

20:53 - Life Insurance

22:49 - Business Assets

26:00 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

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Scott and James discuss if you should ever purchase your home fully in cash.

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Listener Question:

I’m 27 and my goal is to have a paid for house by the time I'm 45. In the next 18 years, if I save and invest aggressively will I have potentially have enough to pay in cash or is it better to get the mortgage when I'm able to and pay the interest because house prices will go up more than what I could earn in interest in the stock market? To me, it seems that any appreciation the house might gain will be lost in the interest I'm paying to the bank for the mortgage. I don't want to pay interest and since I can't even get a loan for enough to buy a house in my area I'm wondering if it's not a better idea to save in an investment account and once the account reaches the right number, use that money to buy the house without a mortgage. 

Planning Points Discussed

• Utilizing Time Efficiently
• Capital Appreciation
• Purchasing Power
• Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

2:30 - We're on YouTube HERE!

5:02 - Assumptions

10:30 - Understanding Interest

14:14 - Personal Finance is Personal

18:20 - Subjective & Objective Personal Finance

23:00 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

LET'S CONNECT!

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Scott

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Scott and James discuss how a pension fits into your overall retirement plan.

NEW: We're on YouTube here!

Listener Question:

Am I on track to retire at 52? Am I over-investing in retirement at the expense of more freedom now? How would you recommend incorporating pension plans into overall retirement planning (ideal year:pension percentage break-even point?)? 

Planning Points Discussed

• Utilizing Time Efficiently
• Capital Appreciation
• Purchasing Power
• Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

2:30 - We're on YouTube HERE!

5:02 - Assumptions

10:30 - Retirement Planning

14:14 - Pension Considerations

18:20 - Subjective & Objective Personal Finance

20:53 - Life Insurance

22:11 - Optimizing Finances

23:00 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

LET'S CONNECT!

James

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Scott

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Scott and James discuss the 5 employee benefits to get right during annual enrollment!

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Planning Points Discussed

• Utilizing Time Efficiently
• Capital Appreciation
• Purchasing Power
• Other issues (IRAs, Inflation, Financial Goals, etc.)

Timestamps:

2:30 - We're on YouTube HERE!

4:25 - Retirement Contributions

10:59 - Credit Card Interest Rates

16:26 - Healthcare Considerations

23:05 - Life Insurance Coverage

29:12 - Savings Rates

33:39 - Deferred Compensation

36:00 - Aligning Your Financial Goals

LET'S CONNECT!

James

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Scott

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