On today’s episode of Retire Sooner, Wes welcomes Happiest Retirees podcast host Ryan Doolittle to discuss college football legend Nick Saban’s recent retirement. They delve into his famous coaching process, looking for helpful financial and life-planning tips. Using Saban’s specific principles, they lay out the case for focusing on the process rather than the outcome to achieve a happy retirement. What are Coach Saban’s own chances for a happy retirement? Listen and find out.

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Social Security can be an essential stream of income for retirees on a fixed income. Unfortunately, the seemingly endless rules and regulations can overwhelm even the most informed applicants. In today’s Retire Sooner episode, Social Security ace Mary Beth Franklin joins Wes to bring listeners the most up-to-date information and context about avoiding pitfalls and maximizing benefits.

In a dynamic conversation, Wes channels the questions of many Americans. He even puts Mary on the hot seat about whether or not Social Security funds will last for future generations. You may be surprised by her opinion.

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In today’s episode of the Retire Sooner podcast, Wes is joined by Capital Investment Advisors Co-Chief Investment Officer Connor Miller. They discuss the possibility of 2024 ushering in “A Whole New World” for markets, investors, and retirees.

They reiterate that purchasing power is a perennial goal for the happy retiree. Inflation lay nearly dormant from 2009 to 2020 as if it were a prehistoric beast frozen deep inside an Arctic glacier. Unfortunately, the government’s post-pandemic monetary tidal wave reawakened it. Because of that, folks may need to adjust in 2024 to stay ahead of the curve.

Wes and Connor run through recent and long-term history and search for the clues that could determine what’s to come in the year ahead.

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Anyone in the Retire Sooner family knows how passionate Wes is about the 4 Percent Rule—William Bengen’s rule of thumb that originally discovered retirees who draw down 4 percent of their portfolio in the first year of retirement and then adjust this amount yearly for inflation would likely see their money outlive them, assuming a 50 to 75 percent allocation in stocks.

On today’s episode, Wes discusses Dave Ramsey’s recent controversial statements about doubling the number to 8 percent. You read that correctly—8 percent! Wes runs Ramsey’s claims against data from Robert Shiller, an economist at the Yale School of Management, and attempts to set the record straight on how much people can safely expect to spend during retirement.

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Happy holidays to my favorite happy retirees and aspiring retirees! The Retire Sooner Team is taking a little time off to step away from the office and connect with friends and family. We'll be back with a new season in January with more fun episodes that I hope will help push you to retire that much sooner and happier.

If you have any ideas on topics you'd like for us to cover in the near year, please let us know! Visit the Contact page on RetireSoonerTeam.com. Those messages come straight to me and the Retire Sooner Team. We'd love to hear from you!

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Arguably the most recognized male figure skater in the world, Scott Hamilton has won seventy titles, awards, and honors, including an Emmy nomination, induction into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame, and the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. He later became a fan-favorite analyst/commentator, performer, producer, and best-selling author. He even shared the big screen with Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler in the classic comedy Blades of Glory.

As fierce as the competition was in the skating rink, he’s experienced even more challenges off the ice. Scott lost his mother to cancer and survived four separate rounds of it in his own life. Now, he makes sure his actions are meaningful physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Otherwise, he says, it’s as unbalanced as sitting in a three-legged chair.

Now married with four children, Scott is an activist, having launched the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation (Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship). He also founded several education and survivorship programs, events, and galas designed to fund research into cancer treatments that spare patients harm.

Scott believes in the adage that courage is fear that’s said its prayers. We tend to think bad things only happen to other people, but once we accept reality, we can take responsibility for our own longevity and get to work changing our lives for the better.

Scott believes the only true disability in life is a bad attitude. And now, the man famous for his backflips is fully committed to moving forward.

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In today’s episode, Wes points out that the population of mini-millionaires is growing and that society’s perception of them isn’t always very accurate. Producer Mallory Boggs joins to discuss this latest variant of what authors Thomas Stanley and Bill Danko originally coined, The Millionaire Next Door. They elaborate on five habits that this cohort tends to follow. And Wes points out that although investing is often a critical step to becoming a millionaire, it’s perhaps even more essential in the pursuit of staying a millionaire.

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On today’s episode, Wes sits down with a woman who has dedicated her life to finding ways to protect retirement assets.

As the director of victim support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network, Amy Nofziger has nearly two decades of experience in fraud prevention and victim support. A certified fraud examiner, she’s worked with the Wall Street Journal, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and Dr. Phil, among others, to shed light on consumer exploitation.

The heinous nature of fraudsters is matched only by their cunning methods. Amy’s seen everything from business impersonators to LinkedIn scams to Crypto gift cards. There was even a guy named the Tinder Swindler who used romance to con unsuspecting women.

Amy says fraud happens to people of all ages, but because older folks tend to have more money, they are bigger targets. $8.8 billion was reported lost last year, and due to underreporting, that number might be ten to twenty times higher. Sadly, most people never see their money again.

Our best weapon to protect our finances is awareness. Learn from Amy so you can protect yourself and your loved ones.

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Is your relationship with money holding you back from finding financial success? Many of us have a rocky relationship with money, but if we looked at our capital from a different perspective, this could possibly change our outlook and relationship with money.

To aid us in improving our connection with our funds and uncover the trick we need to change our relationship with money, Wes sits down with Ken Honda, a worldwide, well-known author whose books have sold more than 8 million copies, including his latest book called Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace With Your Money. Ken shares how the Japanese look at retirement, explains happy money versus unhappy money, and talks about fairness when it comes to how much money you possess. He also reveals two ways to find peace and happiness with money, how appreciating your funds can help you appreciate other things in your life, and defines invisible and visible assets. To wrap up the episode Ken and Wes touch on teaching children about money, happy money for senior citizens compared to children, and a problem he sees with poverty.

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When Betty White died in 2021, we were somehow surprised. Even at 99-years-old, it felt like she was gone too soon. Smokey Robinson just released a new album at 83 years of age. Martha Stewart posed in a bathing suit on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 81.

How we think about aging is much different than it used to be, and Ken Dychtwald is one of the foremost authorities on these changing perceptions. For more than 45 years, he’s been an original thinker on the lifestyle, marketing, health care, economic, and workforce implications of the age wave.

In today’s episode, he tells us that older adults no longer have to put up with being called “golden agers” because they’re too busy leading vibrant, productive lives beyond traditional retirement. As shown by the growing unretirement trend across the country, happy retirees don’t necessarily stop working. They just start saying “no” to the things they never liked in the first place.

With a mindset of 'usefulness' over 'youthfulness,' Ken Dychtwald encourages older individuals to balance work and personal pursuits. He wants them to focus on the significance of life's moments and connections and reimagine retirement as a dynamic stage of life.

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