There are a lot of debates in the investment world, but few are as important (in my mind) as the choice to invest actively vs passively.  Turn in to learn the difference between the two, the pros and cons of each, as well as which strategy has done better over the long term.  And I'll also share what I think you should choose as well as you prepare to create a retirement income that will last for life.

Oftentimes we are our own worst enemies.  This is especially true in investing.  In today's episode, we are going to detail how one investor cost himself thousands of dollars by engaging in actions that he knew he shouldn't do.  

Tune in to learn what mistakes he made, and how you can avoid costing yourself in the future.

Last week we talked about the Essentials of Asset Location; basically, what investments we should put in different account types.  In today's episode, we go through a real life example of how very poor asset location ended up costing investors thousands (and in one case hundreds of thousands) on their tax bill.

Tune in to learn from their mistake and not end up with a nasty tax surprise.

Benjamin Franklin was right on the money (pun intended) when he said the only guarantees in life are death and taxes.  As frustrating as taxes are, especially after you retire, there is a way to make them lighter using asset location.

If you don’t know much about asset location, it is probably because it is so esoteric many financial advisors don’t even bother with it. Instead, they focus on asset allocation.  While that is important, a large part of your returns could be wiped out if you don’t use asset location effectively.  So tune in to learn more and learn how to save on taxes by using asset location properly.

Too many media stations peddle fear, and unfortunately, a lot of people fall prey to it.  

In this episode, I discuss a big social security fear, and what is a more realistic response in relation to this fear.

We are all busy with so many tasks, it's often hard to keep up.  Instead of trying to do everything, why don't you eliminate things from your life so you don't have to bother with them ever again?

That's the premise of a Wall Street Journal article in which I was quoted: What money tasks can you remove from your life entirely?

In this episode I'll go through 4 money tasks to take off your to do list, including my own recommendation at the end.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/four-ways-to-manage-personal-finances-11640645156

As a financial planner for over 6 years, one of the things that really frustrates me is poor explanations, as well as implications, of certain financial terms.  One of the most dangerous misunderstandings is assuming that risk is the same thing as volatility.  

In today's episode, we will go into what those terms actually mean, as well as how that plays a role in creating a retirement income that will last for life.

I recently came across an article from a personal finance site that I typically really like.  However, this particular article didn't make a lot of sense to me.  In it, the author comes up with 3 reasons why you might NOT want to retire in 2022.  I disagreed with every one of those points, and I don't want you to fall for the same line of thinking as the author, hence this episode discussing the article and why I disagree with it so much.

In short: If you've done the work on your retirement plan, and the numbers make sense, don't let external factors dictate when you want to retire!

As we come to the end of the year, today I reflect on getting through 52 retirement planning podcast episodes, the main goal I have for the podcast, and a reminder that money is just the means, but not the ends, to what we want in life.

If you're looking for ways to give money to charity in a tax efficient way, this episode is for you.  It's based off of a great article I read by Christine Benz over at Morningstar, and it highlights three ways you can give to charity this year, including one really easy one that anyone can take advantage of.