The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: Enrolling In Medicare - Do’s & Don’ts. 

I’m bringing you segments of an interview I did with Medicare Expert, Tim Becker on some of the most important things to know when signing up for Medicare for the first time, and what you need to know about choosing plans during the annual enrollment period, which runs from mid-October to early December. 

Here is today’s interview segment with Tim Becker…

Questions about Medicare plans? Contact Tim Becker:

Timothy Becker 

(503) 809-5061

[email protected]

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: Enrolling In Medicare - Do’s & Don’ts. 

I’m bringing you segments of an interview I did with Medicare Expert, Tim Becker on some of the most important things to know when signing up for Medicare for the first time, and what you need to know about choosing plans during the annual enrollment period, which runs from mid-October to early December. 

Here is today’s interview segment with Tim Becker…

Questions about Medicare plans? Contact Tim Becker:

Timothy Becker 

(503) 809-5061

[email protected]

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: Enrolling In Medicare - Do’s & Don’ts. 

I’m bringing you segments of an interview I did with Medicare Expert, Tim Becker on some of the most important things to know when signing up for Medicare for the first time, and what you need to know about choosing plans during the annual enrollment period, which runs from mid-October to early December. 

Here is today’s interview segment with Tim Becker…

Questions about Medicare plans? Contact Tim Becker:

Timothy Becker 

(503) 809-5061

[email protected]

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! 

I’m your host Ashley Micciche, co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors, an independent financial advisory practice managing $340 million in client assets. I’m a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, and I started this podcast because I love helping people just like you gain clarity and make a plan for the retirement you envision. 

The theme this week on the podcast is: Enrolling In Medicare - Do’s & Don’ts

I sat down for an interview with Tim Becker. Tim and I actually met through his father, and know a great deal about Medicare. He’s been in the insurance industry for over a decade, with a focus on medicare, individual and family plans, and group benefits. His company, Prime Benefit Solutions is an insurance brokerage, meaning that he’s able to educate his clients on the most competitive and up to date solutions when it comes to Medicare plans and other healthcare coverage options. 

I’m super excited to talk with Tim this week. Medicare and healthcare costs are such a big part of your retirement spending, so it’s something that you want to make sure to get right. Yet, I don’t have the expertise to help my own clients answer important questions about coverage and Medicare benefits, so I send them to people like Tim who can help them choose the best option for their situation.

So this week, Tim and I will talk about what you need to know when signing up for Medicare for the first time, different Medicare plan options and the differences that distinguish each one, and what is the drug donut hole that everyone talks about. 

If you want to watch our full, unedited interview, head on over to my YouTube channel - True North Retirement - where you’ll find this interview as well as over 100 other videos on planning for a successful retirement. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! Come on back tomorrow when I dive into the interview with Tim.

My name is Ashley Micciche...and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.

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>>> Visit the podcast page: https://truenorthra.com/podcast/ 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

It’s Sunday, which means...it’s recap time here on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast

This week the theme was: 5 Personality Traits of Self-Made Millionaires

In case you missed any episodes, here’s what we discussed this week…

• Higher risk tolerance
• Emotional stability
• Openness
• Extraversion
• Conscientiousness

The most important takeaway from this week is: to think about these personality traits as the perfect recipe for predicting whether or not someone will be a millionaire. You don’t necessarily have to have all of these characteristics or ingredients, but the more you have, the stronger a predictor it is of one’s ability to build and maintain wealth. 

Tomorrow I’m starting a brand new weekly theme: Enrolling in Medicare - Do’s & Don'ts. The enrollment period for Medicare began yesterday, and runs through December 7th. If you're 65 years or older, you’re one of the more than 60 million Americans impacted by Medicare.

The problem is that Medicare is complicated, and as a result, most people don’t understand the various plan options, fail to consult with a Medicare consultant, and then wind up signing up for the wrong benefits plans that don’t serve them well. So next week, I’m interviewing a medicare expert to discuss the do’s and don’ts of enrolling in Medicare to help you make better decisions with your health plan.

Thank you so much for listening this week! If you’re enjoying the podcast, chances are someone else you know who is getting close to retirement could also benefit from checking it out, so please share the show with a friend, a neighbor, your sister, or your boss. Just go to your favorite podcasting app, hit the share icon, then text or email the show link to someone you know who is eyeing retirement. 

Thanks for sharing the love and spreading the word. I hope you have a blessed Sunday. My name is Ashley Micciche, this is the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast.

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>>> Visit the podcast page: https://truenorthra.com/podcast/ 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: 5 personality traits of self-made millionaires. These five traits when combined together can help predict those of us who will have a higher net worth

Today’s self-made millionaire trait is: Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is one of the big 5 personality traits, and is the quality of wishing to do one's work or duty well and thoroughly. Conscientious people are hardworking, responsible and organized.

If you’re conscientious, you probably didn’t need to be told to do your homework as a child, you’re rarely late for an appointment, and you’re future oriented, with more impulse control than the average person. 

I would have assumed that conscientiousness is the most important trait that separated the millionaires from the rest of the population, but according to the German study findings, it was significantly less important as a distinguishing trait than risk tolerance, which is the most important differentiator, and somewhat less important than openness and extraversion in predicting millionaire status, which I talked about earlier in the week.

So why is conscientiousness an important trait that helps to distinguish the unique personality of the self-made millionaire? When someone is conscientious, they are able to exercise self-discipline and self-control to achieve what they want in the long-term. To build wealth or build a business that provides wealth in the future, requires sacrifice, diligence, and trade-offs. People with high conscientiousness are also organized, determined, and more likely to stick with their plans and goals over long periods of time. 

It seems obvious then why conscientious people are more likely to be millionaires. The vast majority of my clients are millionaires, and I would characterize most of them as conscientious people…whereas there is a lot more variation among them in terms of other personality traits like extraversion and openness, which again was surprising to me that conscientiousness was a lower predictor of millionaire status compared to the other traits. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.  

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>>> Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

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>>> Visit the podcast page: https://truenorthra.com/podcast/ 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: 5 personality traits of self-made millionaires. These five traits when combined together can help predict those of us who will have a higher net worth

Today’s self-made millionaire trait is: Extraversion 

An extrovert, according to Wikipedia, is someone who is “outgoing, talkative, energetic,  whereas introversion is manifested in more reflective and reserved behavior…Extraversion and introversion are typically viewed as a single continuum, so to be high in one necessitates being low in the other.”

As someone who used to get kicked out of health class sophomore year in high school with great regularity for talking too much, and am generally comfortable striking up with most people with little reservations, I would consider myself a more extraverted person.

Knowing that an orientation towards extraversion is a more common trait in millionaires, it leads to a couple of follow up questions in my view... At least as far as financial success and the traits of millionaires, why are extraverted people more likely to become millionaires? And is extraversion vs. introversion something that can change. 

Of all the personality traits, this one seems the least malleable - either you’re shy and quiet, or gregarious and you tend to talk too much, and there doesn’t seem much you can do about that if you want to change how extraverted or introverted you are. 

But in my own life, I’ve actually become noticeably less extroverted over time. I enjoy spending more time alone and it can be draining to be at a big party or event with lots of people. Many times, I’d just prefer to stay at home and read a book. 

Because extraversion and introversion operate on a continuum, this trait can shift. I know someone who was very shy as a child, but has needed to become more social in his adult life because of his profession, but it wasn’t easy and he says it wasn’t without great effort. 

So what about why extraversion leads to a higher chance of becoming a millionaire?

One study found that more extroverted people — those who were more confident, sociable or assertive — had a 25% higher chance of being in a high-earning job. 

My husband is introverted, and recently he has a dilemma that we were discussing, which required him to ask something of someone else. It seems obvious to my more extroverted personality to just ask for what you want…what’s the worst that can happen? You can never expect anything from the other person unless you ask….just ask! To me, it’s no big deal, but to his more introverted self, it’s not as easy to be assertive and just ask for what he wants. 

And I think that’s likely the driver behind extroverts being more likely to be millionaires…they’re more assertive and probably also more likely to climb social hierarchies because of their comfort level in being with other people. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.  

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>>> Visit the podcast page: https://truenorthra.com/podcast/ 

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: 5 personality traits of self-made millionaires. These five traits when combined together can help predict those of us who will have a higher net worth. 

Today’s self-made millionaire trait is: High openness. 

According to verywellmind.com, “People who tend to be high in the trait of openness are more willing to embrace new things, fresh ideas, and novel experiences. They are open-minded and approach new things with curiosity and tend to seek out novelty. They tend to pursue new adventures, experiences, and creative endeavors. They are also very good at thinking about and making connections between different concepts and ideas.

People who are low on openness, on the other hand, tend to prefer routines, traditions, and familiarity. They approach new things with great caution and prefer consistency. Individuals who are very low on the trait of openness are often seen as being rigid and close-minded. They may find it difficult to cope with changes.”

With this definition in mind, it’s easy to see why the trait of openness is associated with millionaires. 

Rigidness and great caution are not great traits for successful investors or accumulators. People who are low in openness don’t want any uncertainties and often are fearful of new opportunities that may help them grow wealth or advance their career. They stick with what is familiar to them, which is why it’s so difficult for those with low openness to become self-made millionaires. 

Like the other personality traits, openness is measured across a spectrum, and while it’s not likely that we can leap across to the other end of the spectrum, if you find yourself low in openness, there are ways you can cultivate openness that in turn can help improve your likelihood of building your net worth.

• Invite someone with a different opinion that you to have a conversation. Listen to them and try to see things from their point of view. How much better off would we all be if we could better understand why those who are different from us think and act and see the world the way they do. 
• Traveling more and experiencing the people and culture of the place you’re traveling to. 
• Trying something new - it doesn’t have to be skydiving (no thank you!), but if you’re me and you’re kind of middle of the road on openness, maybe i could benefit from wearing a little lipstick now and then. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.  

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>>> Visit the podcast page: https://truenorthra.com/podcast/ 

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: 5 personality traits of self-made millionaires. These five traits when combined together can help predict those of us who will have a higher net worth, according to a recent German study. 

Today’s self-made millionaire trait is: Emotional stability

Emotional stability (the opposite of neuroticism) is a fundamental personality trait that has to do with being even-tempered, particularly in the face of challenges and threats.

People who score high in emotional stability (low in neuroticism) react less emotionally and are less easily upset. They tend to be emotionally stable, calm, and do not constantly experience negative feelings. 

When you connect the dots between millionaires and emotional stability, you can easily see why this trait is such an important predictor of wealth accumulation. 

When you are less reactive to negative events, you’ll be able to make better decisions and less susceptible to making knee-jerk reactions based on fear or panic. 

The good news is that emotional stability is not a trait that’s set in stone and can change over time, especially if you work at it. The goal is not keep your cool and not allow your emotions to take over. 

There are plenty of ways you can work at increasing your emotional stability, and it’s important to note that this doesn’t mean suppressing your emotions. You can and should still feel all the emotions, but there is a lag between the event and your reaction, and that’s where emotional stability comes into play. 

Aside from the obvious suggestions of talking to a therapist if you’re especially high in neuroticism, getting better sleep, and exercising more, some other interesting suggestions for increasing your emotional stability include:

• Set boundaries with people and your schedule 
• Recognizing and feeling your emotions. Sounds counter-intuitive here, but paying attention to the negative and painful events, and especially the wounds it creates is the pathway to healing. I actually read an entire book on this topic last year, and it was crucial for helping me understand how wounds that we carry with us can harm us if we don’t deal with them properly. 
• Better understanding the things that stress you out so you can better prepare yourself for stressful situations. There is a person in my life that I’ll just say is triggering to be around. Thankfully, I don’t have to spend a lot of time with this person, but I always dread seeing and interacting with this person because they push all of my buttons. Even though I can’t avoid this person entirely, but understanding that this person causes me stress allows me to minimize my interactions with them, and I’ve been better able to ignore and not react to the things they say and do that really irk me. 

That’s not an exhaustive list of course, but it’s a start, and helpful to recognize that this is something that we can work on and improve to be happier and wealthier at the same time. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.  

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>>> Visit the podcast page: https://truenorthra.com/podcast/ 

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: 5 personality traits of self-made millionaires. These five traits when combined together can help predict those of us who will have a higher net worth, according to a recent research study in Germany. 

Today’s self-made millionaire trait is: higher risk tolerance. 

According to Investopedia: Risk tolerance is the degree of risk that an investor is willing to endure given the volatility in the value of an investment. An important component in investing, risk tolerance often determines the type and amount of investments that an individual chooses.

It makes a lot of sense that higher tolerance for risk is a predictor of wealth. According to multiple previous studies, “risk taking is an important characteristic for entrepreneurship - it’s worth noting that the vast majority of the self-made millionaires are also entrepreneurs, which requires a significant amount of risk-taking in getting a business off the ground, as well as ongoing risks 

I work with a lot of business owners as clients, and I see this as a distinguishing trait. They aren’t reckless risk-takers, but they understand and appreciate the trade-offs of taking risks in order to achieve their goals, and they are ok with the uncertainty and unknowns of those risks. 

I rarely have a client - business owner or not - who isn’t comfortable with risk. It’s a critical factor in wealth creation, investing, and performance. 

If you’re chicken little, the sky is always falling, and the only investments you’ll be willing to buy or hold on to for the long-haul are canned food, gold coins, and guns. And you’ll bury the rest in the backyard and never have a chance to grow wealth.

It’s important to note here, that there is a distinct difference in the risk tolerance among self-made millionaires and millionaires who came into their wealth through inheritance or marriage. This second group of inheritors had a significantly lower tolerance for risk than their self-made millionaire counterparts, suggesting that being born into wealth does not automatically lead to the development of the millionaire personality profile. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.  

----------

>>> Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

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>>> Visit the podcast page: https://truenorthra.com/podcast/ 

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance