Welcome to a new week here on the One Minute Retirement Tip Podcast. I’m your host Ashley Micciche, co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors, an independent financial advisory practice managing $325 million in client assets. I’m a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, a frequent speaker, radio and podcast guest, and I love talking to anyone who will listen about making a plan for the retirement you envision. 

The theme this week on the One Minute Retirement Tip podcast is: Are You a Money Hoarder?

You may think you don’t hoard money, but if you are a super-saver, you may have some money hoarding tendencies. 

So this week, I’ll talk about 

• My own money hoarding tendencies and how the deferring of enjoyment everything by not spending money can lead to regret later on in life
• The difference between saving and hoarding money and how you can tell when you’ve crossed the line into hoarding
• The massive hoarding of cash that’s been driven by the pandemic and why that’s a problem
• Reasons why we hoard money and how to tell if you have money hoarding tendencies
• And lastly, I’ll talk about the fix for money hoarding tendencies. 

When I talk about money hoarding this week, I want to be clear that I’m talking about it from the perspective of tendencies towards hoarding, not from the perspective of someone who needs medical treatment for compulsive hoarding, which is far beyond the scope of what I will be discussing this week. 

I hope what I have to share with you this week will help you make smart and thoughtful decisions with your retirement. And while I am careful to not lead you astray, personal finance is not an exact science. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone, so I encourage you to disregard anything I say that may not be helpful for you, and to consult your own financial, tax, and legal advisors regarding your own individual situation. 

That’s it for today. Come on back tomorrow, where I have a confession to make about my own money hoarding tendencies. 

Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche...and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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

It’s Sunday, which means...It’s time for the recap and bottom line. I’m tying everything together and sharing the most important takeaway from this week’s theme: 

How to save $100,000 for your grandkids college

In case you missed any episodes, here’s what we covered in each episode this week: 

• Why Student Loans Will Burden Your Kids & Grandkids Long After They’re Paid Off
• Why Saving $100k for college isn’t as hard as it sounds, and how to actually do it
• Factors that influence what you’ll need to save for college to avoid student loan debt
• Why the 529 is my favorite college savings plan and the only one I invest in as a parent
• And lastly, the investment strategy to maximize growth in the early years of the 529 savings account, while preserving funds as college approaches 

Here’s the bottom line: Student loans can be a major burden to young adults, delaying other important financial decisions like buying a house, and saving for retirement. So set your children and grandchildren up for success by considering chipping in for their college savings. It’s possible to save big money for college if you start early, and it will give those grandchildren of yours the best chance at an early adulthood that is paving the way for long-term financial success. 

Tomorrow, come on back, because we’re starting a brand new theme: “Are You A Money Hoarder?” 

Have you seen that TV show Hoarders? Most of us probably watch that show and think, my gosh, how can they live like that! Many of us wouldn’t characterize ourself as a hoarder, but what about when it comes to money? Hoarding with money is about pursuing wealth as an end, not as a means to something else. Why is is wrong to hoard wealth? How can you tell if your saving and preparing for retirement has morphed into hoarding? I’ll talk about why rich, poor and everyone in between can fall victim to hoarding, and how to keep the accumulation of more from robbing you of the joy of living your life. 

Thank you so much for listening this week! Please leave a review on Amazon, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. I really appreciate your comments, and reviews also help new people discover the show.  

My name is Ashley Micciche and I hope you have a blessed Sunday.

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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 One Minute Retirement Tip podcast is: How to save $100,000 for your grandkids college.

Yesterday, I talked about why the 529 college savings plan is the account of choice for my kids and all of my clients. 

Today, I’m talking about how to invest the money once you’ve contributed it to the 529 college savings plan. 

The strategy is based on the idea that it’s best to maximize growth in the early years, while the child is young, then switch over to a more conservative investment strategy when the child is getting close to college, so a recession and a big drop in the stock market won’t wipe out half of those college savings when the child is a senior in high school and just found out they got in to their dream school - that really expensive liberal arts college. 

There are a couple ways you can approach investing in the 529 college savings account using this strategy. 

The first is to utilize a target date series. Many fund companies now offer 529 funds that operate similar to target date retirement funds, but for college instead. They’re invested based on when the child is going to start college and will be heavily in stocks while the child is young, and gradually become more conservative as college approaches. 

You can pick a 529 provider that offers this option, so that’s what I would recommend. Many people think they’re stuck with whatever is offered in their state, since each state has it’s own 529 program. I live in Oregon, and I don’t much care for the offerings in my state, so all 3 of my kids 529 plans are invested in the Virginia state plan. I’ve never even set foot in Virginia - and neither have they. So shop around and pick a 529 plan based on the quality of their offerings, not which state you live in. Just keep in mind that you may miss on on certain tax breaks if you go elsewhere, so it’s important to understand the 529 plan rules and benefits that exist in your state. 

If you would rather manage the investments yourself without the aid of a target date college fund, the same principles apply. Try to maximize growth in the early years by being heavily invested in stocks. Around age 15 is when I like to switch over to a more conservative strategy, typically moving about 25% of the account value every year to bonds and cash until the child starts college. 

You could eek out a bit more growth for longer, especially since the funds are going to be used over a period of 4 years in many cases, but chances are you’ll exhaust the 529 plan before the end of college, and it’s just not worth the risk for me to keep 529 plan funds invested in the stock market once college starts. Preservation is way more important at that point if you know you’ll need the money for college. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.  

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

The theme this week on the One Minute Retirement Tip podcast is: How to save $100,000 for your grandkids college.

Today, I’m talking about why the 529 plan is the ideal way to save for college. It’s the only college savings plan I recommend. 

If you’ve been listening to earlier episodes this week, you may have noticed that I’ve been talking about using time and growth to your advantage when saving for college. Well, the only way you can do that is by investing the money that you save. There are a number of different types of accounts that can be used to save for college, but the 529 account is my favorite. It’s the only one I recommend. All 3 of my kids have college savings plans, and all 3 of them are invested in 529s. 

Here’s how they work and here’s why I like them: 

A 529 plan is a type of account where the money inside is earmarked for college expenses - this can be tuition, room and board, and other college costs. The types of educational expenses that 529 plans can be used for are actually quite broad, but the important thing to remember is that the money is meant to be used for education expenses. If it’s used for something else, you’ll get taxed and penalized. 

With that in mind, here are the 2 most important basics you should know about a 529 college savings plan. 

• High contribution limits. You can contribute up to $15,000 into a 529 plan in 2021 per beneficiary, and twice that if you’re married. That means that if you’re married and you have 3 grandchildren, you can save up to $90,000 this year for your grandkids college - $30,000 for each grandchild. 

You can actually contribute more than this by making a lump-sum contribution to the 529 plan - it’s known as superfunding a 529 plan, but you’ll want to do your homework so you don’t make any tax blunders or miss opportunities to max out your 529 contributions. 

High contribution limits are great for estate planning purposes, gifting to your grandchildren in a tax-efficient way, and making up for lost time if you’re starting a 529 plan in the middle school or high school years. 

• Tax-free growth. Another important characteristic of 529 plans is that once the money is inside the 529 plan, the money can grow tax free, and as long as the funds in the 529 are used for qualified education expenses, there is no tax when you take the money out. The sooner you establish and fund the 529 in the child’s life, the more time is on your side to have the money grow tax-free, and the less you’ll have to contribute to the plan in the long-run.

Those are the 2 most important features to know about the 529 plan. There are several other important features to know about 529 plans - like anyone can contribute to these plans, and they’re highly flexible - so even if the beneficiary doesn’t go to college you can still use the funds for something else or someone else in the future. 

Despite the availability of other types of investment accounts for college, like an educational savings account or a uniform gift to a minor account, the 529 plan offers the biggest benefits in its unique features and flexibility, so I highly encourage you to research the 529 plan and decide if it’s right for you. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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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 One Minute Retirement Tip podcast is: How to save $100,000 for your grandkids college.

Yesterday I talked about how saving as early as possible is key to saving $100,000 or more for college and also why it’s totally doable, especially if you’re pitching in to save for you’re grandkids college education and you make a plan before the baby arrives. 

Today, I’m talking about how to calculate how much you need to save for college. There are lots of online tools to help you understand how much you should save for college. My favorite is the one from saving for college.com. I’ll link to it in the show notes (ep 1061): 

https://www.savingforcollege.com/calculators/college-savings-calculator

How much you’ll need to save for college depends on a variety of factors: 

• The child’s current age
• How much you’ve already saved for college
• Household income of the parents which influences financial aid, scholarships, and grants
• And obviously, which college junior is aspiring to attend. The price tag for Harvard is very different that the local community college. 

The great thing about these calculators is that they will show you how big the gap is likely to be between what you’ll likely save and what the cost of college will be. So you can then make more informed decisions about saving more and whether or not they’d be better off going to community college for a couple years, staying closer to home and living at home while attending school, or taking on a student loan, which should be the last option considered. 

For many families, student loans are the default decision to plug the financial gap for college, but as I’ve explained earlier this week, the ripple effect of carrying student debt into adulthood will permanently alter the financial course of life for many Americans, and many will wonder why they could never seem to catch up or save enough for a comfortable retirement...the rock that started that ripple is too often student loans. 

My point today is to take the time to apply your grandchild’s individual circumstances to calculating how much you can and will save, and use it as a launchpoint to have a discussion with the child’s parents about how you both can have skin in the game and work toward a debt-free college degree. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.  

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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 One Minute Retirement Tip podcast is: How to save $100,000 for your grandkids college

Today, we come to the heart of the matter. I’m sharing with you why saving $100,000 for college isn’t as hard as it sounds. Today, the average cost of a 4-year public university in Oregon where I live is about $22,000. 4 years of college will cost in the ballpark of $100,000 today. Now that’s going up by about 5% per year, so you can expect to pay more than double that in 18 years. 

I’m going to assume that most of you listening have children who are already in college or beyond, so this doesn’t help you out with saving for your own kids college, but you may have young grandchildren or future grandchildren arriving someday, so I’m going to talk about this from that viewpoint, and assume you have 18 years to save for college, since your older and smarter now, and you want to help that grandbaby of yours pay for college.  

I think it’s a good goal to try to save at least 100,000 for college, since it’s likely that the grandchildren will pay a lot more than that for college anyways. It sounds like a lot, but not when you start once that baby gets his or her social security number.

If you start saving when that grandbaby of yours is a newborn, and you save $200/month for 18 years, and it grows 8% a year, you’ll have about $100,000 when your grandchild enrolls in college. If you can incentivize the parents to contribute as well - let’s say you’ll double match every dollar they invest...they save $100/month, you save $200 - that’s $300/mo going into the college savings account, you’re up to about $145,000 by the time college starts. 

So as long as time is on your side, it’s not as hard to save $100,000 as it sounds. If you can’t afford to contribute $200 a month, consider going the matching route with the parent’s where you each do $50 or $100 a month. Starting early and saving consistently for 18 years is the key for making college a lot easier to pay for.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! Come on back tomorrow where I’ll talk more about how to calculate how much you’ll want to save for your unique circumstances. 

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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

The theme this week on the One Minute Retirement Tip podcast is: How to save $100,000 for your grandkids college

Today, I’m talking about why you should care about saving for college in the first place. Many parents and grandparents save little or nothing for their children or grandchildren’s education. Many times this is simply because there are more pressing financial needs, and many times because the cost of college is something isn’t planned for, because many people simply procrastinate and put it out of their mind until they need to deal with it. But by the time junior hits high school, it’s much too late to save a meaningful amount of money for college, and student loans become the way to fill the financial gap.

You’ve probably heard all about the student loan debt crisis. College grads are carrying around crushing amounts of student loan debt. And many will still be paying off their student loans well into their 30s and 40s. 

The main problem I see with people I’ve advised in their 30s and 40s who have student loans is that it keeps them from saving for retirement or for their own kids college, and the vicious cycle of debt continues. If Americans today don’t start saving for retirement until their 40s, they only have 20 years to save instead of 30. 

After all, “It’s time in the market, not timing the market that matters”. Here’s why: If I save $5000/year for retirement starting at age 25, and it grows at a reasonable 8% per year, I’ll have about $1.4 million on my 65th birthday. 

If I delay that by just 10 years and don’t start saving until age 35, I’ll have about $600,000 at age 65, less that half of what 

The longer you wait to start saving for retirement the more you’ll need to save just to catch up. So one of the best things you can do for your children and grandchildren financially to set them up for success in retirement is to help them avoid student loans, and show them the power of saving early and often - prioritize saving for retirement with their first paycheck and it will build the habit of saving early with the potential for huge payoffs later in life. If they don’t have the burden of student loans, it’s all the more likely that they’ll start saving with that first paycheck. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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----------

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

Welcome to a new week here on the One Minute Retirement Tip Podcast. I’m your host Ashley Micciche, co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors, an independent financial advisory practice managing $325 million in client assets. I’m a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, a frequent speaker, radio and podcast guest, and I love talking to anyone who will listen about making a plan for the retirement you envision. 

The theme this week on the One Minute Retirement Tip podcast is: How To Save $100,000 For Your Grandkids College.

It’s likely that for many of you listening, helping to pay for college and provide an education for your children and grandchildren is an important financial goal. My 2 oldest kids are starting school this coming week, so with the new school year kicking off, saving for college is a topic that’s top of mind right now. Paying for college is daunting. With the price tag of a 4 year degree in the $50,000-$100,000 range now for most schools and getting more expensive each year, finding the right balance between saving for college and saving for retirement is a real challenge. 

So this week, I’ll teach you 

• how to figure out how much to save for college no matter what age you’re starting at
• why saving $100,000 for college isn’t as hard as it sounds
• the only college savings account that I recommend to clients
• And lastly, how to invest for growth in the early years and when to switch over to preserving that growth as college approaches

I hope what I have to share with you this week will help you make smart and thoughtful decisions with your retirement. And while I am careful to not lead you astray, personal finance is not an exact science. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone, so I encourage you to disregard anything I say that may not be helpful for you, and to consult your own financial, tax, and legal advisors regarding your own individual situation. 

That’s it for today. Come on back tomorrow, when I’m talking about the problem with student loans that no one seems to be talking about. 

Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche...and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

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

----------

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

It’s Sunday, which means...It’s time for the recap and bottom line. I’m tying everything together and sharing the most important takeaway from this week’s theme: 

New Research That Will Shatter Your Expectations About Spending In Retirement 

In case you missed any episodes, here’s what we covered in each episode this week: 

• The Conventional Thinking On Constant Spending In Retirement
• Non-Discretionary Spending In Retirement Is Actually Flexible...Here’s Why
• Why You’ll Spend Less Than You Think In Retirement...Even If You’re Rich
• Can Your Spending Match Your Guaranteed Retirement Income?
• Portfolio Income Strategies In Retirement To Align With Spending Preferences

Here’s the bottom line: In a challenge to conventional thinking about retiree spending remaining flat after adjusting for inflation, new research suggests that retirees reduce their spending by about 2% annually in retirement. If you’re a saver and you show a strong preference for preserving your assets in retirement, you’re more likely to match your spending to your guaranteed income sources like a pension and social security, rather than taking additional income from your investment portfolio to supplement a higher spending amount. In other words, many prefer to just live on less in favor of keeping their assets intact in retirement. 

I think there are some middle ground solutions to this, allowing retirees to spend a little more and hopefully enjoy their retirement years a little more as a result. And that is to focus on generating income from dividends and interest and using that income only to supplement other sources, which would allow retirees to spend more without losing sleep over their spending since they’re just living off the income and not dipping into the principal value. 

Tomorrow, come on back, because we’re starting a brand new theme: How to save $100,000 for your grandkids college. 

For many of my clients, helping to pay for college and provide an education for their children and grandchildren is an important financial goal. My kids are starting school this coming week. They’re excited, I’m excited! My oldest is starting first grade and my second child is starting PreK. He’s in a class of 10, with 8 boys and 2 girls so my condolences to his teacher. 

So with the new school year kicking off, saving for college is a topic that’s top of mind for myself and for many of you who have children or grandchildren still at home..how the heck am I going to pay for college? I’ll teach you how to figure out how much to save for college, no matter what age you’re starting at, the best vehicles for saving, and then lastly, how to invest for growth in the early years and switch over to preserving that growth as college approaches. 

Thank you so much for listening this week! Please leave a review on Amazon, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. I really appreciate your comments, and reviews also help new people discover the show.  

My name is Ashley Micciche and I hope you have a blessed Sunday.

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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 One Minute Retirement Tip podcast is: new research that will shatter your expectations about spending in retirement. So far this week I’ve been talking about how retirees tend to decrease their inflation-adjusted spending in retirement by about 2% annually, with many showing a strong preference to asset preservation by matching their spending to their guaranteed income sources and not touching their investment portfolios unless they need to. 

Today, I’m talking about how you can align your portfolio income strategy with your spending preferences. 

If you’re a saver, not a spender, then you’re more likely to show a strong preference for sticking to your guaranteed income sources. 

But what if those guaranteed income sources just won’t be enough? That’s where portfolio income comes in. Psychologically, I find that many of my retired clients prefer to just take their portfolio income each year, rather than selling assets to supplement their income. This means that your income needs would remain flexible to account for changing dividends and income from your investments. 

In today’s low interest rate environment, it’s even more challenging because the portfolio income that you can generate from your bond portfolio is a joke, unless you’re taking on a lot of risk. 

So what is a retiree to do who wants to preserve assets, but will still need to supplement their guaranteed income? For that, I have 2 suggestions: 

First is to own a substantial amount of your stock portfolio in stocks that increase their dividends. I’m not talking about high dividends or high yield stocks, but stocks that have a demonstrated history of raising their dividends year-in and year-out for many years. Many of these companies tend to increase their dividends 5-10% annually, providing a growing stream of income for retirees, even in this low interest rate environment. 

The other strategy is to invest in a bond ladder. I’ve talked about bond laddering many times on the podcast. Essentially, it provides a predictable stream of income with an opportunity to gradually grow your income once interest rates start rising again, rather than being locked in by owning longer-term, low interest-paying bonds that are the norm today. 

Do you know what your current portfolio income is? It doesn’t take too much legwork to find that out, and I encourage you to see if your current dividend and interest income is enough to supplement your guaranteed income to help you live a comfortable retirement, while at the same time helping you avoid spending down the principal value of your retirement investment portfolio. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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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