Ah, the free trial. I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for a good free trial.

But you know the problem with the free trial? No one ever calls to tell me, “hey your free trial is ending and your credit card will now be charged for 3-years worth of our service, all up-front”..AH!!!.

So it’s easy to forget, but then you’re charged, and then it’s a hassle just to get a refund, that is...if you’re not stuck paying. And that’s if you even noticed it in the first place.

Who knows, I probably have some free trial that I signed up for 12 years ago that I’m still paying for...let’s hope not.

Here’s the easy-to-implement tip on making sure free trials don’t turn into paid subscriptions: Mark your calendar.

I recently hired a nanny for my kids, and I used one of those caregiver matchmaker services to find a nanny. In order to use the service, I had to sign up for the paid option, which automatically renews every 3 months. If I don’t cancel my subscription by April, I’ll be paying for another 3 months of something that I no longer need.

This service and millions of other trial period service offerings like it are counting on the fact that I’m probably not going to keep tabs on this, and that I won’t cancel before the renewal.

So, to ensure that I don’t get charged, I marked my calendar for a couple weeks before the renewal date. If you get in the habit of noting the expiration date of the trial period on your calendar each time you sign up for a free trial or an introductory period, you won’t forget to cancel those subscriptions that you no longer use or want.

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, budgeting, personal budget, kaizen, subscription boxes, subscription services, free trial

The theme for this week is: Small Changes. Big Results.

You know, when you make changes in your life, they don’t always have to be massive, earth-shattering, blow up your world kind of changes in order to make a difference.

Sometimes, small changes can have massive results too. And actually, because small changes are so much easier, we can circumvent the brain’s freak-out-what-have-you-done-to-me! reaction, making it more likely that we’ll stick with our small changes in the long-run.

And today’s small changes, big results topic is: Subscription Boxes.

Stitch Fix, Birchbox, HelloFresh. I mean come on, who doesn’t love opening a curated box of clothes, goodies, or pre-prepped food.

But have you ever stopped to wonder why subscription-based services are everywhere these days? They’re creating income and loyalty on auto-pilot.

I have been tempted by Spotify premium for a long time now. I’m well-versed in the benefits because they barrage me every 3rd song. Only 10 bucks a month gets me unlimited skips, no ads, and I can take my music anywhere.

Must. Resist.

So you justify it. Ah, it’s just $10 here. Another $5 there. $19.99 over thata way. Then before you know it, you’re blowing $50 a month on little luxuries that you don’t use, need, or appreciate that much.

So I’d like you to try 2 things:

1. Next time you’re tempted to buy a subscription for something and give someone else your money on auto-pilot for eternity, wait a month. Just think about it some more and ask yourself, is this really worth it! Because once you have it, even if it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, it’s much harder to let it go.
2. Audit all of your subscriptions at least once a year. If you listened yesterday, I talked about how important it is to track your spending and create a budget. One of the many great benefits of a budget is that is allows you to see not just what you spent, but WHO you spent it with. Take inventory of all of your subscriptions, what you paid for those on an annual basis, and then ask yourself if it really enhances your life.

That’s it for today! Thanks for listening. Tomorrow we’re going to talk about the trickery of free trials.

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, budgeting, personal budget, kaizen, subscription boxes, subscription services

The theme for this week is: Small Changes. Big Results.

You know, when you make changes in your life, they don’t always have to be massive, earth-shattering, blow up your world kind of changes in order to make a difference.

Sometimes, small changes can have massive results too. And actually, because small changes are so much easier to make, we can circumvent the brain’s freak-out-what-have-you-done-to-me! reaction, making it more likely that we’ll stick with our small changes in the long-run. This is not just me BSing you. This is actually backed by science.  

So let’s talk about one small thing you can do with your finances that can have lasting impacts on your money and retirement security: Budgeting.

Ugh, she said the dirty B word! I know. A budget. It sounds like the least fun thing in the world, but if you haven’t yet figured out how to stick to a budget, you’ll be in for a rude awakening when you retire.

Please, listen closely to what I’m about to say...Rare is the retiree who doesn’t need to be mindful of and stick to a budget. When you’re retired and living on a fixed amount of money for the rest of your life, is not when you want to be learning how to budget.

So if you don’t track your income and spending, start now.

And here’s why I lumped this topic in the small changes category. Because technology has come so far in this area. There are great tools now that can basically budget for you, so they have taken most of the time, headaches, and number crunching out of the equation. Just google budgeting tools or budgeting app, and you’ll find a smorgasboard of options to choose from.

So get to work and just start tracking where your money goes every month. That’s a great first step and technology has now made this an easy first step too!

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, budgeting, personal budget, kaizen, budgeting app, you need a budget app, wally budget app, mint budgeting app

Sometimes, in order to see a big impact in your life, you have to make big and drastic changes. Like undoing a lifetime’s worth of poor eating habits if you need to lose 100 lbs or drastically changing your spending habits and your lifestyle to knock out $100,000 of debt.

But there are also those things in life where just the smallest little change can have big results and massive long-term payoffs. So much easier, right?

So this week, I’m talking about those seemingly small changes that can have massive, long-term impacts on your money. Small changes that are quick and easy and won’t take much time or effort to do, so you won’t have an excuse not to do it!

I’m going to cover things like:

• Reducing blind spots in your budget
• Resisting the subscription society
• Reminding yourself about that free trial
• Reconsidering where you’re parking your cash
• Ramping up your savings just a little bit

Small little tweaks here and there that are straightforward and easy to implement, yet can have big results in the long-run.

That’s it for today, but...

Before you go, please leave a review for the One Minute Retirement Tip in Amazon. Your review is important – potentially thousands of people will read your review and decide to enable (or not) based on your feedback. Plus, the more reviews the Tip gets, the more exposure Amazon gives it.

Thanks for listening!

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

----------

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>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, budgeting, personal budget, kaizen, subscription boxes, subscription services, free trial, money market, best savings account rates, save more in 401k, 401k saving, what percentage should I contribute to my 401k, save 1% more

It’s Sunday, which means...It’s recap time!

If you plan to retire in 2019 you have several important decisions to make. This week I talked about  the 5 most important things you’ll want to button up in the last few months before you transition into retirement.

If you didn’t catch all of the episodes this week, here is your 2019 Retirement Checklist:

• #1: Determine How You’ll Pay For Healthcare
• #2: Educate Yourself on Stock Options, Rollovers, and Pensions
• #3 - Decide When To Start Social Security
• #4 - Do a Full-Blown Retirement Analysis
• And... #5 - Talk to Recently Retired People

It’s certainly not a comprehensive list, but in my opinion, these are the most important actions you can take as you quickly approach retirement that will determine your long-term success, and ensure your financial security in the next phase of your life.  

If you missed any of these episodes, you can find them on iTunes by searching for the “One Minute Retirement Tip with Ashley”.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for listening.

I can’t wait to hang out with you again tomorrow morning, where we’re going to start a brand new theme: Small Changes, Big Results. We’re going to talk about the small things you can do today that can have lasting impacts on your money and financial security. Retirement and financial security is a lot like most sports in this regard. It’s a game of inches and getting the small things right. So we’ll talk about those seemingly insignificant little tweaks that have the power to change the course of your finances.

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, when to retire, retirement income, what age is the best time to retire, guide to retirement, 2019 guide to retirement, age to retire, how to plan for retirement, retirement checklist, how to decide when to retire

If you plan to retire in 2019 you have several important decisions to make. This week I’m focusing on the 5 most important things you’ll want to button up in the last few months before you transition into retirement.

Yesterday, I talked about the 4th thing you’ll want to do if you’re retiring this year, which is also the most important thing you’ll need to do before you retire, and that is to answer the question: Will you run out of money in retirement?

Today, checklist item #5 is finding and talking to 3-5 people you know who are recently retired. And by recent, I mean they’ve retired in the last 1-3 years. Take them to lunch or coffee and pick their brain. Make sure these people are straight talkers who will share with you the good, the bad, and the ugly of retirement.

Retirement can be a difficult transition, and if you’re not careful, it can lead to dissatisfaction and regret over your decision. Many recent retirees report some real and unexpected downsides to retirement - namely boredom, loneliness, and depression once the novelty of retirement wears off.

So ask your recently retired friends some important questions so you can better equip yourself with this big life transition. Questions like:

• What do you enjoy the most about being retired?
• What’s been surprising to you about retirement?
• What’s been difficult or challenging about retirement?
• How have you replaced social contact with your co-workers?
• What advice do you have for me as I transition into retirement?

If you’re interested in learning more about the psychology of retirement, I devoted an entire week to this topic - Episodes 8-14, which you can find along will all past episodes of the One Minute Retirement Tip at http://retirementtip.libsyn.com/. That’s retirement tip dot l-i-b-s-y-n dot com.

That’s it for today. Tomorrow, we’re going to recap the week and I’m going to give you a little preview of next week’s theme.

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, when to retire, retirement income, what age is the best time to retire, guide to retirement, 2019 guide to retirement, age to retire, how to plan for retirement, retirement checklist, how to decide when to retire, boredom in retirement, how is time passed in retired life, depression in retirement, how to decide when to retire

If you plan to retire in 2019 you have several important decisions to make. This week I’m focusing on the 5 most important things you’ll want to button up in the last few months before you transition into retirement.

Yesterday, I talked about the 3nd thing you’ll want to do if you’re retiring this year, which is to decide when to start social security benefits, and why it might make sense to wait until after you retire to start your social security benefits.

Today, I’m talking about checklist item #4. It’s what I believe is the most important thing you’ll need to do before you retire, and that is to answer the question: Will you run out of money in retirement?

The only way you’ll be able to answer this question confidently is by doing a detailed retirement analysis with a competent financial advisor. Ideally, you’ll want to work with an advisor who has some advanced training in this area, like a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor or a Certified Financial Planner.

Often, you can have a financial plan done for you for a flat fee, or if you’re already working with a financial advisor and you haven’t done this, it might not cost you any additional outlay to do a retirement analysis.

Here’s what the analysis will do for you. It will take inventory of where you are today - your assets, your target retirement date, and your income needs in retirement. It will assess your spending goals, like travel, remodeling your home, or paying for your daughter’s wedding, incorporate healthcare costs, taxes, inflation, and look at your current investment portfolio to answer a very important question:

Will you run out of money in retirement?

The software we use will live your retirement 1000 different ways in good and bad times to see what the chance is of you outliving your money and having to move in with your kids when you’re 80 years old.

You only want to make the transition into retirement if your chance of success is high - ideally, above 80%. Anything less than that and you’ll need to rethink your retirement date, your goals, or make some adjustments to your spending in retirement...or maybe you just need to drive Uber for a couple years to generate some extra income once you retire.

Either way, this is the best use of time and money you can spend in the last year or even 5 years before retirement. The sooner you complete a retirement analysis, the longer you have to make adjustments if the results aren’t good.

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening.

Tomorrow we’re going to talk about the unexpected and often overlooked thing you’ll want to do before you retire.

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, when to retire, retirement income, what age is the best time to retire, guide to retirement, 2019 guide to retirement, age to retire, how to plan for retirement, retirement checklist, how to decide when to retire, how much do I need to retire, can I afford to retire, how much money should you have at retirement, how much is enough for retirement, retirement calculator, retirement analysis

If you plan to retire in 2019 you have several important decisions to make. This week I’m focusing on the 5 most important things you’ll want to button up in the last few months before you transition into retirement - your 2019 retirement checklist.

Yesterday, I talked about the 2nd thing you’ll want to do if you’re retiring this year, which is to educate yourself on company stock, pension, and rollover options.

Today, I’m talking about why you may want to separate your retirement date with the date you start social security benefits.

If you’re in good health and you expect to live into your mid-70s or longer, consider waiting as long as possible to start social security.

Most Americans should plan to live into their 80s, which means that taking social security somewhere between age 67-70 makes the most sense. With some clients, I’ve seen the lifetime income difference in waiting be as high as $600,000, if a married couple waits until age 70 to start social security vs. taking social security at age 62. $600,000 lifetime income difference!

If you’re going to hold off on starting social security, this naturally leads to an important question: where do you draw income from instead if you’re going to retire before you start those social security checks?

You might consider taking higher withdrawals from your portfolio to fill the gap, and lower those withdrawals once social security starts. This strategy makes sense for a lot of people, as long as those higher withdrawals in the early years are sustainable and won’t put you at risk of depleting your investment portfolio. You’ll want to run the numbers for yourself to see if that pencils out.

That’s it for today. Before you go, please leave a review and comment in Alexa or iTunes. Your feedback means a lot to me. And if there’s a retirement topic you want me to cover, let me know in your comments as well.

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, when to retire, retirement income, what age is the best time to retire, guide to retirement, 2019 guide to retirement, age to retire, how to plan for retirement, retirement checklist, how to decide when to retire, social security, social security at age 62, full retirement age, social security at age 70, social security age, social security benefits age 66 still working

If you plan to retire in 2019 you have several important decisions to make. This week I’m focusing on the 5 most important things you’ll want to button up in the last few months before you transition into retirement.

Yesterday, I talked about the #1 thing you’ll want to do if you’re retiring this year, which is to figure out how the heck you’re going to pay for healthcare in retirement.

Today, checklist item #2 is educating yourself on stock options, rollover options, and pension.

If you have restricted stock, stock options, ESOP shares, or some other form of equity compensation, you’ll want to become an expert at understanding what will happen to your stock when you leave. This is important because you don’t want to leave money on the table by the timing of your retirement decision.

In some cases, working for just a few more months may allow a significant sum of stock to vest, so it’s important to understand what will happen to your stock when you leave, if you will be required to sell or not, and the tax implications of selling your stock.

Every company is different, so take the time to educate yourself on your options with selling or keeping your company stock after you retire.

Next, you’ll want to educate yourself on your pension options, if you have one. I see some clients wait until they’re ready to retire to do this. Don’t wait. You’ll want to give careful thought to how and when you start your pension benefits, whether or not you’ll take a lump sum or a lifetime income stream, and how much of your pension pension benefit you’ll want to provide to your spouse if he or she outlives you.

Lastly, you’ll want to look at your rollover options for your 401k or other company retirement plans. Will you keep the 401k at your old employer or roll it over to an IRA. There are pros and cons to each option, and it’s important to understand those before you leave your job.

I suggest working with a fiduciary financial advisor to help you sort through your options with your company stock, your pension, and your rollover, to help you make a smart and informed decision. An advisor who acts as a fiduciary is required to act in your best interest and put your interests ahead of his or her own. So you can be more confident in their advice to you about how you should handle these important decisions.

That’s it for today! Thanks for listening. Tomorrow we’re going to talk social security and why the timing of this decision shouldn’t necessarily coincide with your retirement date.

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, when to retire, retirement income, what age is the best time to retire, guide to retirement, 2019 guide to retirement, age to retire, how to plan for retirement, retirement checklist, how to decide when to retire, stock options at retirement, stock options, RSUs, RSU, restricted stock units, ESOP, employee stock ownership plan, rollover, 401k rollover, IRA rollover, pension, which pension option is best, pension decision, pension election

First of all, before I get into today’s topic, I have to let you know that today is episode 100 of the One Minute Retirement Tip. I am so happy that you’re here for the centennial episode, and I hope these tips are providing value for you on your path to retirement.

Ok, let’s get in to today’s tip…

If you plan to retire in 2019 you have several important decisions to make. This week I’m focusing on the 5 most important things you’ll want to button up in the last few months before you transition into retirement.

Checklist item #1 is: figure out how the heck you’re going to pay for healthcare in retirement.

Take the time to understand the alphabet soup of medicare if you’re eligible for medicare when you retire.

There’s Medicare part A, part B, part D. Part Z....just kidding. There’s no part Z, but you’ll want to fully understand coverage options so you don’t have gaps in your insurance coverage.

Also, it’s very important to understand what you’ll be paying for healthcare costs in retirement. You’ll still have out of pocket costs.

The average annual healthcare spending of a retired couple today is over $12,000/year. Make sure you’ve budgeted that into your monthly retirement expenses.

You’ll also want to take advantage of tools like a health savings account for paying for healthcare costs in retirement. With an HSA, you get the holy grail of tax benefits.

Money going into an HSA is tax-deductible. Then, once it’s inside the account, those HSA contributions grow tax-free...and as long as the money on the way out is used for qualified medical expenses, it’s not taxed on the way out!

You’ll be able to sock away up to $8000 in your HSA account in 2019 if you’re over 55 ($7000 if you’re under age 55).

If you want to learn more about paying for healthcare in retirement, including several tips about HSAs, I devoted an entire week to this topic in episodes 29 to 35. You can find those episodes in iTunes - just search for the One Minute Retirement Tip with Ashley in iTunes.

Thanks for listening! And I’ll see YOU tomorrow!

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, when to retire, retirement income, what age is the best time to retire, guide to retirement, 2019 guide to retirement, age to retire, how to plan for retirement, retirement checklist, how to decide when to retire, how much will my healthcare cost in retirement, how much money do I need for healthcare in retirement, HSA, health savings account, HSA limits 2019