This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I’m talking about America’s $36 Trillion Tab on the national debt and what that means for you. 

A very smart investor told me recently that the national debt will begin to decline when the growth rate of the economy outpaces the growth rate on the debt. 

Ok, so then one could conclude that we just need more robust economic growth to get out of this debt doom loop we seem to be headed for. 

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I’m talking about America’s $36 Trillion Tab on the national debt and what that means for you. 

Today, I’m talking about the ugly tradeoffs for reducing the national debt and how each of those options, and likely some combination of all 3 could impact you.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I’m talking about America’s $36 Trillion Tab on the national debt and what that means for you. 

Today, I’m talking about why the US national debt is problematic.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I’m talking about America’s $36 Trillion Tab on the national debt and how it impacts you - what does that mean for your social security & medicare benefits, inflation, taxes, the value of your investments, etc. The unfortunate truth is that the growing debt problem potentially has a big impact on all of these aspects of your life. 

Before we go any further, we first need to clarify what the US National Debt is…

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I’m your host, Ashley Micciche.

I’m a financial advisor and co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors, a fee-only fiduciary financial advisory practice managing over $425M in assets. 

For 17 years, I’ve helped clients retire with confidence, and my goal on this podcast is to simplify the complexities of retirement planning so you can focus on what truly matters—enjoying your retirement years while maintaining financial security.

I remember having concerns about the US national debt and having conversations with clients about this back in 2011.

That’s what I’ll talk about this week. Because the US national debt isn’t like you or I having debt. It’s quite different. If we don’t have enough income to pay our debts like the US government, then we don’t have money trees. The US government has their own personal money tree, and that can work, up to a point. 

It’s Sunday and I’m wrapping up the week by summarizing this week’s theme: Right Accounts in the Right Order - Prioritizing Your Savings as a Pre-Retiree in 2025

In case you missed any episodes this week, heres how I recommend prioritizing savings especially as you approach retirement:

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I’m talking about savings optimization. How should you prioritize your savings in 2025, saving the right accounts in the right order to get to better financial stability and long-term flexibility. 

If you haven’t been listening to each episode in order this week, I suggest going back because each episode is like a step on a ladder. You can’t skip a step, and it’s important to get the right priorities. 

Once everything else is taken care of, then last step on the ladder is what to do with additional money you have left to save. 

You’re emergency fund and cash savings are where they should be. You’re saving in your 401k and you’re on track for where you need to be at this age for retirement, you have no debts other than your mortgage, and you don’t have any other big goals like saving for kids college or a remodel project, or a big vacation coming up that you need to earmark some savings for.

You’re in a great spot financially, so what’s next? At this point it all comes down to personal preference.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I’m talking about savings optimization. How should you prioritize your savings in 2025, saving the right accounts in the right order to get to better financial stability and long-term flexibility. 

We’ve talked about having enough cash on hand, then 401k contributions,then knocking out your non-mortgage debt.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I’m talking about savings optimization. How should you prioritize your savings in 2025, saving the right accounts in the right order to get to better financial stability and long-term flexibility. 

Today, I’m talking about paying off debt.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I’m talking about savings optimization. How should you prioritize your savings in 2025, saving the right accounts in the right order to get to better financial stability and long-term flexibility. 

Today, once you have enough cash on hand for emergencies, big expenses, and if you’re close to retirement, that extra cushion for pausing portfolio withdrawals in a downturn, we can move on to longer term goals, like saving for retirement.