Fritz Gilbert says the adage that "Retirement is a marathon, not a sprint" is backwards. He cites an average age where health starts to decline is 64, so sprinting in those first few years when the average retiree is 61-63 makes sense.

We will dig into that idea, then follow it up with a listener who can't get her husband to think about anything but saving money.

Resource:

• Article by Fritz Gilbert: Retirement is a Sprint, Not a Marathon

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

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The fear of running out of money in retirement turns out to be mostly backwards. For super-savers, the data says the opposite usually happens. A piece from Danielle Labotka at Morningstar makes the case that for a lot of retirees: Being too cautious with your spending is actually the bigger risk.

In our listener question segment: Anonymous wants to give money to her kids with warm hands, not cold. How much you can safely give today without putting your own retirement at risk?

And then we'll wrap up with our Retire To Something segment: Dabbling in a little of everything.

Resources:

• Article by Danielle Labotka at Morningstar: Is Your Cautious Retirement Spending Doing More Harm Than Good?
• Book by Bill Perkins: Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

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Every year, thousands of retirees pay an extra penalty to the IRS — and almost none of them see it coming.

What catches them off guard isn't a penalty for owing too much. You can do everything right — claim Social Security at the right age, run picture-perfect Roth conversions, manage your withdrawals down to the dollar — and still get a letter from the IRS charging you extra.

I reworked a framework from an article by Sheryl Rowling at Morningstar into four clean, completely legal ways to avoid getting tax penalties.

After that, we've got a listener question: A retiree writes in and says, "I don't want to think about money. My plan is tested, I have enough — so what's a simple checklist I can use to stay on track?"

And to close the show, our Retire To Something segment where Clif traded his to-do list for a garden plot — and found community, leadership, and a whole lot of homegrown vegetables in the process.

Resource: Article by Sheryl Rowling at Morningstar: 5 Ways to Avoid Tax Penalties

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

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Americans don't feel great about the economy. Consumer Sentiment just hit the lowest reading in roughly 75 years.

Ben Carlson over at A Wealth of Common Sense dug into why that might be, and what it means for those of us trying to enjoy a retirement when it always feels like the second shoe is about to drop.

In our Listener Question segment, we hear from someone who is sitting on 50x their annual spending - and they can't get their spouse to spend it.

Wrapping up the episode we hear from Karen in our "Retire To Something" segment. She's thru-hiking thousands of miles and loving it.

Resource:

• Article by Ben Carlson of A Wealth of Common Sense: The Lowest Consumer Sentiment EVER

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

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There's a decision your surviving spouse is going to make about your IRA, after you're already gone, that can either cut short or stretch out how long your kids get to keep that money growing — and most people don't even realize the choice is being made. We're going to zero in on one option in particular, one that sounds a little crazy on its face: turning down an inheritance on purpose.

In our Listener Question segment: A listener wrote in about a family farm, a couple of brothers he'd rather not be in business with, and whether saying "no thank you" to his own share is the way to keep the peace in the family.

And then to close things out, we'll head over to our Retire To Something segment where Shawn figured out how to check just about every box that matters.

Resource: Article by Denise Appleby at Morningstar: The IRA Decision That Affects Your Kids

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

Follow Retirement Starts Today in:Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or iHeart

You've heard it said a hundred times: Spend the money, make the memories, don't die with regret.

However, for certain kinds of retirees, dying as the richest person in the graveyard isn't a tragedy at all. The comfort of simply having the money can be worth more than anything you'd ever buy with it.

Today, we begin with an article, The Many Utilities of Retirement, which talks about RPIG (the Richest Person In the Graveyard) versus FORO (the Fear of Running Out of money).

It's an interesting look at the juxtaposition.

After that, a question - listener that calls himself the millionaire next door — he'll never spend what he's saved, it's all headed to the kids and grandkids, and yet he still mows his own lawn and changes his own oil. He wants to loosen up and spend a little more… but he also kind of loves the life he's already got. So what do you tell a guy like that? I'll give you my take.

And we wrap up the show with our Retire To Something segment.

Resource:

• Article by William Bernstein and Edward McQuarrie: The Many Utilities of Retirement

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

Follow Retirement Starts Today in:Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or iHeart

If you want to spend more at the beginning of retirement, which withdrawal strategies actually let you do that? This week's Retirement Headline from Amy C. Arnott called "The Best Strategies for Boosting Starting Withdrawal Rates in Retirement" answers that question.

For our Listener Question: A listener wrote in wondering whether sequence-of-returns risk really fades away after the first decade of retirement, and if so — whether that means it's safe to bump withdrawals up to 5.5% or more later in the game.

And we wrap it up with another Retire To Something segment.

Resource:

Article by Amy C. Arnott at Morningstar: The Best Strategies for Boosting Starting Withdrawal Rates in Retirement

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

Follow Retirement Starts Today in:Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or iHeart

Imagine a lifetime spent diligently saving your acorns, only to face a mental roadblock when it's time to enjoy them. Dana Anspach, CFP®, RMA®, and author of "Living Off Your Acorns," shares how this common challenge impacts retirees and introduces the critical "pre-go" phase.

This episode offers a fresh perspective on retirement planning, emphasizing conscious consumption of retirement funds.

Key Takeaways:

• Identify and plan for the crucial "pre-go" phase of retirement, which involves significant financial and identity shifts
• Overcome the "super saver" mentality to give yourself permission to enjoy retirement spending and experiences
• Understand that retirement is not a single phase but multiple stages, each with unique challenges and opportunities
• Recognize the emotional and psychological hurdles of transitioning from saving to spending retirement funds
• Explore how to find purpose and joy beyond work through hobbies, travel, and charitable giving

Resources Mentioned:

• Dana's new book: "Living Off Your Acorns: Your Guide To The Four Phases of Retirement"
• "Control Your Retirement Destiny" by Dana Anspach
• "Die with Zero" by Bill Perkins
• "The Prosperous Retirement: A Guide to the New Reality" by Michael Stein
• Your 12 Good Years article by Dan Hewlett

Connect With Dana Anspach:

• Website: https://www.sensiblemoney.com
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@makingretirementmakesense

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get Benjamin's book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

Follow Retirement Starts Today in:Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or iHeart

What happens when you reach financial independence by paying off a low interest rate mortgage early? Or being renter instead of buying a home and growing equity? I'll explain why hitting that milestone earns you the right to ignore some of the most stubborn rules in personal finance.

For our Listener Question: A listener wants to know how to think about real estate as part of a retirement portfolio — should they own a rental property for income?

And we will wrap it up with another listener-sourced segment called "Retire to Something".

Resource: Article from Business Insider: "There's No One-Size-Fits-All Path to Early Retirement"

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

Follow Retirement Starts Today in:Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or iHeart

According to Capital One Shopping - 89% of shoppers have made some kind of impulse buy. More than half have spent more than $100 on a whim, and the average shopper made impulse buys adding up to $282 a month.

A classic rule is to wait 24 hours to help curb impulse buys, but on today's show, I'm going to flip that rule on its head and explain why my listeners might actually need the opposite advice.

After that, I'll answer a listener question about switching from saving for decades to a spending mindset? You'll learn about my "half for me, half for you" framework.

And to wrap up the show, I'll share what our happiest retired listeners are up to in our newest listener-sourced segment "Retire to Something".

Resource: Article by Marc Buerti at Money.com: The "24-Hour Rule" That Keeps Retirees From Blowing Their Savings on Impulse Buys

Connect with Benjamin Brandt:

• Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com
• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Get the book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

Follow Retirement Starts Today in:Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or iHeart