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

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

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

Imagine having 10 overstuffed boxes of grandma's collections in your living room.

That's the story that leads our show from a couple in Florida who received these items as hand-me-downs from a boomer parent trying to clear them out.

The article features estate specialist Julie Hall, who says Millennials don't want painted china or antique furniture — they want Pottery Barn and IKEA. When Hall asked her own daughter what she'd want from her house, the answer was, "Just the jewelry". Hall's takeaway? That response gave her permission to let go.

We discuss this growing issue in our headline segment before answering a listener's question: "Do you have any advice on giving money to adult children while still living? Giving them some of their inheritance while they are younger and need money more than later in their life when my husband and I pass away."

Then we wrap it up with a retired pastor who spends his time diving into a reef tank full of sharks at the Toledo Zoo in our "Retire To Something" segment.

Resource:

Article by Richard Eisenberg: Sorry, Your Kids Don't Want Your Stuff or Your Parents' Stuff

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

There is roughly a ten-year window centered around your retirement date, five to ten years before, and five to ten years after called "The Retirement Risk Zone". This is when you're most vulnerable to sequence-of-returns impacting the longevity of your withdrawal strategy.

We cover this idea brought up by Wade Pfau in an episode of "The Long View", a show hosted by Christine Benz, Amy C. Arnott, and Ben Johnson - specifically:

• The Retirement Risk Zone
• The Rising Equity Glide Path
• The Social Security Delay Bridge

After that, I answer a listener question: Frank is planning to delay Social Security and wants to know — does it make sense to take bigger withdrawals from the portfolio in your 60s and then scale back in your 70s once Social Security kicks in? Short answer: yes — but how you do it matters a lot. We'll walk through it.

Finally, in our "Retire to Something" segment: After 50 years in the workforce, a former Senior of VP in Manufacturing inspires us with ideas he is doing in his retirement.

Resources:

• Episode of The Long View from Morningstar, featuring Wade Pfau: What Is the 'Retirement Risk Zone?'
• The Retirement Starts Today Blueprint

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

Why is it so hard to spend the money you spent a lifetime saving?

This is a question from Janet Bodnar in a Kiplinger article. She admits that one of her guilty pleasures in retirement is treating herself to a casual lunch while she's out running errands. Why does she feel so guilty?

Christine Benz from Morningstar is quoted in the article, which we discuss at length in this episode.

Then a listener asks a question I think a lot of you are wondering: "How am I supposed to figure out what I want to do in retirement when I can barely find time to do laundry while I'm still working?" Great question!

And in our "Retire To Something" segment, Lois from the Southeast turned a lifelong love of animals into a retirement packed with purpose — volunteering at a zoo, working part-time at an aquarium, and spending half the year with manatees!

Resource:

Article by Janet Bodnar in Kiplinger: Stop Sweating the Small Stuff When You Spend Your Retirement Money

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