We’ve seen incredible growth in the alternatives market over the last several years, and plenty of secondary markets have emerged for corporate investments. But what do you do if you want to invest in assets like real estate investment trusts (REITs)? These investment vehicles come in all shapes and sizes. Some have been wildly successful, and others have been complete and total flops. 

To help us improve our understanding of these investments, I’m thrilled to welcome Brian King. Brian is the CEO of Realto, a marketplace for non-traded securities that would otherwise be illiquid. Institutional and even retail buyers can use platforms like Realto to buy positions in REITs. 

In our conversation, we explore why you might (or might not) want to invest in private markets, how a platform like Realto helps determine the actual value of illiquid assets, and the alternative marketplaces he sees emerging in the months to come.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why it’s so hard to know what you’re specifically investing in when working through broker/dealer channels.
• Why real estate is by nature illiquid–and why so many REITs have never had liquidity events.
• Why you should be wary of letters from McKinsey, CMG, and Comrit.
• How real estate can act like a bond on steroids when an asset performs well.
• Why a marketplace for private debt and private equity is in Brian’s future. 

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To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/64

Learn More about Retirement Planning

Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com

Many people think that claiming Social Security is a simple process–that is, until they do it.

Ken Sokol is living proof of this. He retired from his engineering career at Hallmark in the early 2000s at the age of 54. Soon, he found himself digging deep into how Social Security claims actually worked, became a traveling lecturer on the topic, and joined the National Academy of Social Insurance–a think tank based in Washington, D.C. working to help retirees understand the choices they make and what’s really at stake when it comes to Social Security.

In today’s episode, we discuss strategies you can do, and mistakes to avoid, when claiming Social Security. We’ll cover why your retirement distribution strategy could be the difference between bringing in, or losing, more retirement income. Additionally, we’ll review some financial questions you should be asking yourself as you prepare for retirement.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• How provisional income limits work–and why you stand to lose more money than you think you do by making mistakes in your claims.
• Why boomers are going to blow away life expectancy tables–and how to build a financial plan that takes this into account.
• Why choosing to withdraw from a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA first is not an either-or question.
• Why the Social Security office will never help answer your questions–and who can.

Get Today's Show Notes

To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/63

Learn More about Retirement Planning

Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com

Health insurance costs in retirement are a big deal to just about everyone. So many people transitioning into retirement find themselves frustrated by their Medicare coverage, enrolled in the wrong coverage, and stuck with unnecessary expenses that fail to cover their medical needs.

After Taylor Garner’s father went through this experience, he focused his career on making sure it wouldn’t happen to other people. As an agent at American Republic Insurance Services, he works tirelessly to help his clients make informed decisions about their futures–and helps them to save money with custom insurance programs that meet their unique needs.

In today’s episode, Taylor and I talk about the traps and challenges of the healthcare industry that affect countless retirees, why the right plan can bring down your healthcare costs substantially, and how to put the many different forms of supplemental coverage to work for you.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why so many insurance agents sell misleading and confusing insurance products.
• How a lack of education in insurance creates so many problems.
• Why Medicare Supplement plans are necessary, why they’re so confusing, and why it’s so easy to pay the wrong price for coverage.
• How Taylor educates clients and helps them confidently choose the Medicare coverage to address their healthcare challenges.

Get Today's Show Notes

To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/62

Learn More about Retirement Planning

Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com

Everybody knows that life can be unpredictable, and anything can happen at any time. Out of nowhere, we may lose a loved one, fall ill ourselves, or end up living through a natural disaster–and the last thing you want in these trying moments is to be in financial distress.

This is why disaster planning is a critical part of retirement planning. Many people fail to make several necessary arrangements for end-of-life planning before disaster strikes, and it can lead to massive expenses, a conflict that tears families apart, and nasty court battles.

Today’s episode is all about how to create a financial first aid kit. You’ll hear from CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Will Doty about the documents and resources you need to have ready if you’re dealt with a worst-case scenario event.

We’ll also talk about why it’s so easy to put these planning decisions off and the simple steps you can take to protect yourself in the short term without becoming a full-on survivalist.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why disaster planning is critical from a financial perspective.
• The critical components of a catastrophe plan–and why having just a will is not enough.
• The importance of having a team to help you settle your estate when you lose a loved one.
• Why naming a child as a successor trustee can be a double-edged sword.
• How Will coaches clients to be better prepared for natural disasters.

Get Today's Show Notes

To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/61

Learn More about Retirement Planning

Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com

Whether you’re just getting started or well into your retirement, having an adequate amount of insurance is critical. It’s an essential tool for risk management and a major piece of a well-crafted financial plan. It’s also extremely complex.

People of all ages find themselves underinsured or have purchased the wrong products, and these can lead to significant financial setbacks at any stage of life.

Joining me to talk about this is Sarah Askren. Sarah is a property and casualty insurance expert at The Miller Group. With over 20 years experience in the field, she’s passionate about making sure that her clients protect their loved ones and have access to the resources they need.

In this conversation, Sarah and I discuss the ins and outs of property and casualty insurance, what you should be looking for when you shop for insurance, and how to avoid being sold insurance products you don’t need.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why insurance plays such a crucial role in everyone’s financial life.
• How insurance needs change as people age.
• The big mistakes that Sarah sees in clients’ property and casualty insurance coverage.
• Why a risk management review is important and how they work.
• The things everyone should be aware of when working with insurance agents.
• What you need to know to effectively file an insurance claim to get paid quickly.

Get Today's Show Notes

To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/60

Learn More about Retirement Planning

Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com

Most people think about debt as a bad thing. No matter what your financial background is, you’ve probably been told to avoid racking up debt, not to spend outside your means, and to pay off your debt whenever you can.

However, what this simplistic guidance fails to take into account is that there’s two kinds of debt: the debt you want to avoid and the debt you actually want to take on. So, what’s the difference?

Joining me to help answer this question is Logan DeGraeve, CFP® at Barber Financial Group. We discuss the differences between good debt and bad debt, the discipline that is needed when using debt and leverage, and the right (and wrong) times in life to carry debt at every stage of life.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• When carrying debt is appropriate.
• Examples of when it’s a good idea to accrue debt instead of paying cash.
• Why student loans, credit cards, and overpriced homes that are likely to lose value are some of the worst kinds of debt you can accrue.
• The importance of having good credit in order to get access to good loans, free travel, and other benefits.
• Why the dollar amount on your 401(k) or IRA is not the same thing as how much money you have.
• How working with a CFP® can help you eliminate your taxable income.

Get Today's Show Notes

To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/59

Learn More about Retirement Planning

Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com

For the first time ever, private equity is an asset class available to the main street investor. If you’ve worked hard, saved well, and are looking for an asset class outside the norm that’s a little more predictable and can provide some additional opportunities, private equity investing could be a great fit for you.

My guest, Michael Bell, is the Founder and Managing Director of Primark Capital, and an expert in this area. Before taking on his current role, he built and served as CEO for a $12B RIA, where he managed over 30 investment strategies, as well as a $10B liquid alternative mutual fund complex that launched over 50 alternative funds.

Today, Michael joins the podcast to discuss what private equity is, why it matters, and how you, the individual investor, can participate in private equity just like large foundations have done in the past.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why private equity is now a $4 trillion industry–and why it’s historically been inaccessible to traditional investors.
• How private equity companies are valued, how often they’re traded, and how to assess their health.
• How public policy, interest rates, and inflation affect private companies as compared to publicly traded ones.
• Why private equity is less likely to be scrutinized and regulated than cryptocurrency or other emerging consumer asset classes.
• Potential cash flow issues to be aware of in private equity investing.

Get Today's Show Notes

To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/58

Learn More about Retirement Planning

Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com

As of this writing, we’re experiencing market valuations that none of us have ever seen in our careers. If you’re getting close to retiring (or just retired), this can have a major impact on how you pay for the rest of your life.

To make sense of how this plays out over the course of retirement, I’m talking to Bud Kasper. Bud is the President of our Lees Summit location, and he was one of the first CFPs, as well as the first chairman of the Financial Planning Association for greater Kansas City and former president of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners of Heart of America.

Bud recently wrote an article called Can Retirees Survive the Next Bear Market?, where he outlined all the different ways that timing can impact retirement.

In this conversation, we discuss his writing on this topic, what the sequence of returns is, and how it can affect not just your ability to retire, but your ability to get through retirement.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why so many new retirees are worried that they’ll have to start taking distributions in a bear market.
• How to stress test your retirement plan to survive a market downturn.
• How a sequence of returns can be the difference between running out of money or having $3.8 million at the same age.
• Strategies Bud recommends to help clients preserve their money.
• How you can use a dynamic withdrawal strategy to use your portfolio to deliver income.
• What retirees need to know about planning for rampant inflation.

Get Today's Show Notes

To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/57

Learn More about Retirement Planning

Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com

Bitcoin has become incredibly mainstream. It’s been a hot topic for a while now and it’s mentioned frequently in many investment discussions in the financial planning world. 

Everyone sees ads for Bitcoin in their social media feeds with the cute little graphics of coins with Bs on them. There are probably some people out there who also think that there are real, physical Bitcoins they can get, too! So, with that in mind, today’s episode is all about Bitcoin: how it originated, what it really is, and how you can invest in it. 

Joining me today to discuss this fascinating topic are Matt Kasper and Will Doty, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals at Barber Financial Group. Without going down too many rabbit holes, this conversation is a top-level introduction to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency–and one you can use to make it a part of your portfolio in a meaningful way.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• How Bitcoin was inspired by the financial crash of 2008.
• What Blockchain technology is and how it can be used to ensure transparency in supply chains and many other use cases.
• Why the price of Bitcoin is so incredibly volatile.
• How to minimize your risk of fraud and secure your cryptocurrency investments.

Get Today's Show Notes

To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/56

Learn More about Retirement Planning

Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com

American entrepreneurs are facing a triple threat: rampant inflation, higher interest rates, and higher costs of capital for businesses. There’s less safety in bonds, stocks are likely to fall, and expenses are all but guaranteed to increase. As the saying goes, the only constant in life is change, and there are a lot of economic factors that appear to be changing right now.

To help me dissect these issues, I’m talking with Don Wenner of DLP Capital. Don has made a ton of progress in his business since we last spoke on episode 46 of this podcast. He’s added over 100 members to his team, is on the verge of acquiring a bank, and has made a number of big moves to keep his organization moving forward and best serve his clients. In his bestselling book, Building an Elite Organization, he explores how to scale high-growth, high-profit businesses.

In this conversation, we dig into the challenges facing business owners in this time, the moves he made in the last 18 months to grow his business in spite of the COVID crisis, the impact that interest rates and skyrocketing values is having on the housing market,  and the importance of having real strategies to operate in a recessionary environment.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• How Don has dealt with the challenges that inflation poses to his business.
• Why rents and property values are currently skyrocketing like never before.
• How the current housing market is impacting both the younger and older generations, and what that means for the rental market.
• The reasons why Don invests in communities and not just single family or multifamily properties.
• Why so many people are jumping into the real estate industry despite not knowing what they’re doing.

Get Today's Show Notes

To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/55

Learn More about Retirement Planning

Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com