🎄🎁 🎄Neighborhood parties and Facebook group gossip. Hectic family event schedules. Holiday travel. Disagreements with your spouse on how early to hang the lights. Christmas gift budgeting and savings.

The holiday season comes with a unique set of stresses... emotional and financial.

🎙In this episode, Chip and Jon put a bow on Season 2 of The Retirement Remix show with stories and advice on how to set boundaries and get through the holidays without breaking your financial plan.

P.S. The safeword is mistletoe.

A “high quality retirement” starts with three questions, according to the MIT AgeLab. While these three questions may not directly correlate to the question of healthcare or healthcare costs, they are most certainly related. Rounding out their series on Healthcare in Retirement, Chip and Jon talk about planning the who, what, when, where, and why that will ultimately lead to a long and healthy retirement.

According to Johns Hopkins University, 92% of people 80 and over have a chronic condition, and 73% have two or more. As financial advisors, we work to help you understand the true costs of healthcare expenses in retirement.

In this episode, Chip and Jon discuss why healthcare can be a wildcard in retirement. They start by asking four key questions: Do you understand the medical expenses associated with existing conditions? Have you thought about when you will start taking Medicare benefits? Are you familiar with what Medicare does and doesn’t cover? Do you have a plan for additional coverage outside of Medicare?

Figuring out who will cover costs, how to apply for coverage, and understanding your options can be daunting to do alone. Your advisor can explore your options and come up with a plan that fits your retirement goals.

Roughly 15% of the annual retirement budget is actually spent on health care for a lot of families - typically totaling about $12,000. With health care costs climbing, it's critical to have conversations about your health care costs and work with your financial team to have a plan in place for your specific needs.

In this episode, John and Chip talk about how to plan for - and pay for - healthcare in retirement. Whether through COBRA, or other means. They discuss the cost of inflation on health care expenses and why saving for these should be as much of a priority as your basic living expenses and retirement savings.

Independence is sometimes the one thing seniors feel they can control as certain aspects of their life change with age. The ability to age in place -or stay in your own home - is important to most Americans; therefore, 85% of care is provided at home or with relatives.

In this episode, Chip and Jon are joined by Zach Hearne, a Senior Wealth Advisor at Signature Wealth, to recap previous discussions about long-term care. Zach adds to this conversation some myths and misconceptions about long-term care and a personal story about the emotional impact of being the caregiver for aging loved ones.

The average 65-year-old today could expect to live to between 84 and 87 years old. At that age, it's very likely that some amount of care will be needed. Meaning, you will need to depend on some combination of long-term care insurance, personal savings, investments, income from Social Security and pension benefits, or proceeds from the sale of your assets to cover these costs.

In this episode, Chip and Jon talk about the different roles involved in long-term care as well as financing strategies and options that may make it more affordable.

Today, about one out of four 65-year-olds will live past age 90. Listen to this important discussion about the possible challenges we face as we live into our 80's, 90's and beyond. Simply living a long life can impact your income, health, and quality of life.

In this episode, Chip and Jon review the types of long-term care insurance and services available. They note that in 2017 the long-term care industry paid nearly $10 billion in claims, and those costs are increasing at 5 or 6% a year.

***Disclaimer: These policies have exclusions and/or limitations. The cost and availability of Long Term Care insurance depend on factors such as age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of Long Term Care insurance. Guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company. Please consult with a licensed financial professional when considering your insurance options.

Did you know that nearly 70% of 65-year-olds will need long-term care services or support in their remaining years? Long-term care refers to assisted living, skilled nursing or specialized care in your home or an assisted living facility - aid that isn't covered by standard health insurance.

In this episode of The Retirement Remix, Chip and Jon answer the uncomfortable questions about how to plan for these later-in-life decisions, how to be sure you can afford it, and how to support loved ones through the process.

Listen in for personal stories from their lives and those of their clients on how the long-term care process impacted them.

Wrapping up our college planning series, Chip and Jon are joined by three college admissions professionals who bring unique insight and perspective to the college planning and entrance conversation. In this roundtable conversation, they discuss crucial college planning advice like the metrics colleges use in admissions decisions, how to write great essays, leveraging AP classes and scores, and busting some FAFSA and education funding myths. Listen in as Bethany Fee, Brittany Privott, and Weston Nunn give you all the admissions details!

Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse the opinions or services of Bethany Fee, Brittany Privott, or Weston Nunn.

More than 75% of parents put their children's education before their own needs. And 4 out of 5 parents believe that career passion is more important than earning potential. Paying for your student's college education gives them the opportunity and freedom to pursue their dreams and build toward their future. But at what cost to you?

Mounting credit card debt, withdrawing from retirement accounts, and delaying your own retirement are common answers to this question.

So, would you believe that 2 out of 3 of those parents say they would do it all over again for their student?

In this Retirement Remix episode, Chip and Jon discuss how parents and students navigate the costs of education without derailing retirement and life plans.