The Retirement Trainer

On June 15th, the Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates by 75 basis points.

Understandably, this leads to a lot of questions: how is this going to affect bonds and the stock markets? How will this impact the economy and employment? Will there be a recession?

No matter what happens, a comprehensive financial plan is your best defense in uncertain times.

In today’s episode, we discuss the impacts of the Fed’s decision, how to create a risk budget and reserves to prevent needing to sell at a loss, and how to create a plan that’ll ensure you have enough income, no matter what.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why our economy is in a perfect storm of fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
• Why there’s no way to time the market, especially right now.
• The importance of understanding your finances at every age.
• How to take advantage of charitable contributions in retirement planning.
• How to get a second look at your retirement plan or portfolio.

To get access to today's show notes, including links to all the resources mentioned, visit EGSIFinancial.com/71

How Fit Is Your Retirement Plan? 

We can help you manage your finances so you can pursue your goals. To learn more, visit EGSIFinancial.com

It's difficult to prepare for every worst-case scenario. When the most likely scenarios are considered, it can help avoid panic and overwhelm when the rough days rise to the surface. 

Imagine that you're on your way to an important business meeting or picking your spouse up from the airport when one of your tires suddenly goes flat. If you have a spare, you'll be a little late. If you don't, your entire day could be derailed. 

As we all know, life can be unpredictable. And if you're taking too many risks with your investment portfolio, or if you've simply failed to prepare, changing market conditions can be more than a flat tire–they can put your nest egg in jeopardy and wreak havoc on your retirement.

It's impossible to predict how the market will be performing when we retire, which is why today's episode is all about what to do when you retire in a market downturn. We'll dig into why our current economic situation is so complicated, why it shouldn't impact whether or not you retire, and how to take emotion out of your financial planning and live your life to the fullest. 

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why we’re likely in or on the verge of a recession.
• How recessions can negatively impact your retirement portfolio.
• Why it’s important to review your portfolio as often as quarterly when markets are volatile.
• The questions you and your financial advisor should be asking as you look over your financial plan.

To get access to today's show notes, including links to all the resources mentioned, visit EGSIFinancial.com/70

How Fit Is Your Retirement Plan? 

We can help you manage your finances so you can pursue your goals. To learn more, visit EGSIFinancial.com

Rampant inflation seems like it’s here to stay for at least a while longer. Everyone’s feeling it at the grocery store, the gas pump, and seemingly everywhere else.

In part one of this two-part series, we’ll discuss why it’s happening and dive into how to make sure your retirement plan can sustain your lifestyle, even if costs continue to go up.

We’ll help you make sense of why the markets seem to be changing at the drop of a hat, why emotional investing is all but guaranteed to hurt you, and how a custom retirement plan suited to your unique needs is critical in tough times.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• What makes inflation so uniquely inescapable right now.
• Why you need a solid financial plan now more than ever.
• What to consider investing in when US companies like Netflix, Meta and others continue to prove that they have been overvalued.
• How crypto continues to prove to be correlated to the market.
• Why you don’t want to liquidate what you have at a loss to cover your living expenses–and how to prevent this from happening.

To get access to today's show notes, including links to all the resources mentioned, visit EGSIFinancial.com/68

How Fit Is Your Retirement Plan? 

We can help you manage your finances so you can pursue your goals. To learn more, visit EGSIFinancial.com

Inflation’s constantly in the news, and it’s easy to see why. When everything we buy costs more, each dollar in our pocket is worth less. And while it’s easy to cut back on some unnecessary expenses, no one wants to make severe changes to their lifestyle to cover simple costs like gas and groceries.

That’s why it’s so important to factor inflation into your retirement plan. While you can hope for the best, it certainly doesn’t hurt to prepare for the worst so that you’re prepared for a potential recession.

In today’s episode, we’re talking about what you can do about high inflation, how to create a plan of action, and ensure that your retirement plan will protect you even in the event of an economic downturn.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why inflation is starting to slow down the economy.
• This impact that inflation has on most people.
• Why quantitative easing and the 2008 bailouts kicked the can down the road, setting the stage for the economic problems we’re having right now.
• How economic sanctions are hurting the value of the dollar internationally.
• Why sitting with cash is the worst thing you can do right now.

To get access to today's show notes, including links to all the resources mentioned, visit EGSIFinancial.com/67

How Fit Is Your Retirement Plan? 

We can help you manage your finances so you can pursue your goals. To learn more, visit EGSIFinancial.com

No one who was there remembers the lineups at the gas pumps in the 1970s with any fondness. And though we’re not seeing long gas lines yet, we are seeing extremely high gas prices, rampant inflation, and extremely volatile markets–what we not-so-fondly refer to as stagflation.

However, an energy or economic crisis doesn’t have to become a wealth crisis, and you can create a plan that helps you no matter where you are or what your future holds. 

In this episode, we’re talking about how to prepare–and protect–yourself from massive energy bills, bear markets, and how to deal with that little voice in your head telling you to cash out without thinking about the consequences. 

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why gas prices go up fast, but don’t come down that quickly.
• How to make sense of markets going up 200 or down 500 points in the same hour.
• How a financial plan prevents you from needing to liquidate your holdings at a loss to maintain your lifestyle.
• What not to do when the market drops and people start panicking.

To get access to today's show notes, including links to all the resources mentioned, visit EGSIFinancial.com/66

How Fit Is Your Retirement Plan? 

We can help you manage your finances so you can pursue your goals. To learn more, visit EGSIFinancial.com

Back in the 1970s, we experienced a combination of economic stagnation and inflation. Energy prices were high and the stock market went up and down like a roller coaster, very similarly to what we’re experiencing right now. Back then, it was called stagflation–and we’re hearing that word more and more in 2022. Unfortunately, stagflation can have real impacts on your finances, especially if you’re retired or about to retire, and we’re likely to see high inflation for some time to come.

In today’s episode, we discuss why our current economy is directly tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, how media fear-mongering is making the situation worse, and why it’s more important than ever to have a strong financial plan in place.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• What stagflation is, and why this term is being used to describe our economic environment.
• Why your dollar is buying you less and less.
• How the media makes bad economic situations worse.
• How a solid financial plan stops you from making emotional decisions when it comes to your finances.

To get access to today's show notes, including links to all the resources mentioned, visit EGSIFinancial.com/65

How Fit Is Your Retirement Plan? 

We can help you manage your finances so you can pursue your goals. To learn more, visit EGSIFinancial.com

Tax season is about much more than just how much money you owe the IRS each year. It’s also a golden opportunity to review your investment strategy, your estate plan, and what your taxes will look like in the years to come. 

With the April 18th due date coming ever closer, the national debt ballooning, and inflation continuing to rise, today’s episode is all about how to take a holistic look at your tax and retirement plans together. 

You’ll learn why taxes are all but certain to go up soon–and what you can do right now to position yourself to save the most on your tax bill not just this year, but for years to come. 

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why people in retirement still have to worry about taxes.
• How you save determines whether you owe money on your Social Security.\What retirees can do to minimize their tax.
• Why taxes are all but guaranteed to go up in the near future.

To get access to today's show notes, including links to all the resources mentioned, visit EGSIFinancial.com/64

How Fit Is Your Retirement Plan? 

We can help you manage your finances so you can pursue your goals. To learn more, visit EGSIFinancial.com

If you’re watching the financial news every day, you’re probably feeling a little unsettled. We’re in the midst of 40-year high inflation over 7% year-over-year. The Fed has announced three rate hikes when major firms are saying we need at least five to seven.

Cryptocurrency has gone through a series of even more extreme ups and downs, with investors experiencing swings from anywhere between 500 and 1,000 points.

All of this can be extremely daunting, especially if you’re on the verge of retirement (or recently retired). You want your portfolio to be able to keep you afloat no matter what happens in the market, and you need to be able to look at your accounts without making any rash decisions.

Today’s episode is all about how to do exactly that. You’ll learn how to make sure your portfolio can withstand volatile markets, get a grip on what you’re really spending each month, and how to take emotion out of your decision-making process.

From there, we then expand on the basics of cryptocurrency and discuss Project Hamilton, the collaboration between MIT and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to develop a hypothetical central bank digital currency.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why you simply cannot be emotional when it comes to investing.
• The importance of understanding your expenses–and why you need to be able to adjust your budget to account for massive inflation right now.
• The do’s and don’ts of basic risk budgeting and financial planning.
• What Project Hamilton could mean for the future of cryptocurrency.

To get access to today's show notes, including links to all the resources mentioned, visit EGSIFinancial.com/63

How Fit Is Your Retirement Plan? 

We can help you manage your finances so you can pursue your goals. To learn more, visit EGSIFinancial.com

Cryptocurrency is in the news every day. We hear stories all the time of people making big money with crypto. Billionaires like Elon Musk can affect its value with a single tweet, and potential regulation could change the field very soon.

Having said that, the questions that we hear from our clients are still the same. “Should I invest in crypto? And what are the downsides?”

Today, we’re answering some of our most common client questions about cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a better understanding of what cryptocurrencies are, how they’re taxed, and why there are just as many downsides as there are upsides to these investments.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• What makes cryptocurrencies so popular.
• Why regulation and taxation are likely coming to this space soon.
• The reasons why adding Bitcoin to your 401(k) could be a risky strategy..
• The unique uses of different cryptocurrencies.
• Why crypto is not a good investment for everyone–and why you need to be prepared to lose it all.

To get access to today's show notes, including links to all the resources mentioned, visit EGSIFinancial.com/62

How Fit Is Your Retirement Plan? 

We can help you manage your finances so you can pursue your goals. To learn more, visit EGSIFinancial.com

If there is one thing that is very obvious about the near future, it’s that we’re living in very unpredictable times. Who would’ve thought we would still be in the middle of a pandemic? And who could’ve imagined interest rates to still be as low as they are now?

Simply put, you can’t always know what’s going to happen–and you need to be able to be prepared, no matter what comes your way.

In today’s episode, we talk about what’s going on with a market that’s constantly up and down, why you still shouldn’t try to time the market, and how to build a risk budget that provides you and your loved ones with the financial safety you’ll need in retirement.

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Even without a crystal ball to predict the future, we can predict periods of volatility.
• Why the inflation numbers might be higher than what is being reported.
• Why having a bond portfolio right now could have more risk than a stock portfolio.
• The impact that volatile markets can have on investors who are nearing retirement.

To get access to today's show notes, including links to all the resources mentioned, visit EGSIFinancial.com/61

How Fit Is Your Retirement Plan? 

We can help you manage your finances so you can pursue your goals. To learn more, visit EGSIFinancial.com