Your Money, Your Wealth

Original publish date March 26, 2016 (hour 2). Note that content may be outdated as rules and regulations have changed. Episode 14 of the YMYW podcast is about money and our behavior: the biggest mistakes you could be making and how to fix them. Big Al also covers some tax strategies to consider as you approach retirement.

00:00 - Intro

01:08 - "One mistake is this: when you are investing your money, you might be confusing results with activity"

04:47 - "You have to look at conventional wisdom and throw it out the window when it comes to your overall investment strategy"

09:20 - "These are seven ways my expenses will change in retirement"

12:19 - "The cost of healthcare tends to increase significantly in retirement; average annual expenditures for healthcare jump from $3900 among workers age 50-64 to $5000 for retirees age 65-79" (Source: U.S. News)

21:18 - "The idea is to get away from commission-only [advice] which is what most of the industry still is"

36:49 - "I've been a CPA for over 30 years, and it amazes me how many people don't realize what strategies are out there, and they end up making poor decisions, big mistakes and they don't realize how important tax planning is until they do make the mistake that can cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes"

Original publish date: March 26, 2016 (hour 1). Note that content may be outdated as rules and regulations have changed. Episode 13 of the YMYW podcast is about retirement myths that can ruin retirees' plans. Find out why Baby Boomers won't be able to have a retirement like their parents.

00:00 - Intro

02:07 "40% of unmarried women have saved less than $1,000 [for retirement], according to a 2016 Retirement Confidence survey by Employee Benefits Research Institute"

05:55 "The opportunity is that we are living a lot longer and we get to enjoy our golden years longer which is great, but we also have to have a plan to cover it because it's not just Social Security anymore"

12:58 "Al and I have seen people who have millions of dollars and they blow through their money very, very quickly. Then we see people who have less than $100,000 and live a very comfortable retirement. It's about figuring out what retirement looks like to you"

18:09 "The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that more than a fifth of boomers 65 and older will be holding on to a job in 2024. When their parents were the same age in 1994, only a tenth were still employed"

27:12 "A lot of people are shocked when they find out how different types of retirement income are taxed, and I want to go through the six most common types of retirement income and how they're taxed"

32:12 "For those who have been listening to our show and have been doing Roth IRA contributions and Roth conversions, you'll be very happy to know that as you take money out of those accounts, it's all tax-free—100% tax-free"

Original publish date March 19, 2016 (hour 2). Note that content may be outdated as rules and regulations have changed. In episode 12 of the YMYW podcast, Joe and Al talk retirement risk. While risk can come in all shapes and forms, it's important to avoid making these risks when planning to maintain your lifestyle in retirement. Al closes off the discussion by discussing a fun personality quiz by Mashable you can take to figure out what your retirement passion project will consist of.

00:00 - Intro

01:01 "When you're in your 20's and 30's, you've got a long run in front of you and can afford to take on risk, but if you're retired or close to retiring, risk is enemy number one. Taking on too much risk at that stage of the game can be devastating because you may not be able to recover"

06:56 "You better make sure that you have a plan to make your money last into your 90's"

13:21 "If you're saving 4% this year, save 5% next year, 6% the year after and get yourself to the point where you're saving between 10% and 15%, and if you're older and getting closer to retirement and you're behind, there's no time to waste—you have to save as much as possible right now"

13:42 "Forbes had thirteen financial risks you can avoid; here are some examples"

18:04 "Unfortunately, taxes are likely going up in the future"

22:36 "One of the biggest misconceptions in retirement planning today is that you will be in a lower tax bracket in retirement"

29:10 "One in three Americans have zero dollars saved for retirement" (Source: Bankrate.com)

Original publish date March 19, 2016 (hour 1). Note that content may be outdated as rules and regulations have changed. In episode 11 of the YMYW podcast, Joe and Al discuss how retirement planning can help you avoid risks and keep you out of a retirement savings crisis. Find out if you should take advantage of these soon-to-disappear Social Security claiming strategies.

03:56 "Waiting for triggers in the overall market for you to make decisions financially is not the right move; you have to get your strategy in place now"

08:37 "Things have got to change and you really need to put things in perspective and start planning as soon as you possibly can"

10:32 "When it comes to these new [Social Security] rules, you have to act now. Let me explain what they are—there are two benefits that are going away"

13:14 "If you turned 62 years of age by 12/31/15, you still qualify to take that restricted application. You can take it on an ex-spouse as long as you were married to that ex-spouse for ten years, or if you are currently married"

18:06 "File and suspend is going away and you've got until April 28 to do this"

22:41 ""If you're married, it's a really good idea for the spouse who has the highest benefit to wait as long as they can, hopefully to age 70. Why is that? First of all, while you're both living, you'll enjoy that higher benefit, and when one of you passes (let's say the higher wage earner passes), then the spouse will get the survivor benefit which is equal to the same as the spouse that passed away"

34:18 "Tapping your retirement nest egg comes with all sorts of new rules and opportunities. Instead of contributing to tax-deferred accounts that reduce your taxes, you'll start tapping those savings for income and paying taxes at your regular rate—unless you're tapping into a Roth IRA, which we want you to be thinking about right now"