Retirement Answer Man

Latest Episodes:

Do You Make These Mistakes When You Invest? May 04, 2014

Show notes

Over the last 20 years studies show that the average investor greatly under performances the stock and bond markets. Why do investors underperform virtually every capital market?

In this week's episode, I speak with Weston J. Wellington a Vice President with Dimensional Fund Advisors about how you can make smarter investment decisions and possibly improve your investment success. Mr. Wellington is an expert in behavioral finance and investing with over 35 years of experience in the investment industry.

We discuss:

How the daily diet of investment news can hurt your investing success
Why it's nature to want to know what will happen next in the investment markets
The affect our ingrained "fight or flight" response has on our investment decisions during stressful market periods
Why your behavior as an investor can be the biggest determinate of your investment returns
Why this time is not "different"
Like living a healthy lifestyle, investing is not complicated it is just hard to do consistently
Why using a competent Financial Advisor can help you make smarter investment decisions
How an investor can increase their chance of having a successful investment experience
Why you should ignore most market information and news driven investment predictions

Resources Discussed

Dimensional Fund Advisors
Random Walk Down Wall Street
Weston Wellington Articles Surprise! No Sell of in 2013, "You Have to Be in Gold", He Called the Crash

How to Plan Your Walt Disney World Vacation with Lou Mangello Apr 22, 2014

Show notes

Walt Disney World is the classic family vacation. If you’re planning on visiting Walt Disney World, you’re going to love this week’s PLAN WELL INVEST WISELY podcast. I speak with Lou Mangello, an internationally recognized expert on the Walt Disney World Resort.

Lou is a former attorney from New Jersey who has made his lifelong passion (Walt Disney World) his full time career. His website wdwradio.com is an amazing resource for all things Disney.

In this episode we discuss:

His book, 102 Ways to Save Money for and at Walt Disney World
How to safe money on your Disney World vacation
The best and worse times to visit Walt Disney World
When Walt Disney World is busiest
When it costs less to go to Walt Disney World
How to begin planning your Walt Disney vacation
How to maximize your time and still have fun
Discount ticket sources
The advantages of the Disney annual pass
How to get discounts on food and lodging
Things to consider when buying your ticket package (to park hop or not?)
Whether to stay on or off property
Simple strategies to save money on food and drinks at Disney
Saving on Souvenirs
What to pack to make your day at Disney World comfortable

Resources Discussed

For a TON of resources to help plan your trip to Walt Disney World visit wdwradio.com

How to Pay for College with Celest Horton Apr 20, 2014

Show notes

How to pay for college is one of the most frequent questions I get from parents. This week I interviewed Celest Horton from How to Pay For College HQ to learn about the great resources to help parents pay for college.

Celest knows it's possible to pay for college without student loans (she did it). Each week, on her How to Pay for College HQ podcast she interviews industry experts to help listeners learn what is necessary to plan, prepare and pay for college without the assistance of loans.

In this episode we discuss:

The need for your teenager to be engaged in the process of selecting a college and applying for aide
The importance of your teenager to show a "demonstrated interest" in schools they want to go to so they can improve their chances of receiving merit aide. They can do this by following a school on social media and intreating with the admissions department.
How a high school senior could graduate with 1 or 2 years of college credit by taking duel purpose classes in high school to earn college credit.
What the FAFSA form is and why its important to complete in January each year.
The importance of researching potential college's average SAT scores, tuition and how generous they are with merit aide.

Resources Discussed

Scholarshipopportunity.org Online resource for scholarship opportunities to help pay for college
College Navigator Online resources to research average tuition, SAT and aide for colleges
College Data Online resources to research average tuition, SAT and aide for colleges

Visit How to Pay for College HQ to receive the free report : Top 5 Things Every Parent Should Know To Pay for College Without Loans

Lauren Gaggioli Discusses Preparing for the SAT and the Selecting the Right College Apr 10, 2014

Show notes

In this Plan Well Invest Wisely podcast, Roger Whitney interviews Lauren Gaggioli, founder of Higher Test Prep Scores. They discuss the importance of the SAT and how to help your child select the right school for them.

Here are some of the topics Lauren and I covered:

The importance of taking college preparatory tests such as ACT, SAT, PSAT.
Determining which test(s) to take when choosing a college.
The advantages of taking both ACT and SAT tests.
Motivating students to take responsibility in preparing for college.
Why some students should consider taking an intentional "gap" year between high school and college.
With their parents' help, students should examine themselves (passions, strengths, personality) to discover which college may be a best fit for them.
Various kinds of financial aid, including need-based and merit-based.
Why students should diversify their college options.

To learn much more about ACT, PSAT and SAT test prep, listen to Lauren's free podcast called The College Checklist.

Lauren is offering a FREE video on her website at Higher Test Prep Scores.

10 Things to Consider Before You Purchase an RV Apr 06, 2014

Show notes

It's spring and the desire to spend time outside with the family is blooming. Before you allow that budding desire to lead you to buy an RV, boat or other recreational item make sure you closely look at the potential pitfalls of ownership.

In this episode, host Roger Whitney tells his story of how he did everything wrong when he purchased an RV. He also outlines 10 things you should consider before you purchase your RV.

This is the REST of the story not told in the RV brochures and outdoor shows that are springing up this time of year.

Have a retirement or personal finance question? Ask Roger here and he'll answer personally.

15 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Financial Advisor Apr 02, 2014

Show notes

How do you find the right financial advisor for you and your family?

In this special mid-week edition, host Roger Whitney gives you a framework for how to interview a financial advisor candidate and 15 questions you should ask to help choose the right financial advisor for you.

In this episode he covers:

Why it is important to interview multiple financial advisors
What to look for in a financial advisor
Pre-work you can do before you meet the financial advisor
15 questions to ask to help you find the right financial advisor for you and your family

For a Trusted Advisor worksheet to use in your interview process go to rogerwhitney.com/worksheets

Do I Have Enough Money to Maintain My Lifestyle in Retirement? Mar 31, 2014

Show notes

This Week, Roger Whitney introduces a new service YOU ASK I ANSWER, where you can ask your retirement planning questions and receive a response.

Then he begins to answer the question, will I have enough money to maintain my lifestyle during retirement?

The first step to answering this question is to determine what your retirement lifestyle will be. You do this by breaking your retirement lifestyle into three buckets:

Retirement Essentials. Those retirement expenses needed to maintain your household (housing, utilities, food, insurance, etc.)
Retirement Lifestyle. Those retirement expenses for things that enrich your life (travel, entertainment, home improvements, hobbies, etc.)
Retirement Dreams/Legacy. Those special things that you would like to accomplish (major travel, gifting, purchasing a second home, etc.)

Breaking your retirement lifestyle into these three buckets gives you the flexibility to adjust your retirement lifestyle each year based on how your retirement unfolds.

Once you do this, you need to consider how you will spend during retirement. For example inflation. Consider what your personal inflation rate is based on your spending habits.

Also consider closely whether you want to spend more earlier in retirement with the understanding that you will lower spending in later years. In essence, buy yourself more lifestyle now, while you are younger and healthier.

Once you've completed this step you are well on your way to determining how much money you will need to maintain your lifestyle in retirement.

In future podcasts, he'll address the next steps in this process.

INVEST in Your Health Mar 23, 2014

Show notes

This episode is based on Roger Whitney's new report INVEST in Your Health: 72 Tips to Living a Healthier Retirement. You can download the report for free at rogerwhitney.com

Investing in your healh may be the best investment you can make to living well in retirement. The quality of your health has major financial implications to your financial wellbeing in retirement.

In this episode we outline the financial benefits of investing in your health and the six areas of your health that you should invest in.

Physical
Intellectual
Emotional
Social
Spiritual
Occupational

Episode #3 Amazon Prime & Your Emergency Fund Mar 16, 2014

Show notes

In this week's PLAN WELL INVEST WISELY podcast, we talk about Amazon Prime's recent price increase and how having a funded emergency fund helps you make smarter financial decisions.
Rethinking Amazon Prime
For those who don’t know, Amazon Prime is a membership program which gives members unlimited free two-day shipping on millions of items on Amazon.com and instant access to over 40,000 hit movies and TV episodes streamed directly you TV, computer, or tablet.
The benefits of my Amazon Prime membership are clear. Recently, when Amazon Prime increased its annual fee by $20, it made me stop and examine how I use it. I found some negatives.
1. It’s too easy.
2. Amazon Prime is too good at tempting me.
3. I’m weak.
4. It’s a family affair.
Let's talk About Emergency Funds.
Your emergency fund acts as a shock absorber in your financial life. In this podcast, I discuss:
1. What an Emergency Fund is.
2. Why some people might not have one.
3. Why you need one.
4. What your options are when you don’t have one.
5. How much you should have in your emergency fund and why.
Click here to subscribe to the PLAN WELL INVEST WISELY podcast in iTunes
I appreciate your iTunes Reviews!!!
Your reviews help build the audience and I truly appreciate your feedback and support. Together, we can help others make smarter financial decisions.

Episode 2 The Importance of Tracking Your Net Worth Mar 10, 2014

Show notes

In episode 2 Roger Whitney talks about the importance tracking your net worth, how you can use it to make smarter financial decisions and rethinking your perspective about the purpose of investing.

PLAN WELL Segment

Your net worth statement is an essential tool for making smarter decisions. Your net worth statement:

gives you your entire financial picture in one place
equals the sum of all of your financial decisions over time
allows you to identify risk and opportunities in your financial life
is a much better tool to track your financial progress over time than your investment accounts

You should update your new worth statement every six months and use as part of your process for making big financial decisions. INVEST WISELY Segment

Over the last 25 years investing has been about "creating wealth."This has led to many people investing too aggressively.

Historically, the creation of wealth came from hard work, enterprise, creativity, disciplined spending and savings. The purpose of investing was to preserve and grow the wealth WE created. This perspective is important for you to consider.

It:

keeps the focus on the true driver of wealth creation.....YOU
may allow you to invest less aggressively
positions you better to invest more consistently over time

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