Want a great gift for a graduating high school or college senior?

Jon Chevreau’s book, Findependence Day, is a great gift that teaches important financial lessons within an interesting fictional story of a young couple walking through life.

We discuss:

• The definition of financial independence
• Life energy and the cost of spending
• The war against consumerism
• Why it’s harder to save than it used to be
• The danger of paying too much attention to financial media
• The call to action of “Freedom Not Stuff”
• The secret costs of moving homes

Are Your Password Safe?

Last week a client of ours had his e-mail hacked. The hacker then requested a wire from the client's account. Our security measures prevented it (Thankfully).  The story should make you seriously consider being more diligent about using strong passwords.  I explain how I manage my passwords.

Want access to the free Retirement Answer Library?  

This week we introduced this great resource to help you find the answer to your retirement questions. 

The Library includes worksheets and checklists to help you plan for and live in retirement. Each month new resources are added based on client and reader questions. Together we can build a library to Plan Well and Invest Wisely for retirement.

Gain Access Here

Resources Discussed

• The Retirement Answer Library
• Money Sense Magazine
• Findependence Day
• 1Password

In Honor of Those That Serve

A big thank you this week to Frank Gustafon of One Bold Move for his service and for leaving a review of the podcast in iTunes. Frank is a Marine and has a great podcast for Service Members.

Lead like a Marine is a weekly podcast focused on helping Marines and other Service Members translate their leadership skills and abilities as they transition back into the civilian job market.  We interview those who “have been there and done that”.  Great stories of successful transition into the civilian marketplace.

If you enjoy the podcast and are so moved, I sure would appreciate a honest review in iTunes. It would help us build the Plan Well community which helps everyone make smarter financial decisions

Happy Memorial Day Friends

Johns Hopkins University's Center for Innovative Care and Legg Mason recently issued a study titled "Aging and It's Financial Implications: Planning for Housing.

Kathleen Pritchard, Managing Director with Legg Mason, talks with host Roger Whitney about the importance of planning ahead for housing during retirement

There are three typical phases during retirement. The:

• Go Go Years--when you are healthy and active (60s & 70s)
• Slow Go Years--when you slow down due to health issues (70s & 80s)
• No Go Years--the late retirement years (80s & beyond)

By planning ahead for each of these phases, you can make smarter financial decisons and maintain control over your lifestyle choices.

There are five basic housing options for retirees:

1. Aging in place
2. 55+ independent living communities
3. Continued care retirement communities (CCRCs)
4. Assisted living facilities
5. Skilled nursing facilities

You can find due diligence worksheets to help you find the option that is right for you at rogerwhitney.com/worksheets

"He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever." - Chinese proverb

There really are no stupid questions.

We're told this all the time but I don't think most of us truly believe it. As a result, we leave many very important questions unasked.  When your planning for your financial future this can be, at best, an inconvenience, at worst, financially devastating.

The mission of this blog and my podcast, PLAN WELL INVEST WISELY, is to help you make smarter financial decisions and answer those retirement planning questions that keep you up at night.

Have a question? Ask me here

In this week's episode, I answer questions from three listeners. 

1. Sam Asks “How do you even go about coming up with a plan to pay down debt when the future holds student loan debts for two children in the next few years? Basically, What realistic steps could a family take without completely changing their lifestyle?"

2. Lisa Asks “I wondered if at some point you might touch upon establishing the necessary documents for elderly parents?”

3. Kevin asks "What is the best way to consolidate all of the retirement accounts I've accumulated over the years and find good advice to help me plan for retirement?

Resources Discussed

• Dave Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps
• How to Pay For College HQ
• Debt Free U: How I Paid for a Great College Education without Loans, Scholarships or Mooching Off My Parents
• AmeriCorps
• Creating an In Case of Emergency (ICE) Plan
• Nine Important Estate Planning Steps
• How to Choose a Financial Advisor

Have a retirement planning question you'd like answered? Ask me here.

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