#160 - Certainty Is Absurd: How To Deal With Uncertainty.

Welcome back to the Retirement Answer Man show. I am Roger Whitney and I’m so excited to have you with me. Today we will be talking about certainty in retirement and how it is, in fact, absurd! The only thing that is certain in life is uncertainty. No matter how hard we try to plan for the future we can never be 100% certain things will turn out the way we’ve hoped. Things will go wrong and we have to find a way to deal with uncertainty. If you follow the guidelines I lay out in this episode, you can feel confident in your future retirement and your ability to cope with the changes ahead. Be sure to tune in to hear this great advice.

You’ve planned well for retirement. GREAT! You may still have to live in a trailer.

Regardless of how well we plan for our future retirement, the unexpected can always happen. Interest rates may fall, taxes may skyrocket, your health may decline, and the government might go bankrupt. If these things happen, your well thought out plan is worthless. You may be forced to live in a trailer. Uncertainty is the only thing we can accurately plan for. But don’t doubt the importance of a retirement plan. Having a plan and being ready for the possibility of unexpected changes will help you cope with them when they come. If you remain willing to make small changes the big disasters will not affect you as drastically as they may affect others. Dealing with uncertainty comes down to being willing to compromise in little areas all through life. Doing so will allow you to be flexible and keep your priorities where they need to be even if things go horribly wrong.

Our world is changing rapidly, how can we ever hope to plan for the future?

In the last several decades we have seen the decline of the physical retail market and the rise of the online market. We have seen the birth of mobile technology that makes it possible to work from home and stay connected on the go. There is no denying that change in our modern world is real and is drastically reshaping our economy and life. On this episode of the Retirement Answer Man, a listener wants to know how we can effectively plan for retirement in light of the massive change we see around us. Many of you may doubt that a reliable plan can be created, but I encourage you to not give up hope. In this episode, I talk about how to keep your mind set on your priorities and be flexible so that you can adapt to the change.

The verdict is in, will Kim and Joe be able to retire?

We just held the Retirement Plan Live Webinar with Kim and Joe and we found out if their ideal retirement plan will work or not. Make sure you listen to this show to find out the details. Many of you wrote in with questions and observations about the live webinar and its outcome. Today I will share a few of those questions and hopefully give you some answers. Listen to this episode to learn how the concepts we applied to Kim and Joe can help you in your retirement planning.

Go deeper to avoid a catastrophe.

This week I received some heartbreaking news regarding an acquaintance. It’s possible the situation could have been prevented if little problems were taken care of early on. Often times we never know how big of a problem something is until it has blown up and forever changes our lives. Our culture often tends to steer us away from digging deep into our life and relationships to find the hidden problems. If it appears fine on the surface we don’t see a need to look any further. Listen to this episode of the Retirement Answer Man to hear my advice on how to find those small problems and stay vigilant in the face of uncertainty.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

• [0:30 ] Living in a Trailer
• [2:31] The power of managing change.

HOT TOPIC SEGMENT

• [4:43] Kim and Joe’s retirement plan did not work.
• [7:23] Info on how you can get access to the replay of the webinar.
• [12:05] Why is managing change so important?
• [15:05] Is our inflation projection accurate?
• [19:50] Is a rollover from a 401K to an IRA a good strategy?
• [25:28] Change is occurring so rapidly, how can we plan our future in light of the change?

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

• [8:17] Do most aspects of retirement turn out as expected?

THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT

• [37:08] Are we intentional on a deep level, with our relationships and with ourselves?

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT

• [39:15] Go have and earnest conversation with someone you love.