12 Steps to Retire with Pride: Your LGBTQ+ Guide to the ‘Retirement Red Zone’

Episode 61: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Episode 61: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
Hey, it's Matt McClure of Active Wealth Management and host of Take Pride in Retirement. Are you worried about outliving your retirement savings? Nationwide's peak ten fixed indexed annuity is designed to help you feel secure and confident. With Nationwide Peak ten, you'll receive protection for your principle, keeping it safe from market downturns. Growth opportunities tied to market indexes but not invested directly in the market. Guaranteed lifetime income and protection for your loved ones with spousal income options and a death benefit. Call me now 85524692 11 or go to take pride in retirement. Com to connect with me and learn how Peac ten can help you retire with confidence. Let's take pride in retirement. Com investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC. Bcm, a registered investment advisor. Guarantees and protections referenced are subject to the claims paying ability of Nationwide Life and annuity insurance company. Nationwide peak ten is issued by Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company, Columbus, Ohio. Neither nationwide nor its other entities are associated or affiliated with Active Wealth Management. Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only, and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment, and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy. Welcome to Take Pride in Retirement, the podcast dedicated to helping members of the LGBTQ+ community protect and grow their hard earned money.

Speaker1:
Get set for a show full of education and insights with your host and advisor, Matt McClure. We recognize every family is unique. The goal of the show is to help you achieve financial freedom so you and your loved ones can have the retirement you've always dreamed of, a retirement you can take pride in, no matter who you are, where you're from, or who you love. So now let's start the show. Here's Matt McClure. Hello, and welcome to another edition of Take Pride in Retirement. Matt McClure here with you, your host, your advisor, your friend, your pal and your confidant. Thanks so much for being a part of thanks as always. I really do appreciate it. I hope that you had just the absolute best time over the 4th of July holiday weekend. No show last week because of the holiday. Oh my gosh. I'm like, what state am I in? Why? Um, do I feel jet lagged even though I barely left the time zone like I did a lot of traveling. We went to see some friends. Um, and then we then I had to travel for work, uh, down to Florida for a day or two. Uh, really? About two days. It's been a lot. And so I'm just glad to be, you know, back back home, home side home in the in the old homestead, I guess.

Speaker1:
I don't know, I'm just, uh, I'm just an old person inside. So that's why I say things the way that I do sometimes. But, um. I'm so glad that you're here. I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm so glad everybody's here. And, uh, I really do appreciate you spending some time with me. You know, this is the show where we're kind of, you know, on a journey to help you take pride in really every part of your life, financially speaking. And, you know, because your retirement isn't just about the money. It's about you. It's about your freedom. It's about your peace of mind. It's about living the life that you deserve to live, and doing that authentically, boldly, and with purpose. And so that is what the focus of the show is. All. All day, every day. You know, we do these once a week, but all day, every day. That's the focus of the show. And I'm so glad to be able to do it and hopefully add just something a little positive to your life and to your day. That's why I do what I do, you know? So I really do hope that you get something from it all the time. Please reach out to me.

Speaker1:
85524692 11 is the number. If you'd like to schedule a free consultation, just talk with me, ask me some questions. That kind of thing about your financial situation. I'd be glad to talk to you there. You can also go online. Take pride in retirement. Com is the website. Take pride in retirement. Com and you can schedule a consultation. Find out more about me. Subscribe to the podcast. Uh, do all the things right there on the website. I also want to ask you if you are not following, uh, take pride in retirement on social media. A couple things first. Why not? Secondly, uh. Please do. Um, because, um, you know, I'm going to try I'm trying to build that social media presence and help, you know, spread the word about what we're doing here and, and how unique it is and all the things also, I'm going to do, uh, kind of a series of videos coming up where I answer questions from listeners of the show. And so I don't want you to miss those because, hey, those could be very relevant to your particular situation. I am going to start rolling those out here very soon they'll be, you know, one of them every couple of days, that kind of thing. And there are several questions that I've gotten that are very, very good.

Speaker1:
So I don't want you to miss those. You can follow me on social media. I'm on the Facebook. I'm on threads, I'm on Instagram, I'm also on blue Sky now. And you can just on any of those. Just search for Take Pride in retirement. It'll take you right there on blue Sky. Actually it's at take pride in retirement. Com is the blue sky handle. So you know how to kind of do things a little bit different there. So that's that's how that works. But I am excited to continue to expand the social presence. And you know, just be a force for positivity in the times that we live in, which can be kind of, you know, scary for a lot of people in a lot of different situations, especially in the LGBTQ plus community coming up here on the show this time around, we're going to take a little bit of a look. I can't believe, by the way, we are through the first half of 2025 already. We are now in Q3 of 2025. The time has flown by the first half of the year. Less than six months until the holiday season. Is your shopping done yet? It's kind of crazy to think about, but it's true. So yeah, we're going to talk about the first half of the year as far as the markets go.

Speaker1:
We'll do a little bit of a market update there. I love what we'll spend most of our time talking about though. Today it's 12 steps. No, we're not in a recovery program, but 12 steps for LGBTQ plus individuals and couples who are about 5 to 10 years from retirement. If you found this show, if you have stumbled across it, if you have come upon it because you searched for particular things online about retirement and LGBTQ, plus retirement specifically, that kind of thing. This is going to be relevant to you. Chances are, because you are those 5 to 10 years from retirement, I would imagine if you are getting ready to really seriously think about, okay, what am I going to do? How am I going to live in retirement? How do I plan for it, especially as I'm getting closer? Am I too far behind? Can I get caught up all of those things? I'm going to discuss those, tell you some things that you can do and how you can, you know, get some some customized plans working for yourself as well. We'll also talk about some forgotten 401 K's and why those matter and why they should matter, why you should go get them and don't let them be forgotten anymore. First, though, before we get to all of that, let's get to our quote of the week.

Speaker2:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Speaker1:
And this week's quote comes from Abraham Lincoln. Good ol Honest Abe himself, uh, one of the nation's great presidents, of course. And, you know, just after the 4th of July holiday weekend, I thought we could deserve to hear from a great president of the nation, Abraham Lincoln. So going far back, but Abraham Lincoln here, and he says this the best way to predict your future is to create it. The best way to predict your future is to create it. You know, I often say my crystal ball is broken. I don't know what the future holds. But if I had to, you know, be. Forced to say, okay, what does what does the future hold for somebody? Well, it's whatever you create, you know. I mean, obviously there are things in life that we can't control, right? There are the uncontrollable that happen. Um, you know, whether it's things that happen directly to you, like illness or injury and things like that, God forbid. Or whether it's things that happen on a national or global scale that are just above the pay grade, right, that you can't control these sort of macro things. You can control the micro things, the things that happen to you. And that really is the key here, is that it doesn't necessarily matter what happens outside of your sphere of influence. If you take the right steps inside your sphere of influence to make sure that you are set up for success, no matter what the future holds, right? So no matter what is coming your way, no matter what might be coming the way of the world, make sure that you have a plan in place where you're good no matter what because you've already, you know, controlled the things that you can control, and you've got a plan that will control the things that you can control, and you can adjust that plan as you go forward as situations change.

Speaker1:
Right. So that is sort of my message to you is to, you know, not not just try to predict your future or just kind of, you know, uh, look around and say, okay, what what could happen? Throw up your hands and say, oh gosh, I have no control over any of that. No. You do. You actually do have control over things. You've got to change your frame of mind. If you think you don't have control over anything and actually take the bull by the horns and make sure that you control what you can control, right? Really is what it's all about, especially when it comes to your finances here. Um, speaking of things that you can't control the markets. What a segue, huh? Uh, the markets, uh, first half of the year. A little bit of a market update here is what we're going to do. And and it was a rocky start to the year, obviously, as you might remember, and a rocky start to Q2, especially back in April, the first month of the second quarter of the year.

Speaker1:
Um, there were the tariff threats and all of that. And so the markets were just plunging in April. Um, but I do have to say they have bounded back and rebounding strongly in quarter two, with the S&P 500 up about 10%, about 10.5%, and the Nasdaq, the tech heavy Nasdaq jumping 17.8%. And did you hear the other day, by the way? I was I was um, just kind of semi checked out basically because of all the travel and everything. I was actually on the road when I got this alert that Nvidia, a big, uh, tech company there, um, was the first company to surpass and it was $4 trillion in market cap market value. I'm like, that's insane. I remember, uh, covering when I, when I worked in the news, I was a business news anchor and reporter. I remember just a few years ago covering when And Apple became the first company in the US to be worth $1 trillion. And there had been another company, I think, a Chinese company or something before. But the first US based company was Apple to surpass $1 trillion in market cap. And now we've had a company that surpassed 4 trillion just a few years later. It's insane. It is insane the amount of growth that we've seen.

Speaker1:
So here's the thing. Make sure that you are taking part in the growth that we're seeing in the market, but also make sure that you have the right amount of safety that you have, you know, things balanced properly for your own risk tolerance for your your timeline. You know, the amount of runway that you have before retirement, all the things we'll talk more about that coming up later on. But, um, things did rebound very, very nicely in Q2. And so the Nasdaq, as I said, jumping about 17.8%, led in large part by Nvidia, I believe. Um, because of its It's huge jump. Um, you know, tariffs continue to be a threat to any economic growth. Though really political headlines continue to to rear their ugly head here. Um, reconciliation bill that passed in Congress started in the House, went to the Senate. There was much ado about a lot of things. Uh, within that bill, the, um, big, beautiful, whatever you want to call it, uh, Bill, that, uh, eventually did get passed. Um, the Senate version went back to the House. They passed that and then signed. But, yeah, I mean, a lot of the uncertainty surrounding whether or not that would, you know, come to pass. And even when it did come to pass, that sort of adding to to the volatility markets like certainty. Right. And when there's uncertainty that throws things off, especially with the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs.

Speaker1:
And now we've had the tariff deadline pushed back yet again um to August 1st. And you know, they're saying 50% copper tariffs and all this stuff. We're just going to have to wait and see how all of that plays out. Let's make sure, though, that we understand what a tariff is. Bottom line a tariff is a tax and a tariff is a tax, not on some foreign country or some foreign entity. When the United States puts a tariff on a good or a product or a material that is going to be shipped in from overseas, who is shipping that from overseas, well, that would not be the foreign country or the foreign company. They're not just sending it to us to get rid of it. They're like, hey, we got some extra stuff here. Take it. No, that's not what happens. Companies in the United States. Yes, American companies buy that material and they have to pay whatever the tariff is on top of that. Aka they have to pay the taxes on it when they import it. So if there's a 50% tariff on copper or on whatever, then you can expect the price of copper to eventually work its way up significantly. And that is because it's the American companies that are paying that tax. And they're not just going to absorb that, right. They got to stay in business. They've got to make profits for their shareholders and all the things.

Speaker1:
So what are they going to do? They're going to pass the costs along to you and to me. And so tariffs are a tax. And those taxes by and large will work their way down to the consumer. And that eats away causes prices to go up. It eats away at the power of the dollar the spending power of the dollar which is already weak at this point. And so you've got to be prepared for that. Again control the things that you can control. Make sure you've got a plan in place that even if there is inflation, kind of like the inflation we saw a couple of years ago. Um, or if there is even worse inflation or if there's inflation that maybe not quite so bad. Whatever the case may be, you're prepared for it. I want you to be prepared, not scared when it comes to your finances. Right. That's what we need to do. And that's a large point of the show every time we do a show. Um, the long term strategy really is what matters here. I mean, it's it's kind of like the old Warren Buffett quote. It's time in the market, not timing the market. Right? Time in the market is what matters. Being invested for a long period of time, making sure that you have that mindset and that plan in place that has the long term goals in mind.

Speaker1:
I mean, it's not like your, you know, your investment portfolio, whether it's, you know, just in in stocks or bonds or whatever, or if it's stocks and bonds and all that wrapped inside a retirement account that's tax advantaged, like an IRA 401, a Roth, whatever. If it is any of those things, it's not like you're going to Vegas and you want to hit a big jackpot. You know, that's not what that is. It's not about short term, um, gains. It's not about, um, you know, just hitting it big and and getting rich in one kind of fell swoop. That is not the goal. The goal is the long term success. And so yeah, markets go up and down. Um, and and history has shown us that when they go down they come back up. And we saw that in a pretty dramatic way here just since April. And now the markets have come back up from that. So what you got to keep in mind is keep the emotions out of it, keep the emotions out of your investing, and you will be in a good, good spot. All right. Um, and also I wanted to say this too, as we kind of wrap up this little portion of the show with the market update here. Lgbtq+ investors do have unique risks and unique opportunities, especially if financial policies are going to change with political shifts. Right. And have we seen any of those lately? What you need to do again, control the things you can control.

Speaker1:
And those things are like, you know, stay. Stay diversified. Stay focused. Don't go it alone when it comes to your finances. Reach out to me. Take pride in retirement. Com is the website. Take pride in retirement.com. You can also give me a call 85524692 11. Schedule a free consultation and I say free. You can ask anybody I've worked with. It's absolutely free of any cost or any obligation um, to to get that in-depth analysis of your finances. I'd Love to do that for you, give you, you know, just a lot of different, um, documents that I will go over with you, reports about what you hold right now and what you could hold in the future. Uh, if it's kind of like a crystal ball a little bit, um, it's what you can hold in the future if you act on our recommended plan. You know, we'll kind of go through. We can. We can compare what you've got now with what's possible. If you do choose to work with me. And, you know, I think there are a lot of great possibilities out there. I haven't met anyone yet that I cannot help in some way. I'm sure that day will come because I am not Superman. I am not, you know, omniscient or omnipresent or any of the things, uh, like that.

Speaker1:
But, um, you know, I do love what I do, and I love helping people, and I haven't met anybody yet who I can't help in some way improve their financial situation so that they have that retirement that they can take pride in. Period. Right. So also the kind of the, the main meat of the show here, um, is all about the people who are in kind of that retirement red zone. I've used that phrase before, and I know sports sounding analogy, uh, but, uh, and I enjoy sports. You know, I, I do, uh, actually, I enjoy, um, baseball. I've always enjoyed baseball. It's funny because the older that I get, I want, I really want to play golf. Um, and I thought for some reason I was just like, oh, I'm just going to be really bad at this. And it's not not going to be great. Um, but when I, I was, uh, visiting, my husband and I were visiting some friends over the 4th of July weekend. I actually went to top golf, hit some balls, and my friend who's played golf basically our entire lives, we've known each other since we were teenagers, young teenagers, two, probably 13 when we met, maybe even 12. But we, um, have known each other a long, long time, and he's played golf pretty much that entire time. So, you know, just what, five years? But he, uh, said, oh, actually, you know what? Your swing is not that bad.

Speaker1:
I hadn't swung a golf club in years, and I was just afraid my swing was going to be super, super bad. And he was like, no, actually, your swing is is pretty darn good. It got things to work on. And now I know what some of those things are and I can do that. So, you know, I do like the sport every now and then, but um, that retirement red zone sort of analogy is kind of like a sports analogy. You know, you're in the red zone, you're getting close to the goal, all that kind of stuff. Well, it's the same sort of a thing in retirement a little bit. The retirement red zone kind of refers to the people who are in that, what you would think of on the football field, right? Within a certain number of yards of the goal, um, about to retire. So retirement is the goal here. If you're 5 to 10 years before that, you're in the retirement red zone, but you're also in the retirement red zone if you're about 5 to 10 years after For retirement and to add that retirement date into your retirement years, I should say. And so this kind of whole section is for you. If that is the case for you, and even if it's not the case for you, this can still be for you, because there are some great actionable things here to keep in mind.

Speaker1:
And it's 12 different tips and 12 different steps for LGBTQ+ individuals and couples who are about 5 to 10 years from retirement. So if you are in your 50s or your early 60s, it's your time to shine. As my as my science teacher in middle school would say, it's your time to shine. Was that no, that was early high school. It was in middle school. Anyway, he said it. I swear. You just have to take my word for it. I'm not going to go, you know, track him down and and make him say that he said that. But it's your time to shine. That's what he would always say. And I don't really know why, but I remember it to this day, so it had some sort of impact. But if you're in your 50s or your early 60s, now is your time to shine. As far as retirement, planning and preparing with pride is the whole goal, and that is what these steps can lead to. If you if you take these on, take these to heart and put these into practice. Number one is to and it sounds a lot easier than it is. Find more money and save it. Easy. Okay. Well that's it. Good night everybody. That's our show. Now find more money and save it. You know, as you get closer and closer to retirement, especially if you feel like you're a bit behind and you're saving and you're investing for retirement, tap into things like those tax refunds that you may get once a year come about, you know, April time, um, gig work if you have the time to, to do that, um, any sort of windfall, uh, cash wise, that you might come into, um, you know, for whatever reason, if you sell a property or you sell a piece of personal property.

Speaker1:
Not even just real estate, but personal property that you might have and and don't need anymore. Sell a car. That kind of a thing. Maybe if you're if you and your spouse or your partner or whomever have two cars and you find that you don't need them, maybe just have one, you know, just have one car and that can save you money every month. And if that car is, you know, has some equity in it, then you can have maybe a few thousand dollars that you can then put into your investment portfolio, into your maybe your 401 K, not to your 401 K, sorry. And to your IRA, rather I should say that into your IRA, uh, into your Roth, into it, you know, whatever the situation might be or into your, you know, investment account, whatever makes the most sense for you and then let that grow. Um, and then and it doesn't have to be the sale of the car.

Speaker1:
It can be whatever, but tap into those different resources that may pop up, and it's especially vital for LGBTQ plus folks who have faced really historical wage gaps and or discrimination. You know, I mean, I am someone who I lost, who lost a job earlier on in my life just for being gay. And that is, you know, it's something that still weighs on me today, at least on an emotional standpoint. Not that I, you know, I get so down about it that I can't function or anything like that, but it really just, for lack of a better term, ticks me off. And um, so, yeah, I mean, you deal with those things a lot. And that set me back quite a bit. You know, early on in my life I thought, okay, here I am. I'm just getting started in my career and I've got these, these two jobs. I did have two jobs. You know, neither one of them paid very well. And so I needed the two jobs to survive and to, uh, you know, keep going to to actually be able to have some money to set aside and to make all of my bill payments and all that stuff. Well, then I lost that one job, and that led to years of being behind. Um, because, you know, yeah, I was able to find some other work, but at the same time, I had to work a lot more hours for the same amount of money that I was making the other place.

Speaker1:
So it really like it was not good for my health. It was not good for my mental health, certainly. And it definitely wasn't good for the old pocketbook. So, um, there that's a very real thing. The historical wage gaps and or the discrimination. Yeah. I was discriminated against just for being who I am. And that kind of thing can still happen today, I'm sure. Um, you know, even though you're not technically supposed to be able to be fired for your sexual orientation, um, you know, maybe the gender identity situation is a different thing these days. Um, especially given recent developments in Washington, D.C.. And so those are things that we have to to make sure that we, um, you know, prepare for as much as we possibly can and get you to a place where you've got financial security no matter what happens. Right? So find more money and save it. That's number one here on our 12 steps for LGBTQ plus individuals and couples, who may be about 5 to 10 years from retirement or even early on in retirement as well. Number two is to max out those catch up contributions. Here's the thing. You've got to be able to take advantage of that catch up contribution. You know, if you are, um, someone who is over the age of 50, you can contribute higher limits.

Speaker1:
Your limit is higher, I should say, to contribute into your 401 K, your IRA, those things. Um, and actually this year, if you are between the ages of 60 to 60 3 or 64, I forget which what's right there. But but anyway, if you're in your early 60s, you can actually, um, contribute even more into your 401 K. Up to almost $35,000 a year. Not quite up that high. I think it's 34,007 50. Um, but you can contribute up to that much, and that's a good chunk of change to then let grow for a few more years in your retirement before you are, uh, going to call it quits. And and that really is what it's all about, about getting you to a place where you're able to call it quits. Right. And you are you think about this too. You are in your later working years, which means you should be in some of your highest earning years. And so you've got more disposable income in those years than you have previously. So take that income, maybe those raises that you've gotten over the years, and instead of going out and buying more stuff or paying more every month for this, that or the other. Don't do that. Take that money and put it in your retirement accounts. Take that money. Put it in that IRA. Take that money. Increase your contribution through work to your 401 K.

Speaker1:
Put it, you know, in a in a Roth. Put it somewhere, you know, even in an investment account. Whatever. Maybe an annuity. Um, if you got a big lump sum like that, that you want to let grow for a few years and then turn on an income stream, that's kind of a personal pension type thing that we talk about. These are all different things that you can do to catch up. And the catch up contribution provisions that you are allowed to take advantage of are so, so important and so crucial that you do that, especially if you may be a little bit behind. As I say, number three on this list. Don't rely solely on that 401 K. You know, I mean here's the thing. 401 K is a great thing, but there are contribution limits every year. There are, you know, some some limitations. It is tied to an employer and all that kind of thing. You want to make sure that just as you are diversified within that 401 K or whatever your investment portfolio might be. You aren't diversified as far as the type of accounts that you have. You know, you want to have some tax advantaged accounts like a 401 K. That's tax deferred. You don't pay the taxes on it. Now you pay the taxes on it later after it's grown, you pay the taxes on the harvest, right? Instead of the the little bag of seed that you planted.

Speaker1:
If you want to go the other way and, you know, contribute to a Roth, you pay the taxes on the bag of seed that you plant. You let that grow over several years. And then in the end, you've got tax free withdrawals from that account. You don't pay taxes on the growth. You don't pay taxes on the amount that you withdraw because you've already paid the taxes in the beginning. A Roth can be a great thing for you in your retirement years because of those very factors. And so, you know, you may even want to think about something like annuities, something like a fixed indexed annuity, like I mentioned a second ago, where you put money in, it's tied to the performance of a market index, but it's not actually invested in that index, it just moves up with the performance of that index, but doesn't go down if that index goes down. And there are a lot of different options there. You've got principal protection. You've got protection of your gains over time. And you can then take flip a switch later on and turn that into income when you need it, another stream of guaranteed income for the rest of your life. And then, you know, you might want to look at other things brokerage accounts, high yield savings accounts to diversify beyond some traditional plans there. Like I said, diversify not only the type of things that you hold, type of assets that you hold inside one account, have multiple accounts.

Speaker1:
And that way you're diversified as far as things like tax, treatment rate of growth, all those kind of things diversify, diversify, diversify. That basically is the rule there. Um, as we say in number three, don't rely solely on your 401 K. Number four is to get rid of debt. Boy, do I know about this one? Just from my own personal experience. I mean, if you want to be as happy and successful in retirement as possible, do not go into retirement with a bunch of debt. Um, you don't want to be burdened by debt. So build a debt reduction plan or a debt elimination plan before. And I can help you do that. You know, go take pride in retirement, take pride in retirement and get started. You can click on top of the page there. And that is a schedule a consultation link that'll take you directly into my calendar. You'll see my real time availability, and I'll be glad to help you out with coming up with a plan, taking a look at what you have now and what's possible in the future. Um, just really, really encourage you to do that because if you do have a lot of debt, it can always feel like you're behind and you'll never get ahead, right? You sort of feel like you're trying to dig out of a hole that the the dirt just keeps falling back into that hole, and you never are going to get out of it.

Speaker1:
Um, yeah. I just feel that way strongly that you need to get rid of that debt as much as possible. Trust me, that is something that I have struggled with in the past, and it's not easy, but it is so worthwhile to get out from under those burdens and to have your dollars freed up, to be able to work for you, instead of just feeling like you are a are just working for them, you know? And it's not a good thing. You've been working your whole life. You know, don't, uh, don't feel like you have to work and worry and all that about paying off a bunch of debt in retirement. Number five communicate. Talk with your spouse or your partner. Boy, this is so important. You know, just having that open line of communication. Having clear expectations, having, you know, just clarity again around things like spousal benefits and joint ownership and aligned goals. Um, LGBTQ plus couples need that LGBTQ plus, uh, couples, whether you're married, whether you are not married, um, you know, whether you're just partnered, whether you have, you know, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever the situation might be, you need to have clarity. You need to have communication, talk with your spouse or your partner. Number six is to build a future focused budget.

Speaker1:
Here's the thing you budget. People don't often like to talk. And, you know, I was going to mention there too was talking about, you know, talking with your spouse or your partner. People don't like to talk about money because it's just can be an uncomfortable topic. Get over it. I'm just going to say it bluntly. Get over that. Because you want to be in a place where you are controlling your money. It's not controlling you, right? Like we talked about before, with the whole getting rid of debt thing, you want to not be working for your your money, you want it to be working for you. And so um, another good way to do that is to actually talk about it, not pretend like it doesn't exist. I had to learn very early in my life that just because I ignored my homework didn't mean that it was going to go away. Right? So, um, same is true with, you know, things like your debt or things like budgeting. Um, budgeting is one of those words that people don't like to say because it's sort of like a four letter word that has more than four letters in it. But you've got to know what is coming in and what is going out, and is you're getting closer and closer to retirement. You want it to be focused on the future. You want it to be focused on what your retirement years are going to look like.

Speaker1:
And so you want to, you know, build that budget with whatever your goals are in mind. Like, are you going to move to an inclusive community in retirement? There are several of those around. I just saw, uh, there was a story about one, I believe, out of North Carolina. Um, that was that it's an inclusive retirement community. And, um, it just looked like everybody was having such a great time in their retirement years. And I love to see that. Uh, are you going to travel or are you going to, uh, you know, go see family or are you going to go see chosen family friends across the country, around the world? Uh, there are parts of the world that you've never seen that you want to see. Um, do you want to, you know, if you don't move to an inclusive community, do you just want to buy a different house? Maybe something that's smaller, downsize, maybe something that's larger? Hey, if you, you know, have the funds to do that and you want to, you know, you're like, oh, I've lived in this tiny place for too long, I am going to buy something a little bit bigger, you know, whatever the situation might be. Budget accordingly. Right. You got to know what's coming in. What's going out. And it really doesn't have to be as difficult as it sounds.

Speaker1:
You got to also plan for health care and long term care. I cannot emphasize this one enough. Lgbtq plus, people are statistically more likely to age alone. We've seen that in different studies that have shown that over the years that LGBTQ plus people are statistically more likely to age alone than the general population. And so you've got to have a care strategy in place. You might say, well, well, I've got my my partner. They're going to take care of me. Or maybe I maybe you have kids that my kids are going to take care of me in my old age. And when you say that, you probably think of. Oh, well, they they're going to help me by, you know, maybe if I can't drive anymore, they're going to come take me to the store. And so I, you know, I can shop for my groceries, or maybe they can bring me some groceries or whatever the situation might be and that kind of thing. I'm sure that if you do have kids or other relatives, maybe a niece or nephew or something, they would be thrilled to do that for you, I'm sure. But how about when you need to go to the toilet at 4:00 in the morning and you are unable to get there yourself? That kind of thing, like the reality of the situation, can often be more dire than we are willing to admit ourselves. And so you got to have a good, strong plan for how you're going to take care of yourself, and then how you know everybody else is going to fit into the picture as well.

Speaker1:
Um, so if you are a part of the LGBTQ plus community, you're more likely to age alone than the general population. So that really does emphasize that. I think everybody's got to have a medical plan, a long term care plan as well. What am I going to do if I have to go to a, uh, a long term care facility, a nursing home, whatever, and a lot of us will. A good chunk of us will spend some amount of time in long term care. Medicare doesn't cover it, so how are you going to pay for it? You've got to have that plan in place. Number eight reassess your asset allocation. Boy, doesn't that sound sexy and fun. Uh, reassess your asset allocation. Basically, this means make sure that your the way that your assets are divvied up as far as where they're invested. Make sure that your dollars are in the right places for you at any given time. Right. So you may have when you're younger, a lot invested in the stock market because you got a long runway. And yeah, sure, you know, you're taking a lot of risk with your investment portfolio, but at the same time, you have more time to make up for any big losses that you might experience.

Speaker1:
That's number one. But number two is you're getting older. We're all getting older. So if you had, you know, at age 20, 80% stocks and, you know, 20% bonds, then by the time you're 80, you want to flip that on its head, right. And have 80% bonds or something safe and 20% in stocks. And and it's got to be something where you get a little bit more as time goes on, a little bit more conservative, especially, um, you know, if you don't have the largest portfolio in the world, you want to protect what you have, right? As you get closer and closer to retirement. Um, and of course, everybody's situation is individualized. Yeah, that's the thing, as I don't say anything that I say on this show, that is it's intended to be personal advice just for you. Um, because I am a fiduciary. And so as a fiduciary, I have a responsibility to act in the best interest of my client. And so if I don't Know what your individual situation is. Then I'm not going to know how to give you that advice that's going to be best for you and your situation. So this show, of course, is for educational purposes. But when we meet, when we sit down, when you go to take pride in retirement and, and schedule that consultation or you call 85524692 11 and you schedule that consultation, then I can be acting in a fiduciary capacity.

Speaker1:
Once I get all of your information about your financial situation right now, and then I can recommend a plan that's just for you. Right. But right now, what I'm saying is your asset allocation needs to match your risk tolerance needs to match your age, which kind of those two things kind of go hand in hand. Because then, you know, as we get older, we tend to need to get more conservative with our investment portfolio to protect what we've earned over the years. And so just reassess that on on occasion, especially in those 5 to 10 years before retirement. Make sure that they are proper for you right now, and really working with the pro is the way to do it. Again, take pride in retirement. The consultation is free. All right so that's that. That's number eight. Reassess your asset allocation. Number nine is tax planning. And yeah I know again sexy. But you don't want to partner with Uncle Sam in retirement. You know I Uncle Sam he's a great guy and all that. But he's not a great retirement partner. And so you want to make sure that you minimize your tax burden in retirement. Something like a Roth conversion. You know, taking traditional IRA money or traditional 401 K money, moving that into a Roth IRA, going ahead, paying the taxes on that now so that later on you can have once it's grown.

Speaker1:
And, um, you know, when we're at a time when tech tax is going to have to go up at some point in the future when that does happen. Then you are prepared. And your, um, you know, portfolio doesn't suffer. Your income doesn't suffer by paying a higher tax burden. Later on, you go ahead and you pay it now on a lower amount at a lower tax rate because taxes as, as I said, um, and this is not just me saying this, but, you know, experts agree that eventually taxes are going to have to go up because our national debt is so high and it's not getting any lower. And don't let anybody else tell you any different. Um, not even with, you know, this, uh, a big, beautiful bill, whatever they call it, uh, that passed here recently, the projection is that the the national debt is just going to still keep on going up. So that is a consideration. Make sure that you have a proper plan in place for your taxes. Roth conversions can be a good part of that. Also, just contributing to a Roth uh, on the front end, um, can be a good part of that as well. But work with me and I'll help you through that. Um, support others is number ten, but not at your own expense. Of course we want to support other people. We want to be generous.

Speaker1:
I know that that, um, you know, so many of us in the LGBTQ plus community are used to giving of ourselves and not necessarily, um, worrying as much about ourselves as we should sometimes, um, just kind of the way that it is. At least this is speaking from personal experience anecdotally. Um, but you want to when it comes to your financial planning, when it comes to your health care planning, all of those things really put yourself first. And there's nothing wrong with doing that. I mean, it's it's, uh, it kind of goes back to like, you know what? What RuPaul says, um, if you can't love yourself, how the hell are you going to love somebody else If you can't take care of yourself, how in the world are you going to take care of somebody else? So make sure that you are financially stable and then you'll be able to help others as well. It really is job one to watch out for yourself. Support others, yes, but not at your own expense. Number 11, lucky number 11 here is to find your retirement purpose. Retirement can be a chance to sort of reinvent yourself. Picture where you want to be, where you want to go, what you want to do, who you want to be with all of those things. And feel free to dream big because then you know you can't reach a goal unless you set a goal in the first place.

Speaker1:
And so know what that goal is. Make sure you've got that in mind, and then make a plan to achieve it and work again with a professional. With an advisor like myself. I just happen to know a guy and he happens to be me. Uh, who can help you get there, right. Um, also, you know, number 12 here, set a retirement date and set a celebration plan. A party for it. Um, you know, you want it to be a good thing that you are retiring. It will be a good thing that you are retiring. Um, and also, you know, don't feel like you're in a situation where you have to continue working. That is the last thing that I want you to do. If you want to continue working because you're like, oh, I just can't sit around the house or do whatever all day, that's fine. That's great, grand and wonderful. But that's the only situation where I want you to be working is in your retirement years anyway, is because you feel like you want to, not because you feel like you have to. Right? And so set that retirement date, celebrate it with a party, with a trip, or even just a deep breath. Right? You just breathe. Um, and and take it in, um, because, you know, you have achieved so much over your career, you want to take the time to celebrate it.

Speaker1:
And so, you know, if you're in that retirement red zone, 5 to 10 years before retirement, 5 to 10 years in retirement, Whatever the case may be, go to take pride in retirement. That's take pride in retirement. I'll be glad to give you, um, just personalized advice. Go through your situation with a fine tooth comb, let you know where you can improve. And hey, if your situation is great if you are on the right track. I'll tell you. I'll say, this is great. This. I see nothing wrong with this plan. There's nowhere we can improve. I think you're great. And and you know, we'll part ways. No hard feelings at all. That's the. That's the thing. It's not like I just want to, you know, hold you captive to my, uh, advice or my outlook on what you know, your money can do for. You know, if your situation is good right now, I'm going to tell you. And there, you know, if I can't improve upon it, I'll tell you again. Like I said earlier, I haven't met anybody who that's the case yet. But if it does happen, I'll tell you. So. No cost, no obligation. Take pride in retirement is the place to go to schedule that consultation. All right. One more quick thing here before we go before the show wraps up here. And it is something that I've actually been working on.

Speaker1:
And the reason that I thought of it this time around, something I've been working on with a client here recently is tracking down an old 401. I have a client who, um, has been he's worked with several different companies over the years, really kind of three main companies throughout his career. And one of them went through a few corporate mergers while he was working there and in the years since. And so there was a kind of notification after he turned 70 and started receiving Social Security benefits. He got a notification from the Social Security Administration saying, you've got potential benefits here, and that's what will happen. You know, they'll say you've got maybe an old 401 or whatever kind of account that's sitting there at an old employer Just, you know, here's the information that we have about it and go see if that account's there and if you can, you know, move that over into a new account. Great. And so, you know, we've been spending quite a bit of time here trying to get the old custodian of funds and, you know, trying to track them down. And the accounts have moved here. Or as my mother would say, hither, hither and yon. Um, don't know why, but that's what she would say. But anyway, the council kind of moved around. So it's been kind of a process. So what I'm trying to get at here is don't forget about those old 401 k's that maybe when you leave a job, if it's a significant size, chances are you're not going to forget about it.

Speaker1:
Just make sure you roll it into an IRA or whatever type of thing. But the other thing that I want you to think about is that millions of old, 401 K's do get left behind. So if you have maybe a smaller one, um, chances are you might actually forget that tens of thousands of dollars maybe could be left at your old job. You don't really have much control over what happens to it there, so you might as well put it in an IRA. Roll it over into an IRA so that you can have control over it. So let's consolidate. Let's get those dollars working for your future. And I can take a look at your 401 case. We can, you know, see if we can track down any orphaned 401 or forgotten 401 K's for you and just go to take pride in retirement. We'll get that underway and get you set up for a retirement that you can take pride in. All right. Well, that is going to do it for this edition of the show. Uh, I hope you've enjoyed it. I hope you've gotten something from it. And I hope you have a great rest of your week, wherever your travels may take you, hopefully to exciting places. But until next time, take pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you then.

Speaker3:
Thanks for listening to Take Pride in Retirement. Members of the LGBTQ plus community deserved to work with a fiduciary financial advisor who puts their needs first. To schedule a free, no obligation consultation with Matt McClure and the team at Active Wealth Management, call (855) 246-9211 or go online to take pride in retirement investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC. Bcm, a registered investment Advisor, BCM and Active Wealth Management Incorporated are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.

Speaker1:
Information provided is not intended as tax or legal advice and should not be relied on as such. You are encouraged to seek tax or legal advice from an independent professional.

Speaker3:
When planning for retirement. Trust is everything and that's just one way. Nationwide's peak ten fixed index annuity stands out. With nationwide peak ten, you will benefit from protection for your principal, shielding your initial investment from market downturns. Growth opportunities linked to market performance without the risk of direct market exposure. And a guaranteed income stream you can never outlive. Nationwide's reputation for reliability means you can plan for tomorrow and have confidence today. Call us now at (855) 246-9211 or go to take pride in retirement. Com to connect with an advisor and learn how pectin can help secure your financial future.

Speaker1:
Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC BCM a registered investment advisor. Guarantees and protections referenced are subject to the claims paying ability of Nationwide Life and annuity insurance Company. Nationwide peak ten is issued by Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company, Columbus, Ohio. Neither nationwide nor its other entities are associated or affiliated with Active Wealth management. Registered investment advisors and Investment advisor representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interest of our clients and to make full disclosures of any conflicts of interest. Please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV two item for for additional information.

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