Navigating Unique LGBTQ+ Financial Challenges

Episode 24: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Episode 24: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
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.

Speaker2:
Welcome to Take Pride in Retirement, the podcast dedicated to helping members of the LGBTQ+ community protect and grow their hard earned money, 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.

Speaker1:
Hello and welcome once again to take pride in retirement. I am Matt McClure, your host, your advisor, your good pal, your buddy, your friend, your confidant, all of the above. I really do appreciate you taking the time to join me. You know, I say that each and every week, and it's very, very true, I really do. It's not just words that I say because, you know, words are easy to say. It's actually me expressing my appreciation for you and all that you do to me. Because without you, or you do for me rather, because without you, I wouldn't have a show to begin with. I am here for you. I'm not here for myself. You know, I just do this for my health. I do this for you. I do this because I. I truly, truly care about each and every one of you who listen to this show. And I care about the LGBTQ+ community specifically, because that is the point of the show, is to educate LGBTQ+ folks about retirement planning and go over a lot of the different issues that we face as a community, as individuals. And, you know, I mean, everybody's situation is different, right? So it's not like my situation is exactly the same as yours or anybody else's. But here's the thing. I'm coming at this from the perspective of an LGBTQ+ person as well. So I know at least some of what you're going through. If you're having issues with financial planning or if you're having issues getting things in line for your retirement years, whatever that situation might be.

Speaker1:
And I work with other members of the LGBTQ plus community. So if I don't have necessarily personal experience with a situation that you're going through, chances are I've encountered it or come across something similar and that I can help you work through that. That's that's the goal here. And of course, that's the goal is show is is just the general education part of this to help the community in general. And then my everyday life, I like to help people with their specific situations and needs. Right. So it's kind of an all encompassing thing. It's the general information. It's hopefully helpful to you in your situation. Hopefully you get something out of each of these episodes and I want to help you with your individual situation as well. If you have a particular issue or problem or you know something that you are, um, you know, grappling with or changes going on in your life or, or just you're not sure even where to begin to save and invest and plan for your retirement. I want to be able to help you. It's take pride in retirement. Calm. Take pride in retirement. Calm. That is the website and it's easy breezy to go there. Find out more about the show. Watch a nice little welcome video from me. Um, find out more about me as well and to schedule a consultation. I mean, it's absolutely free. You don't have to do anything to, you know, pay a penny. You don't have to commit to anything other than just the consultation itself. Just schedule that consultation with me. You can do it online at Take Pride in retirement.com.

Speaker1:
It's really easy to do there. It will be very self-explanatory. When you go to the website. You can also send me an email if you would like. Matt at Take Pride in retirement.com or give me a call, leave me a message or talk to me directly. And if you don't get me, of course, leave me a message. I'll call you back. 855246921185524692 11. Is that number? A lot of great stuff to get to today. Oh, also, I'm almost forgot to mention this. Of course you can get the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. It's on Apple Spotify, it's on, um, the Odyssey app. It's on where else is it on the I heart? It's it's anywhere you get your podcasts. Audible Amazon. All of the things YouTube podcasts. We have a YouTube channel as well. Go there. Search for take pride in retirement. Follow subscribe. Like the show? Leave us a good positive rating if you would. I would really, really appreciate that. Um, as well. Uh feedspot also has named Take Pride in Retirement one of the top pride related podcasts to listen to and to follow. So thank you to Feedspot for that. And thanks to you for if you ran across our ranking there and you are, you know, coming to us for that reason, thanks to you, and then by proxy, thanks to Feedspot as well. So thanks very, very much. Really do appreciate it. If you would. Also you can go to the YouTube channel, check out our shorts there and our videos.

Speaker1:
I've got a nice extended clip of the conversation that I had last week with Jane Mukami, who is a world renowned, award winning weight loss coach. She's also someone who is an international best selling author. She is a is a business owner herself, an entrepreneur, and I just had a great conversation with her about how she was able to turn her passion into a career, into a reality. And I just think that's so wonderful. So go back and listen to that one. Or you can watch the video highlight on our YouTube channel. Once again, just search for Take Pride in Retirement. Okay. So a lot of great stuff to come here. I ran across an article actually on Barron's um, back back in the day. Back. God probably about ten years ago now. I used to work actually at the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by Dow Jones, which also owns Barron's. And so I was down the hall from a lot of the the Barron's writers and stuff. So, um, I ran across an article actually in Barron's that, um, just really speaks to a lot of the issues that the LGBTQ+ community go through in planning for our financial future. I'm going to go through some of those because it's a great perspective from some different, um, financial advisors and other analysts and people. And I just want to sort of dissect those along with you. So problems that we face that are unique to the LGBTQ plus community, can I go through that? Also going to go through taking a look at the amount of risk that you are taking in your retirement portfolio if you have a healthy one, if you don't have a healthy one, if you've got a small one, if you've got, you know, say, well, I just I just got started on this or maybe I haven't even gotten started yet.

Speaker1:
How do I know how much risk I should be taking? Whatever your situation, and no matter who you are, where you come from, who you love, how you identify any of those things, no matter all of that, I want to be here to help you determine the amount of risk that you should be taking. Now, one of the things that you look at when you're talking about risk is your age. Is your risk age appropriate. We'll factor that in. We'll also factor in some other things, some situations that you might be, you know, finding yourself in. So we'll go through all of that as well. Do a little bit of an inflation demonstration also um and a little hint as to what is in the inflation demonstration this week. If you want fries with that. Yeah. It's going to cost you go into the drive through. Uh, and you know what? That's all the more reason to maybe choose healthier meals, I don't know, or cook at home, save yourself some money and be healthier in the process. Thank you so much once again, for being a part of the show. And as we do each and every week, I'm going to get a quote of the week to start off our conversations.

Speaker3:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Speaker1:
So this time around, the quote comes from Fred Rogers. You may know him better as Mister Rogers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood fame. I just feel like I should be singing Won't You Be My Neighbor? And, um, getting on the little trolley to go to the land of make believe? I am telling you I loved trolleys as a kid, and I think that Mister Rogers Neighborhood was one reason why we also used to vacation in a in this quaint little mountain town. Um, when I was a kid and there were trolleys there to get around, I loved trolleys. I was really upset that I, my dad couldn't, like, buy me or build me. I asked him to build me a trolley. What in the world was I thinking? I was a kid, I didn't know, um, but anyway, the trolley to the land of make believe and Lady Elaine. Lady Elaine, I think, was my spirit animal when I was a kid. So there we go. I guess I should have known something. Um, anyway, so Mister Rogers said this one time, and I love it. Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else. Let me say that one more time. Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else. It's almost like, you know, saying when when one door closes, another door opens, right? It's sort of a different take on that.

Speaker1:
But I think even a more hopeful take on it because, yeah, the end of something does signal the beginning of something else. The end of one relationship, for example, might signal the beginning of a new and even better relationship that you could find yourself in that you should find yourself in, right? I mean, the the end of one job hopefully signals the beginning of something else in your career that is going to move you forward. Even if you look at your situation right now and even if, say, it's a job change or a change of scenery, a change of cities that you, you know, are have to move for whatever reason, even if it doesn't, on the surface, look as if it's a positive change in the moment. Give it time, because in the end, you might have to go through some pains, through some learning curve, through some some growing pains. In other words, to get to where you need to be and to get where you're supposed to be in life. But a lot of times, you know, as Dolly Parton says, if you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain, right? So that is a super, um, important thing to keep in mind. And Fred Rogers says it again here. You know, the end of one thing is the beginning of another. It is so important to realize that. And when we're talking about, you know, retirement, which we do a lot obviously here on Take Pride in Retirement, I imagine we talk about retirement.

Speaker1:
Um, when we talk about retirement, that's the thing. The end of your working career is often the beginning of wonderful phase of your life. It could be that it is not necessarily the end of your career career. You might want to keep working at least part time because it's something that you love to do. If you were in love with your career and your job and your, um, your passion in life, and that's what you've been doing, great. That's awesome. Keep on keeping on as long as you can or as long as you need to. Right? I mean, it is, um, you know, not something that we want you to just give up, that I want you to just give up because, oh, now you're 65 or 67 or whatever, and, you know, it's time to call it quits because the, you know, that's. Well, checking my watch here, it's time to for you to quit your job and to retire. Now, if you feel like keeping, you know, involved in your job or whatever, and it's your passion and you love it, and that's the reason that you keep on working great. That's awesome What I want to help you avoid is getting to a point where in your life you are at an age where you want to quit, you want to retire, but you can't because you are not in a financial situation where you can.

Speaker1:
You have too many bills to pay versus the income that you have. I want to help get you set up with an income stream, actually with multiple income streams for your retirement years, so that you can be comfortable in your retirement so that you can make sure that you can do the things that you want to do in those retirement years. So if you want to keep working, great, if you don't want to keep working, we want to help get you set up with an income stream and actually with more than one to make sure that you are set in your retirement years. The more income streams you can have, the better. That's what you're going to live on in retirement. Not one big nest egg. You know, the whole commercial campaign. What's your number? Right. Having a big nest egg number one big, you know, number. Let's say your goal has always been I'm going to have $500,000 saved up for my retirement. I'm going to have 1 million or 2 million or three, you know, whatever your your, uh, goal happens to be. That's great. Have that goal. But how are you going to live on that throughout your retirement years, which could be 25, 30, 40 years of your life, even more if people keep living longer, right? So that is the goal is to give you that income that you know how you're going to live each and every month, and you're going to be great no matter what happens.

Speaker1:
And it will be an income stream that you can never outlive. So that's the goal here. And all that to say this quote from Mr. Rogers, I love it. I hope you love it and get something out of it as well. And of course it's me. So I had to work a little Dolly Parton in there as well. At least a little mention of Dolly. Couldn't get away with out doing that this week. All right. So advice financially speaking for LGBTQ+ folks, I found, um, an article about this very thing actually in Barron's um, in Barron's advisor, which is the advisor sort of facing um Barron's publication here. And, um, I'm just going to I'm going to read some of this a little bit, and then I will interject with my own sort of, you know, opinions and, and kind of analysis here, a little bit of it, but it's, um, an article by Steve Karmazin. I hope I'm pronouncing that name correctly. Steve. If I'm not, I my apologies. Um, but, um, he says LGBTQ households are the same as the average household in many ways. There are meals to cook, schedules to manage, bills to pay. But when it comes to financial planning, this community has some unique needs and challenges, according to financial advisors.

Speaker1:
That is why I, me, myself a financial advisor started this show. That's the reason that I'm here, right? Because your situation is unique. Everybody's is. But inside the LGBTQ plus community, there are specific challenges that we tend to face more than another. You know, like there's specific challenges that we tend to face more than other groups is what I'm what I'm saying here. So we talked to a few advisors and analysts and and all of that. And so one of them said, and I thought this was a great perspective and something that I sort of had to take a step back and be like, oh yeah, this is a huge issue and one that I have faced in my own life because, well, I'll tell you about this as soon as I it gets out of my mouth. Me reading this, but it's really something that I could relate to, in other words. Um, but this particular advisor said that often because of the trajectory of coming out early in one's career and maybe there being some struggle with family, people are a little bit behind with their wealth accumulation and retirement planning. They've been busy doing other things, like being a teenager at 25, instead of having gone through all the emotional upheaval at an age appropriate time. So we have to plan based on that. Oh my gosh, I can so relate to that. Um, you know, I was in my 20s when I the whole coming out process started.

Speaker1:
I was kind of forced out in a lot of ways. Um, and it was not the best time, especially when there were struggles with family and all that. And we'll go too much into that. But my family has come a long, long way. You know, I mean, it was a few years ago, my, um, my mom would say things like, she would worry about how my dad would react and all that kind of thing. And so, of course, and I was too, which is one of the reasons that I didn't tell him for a long time. And I, um, you know, fast forward a few years later, after he had, um, and my dad was always great. My dad was always wonderful about the whole thing. Um, he just wanted me to be happy and wanted me to be safe and and loved. And that was. That's just the best possible situation. But, um, I remember my mom being worried about how he would react. And then fast forward a few years after he did know and all of this and and, um, he had met my now husband Josh, and everything. He, he was asking me and Josh when we were going to adopt kids. Um, we still have not, but he came a long way in his life. And, I mean, this is Southern Baptist man from rural Georgia, uh, who, you know, grew up in a very conservative background and all that.

Speaker1:
And he just wanted his kid to be happy. And I couldn't have asked for a better dad. Really and truly, my mom has come a long way as well. She's wonderful, my sister, all of that. So all that to say, yeah, there were some struggles with family. There were some struggles career wise because of this as well. I mean, there was a lot of emotional upheaval in my 20s. And so this is why I'm saying that I can really relate to this, because I, I had to take a step back and look and be like, oh yeah, I when I was going through all of these personal things, dealing with coming out, dealing with accepting myself before that, dealing with, um, you know, all of those kind of emotional issues and important issues to deal with in life and especially being from where I am from. Um, while all of that was going on, I was also working these sort of lower paying jobs. I was, you know, and they led me now to where I am today. So I can't go, you know, go back and be upset that I was paying, that I was working these jobs and all of that. But the money was coming right in and it was going right back out because I didn't know I didn't, and I didn't take the time to learn how to really manage my own personal finances at the time.

Speaker1:
So I was behind, um, in my retirement planning and in my saving and investing in all of that stuff and trying to build any kind of, of wealth for myself was really behind with that. And it took a long time for me to at least, you know, get to the point where I felt like I was caught up with it. And, you know, thankfully I am, you know, more to that point now, getting close. Anyway, um, and I and I took the initiative as well to have, you know, for, for myself because of having been through all of that stuff, I took the initiative myself to get licensed, to get educated, to become a financial advisor, to get, you know, certifications and all of this, get professional designations and find out the things that I didn't still know. And now use that knowledge to be able to help others, to be able to hopefully help you and your life and in your particular situation. Um, this advisor also in this um, article says that we also have to be thoughtful about marriage in a way that more traditional couples don't. I mean, there are a lot of, she says, there are a lot of, um, financial reasons to get married. There are some financial reasons to not get married. Says that she and her wife got married after 20 years in their relationship recently, and it was out of concern that the Supreme Court may overturn the Obergefell decision, which legalized marriage equality.

Speaker1:
And she said that, you know, they're going to be it would be a lot more difficult. They're sort of, um, justification for that is that it would be a lot more difficult for them to unwind marriages that are already in effect if they were to overturn that ruling. And then there's the whole, you know, child consideration, right? So saying that, you know, if you're planning to have children, you're not going to do it the old fashioned way. It's expensive and it requires financial planning. Then there's the whole consideration of, you know, if you are in one particular state, where in that state both parents can be on the birth certificate, both, um, or, you know, one parent, only one parent can be on the birth certificate. But there can be like a joint adoption thing where the second parent can adopt the kid. If all of that is the case, and then you later on move to a state where it's not recognized, and only the one parent who's on the birth certificate is going to be recognized as a parent to that child. Those are considerations to take into account, and they're all situations that traditional married couples don't have to grapple with, right? They don't have to consider those kinds of things. Speaking about children, another person that was quoted in this article as saying that in, um, talking about the whole expensive nature of having kids, especially if you're going to go through something like surrogacy or whatever in, um, a state like California, where this particular advisor is from, is saying that the process of doing that is one laborious, he says, and expensive.

Speaker1:
It can cost 2 to $300,000 just to have kids, just to be able to find a surrogate, do the, the, you know, whole, um, uh, finding of a reputable agency, um, you know, doing the, uh, testing that you want to make sure that you are healthy enough, that the egg donor is healthy enough, the insemination, freezing extra embryos, all of that stuff. It costs a lot of money. And so that needs to be taken into account in your financial plan. If that is a goal, then you have to be able to achieve that goal. I would love to be able to help you with achieving that goal as well. If that is one of your financial goals for your life, take pride in retirement. Com is the website you can schedule a no obligation, absolutely free consultation there. No pressure beyond just, you know, working with me for that length of that meeting. If you meet me and you're like, I don't like this guy. I hope you don't say that. But if that is the case, that's completely fine. No skin off my nose.

Speaker1:
Um, we will not be offended at all here in my studio or office that, you know, just sometimes it's that way. But it's not going to be a high pressure situation at all. No high pressure situations. I am not about forcing people to do something they don't want to do. Right. So that's that's me. I'm not like Uber salesperson guy. I'm just not who I am. Never have been. So there's that part of it. You only will work with me if you believe that it's right for you. And if we mutually agree that that's the case, and you think that I can help you as a financial advisor achieve those goals, you can also call 855246 85524692 11 (855) 246-9211. Again, the website take pride in retirement.com. Um. Another person quoted in this article says that when he's sitting down with people they talk to to discuss things, if they're part of the LGBTQ plus community, talking about making sure that they've saved adequate amounts to make up for deficiencies that are going to present themselves because of their unique family structure. We've been speaking a lot here in as far as the first few minutes of this discussion go. We've been speaking a lot about having kids. A lot of LGBTQ+ couples. Families don't plan on having kids. They just don't. That's changing as time goes on. But if you don't have kids as you get older, then you are going to need to make sure that you have a plan in place that's going to account for long term care, especially in your older years.

Speaker1:
You know, we sort of look at retirement as sort of three phases, right. And one of them that's the go go years, the first few years of retirement. Boy you are ready to get hit the road, start traveling, do whatever it is you want to do and you're still healthy enough, mobile enough, and all of that to be able to go and do the things that you want to go and do right. As a result, it costs more money in those years. So so you sort of look at it as a U-shaped curve, right? So in those first few years of retirement, you're at the top of one end of the you right over here. If you're watching the video highlight version on YouTube. The end of the curve, the beginning of the curve, I guess I should say, is over here. And then you go down to the the slow go years where you're staying at home more, you're not as able to get out as much, you're not spending as much money. But then in the no go years you're spending goes way back up. It's that U-shaped curve, right? You start out with a lot of spending, it goes down as you're not able to do as much. But then the no go years, boy, you're not just sitting at home.

Speaker1:
You are perhaps in long term care. You need more health care, period. You are spending a lot more on doctor visits and those kinds of bills. And you know, if you do happen to need long term care, like a lot of people do, it is not cheap. So you're spending goes way back up in those later years as well. Do you have a plan for that, especially if you don't have children? Here's something to that's really important that another one of the people quoted in this article said and sort of alluded to it before about the one person saying that she had just married her partner recently, her now wife recently after being together for 20 years because they just weren't sure about how the Supreme Court is going to behave itself, or if it's going to behave itself in the future and potentially overturn the marriage equality decision. So she's saying that our community is getting more anxious, and it's not only driven by the heated and unpredictable political landscape, it's also by the reality that everything seems to be changing. You know, things we thought we were, you know, okay, we're good, she says, are being questioned yet again. These sort of hard fought battles that are things that should be settled are not necessarily settled in our reality these days. And so one example of that, she says, is the right to marriage. That is a consideration.

Speaker1:
And, you know, having an advisor like myself, if I may. So pitch myself as this to you, having an advisor to help you navigate through this sort of challenging landscape where the sands are shifting underneath your feet at all times can help ease a lot of that anxiety. Just, you know, or the community's getting a lot more anxious these days, and having an advisor from a financial standpoint can really help you ease a lot of that anxiety. But here's the thing, too. And this is really what I am very much, um, in favor of, and very glad that she has said, um, here because it bears it bears repeating. It bears saying for me the first time, because I haven't said it yet. She said it and I'm repeating it. So I guess it does bear repeating. But you know, people have this impression of financial advisors that are just, you know, I'm going to manage your investment portfolio and that's it. Stocks and bonds. And there's that. But advisors are much more than that. She sort of refers to advisors, um, a good one, which hopefully you find me to be as a proverbial Swiss Army knife, right? Different tools to help you through different, you know, points of your life as you get close to retirement, as you're in retirement, planning for income, planning for long term care, planning for all of the things depending on your particular situation.

Speaker1:
When do you want to draw Social Security? Actually, when does it make the most sense for you to draw Social Security? Because if you start claiming that there's no takebacks and you don't, you know, say, oh, well, now that I've taken it at 62, I'm going to I've just found out that I'm going to make more if I wait until 70. So can I please stop these payments and then start again at 70 and get the higher pay? No you can't. Once you turn that income stream on, there's no on off switch that will get you a raise going forward other than, you know, a cost of living adjustment, which happens automatically every year in those years, that inflation is a thing. Right. And we know something about that over these last few years. So, you know, you want somebody who's going to be able to help you think of all of those things estate planning, long term care, if you do have kids, college planning, all of those things. So, you know, not that I'm an advocate for weaponry of any kind, but I love the fact that she said, you know, it could be like a veritable Swiss Army knife if you're working with the right advisor and I want to be the right advisor for you, or at least I want to help you reach your financial goals and, you know, help you with all of those other sort of things that may seem ancillary to money and to your retirement planning, but they're really not.

Speaker1:
It all is. It's got to be working in harmony. And if you're, you know, pushing and pulling against your own plan, that's not really a plan. You got to have a plan, a formal plan in writing that you're going to stick to. And I can help you come up with one take pride in retirement.com that's take pride in retirement.com that is the website. You can also call me 855246 9211 (855) 246-9211. I get if I don't pick up the phone and you send me a or leave me a voicemail, rather that gets sent directly to my cell phone no matter where I am. So I will get that message and I will return your call. Just say that you meant that. Just mention rather that you are calling because you heard me on the podcast. I would appreciate that. That will help us, sort of, you know, track the folks who are calling because of the podcast specifically. And if you go to take pride in retirement.com, by the way, it's super easy to schedule an appointment for that free, no obligation consultation. All you have to do is click the button at the top of the page. It says Schedule consultation. I mean, I made it easy for you. So there we go. All right. So you know, we I went through some unique financial situations that are more common in the LGBTQ plus community there.

Speaker1:
I hope you got something out of that. Now I want to go through something that is, you know, true really, of all of us. It pertains to a lot of the things that we were just talking about. Because, you know, this is part of the show is about risk, right? How much risk are you taking? How much risk should you be taking? How do you lessen the amount of risk that you're taking with your investments? Or should you even pull back on risk? You know, should you be maybe taking a little bit more? Because with risk comes greater reward potentially, if you have a good long time horizon to make up for any potential losses, maybe you can take a little bit more risk. Maybe that's a possibility for you at all. Like I said, it all depends on your individual situation and so many different factors that go into it. So I want to speak specifically, though, to those of you who may be approaching retirement right now, maybe getting a little bit on up there, farther along in your career, closer to retirement age. And as you approach your golden years, it's important to remember, even if you have a great size financial portfolio, just been working with someone as a new client of mine who has a great portfolio, a great size portfolio, but was taking way too much risk inside that portfolio.

Speaker1:
So we're working right now through rebalancing things, getting more things in safety, getting some guaranteed income, actually a really good solid guaranteed income for retirement for him. And so that is what I love to do. So remember this. If you remember nothing else from this show other than maybe the fact that I, you know, quoted, uh, both Fred Rogers and Dolly Parton earlier, or the fact that, um, you know, I had a wonderful dad, which please remember that because my, my dad was absolutely wonderful. Um, remember this? This is what I want you to remember. The strategies that you use to help you get to retirement are not necessarily good to help get you through retirement. Right. Those things that you did to get you to your golden years are not always the best ways to get through those golden years. So some important things to consider. I mean, if you are near retirement, particularly within ten years, we say sort of the 5 to 10 years before and the first 5 to 10 years during retirement are that sort of retirement red zone, where it's super important to be mindful of the amount of risk that you're taking. And that's because of something called sequence of returns risk. I do not have a crystal ball. I don't know when the markets are going to go up, down, sideways, whatever. I just don't know. What I do know is if the markets do have the bottom fall out like they did in 2008 2009, if the bottom does fall out of the markets and you are almost 100% in equities and you wanted to retire, say next year and next year, the bottom drops out of the market.

Speaker1:
That is what we call sequence of returns risk. You are now farther behind than somebody who might be retiring just a couple of years later or has just retired, say, this year, because you're suffering those losses early on in the process and those big, big losses. So you want to move more things to safety the closer you get to retirement. Right in in general. And so and again, like I say, your risk tolerance could be a little bit more. There could be ways to get more reward for just a little bit more risk. It's all about finding that balance and the balance that's right for you. So it's important though in general, to transition your investment strategy as you get closer to retirement more from being focused on growth, meaning having more risk in the markets to being more preservation focused, to getting focused on safety. Get to the guarantees in your life the closer you get to your retirement years. And it really is a strategic shift. And it involves reducing exposure to high risk investments. So, you know, the stock market in general and the market can be very volatile. We've seen that here lately.

Speaker1:
You know we had have had big swings higher big swings lower in the markets. Um, just in recent days before, you know, my recording of this show. So those riskier investments are more volatile and especially something like, you know, cryptocurrency, Bitcoin in particular, very volatile investment. And it can lead to significant financial losses if you are close to retirement. So I wouldn't recommend, you know, just about anybody, especially somebody who is close to their retirement years, right. Within ten years of retirement to be invested in Bitcoin, at least not heavily, just because it is so volatile. Now, had the had this been 15 years ago and you bought a whole bunch of if you bought, you know, $1,000 worth of bitcoin 15 years ago, you could buy and sell all of us at this point, I believe. So that's one thing. If you've been in it kind of for the long haul, that's kind of a different story. But I wouldn't go buy a bunch of Bitcoin right now. If you're close to retirement, that's just, you know, a general sort of recommendation here, not something that's based on your individual situation, of course, but just kind of a general thing that I like to say and look at. Your goal should be as you get closer to retirement, to minimize the risk of large scale financial setbacks. As I was just saying, those could jeopardize your retirement plans. So prioritize protection before you prioritize growth as you are getting closer to retirement.

Speaker1:
Now, there are ways to get both. We have tools. We have products that we can use to get you market like gains without the market risk. You can participate in the growth of the market, but then when the market goes down, you don't lose a penny of that particular portion of your portfolio. That is great news for people who are getting on up there in their years closer to retirement. And so, you know, the primary goal is to is to really protect what you've accumulated. You don't want to lose it, ensure that stable income stream to replace your salary, you want to replace that paycheck in retirement. And we need to make sure that your income needs are going to be met. As I was saying earlier, you're going to live on that monthly income in retirement. Do you have a plan for that? You need to. Protecting your hard earned money from significant market downturns is essential to maintaining financial security. As you transition out of the workforce, losses suffered within ten years of retirement and within the first ten years after retirement have significant financial implications that could affect your lifestyle and could affect the rest of your life. As I say, timing is everything. And so if you are close to retirement, protect what you have, protect it. So if couple of strategies here for reducing that risk.

Speaker1:
Number one is to diversify diversify that investment portfolio. That's a key strategy to mitigate a lot of those risks. And that means spreading your investments across various asset classes, replacing the bonds in your portfolio with protected guaranteed income products. You know, that's the income portion of your portfolio, right? A lot of people will just say that, well, that's what I'm going to get my income from is from bonds. Well, the bond market actually had in 2022, I believe it was its worst year in a long time. The 60 over 40 portfolio saw its worst performance in decades. In that year as well. So you want guaranteed income products that are not affected by things like the, you know, inflation, the interest rate environment and all of that. You want to protect what you have earned and what you have saved and what you have invested over the years. And my other big, big advice to you, whether this is me or somebody else, see a professional that is essential. See a professional advisor, a fiduciary. Make sure that whoever you see is a fiduciary, that they are held to a fiduciary standard. That means you say you used that word about 400 times there in a row. What does that mean? Well, it means that I, as a fiduciary, which I am, have to keep your best interests in mind, not my own. I have to act in your best interest, not mine.

Speaker1:
I don't work for a particular insurance company or a particular brokerage house or any of those things. You know who I work for you. And that is, I think, the significant difference between someone who's not a fiduciary financial advisor who may, you know, know their way around picking stocks and, you know, assembling portfolios for people and doing all of those types of things. But in the end, do you know if they have your best interests in mind or just their next commission check in mind, right. Or their, you know, next big account in mind or whatever. And they're not paying any attention to you because you might be small potatoes to them and they want their next multi-millionaire to come in and, and, uh, you know, use their services, whatever. No, I am focused on you and focused on your individual situation and how I can make it better. And I want you to go to take pride in retirement.com. That's take pride in retirement.com schedule a free consultation. We can do it over zoom. We can do it in person. If you're in the metro Atlanta area, um, you can schedule it right there on the website. Just click the button at the top of the screen, and you will be connected with me and with my calendar. And you can book yourself right in, you know, and you can just choose the zoom or the in person. And I'll be glad to meet with you.

Speaker1:
I really, really will and help you sort of navigate all of the things that go into your retirement plan. And one of the ways that we look at risk, by the way, and this is for people of all ages, not just those within ten years of when they want to retire, but the men, women, boys, girls, children of all ages, everybody in between. This is for you. Is your level of risk age appropriate? That's one of the things that we look at. We look at your age as one of the factors that goes into how much risk you should be taking. Now, I've alluded to this as we've been going through here, saying that you want to reduce the amount of risk that you have inside your portfolio as you get closer to retirement age, whatever that is for you. Right? One of the easy ways to kind of determine if you are taking the right amount of risk is called the rule of 100. Now, the rule of 100, it's don't let it scare you. It's a math problem, but it's a very easy math problem. All right? I know a lot of people, myself included, who just math. Math was not my favorite subject in school. I'll just be honest because I'm like, okay, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division got me, I am, I'm great. Why in the world do I need to learn how, you know, to do all of these complicated equations and stuff? I'm not becoming a civil engineer or anything like that.

Speaker1:
I don't need to know the Pythagorean theorem and all of these things, the things that are, you know, algebra, trigonometry, calculus, all that geometry. It didn't need to know all of those details. Get it? Part of your education. Fine. But that was just my my view, as, you know, as a student back in the day. But the rule of 100 is very easy, and it's very easy for anyone, whether you're good at math or not, to calculate. So it's a guideline more than it is a rule, right? So the rule of 100, it's a really easy financial guideline that's often used in retirement planning. It helps people determine an appropriate asset allocation based on their risk tolerance and age. This one is taking into account your age more than any other factor really. So it suggests the rule of 100 or the the guideline of 100, if you want to call it that, suggests that you take your age and subtract that from the number 100, and then that will determine whatever the amount is left over is determining the percentage of your portfolio that should be in more aggressive investments like, say, stocks. So if you are age, say 20, for example, and hopefully that don't make the mistakes that I made at that age and actually start getting invested. Sure. You got plenty of time.

Speaker1:
You can make up for losses over time, so you should be taking a lot of risk with your investments. So using the rule of 100, if you are 20 years old, you subtract 20 from 100. What does that leave? 80. So 80% of your investments should be invested in the market, should be at risk in the market because more risk, more reward potentially, especially over time. And then that left over 20% percent should be in safe products bonds potentially you're looking at other things like annuities for example, some, you know, some type of investment CDs, bank CDs that are going to be safe and guaranteed and let you, you know, have a predictable amount of growth in there as well. But you got that safe portion. But that's only 20% because you know why? You're 20 years old. You got plenty of time to make up for any losses that you experience along the way. If you're 40, for example, which I'm just slightly past that by a couple of years. So if you're 40 then it's a little bit different picture for you. You want 60% because in equities why. Because 100 -40 is 60. So then you'll want 60% to be at risk 40% to be safe. Et cetera. Et cetera. Et cetera. If you're 60 years old, you'll want 40% at risk, 60% safe. Now, again, it's a guideline. It's not a hard and fast rule. That's not the way that we, you know, go about allocating portfolios because so much goes into it, your risk tolerance is taken into account and all of that.

Speaker1:
But the idea behind it is that as you get older, you're reducing your risk in the investment portfolio, you are reducing your exposure to those riskier investments, and you shift towards more stable investments. And that protects what you've built up, that protects all of those assets that you've gathered over the years, that you've saved, that you've invested, and it protects that growth. And so that's why, you know, I worked with active wealth management here in the Atlanta area. And we that's my advisory firm that I'm part of here locally. And we have our sort of slogan is protect and grow, protect and grow your wealth. That is what we want to do and I would love to help you do that. Go to take pride in retirement.com. I can offer you a free risk analysis and help you understand. The risk that you're taking right now can help you understand your investments, help you, you know, sort of see what's at risk, what is safe, some some options for keeping more of it safe if that's the direction you need to go. Maybe some better options that you can earn more through those, um, particular investments that maybe you didn't even know existed. Maybe you didn't know something existed out there that was similar to a bank CD, but actually gives you a higher rate of growth.

Speaker1:
Maybe you didn't know that there was something that could give you a guaranteed income stream for life, pretty much like a personal pension, and that that income based on the growth in the market could actually go up year over year over year and never run out. Even if the balance in the account goes to zero, you're still getting an income stream for the rest of your life. I just ran an illustration for somebody not long ago, and he was just floored that the illustration showed anyway, that when he was like age 90, the income was going to be 200 and something thousand dollars a year. Uh, even when, you know, the the value had gone down in the the main portion of the account, he was still getting more income, significantly more income, more than twice the income that he would start with at the age of 67, in a few years. But it would be, you know, at the age of 90, Have gone up by that significant amount. So it's income that you cannot outlive and income that can potentially increase every year, every other year, depending on the performance of the particular index that it's that it's tied to. There are a lot of different options out there. And some of them, I guarantee you, you didn't know even existed. So here's the thing. Give me a call or go to the website.

Speaker1:
The number (855) 246-9211. That's 855246 9211. You can also go to take Pride in retirement.com. That is take pride in retirement.com schedule a consultation right there on the home page. Um all right. So I wanted to go through just a couple more things here before wrapping up. Um, one of them is this that I'm going to get to in a second. And the other is our inflation demonstration for the week, which in which I will give you a little bit of a look at the fast food drive through and how much that's been affected by inflation. And it's one of the reasons, you know, inflation is one of those factors. Right. That affects us all no matter who you are, where you come from, how you identify who you love. Any of those factors that I mentioned here on the show each and every week, They don't really, um, you know, come into play affecting one group more than another. This is something that's kind of universal, right? Inflation really impacts us all. Now it's a different story as to whether or not you're prepared for it. Right. But you want to get prepared for it. You want to have a plan in place that's going to be a solid plan. That will be a solid plan no matter what happens. As far as inflation goes, no matter what the markets do, no matter what happens with interest rates and all the other things that you can't control, what you want to do is control the things that you can take control of, those things that you can control, and make sure that you have a solid plan set up in writing in place, so that your financial future is more secure.

Speaker1:
That's what I help people do. And here's some more reasons why people need a comprehensive plan. Look, a lot of people think when I'm working with folks that retirement planning is about a rate of return, right? But they ignore kind of the more important part, which is having an income plan that's guaranteed to fund their expenses. Too many people have no clue about their bonds. Let's say in a lot of cases, bonds could be 40% or more of your overall portfolio. And that's really been an asset class that's been underperforming in the last few years. Are there asset classes that are doing better that have been doing better for actually quite a while now, and could potentially do better in the future, while still keeping your money safe and giving you an income stream in retirement. Absolutely there are, and I can show you what those are. We find that, as I was saying a bit ago when I was going through that Barron's article, too many people have no plan for health care expenses. That's a huge problem because that is going to be one of the biggest expenses, if not the biggest expense in your retirement is your health care expenses.

Speaker1:
Are your health care expenses. One or the other, whichever is grammatically correct. It also is surprising to me, too, how many people don't have a legacy plan for their beneficiaries. Even if you're not married, even if you don't have kids, even if you don't, you know, have a huge family or something like that, you are going to want to name beneficiaries, whether they be living people, whether they be entities, something that you a charity that you really are passionate about. Maybe you if you're like me, you have a great church that you go to that you're a part of. Um, we're actually just met another client that I was that I'm privileged and pleased to be working with. Uh, now on on his retirement plan as well. But maybe you have one of those type of organizations, or maybe you have somebody who's a great friend. Maybe you have someone who is a, you know, a cousin or somebody else, um, that you want to leave your assets to when you are no longer here. A lot of people don't have a legacy plan for any type of beneficiary, no matter what, um, happens, no matter who's going to be left behind. Rather, after you are gone or, you know, no matter what you want to happen, just sort of wishing and hoping and saying, oh, well, I really want this to happen to my money or my other assets after I'm gone.

Speaker1:
That's not a plan. That's not a legacy plan. We want to help you get a legacy plan in place. You do need one, and you want to avoid a probate process, which is lengthy. It is costly. It is heartbreaking in a lot of cases. In some cases it can be just kind of really annoying and less heartbreaking, but it's a situation that you don't want to find yourself in. You don't want to find yourself in a courtroom with a judge and lawyers and all these other people deciding what's going to happen with your loved one's belongings, and you don't want that to happen to your loved ones after you are gone, right? So there you go. Avoid lengthy and costly probate proceedings. Many people haven't really thought about what they want to do. When every day is a Saturday, when you are just kind of hanging around the house or you're traveling, you're going on trips, you're doing whatever it is that you want to do in retirement. How are you going to pay for it, and what do you actually want to do when every day is like a Saturday? Life expectancy is on the rise. It's important, more now than ever, for pre-retirees and retirees to have a comprehensive plan that's going to get them to and through retirement. That means you, no matter where you are, where who you come from, who you love, how you identify any of the things.

Speaker1:
And by working with me during the planning process, you're going to have not only me, but actually a full team of advisors by your side. Mainly me, but other advisors as well, including someone who is just my my mentor and knows a whole heck of a lot about planning for people's retirement and has worked with folks in the LGBTQ plus community actually for years as well, and can help answer any of those questions that you might have. You can also properly align your plan with your retirement goals. So if you don't have an advisor or you haven't heard from your advisor lately, or you're not getting any help through your work based retirement plan, I can provide you with that complimentary consultation that I have been speaking of. You can go to take Pride in retirement.com that's take pride in retirement.com or call 855246 9211 855246 9211. Look, I'm going to tell you exactly how much you're paying in fees where you can cut costs with strategies like bond replacement, personal pensions, smart tax strategies like perhaps a Roth conversion, a Roth ladder conversion to get you where you're paying less taxes in retirement as well. We have all different kinds of strategies, and I can put one of them to work for you. And of course, we can make adjustments as things change if things go long, if and, you know, a big life event happens, we can make those changes and we can update your plan accordingly. All right. Take pride in retirement. Com to schedule that free consultation.

Speaker4:
Want to know where your hard earned money is going? It's time for an inflation demonstration.

Speaker1:
All right. So this is going to be the thing that wraps us up this time around. And it's, uh, a look at if you're like me, you know, I don't go to the fast food joint as nearly as much as I used to these days. Um, when my cholesterol started going up, my trips got fewer and fewer. But I, um, even though, you know, I'm taking my health more into account, you know, I like going to the fast food drive through every now and then. Depends on where it is and what the what is on offer on the menu at the drive through place. But if you like to go through the drive through place, you've probably know noticed rather that you are paying more. And that's especially true at McDonald's. Apparently there was a story that we just ran across after McDonald's revealed some of their financial numbers here during earnings season and all that. And inflation really has taken a toll. Mcdonald's facing big inflationary cost increases ranging from 20 to 40%. So the stuff that they have to buy to then make the stuff that they sell to you 20 to 40% higher on that end. On the supply side. So then that means they're passing those higher costs along to you. So higher menu prices and that increase in prices disrupting McDonald's long standing value programs. And that leads consumers to reconsider their purchasing decisions. Now, the rise in prices at McDonald's as a result of inflation directly impacted consumer buying habits.

Speaker1:
That's particularly among those who living, you know, on a fixed income pre-retirees retirees, um, you know, people who are in the, you know, lower income brackets and things like that, those living at the poverty level, which are a lot of people who frequent fast food joints like McDonald's. And so they're the ones who have been having to pay the price, literally for these increased prices on the McDonald's menu. And the demographic, uh, which is varied. Right. But it often has fixed incomes, as I was saying, making them more vulnerable to those increase in those increases in prices. And it also, you know, this is not something that's isolated to the US. Mcdonald's is a global entity, after all. Sales also affected by slower than expected recovery in China, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, they said. In the US, comparable store sales declined notable weaknesses in France and other international markets as well. Those further illustrate the global impact of economic pressures on the company. And just as a little bit of perspective here, a medium order of fries, if you went back to got in the time machine and went back to 2014, a $1.59 for a medium order of fries, 159 now. 379 huh? A Big Mac in 2014 was 3.99. The price Now 599. Of course, this is not taking into account any specials that they might be running in that kind of thing.

Speaker1:
A McDouble, which used to be my go to a buck 19 back in 2014. I remember when it was on the 99 cent menu, now $3.19. Quarter pounder with cheese. This is the Meal was 539 in 2014. It's now 1199. In 2024. Ten piece McNugget meal in 2014 was 5.99. Now it's 1099 in 2024. So you're paying more at McDonald's. You're paying more at, uh, pretty much everywhere. You're paying more at the grocery store, all of that. Do you have a plan for what you're going to do? Obviously, inflation has come down in recent months, thankfully, so that is good news. We finally sort of gotten out of that funk a little bit here. We're closer to what the Federal Reserve says is their goal. So that means that interest rates are probably coming down sometime soon. So if you're in the market for something like, say, um, a new house or something like that, chances are, in the coming months you might be finding that a little bit more affordable, at least on the interest rate side, at least as far as that part of the picture goes. So the inflation picture is getting a little bit better, but prices are still much higher than they were just a couple of years ago on all sorts of things. And a lot of people like to point fingers and play politics with inflation.

Speaker1:
But it's something that happens and it's something that largely is out of the control of anybody, really. It's global forces at work here that are not under anybody's control. So how do you make a plan, knowing that by controlling the things that you can control, you want a plan in place that no matter what happens with inflation, no matter what happens with anything going on geopolitically, no matter who comes out on top in the next election, no matter what happens, you are going to be taken care of in your retirement years and in your future in general. Just go to take pride in retirement. Calm. Take pride in retirement. Calm. The schedule a consultation button is right there at the top of the window on the home page, and I would love to help you with your individual situation. Well, that is going to do it for this edition of the show. Um, boy, I got to yapping this week, and I thank you for sticking with me all the way through it. Hopefully you've gotten something out of it, and I really do appreciate it. Again, you being here with me, uh, for the show each and every week. I really do appreciate your time. It means a whole, whole lot. And I thank you for joining me. Until next time around, take pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you next time.

Speaker2:
Thanks for listening to Take Pride in Retirement. Members of the LGBTQ+ community deserve 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. Com 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:
Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products. They do not in any way refer to investment advisory products. Rates and guarantees provided by insurance products and annuities are subject to the financial strength of the issuing insurance company, not guaranteed by any bank or the FDIC. 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 disclosure of any conflicts of interest, if any, exist. The top pride podcast recognition was given May 27th, 2024 by feedspot. Receipt of such is based on streaming numbers and show content covering the period from January through May 2024. Third party ratings and recognitions are no guarantee of future investment success, and do not ensure that a client or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance or results. These ratings should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor by any client, nor are they representative of any one client's evaluation.

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