The Old Rules May Not Work Anymore

Episode 26: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Episode 26: 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'm Matt McClure, your host, your advisor, your pal, your buddy, your friend and your confidant. I really do appreciate every time that you join me, even though I can't, you know, I can't see you. I'm just, you know, just kind of sitting in my studio here, and. But the fact that you're hearing my voice right now lets me know that you're there, as do the download and streaming numbers of the show. So that always helps. No, I really do appreciate it. You know, you could be doing a lot of other things, and I really do appreciate you instead of doing those other things, taking some time to listen to me or listen to me while you're doing other things, because that works too. You know, it's it's equal opportunity here where you can. As long as you listen, that's fine too. Sincerely, though, I do appreciate it all the time. You know, the whole point of this show is to educate you and specifically members of the LGBTQ plus community. But really, I hope to give information on all of the shows that that anybody can, um, can really grasp on to and take heart. Take to heart. I guess I should say, um, it's really my goal, though, to help specifically my community, the LGBTQ plus community, a community that's given me so much. I just want to give back. And that's why I do this show, is it's really to be educational.

Speaker1:
It's also to offer my services to you as well. As far as, um, financial advisory services in a fiduciary capacity, um, where I have to put your best interest, not my own at the forefront. Right. So that is what the whole show is about. Because no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, who you love, how you identify any of those things, you deserve a retirement you can take pride in. So a lot of stuff to get to here on the show for this time around. I did want to mention not only can you listen to the podcast on the website, which is Take Pride in retirement. Com that website once again take pride in retirement.com and you can go there. You can get past episodes of the show and and get some more information about me. Schedule an appointment for a consultation, whether it's remote or in person. If you're in the metro Atlanta area, you can do all of that there. You can also subscribe on your favorite podcast app, and you can go to our YouTube channel, which is just growing all the time. Check out videos, some highlights from the show, and other special content as well, and subscribe! Please do subscribe! Hit the alert bell. Give the thumbs up to any of the videos that you see. I would really love that. All you have to do is search for take pride in retirement on the old YouTube machine.

Speaker1:
Um, and don't hesitate to reach out seriously with your questions. Take pride in retirement.com. Click on the contact page. You can also email me at Matt at Take Pride in retirement.com. All right a lot to get to here on today's show. Some Steps to Recession proof Your life. That word has sort of crept back in to conversation here recently. The word recession, the dreaded R word, just because of some upheaval recently on Wall Street. And it's not that I necessarily believe that a recession is coming. I, um, that's sort of above my pay grade a bit to be able to determine that. Um, but in some economists have been talking about the potential for, for one, just because of the upheaval in the markets and some of the underlying economic factors that have led to that upheaval. So here's the thing. What we're going to talk about today are some steps to help you be prepared, not scared. You know, it's one of the things about being part of the LGBTQ plus community is that you don't necessarily realize, if you're not part of it, how quickly things can change and how big of an impact that can have on your life and on, you know, just that your right to exist essentially. Well, with your finances, we can bring a lot of that experience, that life experience, knowing that things can change at any point in time to be prepared for it.

Speaker1:
Right. So if a recession is coming, be prepared. Don't be scared of it. I'm not fear mongering when I use that word. I'm just telling you it's a possibility of something that could happen. And so I want you to be prepared for it. Not scared of it. That's the whole point of this show today, and especially that section. We'll get to some of those ways that you can prepare as recession fears increase. Um, the biggest expenses for today's retirees. Some may surprise you, some probably pretty well expected, but we'll go through them. And those are all true whether you're part of the LGBTQ plus community or not. And I will actually talk about in there some specific things that we as a community need to be aware of some specific concerns for us when it comes to different aspects of those things that are going to cost us a lot in our retirement years. We'll talk about avoiding investing with emotion as well. Five steps to make better financial decisions here. And of course, we will have much more, including a conversation that I had here very recently with someone from AARP and a resource for technology, including financial technology and things like that that they have. All right. So get ready for all of that and much more coming up here on the show. But first, let's get some inspiration for our conversation this week with our financial wisdom. Quote of the week.

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

Speaker1:
And this week's quote comes from Suze Orman. You. You might remember her from CNBC. She had that show there from 2002 to 2015. So she was on air for a long time. She's also an author, a financial advisor, of course, in her own right and kind of financial guru in general. Don't always agree with everything that she says. She's said some, you know, some things that are, from my experience, not necessarily true about particular types of investments and things like that. But when it comes to basic financial education, she's generally pretty darn right. And also a member of the LGBTQ plus community as well. So that is one of the reasons, of course, that she is on this show with our quote of the week. And this time around, it is from her and it says this a big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what ifs of life. Having your mind free from worry about the what ifs of life. I love that because it's so true. Like you cannot put a price on peace of mind. In other words, right? Like that means so much and having some guarantees, having a plan in place so that no matter what happens, like, you know, we're talking today about recession proofing your your finances just in case something happens so that you can be prepared, not scared like I said. So being prepared ahead of time can give you that peace of mind. And what if something happens? Well, who cares because you're prepared no matter what happens, right? It's just so much better to live that way, to live prepared, to live with a plan in writing than to just go into life in general, especially financial life.

Speaker1:
It's kind of flying by the seat of your pants, you know, or the seat of your pants skirt, whatever you happen to be wearing. Kilt? Maybe. Culottes. I have no idea what you're what you're wearing lederhosen. Not a clue what you happen to be wearing right now. No judgment. But no matter what you're wearing, no matter who you are, no matter how you identify who you love, any of the things. As I always say, you deserve a retirement you can take pride in, and you deserve to be free from the worry about the what ifs in life. And that's a lot of what we're going to talk about today is how to free yourself from a lot of that worry, right? So that you don't have to just live on edge all the time. And so let's go into use that inspiration from Suze Orman to kind of go into these five steps to recession proof your life. Now, you know, there's been some upheaval in the stock market. As I alluded to earlier, a lot of pre-retirees and retirees are concerned that there could be a recession in the offing. Could be not saying there's going to be, but potentially that's at least stoked some fears. A significant portion of the population, though, lacks sufficient savings to cover even three months of expenses.

Speaker1:
If that's you, give me a call or go to the website. Take Pride in retirement.com the number to call, by the way 8552469211855246 9211. And the website again take pride in retirement.com high interest rates, low savings rates as I mentioned, those all contributing to the financial fragility of many Americans. And a lot of people just need more planning. As we talk about this here, the traditional playbook for safeguarding your finances might not be effective in current scenarios and in current economic conditions. So let's take perhaps or at least explore taking a new approach to your finances and being prepared for whatever comes next so that you can have that retirement that you can take pride in. Number one is to consider more emergency savings. So, you know, an emergency fund that you have at your disposal that's easy enough for you to get to in case of emergency. But it's not so easy to get to that. You just go in and spend it willy nilly, you know, or Willie Nelson or whatever. Um, I don't know. I got the giggles today, I guess. But, um, you know, it's something that is easy enough for you to access so that you can have access to it when you need it, but you're not going to just spend it on whatever you might think that you need in the moment, but that you don't really need, you know, so you're not going to waste it, in other words.

Speaker1:
So an emergency fund that goes beyond the traditional advice of 3 to 6 months worth of expenses. So consider nine months. Consider a year's worth of your basic living expenses so that if something does happen, if you were to, God forbid, lose your job, if your spouse, if you have one, were to lose their job, your partner, whomever. Right? I mean, the unpredictability of job markets and the potential for unexpected expenses, that's leading experts to say you need to have that bigger safety net. Maybe instead of 3 to 6 months, 6 to 9 months or nine months to a year of emergency savings. And if you don't have that again, take pride in retirement. Com reach out and we'll get you set up with a plan to go forward. Number two is if you're nearing retirement, save even more. Put even more aside for your retirement years. Ramp up what you are putting aside for retirement. So look, if you're or even if you're already retired, I can say this you can really benefit from keeping several years worth of expenses easily accessible. And that's a strategy that helps avoid the need to sell investments during a market downturn, when you're going to be selling them at a loss, potentially with a conservative approach suggesting up to five years worth of expenses, according to some experts. So putting aside money in savings now, this is not your, you know, money that you're going to bank on to live on during retirement.

Speaker1:
But this is a longer period emergency fund that is going to be available to you in case things go south in the economy. Now, you could instead of just putting it in a savings account, even one of those so-called high yield savings accounts put it in something, you know, like perhaps an annuity or something like that, where you at least have access to a good chunk of it and you can draw income from it. So there are a lot of different options, especially if you have a decent sized nest egg already. And if you're close to retirement chances, chances are greater that you probably do have that. Um, you can set yourself up for success in case of a recession or in case of an economic downturn, at least by saving even more if you are close to retirement. Number three a side hustle. Get yourself a side hustle, potentially. You know, today's gig economy, um, makes it just more common for people to have side hustles. That's really viewed as a crucial element of financial security for a lot of people. Popular options include making stuff online, content creation, you know, start your own YouTube channel. Are you an expert in something or do you just love something to talk about something? Do you have at least a little bit of skill when it comes to video production and and putting things together. You know, from a visual standpoint, content creation could be it. If, you know, YouTube isn't your thing.

Speaker1:
And if you want to do short form content creation, social media like Instagram, TikTok, that kind of thing, right? You could also potentially work for delivery services, you know, do a DoorDash thing or, you know, maybe delivering on the side for Amazon, that kind of deal. Um, was it Postmates or, you know, any of those the other kind of things Uber eats that stuff. Running an online shop. Maybe if you've got something that you can make, if you're if you're very crafty, um, and you know, I've got some relatives who used to do I don't know if he does it anymore, actually, but he used to do a lot of woodworking, and cousin of mine used to do a lot of woodworking and sometimes would sell that, that sort of thing, do that. Like if you're a creative person and can do that type of artistry, that could be a way to make some money. And, um, you know, I mean, people are willing to for handcrafted items, people will pay a pretty penny, and all of those things could provide an additional income stream for you. Pay off high interest debt. Interest rates are at historic highs. Probably about to come down soon, at least according to the chairman of the Federal Reserve. But while they're still high, prioritizing the repayment of those high interest debts is crucial, such as those credit card balances. I mean, those, you know, interest rates are well into the double digits, you know, upwards of even close to 30%, I think, in a lot of cases.

Speaker1:
So paying down those balances is crucial. Um, managing lower interest debts than could be considered within the broader text of a broader context, I should say, of your long term financial goals. So, in other words, if you take care of the high interest debt, then you're throwing less money out the door long term, right? You're not paying the bank or the credit card company or whomever this huge fee for having borrowed money from them, or having put money on a credit card that has their name on it and your name on it, meaning that you owe them for that privilege. Right? So instead of doing that, instead of carrying that high interest debt and that burden around and just paying so much over time, especially if you allow that to compound and just pay interest on top of interest, you're just kind of digging yourself deeper into a hole. So what you want to do is pay off the high interest debt first. Get that taken care of. You're not throwing out money. That money out the door. Then the lower interest debt can kind of take care of itself down the road. You can take care of it down the road, I should say in in other words, and consider some refinancing opportunities. I mean, interest rate cuts, as I said, could be coming. Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve said that in as many words here very recently.

Speaker1:
So consider refinancing. Fixed rate debts to capitalize on lower rates when they come. And that could potentially reduce monthly payments and your overall interest costs. Most importantly here meet with a financial advisor, somebody who can help you establish a plan for savings growth, guaranteed income sources, and that'll help you effectively navigate through economic downturns like what some people believe could be coming in the not too distant future. I happen to know someone very closely who could be a potentially good fit for you, and that would be me, Matt McClure. Once again is my name. I am a certified annuity specialist. I am a financial advisor working with Active Wealth Management in Atlanta, Georgia. But we help clients all over the country and people just like you who want to secure their financial future. As I said earlier, LGBTQ plus folks, we realize how quickly things can change. You know, one day in most of the country, back in 2015, our marriages weren't recognized. You know, my husband and I were married in 2011. Our marriage was not recognized outside the state of New York, except for in a few other states, but in most of the country was not recognized until 2015. In the Obergefell v Hodges decision via the Supreme Court, which said that, you know, we actually have the right to marry who we want to marry, two consenting adults can get married in this country. Now, that wasn't true. One day it was true the next.

Speaker1:
Who knows what could happen now? I mean, the one of the Supreme Court justices, at least, has alluded to the fact that, oh, maybe we should revisit that decision. Dear God, no. Please don't. I mean, number one, it would just create a mess. Just an absolute mess in the country. But it just goes to show you how quickly things can change, both for the good and for the bad. So be prepared for those what ifs in life and I'll get you a plan in place. I can work with you to come up with a plan that's going to work for you. Don't just wait and see what the market is going to be like when you decide to retire, for example. Instead, get to the guarantees. Start planning what you're going to do with paychecks in retirement and paychecks in retirement. You want both. You want to be able to pay your bills, pay your obligations, and you don't want to be just getting by. You want to be thriving in retirement, so you want those play checks as well. You want to be able to do the things that you want to do in retirement. You want to have guaranteed income, and I can help you do that. Reach out for a consultation. There is no cost. There is no obligation. Just go to take pride in retirement.com that's take pride in retirement.com. You can schedule a consultation there absolutely as quickly as you can. Click a couple of buttons directly into my calendar.

Speaker1:
You can also call me 855246 9211 855246 9211. All right. So we're going to take a look at some of the biggest expenses for retirees today. We're going to do that actually in just a moment. First what I want to do is share with you a conversation. And I want to do this here because this is from I talked to someone from the AARP, and I also am using this sort of AARP article that was recently out for this next discussion that we're going to have about these biggest expenses for retirees today. So it's kind of like the AARP section of the show here. But I spoke to a gentleman from AARP about a resource as far as technology goes. And this is one of those conversations that I love to have because it's not really. And he'll tell you, but it's not really about, you know, the new what are the latest and greatest gadgets and what can this do and what's coming down the pike. No, it's about the technology that we have right now and how you can actually use it. There's a great new guide that the organization has started coming out with every year, and I talked to him about the most recent one. Take a listen to this. We'll talk about more wonderful things on the other side. I'm speaking with Jim Lenehan, editor of AARP The Magazine's 2024 annual Tech Made Easy Guide. Jim, thank you so much for taking a few minutes for me. Really appreciate it. Oh, thank.

Speaker4:
You very much for having me on.

Speaker1:
Well, I know that, you know, technology obviously is is everywhere. It's it's allowing us to have this conversation today as a matter of fact. And, and you know, we use it all the time. Um, tell me a little bit as we get started about this tech made easy guide. I know that, um, it's probably something that comes in handy for a lot of folks.

Speaker4:
Oh yeah, we get great response for it. It's the third year that we have published it in AARP The Magazine, and one of the reasons why I think it really works is we're not taking the same kind of approach for a tech guy that you might see in other media that tend to focus on what's the latest gadget that just came out or is about to hit the market? What we really focus on is how to use the existing technology that is common, that is prevalent, that is mainstream, how to use that better, how to get the best use out of it to make your life easier?

Speaker1:
Yeah. And I would imagine that a lot of folks who are, you know, subscribers maybe to AARP the magazine are not necessarily the big techies who are looking for the newest and latest gadgets. They want to just know all of the things that you just described, right? How to use the the things that are in their lives already and how to do that more easily. What are some of the things that are featured in the Tech Made Easy Guide this time around?

Speaker4:
Yeah, so let me start with smartwatches. So smartwatches have been on the market for, you know, a few years now. But what I think maybe older people don't realize is there's some really beneficial health technology that's built into a lot of these devices. There's things like heart rate monitors, even sleep monitors that can help you get, you know, deeper, more restful sleep by sort of analyzing the data. And you can use that to sort of make changes to your sleep routine to improve that for you. A lot of things that older people may find really helpful just right there on the wrist.

Speaker1:
Yeah, it's great information that's just available right there. I love that. And also, you know, every time I feel like a new model year of vehicle comes around, for example, there's new technology in inner vehicles. And, you know, right there on the dash to things that just sort of happen automatically and different ways of being notified about things. You know, what are some of the things that maybe folks need to know about the tech in their cars? Yeah.

Speaker4:
So our favorite feature that you'll find in, uh, in many new cars or recent model cars, uh, something called adaptive cruise control. And this can be really helpful for safe driving, for less stressful driving for, you know, maybe even staying behind the wheel longer. Uh, what this does is, unlike regular cruise control, where you set a speed, then you have to disengage whenever there's a car around you or in front of you, uh, and then re-engage. Um, what this does is allows you to just set it. Once you have sensors on your car that can detect other vehicles around you, and your car will automatically slow down to maintain a safe distance from the car in front of it. When that car moves out of the way, you'll go back up to cruising speed. It really does make driving less stressful once you sort of get used to it and get the hang of it.

Speaker1:
Yeah, on a long road trip, I know that my car that I bought just a couple of years ago has that, and it is so, so helpful. Especially on one of those long trips. Yes. Um, now, obviously, you know, folks are handling their money in, in, in their pockets with their, their devices and all of that as well. Um, what about, you know, maybe some tips for payment apps and just money management as far as, you know, using technology goes.

Speaker4:
Yeah. So these payment apps are so common now. Uh, people are using them to, you know, pay back friends if you, you know, went out to lunch together or went to a concert together or that sort of thing. Um, they're common ones are, you know, like Venmo and PayPal and Apple Pay. They're very easy to use. You can download the app and you can connect it to your bank account really within minutes. Um, but the one thing we do want to stress to people when using these payment apps is to be extra careful that you have the right user account name when you're sending somebody money. Check with your friend. Double check. Take a deep breath. Take a moment. If you send it to somebody else who has a similar sounding name or the same name by accident, it can be very difficult. It can be impossible even to recover that money. So just be sure to double check and make sure that you're sending it to the right person.

Speaker1:
Yeah, very very important. And kind of along those same lines, speaking about money, um, are there apps out there that folks can use to maybe help them find, find deals? Um, maybe around either online or in their local neighborhood?

Speaker4:
Yeah. This is actually some of the, the the best news right now is that pretty much any retailer app of any store that you like to go to or, or do shopping online or, uh, you know, even like restaurant apps, especially for takeout, things like that. Pretty much all of them now have deals in the apps. It's important in this case to download the app of that retailer, sign up for their loyalty program, but you'll find exclusive deals in the apps. They really encourage people to use the apps. It's beneficial on their end. And so to get people to do that, they put a lot of deals that you won't find anywhere else. They're great.

Speaker1:
Well, Jim, just about time for us to wrap things up here. But anything else that you wanted to touch on or any other bits of tech to mention quickly?

Speaker4:
Well, you know, I would encourage people to check out our Tech Made Easy guide in AARP the magazine. If you are a member, you receive that magazine. You can also go on our website. Anybody can go there. Aarp.org/tech where you can find articles, how to's and videos, all sorts of resources that will help you understand the technology better. And also I should mention to AARP members, there are ways you can, uh, get exclusive discounts on technology like cell phone plans and ID theft protection and things like that.

Speaker1:
Very good. Jim Lenihan is technology editor for AARP. Really appreciate your time, Jim. Thanks so much.

Speaker4:
All right. Thanks for having me.

Speaker1:
So I love having conversations like that that are just full of a lot of very practical information. And of course, we just mentioned the website that you can go to for that, uh, for more information from AARP as far as tech goes, and of course, the magazine has all that information in it with that tech guide. That is just some great stuff. All right. So in the same sort of vein here, when we're talking about things from AARP, um, the biggest expenses for retirees today, this is from an article, a study that AARP did. Um, and really talking about underestimated expenses. Right? I mean, some of the things that are going to be your biggest expenses in retirement may not surprise you because you pay them now you know the bills, whatever. If you have a housing payment. Now, let's say you're closing in on retirement and you are still paying on the mortgage. Well, that mortgage payment isn't going to magically disappear because you no longer work a 9 to 5, you know? Um, that's going to continue, but it's the combination of your current budget items and some new expenses in retirement that people find kind of difficult to balance. This is really why I spend so much time and effort talking about the strength of your income plan. I really try to emphasize that with the people I work with um, of all orientations, shapes, sizes, identities, everything. Um. I love helping people come up with a plan for income for solid income in retirement.

Speaker1:
Because, as I was saying earlier, you need paychecks to cover those everyday expenses and play checks to be able to enjoy your retirement years. They really should be your golden years. You know, enjoy your lifestyle, Enjoy that free time that you have in retirement. So if you'd like some help planning for your income needs in retirement, visit Take Pride in retirement.com or call 855246 9211. All right. So the number one big expense that you may or may not think of in retirement, um, is healthcare. You know, all the spending categories in your retirement. This is the one that over time is going to likely be the biggest, you know, especially if you consider long term health care needs going into a nursing home or assisted living or memory care. Whatever you need is not is not cheap. You know, we've looked at some stats before that show, you know, tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to just, you know, just for the roof over your head and all the nursing care and everything that goes along with it. If you're in reasonably good health. Healthcare spending should be relatively low when you retire because you're going to be healthier, and then it's going to jump as you age into your 80s and then beyond, right? Because, you know, the cost of all of that goes up because we're humans, the human body breaks down.

Speaker1:
We're not meant to live forever as much as some of us would like to. We can't do that. Now here's the thing, though, unfortunately for for me and for for guys out there, anyone you know if you were born male, this just happens to be a fact. Men often die first, so the expenses are often less for men. But because we are usually gone first, um, and then, you know, when you're getting older, let's say if you're in a traditional couple, if you're, you know, husband and wife, for example, you will also be relying on your spouse to take care of you. Um, let's say no matter what you look like, no matter what the makeup of your particular relationship situation is, whether you are an LGBTQ plus couple, whatever. Let's say you get sick first. Your spouse is probably going to be the one who's going to be taking care of you. Then when you are gone, who is going to take care of the spouse or the partner or you know whomever is going to be left behind after you're gone? So that means their healthcare expenses are likely going to get more and be more than yours were, or vice versa. If it so happens to be that you end up living longer. So the surviving spouse is going to have to pay for those caregiving costs, and that is going to really wreak havoc on the old budget as you get older.

Speaker1:
Healthcare costs have been rising faster than overall inflation. They're expected to climb about 5% annually for the next 30 years, and that's about twice the rate of other expenses. Now, kind of on the flip side of that, Fitness and wellness is number two on this list. People who invest in health and wellness typically have lower medical costs. So that can help offset some of it. But so, you know, maybe you'll spend some more on fitness and wellness. But then if you do that, that's going to hopefully offset to a big degree a lot of those health care costs, because, you know, you're going to be spending less on medical care and long term care if you are healthier, right? If you are keeping yourself in shape, if you're keeping yourself healthy as you age, don't be afraid to spend a little more time and money on things like gym memberships. Maybe buying a stationary bike, do a yoga class, you know, something like that. Even buying better shoes, quality shoes, helping helping your posture, making sure your feet are not wearing out and your joints are not wearing out just by wearing shoes that are of good quality, right? So don't be afraid to spend a little bit of time and money to improve your health and fitness because it pays to be healthy. Literally, right? Number three taxes. People might expect the taxes, their tax burden to go down when they retire.

Speaker1:
But no, definitely not always the case. So that's why you need to have a plan for taxes before you retire. You need to be aware of the tax treatment of different accounts that you may have, and the federal government is going to be looking for ways to reduce the federal deficit, and that's going to reduce the federal deficit. Yes. But it also is going to likely result in higher taxes. I mean, the best options to increase revenue are to either increase taxes or cut spending. Which one of those are they more likely to use? It's probably going to be a tax increase. And I mean taxes are at historic lows right now. Individual income taxes are so especially for those in the upper tax brackets of course. So those could go up. And if you're going to find yourself in a higher tax bracket in the future, you need to have a plan for that, right? Make sure that you are prepared for it. Roth IRAs and life insurance. Yes, I said life insurance. Those the Roths and life insurance. Those are two only the only two tax free investments that are available to Americans today. So take advantage of that and get some guidance on it. Go to take Pride in retirement.com and a consultation will be yours free of any charge free of any obligation. Home maintenance is number four on this.

Speaker1:
You know, just like the human body breaks down, the old home breaks down, and then, you know, you're likely going to have to have, you know, if the home breaks down and the body is starting to break down, too, you're not going to be able to do the work around your house. So you're going to have to hire somebody to do it. So not only is the cost of materials and things like that, but it's the cost of the labor to do the things that might need to be done around the home. Because if you're in your late 70s into your 80s, let's say climbing a ladder? Probably not a good idea. Um, a call to the ambulance could be coming. So you don't want to be, um, injuring yourself? Obviously. But you want to be prepared for that increase in home maintenance costs in retirement utilities. It's one of the few expenses that actually decrease a bit during retirement, or at least they could. You typically no longer have kids at home if you're, you know, a parent and they're taking those long showers, maybe coming home late at night and cooking and all that stuff. But people tend to downsize their homes as well, you know, in their retirement years that could require less heat and air conditioning. Nonetheless, the rates that utilities charge customers are going to continue to increase because of inflation each and every year.

Speaker1:
So that's going to be a concern as well. Transportation, you know, if you're getting too old and and you don't want to drive anymore, maybe you're taking Ubers. Even if you are still driving, you know, gas prices are very volatile. Even if you have an EV. Electricity prices, you know, could be going up because you, you know, at your home, you have to plug in and charge your vehicle so that can cause an increase in your electricity bill every month. So you got to plan for transportation, travel, boy. Travel costs are going to vary, of course, based on where you go. If you are, if you're like me and you live in Atlanta and you go up to say, the North Georgia mountains, not the most expensive, beautiful place to go, not the most expensive, you know, vacation that you could take. Um, my husband and I try to go to Vegas every year at least once, maybe twice. Bit more expensive to go to Vegas. We've been to Europe a couple of times and those are the most expensive. Thankfully, I have a brother in law with a lot of airline points, but that's a different story. So, you know, your travel costs are going to vary based on where you go and where you stay. You know, the Ritz Carlton versus the motel six, but also based on people you bring along with you, you know, if you want to bring a bunch of friends, if you want to treat people to a vacation, or if it's just you and your partner, you and your spouse, you and you know, a loved one or a dear friend, um, you know, that's going to be a consideration as well.

Speaker1:
How many people are going along the trip? How much are you going to be expected to pay for? And you're going to travel a lot more in those early years of retirement as well. We call those the go go years, right? Because you're going, you're going and going because you can. You're still young enough to get out there and experience more of life and do a lot more traveling. And you're going to be traveling much less to potentially not at all in the slow go years and then the no go years. So it's like a U-shape, right? You can start out with a lot of travel costs early in retirement because you're you're traveling a lot. Those are the go go years. You're going and going. Then you go costs for travel any way dip down to um, not a lot, at least not as much because those are the slow go years because you're not. It's like the second third of retirement. Let's say, roughly speaking, um, is are those slow go years? And so you're not traveling as much. You're not spending as much. So that's kind of the bottom where the U-shape curve bottoms out.

Speaker1:
But then it's not the travel costs that go up after that because you're not going anywhere in your no go years. You're staying at home or you're in a nursing home or wherever. Those are the years that your healthcare costs really do ramp up. So get out there and travel early. Get those bucket list destinations checked off your list while you're still young. If you are someone who has kids and grandkids, those are really going to cost you as well. That is number eight on that list. So here's the thing. Don't be unprepared or uncertain about your retirement. Reach out to myself and financial advisor. I can help you plan for whatever comes your way. Any of those expenses that are the biggest in retirement we just talked about, and any that might not have been on that list, or things that you might have that are individual to you, that might not be so common. I love helping people solve problems. It's one of the reasons that I'm in the business that I'm in. I do the work that I do is because I love helping people solve problems and issues, and I want to help you as well. Just go to take pride in retirement comm, schedule a free consultation at Take Pride in retirement.com. All right. Quickly here. You know we talked about kind of the upheaval in the markets lately earlier in the show. And I wanted to share just five quick things that you can do because I want to help you take the emotion out of investing.

Speaker1:
You don't want to invest with emotion because that's when you get yourself into a lot of trouble. You don't want to freak out when we have a day like we had a few weeks back, when we saw only a couple of days there, when we saw a big drop in stocks like, like 3% in the Dow, I think it was somewhere in that neighborhood. Don't necessarily quote me on that, but it was it was somewhere around there. And then we had another day where we had close to a 3% drop as well, just kind of back to back. So freaked a lot of people out. And you don't want to become an emotional investor in those type situations and say, oh, I need to sell. I need to sell. No, keep calm, carry on and work with an advisor who can actually help navigate you through all of that. But five things that you can do here to take the emotion out. Number one is to set realistic expectations. You've got to understand that those ups and downs in the market happen, right. Be prepared for the gains and the losses. Don't set those unrealistic expectations of, you know, kind of like, oh, I'm going to go and sit down at a slot machine in Vegas. I'm talking about Vegas a lot today, but you can go and sit down at the slot machine in Vegas, pull that handle one time and hit a big jackpot.

Speaker1:
And you're set for for life. Wonderful that, you know, could that happen? Could you, you know, catch lightning in a bottle, so to speak? Absolutely. Chances are, though, you are not. So have realistic, not unrealistic expectations. Okay. If you want to hit a jackpot, go to Vegas or go to a local casino wherever you live. If you happen to have one near you and do that, you know, take that money, put it in a slot machine, go put it down on a table, play some blackjack or whatever. But your investment you're planning for retirement should not be a gamble. Establish a solid financial plan. Get one in writing and I can help you with that. A well thought out financial plan that really aligns with your goals for retirement and your risk tolerance as well. You want a roadmap to your retirement years and I can help you do it. Diversify your portfolio. What you want to do. You know, a lot of people think, well, diversification is you know, I have, um, I have a lot of meta stock and I have a lot of Google stock, so I'm diversified. No, those are both tech stocks and they tend to move together. Right. So um, and obviously I'm not recommending that you buy or sell or do anything like that.

Speaker1:
I'm just using those as an example because that is not a part of a it could be a part, but it's not a diversified portfolio. So what you want to have are different asset classes, stocks. You want to have income assets. We would recommend a specific type of annuity, for example probably for your income portion of your portfolio to replace maybe some bonds that have been underperforming there. And you can talk to us about that as well. Um, just go to take pride in retirement.com. Um alternative assets. Maybe you want to talk real estate that kind of thing. Right. To, to reduce your risk. Because if you diversify that helps cushion the impact of any market volatility. And it minimizes emotional reactions to individual investment performance. You want to stay informed and stay educated. Good news is you're listening to this show, so you're staying informed. You're staying educated. And you know, I really put out a new show pretty much each and every week to help people like you. Stay informed with the facts and with good, solid information. Like I said earlier, be prepared, not scared. And you could do something like implementing automatic investing and rebalancing of your portfolio. You know the old phrase set it and forget it, which is usually not a good thing in this context. It could be because if your portfolio is being managed by someone where there are automatic investments happening and then periodic rebalancing happening like we can do through our investment advisory firm, you know, really manage that that portfolio rebalance, one needs to be rebalanced and do all of those things.

Speaker1:
Um, you can really cushion the impact of any ups and downs and upheaval in the market as well. So diversification is one part of that cushion. This the automatic investing and the rebalancing is going to ensure that your portfolio stays in line with your long term goals. You know, that can really help maintain a disciplined approach and keep you on track. I mean, you know, if you had something that was, um, you know, say a 60 over 40 portfolio, 60% stocks, 40% bonds, just as an example, because it's one of the most common. Of course, if you had that at some point in the past, that could have been unbalanced because of the fluctuations in the value of each of those assets that could now be really unbalanced. It could be 80% stocks, 20% bonds, whatever. Now, so you want to go in and rebalance well, doing it automatically or having someone manage it for you. Keeps you from having to make a conscious decision and take the effort to do it. It also gives you that peace of mind that will help you avoid emotional investing. And you are entitled no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, who you love, how you identify, you are entitled to a retirement you can take pride in.

Speaker1:
You're also entitled to get started along that road with a no obligation consultation. It's absolutely complimentary. Go to take pride in retirement.com that's take pride in retirement.com. Last thing I would want for you to ever say is I wish I'd known about something. When it comes time to retire, I want to help you get there and prepare. Get you that roadmap in place for your retirement years. Once again, the website Take Pride in retirement.com. That's going to do it for this week's edition of the show I thank you so much for your time and your loyalty to the show, or starting to listen to the show. If this was the first time you ever have, I hope you got something out of it. I really, really do something that you can take with you and really, hopefully something that helps you in planning for your retirement years. Um, that's all I want to do is be helpful, spread that positive message of inclusion. Also a positive message of education and being prepared, not being scared of what might happen in the future. That is all I want for you, and I hope that you get something out of the show each and every time. And I hope to see you in the next episode of Take Pride in Retirement. In the meantime, 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 plus community deserve to work with the 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. Dot 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:
Fixed annuities, including multiyear guaranteed rate annuities, are not designed for short term investments and may be subject to restrictions, fees, and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying ability of the issuer. Registered investment advisers 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.

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