retirement planning

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    #623: Q&A: “Help! My Mom’s Financial Crisis Is Becoming Mine!”

    An anonymous caller feels trapped in a no-win situation with her financially reckless mother. She has the means to bail her out, but it doesn’t feel right. What should she do?

    Shannon is excited about investing in several companies overseas. But she can only access them using American Depository Receipts. What are they, and how do they work?

    Jennifer calls back with an update on putting a vacation on a credit card and playing the rewards game.

    Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these questions in today’s episode.

    Enjoy!

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    #618: How to Retire at 50 While Supporting Aging Parents, with Frank Vasquez

    Frank Vasquez watched his parents, ages 91 and 96, struggle financially in retirement.

    They were immigrants. His dad was a physician. They raised five kids. They retired in the early 1990’s. But by 2009, they ran out of money.

    When Frank was 45, in 2009, his parents would call asking for money to help make ends meet.

    This reality hit Frank hard and sparked a decade-long quest to crack the code on sustainable retirement withdrawals.

    At age 45, Frank set an ambitious goal: retire in his early 50’s while still supporting his parents financially.

    The problem? Most financial experts simply told people to spend less rather than optimize their portfolios for higher withdrawal rates. Frank wasn’t satisfied with that answer.

    You’ll hear how Frank discovered that many retirees leave money on the table by holding too much cash or following overly conservative allocation models.

    Through extensive research, he found a sweet spot for stock allocation that maximizes safe withdrawal rates — something most traditional advisors miss entirely.

    Frank walks us through his approach to portfolio construction, explaining why he believes in balancing growth and value stocks while keeping bonds limited to US treasuries for recession protection.

    He breaks down the math behind safe withdrawal rates and reveals why property taxes pose a hidden threat to retirement security as home values climb.
    You’ll learn about risk parity strategies, macro allocation principles, and why diversification across uncorrelated assets creates more stability than traditional 60/40 portfolios.

    The conversation covers Frank’s Golden Ratio Portfolio, a structured approach to asset allocation designed specifically for the retirement drawdown phase.
    Frank figured out how to fix what went wrong with his parents’ retirement. His approach could help you avoid the same mistakes.

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    #600: Mini-Retirements Are the New Early Retirement – with Mom of Six, Jillian Johnsrud

    Jillian Johnsrud was falling apart. After suffering a miscarriage, she couldn’t pull herself together to return to her job as a youth pastor in DC. She decided to take a month off. That unexpected break became Jillian’s first “mini-retirement” — a deliberate step away from work for at least 30 days to focus on something…

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    #599: Q&A: Retirement Math That Actually Works; Cashing In on the World Cup; and Why Your Parents’ Housing Advice Is Wrong

    Becky and her husband are about to semi-retire. But the four percent retirement withdrawal rule doesn’t make sense for them. Are there other financial frameworks they should explore?

    Kris is excited about a potential boost in local real estate values when the World Cup comes to town. Will this have any significant impacts on his property?

    Peyton’s parents are pressuring her to buy a house, but she’s worried this will cripple her early retirement goals. Is she right to be concerned?

    Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these questions in today’s episode.

    Enjoy!

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    #589: Q&A: How Much Risk Should My Mom Take in Retirement?

    Kimmy is worried that her mom’s retirement portfolio is invested too conservatively. Is she right to advise her to take on more risk?

    Peyton has heard the financial advice about staying away from Whole Life Insurance as an investment, but what about as a savings account for children? Is there good a use case for this?

    Jeff and his wife are in a great financial position, but they fear that their retirement savings are too heavily apportioned in traditional IRAs. Will they run into tax problems in the future?

    Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these questions in today’s episode.

    Enjoy!

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    #587: Q&A: Should You Cash Out Your ETFs? The Hidden Consequences of That Decision …

    Debi is stressed about saving a down payment to buy a house in her high-cost-of-living area. Should she cash out her brokerage account to speed up the process?

    Lucas and his wife are high earners, but they’re tired and ready for a change. What strategies can they use to maximize their investments and confidently step away from their jobs?

    Grant is thrown off by recent discussions about the efficient frontier. It sounds a lot like market timing to base an investment strategy on an arbitrary set of historical dates. What’s he missing?

    Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these questions in today’s episode.

    Enjoy!

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    #583: Q&A: Everyone Is Arguing About Roth IRAs And We Have Thoughts

    Contrary to recent discussions, Jesse has concluded that a traditional IRA is the smarter way to go for most people once marginal tax rates are factored in. Is he missing something?  

    An anonymous caller is four years away from early retirement but she’s unsure if her portfolio allocations are in the right place. How and when should she start converting equities to cash?

    Luz is confused about how to handle company stock options. Is there an ideal spread between the exercise price and the stock price? And, what should she do once the stocks are exercised?

    Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in today’s episode.

    Enjoy!

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    #560: The Father of the 4% Rule Finally Sets the Record Straight

    Bill Bengen, the former rocket scientist who discovered the “4 percent rule” of retirement planning, joins us at the Bogleheads conference in Minnesota.

    Bengen clarifies that calling it a “rule” is misleading since it doesn’t fit everyone’s situation. The 4 percent figure came from studying the worst-case scenario since 1926, when someone who retired in 1968 could only safely withdraw 4.2 percent annually. Out of 400+ retirees in his database, that was the only one who had such a low safe withdrawal rate — most could take out much more.

    Recent research has pushed the “safe” withdrawal rate closer to 5 percent. But Bengen identifies eight key factors that affect how much you can withdraw, including how long you’ll be retired and whether you’re drawing from taxable or tax-deferred accounts.

    For early retirees planning for 50-60 years, Bengen says the safe withdrawal rate asymptotically approaches 4.2 percent — meaning even with an infinite time horizon, it won’t drop below that. He thinks the common advice to use 3 percent for early retirement is unnecessarily conservative.

    Bengen shares what he calls the “four free lunches” in retirement planning:
    1. Using an equity glide path (reducing stocks at retirement, then increasing later)
    2. Diversification across asset classes
    3. Regular portfolio rebalancing
    4. Slightly overweighting higher-returning assets like small-cap stocks

    When it comes to market drops versus inflation, Bengen has clear advice: Don’t panic during bear markets — they typically recover. But if you hit extended high inflation early in retirement, it’s time to “head for the bunkers” and cut expenses drastically.

    Beyond finance, Bengen shares his excitement about space exploration as a former rocket scientist who graduated from MIT just months before the moon landing. He hopes to live long enough to see humans reach Mars and believes space tourism helps people appreciate Earth’s beauty and fragility.

    The interview ends with a light-hearted discussion about whether Pluto should still be considered a planet (Bengen still calls it one, out of habit) and speculation about future tourism to Saturn’s moon Titan once the sun’s expansion makes it warmer in a few hundred million years.

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    #559: Q&A: Should We Ditch Rental Properties Entirely?

    An anonymous caller, whom we name “Samantha,” and her husband are financially strained and feeling torn. Shortly after purchasing two rental properties, their income dropped dramatically. Should they sell?

    Tina is a full-time environmentalist. She’s worried that her index funds don’t align with her values on sustainability. Is there a world where she can be a savvy investor and fight climate change?

    Another anonymous caller, whom we name “Sarah,” is excited and uncertain about her growing business. Should she hold steady or invest more resources into it? And how does she know if she’s making the right call?

    Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in today’s episode.

    Enjoy!

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    #558: Why Your Retirement Math Might Be All Wrong — If You Follow the 4% Rule

    What happens when you spend three decades talking to retirement experts? You learn that most of what people think they know about retirement planning is oversimplified or wrong. Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar, joins us on the Afford Anything podcast to share what she’s discovered after 31 years of…