The 6 Core Issues Every Plan Should Address

Fuck. Peter, very good to see you. Welcome back, everyone. Our countdown to retirement continues. Today, we have the six core issues every financial plan should address.

So, countdown to retirement, this has been one of my favorite segments with you, Peter. You have a great download on your website, which we will show everybody in a little bit. But I want to talk about a financial plan because it is so much more than just investments. It should cover six key areas that impact your entire financial life. Even if one is missing, your plan may fall short.

So, the first issue is a question: Is my plan aligned with my goals? How do I know? Yeah, and unfortunately, I think that a lot of people have investments, but they don't necessarily have a plan. And what I'm seeing is that when they go to try to bring everything together and get a plan, they're not being coached, they're being coaxed, they're being coerced or convinced, they're not being advised, they're being sold. A bill of goods.

I have a real problem with that. And I get on my soapbox and preach about it, but like, we need to be. Making sure and much more confident that our plan is aligned with our goals. You know, questioning where do I see myself in five or 10 or 15 years? How is this dollar?

How is this investment going to help me get there? Is my advisor incentivized by the same motivations that I am for my financial future? How do we know those goals are in alignment? Are they compensated more for selling me a product or for actually getting me to my destination? Taking a look at the plan itself.

Does it address these core key issues of income, investments, taxes, healthcare, and legacy? And that is what we try to put together for every one of our clients and make sure that they've got that optimized retirement plan in place that addresses not only those high-level topics, but several questions and issues underneath each one of them. But yeah, just making sure that you understand what's going on with your money and that your vision is aligned with your source of. of guidance and information. Right.

And number two, you touched on that is, of course, income, the key being sustainable income, turning our savings into a paycheck for us. Before we worry about almost anything else, investments, taxes, healthcare, legacy, we worry about income, right? We go out and get a job at 16 or 18 or whenever. We want a paycheck. And then somehow, somewhere around 60 to 62 years old, we forget that, hey, income is first.

I have been the income plan for my entire career. And suddenly the day after retirement, it's not that I don't need an income. It's that I don't have an income. Income still needs to be the first priority. You have been the income plan that supported the investments, that supported the ability to pay taxes, that covered the cost of healthcare.

And eventually your hard work and your income is what is going to allow you to leave a positive and impactful legacy for your loved ones.

So income is first. It does not stop the day after, the decade after retirement. You have to have a plan that addresses and fills that need for income. And then, next, we do have investments. This is what a lot of people focus on, but it's so much more than just your portfolio.

What do we need to consider here? Yeah, do you have personalized strategies with a long-term outlook with diversified options included? Are dollars doing different things? Is everything correlated in just two or three mutual funds, or do you have a diversified portfolio where different pieces are going to behave differently? And the reason why this is so important: money is a terrible multitasker.

Money can be safe, it can grow, it can provide an income, or it can be liquid. Like, those are the four things that a dollar can do, but no one dollar can do all of those effectively.

So, we have to have some diversification of location and allocation.

So, bank money is about safety and liquidity, money in the market. Is more about growth, money in bonds and real estate and annuities, more about safety and growth or income. And you get to choose which one is perhaps more important to you at the moment. No one investment option does all of these things universally. And that's why in the investment portfolio, we need to look at what are the goals and how is each dollar working to help us achieve a diverse collection of goals that we might have.

Mm-hmm. And then, next, of course, we have taxes. With some proactive planning, you can save thousands in retirement. Absolutely. I've seen it in the six figures, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I mean, most people's largest asset these days is yet to be taxed, their 401k or their IRA balance. And most people can tell me within a pretty close proximity what that balance is. Hey, how much do you have in your 401k or your IRA or your retirement savings?

Now, how much are you going to pay in taxes on that balance over your lifetime? And I get a blank stare. Most people cannot begin to answer that question. You should be able to answer that question. You should quantify what is my likely tax bill going to be.

And there are different buckets. There are choices that we have for where to place our money with different tax implications. And the beauty is you can actually move locations. You can control that tax liability.

So we help. Help our clients strategize on how, when, what amount, what the cost is, and where the eventual benefit and break-even point is for making some proactive. Conscious tax planning decisions.

So important. All right.

Next, of course, we have what will probably be one of your biggest expenses in retirement. That is, of course, health care and long-term care, Peter, which can wipe out your retirement savings if you don't have a plan. Yeah, the taxes are probably your largest known expense. And then healthcare, that can be your largest potential expense. And that can actually dwarf.

other expenses.

So we need to plan very carefully for this because most people, like a lot of people, think that Medicare or Medicaid, and there's some confusion on the difference between the two of those. Medicare is for routine care. Medicaid is for like, you need aid. It is basically you are impoverished and we have to step in and help. Like those do not cover long-term care if you are capable of paying for it yourself.

And then if you're not, you are basically on healthcare welfare and the government gets to say. And establish your level of care.

So, most people would prefer to be able to establish their own quality of life and level of care, but that takes your own money. Medicare does not do that, it pays for kind of routine care, doctor visits, checkups, some limited hospital stays. But the reality is that. Seven in 10 of us, like the Department of Health and Human Service stats, most recent stats that I've seen, 69.8% of people require some element of long-term care before the end of life.

So seven in 10. And very, very few people have taken proactive steps to address those expenses.

Well, who then pays those expenses? Your spouse, your loved ones, your children? Do you do you leave them in not only An emotional hardship, but a financial hardship as well. We need to be better at taking proactive steps to address this. And there are actually some good solutions here.

We just have to be proactive enough to take the step to explore them. Right. And then, last, you just touched on it as well, is of course legacy planning. This should be part of any financial plan. Yeah, I mean, Mm-hmm.

Whether it's value or values, something is going to be left behind. Like I hear people say, it's not my goal to leave anybody wealthy. Fair enough. Like, that's not selfish. But the reality is that if you have a plan in place that you can be confident you will be self-sufficient, then more than likely something is going to be left behind.

And you might as well go ahead and plan for it because there are certain assets that are better to be left behind than others. And why not? Live the life that you want to live, happy, content, spend the money that you want to spend, but leave an effective legacy behind. And even if there is not a tremendous amount of actual wealth, that you are having conversations with your loved ones about the values that you want to pass to them, about how you've handled money and your affairs, and why you are setting things up the way that you are. Estate planning, legacy planning should never be absent.

from a well-rounded, optimized retirement plan. I love that you're always thinking about the whole family, Peter.

So again, let's just remind everyone, you have so many great resources on your website, but chief among them really is this countdown to retirement.

So walk me through how I go and get that download, please. Yeah, you would go to the website, which is rashanplanning.com. It looks like richonplanning.com. You go to the resources tab. and then you go to the downloads and the full countdown to retirement digital download is right there and available.

And it's 10 guides, some background information. It's a lot of good content, I believe. And I hope you find value in it.

So go there and download the guide. And if you've got any questions about any of this, it's meant to get you thinking about have I addressed these things.

So it's got the 10 questions to know that you are ready for retirement, the eight moments to move your money, the seven financial myths, the six core issues that every plan must address.

So there's a lot of content. content in there. And again, rashanplanning.com, resources, downloads, go download the guide. And by the way, another great resource we talked about addressing taxes, 919retired.com is the online retirement tax bill calculator. That is fantastic for knowing what your potential tax liability and expense might be.

Yeah, that's important. All right.

So we mentioned the website. How else can people get a hold of you? Give me a call, 919-300-5886. 919-300-5886. And as I mentioned, for all of our clients and for callers to this program, our goal is to put together for you an optimized retirement plan that addresses all of these six core issues.

So if you'd like that optimized retirement, give me a call, 919-300-5886. Right. If your financial planner isn't addressing any of these six core issues, it might be time for a new financial advisor. Absolutely. Yep.

All right.

Peter, thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate it. Hey folks, Peter Rashawn here with Rashawn Planning.

So glad that you are enjoying the podcast, Planning Matters Radio. You know, one of the tools that we've put out there that people really seem to appreciate and really are finding of value is at 919retired.com. It is your retirement tax bill calculator. If you've got any kind of retirement account, your tax deferred, 401k, or IRA, this is the website. This is the resource where you can go, you can plug in your own numbers, your information, you can slide the tool calculator up and down for your tax rate or your amount of savings and see what your tax bill is likely to be if you default and defer to the IRS's plan versus what you could potentially bring that tax bill down to.

A lot of times it is a very significant savings.

So if you have not yet, go to website 919 retired.com run your numbers on the retirement tax bill calculator This has been Planning Matters Radio. The content of this radio show is provided for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy. You are encouraged to seek investment, tax, or legal advice from an independent professional advisor. Any investments and/or investment strategies mentioned involve risk, including the possible loss principal. Advisory services offered through Brooks Own Capital Management, a registered investment advisor.

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