Stay Wealthy Retirement Podcast

You spend 30 or 40 years protecting your future self.
Then you finally retire... and the person you were saving for never quite arrives.
There's always an older version down the road who still feels like they need protecting.
So you keep saving for tomorrow while postponing the life you could enjoy today.
But more money for "future you" isn't what makes retirement better.
In this episode, Hal Hershfield, Ph.D. — a UCLA professor of Behavioral Decision Making and author of Your Future Self — joins me to explain why.
Here's what you'll learn:
→ Why your brain treats your future self like a stranger (and how that shapes every money decision)
→ How "projection bias" distorts irreversible choices like when to retire or claim Social Security
→ The "denominator problem" that stops retirees from spending + a simple reframe to help
The distance we feel from our future selves is real and well-documented. 
It is also, with the right perspective, something we can learn to close.
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📆 BOOK A CALL WITH OUR TEAM:
Your retirement involves complex, interconnected decisions—taxes, income, healthcare, estate planning, investments. 
See how they fit together in one coordinated strategy built around your numbers.
👉 Learn More and Book a Call
***
EPISODE RESOURCES:
→  Grab the Episode Show Notes
→ Join the Stay Wealthy Retirement Newsletter
→  Learn About the Total Retirement System™

When inflation makes headlines, it can feel like one of those retirement risks you just have to endure.
Saving, investing, tax planning, income strategy... those are levers you can pull.
Rising prices feel different. They feel like something that happens to you.
But the inflation number you see in the news is rarely the number that matters most for your retirement plan.
Two retirees can live through the same inflation environment and face very different risk — and the gap between them often comes down to a few things they can actually control.
In this episode, I'm simplifying how retirement savers should think about inflation.
You'll learn:
→ The 3 questions that reveal your true inflation risk
→ Why headline inflation can mislead retirees in both directions
→ How to protect your income, spending power, and retirement confidence
A strong retirement plan doesn't require a perfect inflation forecast.
It just needs to be built for the reality that uncomfortable periods will happen, and prepared for them before they arrive.
***
📆 BOOK A CALL WITH OUR TEAM:
Your retirement involves complex, interconnected decisions—taxes, income, healthcare, estate planning, investments. 
See how they fit together in one coordinated strategy built around your numbers.
👉 Learn More and Book a Call
***
EPISODE RESOURCES:
→  Grab the Episode Show Notes
→ Join the Stay Wealthy Retirement Newsletter
→  Learn About the Total Retirement System™

Umbrella insurance isn't usually the first thing people think about when they picture retirement planning.
Most conversations focus on saving enough, investing well, reducing taxes, and creating income.
But in retirement, one unintentional accident can create a very different kind of risk.
Not just a temporary setback, but a threat to savings you may no longer have decades to rebuild.
In this episode, I'm simplifying how umbrella insurance works for retirement savers.
Specifically, I'm sharing:
→ Why liability risk doesn't necessarily disappear after your working years
→ What umbrella insurance does and doesn't cover
→ 5 common mistakes people make when buying or reviewing a policy
→ A simple 4-part formula for estimating how much coverage you actually need
You'll also learn why the common "match coverage to net worth" rule can be misleading + why coverage may still make sense even when the math says you don't technically need it.
***
📆 BOOK A CALL WITH OUR TEAM:
Your retirement involves complex, interconnected decisions—taxes, income, healthcare, estate planning, investments. 
See how they fit together in one coordinated strategy built around your numbers.
👉 Learn More and Book a Call
***
EPISODE RESOURCES:
→  Grab the Episode Show Notes
→ Join the Stay Wealthy Retirement Newsletter
→  Learn About the Total Retirement System™

Two retirees. Same $1 million portfolio. Same 60/40 allocation. Same 4% withdrawal rate. Same 30-year retirement.
The only difference?
One retired in 1973. The other retired in 1975. 
Fast forward 30 years: one finished with about $280,000 and the other finished with over $3 million.
Same plan. Just two years apart.
In this episode, I'm breaking down new research that analyzes nearly a century of market history to answer a question most retirement plans don't spend enough time on:
"How much does your exact retirement date shape the outcome of your plan?"
Here's what you'll learn:
→ Why retirement timing may matter more than your withdrawal rate or asset allocation 
→ Why a larger nest egg at retirement has historically led to worse outcomes
→ A 3-part playbook, in priority order, for protecting your plan when the starting point looks unfavorable
Most retirement strategies focus on what happens after you retire.
But this research suggests the year you walk away from work may deserve a much bigger seat at the planning table.
***
📆 BOOK A CALL WITH OUR TEAM:
Your retirement involves complex, interconnected decisions—taxes, income, healthcare, estate planning, investments. 
See how they fit together in one coordinated strategy built around your numbers.
👉 Learn More and Book a Call
***
EPISODE RESOURCES:
→  Grab the Episode Show Notes
→ Join the Stay Wealthy Retirement Newsletter
→  Learn About the Total Retirement System™

Many retirement savers assume the anxiety will lift once they hit a certain number.
Maybe it's $1 million. Maybe $2 million. Maybe $5 million or more.
And then the account crosses the line, the headlines turn ugly, and the worry is still there.
A recent Wall Street Journal headline put it bluntly: "Even Rich Retirees Fear Outliving Their Money."
In this episode, I'm sharing new research from Fidelity that helps explain why having "enough" so often still doesn't feel like enough.
I'm also sharing the four things I consistently see in retirees who feel genuinely secure. 
Here's what you'll learn:
→ The retirement planning factor that more than doubles confidence
→ A cognitive concept that explains why retirement anxiety has very little to do with your account balance
→ The question many well-prepared retirees still can't answer — and why ignoring it can be so costly
Not one of the four pillars has anything to do with the size of your portfolio.
Which raises the real question: what's actually keeping wealthy retirees up at night?
***
📆 BOOK A CALL WITH OUR TEAM:
Your retirement involves complex, interconnected decisions—taxes, income, healthcare, estate planning, investments. 
See how they fit together in one coordinated strategy built around your numbers.
👉 Learn More and Book a Call
***
EPISODE RESOURCES:
→  Grab the Episode Show Notes
→ Join the Stay Wealthy Retirement Newsletter
→  Learn About the Total Retirement System™