Unlocking Your Financial Future

Ep 42: 4 Milestones for Retirement

Being mentally ready to retire and financially ready are two completely different things. You might be prepared to call it a career but does your financial situation match your readiness? Let’s look at four milestones that might indicate you’re in a position to retire. Have you hit all these yet?
 
Read more and get additional financial resources here: https://www.baschrock-fg.com/podcast/ep-42-4-milestones-for-retirement/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
2:33 – The topic today.
3:00 – 1st milestone: You can budget confidently.
4:00 – 2nd milestone: Having control over your spending.
6:17 – 3rd milestone: Having an emergency fund.
8:20 – 4th milestone: Having no revolving debt.
9:58 – If you hit these four milestones, how ready are you for retirement?

Ep 41: Do You Lack Confidence to Retire?

The turbulence of 2020 might have you questioning just how close you are to retirement. That’s a common feeling for many people but today we’ll share a story about a client that came in without much confidence in retiring and left with the plan to quit working in three months.
 
Read more and get additional financial resources here: https://www.baschrock-fg.com/podcast/ep-40-retirement-projections-diversification-other-mailbag-questions-2/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
1:20 – BA Schrock just moved into a new office.
3:36 – Are clients having more doubts about retirement after everything we’ve been through in 2020?
5:24 – How often are you meeting with people that don’t see a path to retirement?
7:33 – The software our office uses to help you see your portfolio in different scenarios.
9:30 – Ben shares a time a client didn’t feel good about retiring but he was able to show them they were better off than they thought and could retire soon.
12:46 – How much second guessing do clients have?
13:53 – What to do if you have doubts.

Ep 40: Retirement Projections, Diversification & Other Mailbag Questions

It’s time to answer your questions once again on the podcast. Today we’ll cover, retirement projections, proper diversification, how much you’ll need for retirement, a surprise inheritance, and working while earning Social Security.
 
Read more and get additional financial resources here: https://www.baschrock-fg.com/podcast/ep-40-retirement-projections-diversification-other-mailbag-questions/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
0:59 – Mailbag Question #1: An online calculator says I’m going to need over $700,000 for retirement. How accurate do you think this is?
2:27 – Mailbag Question #2: I have almost $150,000 sitting in my savings account. I’m tired of getting virtually no interest but also too scared to invest right now. Should I just leave it in the bank?
3:27 – How Ben feels about the state of the market right now.
4:13 – Mailbag Question #3: I counted out the mutual funds in my IRA and it appears that I have 33 different funds. Is this adequate diversification?
5:40 – Mailbag Question #4: I’m 55 and I have about $300K saved for retirement but I feel like I’m really behind where I should be compared to most people I know. Am I in trouble?
7:12 – Mailbag Question #5: Can you clarify whether I start my Social Security benefit and still earn an income or not?
8:38 – Mailbag Question #6: I just inherited a very large sum of money from my dad that I wasn’t expecting. What’s the most responsible way to handle it?

Ep 39: Potential Hidden Gems in Your Financial Portfolio

If you’re like most people, you probably have some financial accounts that you haven’t paid much attention to recently. The statements are just collecting dust in your file cabinet, but they might actually be hidden gems that could be put to much better use. We’re going to talk about ways to re-purpose those old accounts for better returns.
 
Read more and get additional financial resources: https://www.baschrock-fg.com/podcast/ep-39-potential-hidden-gems-in-your-financial-portfolio/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
0:51 – Getting to Know Ben - Do you have any superstitions?
2:55 – A free webinar up on the website now. 
3:54 – Beginning the main discussion on hidden gems.
4:32 – Old 401k accounts
5:43 – Are companies charging fees to hold your investments in an old account?
7:04 – Old life insurance policies
8:54 – Savings account/Money Market account
10:10 – Pensions
12:03 – Ben’s team helps clients find these hidden gems.

Ep 38: Should You Be Wary of Dave Ramsey’s Advice?

Dave Ramsey has become one of the leading names and brands in finance and for good reason. The advice he gives benefits a lot of people across the country but is all that guidance applicable to you? Let’s look at his most popular teachings and determine how much we agree with.
 
Read more and get additional financial resources here: https://www.baschrock-fg.com/podcast/ep-38-should-you-be-wary-of-dave-ramseys-advice/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
1:11 – We’re in the process of moving into a new office.
2:40 – They’ve posted a free webinar to the website.
3:22 – What we’re talking about today.
4:57 – The Debt Snowball
6:27 – His investment advice dealing with mutual funds.  
8:39 – Unrealistic expectations with returns and spending in retirement
10:49 – A good idea to stop contributing to retirement accounts until debt is paid off.
12:33 – This one-size-fits-all approach goes against the benefits of an advisor.
15:09 – The more awareness on finances the better.

Ep 37: An Update on Our Clients & Our Office

We spend most of the time on this show talking about financial planning topics, but we thought it would be beneficial for a lot of people if we talked about how everyone has been doing. From our own office to the clients we’ve been keeping in touch with, find out how others are dealing with quarantine and what they’ve been doing to keep busy.
 
Read more and get additional financial resources: https://www.baschrock-fg.com/podcast/ep-37-a-coronavirus-update-on-our-clients-our-office/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
0:40 – Today we want to get an update from Ben on how his clients and people in our community have been handling COVID-19.
1:49 – How to access Ben’s new webinar, Keep Calm and Retire On.
3:40 – What’s the latest on Ohio opening back up?
4:24 – How have our clients been impacted so far?
5:57 – How is everyone doing emotionally right now?
7:04 – Are clients able to stay busy and active?
8:08 – Has anyone had employment issues? Are you having those conversations?
9:16 – Working from home vs going into an office.
10:22 – What is the business doing to assist clients during this pandemic?
11:38 – Are people optimistic overall or worried about long this will last?
13:01 - We’re taking precautions in the office.

Ep 36: Protecting Your Nest Egg + Mailbag Questions

Your nest egg means everything to your retirement and you want to protect it through the difficult times. On this mailbag edition of the show, we address concerns about navigating turbulent times while protecting what you have, how much to be saving, is $1 million enough in retirement, and more.
 
Read more and get additional resources here: https://www.baschrock-fg.com/podcast/ep-36-protecting-your-nest-egg-mailbag-questions/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
1:55 – Mailbag Question #1: I’m a younger worker with a tiny nest egg with decades of working ahead of me. Given the recent tumult in the global economy, what can I do to protect the little egg that I have but also to continue growing?
3:14 – How much do you worry about someone’s risk tolerance when they are a younger worker?
4:08 – Mailbag Question #2: I’m tired of having five rental properties, so I’m going to sell at least three, and maybe all five. I have quite a bit of equity in these properties, so the question is how should I invest this money after I sell?
6:05 – Mailbag Question #3: I haven’t wanted to pay off my house because it’s one of the few tax deductions I have left. But I do have the money to just pay it off—should I?
7:05 - Mailbag Question #4: I retired two years ago with more than a million dollars in my IRA, which I thought at the time would be more than enough to give me the retirement lifestyle that I want. But it makes me nervous every time I withdraw money from that account because I don’t want to live too long and run out of money. And the recent downturn makes it worse. Am I worrying too much?
8:51 – Mailbag Question #5: I’ve heard that I should be saving 10% of my income toward retirement. Does that sound accurate? I’m in my 50s, so I need to be sure I’m doing this right.
10:17 – Mailbag Question #6: I make too much money to contribute to an IRA or a Roth. What’s the best way for me to save for retirement?
11:50 – Mailbag Question #7: My financial advisor is older than me. Should I move to someone else who won’t retire before I do?

Ep 35: Life Events That Can Change Your Financial Plans

Sometimes events happen in life that make it really important for you to carefully assess your financial situation. Today we’ll look at five major life changes and explain why it’s a good reason for a financial review.
 
Read more and get additional resources: https://www.baschrock-fg.com/podcast/ep-35-life-events-that-can-change-your-financial-plans/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
3:07 – Moving to a job that you planned for.
5:06 – Getting fired or getting laid off.
6:52 – How much money should you have in your emergency fund?
7:56 – Receiving an inheritance.
10:04 - Facing a serious medical condition.
11:40 – The death of a spouse.