Unlocking Your Financial Future

Ep 44: Should You Tell Children About Inheritance Plans + Other Listener Questions

If your estate plans include leaving behind a money to your children, should you tell them about it ahead of time or make it a surprise? There are arguments for both sides and we’ll share some of our guidance on that topic. Plus, we’ll cover annuities, retirement income, trusts, and investment strategy on this mailbag edition.
 
Read more and get additional financial resources here: https://www.baschrock-fg.com/podcast/ep-44-should-you-tell-children-about-inheritance-plans-other-listener-questions/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
0:48 – Mailbag Question #1: I have a variable annuity and just found out the fees are very high. I’d like to move the money but I’d have to pay a penalty to take it out. Is it worth it to avoid the fees?
2:26 – Mailbag Question #2: We should be leaving a decent amount of money to our kids. Should we tell them about it now or surprise them with it later?
4:51 – Mailbag Question #3: We have big travel plans when we retire, including all seven continents. Do we need to plan having even more income in retirement than we have now.
7:06 – Mailbag Question #4: Is it wise to have a trust as part of my financial and estate plan?
8:50 – Mailbag Question #5: When should I start focusing less on growing my money and more on protecting it instead? I plan to retire in two years.

Ep 43: Financial Bots are Here

Have you ever plugged your financial info to a website and gotten a retirement projection? As technology improves, how much can you trust these bots? Ben tried it for himself and got surprising results. We’ll share those plus talk about how useful these bots can be for planning.
 
Check out The Washington Post bot here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/business/retirement-planning-bot/ 
 
Read more and get additional financial planning resources here: https://www.baschrock-fg.com/podcast/ep-43-financial-bots-are-here/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
1:06 – Ben wrote an article for Kiplinger about the topic of technology in the financial world.
2:16 – What was Ben’s first impression of this when he went through it.
2:48 – Ben got surprising results when he plugged in his info.
4:00 – Limitations of these bots.
4:58 – Great idea to get a second opinion on these results.
6:05 – How often do these get referenced when clients come in?
7:33 – How much has technology changed since Ben got into the industry?
9:12 – What technology does BA Schrock use with clients?

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.