#370 - On Your Mark Get Set Go: How to Gracefully Cross the Finish Line into Retirement

Are you within 5 years of retirement? If so, it’s time to start training. Retirement is like a marathon, and you need to be ready to run it. This episode is part 4 of a 5 part series on what to do in the 5 years leading up to retirement. Today you’ll learn how to properly train for the marathon that is retirement so that you can enjoy the run when you get there.

Are you signed up for the 6-Shot Saturday newsletter? Make sure to get on the email list so that you can receive a comprehensive guide that lays out what you need to focus on in the 5 years leading up to retirement.

“Next week you’ll hear tips from current retirees who are a few steps ahead of you on this journey, so don’t miss it!”

Expert advice from those who have walked the walk

Many of you have wondered how our Retirement Plan Live case study participants have fared in retirement. A few years ago, our first participant, Carl, came out of the closet to let everyone know that he is actually Fritz Gilbert from The Retirement Manifesto.

Fritz joins me today to share his experience in writing his blog and what he learned from planning his retirement. Now that he has a few years of retirement under his belt he can reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what were the integral parts of his retirement planning. Come listen to those who have already walked this walk. Let’s see what we can learn from them. Listen in to hear Fritz’s story.

Fritz’s takeaways from his retirement planning

So, what did Fritz learn from his retirement planning? He did so much to plan for retirement, but certain things that he did proved more helpful than others. During his one phase of planning for retirement, Fritz created a pre-retirement checklist.

He had never made a budget before but knew he had to have an understanding of how much he and his wife spent each month. They successfully tracked their spending by category for 11 months so that they could break those expenditures down into necessities and discretionary spending.

After having a better understanding of his spending he was able to lay everything out in a cash flow timeline. Fritz projected his cash flow for the first 5 years of retirement which helped him understand how and where he needed to put his money.

“Fritz did so much to plan for retirement, but certain things that he did proved more helpful than others. Listen in to find out what worked best.”

What was the biggest adjustment for Fritz in retirement?

One thing that people don’t plan for is how they will move from the accumulation phase of investing to the withdrawal phase. This stage of investing requires a completely different approach to managing a portfolio.

Your new investment plan must be in place from day 1 of retirement, so it will need to be planned out a few years prior to retiring. Have you considered hiring a financial planner as a consultant to check your retirement plan?

The non-financial aspects of retirement are just as important as the financials

When people talk about the changes of retirement they are referring to the non-financial aspects of this stage of life, yet most people focus solely on planning the financial part of the puzzle. Your best chance for a great retirement is finding out what gets you excited about life. What will give you purpose when you retire?

When you retire you’ll leave your network of friends, the structure, routine, challenges, and rewards of your work life behind. This freedom can be liberating or paralyzing. Think about ways that you can give back and focus on others. Listen in to find out how Fritz’s 10 commandments of retirement helped him stay focused on rocking retirement.

“Have you considered hiring a financial planner as a consultant to check your retirement plan?”

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

[1:56] What is a marathon?
[4:25] Retirement is like a marathon
[12:03] Your marathon should be enjoyable

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

[15:10] Fritz Gilbert aka Carl reflects on his retirement planning
[18:12] Fritz was never a budgeter
[21:15] Were there any spending surprises?
[27:50] Get your investing plan in place
[32:14] The non-financial aspects of retirement can be a source of anxiety as well
[46:07] Define your values

Q&A SEGMENT

[49:09] Are there any tax consequences to consolidating your retirement accounts?
[51:19] How will Social Security work with a disabled child?
[54:30] What are you trying to optimize for in your planning?