3 Decisions That Could RUIN Your Retirement Plan, Ep #147

Do you have a plan for retirement? Or are you just living life and allowing the everyday busyness to drown out thoughts about your future? I firmly believe you need to have a retirement plan in place. In this episode of Best in Wealth, I will explain why. I talk about 3 decisions that can impact your retirement plan—either positively or negatively.[bctt tweet="In this episode of Best in Wealth, I share 3 Decisions That Could RUIN Your Retirement Plan. Listen to hear what those are and which path you could take. #wealth #retirement #investing #PersonalFinance #FinancialPlanning #RetirementPlanning #WealthManagement #Retire #Retirement" username=""]Outline of This Episode[1:02] The THREE decisions that could ruin your retirement[1:43] Two things I learned from a funeral[6:06] Making decisions IS hard[8:54] Decision #1: Failing to plan for retirement[13:38] Decision #2: Planning to work longer as part of your plan[17:42] Decision #3: Not hiring a financial advisorLife is a series of decisionsMaking decisions is hard. Some of us are quick decision-makers while others struggle to make the easiest of choices. But what we don’t always realize is that life is all about decisions. You have to decide whether or not to get married, whether or not you’ll buy a home, and whether or not you’ll have kids.Sometimes, we lock up and do not make any decisions. But a non-decision is still making a decision.Some people do this with investing. They are sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash, but they do not know how to invest the money. So they let it sit and forego making a decision—and waste everything that they could be doing with that money.Decision #1: Failing to plan for retirementWhy do you need to plan for retirement? Firstly, you want to be on the same page as your spouse. What if your ideas for retirement are not the same? It will become a BIG issue down the road when you are close to retirement and you have each planned two different paths. You need to coordinate and compromise with your spouse now.Secondly, if you do not plan your retirement, you may never get it. So I advise you to start with the end in mind. Think of your life as a book: You want to write the last page now—or someone else will write it for you. You have really big dreams, right? Start retirement planning now to make sure you have the resources in place to accomplish your dreams.You do not want to look back on your life and be filled with regret. Regret will leave you bitter, and we don’t need more bitterness—we need more wholesome family stewards. Are there things holding you back? Do you know where to start? Do you need a financial advisor? Not starting and not retirement planning is a non-decision—but still a decision.[bctt tweet="Why do you need to plan for retirement? I share my thoughts in this episode of Best in Wealth. Don’t miss it! #wealth #retirement #investing #PersonalFinance #FinancialPlanning #RetirementPlanning #WealthManagement #Retire #Retirement" username=""]Decision #2: Planning to “Just work longer”I knew a guy who was the VP of a large company and was doing quite well for himself. Then the Great Recession hit. He did not have an investment strategy and retirement plan in mind and he panicked. He sold all of his investments at the lowest point he could. He thought he would be okay, because he would just work longer and push back retirement. Flash-forward one year, his company started downsizing, and he lost his job.Planning to work past normal retirement age is all well and good—until a wrench is...