In our experience, many people, even with millions of dollars saved, still don’t feel secure. Why is that? It often comes down to one simple but powerful truth: if you never define what “enough” looks like, no amount will ever feel like it's enough. Listen to Adam and Ben discuss how they help clients shift their focus from comparison, fear, and unclear goals that keeps even “wealthy” clients stuck in a scarcity mindset—to a place where “enough” wealth is defined by their own terms.
Remember the hit game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”—in 1998, that prize was worth only ~$500k in today’s dollars and in the early 1900s, the phrase to “feel like a million bucks” would mean having over $7 million today. While more Americans than ever now hold millionaire status, the buying power of that milestone has shrunk dramatically thanks to inflation and rising costs for housing, healthcare, and retirement. Listen to Adam and Ben unpack why $1 million may no longer guarantee the lifestyle you think, how inflation and psychology shape our money goals, and how to figure out what’s truly “enough” for you.
Fear of failure, working hard, grinding it out – all can lead you to success. But at what cost? What comes after financial success? Podcast guest Matt Strunk shares his own experience and what he found out about himself once he stopped to think about what matters most to him. Listen as Ben and Matt discuss the importance of gaining awareness about what drives us, thinking about your own obituary, and then being more intentional with your time.
Here’s a hard fact to digest: You can average 6%-7% returns and still run out of money — because the order of those returns matters and because the timing of when you are withdrawing money matters. But smart planning can help you stay confident and in control, even in volatile markets. Listen in as Adam and Ben discuss cash, flexible withdrawal plans, three bucket theory, and tax aware planning.
Retirement isn’t a single event. It’s a long, evolving phase with multiple transitions. After the honeymoon ends but before the later-life simplicity sets in, there’s a “messy middle” - an emotionally complex, opportunity-rich period. Redefining goals and finding purpose may require doing some intentional planning again. Listen as Adam and Ben discuss how they help clients navigate this period of retirement with ideas, exercises, and open conversation.
How much do you need to have stashed away to live a comfortable life? And how will you know it’s truly, enough? Listen in as Adam and Ben talk about how “enough” isn’t just a number on a spreadsheet or a Monte Carlo simulation output. Defining enough needs to include reflections on what matters most to you, what fulfills you, and what keeps you content. And it’s hard to get that output from a calculator!
As planners, we are tasked with answering big long-term questions like, “will I have enough money to live the life I want to live without running out?” But mapping out the future is impossible and there is no way to project how the world and our own lives will change, including what may or may not be important to us. Listen in as Adam and Ben talk about the themes of flexibility, choice, developing good habits and focusing on the purpose of money in our lives and not just goals.
Have you been pitched an annuity, or do you have one and wonder if it’s still the right fit for your financial plan? In this podcast, Adam and Ben introduce what annuities are, where they may and may NOT fit into one’s plan, and how important it is to understand the tradeoffs you’re making when buying this type of product. Listen in as they highlight their concerns around liquidity, taxes, and long-term contracts.
What’s the point of having money if we are unhappy and unfulfilled? While earning money and saving is a necessary part of building wealth, there are times where the earning comes at a significant cost. Jobs can be stressful, cause anxiety, or take physical or emotional tolls on us. When you find yourself dreading work you might ask yourself, “Can I afford to leave or make a change?” What situations make a big change possible, or not possible? Listen in as Adam and Ben discuss both the financial and life considerations and how they try to help clients through these big questions.
Market volatility is always hard to go through. Expected or not, emotions run high and the best thing we can do is stay in good communication with our clients. In this raw and (minimally prepared) podcast, listen in as Ben and Adam peel back the curtain a bit by sharing all the reasons why THEY hate volatility. You’ll learn a lot about what they focus on during times like these and how they approach client conversations.
Business owners are usually a special combination of good planners and good executers. You have to be able to survive the rigors of business ownership! But what happens once you decide to sell your business and retire? It’s almost like surrendering control of your business AND your finances, and that can be really uncomfortable. What are the planning discussions that need to happen, and how do Adam and Ben address these different parts of the plan to help business owners confidently move into retirement? Listen in as they touch on multiple high-level discussions and what business owners could expect from them if they are ready to consider retirement.
We’ve recently heard from clients that saving and having a “set it and forget it” investment strategy was the easy part of planning for retirement. As soon as they start to think about how they will turn savings into income, it starts to feel complicated. How will they pay themselves? From what account? What investments should be sold and by when? How do these decisions domino into taxes and healthcare/Medicare premiums? It can feel like one big 3D puzzle! Listen in as Adam and Ben discuss how they hope to uncomplicate the process for their clients.
