Retirement can be tricky. There are so many unknowns, so preparing yourself mentally can be a challenge. 

Mental toughness is the ability to remain positive and proactive in the most adverse situations. Our Retirement Plan Live volunteer, Rosie, is having to rely on mental toughness to stay on target through an extra challenging early retirement.

Join Rosie and me today as we discuss the impact that the bear market had on her finances at the start of her retirement. 

Rosie is trying to get her retirement back on track

Rosie and her husband Dwayne didn’t retire in the best circumstances. Inflation and market fluctuations haven’t been on their side. This sequence of returns at the beginning of their retirement is not faring well for their portfolio. Now they are trying to assess whether they are on a feasible path or whether they’ll need to make some adjustments. 

Simply by walking through this process they are already being proactive. They are assessing the damage and seeing how they can shape a plan for the future to get back on track. 

It’s challenging to enjoy the go-go years without a safety net

While Rosie is more risk-averse, her husband Dwayne enjoys researching and investing in individual stocks. He uses about 10% of their total savings to play around in the market investing in his favorite publicly traded companies. 

Rosie estimates that about 75% of their total portfolio is in stocks and this makes her feel a bit anxious especially since their portfolio is down about 20% from last year. 

She would like to be enjoying her go-go years, however, without a healthy cash reserve in place, or a long-term care plan, she doesn’t have the security in place to let loose and rock retirement.

Without a cash bucket set up, their $8,500 per month is coming from a systematic selling of their investments, but she’s not sure where they should go from here. 

Don’t miss the culmination of the past four episodes

If your retirement isn’t going to plan, it is important to acknowledge where you are now so that you can mitigate the damages and reset your course. You can’t simply ignore the situation and wait for someone to tell you that everything is going to be okay. You’ll need to understand the nuances of your financial situation to determine the best way forward. 

answer-man.ck.page/40a96a000e">Join us on February 2 at 7 pm CST for the grand finale of this year’s Retirement Plan Live. I’ll walk Rosie through her retirement plan and we’ll determine whether or not it is feasible. Then we’ll look for risks and opportunities. As a participant, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and see how the process plays out. 

After the live meetup, consider joining the Rock Retirement Club. The Club was created to give new retirees a solid framework and trusted tools to use to build a feasible, resilient retirement plan that will give members the confidence to rock retirement. In addition, RRC members have created an amazing, inviting community filled with people on the same journey. Learn more by joining the live meetup. 

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

RETIREMENT PLAN LIVE

• [4:47] Rosie’s questions
• [7:12] Understanding Rosie’s annuity
• [16:52] Understanding the software we use
• [18:32] Understanding the sequence of returns risk
• [27:07] Rosie’s experience with advisors

LISTENER QUESTIONS

• [36:36] Do you calculate using tax-deferred dollars to create a paycheck in retirement?
• [44:32] Using a draw-down strategy for a 401K
• [47:57] How to get a better interest rate from cash

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT

• [50:40] Reassess your trajectory to achieving your goals

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Join the live meetup on February 2 at answer-man.ck.page/40a96a000e">LiveWithRoger.com

Money Guide Pro Elite retirement tool

New Retirement Calculator

Rock Retirement Club

Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That

BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney

Roger’s Retirement Learning Center