The Biggest Retirement Mistakes You Want to Avoid

Erick Arnett highlights some of the biggest retirement mistakes and bad financial decisions he sees when helping people prepare for their financial future.

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4.19.24: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

4.19.24: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Producer:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only, and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment, and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Producer:
Welcome to Take Point on Retirement with your host, Erick Arnett. Erick is a fiduciary and licensed financial advisor who always places your needs first. The experienced team at Take Point Wealth Management takes pride in knowing they've helped so many pursue the financial future of their dreams, and they can help you, too. And now let's start the show. Here's Erick Arnett.

Erick Arnett:
So hey everybody, welcome to Take Point on Retirement Radio. I'm your host, Erick Arnett. And we, of course, have our DJ extraordinaire here today, Mr. Sam Davis. How are you doing today, Sam?

Producer:
I'm doing fantastic. Happy to be on the air here once again, helping educate all of you listening in the Nature Coast how to win with your money and retire better. And Erick, today we're going to help people avoid financial pitfalls.

Erick Arnett:
Yes. The topic today is avoiding these financial pitfalls and breaking bad habits to build a better retirement. So stay tuned. Listen to the show. Uh, if you can't catch all of the show today, no problem. We have a podcast. You can go to any one of your podcast sites Spotify, Apple. You can also go to Take Point on Retirement Radio, which is a podcast site with all of our podcasts. If you want to catch up on today's show or even listen to some of past shows. But just wanted to shout out to our listeners and thanking the Nature Coast and all my retirement warriors out there. Just really appreciative of you. Listening to the show and hearing from you folks on the weekends is great. This show is for you. This show is educational. It's your show. Please feel free to write down any questions you have concerns and pick up the phone and give me a shout. You can of course just go to Take Point Wealth Comm. You can Google us right on your little handy smartphone that you're probably holding right now as you're listening to the show. And and go ahead and put Take Point Wealth in there. You're going to get to my website and in the upper right hand corner you're just going to click on schedule A consult with me and type in a few notes in there.

Erick Arnett:
You get right on my calendar when what's convenient for you. And that's if we don't get to your phone call. We're always standing by to listen to your calls. But sometimes, you know, we get caught up with other folks and we can't answer the call right away. So please leave us a voicemail or just go right to our website and go ahead and book that appointment or that little chat session with me. Happy to happy to do that for you. Love, love, love to hear from all of our listeners. We also have a YouTube channel if you if you like YouTube channels, we put segments of this show and and other shows on the YouTube channel. We'd love for you to go there and hit us and like us there. And please don't hesitate to contact us with any of your questions. We're here to help you. Our number is (352) 616-0511. That's (352) 616-0511. Once again, I'm Erick Arnett, your Nature Coast advisor. We would love, love, love to meet with you and discuss how we can help you reach your all your financial goals. We can help you with retirement planning, risk management, estate planning, and a whole lot more. Building sound financial plans for our listeners is what we do and what we love to do every day, and what we're passionate about. You know, taking this big, maybe just confused mess, you know, when do I take Social Security? Where do I take my money from my Roth, my IRA, my 401 K, you know, do I have an estate plan? Do I have a will in place? Do I have a trust in place? Do I have my property deeded in my trust so I can avoid probate? You know, it's really, really important, folks, that we get that estate plan ironed out for you.

Erick Arnett:
And we can do that all right here for you, easily and conveniently at Take Point Wealth or so just go to TakePointWealth.com jump right on our calendar. We can get rocking and rolling with that on your estate planning. But today's show uh, you know, unfortunately we're going to kind of come right at you with today, folks with some bad habits that we're seeing, you know, and, and unfortunately, uh, you know, sometimes this can be offensive. Uh, but I don't want to come across that way. But, uh, you know, one thing that we do here at Take Point is, you know, we we just for 25 years, we just have seen a ton of mistakes, right? So what we try to do is just help you avoid those mistakes that we've seen people make in the past. And so we're going to talk about some bad money habits.

Erick Arnett:
We want to help you avoid making these common bad decisions. Uh, we're going to talk about Social Security. We got some updates there. We're going to share some insights on inflation and Cola forecasts for 2025. We've got a little inflation demonstration, rising costs leading Americans to believe they need more in savings. You know those costs at the grocery store, the gas pump they're starting to rear their ugly head again. We had, uh, some economic data in the previous quarters that was coming in. Inflation was cooling, inflation was coming down and getting closer to the fed target, uh, that they were looking for. However, we've seen inflation kind of peak back up again here and in the latest economic data numbers that we're getting. So it's still here folks. It's still sticky I know you're feeling it. Interest rates continue to even stay stable or rise a little bit. We've seen Treasury yields rise. So therefore mortgage rates are going to rise. So we're still seeing way too many dollars pumped into our economy chasing fewer goods. And that's what causes inflation. So are you in your 50s. We share three moves to make while you're planning for your retirement. So with that all being said, uh, Mister Sam, I think you have some financial wisdom for us today with a quote of the week from Mister Warren Buffett.

Producer:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Producer:
Absolutely love, Warren Buffett I'm originally from Kansas and Warren Buffett's a midwestern guy as well. They call him the Oracle of Omaha. He still lives in a home that I believe he's lived in for many decades. He's still driving a car that I believe he's driven for a couple decades, and he's just got so much financial wisdom. And Warren Buffett once said, the chains of habit are too light to be felt until they're too heavy to be broken. And I think this paints quite a picture, Erick. And I think it's just so very true. Whether it's a bad financial habit or just maybe a bad habit in your personal life, you know, I think of myself, you know, all those, you know, potato chips and snacks on the couch. They can they can really add up and sneak up on you. And then you realize you just burned an hour and a half doing nothing. So I think this is a great quote to start today's show.

Erick Arnett:
Oh, man. You you, uh, hit the nail right on the head with that because I'm a million things just rushed through my head when it comes to bad habits. We all have them. None of us are perfect. We're all far from perfect, and we have bad habits. But unfortunately, when it gets close to retirement or if you're in retirement, those bad financial habits can really be, uh, you know, detrimental. I don't want to. I almost said devastating, but I don't want to use that kind of, you know, strong language. I don't want to seem like a total downer, but no, we we see some really bad financial habits and a few, a few come to mind right off the bat. And and people hate to talk about this, but I implore folks out there, this is one of the number one issues I see. I mean, we're doing financial plans every day, so we're dealing with folks from all walks of life, all ages on a daily basis. And what we're seeing is the same things as, uh, nobody budgets. I remember when I was a little kid. You know, growing up here and my grandparents, my parents, you know, you had the checkbook, they had the checkbook out, and they had the they had to balance the checking account, and they had to know where every little fund was going. And they had to know, you know, exactly what was in the checking account and make sure every check was logged.

Erick Arnett:
And, and I grew up that way. So, you know, these are the and I'm sure some, most of our listeners remember the old checkbook days. We didn't have debit cards. You know, we didn't have ATMs. You know, you had to go to the bank to get your money out with a check. Uh, your mom, when she went to the grocery store, she wrote a check to to to buy her groceries. Right. Remember those good old days? Um, hell, I remember green stamp days, which is, if anybody knows what green stamps are, please give me a shout. But those were the old, old days. But but yeah, you know, nobody nobody seems to be budgeting today. And I know it's a difficult I know it's a difficult situation and a difficult conversation to have, especially with your spouse and we know or your teammate or your partner or whoever it is, you know, we just we you know, it just tends to cause arguments, right? Because we may think differently and we have different emotions about our money than maybe our partner does. And so we don't always see eye to eye on things. And I know, I know from experience, when we sit down and talk about budgeting, it's a hard conversation to have. And sometimes, you know, uh, arguments can ensue. And so I don't want this to be a bad practice or something, you know, a downer.

Erick Arnett:
But I think I like I like folks when they go through this. I just was working with a younger couple, uh, just, you know, just kind of turned, uh, 50 and, you know, they've been making good money their whole life, but they kind of realized like, oh, my gosh, like, we're not even close to being ready for retirement. And so we sat down with them. We've done extensive planning with them and found we had to go back several times and say, hey, look, guys, your budget is not right here. You still aren't showing us or coming up with all your expenses and where all your money's going, and it's. And so we, you know, through this whole exercise it was difficult for these folks. But at the end of the day, they were thankful because it forced them to take the time to sit down. And, you know, this is going to take hours. It's not something that you're just going to be able to whip up off the top of your head. You got to dig into all your past credit card statements. You got to dig into all your bank statements. Go back and look. Look at a six month, maybe even a one year average of what you're spending. And where is your money going? One of the tools that I use is, you know, we put everything on a credit card, and then we pay that credit card off every month.

Erick Arnett:
But that credit card is really cool. The way that they report everything, they'll break everything down into a little chart and little categories and show you exactly where your money is going. Gas, restaurants, food, you know, uh, travel, uh, rent, mortgage, whatever it may be. And so this is a great way to see where you're spending money, because I think, Sam, in this day and age when we just have debit cards and ATMs and we have auto debits and we're just electronically moving money all around, it's like we just don't even know what we're spending our money on anymore. And we kind of willy nilly it and just, you know, figuring, hey, if I got hopefully I got enough money coming in this month to cover what's going out, you know, and that's just not going to cut us, especially when you're trying to get serious about retirement because it has everything to do success in retirement has it's got to start with the budget. It's got to start with really evaluating what our expenses are currently, which, you know, will help us with our savings goals to get to our goals in retirement. But also, if you're already in retirement, it's going to show us and map out. Are we are we are we spending too much, you know, are we going to have enough money to live on throughout our retirement, factoring in inflation, factoring in rising health care costs, Social Security timing, all these different issues, taxes, you know, so it's it's a complicated picture.

Erick Arnett:
But it's got to start with budgeting first and foremost to see truly what we're what we're going to be spending in retirement. And that's why we always say when we first sit down with folks, what are you doing in retirement? What's retirement look like to you? And I think the problem too, Sam, might be this is coming to my head as we roll through this is because I think back with this young couple, um, they they kind of sensed something wasn't right because they weren't on pace. They knew they weren't going to have enough for retirement, and they saw that their parents were still working in their 70s and they're like, hey, we don't want to be those people. And I said, after spending a day or so with them and going through all the data information, it's like, well, guess what? You're right on track to be one of those people right now because you're spending, first of all, they don't even know where they were spending their money. And so we got them disciplined. Uh, we got, you know, everything down to a T even even I'm talking about Netflix subscriptions, you know, dog grooming, uh, hair and nails, you know, whatever it's be going to be, it's, uh, uh, sending $500 a month in rent. To little Johnny to pay his tuition. Whatever it is, we've got to know everything.

Erick Arnett:
We've got to know how often you're traveling. What are you spending on travel? It's really got to be detailed, folks, because if we don't know what you're spending now and we don't know what you're going to be spending in retirement, then we're just kind of guessing at whether you're going to make it and have a successful retirement or not. So that's where it all starts. So I know it kind of got on a soapbox there, but uh, that's really important I think is the budgeting however. According to Sam's outline that he's worked so diligently on for us this week is he's got us saying, and this is based on some articles that we pulled, uh, off of, uh, Yahoo Finance and ways that baby boomers are preparing for retirement. But one of the number one bad decisions, and this one I know for sure, because I have experienced this one for 25 years. And it it really actually drives me crazy. Um, but because this is the real emotional subject for folks when it comes to money. But and I agree with this wholeheartedly, it's not even close to not having a good budget. This is number one in my opinion too is bad decision number one selling investments when the market drops. Or what's even worse is when folks sell the market, when they think that they know what the market's doing, and they think and they prognosticate or they, they, they prophesy and say, well, I just have a I just I'm sure the market's going to go down this year or there's so many bad things going on.

Erick Arnett:
And guess what, folks? Yeah, you're going to be bombarded on a daily basis with bad news. That's that's our media. You know, that's that's the way we roll in America. You're not going to get good news, you know, because that doesn't make news. You're always going to be it's always going to be that fear mongering and everything's falling apart and World War three and yadda yadda yadda. But guess what? Wall Street doesn't care about any of that. Wall Street keeps marching on. They care about economic data. They they care about financial growth. They care about earnings. They care about jobs, wages. You know, over 300 economic data points are some of the data points that we look at to get a pulse on the economy. So the market's focused on the economy first and foremost. And one thing that you got to remember folks is that and I'm reading a quote this is from one of my friends that um, has been in the business for a long time, and I kind of stole this from him. But, you know, because we, we just as advisors, we constantly, um, are in a sense, bombarded with this bad decision that people and clients want to make. And that's selling investments when the market drops or when they think the market's dropping.

Erick Arnett:
Historically, the stock market has always gone through phases of contraction, recovery and expansion. It's a natural thing, folks. And and guess what. Yes, every 3 to 5 years on average we go back. And since the inception of the stock market you will get a correction in the market. It's just a natural phase. It's going to happen. But you don't sell when that correction is going on. That's the worst thing to do. In fact, you should be buying then okay. And I've you know, I've been in uh, in, you know, several bear markets in my 25 year career. And I can remember one in particularly it was the one that we had that was pretty bad in like 0708 and uh, during the, um, credit crisis and the mortgage crisis, and I was doing seminars and I was doing educational events, and I was standing up in front of crowds and the market was going down, down, down that year. And I was telling everybody, you have to buy the market here. You've got to you've got to hold on. And in fact, get more cash. I don't care if you got to beg, borrow, steal, but we need to put more money into the market now. And people literally looked at me like I had three heads. Like I was crazy. Like some of the folks I think wanted to have me committed and and and guess what? That next bull run phase coming out of that market created the most billionaires ever in our nation's history.

Erick Arnett:
We had an insane ten, 12 year bull run in the market. So you don't you don't you don't buy stocks when they're high. You don't buy stocks. You don't invest money when markets are hitting new highs blindly, you know, you've got to have a strategy. You got a dollar cost average in. There's a lot of things you got to do. But number one please, please, please don't make irrational decisions and emotional decisions and panic and sell when the market's down. Because once you sell, guess what? It's a zero sum game. There is somebody on the other end of that trade waiting to buy your shares. And and they're the contrarians and they're the ones that are saying, hey, okay, if this person wants to dump their shares, I'll take them and I'll hold on to them for the long haul, because I know this is all going to bounce back and I'm going to make even more money. So you should be adding to your position. You should be adding money when the market's going down, folks not selling, not doing the opposite. So avoid making those impulsive decisions during market downturns when emotions can be heightened and lead you away from your previous plan and investing strategy. That's why it's so important to give us a call and get in to see us.

Erick Arnett:
So we put a solid strategy in place that's going to weather all storms, good markets, bad markets, you know, all high interest rates, low interest rates, markets, you know, and all those in between if you have a good sound strategy. I promise you you'll be successful and you will never run out of money in retirement. That's the way to do it. It's not, you know, guessing at what the market's going to be doing. Because guess what? If I manage money the way my clients told me to manage money over the last 5 to 10 years, we'd all be broke, quite frankly, you know, and I just say that, you know, it's just it's it's true because, um, we've got to be growing and adding to our positions when the market's down. That's the best time to be buying, folks. And so, um, you know, just avoid making that emotional knee jerk decision. I know it's it's hard to sit there and watch your statements go down, but honestly, I've been doing this for a long time and I actually get excited when the market's correct. I don't like it when the markets are raging higher and higher and higher and hit new highs. I don't like it. I would much rather have a correction in the market that offers us an opportunity to buy shares at a much lower cost, and that's how you build wealth, is you stack shares on top of shares.

Erick Arnett:
So when the market does come back, you've got a base underneath you that is just going to grow that much faster. And so you've got to stick it out, but you've got to if you don't have a good plan, you don't have that confidence and that clarity like we do for you here at Take Point Wealth with the Take Point Wealth freedom plan. Uh, by the way, you can call us at 35261605113526160511 to get your complimentary comprehensive Take Point Wealth Freedom retirement plan, get you to retirement and through retirement successfully over a $1,500 value. Folks, we're going to do that for you. Completely complimentary. All it's going to cost you is your time. So just pick up the phone. Make it happen (352) 616-0511. Or just Google Take Point Wealth on your phone and in that upper right hand corner of our website, you can just click on there and get right on my calendar today and just put a couple notes in there for me, and we'll jump right on a call when it's convenient for you, and we'll kind of address your, your concerns. But, you know, selling investments when the market drops can lock in losses and hinder long term growth. You know, you're just all you're doing is locking in those losses, folks. So instead, consult with a licensed financial advisor professional to develop that diversified investment strategy that's going to align your risk tolerance and your long term goals.

Erick Arnett:
Stay invested and stay informed. Market contractions can actually be used as opportunities to invest when prices are lower and there are more sellers than buyers, it's just it's just the best time. I get excited, I, I pull money out of savings, I sell things, I'm like, when we have those big market corrections, man, I get excited and I put as much money as I can into good quality portfolios during those times. And guess what, folks? It's never failed me. Ever. It's created and compounded my wealth and I want to do the same for you. So first and foremost, the first step is get in here. Let's get a solid plan together. 35261605113526160511. If you've been procrastinating, just stop. Just give me a call. Let's get this done. So you have that confidence, that clarity, and get you on the road to a successful retirement where you'll never run out of money or income. I think we've got a few minutes left here. Sam's kind of waving his hands. We got about five left. So you know here's I'm going to jump in. I think we can get this one covered pretty quick is bad decision number two. And this is oh man I don't know. This might be a close runner to to to number one. This one that we see all the time is claiming your Social Security benefits too early, folks. Claiming your Social Security benefits before full retirement age will result in a very reduced monthly payment for the rest of your life.

Erick Arnett:
Okay, it's reduced by 8% every year that you take it prior to your full Social Security age. And most of you out there listening to me today, your full retirement age is going to be right around 67. So it's important that you don't take Social Security early unless there's certain situations that, you know, uh, dictate that you need to do that. And that's another reason why. If you reach out to us today, we'll put together for you what we call our Social Security maximization report. It's just a real nice report. It's called our Social Security Maximization and Optimization report. Will take a look at your situation. Whether you're married, single, you know, what other income you have coming in your assets. And we'll take a look at when is the best timing for you to take Social Security? Because we see a lot of mistakes being made on this and people really hurting themselves long term and creating more taxes for themselves, potentially. And so this is just something that we really, really need to, to get, um, get get in line. Consider the long term impact of this really important decision for you and your spouse. You know, if you need it and you've got to have it. Okay, I get it then. Then you just got to take it to survive. That's a different story than saying, oh, I'm going to take it.

Erick Arnett:
Uh, you know, just because I think I want to and that maybe Social Security is going to run out, or maybe I'm going to die early or whatever, all that kind of, all those kind of things could really impact you in a negative way. So let's let's think beyond that. Let's, let's get more detailed. Let's get let's get a deeper dive into it. You know, instead, if possible, consider delaying Social Security to to maximize your benefits and get the most of this system you have been paying into during your entire working life. Consult with the financial advisor professional to determine that optimal timing for claiming Social Security based on your individual circumstances. So if you're concerned about Social Security. You're truly concerned about, you're not quite sure. We understand that many of you are worried about the future cuts to Social Security, you know, affecting your retirement. We want to provide you with a Social Security maximization plan customized for you and your spouse, with all of your benefit information. That's going to be the most optimal strategy for you. It's completely complimentary. Take advantage of this today. Give us a call so we can get to work for you. (352) 616-0511. That's (352) 616-0511. Schedule your complimentary appointment with our office today. We love, love, love helping our listeners, especially when it comes to Social Security maximization. So I think that's all we have for this first segment. Stay tuned. We'll be right back with Take Point on Retirement Radio.

Producer:
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Producer:
It's a busy time of year across the sports calendar, and women's NCAA basketball is thriving like we've never seen. I'm Jim Tarabukin with the Retirement Radio Network powered by AmeriLife. Each year, millions of sports fans fill out brackets predicting the winner of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, but in 2020 for the women's tournament was the most successful yet. Nicole Auerbach, senior writer of The Athletic. I think we have.

Nicole Auerbach:
Crossed a threshold. I mean, I noticed it anecdotally among my friends that they are planning their weekends around these women's games, that they are making sure that they were going to be done with whatever work they had in order to be seated in time for that 7:00 game.

Producer:
Despite some structural inadequacies for many years, women's NCAA basketball has continued to grow. In the past couple of seasons, the NCAA has added the March Madness branding to the women's tournament and reached a $920 million media contract agreement with ESPN, valuing the event at 65 million per year. The most recent elite eight game, for example, between Iowa and LSU, featuring stars Caitlin Clark and Angela Rice, averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN platforms, the most watched college hoops game ESPN has ever broadcast. And while sky high ticket prices and soaring ratings haven't provided immunity to some ongoing logistical issues the sport has faced for years, this recent growth spurt has taken the game to new heights, so don't be surprised if you're filling out a bracket for the women's and men's side in the years to come. For the retirement radio network powered by AmeriLife. I'm Jim Tabaka.

Producer:
Welcome back to Take Point on Retirement. Schedule your free financial consultation now at TakePointOnRetirement.com.

Erick Arnett:
Hey everybody. Welcome back to Take Point on Retirement Radio. Thank you so much for listening today. This is segment two. Uh we're talking about bad decisions, bad habits in retirement and even leading up to retirement. Some pitfalls. You know, we took some time and kind of came up with some major pitfalls and even looked at the surveys and polls across America to see, really, those things that are hindering folks to getting to and through that successful stress free retirement. So bad decision number three today not having a savings first mindset. And we've got another quote from from Mr. Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha. Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving. So, uh, and here's a fact, folks, 40% of Americans don't have enough savings to cover a $400 emergency expense. Think about that. Uh, 40% of Americans don't have enough savings to just cover a $400 emergency expense. So this is, you know, circling right back to our our original, uh, bad decision or number one mistake is, is not budgeting, you know, not having any idea where your money's going and flowing. It's easy. It's easy today just for money to be whizzing out everywhere. And you don't know where it's going because, you know, you signed up for all these subscriptions and everything's electronically debited and, and all of a sudden we're like, why don't we have, you know, more money in our account to save for retirement. And so we've got to get a, get a handle on this.

Erick Arnett:
And I remember my grandfather always saying to me, it's, it's and this is like, you know, 40 years ago, uh, it's he always told me it's not what you make, it's what you spend. So my grandfather was far from being an oracle. Uh, he was a he was a child of a of a coal miner family and, uh, migrated to Ohio and ended up being a successful businessman. But, you know, one of the things that I never forget is some of his sayings. And one of them was, um, you know, it's Erick. It's not about what you make. It's about what you spend. Which means, like, you could be, you know, that millionaire next door looks like he's got nothing. And, you know, he maybe makes 60, $70,000 a year, but he's saving half of it every year. I mean, think about that compounding, you know, just living that humble lifestyle. Uh, so it's not necessarily, uh, don't necessarily judge a book by its cover. I love that book. By the way, if you ever want to read it, Millionaire Next Door, it's a great one. But, you know, so, so important to pay your and pay yourself. First, let's talk about putting money. The same couple that I was helping, this young couple that I was talking about in the first segment, same thing is we had to coach them and teach them like, you've got to be paying yourself first.

Erick Arnett:
We've got to get those IRA contributions, those Roth contributions, those 401 K deductions going first. Okay. Pay yourself first and then worry about paying. You know, all these other things that you may not need. Of course you got to pay your basics, like to keep the roof over your head and the water on and utilities, I get that. But all these other, you know, going out to eat this couple, this couple was a I would say a. How do you say it? Um, they were a, uh, middle class type family. Okay. Make decent money. But what they found when we really nailed them down, they came back with a budget and were like, this doesn't look right. It's too. It's too small. There's no way that you only are spending this much money every month. Because if you were spending that amount, you'd have way more money left over in your savings account to put towards retirement. So they're like, yeah, you're right. Like let's. So they took they took another week and did a deep dive into everything they were spending and uncovered everything. And what they found was, yeah, you know, where they were spending almost 1600 to $2000 a month in food and going out to eat. Another big thing, uh, that Americans fall into, like our culture. It's it's it's all of a sudden, this fast paced, you know, culture where we're always eating out, trying to grab that fast food or going to dinner because we don't feel like cooking, because we're so burnt out from working so hard.

Erick Arnett:
You know? And yeah, it catches up to you. I remember my wife and I did the same thing about a year ago, and I was shocked to see how much we were spending in groceries and eating out. And I was like, I was like, this is crazy. Like, we we we've got to stop this. We've got to get a control of this. So, you know, and we've got to start paying ourselves first. So it's it was more important I set up automatic savings, come right out of our accounts. We didn't even see it. Right. So there's little things that we can coach you on if you give us a call, little things that we can help you do to just get that forced savings going. Having that mindset, like Mr. Buffett says, is you got to save first, okay? Prioritize saving to build that financial safety net. Those are the kinds of people we feel like we can really help. You know, you've got to you've got to have some discipline. You've got to be able to save, and you got to be able to put some money towards retirement. So it's not too late. Uh, this same young couple, they're only 50 years old, and I keep talking about them because they even they felt bad. They keep saying. They kept saying to me, I think, is this too late, Erick? You know, are we too late for all this? And I'm like, no, absolutely not.

Erick Arnett:
Like we still have another 17 years before your full retirement age, Social Security. And I know you might not like to hear that and you might still have to work, you know, but we've got plenty of time to do this. So let's get on track. Let's get on pace. If you're out there listening today and you're one of my retirement warriors, or you're one of those folks that are just listening for the first time, and you're saying to yourself, you know what? Uh, I've just got to quit procrastinating. I get got to get going on this. So I know so I have some clarity. So I have some confidence as to how things might look five years from now, ten years, 15, 20 years from now. It's important not just to live in the now. We've got to look at what's it going to look like in the future. So don't you know, neglecting savings can leave you vulnerable to unexpected expenses to and even hinder your future retirement plans? We always say pay yourself first. We always say, pay yourself first so you know. Instead automate your savings. Like I said, by setting up regular contributions to a retirement account or emergency fund. Just automate it so you don't have to think about it, you know? And before you know it, all of a sudden you look at your accounts and it's like, wow, okay, we're really growing.

Erick Arnett:
We're putting some money towards retirement. We're building this nest egg because it's just automated. You don't even see it. You're not even tempted to go spend that money on something silly that you don't even need, right? So pay yourself first, first, first, first. The reason why you have that extra money in your account, maybe to go buy some frivolous things that you don't really need is because you're not saving. So you should you should be basically netting out, you know, your income every month. And so, uh, if you're eligible, you should also consider maximizing your Roth IRA contribution every year. If you don't know much about a Roth, or you'd like to learn more about a Roth and how they work, I love Ross. They're an incredible vehicle, the one that's been overlooked, underused, and undervalued. And we've got to get the Roth going for you if we can. So if you're eligible, you should consider maximizing your Roth contributions each year to reduce the future taxes you'll be paying in retirement. Imagine if taxes continue to go up and you keep saving into a tax deferred account where you're just deferring and kicking taxes down the road, and all of a sudden now you're in retirement and taxes are super high, and that can really hinder your, uh, cash flow and impede your successful retirement. So that's something that I love, love, love for folks to get a tax free bucket going, not just having money in tax deferred or taxable buckets.

Erick Arnett:
You've got three buckets of money tax free, tax deferred and taxable. And we got to try to get balance in those. So you're not just I, I just had a gentleman in here this morning and his only go to because all he had was money in an IRA. He had to pull money out because he wanted to help his daughter purchase a home. And he had to pay a ton of money in taxes to pull money out of his IRA. And so that's another, you know, bad decision I believe, that people make is, yeah, we're still taking care of our adult children. And, folks, you got to realize that I understand love and children and want to help them out. I get that I have kids of my own, but make sure you realize that you're hurting yourself as well. You're hindering yourself. You're going to need every dime. You're going to need every dollar in this economy, with inflation and all the rising costs and all the rising taxes that are coming in our future, you're going to need every dime, folks, and you may feel like you get money now and you might feel a little wealthy, but please don't start dishing all this money out to our adult kids. They need to take care of themselves. Because if you think about it, who's going to be there to take care of you? And you're in your 70s and 80s when that money's gone.

Erick Arnett:
Okay? So please be please be careful of that too, because that's a big mistake we see folks making all times. They're just cashing in money out of their IRA and paying huge taxes to help their adult kids. You know, where kids in their 40s and 50s. I mean, come on, these these kids should be standing on their own two feet by now. That's super important. Uh, so, you know, uh, I love, love, love the Roth. So give us a call today. (352) 616-0511. Let's get a Roth set up for you today. Maybe even a Roth conversion. If you don't know what a Roth conversion is, let's talk about that. We encourage you to go online yourself or contact us so we can show you where to access a compound interest calculator. By using this tool for just a few minutes, you will begin to see the power of consistent saving. Just play with that calculator and and just see what it looks like. If you consistently save for a year, two years, three years, four years, five years and see how much that money grows and compounds how impactful that can be for you and your retirement. Super, super important. Never too late to get started. Get started now. Give us a call if you need help with it. (352) 616-0511 or just go right to my website. TakePointWealth.com. Click on the upper right hand corner and schedule an appointment with me today. Happy to get right on board with you and get going on that stuff.

Erick Arnett:
So um, bad decision number four. So I think I already talked about this one and beat this up because I jumped ahead on you, Sam, because I knew budgeting was a big one and you've got it down as bad decision number four. And I'm ranking it up there with I'm going to go ahead and give uh, your, your market timing and not budgeting both number ones. I think those are both number ones. No criticism to you sir. You did a great job with this. But but uh, bad decision number four is not having that realistic budget and or no budget at all. And I think unfortunately there's there's some facts, you know, 41% of Americans follow a budget only. Only 41%. So the other 60% of us out there are just willy nilly in it. No budget. A budget is so crucial to managing your finances in achieving your retirement goals, so you need to be the CEO of your own household. We say this all the time. Treat your household like a business. Appoint yourself as chief, uh, executive officer and maybe even chief investment officer. Chief Financial Officer what do you want to call yourself? But you need to start running your household like a business, folks. That's the only way you're going to be, uh, find success in distress. So. Because without that budget, it's easy to overspend and lose track of your financial priorities. So I think we already beat that dead horse.

Erick Arnett:
Please, please, please budget folks, bad decision. Number five paying too much in housing costs. So yeah, that I mean that kind of even alludes a little bit of what I was talking about earlier, helping your kids buy homes. Like, we know that homes have gone up tremendously in value, particularly in Florida. Interest rates have risen. So yeah, maybe you feel like, oh, you know, because things have gotten more expensive and it's harder for my kids to get that house. You're going to you're going to hurt yourself financially and dip into your own retirement to help those kids. And I just look at every other possibility to help them get in a home before you start raiding your retirement and paying huge taxes to pull money out of your IRA. Just be super, super careful. But paying too much in your own housing costs, you know, housing is often one of the largest expenses for retirees, so overspending on a house can strain your retirement budget. I see this all the time. Uh, you know, I've got a I've got a new client. Um, he came on board a couple years ago, and, you know, he ended up purchasing a home here in Florida, probably a little bit more out of his reach. And sure enough, you know, uh, had a good, you know, decent part time job to kind of supplement his income. And he lost that job, and now he's looking for another job, but now he's having to tap in to his IRA, pay taxes and everything to basically try to, you know, pay for this mortgage.

Erick Arnett:
And so, you know, getting yourself into that situation is just not a good idea to be very, very careful with that. If you need some help with that, some budgeting, some financial, you know, forecasting, uh, please, please reach out to us. 35261605113526160511. Standing by to be a resource for you, you know, carefully consider those housing expenses to ensure a comfortable retirement budget. If possible, think about downsizing or relocating even to a more affordable and desirable area for retirees. You know, uh, you've got to be able to afford retirement. You've got to you've got to pull back a little bit. You're not going to be able to maintain that same expensive lifestyle all the way to and through retirement. So be very, very mindful of those housing costs. And then bad decision. Number six carrying a balance on credit cards. The average credit card debt for Americans aged 65 and older is $4,700. That's just the average folks. I've seen people come in here in their 60s with much higher credit card debt, you know, and I know, uh, our our country isn't a very good, uh, leader when it comes to this because, you know, our country is running up the debt as well. And that's something that, you know, we've got to be mindful of. But the average credit card debt for Americans is rising. Uh, it's at an all time high.

Erick Arnett:
And now we got interest rates increasing, which is going to make even harder to pay off that debt. So just avoid those credit cards. If you can carry a balance on a credit card, you know, carrying balances on credit cards can really lead to those high interest charges and financial stress. So avoid those pitfalls of credit card debt and pay off your balances each month. You know, if you can't afford it and you're pushing balances into other months, then you just shouldn't be doing it. It's hard to say that. And it even took me time and years to figure this out for myself. And I'm a financial advisor, and I have a strict rule if I if I don't have the money, and I also am not raiding or hurting myself, my savings and my retirement, I'm just not going to buy it, folks, you know? So you've got to start having that same mentality of not just living for today or even living in the past, but really, truly think about tomorrow and your future long term. And that's why we stress getting in here to see us, or giving us a call to put together that complimentary financial plan for you, that freedom plan. Because until you put it to paper and you really dig in deep to all the components of what is required to have a good, solid retirement plan, if you're just kind of guessing at it and hoping things come together for you, or you're kicking that can down the road, like, oh, you know, uh, retirement is so far off to me.

Erick Arnett:
I'm going to worry about that later. No, you should be worrying about it right now. Right now. So let's answer all those questions for you and give us a shout. (352) 616-0511. Or just go to our website, TakePointWealth.com and you can get right on my calendar. But please, please, please be mindful of those credit cards and they can get out of control really quick. So bad decision number seven not having the formal retirement plan. So I think throughout the show we've obviously kind of been interweaving and talking about that. But it all starts with that. You know, all of these bad decisions and all these questions that were generating today by going through some of these points that we see, you know, uh, mistakes we see that people are making is if you have that comprehensive formal retirement plan, you're going to have the confidence, you're going to have the clarity, and you're going to avoid a lot of these pitfalls. That's why it's so important to work with a financial advisor. Please, please, please don't try to do this yourself or go it alone. It's not going to cost you any more money to bring in a teammate. You know, the best business owner. We talked about you being a CEO of your household, the best business owners, hire consultants and bring in smart people around them to help them achieve their goals.

Erick Arnett:
We want to partner with you to get you two and three retirement, but you got to have that formal retirement plan in place, and it's completely complimentary. Folks, we're going to put a ton of time, a ton of effort in. All we're asking for, for from you is the same amount of time and input and helping us gather all that data and information. And then we're going to build it out for you, and we're going to show you exactly how things are going to look today, tomorrow and in the future. And we're going to test it. We actually do. We throw the retirement plan. We throw a stress test at it. It's called a monte Carlo simulation. We'll throw a thousand scenarios at your plan, 1000 scenarios and combinations thereof. Good markets, bad markets, high interest rates, deflation, uh, black swan events, I mean, you name it. What's a black swan event? We're talking about a 911 or terrorist attack or a war or whatever. You know, these black swan events that we can't plan for geopolitical events. All of this is factored in and we show you how is your retirement plan going to hold up, you know, all the way to age 95. So you just can't and you just can't use one of those basic internet calculators? Oh, I've got $1 million and I'm going to have this much Social Security, so I know okay, I need about I'm going to make about 6% on this, and I'm going to go and just kind of use this little calculator online thing.

Erick Arnett:
Oh, I'm going to be fine. No. This way, way more involved than that. And we're offering that plan for you completely free and complimentary. So a formal retirement plan helps you set goals and make informed decisions about saving, investing and spending. Many people feel like they understand their money for the first time after meeting with us to develop that formal plan. It's that's why we love doing what we do. And, you know, whenever I see people sitting across from me and they have a sigh of relief or light bulbs go off and I'm like, wow, okay, I'm really glad we did this, and this uncovered that, and this uncovered this. And now I feel much better about what we're doing and we're back on track. And that's what we do here. It's not about necessarily the markets and and stocks and bonds. It's about creating that stress free, you know, vision for you, that stress free retirement, that happy retirement where you don't have to worry. So please, please get in here. Give us a shout. 35261605113526160511. Get your full complimentary Freedom Retirement plan today. Completely complimentary you know, so you know, failing to plan at all for retirement can really lead to financial insecurity in your golden years. So many people that we come in contact with just have never done a plan or never, you know, have never even thought about doing a plan.

Erick Arnett:
You will need regular streams of income to cover your expenses. Once again, you're going to need regular, consistent streams of income to cover your expenses, including health care you can't pull your money from, you know, uh, just willy nilly from market accounts when the market's down and all this kind of stuff. You got to be careful, folks. That's how you get hurt. You know, we've got to have a smooth, consistent plan. And you'll need regular income streams to cover expenses. We have all the tools and strategies to help put that in place for you. So please give us a call or jump on Take Point Wealth comm and that upper right hand corner. You can just click on there and set an appointment today and get on my calendar today. You know, and by all means, if it's not me, make it. Somebody consult with a licensed financial advisor and professional to create that comprehensive, once again, comprehensive, not just some kind of retirement calculator on the internet. A comprehensive retirement plan tailored and customized to you in your family and your goals and your specific needs. A lot of this stuff you get on the internet and all this kind of stuff, it's just blanket stuff that doesn't apply to you and just is, you know, may apply to other people or many people we're going to customize for you custom and tailor your own retirement plan completely complimentary, completely free of charge.

Erick Arnett:
If you call today (352) 616-0511, that's (352) 616-0511. Or you can just visit our website, TakePointWealth.com and book your consultation. We look forward to helping you reach your retirement goals. And you know, please, please, please don't put this off any longer. Give us a call today. We love to hear from you. We're super passionate about what we do, and we're standing by today to get you on track. And maybe you already have a plan and you're saying, hey, I hear what you're saying, Erick, but I feel like my plan is pretty solid and I really don't want to adjust it or. Any changes. Great. I'm. I'm excited. I'm glad you've done that. But I'm just throw this at you. Why not have a second set of eyes? Look at it. Get you a second opinion. Let's all look at it together and just and say, hey. Okay? Yeah. You know what? It looks great. You don't need to make any changes. Or what about if you did this? You know what? If we could optimize it, we can make it a little bit better, you know, by changing Social Security timing or or taking from the Roth instead of the traditional or, you know, what are your, you know, or hey, look over here. If we do this, you might eliminate some taxes, you know? So let's let's look at every aspect. Let's put a bubble, a bubble around you and your family or your your spouse for retirement, covering all the potential risks.

Erick Arnett:
So much to talk about, so much to learn. We love, love educating our retirement warriors. So please, please reach out to us today. Give us a call today 352 616 0511. Or just go to Take Point Wealth com in the upper right hand corner. You can get right on my calendar. You know we're here to help you and your family with a complimentary consultation. You know whether you're looking to optimize your investment portfolio, maximize your Social Security benefits or create a comprehensive retirement income plan income, where are you getting your income from, folks, it's important. You can't just take it willy nilly from stock accounts and everything else. You got to have a solid income plan. Our team is ready to assist you every step of the way. We're running out of time. Can't believe it. We already got through an hour today. It's kind of crazy. So much to talk about, folks. Uh, love, love, love that you're listening. Please. You know, take notes, go back, listen to the podcast, whatever you have to do. But give us a call, jump on our website, set up a consultation two days so we can get to work today together. Let's come together and let's put that stress free, you know, just wonderful retirement in place where we have complete confidence and clarity. Book your appointment today. Thank you so much for listening to Take Point on Retirement Radio. Been a blast being with you here today. Stay tuned next week and we'll be back.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to Take Point on Retirement. You deserve to work with a private wealth management firm that will strategically work to protect your hard earned assets. To schedule your free, no obligation consultation, visit. TakePointOnRetirement.com or pick up the phone and call (352) 616-0511. That's (352) 616-0511. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, BCM, a registered investment Advisor, BCM and Take Point Wealth Management are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Past performance cannot be used as an indicator to determine future results. At Take Point Wealth management. We know you've worked hard to earn your money and you've worked even harder to save it. When it comes to wealth management and planning for retirement trust, Erik Arnett and his team of experts who have been helping individuals, families and business owners find financial freedom for more than 20 years. Let us help you protect and grow what you've worked so hard for. Schedule your free, no obligation consultation now at Take Point Wealth com.

Producer:
So you know where you are now and where you want to be in retirement. So how do you plan to get there? I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement Radio Network, powered by AmeriLife.

Jack:
Do you have any other questions for me? Counselor, there.

Producer:
Are a lot of questions to ask yourself when you start your retirement plan. Questions like when should I retire? How much money will I need? When should I claim Social Security? What about health care costs and taxes in retirement? This complicated puzzle means you're probably going to need some help coming up with a smart retirement plan.

Ford Stokes:
If you want to retire successfully, you really need to plan early. You know inspectorj you expect and get prepared. Putting a plan in place now while you're still working is a great idea.

Producer:
Ford Stokes is founder and president of Active Wealth Management. Once you find a financial professional you want to work with, they can help you answer all the questions you may have.

Ford Stokes:
Back to what Warren Buffett said. If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you're going to work until you die. So we need to do everything we can to figure out a way to make money while we're sleeping. We talk about this human capital versus actual capital. When you're young, you have a lot of human capital. You've got a lot of left, a lot of room left, a lot of capital left in your career. Right? But at the same time, a lot of people that are older, let's say you're 65, 70 years old, you don't have a lot of human capital left, but you should have a lot of capital that is making money while you sleep. And if you don't, then you didn't make the right decisions.

Producer:
There are also some retirement costs you may not have considered yet. Long term care. For example, did you know it's not covered by Medicare? What about home renovations? If you decide to stay in your home instead of moving into a facility, your home might need some updates to ensure you're safe and comfortable. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. So do you have a fiduciary, financial advisor, or professional to help you wade through the complicated retirement planning process? That is a key question to consider if you want to make the most of your hard earned money with a retirement radio network powered by AmeriLife. I'm Matt McClure.