Retirement Matters With Michael Stewart

Some people think we’re on the cusp of the next stock market crash. Others predict that we’re just due for a minor correction. And another camp thinks we’ll continue an upward trend. We don’t know who is right or when any of those options will occur. But let’s talk about what the next market crash might look like, even if we don’t know when it will come. Website: https://crystallaketax.com/ Phone Number: 815-526-3092

The last decade of your working life is a very important one from a retirement planning perspective. Let’s talk about some of the things you want to be sure you address during that 10-year period... Website: https://crystallaketax.com/ Phone Number: 815-526-3092

Today’s episode is simple. We’ll look at some of the most widely believed financial myths and try to bust them wide open. The scary thing is that a lot of people base their financial plans on some of these myths. Don’t be like that.

It's been a volatile start to the month of August 2019, so let's take a few moments to consider how to best adapt your investment strategies to handle the ups and downs of the market. When approaching retirement or in retirement, there's no room for heavy losses. Michael will let us know how we can conserve our hard-earned money so we're protected from - and we can make the most of - market mayhem.

Between wildfires, hurricanes, tornados and floods, there’s always a natural disaster making news headlines. And while life and limb aren’t at stake when it comes to your portfolio, experiencing a financial disaster can still have a catastrophic effect on your life in retirement. Let’s discuss some portfolio disasters that we’ve seen and how to avoid them...

Your 401k can be your most powerful retirement savings tool. But it’s not perfect. Let’s talk about some of the weaknesses that you should be aware of in your 401k (or 403b, or TSP, or 457 plan).

The term “fake news” has become synonymous with the political climate of the past few years. But the phenomenon has spread to other parts of our culture as well. What about fake news in the financial space? We’ll look at some recent news headlines to see if they qualify to be labeled as “fake news”.

There are plenty of proverbs and axioms that aren’t meant to be about money, but we can easily learn a financial lesson from them anyway. We’ll show you the hidden money meanings behind some of these popular sayings...

Some of retirement planning’s most important questions seem so simple at first. They can be asked in just a few words and give the impression the answers are a simple “yes” or “no”. But it’s tricky because many of these questions can become overwhelming to answer. Let’s cover some of the important retirement questions that are harder to answer than you might think.'

If you’re heading out on a road trip this summer, there’s a long checklist of items that you want to be sure you haven’t forgotten. And in retirement planning, some of those exact same items need to be addressed. Let’s look at some of the items that should appear on both your road trip checklist and your retirement planning checklist.

It seems that people have different definitions of “safe money” as it relates to their savings. Let’s discuss some of those varying explanations of the term and why it’s an important conversation for any retiree or pre-retiree to have.

We get a lot of questions from listeners wanting to know how they can determine when it will be “safe” for them to retire. Let’s look at some of the key factors that help a person define what “safe” means and when they can indeed pull that retirement lever.

When it comes to financial planning, everybody has some kind of pain point. Those pain points are different for each person, but everyone has something that bothers them. Michael tells us about some times where he's helped clients through these frustrating areas.

Most people have a junk drawer at home. It usually contains things like rubber bands, clothespins, highlighters, glue sticks, a tape measure, a label maker, and a pair of scissors. But most people have a financial junk drawer too. Let’s talk about some of the things that end up there and how they might be put to better use…

In many areas of our culture, the do-it-yourself mentality is really popular. There’s even a DIY Network where you can watch shows about home renovation, landscaping, or interior design, and how to do those things without professional help. Let’s talk about what the DIY mentality looks like in retirement planning.

You want to feel informed about your options when it comes to making financial decisions. So, you probably turn to a lot of different sources to gather that information. Let’s look at some of the most popular areas from which you’re getting your financial education and evaluate whether these are wise areas from which to grow your financial knowledge.

Let’s talk about some of the details that people often fail to consider when they’re planning their retirement.

Not everything in financial planning is black and white. In fact, most things aren’t black and white—there’s usually a lot of gray area. Let’s identify some of the issues that usually require a nuanced discussion…