In this episode of the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily, host and financial advisor Mike Milligan, joined by consumer‑advocate Gary Nolan, walks listeners through the behavioral finance traps that can sabotage a retiree’s portfolio and outlines five practical strategies to mitigate them. The discussion begins with a brief introduction to behavioral finance, emphasizing that most investors believe they act rationally when, in fact, emotions and cognitive shortcuts dominate decisions. The first strategy tackles loss aversion, explaining how the pain of losing can cause retirees to sell during market downturns instead of staying invested. The second strategy warns against herd mentality and financial fads, using historical examples such as Tulip Mania and the GameStop meme‑stock frenzy to illustrate how following the crowd can erode true investment returns. The third strategy addresses overconfidence, citing CFA Institute research that most investors overestimate their ability to beat the market, leading to excessive trading and insufficient downside protection. The fourth strategy focuses on present bias, describing how the preference for immediate rewards leads many retirees to undersave and jeopardize long‑term financial security. The final strategy ties financial decisions to legacy and personal values, urging retirees to align their plans with the goals they want to leave for heirs or charitable causes. Throughout, Milligan promotes his “One‑of‑a‑Kind Financial Plan” offered through One Oak Financial, highlighting its emphasis on current risk tolerance, tax planning, and reliable income streams. The episode concludes with a call‑to‑action, providing a phone number (800‑748‑1838) and a text keyword (IDEAS) for listeners to schedule a consultation, followed by a standard disclaimer that the content is educational and not investment advice, and that Milligan is an investment advisor representative of Advisory Alpha LLC.
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It's Thursday, it's January, it's 2026, and this is the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily with your host, Mike Milligan. We all like to think we make rational money decisions, but science says otherwise. We're going to pull back the curtain on behavioral finance, one of my favorite subjects. And how your brain may be sabotaging your retirement. One of the keys to having an advisor, a planner, a confidant on your side when you're making money decisions is to really stay outside of some of these irrational decisions that could come. Remember, investment return and investment— investor return are something totally different. And it's mainly because the behavioral finance, something we talk about when I teach principles and ethics of financial planning. At Old Dominion University, something I leave with our clients who work with me at One Oak Financial. Enjoy this segment from the One of a Kind Financial Show.
You are one of a kind.
Your financial plan should be that way also.
When it comes to money, most people believe they're making logical, informed decisions, but science tells a different story. Now, behavioral finance, the study of how psychology impacts financial decisions, reveals that emotions, bias, and mental shortcuts often lead us astray. Now, today's segment, we're going to pull back the curtain on these hidden forces that show how high-net-worth retirees can protect themselves from their own instincts. The first one, the emotional investor. Sounds dangerous to me, Mike.
It is. And, you know, we often hear that buy low, sell high is the secret to success. Yet many investors do the opposite. Behavioral finance highlights that loss aversion The pain of losing money can feel twice as powerful as the joy of gaining it. This often drives people to sell during market downturns, locking in losses instead of riding out volatility. Gary, I want to ask you something. If you could go back and buy a car for what that car cost 3 years ago, a new car, by the way, would you buy that car?
Yeah, I hear you. Yeah.
Yeah. Unfortunately, what people do from a standpoint of the stock market is when the stock market goes down, they don't realize that the stock market just goes to, to years of past valuations and that it's on sale. Instead, people want to sell something when it's devalued. That's really because they were invested in the wrong thing in the first place.
Mm-hmm. I see. Herd mentality and financial fads. You got to watch out for those too.
There's a reason bubbles happen, from tulip mania in the 1600s to the meme stocks. We all remember GameStop.
Oh yeah.
Behavioral finance calls it herd behavior. It's the instinct to follow the crowd when the main thing you should be doing is building a plan that helps you deal with things when times go south. We also call it, many people get their advice, by the way, from things like the water cooler, the people in the office, their neighbors, neighbors, text them things. Listening to the uncertified professionals who are doing things, they'll— people always tell you about their wins in life. They'll tell you, yeah, I bought Nvidia when it was $29 a share. But what they'll forget to tell you is that they bought Fiserv when it was $200 and it's worth $59. Or that they bought, or they bought etoys.com when it was $150 a share and it went bankrupt or Enron. So this herd mentality, And these financial fads that come along or following somebody else's advice without a real plan really puts you in danger of not being able to realize true investment return.
Yeah, it's like the guy who goes to the casino and tells you he wins, but he didn't tell you all the time he lost, right?
That's exactly right.
Yeah, I got to Google the Tulip Mania of 1600s. I heard—
It happened over— It happened in the Netherlands. And so in the Netherlands, when they first, I guess, discovered tulips and the bulbs, I think bulbs at those times were selling for like $20,000 each because people liked them.
Yes, I heard something about that. Yes, it was crazy.
It was crazy. And of course now you can go down to the Home Depot and get 10 bulbs for $20, right?
Yeah, right.
So it's just something that happened in the past where people saw something beautiful and They thought it was limited supply and the cost went up dramatically.
Right. It was like buying toilet paper during the pandemic. Exactly. Overconfidence, the silent killer, Mike.
Research from the CFA Institute shows that many investors believe they can outperform the market, but very few actually do. And overconfidence, it just leads to excessive trading, concentrated positions, and really neglecting downside protection. Guys, what goes up is going to come down. Right? What goes down is going to go up. And that is, that is just, that is basic advice. What we need to make sure though, is that your money, especially those who have retired or approach retire, we got to make sure that a major loss doesn't impact your ability to live. And so it's important to realize that you are, that, that having a well-diversified portfolio gives you the best chance to sleep at night and not making overly emotional decisions.
The show is the One of a Kind Financial Show with Mike Milligan. Hi there. Gary Nolan, your consumer advocate. Let's get you on Mike's calendar, all set up with that one-of-a-kind financial plan. That phone number is 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text the word IDEAS to 600-700. Do it right now. The present bias trap— what do we mean by that?
Present bias refers to immediate rewards over long-term benefits. It's chasing the new hot thing that's out there. This can wreck even the best retirement plans. Studies from the National Bureau of Economic Research show that many Americans undersave simply because they prioritize spending today versus long-term accumulation to set— to take care of them when they're older.
And the final point we want to make in segment number 2 is aligning decisions with legacy and values.
For many retirees, wealth isn't just numbers on a page. It represents decades of work, Sacrifice and dreams for the next generation. I mean, folks, people, if you have saved for retirement, if you worked a job, if you put money aside, there's many people who sacrifice their kids' baseball games. There's people who sacrifice family vacations. You sacrificed maybe that morning Starbucks fix to be able to have this level of protection going into retirement. Behavioral finance shows you, reminds us, that unchecked emotions or biases can derail not only your financial goals, but also the legacy people hope to leave for children, grandchildren, or charitable causes. And so we help our guide— we help guide our clients to build the one-of-a-kind financial plan. The one-of-a-kind financial plan is equal part enjoy the present because we're not promised the future, but plan for the future because somebody's going to be living it, whether that's you and your spouse or just your spouse or your kids. Make sure that legacy is fully taken care of. So, uh, do live a one-of-a-kind life today, but also into the future.
Yeah. Tell us a little more about the one-of-a-kind financial plan before we wrap up segment 2, Mike.
Guys, if that discussion hit home with you guys, here is your opportunity to act. If we're being real and honest with each other, we all probably neglect, uh, the markets or our investment accounts until One of these emotional things happen, and that is the wrong time to make a decision. It's better to have a plan in place for not only the growth when times are good, but what would happen when times are bad. That plan is something we call the One of a Kind Financial Plan. It makes sure that your risk tolerance is present today, not something you put in place 20 years ago. It's so that we have a plan for taxes, something that nobody else plans for. And it's an income plan that you can count on. That one-of-a-kind financial plan is built by One Oak Financial, my firm, for you. And we do that because we want you to live a one-of-a-kind life.
800-748-1838. 800-748-1838. Or text the word ideas to 600-700.
Thank you for joining us for the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. This has been Mike Milligan. As a reminder, We do this podcast for educational content purposes only. You should seek professional financial advice either by reaching out to us in the, in how we offered, we offered many different ways to do that in the segment of the radio show that you just listened to. Mike is an investment advisor representative with Advisory Alpha LLC out of Holland, Michigan. Ideas by Mike, doing business as One Oak Financial, is an unaffiliated entity of Advisory Alpha LLC. The opinions expressed in the One of a Kind Financial Show and the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily are those of Mike and Gary Solely. Please don't take them to make any investment recommendations on your own. Thanks again for joining us on the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily.
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