Breathe, Plan, Repeat: Your Action Plan for Financial Peace in Unpredictable Markets

Be one of a kind with Mike's Plan.

Welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily with your host, Mike Milligan. It is Tuesday, November 25th. Here we are right on the cusp of Thanksgiving. I just want you to know you are one of a kind. You can't retire from curiosity. It is a lifelong contract. See, retirement doesn't mean you're dead. It just means that you've entered a new phase, a happy phase, hopefully for many who have done the planning well. Recently on the One of a Kind Financial Show, Gary and I spoke about Breathe, plan, repeat. In a segment where we talked about the next big thing, estate planning, underfunding retirement, sticking to a strategy, and then talking to a pro. I want you to know you're one of a kind. In this segment, we're going to talk about how you can simply breathe, plan, and repeat and live a one-of-a-kind life.

Fatality is just a fact of life. It's a financial equivalent of bad weather. Sometimes it's Sometimes it rains sideways, your umbrella flips inside out. We know that happens. Now, for retirees especially, market swings can trigger real anxiety. After all, you're no longer earning a paycheck. Every dip feels personal. But today we're going to go over some common missteps to avoid and smart strategies that can help you weather the storm with your savings and sanity intact. Don't chase the hype. Yeah, we're looking at you, Bitcoin.

Yes, we are, because there's always a next big thing. And right now It's, uh, cryptocurrency, but that could also be one stock. We're looking at you, Nvidia, if we wanna say that too, that, you know, maybe your brother-in-law or your cousin twice removed swears, right, is the next version of Apple or Nvidia. So don't chase it because it's tempting to jump on the bandwagon, especially when the headlines are screaming gains. But if you're retired or close, your job's not to swing for the fences. Your job is to stay in the game. You absolutely must dabble. Oh, if you must dabble, only invest what you can afford to lose without losing sleep. Think casino money, not college funds. Diversification is your best friend. It's boring. Yeah, but boring is beautiful when you're trying to create predictable income for the next 30 years.

Yeah, absolutely. How about— we always talk about estate planning, not, not exactly a fun conversation, but it's something that's really important, Mike. Am I right?

Yeah, nobody— let's be honest, Gary, nobody wakes up in the morning and said, I'm— says, I'm going to create a will today. That's just not what gets people out of bed in the morning. But here's the thing, putting off estate planning doesn't make the hard stuff go away. It just makes it harder for the people you love. Having your documents in place— will, power of attorney, healthcare directive— is an act of love, not just paperwork. Update them annually. Talk to your family. Yes, Make sure your financial advisor is in the loop. That way, when the time comes, there's clarity, not confusion or a surprise family feud over one of the prized assets that you're leaving behind.

Yeah, that can lead to a lot of discussion and a lot of anxiety and angst and a lot of family fights come out of this. Am I right, Mike?

It is. And the— and also, if you're not here, your family is trying to understand What your intent was. And, and I have not heard a dead person be able to come back in yet, solve a family argument. Right. The way you solve those arguments is to clearly write it down and communicate it while you're still alive.

Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Don't underfund retirement, especially if your boss is offering you free money. Why would you do that?

So, yeah, if your employer matches retirement contributions and you're not taking full advantage, you're leaving money on the table. In 2025, the average 401 match sits at about 4.5% of your salary. And yes, that's free money. They don't take the match money from your salary. It's not part of your 100% of the income. It's above and beyond. It's a benefit. Take advantage of it, folks. If you, if you get a 4.5% match and you put in 4.5%, that's 100% return on your money. If you're already saving, great. Now ask, Could you bump that percentage up just a bit? You know, 1% more can make a big difference over time. What if you have no match? Consider funding a traditional or Roth IRA, or if you're self-employed, look into a SEP or even a Solo K. Just don't fall into the trap of, I'll start saving when things calm down. Markets rarely calm down, and neither does inflation.

Yeah, great advice, Mike. This is the One of a Kind Financial Show with Mike Milligan. I'm Gary Nolan, your consumer advocate. Let's get you on Mike's calendar, all set up with that comprehensive plan, with that one of a kind financial plan. That number is 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text the word ideas to 600-700. Do it right now. Get yourself on a calendar. 800-748-1838, or text the word ideas to 600-700. Stick to your strategy, not just the news cycle. Oh boy.

All right, here's the truth bomb, folks. I'm getting ready to, to lay it out to you. Markets have always been volatile.

No, come on. No, come on.

Absolutely, guys. I, I— that's the— it's just a truth bomb. And history shows that missing just a handful of the market's best days could slash your retirement by half over a couple decades. Yet guess when those best days tend to occur? Yep, they tend to occur right after the worst ones.

That's right.

In other words, if you jump out every time the market drops, you can miss the rebound. And in retirement, that could be a very expensive lesson. Instead of reacting to every scary headline, work with your advisor to build a plan that can take a punch. Make sure it's diversified, it's income aware and adjusted for your risk level, your risk comfort. Make sure you could sleep at night with what you have at risk and let the media be dramatic, but you don't want to follow suit.

You know, most of the time when you see something on CNBC or Fox Business, it's already happened and it's actually too late. That horse has left the barn, so to speak. Mike, am I right?

It is. Absolutely, Gary. So You know, you don't want to— just like you don't want to chase returns, you don't want to go into something that maybe has already gotten high, right? You know, following the winner, you don't want to do that. Uh, you also don't want to react, right? That's why it's important to have a plan and have somebody who's on your side.

All right, talk to a pro before you panic and, you know, buy gold in bulk. That's— you want to talk to somebody like you, Mike, right?

I mean, if you talk to somebody Uh, you know, before you panic and have a plan on what happens when it does happen, you're gonna feel much better. So let's face it, it's hard to make smart financial decisions when you're anxious or overwhelmed or doom-scrolling market news at 11:30 PM at night. That's where a good advisor comes in, someone who knows your goals, your plan, and can help you Zoom out from the day-to-day drama. They can help fix past mistakes, adjust for new life events, or just be the calm voice in the middle of a financial storm. And if none of that works, Gary, I'll just pour you a cocktail.

All right, Mike, tell us about the one-of-a-kind financial plan one more time.

Well, you know, first of all, folks, you need to breathe, you need to plan, and then you need to repeat, because markets are unpredictable. Yes, Retirement makes every decision feel higher stakes. That's where the one-of-a-kind financial plan comes in. The one-of-a-kind financial plan is written so it is a roadmap. It is your template. It is your manifesto that I am going to be free and clear from the wild swings in the market, and I'm not going to make decisions that would hurt me and my family long-term. That plan includes tax planning. That helps reduce the biggest expense you'll ever have in your life. It's retirement income that no matter what market storm may come your way, there's gonna be money in your checking account every month to meet your needs and your wants. And so that you can live the way you want. Then it's gonna have an investment plan that, yeah, really helps you sleep at night because yes, we need to have some money in the market, but not so much that you can't sleep. And then it's a long-term care and a legacy plan. Though, when you bundle it together, it is the one-of-a-kind financial plan. I wrote the book on it because I want you guys to be able to live a one-of-a-kind life.

800-748-1838. That's the number to get ahold of Mike and the team. 800-748-1838, or text the word IDEAS to 600-700.

Thank you again for listening to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. I've been your host, Mike Milligan. If you enjoyed the segment that you just listened to, I invite you to connect with us on Amazon. Google The One of a Kind Financial Plan. It's a bestselling book in the personal tax category, and I invite you to do that. Number 2, if you feel like you need more education when it comes to your own personal financial planning, we have a course that's offered through Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. It's offered virtually, and it's a self-paced course called Personal Financial Planning that I helped develop and I teach. It is 6 sessions, 90 minutes each, and full of recordings for you that you can start and stop based on what you need. It goes through the psychology and philosophy of money, the cash management, budgeting, and debt management. We talk about insurance, whether it's property and casualty, like your homeowners, autos, renters, to the type of insurances you work on at, or you need to replace the biggest asset you have, which is your income. Then we move over and talk about— do a real big investment dive into the difference between mutual funds and ETFs. We go all the way from crypto down to individual stocks and bonds from an academic standpoint. Then we look at retirement planning, tax planning, long-term care, and legacy. Ultimately, with the idea that you can build a one-of-a-kind financial plan for yourself. Ultimately, though, what it does is it equips you with knowledge that if you're ever in a conversation with a financial advisor or a financial planner, you know the questions to ask. So I invite you to reach out to us. You can go to mikemilligan.com under the Educate tab and see how to register for that. We also put some resources behind that on school.com in our private closed group where you can ask questions and learn more. As always, just remember that I am an investment advisory rep, not only with One Oak Financial, but also Advisory Alpha LLC. Ideas by Mike, doing business as One Oak Financial, Mike Milligan LLC, and Advisory Alpha LLC, are unaffiliated entities. And thus, all opinions expressed by me and Gary on the One of a Kind Financial Show and me on the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily are purely my opinions and does not reflect investment advice. Please consult with a licensed financial professional before making any decisions. Till next time, this has been Mike Milligan.

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