Build a Retirement Plan that Gets to the Finish Line

Be one of a kind with Mike's Plan.

Welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily with your host, Mike Milligan.

Here we are, episode 36 on November 10th, 2025.

It's interesting because as we open up the financial websites today, the news that our Senate is potentially bringing an end to the federal shutdown is a welcome relief both to the stock market, To those who have travel plans that are coming up over the holiday season.

I know my daughter will be traveling from Alabama.

I'll be traveling back from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Norfolk, and millions of people will be traveling.

And the relief that our TSA, our folks in air traffic control, and all of the federal employees—

there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

I hope that they're able to get this through because the level of stress and fear in our country now is At an all-time high because of, uh, what is to come over these next 6 weeks of travel.

But you know, recently on the One of a Kind Financial Show, Gary and I talked about how you build a retirement plan that gets you to the finish line because there's so many retirees facing the stress that is to come in the future. They don't know about potential gaps in funding in the future.

Maybe their checks get interrupted because of a federal shutdown.

Maybe there's a point in time where they have some interruptions that hurt them. We talk about things like longevity mindset, you know, what is the real benefit to working longer, inflation, and other topics, uh, in a recent segment. I wanted to share that with you today. So enjoy this segment for the One of a Kind Financial Show, and as always, be one of a kind.

Many of us plan retirement as though the finish line is 65, 70, or maybe 80. But what if you live past 90? Hey, what if you live to 100? We're going to talk about longevity mindset. Let's off with that today, Mike?

Yeah. Well, we often plan for retirement for maybe 20 years after stopping to work. But if someone assumes they'll live to 90+, this changes the start. This really changes the starting point of the conversation. We have to shift from, when do I stop working, to, how do I live well for another 20, 30 years? So one of the things that Dave Ramsey says is he says, a budget is like telling your money where to go. Instead of wondering where it went.

Oh yeah.

We at, at One Oak Financial, like, and when we meet with people, whether it's me or Joseph or Eric or Marcus or Scotty or January, you know, whoever you meet with from our team on the initial meeting, I, I, I will meet you at some point, by the way, guys. We have to just, we have to get the mindset right because until you know, like what statistics says about how long you're gonna live, it's really impossible to build a financial plan. You may have an investment portfolio, right? You know, you know, so many advisors out there in this world create investment portfolios and call themselves financial planners. We actually start with longevity in mind. We do something called the HALO assessment, the Health Analysis Longevity Optimizer, which is a tool that will give you your healthspan and your lifespan. And it actually gives us some numbers that actually create a plan and puts you in the right frame of mind about how long your money should last.

Yeah, absolutely. And how long are you gonna live? At least, you know, we don't have a crystal ball. You don't know for sure, but that sounds like you got a pretty good plan together to get that together.

That's right.

That's right. All right. How about working a bit longer? That equals real gains. So I guess you can work a little longer, huh?

Well, it does, right? The article that we're referencing here, The 90+ Rules of Retirement, cites research showing that even working 3 to 6 months longer can boost retirement income by as much as increasing savings by 1% annually over 30 years.

Let me say that again, folks.

Working an extra 3 to 6 months before you retire can boost your retirement income by the same amount as if you would have saved 1% more over 30 years. Now, it could be painful to work 3 to 6 months, Gary. You know how many people I talk to when I say, you know, they'll tell me they're 62 years old and they'll ask me, I'll ask them, when do you want to retire? And they'll be like 62 months or 62 years old. They say, I want to retire today. And I'm like, why? And they'll tell me about the aches and pains of getting up in the morning, right? Yeah. people, how technology's evolving so fast. They tell me all these stories, right? And if I were to tell them to work 3 to 6 months longer, that's like what the one-size-fits-all investment advisors tell people every day. Just work a little bit longer. You're gonna get stats like this. The one-of-a-kind financial plan helps you get out of work as soon as possible so you can actually retire, right? So you can go do the things that, uh, that, that, that make, that bring purpose and joy to your life.

Yeah, that's what Mike and the team will do for you when you meet with him. In fact, uh, it's a good time to open up the phone lines now. Let's get you all set up with that comprehensive plan, that one-of-a-kind financial plan that Mike talks about. 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text IDEAS to 600-700. Do it right now. The folks at One Oak Financial and Ideas by Mike standing by ready for your phone call this weekend. 800-748-1838 or text IDEAS to 600-700. Inflation and spending may rise, not fall, Mike.

Well, many— well, boy, is that an understatement, Gary.

No kidding.

Spending may rise, not fall, and so would inflation. Many retirees assume their expenses will decline with age, but in fact, the cost of housing, healthcare, travel, all caused by inflation, push these costs higher. You just don't get as much for the dollar in the future, but the cost of those things still go up. You know, if you don't have cost of living adjustments built into your retirement income section of your plan, you're really making a mistake, folks. Because if you don't, if you don't get inflation-adjusted money in retirement, I mean, nobody would work the same thing today. They wouldn't, they would not accept the same salary that they did 30 years ago.

Right.

Because, because, because 30 years ago, I could buy a Diet Coke for 35 cents. Now it's $2.99. I could buy a gallon of milk for $0.49. Now it's $3. I could buy a gallon of gas for $0.79. Now it's $2.50. Right, guys? It's the same gallon of gas, the same gallon of milk, the same Diet Coke, but it's just gone up because of inflation. And so if you're— if you don't have a plan that packs inflation adjustment into your retirement plan, it's definitely time to call.

Yeah, Mike will bake that into your plan for sure. We've got a couple of minutes left. Income sources and diversification, Mike, talk about that in the remaining minute. we have, or a couple of minutes we have.

Yeah. If you plan to live into your 90s, you want more than just, uh, than just a lump sum portfolio. This article suggests building a reliable income plan that's based around Social Securities, dividends, rental income, guaranteed income annuities, you know, multiple legs to support the income you need. So like, uh, clients, uh, listeners, people that are listening here, if you were able to, if I was able to interview my clients for the radio show, One of the things that you would hear from them is that they do have multiple streams of income that come in at different points during the month. Because the last thing you want is to get paid on the first of the month and then not get another check for another month, right? But the other thing you want to do is you don't want to necessarily take income from an investment portfolio that could lose value during that time. So we not only talk about getting multiple streams of income, but we also talk about how to have it, how to have it be tax efficient. when you take it out. And so, Gary, that's why we build the one-of-a-kind financial plans.

Yeah, tell us about the plan now, Mike.

Yeah, the, the, the one-of-a-kind financial plan is something I developed, uh, something that I've written about extensively, and I, I talk about not only on the radio show but other people. We build one-of-a-kind financial plans because our firm is about you, the listener. It's not about our— it's not about like our investment strategies, our long-term care strategies. It's about listening to where you are, And taking where you are, the problems that you think you have, the problems we can identify, and then knowing how to execute a plan for the life you want to live that reduces lifetime taxes, that creates retirement income you can't outlive, that builds an investment portfolio that has fees that are worthy, right? And investment performance that can help you sleep at night. We also build a long-term care plan because the only person that can take care of the older version of you is the younger version. And then a legacy plan that says, I love you. Folks, just like this article says, you need to start looking like what life could be like 90-plus because people are living longer.

Mm-hmm.

We want to build a one-of-a-kind financial plan for your whole life. It starts with picking up the phone and either calling us or texting us. Guys, the good news this weekend is if you do call in and text, I will call you back today. Because I am manning the phones. I cannot wait to speak to the dozens and dozens of people who are going to call into the show today.

All right, let's give the phone number then: 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text the word ideas to 600-700.

One last message from our compliance team. As a reminder, Mike Milligan, Certified Financial Planner, is an investment advisor representative of Advisory Alpha LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. All opinions expressed by me, Mike, or any podcast guests are solely Our opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Advisory Alpha. This recording is for informational purposes only, should not be relied on solely for investment, tax, or legal decisions, and it's in no way intended to communicate or guarantee specific performance or suitability of any security instrument or product as we may have discussed. Investment advisory and financial planning services offered through Advisory Alpha LLC, a registered investment advisor. Insurance products are provided by Ideas by Mike, a licensed agency located in Norfolk, Virginia, and licensed to do business in all 50 states. While tax and legal issues may be discussed in the general course of financial and investment planning, Advisory Alpha does not provide tax or legal services. Please consult with your tax or legal professional prior to making decisions related to these issues. If you want us— an appointment with Ideas by Mike or One Oak Financial, please reach out via our website. This podcast is produced in conjunction with Mike Milligan, LLC.

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