How to avoid Retirement Sand Traps–plus Charles Schwab Cup News

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Welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily with your host, Mike Milligan. Well, here it is, November 12th, 2025. This date has been on my calendar now for several months with something that quite honestly gives me a little fear and anxiety because today I will be playing golf.

And if you know me, and if you know me well, this is not something that I do on a weekend basis or weekly basis.

It's not something I look forward to. It's not something I really enjoy, but it's something that millions of Americans do enjoy. And I have the privilege and honor today teeing off at the Charles Schwab Cup Pro-Am. And it is, uh, the Charles Schwab Cup, as you'll hear coming up in the segment from the One of a Kind Financial Show that we did, is, is this weekend. It's the culmination of the Senior Tour season, those who are 50+, those professional golfers.

It's all gonna be rubbing shoulders.

And on the course today, giving a very amateur take on what golf should be. But I'm telling you what, it's gonna be fun, and I will probably find my way into sand traps. I will probably have to pick up and move, but I will have a new appreciation, right, playing shoulder to shoulder with professional golfers of what real golf pro is.

Now, on the financial planning side, there's probably not many in this world at the top of the game like I am with One Oak Financial.

So I do want to not only talk about the Charles Schwab Cup and what I'm going to experience today, but also want to talk how you can avoid retirement sand traps. So enjoy this segment from that show, and if you don't mind, say a little prayer for me today as I tee it up.

Be Welcome back to the One of a Kind Financial Show. I'm Gary Nolan, here with the man who knows how to help to avoid financial sand traps, Certified Planning— Certified Financial Planning Professional Mike Milligan. Now, golf fans are in for a big treat. It's coming up November 13th through the 16th. The Charles Schwab Cup Championship tees off at the Phoenix Country Club. This is it, the season-ending playoffs for the final PGA Tour champions. Let's talk about that a little bit, Mike. This sounds exciting.

Yeah.

So, so the Senior PGA Golf Tour, right, is for people, golfers, professional golfers over 50. What's interesting about this is Tiger Woods turns 50 next year.

And so he's going to be eligible for the Senior Golf Tour.

Oh, wow. That's fantastic.

Yeah, that's right. That's going to be a boom for that if he could stay healthy. But what's really interesting about the Charles Schwab Cup is this next week it tees off in Phoenix. I'm actually going to be there. I'm playing in the Pro-Am. Oh, no kidding.

Good for you.

Yeah, it's gonna be fantastic. I'm gonna get to get out there on the course before the actual tournament begins with some other amateurs like myself, and then some really key. So the Charles Schwab Cup is the last event in the PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour of the year. It's the ultimate showdown for the top 36 golfers who are over 50 years old. Think of this as the Super Bowl of senior golf. You've got living legends like Stephen Alker, Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Stewart Cink, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, and they'll all be chasing the title. This, I mean, it's the championship course is going to be, or where it's being played is the Phoenix Country Club in Phoenix, Arizona. It's 6,860 yards. That's a long way, by the way, Gary.

It sounds like a long way.

Yeah, I can't wait to try to play on this championship course, but man, it's just going to be an amazing event as they end their season.

Yeah, you know, it sounds amazing. Those legends still going strong. The Charles Schwab Cup isn't just one weekend. It's about rewarding season-long consistency and patience, Mike.

Yeah, every— exactly. Every shot, every tournament all builds toward this final weekend of golf. And that, my friend, is a perfect metaphor for financial planning.

All right, so let's tee it up, Mike. Golf and financial life actually share a lot in common. The best golfers, like the most successful retirees, they all have a plan Now, we got 4 lessons that golf teaches us about building a strong financial strategy. Number 1, play the long game. What do you mean by that?

Well, all right, so let's break that down. Great golfers don't win by swinging harder. They win by playing smarter. They trust the process. Our listeners should do the same. They should focus on discipline over decades, not quick wins. Gary, I recently had Tom Hegna on the Ideas by Mike podcast. And Tom's a notorious— he's an amazing senior-level golfer, amateur still. He's won his club championship many times. But one of the things that he often talks about golf, especially when it comes to playing the long game, is he said, when you go on a golf course, there's 13 clubs in your bag. But he said, imagine just going out there and only using one club.

Oh boy.

That's a 7-iron.

Oh, that wouldn't work.

It wouldn't work at all, right? Because, and he says, and he says, many people in the financial industry who are advisors, they only have one club, one solution, one product that they're helping with. And he said, just like a golfer would never play a round of golf with one club, why do you allow your financial planner, in quotes, to only help you with one aspect of your financial plan? We play the long game, right?

Yeah.

We look at all aspects of what you're doing.

Yeah, absolutely. And know your yardage too. That's really important.

Well, yeah, that's the second one. So the course, you'll check wind and distance and club selection and finance. You gauge your risk, time horizon, and income needs. See, it's about precision, not guesswork. And that's like when you analyze all aspects of your finances versus one small aspect, You actually build a better financial plan.

Mm-hmm. The show is the One of a Kind Financial Show with Mike Milligan. I'm Gary Nolan, your consumer advocate. I want to thank you for joining us. 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text the word ideas to 600-700. Do it right now. Mike and the team standing by this weekend, ready for your phone call. Number 3, avoid the hazards. You gotta— that's, that's big.

Well, yeah, on the golf course, right? There's water, there's bunkers, and then there's out of bounds. And they'll all ruin a good round because anytime you go in a hazard, you lose a stroke. Right.

Well, I mean, you also lose a golf ball, right?

And that's a big thing when you play golf, right?

No question.

So in finances, there are financial hazards, by the way. There's market swings, there's taxes, there's inflation, and then there's emotional decisions. Good planning, just like good planning on a golf course, can help you avoid hazards. Good planning with your finances help you steer clear And stay in play so that you don't run out of money, you don't lose money unnecessarily to market, and you're able to sleep at night.

And finally, number 4, have a caddy you can trust.

Even the greatest golfers rely on someone who knows the course, that helps them read the greens and provides perspective. That's the guy that's carrying the bag because everybody knows that 2 eyes are better than one, or 4 eyes are better than 2, or whatever. You know, that's how he is, Gary. But here's the thing about a caddy. In the financial world, your professional caddy is your financial planner. You know, we're the ones walking the rounds of life with you. We're not watching from the cart path. We're not over there watching from a distance. We're in the game with you. See, this game is different, folks. Golf is a game that's played over 18 holes. And when it's played over 18 holes, right, you play with different clubs. You play with different lies, different elevations, and you do different things, whether you hit long, you chip, or you putt. Financial planning also has a lot of elements of that, right? Financial planning has taxes, retirement, investment, long-term care, and legacy. And you need somebody to help you navigate those things as they come along, Gary. That's why One Oak Financial is here. Just like golf, just like the Charles Schwab Cup is going to create a An end winner, the top player of the year, right? What it really teaches us is that these people that are in or approaching retirement, over 50-year-old, can still enjoy life, right? And from our standpoint, golf can teach us more about financial planning than sometimes just having one club do one thing, one product do one thing, or keeping you out of things like the hazard, having somebody you could trust, know your yardage, and obviously play the long game.

Yeah, absolutely. And that's what Mike will do with you when you meet with him and get that one-of-a-kind financial plan, Mike. Am I right?

It is. The one-of-a-kind financial plan is almost like a perfect round of golf. We are going to keep you out of the hazards. We are going to make sure that you're using the right club when it's the time to do it. We're going to make sure you stay in game, in the game, right? In that you have some holes, some parts of life where you win more, like a birdie in golf, and others where you have par. But then if bogeys do come along, we're going to be able to right the cart. And the one-of-a-kind financial plan is your written focus plan navigating life. And it will reduce taxes. It will help you create a retirement income you can't outlive, an investment plan that is worthy of you from the amount you pay in fees, from how it's invested to ultimately how you— to where you could sleep at night, a long-term care plan that takes care of you at the end of your life, and a legacy plan that says, I love you. Guys, we build one-of-a-kind financial plans. So I'd invite you to call in today, whether that is to talk about golf, Or if it's to talk about your financial plan, I'd love to connect with you because I think you're unique and I want to help you build a one-of-a-kind life.

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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