There is NO Retirement Spreadsheet to Retire Happy! Why Your Plan Needs Meaning & Legacy

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 Thursday, November 13th, and I can honestly tell you that I feel so much better today after playing golf yesterday and making it through.

Now, uh, nobody was harmed in my attempts to play yesterday, but it was, it was a great event.

80+ degrees out in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona.

Today though, We're going to, you know, talk a little bit deeper about how there is no retirement spreadsheet to retire happy. Recently on the One of a Kind Financial Show, Carrie and I talked about this topic where we actually dove into a couple different scenarios that can happen in retirement that if they are not planned for can throw a curveball that we know can interrupt a financial plan.

So enjoy this segment for the One of a Kind Financial Show and be one of a kind.

Now, when you think about retirement, you might picture the big, you know, the free years, travel, time with family, a slower pace. But real retirement planning involves 3 dimensions: money, meaning, and legacy. Add that to the backdrop of inflation, volatile markets, and policy changes, and you realize your strategy needs to go deeper and broader. So in this conversation, what we're going to talk about is how to tie your money to your dreams and values, how to build flexibility for uncertain economics, and how to craft legacy decisions now, not just leave everything until later. So dreams meet dollars, Mike.

Oh man, most people plan retirement around savings and spending. They think of like retirement as a dollar, but, but less often they don't really think about what they're going to do in retirement. So one of the things that we do before we get to actually providing a solution in the One of a Kind Financial Plan is we help our clients build a vision For what retirement's going to look like. And I've had this week leading up to the radio show, Gary, I've had 60 or 70 conversations with retirees who are playing golf, who are remodeling their homes, who are traveling. I spoke to one of our clients while they were traveling in Spain this week.

Oh, no kidding.

I mean, our clients, because they have a vision for what retirement is going to look like daily, They're not left to dream because the vision has become reality. And what their dollars are, are the tools that let them go. So this is a shift, Gary. This is a monumental shift in thinking for our clients versus what the one-size-fits-all financial firms do. The one-size financial firms want to talk about your money, Return on investment. They want to talk about performance, make shifts in investments. Guys, retirement is about building the vision for what you're going to do Monday through Saturday and then Sunday, right? Which you rest. Hopefully you're going to rest on Sunday. But it's building the vision for what you're going to do and making sure that you're stress-free, you have no fears, and you could sleep at night because your money is there to Fuel the dreams. And retirement is not about you fueling an investment advisor's portfolio. It's about you folks.

Yep, absolutely. You think economic uncertainty, you think that's the new normal these days?

Yeah, it is, right? We, uh, uh, one of the reasons economic uncertainty is there is because the media is ever-present. I mean, if you think about somebody who was blessed enough to retire in the 1960s, they, they watched news like once a Once a night, Gary, right? Yeah.

Watch the CBS Evening News or whatever, Walter Cronkite or somebody like that.

Right. And that news was about not only what was going on a little bit in Washington and maybe around the world, but it was a little more upbeat. But today, news is all-consuming. I mean, there's a news channel that you can literally watch just to watch. I mean, instead of getting a little bit of taste of what the stock market's doing at the 6:30 news. Now there's multiple channels that are financial 24 hours a day that have the ticker running across. And the reason economic certainty is the new norm is because your money was really built for simpler times, like those nights when you only watch the news once an evening, right?

Yeah.

Have dinner, watch some news, watch watch a game show, go to bed.

Yeah.

Uh, now we have persistent news about inflation, interest rate swings, market jitters, report after report saying retirement planning is navigating structural economic uncertainty. That same— and it's just fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. So buy gold, right? Buy an annuity. Buy—

that's—

guys, have a vision, right? And, and, uh, and have that vision, then put your money in a place To where no matter what happens economically, you're going to be fine. And then, and then your retirement norm is going to be like people who retired in the 1960s, right? You're living peacefully, right? They don't have to stay tuned to the markets. They don't have to stay tuned to the news cycle every day.

Yeah, yeah, that— it fuels a lot of anxiety. There's no question about that. This is the One of a Kind Financial Show with Mike Milligan. I'm Gary Nolan, your consumer advocate. Let's get you on the calendar all set up with that comprehensive plan. That phone number is 800-748-1838. 800-748-1838. 800-748-1838 or text the word ideas to 600-700. 800-748-1838 or text the word ideas to 600-700. Couple of minutes left. Lifestyle spend versus legacy spend. What do we mean by that?

Well, uh, the— this image of like lifestyle spend versus legacy spend reminds us retirement isn't just about living well, it's about giving well. And passing on well. So one of the things we see is there's a book out there that is about zero, not endorsing it, but it's like Living Life to Zero is the theme of the book. And it's like, as opposed to passing your money away to your kids when you pass away, look for strategies to give it to them so you can see the enjoyment that your money brings.

Mm-hmm.

That's what a legacy spend is. So have the money you need for retirement, have the income that you want for retirement, and then start that process of doing the legacy spend now. And boy, this is especially true because if there's uncertainty, like market conditions go down, there's bad market conditions or inflation is threatening both you and your kids, go ahead and give it to them. Because remember, dollars today are worth more than dollars in the future.

Yeah, there's no question about that. All right, a minute or two left. Tax regulation and timing.

Well, the regulatory and tax backdrop keeps shifting. For example, like SECURE Act 2.0 Act is bringing changes that matter for both retirement savings and income phases. One thing that we know is that government's always going to change things, Gary. And so as opposed to having to weather the storms that happen in Washington caused by politicians when it comes to taxes, We create a tax plan in the One of a Kind Financial Plan that actually helps you get out of the tax code when we can, or at least navigate it so that you have income smoothing throughout your whole life.

All right. Tell us about the One of a Kind Financial Plan, Mike. This amazing plan.

Yeah, thanks, Gary. I appreciate you saying that. I mean, guys, in this segment, we were also going to talk about health and long-term care and what-if scenarios and legacy and purpose and the life you want and the way that— I guess we're going to have to have that conversation together on the phone, right? Because I got a little long-winded on this. But call in, guys. And if you call in for the one-of-a-kind financial plan, we're going to talk about many of the things we talk about on the radio show and how they apply to you. But ultimately, we're going to talk about building a vision for your retirement and then helping you with building a one-of-a-kind financial plan unique for you so you can live a one-of-a-kind life. That plan includes tax, retirement income, investment, long-term care, and legacy, how to improve all of those. That is custom built for you so that you can go live a one-of-a-kind life. I look forward to talking to many of you guys today. Once the show's over. Call in now though to, to, to save your spot in line, and I will get back to you here very shortly.

And that number is 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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