The #1 Key to a Successful Retirement Strategy, Ep #16

<p>I received a call a few weeks ago from someone who wanted to interview financial advisors to help with their investments. This person asked, “Do all of your clients outperform the S&P 500?” This person assumed that outperforming the S&P 500 was the main objective of a retirement strategy. That is NOT the case. It shouldn’t be your primary financial goal and certainly isn’t the key to a successful retirement. So what is the ONE crucial key—the biggest factor—that leads to a successful retirement strategy? Listen to this episode of Retirement Made Easy to find out!</p> <h2>You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...</h2> <ul> <li>[1:47] The #1 key to a Successful Retirement Strategy</li> <li>[6:07] Why you NEED to write your goals down </li> <li>[9:11] How to determine your retirement goals</li> <li>[12:29] The market WILL fluctuate: So what do you do?</li> </ul> <h2>You NEED to set clear financial goals</h2> <p>The person I spoke with worked with a stockbroker whose expertise was picking stocks that would outperform the S&P 500. That was his value-add. But outperforming the S&P 500 is <em>not</em> a financial goal. You need to be clear about what your financial goals are. If you don’t know what a successful retirement looks like, how do you gauge your success? When you’re working with a financial planner, all of the planning you do should seek to maximize the probability of accomplishing those goals. </p> <h2>Write your goals down—with pen and paper</h2> <p>It is <em>crucial</em> that you write down your goals on paper. Doing so increases the likelihood of accomplishing them <em>tenfold</em>. A study that tracked Harvard MBA graduates showed that 84% of the graduates had no written goals. 13% had written goals but no plans. Only 3% had written goals and plans. <em>That 3% were taking 10x than the other 97% of the class</em>. </p> <p><strong>Writing down your financial goals is the</strong> <strong><em>#1 key</em></strong> <strong>to a successful retirement strategy</strong>. </p> <p>It’s not