The Key to Goals-Based Retirement Planning, Ep #119

<p>I recently had a call with a listener who had great questions—but the call didn’t go as he had planned. Why? One of his main questions was point blank, “Can I retire by the end of the year?” His house was paid off. He had an emergency fund, a brokerage account, and a 401k. He felt like he was in good shape to retire so he was shocked when I told him that he <em>wasn’t ready</em>. Find out why I told him “no” in this episode of Retirement Made Easy!</p> <h2>You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...</h2> <ul> <li>[2:46] A conversation with a listener about goals-based retirement planning</li> <li>[4:42] Some of the questions I asked “Tom” about his goals</li> <li>[10:02] Why it’s important to start with a vision</li> <li>[12:18] Three resources to help you determine your goals</li> <li>[15:45] How to get on the same page with your spouse</li> </ul> <h2>Some of the questions I asked “Tom” about his goals</h2> <p>I recently spoke with a listener I’ll call “Tom.” I asked Tom a series of questions during our call to help him determine if he could retire at the end of 2022. I asked him, “What are you going to do? How will you spend your time? Do you want to travel? Do you want to work part-time? What are your goals?” He was quiet for a moment and then said, “I don’t know.” </p> <p>I asked about his wife’s vision for retirement. He thought she’d want to spend more time with their grandkids, but he didn't know. He also mentioned that they had two daughters, so my next question was, “Do you plan on assisting your adult daughters financially in any way? Or grandchildren?” His answer was, “We haven’t talked about that yet.” </p> <p>I asked if they believed in charitable giving. He said “Yes,” but he was under the impression that giving would decrease in retirement. But if giving to charities is something that’s a goal of yours, we can plan for it. </p> <p>How will you know what success looks like if you don’t have goals that are well thought out? That’s why I’ve developed a process that is based on yo