The Top 5 Financial Life Lessons I’ve Learned, Ep #8 

<p>Over the last 10+ years as a financial advisor, I’ve heard a lot of horror stories. I’ve also heard a lot of crazy things come out of my client’s mouths. So in this episode of Retirement Made Easy, I’m going to share the top 5 financial life lessons I’ve learned from my clients. After all, the best way to learn is from someone else’s mistakes. Hopefully, these lessons can help you make better decisions for your retirement. </p> <h2>You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...</h2> <ul> <li>[2:03] My Top 5 Financial Life Lessons </li> <li>[3:21] Lesson #1: Be careful loaning money</li> <li>[7:02] Lesson #2: Plan for the unthinkable</li> <li>[11:11] Lesson #3: Look at the big picture</li> <li>[15:40] Lesson #4: Be careful how you title assets</li> <li>[20:07] Lesson #5: Teach your kids how to <em>save</em></li> </ul> <h2>Lesson #1: Be careful loaning money</h2> <p>A gentleman in his 70s loaned his best friend’s son some money for a real estate purchase—<em>north of $200,000</em>. His son’s friend was supposed to make interest payments on it. But the son moved to Colorado and stopped answering his phone. My client <em>never</em> received one interest payment. He lost a HUGE chunk of his retirement because he trusted the wrong person. Unfortunately, he still trusts that he’ll get that money back. </p> <p>If and when you loan money to people, you have to expect that you may never get it back. highly recommend you get an attorney or CPA to draft up a loan document that is notarized and signed—with the repayment terms spelled out in the document. Be cautious with your money and loan out an amount that <em>won’t devastate you financially</em>. </p> <h2>Lesson #2: Plan for the unthinkable</h2> <p>I’ve been a financial advisor for 10+ years. I have, unfortunately, had clients pass away. A divorced gentleman left each of his kids over $500,000. When he passed away, his two kids were in their early twenties. Because they inherited a 401k, they had to pay taxes on every dollar that they withdrew. The son