Avoid These Five Retirement Planning Mistakes

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Producer:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only, and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment, and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Producer:
Welcome to Money Matters with Mike, with your host, Mike Zaino. Get set for a full hour of financial information and economic news affecting your bottom line. Mike works hard each day to educate Americans like you on how to reach the financial freedom they've worked so hard for, and he can help you too. So now let's start the show. Here's Mike Zaino.

Mike Zaino:
What's up, what's up, what's up? It's Mike Zaino coming to you from Fort Mill, South Carolina. Happy Saturday people. What a great time to be alive in these United States of America. Money Matters with Mike as a show designed to arm you with information and give you plenty of meat on the bone to chew on each and every week. And today we are absolutely bringing the heat again. On today's show, we're going to talk about how to retire smarter by avoiding some crucial mistakes. And as always, I have the distinct honor and privilege of being joined by the one the only my co-host and producer extraordinaire, Mr. Matt McClure. Matt, how are you doing today, brother?

Producer:
I'm doing great. Mike I hope you had a great and productive week.

Mike Zaino:
Uh, it is, it's been a very, very productive week for me. Very busy week, but busy. Productive as opposed to just busy to be busy. So we've helped, uh, a lot of clients, uh, get on the track and stay on track, uh, with annual reviews that we do. Um, and we've put some new plans in place for some brand new clients. Welcome them aboard. And so, yes, it has been a very busy and rewarding week thus far. I hope you have as well.

Producer:
Good. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. A lot of great stuff happening. Busy, busy times. Of course we're going to talk about what's keeping most people busy these days. I feel like is, uh, you know, taxes. Um, because it is we're right smack in the middle of tax season and people are it's going to be, you know, uh, scramble time to get it done here before too long, believe it or not. So. Right. It's almost it's.

Mike Zaino:
A month away. Yeah.

Producer:
All right. I was going to say it's going to sneak up on us here. Yeah, yeah. It always seems to do that, Uncle Sam. You know, you just turn right around. There he is, standing there with his hand out, wanting that money. Uh, but. Yeah, so we gotta we gotta focus on that, and we will in just a bit. We'll actually mention that as part of the show today. We'll of course talk about those five mistakes that you mentioned as well. We've also got some new details from a new study about how much Americans love our pensions if we have them. And that is a big if these days.

Mike Zaino:
Very big if.

Producer:
Yeah, we'll tell you who has them, who doesn't, and exactly why they've kind of gone the way of the dinosaur in large part. And what you can do about that. We've also got some top vacation destinations for retirees to get to. Also want to give just a big, big, big thanks and shout out and virtual handshake and and hug to all of our listeners, Mike, who are joining us once again this week. If you are listening to us on the radio, on Rye or online on the podcast version, maybe you're on YouTube or on the Facebook page. We just really appreciate you joining us. Without you, we have no show, period.

Mike Zaino:
That is 100% accurate in your statement there, Matt. I mean, if, uh, if you want to reach out to me and you want to have a conversation off air and you want to do so whether that's, you know, online or on social, please, I welcome every single one of our listeners to reach out and get in contact with me and share your thoughts and comments on the show. Uh, ask any questions that you might have as it pertains to your individual situation, and I'll be happy to answer those for you.

Producer:
Yeah, absolutely. Well, and you can call Mike if you'd like to do it that way. 704 560 1573. You can also go to the website. That is Money Matters with Mike. That's all spelled out as all one word. Money Matters with Mike.com. And, uh, reach out via the contact page there. All right. A lot of great stuff to get to here on this edition of the show. First, though, let's kick off our conversations with a brand new quote of the week.

Producer:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Producer:
And this week's quote comes from the person who probably is the most often featured in our quote of the week segment here on the show. And it's just because, I mean, he's said a lot of really smart stuff, and he is probably the most prolific investor ever to grace the face of the earth, in my humble opinion. And that man is Warren Buffett. Yeah, the Oracle of Omaha. And he said this. It's good to learn from your mistakes. It's better to learn from other people's mistakes. That speaks to me. Let me tell you.

Mike Zaino:
It definitely speaks to me because I was the knucklehead growing up that could not learn from other people's mistakes, and I had to make the mistakes myself. And that was very, very glaringly obvious in life. For Mike Zaino in his teens, in his 20s, in his 30s, and right about in my mid 30s, something started to shift and I started watching other people and how they either reacted or responded to what happened to them and then the mistakes that they made. And it wasn't really until my 40s that I was able to begin learning from other people's mistakes. But I mean, how how awesome is it that if you have that ability, especially starting from a much younger age, that that can translate into much quicker success?

Producer:
Hungry for something to chew on. Here's some meat on the bone.

Mike Zaino:
When it comes to preparing for retirement, you can apply that idea. Um, number one, if you're still working, you know, career mistakes, if you start noticing people, uh, are getting fired, uh, because they either didn't meet deadlines or they didn't show up on time or they kept leaving early. Well, you can learn the importance of responsibility and professionalism right? In the workplace. Uh, another one that I think is, is is critical. And we're going to talk about this a little bit more. Uh, we're going to talk about several of these a little bit more in in depth throughout today's show, but not saving enough. Okay. Many people make the mistake of simply not saving enough money for retirement, and they might spend too much. They might not prioritize saving early enough in their age. Okay. And you can learn from this by starting to save as soon as possible and allowing compound interest to work in your favor. Developing the habit to set aside a portion of your income for retirement savings so that your future self thanks you. Another one that we're going to talk about some more, but I just want to kind of gloss over it right here real quick is just relying solely on Social Security. And many people assume that Social Security is going to be enough to support them in retirement, but it's typically not sufficient to cover all expenses. So if you see somebody who may be a little older than you are already just trying to make it on Social Security alone and struggling, learning from that mistake, um, can help you diversify your retirement income sources and, you know, encourage you to contribute to retirement accounts like your 401 s or other employer sponsored plans, or even opening up your own IRA.

Mike Zaino:
Um, I've got a few more. Okay, so ignoring inflation, I think is a really, really big one, and failing to account for inflation can absolutely erode the purchasing power of your savings over time. Okay. And by learning from that mistake, you can consider investing in assets that have historically outpaced, uh, inflation like stocks or real estate to help your savings grow over the long term. Okay. The next one is going to be taking on too much debt. And whether and we're talking about too much bad debt, right. Accumulating too much bad debt. And we're talking about high interest debt, like credit card debt that can absolutely hinder your ability to save for retirement. And by managing your debt responsibly and avoiding those unnecessary, uh, costs in the form of debt, uh, you'll be able to have that, not eat away at your retirement, uh, savings. Another one is investment mistakes. Okay? A lot of people are looking for the next get rich quick scheme, okay. And and if you see somebody lose a lot of money by investing in a risky or speculative type investment, uh, you can learn to do a lot more research before investing your own money into things like that.

Mike Zaino:
Okay. Um, this one I think is a big one too, is health mistakes. And a lot of people ignore their health early on, and the build up of of poor eating habits and lack of exercise can manifest itself later on during your retirement, uh, years. So if you see somebody suffering from health issues because of the fact that they neglected to exercise and eat properly, well, then you can learn to take care of your own health before those problems arise. And I think, uh, again, this one we're going to hit on some more. But the biggest one for me is simply not having a plan. Some people enter retirement without a clear plan for how they're going to manage their finances, which leads to uncertainty, which leads to financial stress. And by learning from that mistake, you can create a comprehensive retirement plan that not only, uh, outlines your financial goals and provides strategies for saving and investing, but also provides you a budget or a spending plan for managing those expenses in retirement. And so, you know, just by looking at all of those and observing and learning from those common mistakes, you're going to be able to much better prepare for retirement and increase your chances of achieving financial security during your golden years.

Producer:
Yeah, it'll it'll save you from having to learn things the hard way, uh, by making those mistakes yourself. And when it comes to your financial life, you know, like, if you, if you get, uh, you know, if you make some of these mistakes, if you make some sort of bad investment, if you, if you, you know, do something that causes you to fall way behind or whatever, then you have to spend. Probably years playing catch up to where you would have been had you not made that mistake. So. But if you learn from others ahead of time, you don't make the mistakes or you're at least less likely to, and then you're just much better off when it comes to time for you to call it quits.

Mike Zaino:
No, I agree 100%. I mean, again, I wish that I had the wisdom of the man who's talking to you now in his 50s. Uh, when I did in my 20s, 30s and young 40s. I mean, I guess that's why they call hindsight 2020, right?

Producer:
Yeah, absolutely. It's very true. And I often say that, too. I wish I knew everything back then that I thought I knew, uh, that is just, you know, when you're.

Mike Zaino:
Ten feet tall and bulletproof. Right.

Producer:
Exactly. And never thinking about, oh, retirement. That's so many decades away. I don't have to worry about that right now. But, I mean, that's going to be one of the things that we talk about here in the show is, you know, making sure that you've got a plan in place and starting that as soon as possible. It's super, super important. And, um, you know, I mean, all these, um, sort of five mistakes that we're going to go through here, uh, actually came from something that that was in Yahoo Finance. And they're all just so important and so true. Um, but the bottom line is you've got to have a plan. Not just any plan, but a solid plan, a smart plan that works for you. I mean, you want to take a look at what your retirement is going to look like. You want to kind of feel free to dream a little bit. Like, what is your ideal retirement look like? Right. You want to plan, uh, for when you take Social Security, an income plan, an investment strategy for any retirement accounts that you may have. And it all might seem like sort of if you run down that list quickly, it might seem simple. Um, but there are a bunch of places that can go wrong there.

Mike Zaino:
There are lots of, uh, traps and pitfalls, for sure. You know, that's why on this week's show, we're going to share a list of those mistakes that help you avoid. All right, making and falling into those traps and or pitfalls so that you can retire and plan for retirement with this thing called peace of mind, something that you absolutely cannot put a price tag on.

Producer:
Priceless 100%. And that first mistake was one of the ones that you mentioned, Mike, and it was just failing to plan in the first place.

Mike Zaino:
Yeah, if you don't have a plan, then you are planning to fail. I mean, and I know that is very cliche and people have heard it before because we've said it before. But, you know, our job hopefully is to to get you to wake up. Right. Wake up listeners, let me rattle your cage a little bit. And if you're somebody who's not where they want to be, uh, I mean, many people carry on living for decades as if retirement is never going to come. And but for a large majority of people, guess what? It actually comes. Okay. And so not planning to retire encourages more mistakes like failing to budget, failing to save, failing to invest so that you'll actually be able to afford just living expenses, much less, uh, any type of discretionary income later in life when working becomes difficult or maybe even impossible.

Producer:
Yeah, speaking of that, I mean, you said it a minute ago. You're young, you feel like you're ten feet, ten feet tall and bulletproof, and you're going to be able to work your entire life. You get older, things break down. You might not be able to actually physically work if you if you want to work, like the whole idea of having a plan and and getting to retirement is to have an ideal retirement for you, whatever your particular situation is. And some people want to keep working in their retirement years because that's just they love it. They have a passion for it and all of that. And if that's you, great. As long as you're able to do that. Um, but if you don't want, you don't want to get in a situation later on in life where you are forced to work during retirement just because you have to, to make ends meet. That is the opposite of where we want you to be.

Mike Zaino:
And it doesn't matter if you're somebody who's out there working with their hands every single day or somebody that is, you know, working with their words or working with their pen in, in an office type environment. The fact of the matter is, is that something might come up that would eliminate even the possibility of you doing what you do for a living. And if that comes up, then what? Right. And instead of having to react to that potential happening, if you have a plan in place, then you can respond and pivot.

Producer:
Yeah.

Producer:
And that which you've always got to be nimble like that. And that's that's one important, important part of having that plan. Mistake number two is mismanaging tax advantaged retirement. Plans and those kinds of things are things you're very familiar with. I'm sure the 401 K, the IRA and all that kind of stuff. But you want to manage them correctly.

Mike Zaino:
Yeah. So, so many people that I sit down and I meet with, you know, they're contributing, right? But they're just not contributing enough. They're, you know, if their employer matches 3% and they may put in 2 or 3%. And I'm thinking to myself, okay, let me quantify that for you in dollars, if you if you're making X and here is 3% of X every single pay period you get paid. You know, some of you get paid 26 times a year. Some of you get paid 12 times a year, and some of you get paid 52 times a year. So whatever that X is, I multiply it times the number of times that they're going to get paid. And over a year it just doesn't add up to very much money. And so, you know, by failing to contribute enough to your workplace, uh, employer sponsored plan to get the maximum employer match, that's a costly mistake, because those who fall into that trap are missing out on free money. So there have been times where I've seen, you know, I'll ask in conversation, you know, how much their employer matches before I'm even looking at what they're putting in. And if they tell me that their employer matches 5% and they're only putting in three, I'll just simply ask them, you don't like free money? And then I always get the kind of deer in headlights look like, what do you mean? And I'm like, well, you're only putting in three. They match up to five, so that's an extra 2% that you can put in. But then they're going to give you free another 2%. So if you're not taking advantage, uh, and get a 100% return on a certain percentage of your contributions, then I mean, you are absolutely making a huge and catastrophic over the long term mistake.

Producer:
Yeah, 100%. And another sort of sidebar to that is taking money from your 401 K or your IRA, perhaps borrowing from that plan and then especially failing to pay it back.

Mike Zaino:
Yeah. I mean, look, I understand life gets in the way sometimes, but that should be your absolute last resort because what are you doing? You're taking that money away. You're robbing it of its opportunity, uh, earning potential. The opportunity to earn. That's called that's called opportunity cost. And then especially if you don't pay it back, um, you're really shooting yourself in the foot, right? So, so whatever you do, if there's anything other than robbing your future self of the time and the time value of that money as it grows, compound interest again, that's known as the opportunity cost. Then you need to seek other, um, other avenues before ever borrowing your own money, especially if it's from a retirement plan and you're under the age of 59.5, which will compound the penalty even more, because not only is your money not earning, and not only are you going to have to pay the taxes, but Uncle Sam is going to hit you with an extra 10% penalty on top of that. So that's a huge mistake there.

Producer:
Yeah. And another big one too. There is is investing your money exclusively in company shares. A lot of times they'll they'll do that like companies will have um some, some type of incentive or whatever to, for you to invest your money in the company shares, which, you know, that could be fine, but not for all of your money. You don't want all of your eggs in one basket. Uh, especially if it's just one company, no doubt.

Mike Zaino:
Because what happens if that company declares bankruptcy? Right? Then all your shares become worthless. So diversification is the key. And by making sure that your investments are diversified not only within um companies but also within sectors, because you don't want all of the companies that you invest in for an example to be in, you know, technology or to be in commodities or anything like that, you want to make sure that you're spreading the wealth. So if one sector is underperforming, hopefully the others are picking up the slack.

Producer:
Yeah, that is the goal. Mistake number three when planning for retirement is not planning for Social Security. Um, you spoke about that one earlier, Mike, and talked about people who rely on it for the vast majority, if not all, of their income in retirement.

Mike Zaino:
Yeah. So the average Social Security benefit being paid out now in America is $1,213 a month. 13 or excuse me, $1,213. And folks, that's just not a lot of money. That's the average, right? Some of you are going to be way above that. And some of you, unfortunately, are going to be lower than that because you just haven't paid into the system. But Social Security is a primary source of retirement income for. A lot of American retirees, and to qualify for monthly lifetime benefits, all you have to do is work the required number of years while contributing through mandatory payroll taxes. So it sounds very simple and straightforward. Social security does, but there are some mistakes that you're going to want to avoid. For an example, if one member of a retired married couple dies, the survivor is going to lose the lesser of the two. So anywhere between 33 and 50%, um, of of the benefit being paid to that married couple is going to be gone when one of the spouses passes on. So the survivor is going to carry on with just one monthly check. And for that reason, the higher earning partner may want to wait to claim benefits for as long as possible, because delaying those benefits increases the eventual monthly payment. And then many people also make the mistake again on relying way too heavily on Social Security to fuel their monthly budgetary needs. So your Social Security benefits do have built in inflation protection with what are called cost of living adjustments, and those occur almost every year. However, many people believe those colas only partially cover, um, what is the true rate of inflation in America today?

Producer:
Yeah. And even with that, Mike, you know, you you talked about, um, the average benefit on a monthly basis, an annual benefit right now, on average in this country, 22,884. So just not quite $23,000. And that really does highlight the, the the benefit, the importance of additional savings, additional retirement income to supplement Social Security benefits so that you can actually be comfortable in retirement and not just kind of scraping by about 97%.

Mike Zaino:
That's a lot of, uh, it's a very high percentage, right? 97% of Americans age 60 and older either receive or will collect Social Security benefits, according to the Social Security Administration data. And among elderly Social Security beneficiaries, 37% of men and 42% of women receive at least half of their income from the Social Security program, according to a 2021 Social Security Administration report.

Producer:
Yeah, and we've sounded the alarm on this, too. The fact that Social Security finances really are, uh, under pressure here because, you know, I mean, for several reasons. One, people are living longer, right? So the programs get to pay them for a longer period of time. Right? About 10,000 baby boomers, actually more now, I think are are retiring each and every day. So that number is growing and those people are living longer. And so that really does create a big imbalance in the number of people paying into the system. And a number of the number of people, um, who are receiving benefits right now.

Mike Zaino:
It does. And as a result, if if nothing is done, if, if the lawmakers don't take action. All right. The old age and survivors insurance trust fund. So if you look at your pay stub and you see OAS, I right. That's your Social Security. And that trust fund supports the Social Security benefits that retirees, you know, are getting to receive. Well, that trust fund is estimated to run dry in nine years, okay. Only 77% of the promised benefits would actually be payable if the trust fund runs out, according to the Social Security Administration. So, you know, that is a shot fired. That is a red flag. If we're sounding the alarm, please, whatever you do, do not enter retirement without a plan for Social Security because we anticipate some changes, some probably big changes coming in the next decade. So it is critically important that you get in contact with us to learn how to maximize your own Social Security benefit based on your own unique situation and needs.

Producer:
And you can.

Producer:
Do that at Money Matters with Mic.com. That's Money matters with Mic.com. That's the website, of course, and the phone number 704 5601573704560 1573. The fourth mistake here, Mike, I think is probably one of the the biggest that people can make. And that is emotional investing. Boy talk about something that can really just ruin your entire life of planning without even. Sometimes you won't even see it necessarily. Um, initially, but in the long run especially, you are going to really feel that difference.

Producer:
Yeah.

Mike Zaino:
And, you know, I deal with a lot of different people from all walks of life, you know, different ages. And it it's always interesting to me to find out how people feel and emote around money in finance in general. Some people are so scared to lose anything that they are. So, you know, extremely conservative that they're failing to actually earn much of anything. And then other people, on the flip side, they are extreme risk takers and they just let it ride. You know, it's like the people that go to the casinos. And so, you know, the fact of the matter is that studies have shown that the best approach is to stay fully invested throughout good times as well as the bad times, which is, you know, known as dollar cost averaging. You have the exact same amount of money that's being invested out of every single time you get paid. And because if you try to time the market, especially on the basis of your emotions, that is one of the least promising investment strategies that you can have. You might be smart enough to get one of them right, but you know, you got to be right on the buy side and on the sell side and almost nobody.

Mike Zaino:
Including professional money managers is right both on the buy and on the sell. So here's a, you know, a cautionary, you know, uh, um, well, a word of precaution. We'll just look at it like that. If you get rattled when the market dips by a few points in a day, and all of a sudden you move all your money over to safety, um, what's going to end up happening is you're going to miss out on the rebound. Most likely. Okay. And we've done this the, uh, the statistics before on the show. And it might be a time, Matt, to bring this back, uh, back again because it has been a minute where if you just miss, you know, the top five days out of a year in, in and do that over time. I mean, the the results are staggering at how much less money that you would actually have in your retirement portfolio. So people that react when the market drops and move to safety, in effect, they lock in their losses and they make it much, much harder to participate in any future upturn and gain in those in those markets.

Producer:
Yeah, that's absolutely right. And you know, you want to I think um, we had a quote today from Warren Buffett. And one of the things that he is often credited with saying as well is, you know, to talking about avoiding, um, the emotional side of investing, he says, kind of doing one thing that he's always tried to do is kind of do the opposite of what other people are doing. It's like when everybody else is panicking and selling. That's the time to buy. When everybody's buying, that's the time to sell. A lot of the time now, it's not a obviously not a universal rule, and we won't make any sort of blanket recommendations like that. But still, it is um, kind of, you know, it makes you think, at the very least, because so many people tend to do it backwards, they'll, they'll, they'll buy high, uh, when everybody is just on cloud nine and then they'll sell low when everybody's in a panic. Right.

Mike Zaino:
Because I mean, if you if you look at the ups and downs of the market, well, you can look at the ups and downs of your own emotions. You may start in on your investment journey, being encouraged, and then you start putting some money in. And now all of a sudden the market's going up and you get confident and then the market goes up some more and you're, you're you're thrilled almost right. And then it you know we're hitting all time highs so far this year. We've hit many all time highs. Now it's euphoric okay. And then the market will start to drop a little bit. And then you're like whoa what was that. That's a surprise right. And then it drops some more and you start to get a little nervous. Maybe just a, you know, not quite on the cusp of worry. But then as the market continues to, to decline, well, then the nervousness becomes straight worry. And then if it even continues to decline further, it's it's panic at that point in time. And that's when you're talking about the people who sell, uh, at that point in time. And so understanding that markets are cyclical and that, you know, guess what's going to happen as soon as you sell, it's going to start going back up again.

Mike Zaino:
It may not be right as soon as you sell, but over time the markets go up. And this is one of the things that, you know, if you still have more than ten years left in retirement, uh, or more than ten years left until retirement, I should say, then you need your money in the market, because we can look back as far back as the Great Depression in 1929. The market was pretty low back then. Right? But where is it now? It's pretty high. In fact, like I said, we've already hit, I think, uh, 1415 all time highs this year so far. But what have we had in between? Well, let's just go back into the 80s 87. We had Black Monday, you know, then we had the dotcom bubble bursting. Then in 2008, we had the the financial crisis and the Great Recession. Well then in 2020 we had Covid. I don't know what the heck you want to call 2022, but it wasn't fun either. And since then we've been on a on a rise. So you just got to make sure that you're not trying trying to time the market and make sure that your emotions are kept in check.

Producer:
Yeah. And that again goes back to that first mistake that we are that we talked about, which was not having a plan. You want to make sure that your golden years are not ruined by the lack of a plan, because you want to be solid in your plan. And if you want a plan and you need a plan, you don't have a plan in place, or you think that your plan is not doing so well right now, there's a guy I know who you can call on to help you out, and his name is Mike Zaino, and you can reach out at 7045601573704560 1573. Money Matters with Mike comm is the website. And like I said, Mike, you can't put a price on peace of mind. And that's what that can give you is is that very thing 100%.

Producer:
Yeah.

Producer:
Well okay. So let's get on to mistake number five here focusing only on the financial side of retirement. Obviously this is something that we talk about a lot here. But finances are just one part of of your retirement journey.

Mike Zaino:
They are so many people come to me and they're like, Mike, I'm eligible to retire on this date. And I'm like, okay. And then I'm looking at I'm like, and and it's like they almost want to go because they're eligible to retire on whatever date that is. And I'm like, okay, well, just because you're eligible doesn't mean that you can afford to retire. There is a huge difference between eligibility and affordability, but beyond that, you need to have a plan. Not obviously a financial plan. Right? That's what we talk about all the time. But you need to have a plan for how you are going to spend your time. And if you don't know how you're going to spend your time, what you're going to do, the things, places you're going to go, the people that you're going to see, the volunteer work that you may want to do. If you don't have a plan like mapped out, then the first month or two is going to seem, again, euphoric. You're on vacation, you're sleeping in, you're doing everything that you want to do, and then all of a sudden eight weeks goes by and you're you've kind of bored and you don't know what to do, especially if you retire on the younger age spectrum. Right? Because all of your friends most likely are still working their 9 to 5, or they're 40, 50, 60 hours a week.

Mike Zaino:
So, you know, retiring is only partly about money, so maybe you can spend that time thinking of ways to improve your health as well as the ability to enrich your life. So my question is, do you have a smart vision for retirement? So for most folks, okay, this is the most fun part of retirement planning. And you need to ask yourself some questions and really think about your answers. Don't just come off right off the cuff. Like really put some thought into your answers, you know, what are you doing during your retirement years? Where will you live? Are you staying in the house? Are you downsizing? Are you are you getting a beach house? I mean, are you going to spend part of your time in Florida and part of the time in the mountains, like there's just so many things that you can do and places that you can live. And then who are you spending that time with? Are you married? Do you have friends? Are you joining a community you know, an over 55 or retirement type community? And then how do you plan on funding what your answers were to the previous three questions? So if you don't start planning with a clear vision and a list of your goals for your retirement, you could experience a lot of unknowns down the road.

Mike Zaino:
And so 37% of Americans feel they need more education on retirement planning in general. And more than half 52% of Americans wish they had more education on how to invest. So if you are unsure on how to best maximize your income in retirement, give me a call (704) 560-1573. Hit me up on the web at Money Matters with Mike comm. Reach out on the socials. You can text the number that I just gave you, the (700) 456-0157 three but whatever you do, let's get you scheduled for a complimentary retirement consultation as well as a retirement savings account review. So if you're thinking about retirement and you have a 401 K, or you have a 403 B, or you have a TSP or you have an IRA, let's get those reviewed to make sure that you're in the best possible shape for retirement. And our listeners can work directly with me with absolutely no obligation, um, at all. So to kind of recap the worst mistake retirement mistakes, not planning for retirement at all, okay. Failing to take full. Advantage of retirement savings plans, whether their employer sponsored plans or IRAs. Mismanaging your Social Security benefits. Making emotional investment decisions that end up costing you money, and then not having a smart vision for how you're going to spend your actual time in retirement.

Producer:
Yeah. And if that is you folks, if if you fall under any of those categories, if you are making any of those mistakes and you say, oh, well, I don't really know how to overcome that, I've just this is what I've been doing and I don't necessarily know how to do it any different. Don't worry, because there is help available and there is help available from one Mr. Mike Zaino. It's actually now a great time to meet with Mike is just an absolutely wonderful financial professional who does this each and every day and offers consultations to folks. As you were just saying there, Mike. I mean, they are free of charge and free of any obligation. You just want people to really make sure that they are on track to meet those retirement goals. That's that's the whole goal that you have.

Mike Zaino:
It is. And and, you know, when people are thinking, well, I don't know this guy, Mike Zaino guys just Google me if you want. Right? I'm a registered financial consultant. I serve on the board of directors for the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants. I am a Forbes Finance Council member. Okay. I host a radio show talking about money matters, right? I don't know, um, very many other financial professionals that have the, the track record and the accolades that I do. I also speak on Capitol Hill advocating financial and benefit awareness. So I mean, these are these are things these are like feathers in my cap that I do so that I can help more and more and more people. So if you're waiting to pick up the phone to give me a call, I don't know what you're waiting on.

Producer:
Yeah, just I mean, don't hesitate one more second here. Um, and I mean, it really is the consultations. You know, when you reach out, you give a call to the number 704 560, 15, 73, or you go to Money Matters with Mike comm. Again, no cost, no obligation and a great value as well. Um, you know, this is it's really like a $1,500 value provided at no cost to our listeners. So that is, you know, talk about return on your investment. Uh, it'll be a big one, right? If you if you reach out.

Mike Zaino:
And I think, I think the, the, the point that I want to highlight right in a few points. Right. Regular consultations with a financial professional. If I look at those who have them versus those who don't, I mean, it is night and day as far as the results that those, you know, person A and person B have when it comes to their retirement savings. And a lot of folks thinks that that it costs way too much to work with a financial professional. Um, but we can actually help save you money as we work to protect and grow your hard earned assets. And so no matter how much money you have, your money is important to you. And that means it's important to me. So, you know, this week you can pick up a phone and you can give me a call. And again, just as Matt said, there's no cost, there's no obligation. We can help you analyze your individual financial situation, do a deep dive, build a plan that moves you toward the retirement that you've always envisioned for yourself. But I can't do it for you folks. You have to be the one to take the action. (704) 560-1573 is my direct number. Rings my personal cell phone. It's the only number I've had since 1997. Or you can reach out at Money Matters with Mike comm or on the social. Simply get in contact with us this week so that we can help you build a navigate your own financial plan, one that you can have confidence in and that ultimately gives you the peace of mind that you deserve.

Producer:
Yeah.

Producer:
And again, that is priceless. Another thing that's um, I think as far as as our ability to understand numbers as human beings, uh, just about priceless because the number is so big. Uh, is the national debt. Um, we have been following this now, of course, periodically for ever since the show's been on the air. But, um, over the last few weeks, we've kind of been following it week by week as we go along. We're now up to, according to us, debt clock, org, over $3.4 trillion, 3.44 trillion or, uh, excuse me, $34.4 trillion, 34.4 trillion. I told you they were numbers were hard to understand. Um, 34.4 trillion. And that is huge, almost 34.5 trillion. Now, uh, I think as of the latest update. Right, Mike?

Mike Zaino:
And we throw the number trillion around like it's, you know, it's no big deal. Right. And this is where I just most people don't have any idea how big that number is. It is enormous. It's 12 digits after the first number okay. 12 digits. And I'm not sure if I did this last week or the week before, but you know, I'm going to do it again. I asked one of my clients this week, you know, when they because they were actually saying, well, how big is $1 trillion? And I said, well, if I asked you to spend $1 a second, how long would it take you? And, you know, the guess was, you know, a few months and the husband guessed a couple years, and I'm like, it's actually 11 days. If you just spend a dollar every single second, it'll take you 11 days to spend $1 million. I said, now let's change the M to a B and go billion dollars. Still, we're going to give you the opportunity to spend $1 every second, and you got to spend $1 billion. And then we got, you know, six months. We got a year with the guesses. It's actually 32 years to spend $1 billion. That's a huge jump right from 1 million to 1 billion. Then I said, let's change the B to a T and let's go trillion dollars. You know, if how long would it take you to, to spend $1 trillion spending, um, you know, a dollar a second. And they both just had, you know, no idea. Go. I said, well, if I'd been doing that, um, back in time, the dinosaurs and Neanderthals would still be walking and roaming the Earth, because it would have been 32,000 BC. And they just went, what? And I'm like, yeah, and our national debt is approaching $34.5 trillion. So, you know, what does that mean for you? Well, how do you think the government is going to address this ever increasing debt? Do you think they're going to print more money? Do you think they're going to spend less money? I'll wait for you to laugh.

Producer:
Hahaha.

Mike Zaino:
Right. Or do you think they're going to end up taxing more down the road? Okay, the government has a history of changing the rules on us, you know, to to suit their needs. And you know what? I don't mind paying my fair share of taxes, but I have a problem paying for things that that are just being given away and, and programs that I don't necessarily agree with. And so without getting political, you know, this is an election year. If you don't vote then you don't have a right to complain. And so the excessive government borrowing, which is the debt, right, that can lead to inflation, which we've already demonstrated can erode the purchasing power of your money of retirees fixed incomes and savings. So it is crucial that we get the debt under control.

Producer:
Yeah. There you go. And speaking of, you know, rules, regulations and so forth. Um, it is of course, tax season. Once again, simple reminder, folks, get out there. Do your taxes have your taxes done by a pro. Um, do that before April 15th, preferably as soon as humanly possible. And, um, we also wanted to remind you and take this moment to remind you too, that if you are like the rest of humanity and you don't enjoy paying taxes, if that's not your favorite thing in the world. Um, there are two types of tax free investments. One of them Roth IRAs, the other life insurance. And those are some investments that you can make that you won't have to pay taxes on either, um, the growth or the, you know, return of principal when you make withdrawals. Um, that's really, you know, something to consider. And, and Mike Zaino can help you out with that, too.

Mike Zaino:
Yeah. This is this is the right time to start thinking about that. I don't know that there's any wrong time to start thinking about being more tax efficient in your financial planning. I think that should be part of every financial plan. Obviously, you want to be market efficient, you want to be fee efficient, but you definitely want to be tax efficient as well. And you mentioned, you know, that, uh, the Roth and life insurance is being the only two. And some people have said, well, what about municipal bonds? Yet they're not necessarily tax free. And there are sometimes subject to, you know, federal, state and local taxes. And they can also impact Medicare costs, all right, for the higher income earners because Medicare has a two year lookback. So if you are at all concerned about rising taxes, please pick up a phone. Give me a call again. (704) 560-1573 visit us on the web. My Money Matters with Mike comm. Email me Mike at Money Matters with Mike.com. Just get in contact with me so I can help you build a smart tax plan for you and your family during your retirement.

Producer:
Yeah. And Mike, you know, I was looking, um, this past week at, uh, some, some articles, and I actually ran across this one in USA today that I wanted to talk about because I thought it was fascinating, um, about how much Americans love pensions and how few people actually have them. Um, it was in, uh, USA today, as I said, and it's important because pensions are becoming more and more of a concern for people, and, and people are sort of longing for the days of the pension, uh, because of a few reasons here. Right?

Mike Zaino:
Yeah. I mean, number one, inflation continues to absolutely ravage American savings, which makes them nostalgic for a retirement benefit of days gone by. Your parents might have gotten a pension, your grandparents might have gotten a pension. But guess what? You're probably not getting a pension unless you are an educator, uh, or working for the state or working for the federal government. Right? 90% of Americans saving in a company retirement plan like a 401 K, for an example. Uh, they worry that it won't provide a reliable stream of income that can withstand the financial strains that are posed by inflation, which recently, just two years ago in. 2022 hit a 40 year high and then 76%, which is up six percentage points just from one year ago. Worry that they're going to end up running out of money in retirement, which people fear that more than death itself, it is the number one fear of both retirees and pre-retirees. And then finally, 83% of people surveyed, um, they actually want some form of guaranteed lifetime income to be part of their retirement plan, which is just smart planning. Right? That's what I feel.

Producer:
Yeah, it's absolutely true, because you're going to live on the income that you receive month to month. And just just as kind of a refresher or maybe not even a refresher, maybe an explainer here for people who, uh, haven't necessarily heard kind of the ins and outs of this just yet. Um, whatever did happen to pensions? I mean, like you said, they used to be very widespread. They used to be very much on the the docket. If you, you know, you would go to work for one company, you'd work there 40 years. You didn't just get the gold watch and the handshake on your way out. You got a pension for the rest of your life.

Mike Zaino:
Yeah. So so let's face it. Back when they first started, just like back when Social Security first started, people weren't living nearly as long. The average life expectancy back then was, you know, 58 years old and you couldn't even draw Social Security until you were 62. So, you know, your parents and grandparents, they might not have had near the life expectancy that you're going to have. So pensions can be expensive. They can be risky for companies. So companies fund pension plans and then they decide how to invest and grow to keep them fully funded. So it's also tricky to predict how much an employer is going to need to meet their pension obligations, especially with people living longer. And so like I said, in the in the public sector, okay, pensions are still very common. In fact, 86% of government workers had access to them back in 2022, compared to only 15% of private sector workers. And that's according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And for these reasons, and a few others, companies have moved toward what is known as a defined contribution plan. That's where they put the onus on the employee to contribute themselves like a 401 K or a 403 B or a tsp. Because what that does is it shifts all the risk over to the actual employee. The company is not having to have you work for them for 20 years and then pay you for 40 years, which honestly doesn't make very much sense in the first place.

Mike Zaino:
So employees became responsible for funding their own retirement plan. With the invention of the defined contribution plan, the 401 K, and sometimes the company will agree to match a small amount. So the solution is to strengthen your retirement plan by coming up with your own personal pension. We don't want you relying way too heavily on Social Security and then self-directed withdrawals from your other retirement accounts. That's not a solid plan. And when you invest in your own personal pension, let's say it's funded by a fixed indexed annuity, you effectively put a floor on a portion of your portfolio, meaning you cannot lose any money that you put into that portion of your portfolio. It's guaranteed to never go below what you put in there. And then any gains in the underlying index. Those are locked in at regular intervals using something that are called protection periods or an annual reset. And so I absolutely want my listeners to live the retirement lifestyle that they deserve and don't live that just in case retirement or, you know, fly by the seat of your pants retirement, where you're afraid to spend the money that you've saved for your golden years. Establishing a solid income plan allows you to enjoy your play checks. Okay, we don't call them paychecks in retirement. They're play checks because that's what allows you to do the stuff that you've always dreamed about doing.

Producer:
Yeah, and you want those paychecks to meet your bills, meet your obligations and the play checks to do the things that you want to do. And, um, you know, I mean, a lot of people to just really they look at the news, they might look at the stock ticker running across the bottom of a screen and just be really afraid of spending any money. I mean, you know, it's like you were talking about earlier. A lot of people are either, you know, one end of the spectrum or the other a lot. I just want to take all the risk in the world, or they want to take zero risk at all. Right. And that kind of that zero risk at all, um, can kind of lead to that just in case. Retirement, because you're just scared. Maybe you've put your money under the mattress and there it's not going to do you any good.

Producer:
Just in.

Mike Zaino:
Case you need it. Right. And then what happens? You end up passing away, and then your children and your heirs get to enjoy the money that you had saved for your own retirement. And they get to do all the things that you had wanted to do during your retirement, like going on vacations and joining the country club and buying that fishing boat when that should actually be you enjoying what you had worked so hard and saved so hard and for so long to actually use and enjoy yourself. So contact us today, learn more at the website or, uh, Money Matters with Mike comm 704 5601573 is the telephone number and let's get your complimentary consultation scheduled. Take advantage of our offer for our listeners. Again, it's a $1,500 value. It costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time.

Producer:
Yeah. And that will be time well spent. Definitely. Well, just a few minutes left here to go, Mike, let's talk about, um, some a new study, uh, and survey, really, of seniors, of American retirees and sort of the most popular places for travel amongst baby boomers. This was from US News and World Report and destinations here in the US. I was not all that surprised by any of the ones here in the US. I think I was probably surprised by one, maybe two in the international destinations. But here in the US, number one I don't think would be any surprise at all. That is the Sunshine State of Florida. Of course.

Mike Zaino:
Yeah, Florida. I mean, obviously people go there because of, you know, beaches on the entire coastline of the entire state except for the northern side. Right. Um, more more 825 miles of beaches, warm weather, fishing, golf. I mean, what's not to love about Florida? Uh, during the winter time, especially when it's 72 degrees and sunny every single day.

Producer:
That's why the snowbirds are a thing in Florida. Uh, California as well. May be a little expensive to live there, but, uh, to visit, there's a I didn't realize there are nine national parks in California, but there are 280 state parks in California to to go see, that's just got to be amazing.

Mike Zaino:
Yeah. No, in California provides a very, very diverse, um, climate, whether you're in Northern California or Southern California, which borders Tijuana, Mexico. Right. So, I mean, it's there are all types of things to see. I like visiting California. I definitely would not live out there.

Producer:
Well, another one, uh, here, which has long been a retiree haven, uh, is Las Vegas with all the casinos, all the live events and concerts and all that. And of course, Mike, you know, what happens there stays there, including your money.

Mike Zaino:
Don't threaten me with a good time.

Producer:
Uh, I have been there too many times for my own good. Um, and then, of course, Texas again. A warm weather state. Uh, and then, you know, a lot of historical sites there as well. You've got, uh, the Alamo, you've got a lot of great things. You've got a lot of great historical sites in Dallas, for example, um, the old book depository there and the grassy knoll and all of that in downtown. And, um, just a beautiful state, uh, all all together, I agree.

Mike Zaino:
I love the state of Texas. God bless Texas, right? I would not have thought it was on the top. You know, one of the top, uh, US destinations, though. So it shows you how much I know.

Producer:
Yeah, that you and me both. That's, uh, that's the thing. And then so quickly here, uh, because we got just about a minute and a half left the international destination. So grab your passport and go to Mexico, which is, uh, on top of that list. Um, and I wasn't too surprised by that one. I thought it was was going to be a on the list, probably somewhere because of the close proximity to the country, all the beaches and everything and the food, of course. Um, France is another one, uh, which is up there, which not too surprising. Italy, also another great European destination. This is one that I was a little surprised was on the list, but I am glad is on the list because going there I just thought, oh my gosh, this is the most beautiful place is Ireland. Uh, it is amazing.

Mike Zaino:
Yeah. So that's the only one that I haven't been to. We're actually planning a trip there for next summer, so I'm excited to get to go. Obviously I've been to Mexico. It's one of my favorite countries to visit because it is so close. And then, uh, last last summer, the wife and I spent some time in both France and Italy, among some other countries in both eastern and Western Europe. But, you know, where is it that you want to go? Where is it that you long and is on your bucket list? And and then how do you plan on getting there? Well, if you don't have that income plan to that allows you to get there in retirement. That's what I'm here for, folks, to help you realize the dreams and make sure that you get to enjoy all of those destinations, whether they're domestic or international. So, um, you know, bottom line is, is you got to have that plan.

Producer:
Have a plan, put it in place, go to Money Matters with Mic.com to get started. Well, Mike, that is going to just about do it for this time around, sir. But I appreciate, as always, all of your, uh, your sage advice and wisdom that you bring to the table every week, and we'll do it again next time.

Mike Zaino:
I'm looking forward to it. Matt, I hope you have a great week. Thank you for everything that you bring to the table for our show. But most importantly again, we said it at the beginning of the show. Thank you to each and every single one of our listeners, whether you're listening live in the Charlotte MSA on, uh, wri II at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings, or whether you're listening wherever you listen to podcasts, anywhere around the globe. Without you guys, we don't have a show. So if you know anybody that could benefit from listening to the show, please share it. And whatever you're doing this weekend, I hope you do it to its fullest extent. And as always, make it a great day.

Producer:
Thanks for listening to Money Matters with Mike. You deserve to work with a licensed financial and insurance professional who can offer strategies for protecting and growing your hard earned money. To schedule your free, no obligation consultation, visit Money Matters with Mike.com or pick up the phone and call 704 560 1573. That's 704 5601573 not affiliated with the United States government. Mike Zaino does not offer tax, legal or investment advice. Consult with your tax advisor or attorney regarding specific situations. Opinions expressed are subject. Change without notice. These opinions are not intended as investment advice, nor do they predict future performance of any product. All information provided is believed to be from reliable sources. However, we make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of any statement. This information is intended to be educational in nature and does not provide a guarantee or a specific result. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Amara Life assumes no responsibility or liability for the content of this message. The information contained herein is provided on an as is basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness, timeliness, or the results obtained from the use of this information.

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