Many retirees face financial stress not because of bad luck, but because of bad decisions. Join us as we discuss the top missteps people make when planning for retirement and how you can steer clear of them to ensure a secure future.
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About the show:
On the show, you’ll learn key strategies to help protect and grow your wealth and provide for lifetime guaranteed income. Mike is committed to helping retirees hold onto more of their hard-earned wealth and is a big advocate of helping his clients reduce the total taxes they’ll be required to pay during their retirement.


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1.31.25: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.
Speaker1:
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.
Speaker2:
Welcome to Money Matters with Mike, with your host, Mike Zeno. 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 Zeno.
Speaker3:
What's up people? Welcome to the show where we dive into the strategies, insights, and the tools you need to secure a confident and stress free financial future. I'm Mike Zeno, and my mission is to help you protect your nest egg, outsmart retirement risks, and live the life you've worked so hard to achieve. Whether you're nearing retirement or are already enjoying it? We're here to guide you every step of the way. And boy, do we have a ton of great information on today's show. On the show, we're going to show you some mistakes to avoid when planning for retirement. Plus, how to start your own pension and build a lifetime income stream. As always, I have the distinct honor and privilege of being joined by the one and only my co-host and producer extraordinaire, Mr. Matt McClure. Matthew, how are you today, sir?
Speaker4:
I am doing great, Mike. I hope you have had a nice busy week, but busy in a good way, you know, and just getting stuff done. Not busy in that bad way where things just keep flying at you.
Speaker3:
You know, with the new year comes a lot of resolutions from folks all across the country, especially on the financial side. They want to make sure that their financial house is in order. And so January has been an extremely busy month for us. We're just helping people all throughout the southeast, honestly, uh, wherever they listen in the United States, because not because not only do we come to you in the Carolinas in multiple cities, but we are on podcasts wherever you'd like to tune in to. Money Matters with Mike.
Speaker4:
Yeah. That's right. All you have to do is go open up your favorite podcast app and search for the title of the show. Of course, Money Matters with Mike and we'll pop up. We would love it if you would subscribe to the show. Leave us a great rating. Some nice comments there. I would absolutely love that. It really does help out a lot. It helps us spread the word, spread the good word about what you can do to really improve your status in life. As far as when you are planning for your retirement, when you get to retirement, helping not only just make ends meet and barely scratch by, but to really, you know, have a thriving retirement that you can really just kind of kind of take pride in and a retirement that you can, can look forward to essentially gives you that peace of mind. Um, also YouTube. Yeah, we do highlights from the show there. We've got a lot of YouTube shorts on there as well. Uh, some special content. So just search for Money Matters with Mike on YouTube, and do not hesitate to reach out to Mike Zeno with your questions. I can tell you this 100% of the time. Mike just really does want to help you with no matter what your questions are.
Speaker3:
Yeah. Whether it's questions about retirement planning, risk management, estate planning and a whole lot more. Building sound financial plans for people's retirements is what I do best. So (700) 456-0157 three you will not have to press one to speak English. It rings my cell phone. Folks, this is the only number I've had since 1997. So if I don't answer the phone because I'm in a meeting with another client, or maybe enjoying some personal time with the wife or adult children, leave me a message. I promise I'll call you back. Or you can visit Money Matters with mike.com and visit on the Contact Us page.
Speaker4:
Yeah that's right and set up that free consultation. We'll go into more details on that and what that entails here in just a little bit. Also on the show today, we're going to talk about, um, you know, really some mistakes that you should avoid making when planning for retirement. And you can retire smarter and feel more confident about the plan that you have in place. And this is especially, I think, good for you folks who might not really have a plan in writing that's that's in place that you feel confident in, right? So stay tuned for all of that. We'll talk about a lot about income as well, getting an income plan in place for you and not relying on solely on Social Security for your retirement income. And other important thing here that we'll get into. First, though, let's get some inspiration for our conversation with our quote of the week.
Speaker5:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.
Speaker4:
And this week's quote comes from the Oracle of Omaha himself, Mr. Warren Buffett, who said, it's good to learn from your mistakes. It's better to learn from other people's mistakes. I love that, Mike, because it's like it's a lot less painful to do it that way.
Speaker3:
Yeah, I love it so much that I use it at least once a year. Right. I want to, you know, highlight the importance because it's especially powerful when it comes to finances, because mistakes with money can be costly and they can be difficult to recover from.
Speaker2:
Hungry for something to chew on? Here's some meat on the bone.
Speaker3:
Learning from your own financial missteps like overspending, like poor investment choices, or probably most importantly, lack of planning can teach you valuable lessons. But those lessons often come with significant losses, right? And then, on the other hand, learning from the financial mistakes of other people allows you to gain wisdom without the personal cost. So by studying the experiences of others, you can avoid pitfalls. You're able to make smarter decisions, and you can build a much more secure financial future without having to endure the pain of trial and error yourself. Matt.
Speaker4:
Yeah. That's right. It does come with a lot of pain when you have to do it that way. And sometimes, if you're a little hard headed like I am, you might have to make mistakes a couple of times before, before you actually make those changes in your life.
Speaker3:
Hopefully not.
Speaker4:
I know. Don't don't be like me in that way, folks. Um, but you know, what I can say is that you're absolutely right, Mike, because, you know, learning from other people's mistakes is really essential to avoiding all of that pain and the heartache that comes along with having to learn from your own. And what we want to do is share five mistakes that people have often made in their retirement, in either planning for retirement or during retirement itself. And these are mistakes that people have made. First, so that you don't have to make them. Folks, we are letting you know about these mistakes right here and right now. But let's go through first, Mike, what it's like to have a retirement plan that is solid. So you want your retirement plan to include what?
Speaker3:
Well, I think first off, you have to have a clear vision for exactly what you want your retirement plan to look like. You have to have a plan that addresses when you're going to take Social Security. On last week's show, we talked a lot about Social Security. So if you're new to the show this week or you missed last week's show, make sure that you go back and listen to that, because there is a ton of great and new information about Social Security as a whole. You need to make sure that your plan has an income plan that will allow you to not only meet your budget, but, you know, extends past and beyond what you plan to spend in retirement. And then you need to have a sound investment strategy for any retirement accounts that you may have, because there are going to be different tax ramifications for each one of those, depending on how they are set up. But behind these seemingly simple principles lies a very complex set of ways that it can all go wrong. Okay, that's why on this week's show, we are sharing the list of five mistakes that you have to avoid so that you can retire and plan for retirement with peace of mind.
Speaker4:
And I think number one here on the list, Mike, is uh, is a big one. Um, that, uh, seems kind of obvious when we're talking about, you know, retirement planning on this show. But I think that a lot of people just fail to plan.
Speaker3:
They do many people carry on living for decades as if retirement will never arrive. But for a large majority of people, guess what, folks? It does. It comes to a point where your body just can't keep working, or your mind just can't keep dealing with what it's used to and has been dealing with for decades. So not planning to retire encourages many, many more mistakes, like failing to budget, saving and investing so that you'll be able to afford the living expenses later in life when working becomes difficult or even impossible.
Speaker4:
Yeah, that's absolutely correct there. And mistake number two. Another important one. And as you sort of alluded to a minute ago, Mike, there are different tax consequences for different types of accounts. So here's the thing. You've got to avoid mismanaging tax advantaged retirement plans because, you know, you've got to know the difference, right, between how these different accounts are treated from a tax standpoint in the first place.
Speaker3:
Sure thing. Many people fail to contribute enough right to their workplace, IRA or their 401 K or 403 B or TSP. If you're a federal employee, they don't even contribute enough to get the employer match, which is I'm sorry folks, but just plain dumb. I mean, that's free money that they're willing to give you. And you're telling me, nah, I don't want free money. What's the best kind of money? Free money. Okay, the second best kind is tax free money. And we'll talk about that here in a minute. But that can be a costly mistake, because those who fall into that trap are missing out on free money and a 100% return on a certain percentage of your contributions as a, you know, determined by your plan, some plans will match up to 3%, some 5%. I've seen some that match a whole lot more. Right. Another 401 K or IRA. Mistake is borrowing from your retirement. And I know life gets in the way, throws curve balls at you. But whatever you do, try not to borrow from your retirement because your future self is going to end up kicking you instead of kissing you. And the biggest mistake when you borrow it is failing to pay it back. Obviously, you also want to do everything that you can to avoid taking early withdrawals that are going to subject you to costly penalties. If you're in a tax deferred account and you pull some money out before you're 59.5. Not only do you have to pay taxes, but the IRS is going to hit you with an extra 10% penalty. You shouldn't have to do that. And then you should never invest your hard earned retirement plan funds exclusively in shares of your employer's company that's being overleveraged into one asset class. So by diversifying your investment is going to help you minimize any risk of that employer going under.
Speaker4:
Yeah. I mean, just ask anybody who used to work for Enron. Um, what that was like. Um, but and just to kind of bounce off a couple of things that, uh, that you said there, Mike, you know, borrowing from a 401 K or an IRA or, um, taking early withdrawals, you know, people might do that because of some sort of emergency. As you said, life does throw curveballs at us all the time. And we, you know, have to deal with those as they come. But I think this is also why one of the very first things, if not the first thing that you do with someone who starts working with you is establish an emergency fund that is so important. So then you don't have to go borrowing against your retirement accounts.
Speaker3:
Right when you have between six months and a year. Okay. Of all of your bills covered, you kind of walk a little bit straighter, a little bit taller. Your shoulders are held back because no matter what life throws at you short of a of a catastrophic illness, right? But any little blip, your HVAC going out, your car needing a new transmission, you've got the funds there to take care of it immediately. And you don't have to deplete your retirement account, which is going to fund all of your income when you stop working.
Speaker4:
Yeah, it's so important to just have that emergency fund in place. And as we've been saying, have your retirement plan in place and so that those two can work in harmony for you so that you don't have to worry about one or the other. And then that retirement income plan really is so important because a big portion of people's income is going to be Social Security. We want to make sure that it's not something that you are relying exclusively on, but it is a big source of income for a lot of folks. And not planning for it, not, you know, realizing that there are decisions to be made is mistake number three on our list.
Speaker3:
Yeah. Unfortunately, Social Security is a primary source of retirement income for American retirees. And, you know, people who meet with me, we try to, you know, make it the cherry on top, not depend on it, because Social Security right now is having some challenges in its solvency and its future is up in question. So some kind of legislative change has to happen in order for its viability to continue. But, you know, all you have to do to qualify for monthly lifetime benefits is work the required number of years while contributing through the mandatory payroll taxes. It sounds Social Security that is very simple and straightforward, but there are some mistakes that you're going to want to avoid. All right. Number one, if one member of a retired married couple dies, the survivor must carry on with just one monthly check. And that means the smaller of the two checks goes away. The survivor will get to keep the greater of those two. So in a lot of instances, you're talking of somewhere between 33 and 50% of income from Social Security being gone. It dies with the spouse that passed away. And so for this reason, the higher earnings partner or spouse may want to claim benefits or delay claiming benefits for as long as possible, because doing that will just increases the eventual monthly payment.
Speaker4:
Yeah that's right. So super important. We said last week on the show and folks, as Mike said earlier, if you haven't listened to that particular episode, it's all about Social Security. So just go to the podcast feed, search for Money Matters with Mike, or go online at Money Matters with mike.com. And you can listen to that episode. But yeah, last week, you know, we talked about the importance of timing and that really being everything when it comes to a good portion of Social Security planning. And, you know, I mean, really and truly the monthly budget needs of folks, uh, Social Security is not going to meet those. I mean, the income from that is just not going to cut it when it comes to, you know, paying all the bills that you might have if you're still paying on your mortgage, if you're paying the car payment, if you're paying all the insurance that goes along with everything. It's just not going to be enough.
Speaker3:
Yeah. Not to mention the fact that Social Security's finances are under pressure. And combine that with the fact that beneficiaries are living longer, which means the program that pays the recipients has to go for a much longer period of time. And why is all this happening? Well, 78 million baby boomers, approximately 10,000 of them are retiring each and every single day, meaning that the share of workers paying into the system via payroll taxes has been falling relative to the number of beneficiaries, which obviously creates that imbalance. And so, you know, we want to make sure that you have a plan for retirement that doesn't include over reliance on Social Security as a plan in and of itself.
Speaker4:
That's right. And you can of course, go to Money Matters with mike.com. That's Money Matters with mike.com. Reach out via the Contact Us page and Mike will get back to you about setting up a free consultation. And that is absolutely free of any cost, any obligation. And we'll give you more about what that entails coming up here in just a bit. But mistake number four first, and this is a big one, that as human beings, it's hard to leave our emotions out of stuff a lot of the time. But emotional investing is a big mistake when it comes to financial planning of all kinds.
Speaker3:
Huge studies have shown that the best approach is to stay fully invested through both the good times and the bad, when folks try to time the market, especially on the basis of emotions, that is one of the least promising investment strategies that you could possibly have. When the market crashes, they're like, ah. And so they move to safety. And what happens is because they don't time it right on the other end, they've just locked in their loss and they do not participate back in the rebound. So if you get rattled and you sell your securities during a bear market to convert to seemingly safe cash, you are effectively locking in your losses and making it harder to participate in any future upturn.
Speaker4:
Yeah, the market goes up and the market goes down. But here's the thing. My crystal ball is broken. I don't know when that's going to happen. So you know and then if you do rely on emotional investing which is of course our big mistake. Number four, not the thing you want to do. You do tend to do it backwards. You buy when you're feeling good. But that's often when the market is high and then you sell when you're not feeling good. And that's usually when the market is low. And that's the opposite of buy low. Sell high.
Speaker3:
Like literally the opposite is because, you know, you're encouraged to start, you know, investing. And the market goes up and then you become confident and it goes up some more and becomes you become thrilled. And then like you said, it's at its all time highs. Now you're euphoric and you're buying, you're buying, you're buying. And then it starts to dip and you're surprised. And then it dips some more and you get nervous. And then it dips some more. And now you're flat out worried. And then it might go up. And then it drops again. And now you're panic stricken and you're like, ah. And you sell low. Right? So you don't want to do that. You just want to have a plan and leave emotion out of all of your decision making. So if you don't want your golden years tarnished by financial stress, you are going to need to be prepared with a solid plan. So give me a call at (704) 560-1573 or visit. Money matters with mike.com so you can contact us and schedule a complimentary no obligation consultation. Please guys, do not spend your retirement watching the ups and downs of the market. Many people like working with a licensed professional who can look out for your best interests. In many cases, consulting with a professional will save you money in the long term.
Speaker4:
Yeah, it absolutely will. And that's one thing that people think, oh, I can't afford it. It's something that I can't. I think you can't afford not to. In many cases, seek out the help of a financial professional like Mr. Mike Zeno. And number five here on our list of mistakes to avoid. Mike is a big one as well. And that is focusing only on the financial side of retirement. That may seem like something that's a little strange for people to hear us talking about on a financial show, but it's important that, you know, we don't want to only focus on dollars and cents. The focus is is on you. It's on really what is best for you in your individual situation?
Speaker3:
Yeah. I mean, retirement is only partly about money. Uh, you're also going to need to find ways to fill the time that you previously spent working. So if you don't have a plan for how to spend your time, please don't retire. Because after the first few weeks of what seems like vacation, you're going to start twiddling your thumbs and get bored if you don't already have a plan, right? So hopefully your plan will involve things that improve your health and enrich your life. So my first question is going to be do you have a smart vision? Can you see what your retirement looks like? And for most people, this is the most fun part of retirement planning. You need to answer three questions that you ask yourself and really think about your answers. Seriously. You know what are you doing during your retirement years? Uh, where are you going to live? Who are you spending the most time with? And then, most importantly, we'll add a fourth question. How do you plan on funding it? Okay. If you don't start planning with a clear vision as well as a list of goals for your retirement, you could experience a lot of unknowns down the road. Matt.
Speaker4:
Yeah. And, you know, there's, um, a particular survey that we found that said 37% of Americans feel that they need more education on retirement planning. I would venture to say the number is probably actually bigger than that. Uh, but 52% of Americans wish they had more education on how to invest. So, I mean that a lot of people out there might really unsure about what to do for their retirement plan.
Speaker3:
Yeah, I'm going to blame that on the government. I really am. I mean, the financial education system in the United States is broken. So if you are unsure about how to best maximize or plan for the income in your retirement. Guess what, folks? That's why we do this show, right? A financial, um, tide rises all boats. And so giving back to the community and informing people and teaching basic financial principles and even more advanced strategic principles is what we do. So schedule a complimentary consultation. Or if you're working a 401 K or IRA review, we can help optimize those plans and our listeners can work directly with us with absolutely no obligation.
Speaker4:
And the phone number to call is (700) 456-0157 3704560 1573. You can also go online to Money Matters with mike.com and set up that no obligation consultation. And of course okay so to recap these five mistakes to avoid just to make sure that you've got these in your mind, folks, is these worst retirement mistakes? Are this not planning to retire at all? Failing to take full advantage of retirement savings plans like your 401, your IRAs, things like that. Mismanaging your Social Security benefits. Making emotional investment decisions that cost you money and not having a smart vision for your retirement. Definitely five things that you want to avoid when retirement planning or in retirement as well. And so this really does highlight like kind of you know, what you were talking about there just right now I believe is a great time for our listeners to reach out, to reach out to a licensed financial professional like you, to take advantage of what you can offer them, the knowledge, the expertise that you can offer them in really planning for their future. Right?
Speaker3:
Yeah. No matter how much money you have, your money is important to you. And therefore that means it's important to me. And so regular consultations with a financial professional provide valuable insight and ensures that you're on track to meet your retirement goals. And we've highlighted this a few times. Many people think that it just costs too much to work with a financial professional. But we can actually help save you money and make you more money down the road as we work to protect and grow your hard earned assets. So contact us this week for a complimentary retirement and financial consultation. And again (704) 560-1573 or Money Matters with Mike comm.
Speaker4:
And when you start working with Mike on a safe income plan and, and just an overall retirement and financial plan for you. And of course, it all has to do with you and what is best for you. It's definitely not one size fits all. Um, go through some things, Mike, that you do when someone comes in or goes for that initial consultation, meet you at the coffee shop or via zoom or whatever they do. Um, and what do you do? Kind of what are the things that you like to look at?
Speaker3:
So I think you just, uh, hit the nail on the head. A lot of people feel intimidated by coming into an office, into a, you know, think it's going to be really staunch and starchy, and they may be a little embarrassed because they don't know a lot about money. Folks. That's okay. Um, I quit wearing a noose around my neck about 17 years ago, and I'm about as real as they come, right? So the first thing we're going to have is basically just a discovery phone call. We're going to spend 15 minutes or so me asking a series of questions, kind of getting to know you and where you are in life. And and then when we sit down, we're going to take a serious look at where you are. Right? What your goals are, what your vision is for retirement. We'll look at if you have a current plan, we'll take a look at that and obviously look at your portfolio of assets. Um, we will develop and walk you through our recommended plan for your retirement. And more importantly, I guess most importantly, we'll answer as many questions as you can possibly throw at us when it comes to you and your retirement. So reach out to get started on your own customized plan. If you throw your intentions into the drawer of procrastination and close that drawer, it may be three, five, seven years down the road. And those years, especially when it comes to compound interest, working for you can make the difference. All the difference in a successful retirement or not.
Speaker4:
That's absolutely right. I mean, you know, I can't tell you how many times I've thrown something in the junk drawer. And then a couple of years later, I'm looking through the junk drawer for something completely different and I'll think, oh, I forgot I had this, you know, so you don't want to do that with something as important as your own financial future and especially your retirement plan. A retirement income plan. You don't want to just sit and wait. Wanted to see what the markets are like when you retire? No. You want a plan that no matter what the markets are doing, you are going to be just fine. Money matters with.com is the place to go. You can also call 704 560 1573. Well that's going to do it for this edition of the show. Mike, it has come and gone quickly as it usually does, but I will, uh, always say that I appreciate you and everything that you bring to the table. And we'll talk to you again next time.
Speaker3:
Matt, without you, we don't have the production value that we have. But most importantly, we want to thank our listeners. Without our listeners, we don't have a show. So wherever you're listening, whether it's locally in the Carolinas or anywhere across the globe on Money Matters with Mike comm or wherever you listen to the podcast. Thank you. That is a sincere thank you from the bottom of my heart. Whatever you're doing this weekend, I hope you enjoy it to its fullest extent and as there's always make it a great day.
Speaker2:
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 704560 1573. That's (704) 560-1573. Not affiliated with the United States government. Mike Zeno does not offer tax, legal or investment advice. Consult with your tax advisor or attorney regarding specific situations. Opinions expressed are subject to 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. Nationwide's peak ten fixed index annuity is designed to help protect and grow your savings to generate income you can never outlive. Peak ten also has an optional rider that offers an immediate 20% bonus based on your principal. Apply to your income benefit base. Call us now at 704 5601573. That's 704 5601573. Guarantees and protections referenced within are subject to the claims paying ability of nationwide Life and annuity insurance company. Nationwide peak ten is issued by Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company. Columbus, Ohio.
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