"Only 5% of retirees say they’re living the dream and 19% are living the nightmare." says Deb Boyden in an article from Yahoo Finance. Deb provides three lessons to protect your future, which we dig into to see how it applies to your retirement:

Lesson 1: You’re Probably Not Saving Enough
Lesson 2: Expect the Unexpected
Lesson 3: Winging It Won’t Get You There

In our Listener Question segment, we talk about the pro rata rule and Roth conversions. It’s one of those areas that seems simple on the surface but trips a lot of people up once you start digging in, so we unpack what the pro rata rule really means and why, in most cases, an extra step at the point of retirement, and a bit of double-checking will keep things as clean and simple as possible.

Resource:

Article on Yahoo Finance from Deb Boyden: "Only 5% of retirees say they’re ‘living the dream’ and 19% are ‘living the nightmare.’ Here are 3 lessons to protect your future"

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Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

If you’ve saved more than a million dollars, that puts you ahead of 90% of your peers. Statistically, that makes you a super saver. But one of the biggest challenges super savers face is this: it’s hard to spend your own money.

In this episode, I share one exercise that can help break some of those old habits and open the door to a more fulfilling retirement.

A Practical Exercise

Think back over the last year or two and pick a trip that you really enjoyed. Itemize all the spending decisions you can remember:

• Where did you go?
• How did you get there?
• How long did you stay?
• What did you eat?
• What souvenirs did you buy?


Take each line item and triple it.

Then think of two or three ways you could possibly spend that new tripled amount.

Listen to the rest of the episode and learn how we can rewire our brains from saving mode to spending mode.

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• Subscribe to the newsletter: https://retirementstartstodayradio.com/newsletter
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Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement

We’re taking another look at one of retirement planning’s sneakiest pitfalls — underestimating your own life expectancy.

We explore why smart people make short-sighted Social Security decisions, how psychological biases can distort your thinking, and why planning to live a long time isn’t pessimistic.

Then, our listener question covers the nuts and bolts of how to apply for Social Security (online, phone or in-person), a critical heads-up for widows who want to claim survivor benefits without accidentally locking in reduced retirement benefits, and what happens when spousal benefits enter the mix after one spouse files before the other.

Resources:

• The (F)Law of Averages: Episode 412
• Article by Rick Kahler of Advisor Perspectives: Underestimating Your Life Expectancy: Don’t Let Your Brain Shrink Your Retirement Benefits
• Applying for Social Security benefits: ssa.gov

• Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com
• Subscribe to the newsletter: https://retirementstartstodayradio.com/newsletter
• Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start

Follow Retirement Starts Today in:
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or iHeart

Get the book!
Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement