Ready For Retirement
Ready For Retirement is the podcast dedicated to helping you learn the tips and strategies that will help you achieve your retirement goals. When it comes to retirement planning, it can quickly become overwhelming and easy to not take action. I designed this podcast because I want you to have the knowledge and confidence to create your secure retirement. My ultimate goal for all of my clients (and listeners) is to create peace of mind and that starts with having a strategy. I want you to spend more time thinking about what matters most to you in retirement. I post weekly episodes to keep you up-to-date on all the best tips and strategies to create a retirement that excites you. Everything from investing tips, tax planning, withdrawal strategies, insurance planning, Social Security, and that's just the start! Let's help you maximize your return on life. We use your money and the strategies I share in this podcast to do just that!
Episodes
340 episodes
Retiring With a Pension? Here’s How It Changes Everything About Your Retirement Math
Retiring with a pension changes everything about your retirement math.Most people think about retirement in terms of net worth—how close they are to a million, two million, or more. But if you have a pension, that old framework can send you...
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Episode 341
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11:33
When Saving Becomes a Habit You Can’t Turn Off | Root Talks
Some retirees have more money than they ever imagined… and still feel guilty buying the $5 M&Ms.This episode is for the lifelong savers who nailed the retirement planning side—maxed out accounts, invested consistently, hit their “num...
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Episode 340
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15:48
The Wake-Up Call That Made Him Retire 10 Years Early | Retirement Reality
A cancer diagnosis changed everything. When Michael’s wife began chemo, time took on a new meaning. The long-term financial plan suddenly felt secondary to the years they still had together. That wake-up call led Michael, then 57, to retire a f...
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Episode 339
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32:01
The Secret Cost of Claiming Social Security Too Early (or Too Late)
Forget the race for the biggest Social Security check. The real question isn’t how high your benefit can go, it’s how well it fits your life, taxes, and long-term plan.In this episode, James breaks down how the timing o...
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Episode 338
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14:28
Retiring at 54: Why Darren Says It Feels Surreal | Retirement Reality
In this episode of Retirement Reality, Darren shares what it’s really like to walk away from work at 54 and why it still feels surreal. After decades of saving, hitting his number, and paying off the house, a company reorg gave him the push he ...
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Episode 337
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30:59
How to Maximize Social Security Spousal Benefits (Even if you Collect Your Benefit Early)
A single misunderstanding about Social Security spousal benefits can cost couples thousands over retirement. This episode unpacks the real math behind how Social Security treats spouses, ex-spouses, and survivors, so you can make smart claiming...
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Episode 336
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16:03
I Threw the First Pitch at a Padres Game—Here’s the Real Lesson | Root Talks
What if the “smart” money choice isn’t the choice that builds your best life?This Root Talks episode starts with a bucket-list moment for James—throwing the first pitch at a Padres game—and turns into a bigger lesson: money is a tool to cre...
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Episode 335
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14:52
Retirement Benchmarks by Age: 40, 50, 60 (And What If You’re Behind?)
Those “3x by 40, 6x by 50, 10x by 67” charts feel official—until your life doesn’t match the average. In this episode, James shows why age-based savings benchmarks miss the mark and replaces them with a simple, four-step method that fits yo...
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Episode 334
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10:30
The Unexpected Exit at 55 — Finding Freedom, Purpose, and Identity
In this episode of Retirement Reality, meet Donovan, a 55-year-old retiree who turned an unexpected career exit into an opportunity for freedom, reflection, and new purpose. Donovan shares how one defining word, choice, shaped his journey befor...
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Episode 333
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44:57
3 Steps to Build a Retirement Paycheck That Lasts
Early retirement income can feel complicated, but a steady paycheck from savings starts with a simple framework. This episode reframes withdrawal decisions, explains why a fixed 4 percent rule can be too conservative in some cases, and shows wh...
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Episode 332
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19:17
Your Tax Planning Window Won’t Last Forever | Top 3 Strategies to Prioritize
Retiring early isn’t just about having enough money, it’s about using the right tax moves in the right years. This conversation between James and Ari maps the three biggest levers for early retirees: Roth conversions, ACA health insurance su...
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Episode 331
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21:28
Will Low Returns Ruin Your Retirement? (How to Interpret Goldman Sachs 3% Forecast) | Root Talks
What if the next 10 years bring just 3% returns from the S&P 500?In this episode, we turn that forecast into a real-world retirement plan—not panic. You’ll learn how to stress test your portfolio, build flexibility int...
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Episode 330
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16:17
3 Investments That Should Never Go In Your Retirement Portfolio
Think your retirement’s safer with a little gold, a favorite stock, and a home full of equity? Time for a reality check. In this episode, we put three “sacred” retirement assets to the test and show how they can quietly derail the one outcome t...
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Episode 329
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12:08
We're 62 with $2M: Retire Now or Wait?
The real question isn’t “Can we retire?”, it’s “On how much, and when do the big costs fade so our savings can breathe?”In this episode, James walks through one couples' retirement plan to show how timing, travel, and housing choices ca...
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Episode 328
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13:27
10 Ways Retirement Has Completely Changed in 30 Years
Forget the gold watch and glide path to the couch. Retirement has been rewritten. In this episode, James walks through the 10 biggest shifts redefining life after work—and how to replace outdated rules with a plan that’s practical, human, and b...
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Episode 326
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11:32
$10M+ Net Worth Case Study: What to Do First
What if the real financial risk isn’t running out of money, but running out of time to use it well? In this episode, listen as James and Ari unpack a $14 million case study with concentrated inherited stock, sizable retirement accounts, and big...
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Episode 325
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16:48
The 3 Worst Retirement Mistakes I See All the Time
Think your tax bill disappears in retirement? Think again. It may drop for a few quiet years, until RMDs, Social Security taxation, and Medicare IRMAA kick in. That “low-tax retirement” dream can close fast.Learn the retirement tax arc a...
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Episode 324
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12:25
The BEST Retirement Advice (From 909 Real Retirees)
What if the riskiest move isn’t retiring too early, but waiting so long your best years pass by? This episode unpacks the real regrets of 909 retirees and the practical steps they wish they’d taken sooner. Design purpose. Spend on what m...
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Episode 323
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11:36
The Cliché Advice You Should Finally Pay Attention To
We’ve all heard the clichés: focus on what you can control, embrace the pain not the suffering, fight for what you want.Easy to dismiss, right? But the truth is, those sayings stick around for a reason. They hold the kind of wis...
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Episode 322
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19:47
5 Signs You Should Fire Your Financial Advisor
Most people stay with the wrong financial advisor far too long: out of loyalty, inertia, or fear of starting over. But the cost of sticking with the wrong person can be measured in dollars, stress, and lost years you can’t get back.
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Episode 321
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12:59
Advice from Retirees: What They Wish They Knew in Their 50s
Ever wish your 80-year-old self could give you a nudge today? After years working with clients in their 70s and 80s, three lessons rise to the top: treat wealth as money, time, and health, know your financial independence number, ...
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Episode 320
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18:39
Roth vs. Traditional IRA – Which One Really Saves You More?
Is a Roth IRA really better than a traditional IRA? The truth is... it depends on your tax situation. In this video, you’ll learn why your current tax bracket versus your retirement tax bracket should drive your decision, not blanket advice.
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Episode 319
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12:32
You Could Spend WAY More Than the 4% Rule Suggests (Says the Man Who Created It)
Financial planning’s most famous guideline just got an upgrade. In this exclusive interview, James speaks with Bill Bengen—the MIT-trained engineer turned financial advisor who created the 4% rule—about his updated research and what it means fo...
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Episode 318
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21:25
How to Know You’ve Found the Right Financial Advisor │ Root Talks
What makes you trust someone with your financial future? In this episode of Root Talks, James and Ari unpack the powerful role of intuition in building lasting relationships with financial advisors, business partners, and even loved ones.
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Episode 317
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18:18
What’s the Smartest Investment Mix for Retirees Right Now?
Navigating market volatility in retirement requires more than the traditional 60/40 portfolio. This episode explores three critical risks every retiree must address to maintain financial security through changing market conditions.The fi...
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Episode 316
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13:42