The Retirement Trainer with Ed Siddell

In the previous episode of this podcast, we explored what taxes currently mean for retirees – and why taxes are the most expensive thing in almost every retirement plan.  If you save the wrong way, you’ll be penalized for it. If you were so lucky as to live to be 115 years old, you’d be…

Taxes are the single biggest expense that people have in retirement. Everyone wants to have a plan in place to deal with them, but few know how to do it well. When you retire, paying taxes on Social Security and even on ordinary income can be voluntary, but only if you have the right plan…

Taxes are the single biggest expense that people have in retirement. Everyone wants to have a plan in place to deal with them, but few know how to do it well.  When you retire, paying taxes on Social Security and even on ordinary income can be voluntary, but only if you have the right plan…

We are all living in one of the craziest, most volatile markets in history. To get through it, you need a plan, and that plan needs to change over the course of your life to ensure you conserve when you need to, have cash flow, and can make transitions with confidence and ease. These are…

In last week’s episode, we started a deep dive into annuities: what they are, how they work, and why they might (or might not) make sense in your retirement portfolio. If you haven’t yet, we recommend you listen to that episode first, then come back to today’s.  More than anything else, you need to remember…

When many people think of annuities, they say, “Oh my gosh, that’s horrible.” Many people either love or hate them, but this is almost never the right perspective to take. Why is this? It’s simple: many financial planners can’t clearly explain where it makes sense to use annuities or make sense of the complicated industry…

As you transition into retirement, you’re likely looking to understand how to reduce mortgage debt and downsize without burning through your savings. There are lots of ways to do it, and lots of important questions to ask along the way. This is more true right now than ever before. With housing markets as hot as…

If you have kids, no matter what financial shape you and your family are in, you’re probably wondering how you’re going to pay for college. You’re probably wondering what your options are. You may need to know what the FAFSA is, what scholarships are available, and if they’re needs or merit-based.  You’re also probably astounded…

Over the years, people have been able to take hardship withdrawals and loans against retirement plans to cover emergency medical expenses, tuition, rent, mortgage payments, repairs, funerals, and other sudden and unexpected costs.  However, the rules regarding these withdrawals and loans, the amount of money available to you, and the penalties for taking this money…

Market volatility is real, and we’ve seen it in full force this year. On multiple occasions, we’ve seen markets swing over 6 percent in just one day of trading. Things are changing minute by minute, and the COVID-19 crisis has created a pattern of ongoing economic and political unrest that we’re unlikely to emerge from…