Episode 89: How much money does it take for you to retire? Dec 13, 2011.

Today I welcome special guest Pam Otten, financial adviser and host of the “Intelligent Investing with Pamela Otten” radio show. Together we discuss how to determine the right nest egg size for your retirement. Pam has been on the show before and has had me on her show numerous times and she is a good friend of mine. You may recognize her name (and voice) from Episode 087 and Episode 066 of this podcast. She’s also my adviser and someone I trust for investment advice.

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Show notes:

• Next week we’ll be talking about Christmas gifts and how to save money when shopping for Christmas. Do you have some tips for saving money on Christmas gifts? Share them by emailing us at mailbag [at] financialexcellence [dot] net with the subject line: Christmas!
• Most people wait until they’re ready to retire and then wonder if they can retire. If you wait that long, it’s waaaaay too late, and you probably won’t be able to retire. You need to have a plan early and start working the plan early.
• Many financial advisers suggest your expenses will decrease by 25% when you retire. That very well may not be the case, and it’s important you have realistic expense projections. In fact, your expenses may increase when you retire.
• Pam also says you need to start with a written spending plan and eliminate debt if you want to retire comfortably. Hmmm, where have you heard that before?  Oh, yeah – Matt says that in almost every podcast episode!
• The #1 problem in retirement planning is the lack of an end goal – your financial planner cannot help you reach your goal if you don’t know where you want to go. It’s time to start thinking about when you want your lifestyle to be when you reach retirement age.
• Your return on investment will be related to the amount of risk you’re willing to tolerate. You should understand that low risk investments come at a pretty steep opportunity cost. Similarly, higher risk portfolios should be well diversified to minimize your risks.
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