Over the next several episodes I’ll be answering your questions. Rather than having a central topic for the month, I am dedicating each episode to tackling your burning retirement queries. You can head on over to RogerWhitney.com/AskRoger to leave a voicemail or you can send an email. Enjoy hearing my response to questions like where do I start and how do I max out an HSA in the same year that I retire? Press play to discover the answers.

5 tips from the retirement scene

Consistency is key. Do you feel like you jump around from one process to another in your retirement planning? Whether you are changing your financial planning or investment management process, if there is no consistency in your decision making it’s like you have no process at all. It’s one thing to tweak your process a bit to adapt and stay agile, but don’t change the process completely.

Trying to estimate future market returns is a fool’s game. It’s impossible to tell what future returns will bring. There is no reason to try and guess what they might be. Instead of trying to predict the market, focus your time and energy on the things you can control.

Retirement planning shouldn’t revolve around your investments. Instead, your life should be at the center of your retirement planning.

Learn to say no. It’s okay to say that doesn’t work for me. Don’t allow many different things to put demands on your time.

Don’t depend on the 4% rule. People tend to focus on the 4% rule since it estimates a sustainable withdrawal rate, but if you base your retirement planning on this rule you’ll likely end up with way more money than you had expected. Not only that, but you’ll miss out on life experiences in the process.

Where to start?

One listener recently started listening to the show and was wondering where she should start first. It’s hard to say since that all depends on what you’re looking for. One way to begin is to listen to the Retirement Plan Live series. These case studies can help get you thinking about what you should do first in your retirement planning. Do you have any suggestions on where she should begin? Send me an email so I can let everyone know where they should begin listening.

Learn from my cautionary tale

I have shared the tale of the RV that I purchased with my brother-in-law several years ago on past episodes and now I can finally bring that anecdote to a conclusion. I share my experience with you as a cautionary tale of keeping something around simply because I wasn’t in urgent need to sell it. For 7 years I have been paying to store this RV and not once has it been used. Listen to my story to learn how to recognize the changing seasons of life so that you don’t end up spending $6300 to store something you’ll never use again.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN RANDOM THOUGHTS