Life never goes as expected and that’s especially true when it comes to finances and expenses. As soon as you think everything is under control, life happens, and a big bill follows.

But you can take steps now to protect yourself and your retirement. Too often we see people let the things they can control get overlooked. That’s a surefire way to sabotage your retirement and we don’t want to see that happen to you.

On this episode of Money Wisdom we’ll identify five different ways people sabotage their own retirement. Are you making any of these mistakes? Let’s explore them all today along with a recent headline and some mailbag questions.

Here’s a look at what we discussed with timestamps that you can click to take you to specific conversations in the show.

Best Places to Retire

Forbes recently published a list of the 20 best places to retire abroad and it covered a wide range of countries, many of which were located in Europe. How often do clients pick up and leave the country for retirement? Is that common?

[1:28] – In the News: A list of the 20 best places to retire abroad was published. Do any of Joel’s clients retire abroad?

Ways to Sabotage Your Retirement

On to the main topic for this show and we’re talking about mistakes people make that sabotage their own retirement. It’s so important to take care of the things that you can since you never know what surprises await you in the future.

Let’s talk about five that we see quite a bit and explain what you need to be doing. The five areas that we’ll be getting into are market volatility, Social Security, long-term care, your job, and your retirement lifestyle. There are things you can be doing for each of these that will help you keep your retirement on track and Joel will provide his insight along with some past experiences with clients.

Remember that having a financial plan that you’ve built with a professional and have confidence in will help solve many of these issues.

[4:14] – Financial self-sabotage is our main topic today and here’s how people do it.

[4:42] – Obsessing about short term ups and downs in the market to their detriment.

[7:25] – Starting Social Security at the wrong time.

[8:59] – Pretending that the risk of a nursing home is too far in the future and something you don’t need to worry about right now.  

[10:04] – Assuming that just because you like your job right now, you’ll like it forever.

[11:02] – Not identifying how you want to spend your retirement.  

[12:31] – Having a financial plan can help you avoid these missteps.

Mailbag Questions

We have some time on the show to take a few questions from listeners. The first is from someone that has invested in real estate for three decades and now finds himself with plenty of property but very little cash. If he takes a six-figure development deal, what is the best way to invest that money outside of real estate?

The second question comes from someone starting a new job. Congratulations! Like with many new jobs, there’s a waiting period before you can take advantage of the company’s retirement plan. Don’t let that discourage you from investing on your own. Joel will give you some options to consider while you wait for the company’s 401(k).

The last question is from a business owner has invested more in his company than his retirement. What amount should he be targeting every year to invest towards retirement?

[14:34] – Mailbag question: My grandfather always told me that the best investment you can make is dirt. Now I’m land rich and cash poor. A developer made an offer for $1.2 million for some of my property. What should I invest in next rather than more real estate?  

[17:06] – Mailbag question: I just started a new job and won’t be eligible for the company 401(k) until I’ve been here six months. Where should I be saving money in the meantime?

[19:16] – Mailbag question: I own my own business and probably re-invest too much into the business instead of saving for retirement. How much should I be saving every year?

Thanks for checking out our latest episode of the Money Wisdom podcast. Please subscribe when you have a minute. We’ll talk to you again soon!