Podcast Episode 279: Mailbag on Investing, Supporting Grandchildren, and Social Security

Financial planning is one of the most important aspects of life. If you don’t have your finances in order, it can be very difficult to achieve your goals. That’s why it’s important to ask questions when you’re unsure about something. On this podcast, we will answer three great questions about investing, supporting grandchildren, and Social Security.

The first question we’ll tackle is from someone who has saved a nice amount of money despite not feeling confident in their investing abilities. If you’ve been able to get this far with one strategy, should you just stick to it? The question we’d ask back is will your life remain the same?

The accumulation stage is entirely different that the decumulation stage of retirement and you’ll need a different approach when it’s time to start spending. You can invest your money differently to get a better plan as your goals for that money shift. People want to stay in the market but maybe you don’t need to anymore. Knowing whether you have enough for retirement is critical because it will determine how much risk you need to be taking. 

The second question comes from someone approaching retirement and facing a decision on how best to support a grandchild. Is it best to retire and spend time supporting a grandchild or continue working and provide money instead? It’s a great question and there’s value on each side. Ultimately, this is a family decision that needs to be discussed between each of you.

We can help you figure out which decision will help maximize your money, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best option for all of you.

Our final question asks about Social Security and when to claim. The answer is always going to vary from person to person because many factors weigh into the decision, but life expectancy is a big part of that. If you face a medical diagnosis that likely shortens your lifespan, then it’s likely better to go ahead and start that benefit now.

This, of course, merits a longer conversation because whether you’re working has an impact on this so we’d want to talk through that. But if you’re in a good financial place, we’re not a fan of waiting. We’d rather you get the money out of a system that you’ve been paying into your entire life.

Our Money Map review process can help with each of these and any financial questions you might have. Take advantage of this complimentary review and take that next step to financial independence.

Here’s what we discuss in this episode:

0:24 – Mailbag question on the stock market

3:47 – Mailbag question on helping support grandchild

6:52 – Mailbag question on Social Security

8:47 – How the Money Map review process helps these