Financial Symmetry: Balancing Today with Retirement

So many of us will be hoping for no tax surprises when preparing our tax returns this year.  This is why we want to provide you with a list of common tax surprises to watch for. After working with hundreds of clients to prepare their tax returns, we’re sharing the latest tax surprises we see that could be helpful to know when completing your tax return this year. Outline of This Episode [0:42] The Slott Report [2:39] Inheritance surprises [6:51] Credit card rewards [8:10] Interest income increases [10:54] Income earned in different states [12:32] 1099Ks [14:14] Underwithholding from your W4 [15:56] Forgotten statements [17:32] Double taxation on the Backdoor Roth [19:49] Underpayment penalty [21:14] The K1 for small business owners **** 📬 Get our Retire On Purpose Guide here.  📰 See the full show notes here 🌐 Explore the Retirement Podcast Network here  

Retirement can hit us with numerous curveballs. One of those could happen right out of the gate–being forced with an early retirement.  We all know that layoffs are part of the corporate landscape. While they are commonplace, when you are faced with one later in your career it can cause you to reevaluate your financial situation.  In this episode, we discuss your options if you are laid off and how they fit in with your financial plan, your tax plan, and your 401K. **** 📬 Get our Retire On Purpose Guide here.  📰 See the full show notes here 🌐 Explore the Retirement Podcast Network here    

While most of our listeners are in or on the cusp of retirement, many have loved ones who are earlier in their careers. Often we get questions on how our listeners and clients can help their younger family members make better financial decisions.  As we celebrate International Women's Day with this episode, you’ll meet our newest CFP, Niamh Douglas. Niamh and Allison discuss some tools and strategies to help young people who are just starting out get off on the right financial foot. Resources & People Mentioned Episode 189 - Smart Financial Decisions for Recent College Graduates 9 Retirement Surprises The Retirement Podcast Network 3rd Decade LadiesGetPaid.com BOOK - Simple Wealth, Inevitable Wealth by Nick Murray BOOK - Peaceful Prosperity by Laura Redfern  

Many who approach retirement view it as the ultimate goal, but you could have 30+ years to experience the retirement you've worked to build.  While much of retirement planning is focused on the numbers, people often fail to intentionally plan out how they'll spend their time. In this episode, we explore some common retirement pitfalls and then ten stepping stones to help us overcome challenges you might encounter. **** 📬 Sign up for the Advisor Corner Newsletter here and receive our Pre-Retirement Checklist.  🎯 Article - Uncertainty is Underrated 📰 See the full show notes here 🌐 Explore the Retirement Podcast Network here

Many investors have been tempted to invest more, if not all, of their portfolios in the S&P 500 given the incredible run it’s had over the last decade. But today we are talking through five reasons why you should consider not making a concentrated investment only in the S&P 500.  Don't let recency bias rule your decision-making on the road to your ideal retirement. **** 📬 Sign up for the Advisor Corner Newsletter here and receive our Pre-Retirement Checklist.  🎯 Article - A Few Thoughts on Spending Money 📰 See the full show notes here 🌐 Explore the Retirement Podcast Network here

One of the biggest financial disasters that people can experience in retirement is divorce. On this episode of Financial Symmetry, Grace Kvantas chats with licensed marriage and family therapist, Lesli Doares. Lesli shares warning signs to look out for, misconceptions about keeping finances separate, and why couples should seek marriage counseling in retirement. Your marriage affects every aspect of your life. Listen in to learn how you can improve it.  **** 📬 Sign up for the Advisor Corner Newsletter here and receive our Pre-Retirement Checklist.  🎯 Article - Many Happy Returns by David Booth 📰 See the full show notes here 🌐 Explore the Retirement Podcast Network here  

If you have rollover IRA accounts and want to make a backdoor Roth IRA contribution, this episode is for you. There are several steps involved to handle this strategy in the right way including understanding how you roll the IRA accounts to your 401k. Today we walk through five considerations you should think through before you implement a strategy to complete your Backdoor Roth contributions. **** 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here 🌐 Explore the Retirement Podcast Network here    

In our usual episodes, we aim to arm you with a particular insight or strategy that can help you inch closer to your ideal retirement.  But, with todays show, we want to close the year by providing a list of 15 surprising financial facts about the year that you could share in a conversation with a friend or family member. We also pay tribute to the great investor Charlie Munger, by providing a few of our favorite Mungerisms. As you begin your 2024, we thank you all for listening and sharing our show. We look forward to continuing to provide you with helpful steps on your journey to reach an ideal retirement   **** 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here    

If you are planning on retiring before age 65, there is no doubt that you have had this question. What do you do about health insurance?  In the United States, the health insurance landscape is ever-changing and takes quite a bit of planning.  Many people even feel anchored to their jobs because of the prohibitive costs of health insurance. However, there are options for healthcare before age 65. Listen in to discover what your options are and what you should be doing to plan for this complicated aspect of early retirement.  Outline of This Episode [2:44] COBRA [8:04] Using your spouse’s plan [10:58] The healthcare exchange [17:57] On choosing more than one option Resources & People Mentioned Episode 204 - 10 Tax Planning Opportunities You Don’t Want to Miss

Taking advantage of tax planning opportunities before year-end may benefit you this year while also lowering your lifetime tax rate.  Paying more taxes now to lower your lifetime tax rate may seem unconventional, but if you are serious about building wealth, this episode may include a strategy for you. Listen in to hear ten tax strategies you could use on the path to your ideal retirement.  **** 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here

On the journey to reach your ideal retirement, stock options can be a valuable tool to have in your arsenal. However, it’s easy to make mistakes given most people don’t have a class in high school that provides pointers on how to handle when they vest. There are many things to consider with stock options: the different types, timing deadlines, tax consequences, and the leverage involved. Since it is such a complex topic, they’re often put on the back burner and can easily be forgotten about causing you to miss out on a valuable opportunity to increase your wealth. If you have been offered stock options with your company, you’ll want to hear these 8 common mistakes to avoid when managing your stock options. ***** 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here  

There’s so much we can overlook with retirement plans. Here at Financial Symmetry, we are constantly finding ways to help you be aware of retirement opportunities and rules and improve your wealth.  On this special Halloween-themed episode of Financial Symmetry, Allison has come up with some retirement plan horror stories to spook you. Listen in to ensure that these horrors don’t ruin your retirement plans.  ***** 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here

If you are a long-time listener you know that we like to go through the nuances of financial planning that may be valuable to you.  In this episode, Allison and I take a look at net unrealized appreciation (NUA). Listen in to learn what it is, who could benefit from it, and the benefits and pitfalls of using NUA. You won’t want to miss out on hearing one of our classic fictional case studies involving Freddie Krueger. Press play to hear if you could benefit from using NUA. Outline of This Episode [1:20] What is net unrealized appreciation? [3:45] A case study [8:40] The four triggering events [11:15] Benefits of NUA [15:44] The drawbacks ***** 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here

When it comes to the question of rolling over a 401K or 403B to an IRA, many people fear making mistakes. It’s true, that retirement account mistakes can be costly. On this episode, we’ll explore the options you have, the factors to consider, and the reasons you should and the reasons you shouldn’t roll over your employer-sponsored retirement account. Outline of This Episode [3:15] The 6 options you have when you separate service  [8:01] Factors to consider [13:54] Reasons to roll over [20:45] Reasons not to roll over ***** 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here

Investing is simple but not easy. To that end, what are the impacts if you do a poor job managing your investments? Several studies from Vanguard and Morningstar have attempted to quantify how behavioral coaching can impact your savings. The numbers settle around 1.5-2%/yr. That may not sound like much, but could equate to millions of difference over 30+ years of savings.  On this episode, we continue to explore the benefits of the wealth management relationship. If you haven’t listened to the first part you can find it here.  Resources & People Mentioned Episode 198 - The Benefits of a Wealth Management Relationship – Part 1 Episode 177 - 10 Investing Principles: The Fundamentals That Guide Your Investing Decisions Episode 164 - Your Game Plan for Volatile Markets Episode 118 - Do You Ask These Questions When Selecting Investments? Episode 165 - Why You Need a Professionally Prepared Estate Plan Episode 176 - Estate Planning Tales from the Crypt Episode 194 - How to Optimize Your Estate Plan with Adam Tarsitano ***** 🎥 See video recaps here 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download the Benefits of Wealth Management here 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here

Many people who reach out to a financial advisor simply seek help creating a financial plan. A financial plan can get you on the right path to financial freedom. However, there are limitations to creating a one-time financial plan.  In this episode, a few of our wealth advisors discuss how wealth management works from the tax planning, retirement planning and risk planning perspectives.   ***** 🎥 See video recaps here 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here

So, you inherited an IRA–now what? The rules surrounding inherited IRAs are more complicated than you think, so if you have already inherited an IRA or expect to in the near future, we are breaking down how you should think about making withdrawals. In this episode, you’ll learn the three types of beneficiaries and the six questions you need to ask yourself when you inherit an IRA. ***** 🎥 See video recaps here 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here

If you're a Modern Family fan, you should enjoy today's episode.  Today, we're diving in the mistakes made when we make assumptions about our IRA beneficiary forms.  Many people don’t realize this but their IRA has the opportunity to be the star player of their estate plan.  In this episode, we walk through real world examples, to help you take steps now to avoid similar pitfalls in your own lives.  ***** 🎥 See a video recap 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here

The behavioral and emotional side of financial planning takes precedence when planning for our future. I see this play out frequently in the form of anchoring to a perceived value we’ve grown accustomed to, based on prior experience. This “value”; however, can unfortunately lead to decisions that damage the success of our financial plan. Outline of This Episode [1:40] Anchoring to a dollar amount is what we’re used to [5:56] Are you stuck on your stock prices? [10:25] Your retirement number needs to have a basis [15:20] What are you sacrificing to reach your number? [16:13] Don’t limit your tax thinking [20:25] Gain confidence with a financial plan Resources & People Mentioned BOOK - Wild Problems by Russ Roberts Connect with Chad and Cameron https://www.financialsymmetry.com/podcast-archive/  Connect on Twitter @csmithraleigh @TeamFSINC Follow Financial Symmetry on Facebook Subscribe To This Podcast Apple Podcasts  Stitcher  Google Play

Today estate law attorney, Adam Tarsitano, joins us to discuss how you should think through some commonly misunderstood areas of your estate plan. Listen in to learn why you may not look forward to the sunset in 2026, the difference in various trusts, and whether you should open a trust to avoid probate. ***** 🎥 See a video recap 📬 Tips each month to help you Enhance Your Today and Enrich Your Tomorrow. Download our Pre-Retirement Checklist Ebook today 🎯 Subscribe to not miss future episodes here 📰 See the full show notes here