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Most retirees who make this mistake aren’t reckless. They’re careful. They’re doing what they believe is responsible, and that’s what makes it so painful to see when it backfires. James explains why t...
A $10 million retirement is often imagined as the finish line — complete freedom, unlimited spending, and no financial stress. The reality is more complex. James walks through what an eight-figure ret...
Retiring after age 65 changes the math and the priorities. You have fewer high-energy years, shorter tax planning windows, and RMDs much closer than most people realize. But you also often have higher...
Christian thought he was ready for retirement. He just didn’t realize how heavy the weight had been until he finally set it down. After more than 30 years in a high-stress, always-on role at a global ...
When planning for retirement a major question is how much money will you need per year to live on. For all you who have been through that and are retired, are you finding that you are spending more in...
As the new year begins, Roger Whitney launches a new Retirement Plan Live case study, introducing Henry and Lucy, a couple in their mid-40s pursuing Financial Independence and Retire Early (FIRE). Rog...
You saved diligently for decades — so why does giving yourself permission to spend still feel so hard? In this episode, we discuss: Why many retirees underspend despite having a secure financial plan ...
What can our top five Retire With Purpose Podcast episodes of 2025 teach you about avoiding regrets, spending confidently, and living with purpose as you head into 2026? In this episode, we discuss: T...
What is your retirement spending style? Find out with this quick quiz.
Saving a large percentage of your income, minimizing taxes and keeping spending in check can offer a more realistic path to retiring rich.
I’m back in Honolulu for the winter holidays, visiting my parents, and I’ve been looking forward to this trip for months. Especially after spending about $41,000 remodeling and furnishing a neglected ...
Like many pre-retirees, it was the single most important question on my mind. "Do I have enough money?" Actually, being married, it was, "Do WE have enough money?" My wife and I were retiring at the s...
Jeremy Keil explains the 5 steps you can take if you are planning to retire in 2026 or 2027. If you’ve been planning to retire in 2026 or 2027, it might feel like you still have plenty of time. But in...
Jeremy Keil explains the top 3 tax efficient strategies for charitable giving in 2025. Most people give to charity because it’s meaningful to them — not because of the tax break. And that’s the right ...
This post is follow-up to our post of December 22, 2024 and will again highlight the benefits of using the Actuaries Longevity Illustrator (ALI) to help you develop reasonable lifetime planning period...
Many years ago, in that world of work I invariably wore black. Dull, sombre coloured suits with white blouses and heeled shoes were viewed as appropriate attire for both office and court room. I think...
Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Fritz Gilbert back for his second appearance on the podcast. Fritz is an award-winning blogger and author of The Retirement Manifesto, one of the most influential retire...
When you think about retirement, it’s easy to picture it as one long chapter, but financially, it’s really a series of different seasons. Your needs, lifestyle, and spending change over time, and your...
Holiday spending is rising sharply in 2025, with shoppers planning to spend more on gifts and online purchases than last year. This guide shares 8 steps to help you avoid holiday debt, set clear expec...
Retiring with a pension changes everything about your retirement math. Most people think about retirement in terms of net worth—how close they are to a million, two million, or more. But if you have a...
When I wrote about our trip to Portugal, I did say we were searching for inspiration for a recovery trip. On a whim and with a definite need to experience a little more European sunshine before winter...
After decades of saving/investing, it's hard to immediately switch to spending mode. Here's what worked for me over the last few years! Read more → The post Learning How to Spend Money (While Enj...
In this episode of Retirement Reality, Darren shares what it’s really like to walk away from work at 54 and why it still feels surreal. After decades of saving, hitting his number, and paying of...
Transitioning from saving to spending in retirement can be tricky, but devising a strategic plan can help ensure a smooth and worry-free retirement....
Get peace of mind in retirement with the 'Pay Yourself' rule....
Everyone's wondering if this is the worst time to retire. With high valuations, stubborn inflation, and constant uncertainty, it's easy to feel uneasy about your timing. In this episode, we look at wh...
It’s not too early to start planning your spending for 2026 even though you haven’t yet determined your January 1, 2026 Funded Status. You or your spouse may be considering spending in 202...
Discover what new research reveals about how retireesactuallyspend their money — and why front-loading your retirement income plan could be the key to enjoying your healthiest, most fulfilling y...
? SHOW NOTES In this episode, Roger Whitney explores the art of retirement goal setting with his signature blend of practical advice and thoughtful reflection. He sits down with Cesar Aguirre, who sha...
Those “3x by 40, 6x by 50, 10x by 67” charts feel official—until your life doesn’t match the average. In this episode, James shows why age-based savings benchmarks miss the mar...
I am planning to retire (hopefully) soon, and I keep reading things that say I'll need 70% of my pre-retirement income, or 80%, or 90%. The idea being that you will lose some of the expenses related t...
In this episode of Retirement Reality, meet Donovan, a 55-year-old retiree who turned an unexpected career exit into an opportunity for freedom, reflection, and new purpose. Donovan shares how one def...
For countless retirees, the greatest challenge isn't saving money, but spending it. After years of diligent saving, the transition to drawing down those hard-earned funds can be fraught with anxiety a...
Recently, in her Motley Fool article, A Big Reason the Famous 4% Rule May Not Work for Your Retirement, Maurie Backman confirmed what we have been telling our readers for years—you aren’t ...
The 'guardrails approach' to retirement spending signals when you can spend more and when you need to rein it in, giving you greater flexibility in your post-work life....
A little more than ten years ago, the Financial Analysts Journal released “The Only Spending Rule You Will Ever Need” by M. Barton Warning and Laurence Siegel. Recently, Stefan Sharkansky ...
If time is truly more precious than money, then spending money to buy back your time is the wisest trade of all. Here's an example of overcoming my frugality to live a better life. Perhaps one of the ...
As discussed in our previous post of September 28, 2025, there are lots of levers in the Actuarial Financial Planner (AFP) that can be pulled to make your spending plan in retirement more or less cons...
Spending changes for your household between when kids were in high school and retirement Assuming your spending actually went down, and you had kids, what level of decline did you see in household spe...
Here’s how to spend guilt-free when you are in retirement....
How can you wait until age 70 for Social Security but still spend more in the years before then? Here are some ideas to try. The post How to Wait Until 70 for Social Security Without Spending Less app...
We didn't hold our monthly budget meeting for a while last year, so we had to do a little catching up. The spending totals were shocking. The post Life Got Really Expensive (We’re Spending Twice...
Audit your spending to uncover patterns, cut waste, and align expenses with goals. Small adjustments will boost financial confidence. The post Audit Your Spending: Go Beyond Budgeting with 5 Ways to R...
Most grocery advice feels like homework. Clipping coupons, building a meal plan, tracking spending in spreadsheets. Ugh. It’s no wonder ... Read more...
The stock market and consumer spending are presently in a self-reinforcing positive feedback loop; the wealth effect from increasing stock ... Read more...
Everybody has their own number for how much they’ll spend in retirement. See if your's is in line with the averages....
Follow the 'Me-First" rule and you won't have to worry about running out of money when the stock market goes south....
Force of habit. I’ve always found that phrase a little irksome. Not because I consider myself some paragon of self-control, ... Read more...
My wife and I are both 68 and I'm still working fulltime until Nov 1 2025 ish. Have been spending time lately looking at monthly spending and have moved most of our assets over to Vanguard (lower cost...
Jeremy Keil explains step 1 of the 5 step retirement plan: retirement spending. When it comes to retirement planning, one of the biggest questions people ask is: Where do I start? The truth is, before...