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PODCAST

Retirement Starts Today

Benjamin Brandt CFP®, RICP®

Do you want to spend more money & pay less taxes on your way to an even better retirement? Great news, you"re in the right place! I"ll also teach you the benefits of retiring TO something, while most retirees only solve half the equation by retiring FROM something. Tune in every Monday morning - hosted by Benjamin Brandt CFP®, RICP®. Join my "This Week in Retirement" newsletter for the best retirement content of the week, sourced by me: https://pages.thisweekinretirement.com/newsletter

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20:03

How 2 Couples Cut Housing Costs To Speed Up Their...

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/05/18

What happens when you reach financial independence by paying off a low interest rate mortgage early? Or being renter instead of buying a home and growing equity? I'll explain why hitting that milestone earns you the right to ignore some of the most stubborn rules in personal finance. For our Listener Question: A listener wants to know how to think about real estate as part of a retirement portfolio — should they own a rental property for income? And we will wrap it up with another listener-sourced

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19:14

The "24-Hour Rule" That Keeps Retirees From Blowing...

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/05/11

According to Capital One Shopping - 89% of shoppers have made some kind of impulse buy. More than half have spent more than $100 on a whim, and the average shopper made impulse buys adding up to $282 a month. A classic rule is to wait 24 hours to help curb impulse buys, but on today's show, I'm going to flip that rule on its head and explain why my listeners might actually need the opposite advice. After that, I'll answer a listener question about switching from saving for decades to a spending

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16:47

Sorry, Your Kids Don't Want Your Stuff

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/05/04

Imagine having 10 overstuffed boxes of grandma's collections in your living room. That's the story that leads our show from a couple in Florida who received these items as hand-me-downs from a boomer parent trying to clear them out. The article features estate specialist Julie Hall, who says Millennials don't want painted china or antique furniture — they want Pottery Barn and IKEA. When Hall asked her own daughter what she'd want from her house, the answer was, "Just the jewelry". Hall's takeaway

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21:01

The Retirement Risk Zone

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/04/27

There is roughly a ten-year window centered around your retirement date, five to ten years before, and five to ten years after called "The Retirement Risk Zone". This is when you're most vulnerable to sequence-of-returns impacting the longevity of your withdrawal strategy. We cover this idea brought up by Wade Pfau in an episode of "The Long View", a show hosted by Christine Benz, Amy C. Arnott, and Ben Johnson - specifically: The Retirement Risk Zone The Rising Equity Glide Path The Social

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15:37

Stop Sweating the Small Stuff When You Spend Your...

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/04/20

Why is it so hard to spend the money you spent a lifetime saving? This is a question from Janet Bodnar in a Kiplinger article. She admits that one of her guilty pleasures in retirement is treating herself to a casual lunch while she's out running errands. Why does she feel so guilty? Christine Benz from Morningstar is quoted in the article, which we discuss at length in this episode. Then a listener asks a question I think a lot of you are wondering: "How am I supposed to figure out what I want to

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17:28

Five Beneficiary Designations for Clients to Review Now

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/04/13

Your beneficiary designations are probably outdated. Not because you made bad decisions, but because you made them once and never looked again. We're going to walk through five areas where these forms commonly go wrong, and what you can do about it. For our Listener Questions segment: "What's the best way to position any assets I have for when my wife and I pass — to most easily and efficiently pass on to our kids?" And this week's "Retire to Something" listener talks about her definition of

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20:27

Will Surging Oil Prices Crash the Market?

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/04/06

How do higher oil prices impact stock market returns? Ben Carlson at A Wealth of Common Sense challenges the assumption most people have, but with some genuinely surprising and con historical data. For those who retired right around 2022, our Listener Questions segment might interest you. A listener is comparing bonds to guaranteed products like MYGAs and annuities with income riders. They're seeing five and a half to six percent guaranteed payouts and wondering: are these actually better than bonds

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20:25

Estimated Taxes Are a Pain. Let's make it Easier

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/03/30

What if you paid all your taxes - and still got hit with a penalty from the IRS? Our retirement headline this week comes from Laura Saunders in the Wall Street Journal. Estimated tax penalties are skyrocketing, and retirees and investors are some of the most likely to get caught in the trap. We will cover that, then hop into our Listen Question: "What happens when you lose faith in fixed income as the foundation for your retirement plan?" Then stick around to hear what our happiest retired

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16:28

The Hidden Cost Of Investment Income

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/03/23

Some desirable investment income - like interest and dividends - might actually hurt high-net-worth investors' bottom line. This comes from an article by Larry Swedroe in Financial Advisor Magazine. He outlines four hidden costs that can quietly erode over 1% of after-tax returns each year: Cash Drag Tax Deferral Step-up and Charitable Giving Advantage Financial Planning Flexibility For our Listener Question: "Are brokerage account gains taxed before the money is withdrawn?" If you've ever

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22:18

The Medicare Charge That's Taking a Bigger Bite Out...

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/03/16

You might have received a Social Security cost-of-living increase this year — but did your net check actually go up? A recent Wall Street Journal article highlights how rising Medicare premiums and IRMAA surcharges are offsetting those increases for millions of retirees - and "takes a bigger bite out of Social Security checks". Then, a listener writes in "How to convince my husband's parents to spend their money. We don't need it." Tune in to hear that one! And we wrap it up with our "Retire to

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21:38

Tax Return Red Flags

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/03/09

Sheryl Rowling positions income tax returns as diagnostic tools — not merely a compliance document — and outlines four common red flags that suggest a client failed to take advantage of proactive tax strategies. Here are "4 Tax Return Red Flags That Signal Poor Tax Planning": Very Low or Zero Taxable Income Charitable Giving After Age 70½ Without Using QCDs Donating Cash Instead of Appreciated Securities Holding Municipal Bonds in Low Tax Brackets For our listener question: "I'm in a job I hate

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18:00

Stop Chickening Out

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/03/02

Retirees obsess over the exact safe withdrawal rate they think they'll need while simultaneously building layer after layer of backup plans. Dividends, buckets, multiple years of cash, constant Monte Carlo recalculations are all done in the name of safety. Jordan Grumet's argument to this problem is simple and provocative: If you believe in the safe withdrawal rate, then act like it. Stop stacking contingencies on top of contingencies and chasing 100% certainty in a world where it doesn't exist. We

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22:41

8 Tips to Stop Worrying About Running Out of Money in...

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/02/23

Sheryl Rowling from Morningstar argues that the greatest danger in retirement isn't the stock market — it's the constant fear of running out of money. We will walk through her eight "anchors" from the article posted on Morningstar. Anchor 1: Confirm Your Sustainable Spending Level Anchor 2: Embrace Flexibility in Down Markets Anchor 3: Recognize That Spending Often Declines With Age Anchor 4: Create a Recession Buffer Anchor 5: Reduce Future Tax Uncertainty Anchor 6: Maximize Guaranteed Income

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22:25

The Best Way to Leave Money Behind

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/02/16

What does research say about retirement withdrawal strategies that are specifically designed to leave more money behind? We'll walk through what the research says works best, the trade-offs involved, and why the "right" strategy depends on what you're really trying to optimize in retirement. Quote: "Smaller gifts sooner can be more impactful than larger gifts later." - Benjamin Brandt We've also got a great listener question from Tom about the three big company retirement plans — 401(k)s, 403(b)s,

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18:00

The Ideal Level of Wealth

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/02/09

Is there an ideal level of wealth? Our Retirement Headline comes from Nick Maggiulli, who starts by rejecting the usual vague answers—"it depends," "on your own terms," or "whatever makes you happy." Instead, he tries to give a practical, math-based answer that works for most people, even if it's not perfect for everyone. Then our listener question is "How should we think about future income sources—like Social Security and pensions—in terms of our net worth? Should we include the present value of

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21:23

Why are You Still Working?

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/02/02

Andrew Rosen, CFP®, CEP, writes in a Kiplinger article how to walk through several common reasons people keep working — even as retirement comes into view. Rather than looking at money first, the author looks at motivation and breaks it into five broad categories: Category 1: I must keep working Category 2: I probably should keep working Category 3: I want to keep working Category 4: I'm afraid to retire Category 5: I don't know why I'm still working The author suggests borrowing from a concept by

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19:38

Helping Underspenders And "Savers" Understand They...

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/01/26

Can you relate to this statement: "They've done everything right financially… but still can't bring themselves to spend the money they've saved." In today's Retirement Headline, Meghaan Lurtz explains why underspending in retirement is usually rooted in psychology, not math. Lurtz shares several common barriers: Fear of future dependence Doom forecasting And an Identity tied to being a saver Resource: Article by Meghaan Lurtz: "Helping Underspenders And "Savers" Understand They CAN Spend More

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Americans May Be Claiming Social Security Too Early

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/01/19

"Just 10% plan to wait until age 70" to claim Social Security in retirement — and it's not because of a knowledge problem. We discuss this from a new survey that suggests most Americans may be claiming Social Security earlier than is financially optimal because fear is driving the decision. They understand the math—but they're still claiming early. We also answer a listener 2-part question about where to park short-term cash in inflationary times and to actually buy Treasuries. And we wrap up the

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23:36

In the IRMAA Trenches with IRMAA Certified Planner,...

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/01/12

Paul Morrison details how Medicare premiums, including the IRMAA surcharge, are inflating at a rate higher than Social Security COLAs. This disparity is causing concern, as premiums can potentially consume a retiree's entire Social Security benefit over time, especially for those in higher IRMAA brackets for an extended period. Paul provides concrete examples of how extended periods in higher IRMAA brackets could lead to Medicare premiums exceeding Social Security benefits, forcing retirees to pay

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01:02:06

Are Super Savers Failing in Retirement? A...

Retirement Starts Today ·

2026/01/05

A special recording from Andy Panko for his Retirement Planning Education Podcast: We discuss how the financial industry is evolving, the common struggles of "super savers" in retirement, and the importance of aligning financial decisions with life goals, not just spreadsheets. We talk about the role of Monte Carlo simulations, the importance of flexibility in financial plans, and the evolving role of advisors in a changing world. It's a conversation that encourages you to find joy and flexibility

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421 results

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